Pre-Market Sewing

Yes, I am a little late showing you the projects I was working on before the last Quilt Market, but I think they are both worth the wait. ;-)

I pattern tested this bag for Amy @katicupcake

It is called the 'Get Outa Town tote'~ and I used it when I went to retreat in October. It is nice and big and holds so much!!  I love it!

The outside has pockets all the way around it~ with side pockets that cinch up and are great for a bottle of water!

And the inside is loaded with pockets too~including a large zipped pocket~

 

..and a magnetic snap closure. :-)  I really enjoyed making and using this bag! :-)

The other item I pattern tested was an apron~

It is called the 'Miss Sally' apron.  Hmmm~ I should have had a model!  It sports two really nice large front pockets, and the bib is a little fitted which I love!  Guess what I will be wearing as I cook Thanksgiving dinner. :-)

Both patterns will be available on Amy's website soon.

Until next time~

Happy stitchin'!

And Happy Thanksgiving!!! ;-)

The Appaloosa Bag

I had the pleasure of pattern testing a bag for Sara at Sew Sweetness.

This was my first time testing one of her patterns and let me tell you~ it was fun! Her patterns are a little more involved, but I love my bag!

If you follow the link above, you will see all the tester bags on her blog.  I went a different direction than the others and chose to use corduroy.  I love the texture!

                          The inside has a zipper pocket and the accordion pleated front pockets.

My corduroy looks a little wrinkled there~ I was so excited I didn't give a final press! :-o

I used the Soft and Stable foam by Annie's, which gives the bag a really nice shape and sturdiness.

Sara has the pattern for sale in her shop.  And there are lots of fun versions on her blog.

Thanks for stopping by~

Happy sewing!!

Lotsa Blocks!

Today I am swapping blocks from 2 swaps I recently held.  The Christmas block swap is based on a free pattern from Connecting Threads called the 'Glory Be block'.  I had 8 swappers including myself and over 200 blocks to swap!

My tables were loaded~

The other swap we call the CYOC swap (choose your own color).  I had 11 swappers, myself included, and over 250 blocks.  My eyes are kind of swimming in my head right now, but I love the blocks!

Everyone chose their own center string and colors for the strings in this swap and we had some lovely combinations. I forgot to take a photo when I had all the blocks out, but I did snap one of some of my blocks. 

I chose a 'rainbow' theme.  Bright colors in any of the 'roy b giv' colors.  I love the blocks and they will make excellent donation quilts for babies.

Next up on my cutting table is a quick quilt for our DGD and a bag for me! :-)

I hope you are finding lots of time to sew this fall too!

Until next time~

Happy stitchin'!

I'm back! ...again! :-)

I just know you are beginning to wonder about me!  

Well, as soon as I got those pincushions swapped, I needed to get my stuff together for a quilting retreat! :-)

This year it was no ordinary retreat~ Bonnie Hunter joined us!

If you want to read about the adventures she had (with us) you can read all about it on her blog, starting with her  Thursday October 22nd post.  We had a great time!

And I even managed to get done most of what I took!  LOL

Two Swoon Alice Shopper Totes~~

       This is a free pattern on the Swoon Sewing Patterns site.  

I found the Christmas print at Hobby Lobby. It is a heavier decorator weight fabric. The front pocket has a magnetic clasp.

I also made some zipper pouches~

No real pattern, but I did use Noodlehead's zipper insertion method to give them all wide openings. ;-) I did not use her sizes in the chart she provides as I machine quilted the sides and wanted to make them the size of the machine quilted motif. ;-)  The appliques letters are from Designs by Juju

 

And I made some note pad cases~~

 

The pattern is from The Sweet Tea Girls.

I didn't exactly follow this pattern either. ;-)  LOL

I quilted up a yard of fabric for the inside and then cut it into the size needed.  I made a bunch for a swap, so that helped to stream line the process. I haven't made any for myself~ yet! :-o

I also made nearly 60 string blocks for a swap. Sorry, no photo.  

And we had a little mystery class fun~

We made these little caddies that fit over a 5 x 7 inch plastic frame. 

There are a few free tutorials on line. I found this one, in case you want to make some up. ;-)   

Quilts & Pieces Quilting Tool Caddy.  

I think I need to make one up to have by the computer as I am always misplacing my pens and pencils!

Ok, Whew!  That was a lot of sewing!!  And I still have so much more to do!

I'll try to be back sooner!  Until then~

Happy sewing!!

~And More Pincushions!

I just love these fun and functional pincushions!

I have them all over the house.~ really, I do!

It keeps me from traipsing back and forth when I need a pin or safety pin, and I just think they are so cute!

 How about a little sewing machine? It even has a little pin for the needle!

 Lemon meringue pie?

 Or little purses.  They have a pocket on the back for your needle pack, thimble etc.

And this fun mix came from a swapper in Australia!  Doesn't she have some clever pincushions?!

Finally a variety of biscornu pincushions!

I missed a few photos, I was just too excited with all the wonderful variety! LOL

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Happy Stitchin'!

Winner! Winner! & Pincushions!

Nope, no chicken dinners here! LOL

The winner of the PDF Bookbag Backpack pattern is .....

#1!! ~ Barb from BejeweledQuilts by Barb

Congratulations Barb!!  I will send your email address to Samantha and she will send you the pattern. :-)

Now, I promised you pincushions!~

In my excitement of taking them all out of their boxes to swap, I missed a few pix! :-o

These lovely CQ pincushions came to us from a Canadian swapper.  She sent along scissors fobs too.  The deep red is a luscious velvet.

 The fun hearts were done in an embroidery machine hoop!
Isn't the piping perfect?

My contributions. ;-)
I went mini and boy were my eyes crossed by the time I was finished with them! :-o

So much work went into these beauties, from hand crocheting the doily to adding the embroidery stitches. :-)

And froggies!  Along with a Sunbonnet Sue armchair pincushion.

I have to tell you~ swapping was so hard, that I ended up drawing names for most of the pincushions. 
It sure helped me to pass them out when there was only one or two of a certain style. ;-)

I'll be back tomorrow with more of the swap pix!
Until then~
Happy Stitchin'!!

Bookbag Backpack Pattern Release & A Giveaway!

 Good morning!

Happy Thanksgiving to all those readers in Canada!

Samantha from At home with Mrs. H revised her Bookbag Backpack pattern and I was lucky enough to test her updated pattern.  I love it!

I have been using mine for my laptop and all its cords and stuff.

Everything fits in it beautifully!  The outside has a nice big pocket, which didn't need the snap to hold it closed, but I added it just for fun. :-)  The outside is a decor weight fabric, and I used quilting cotton on the inside.  This was really an easy pattern to sew up and I love its roominess!

I knew I would never wear it as a backpack, so I left those straps off.  This side has a nice size zippered pocket on the outside.

The inside has a special zip pocket and also a few patch pockets.  I usually sew an

extra little seam in the patch pocket and shorten that bit so my pen, stylus etc doesn't fall into the bottom. ;-)

Be sure to check out Samantha's blog for all the tester versions of this bag~ there are so many it is hard to choose a favorite!  :-)

For a chance to win a pdf of this pattern, leave me a comment telling me how you would use the Bookbag Backpack.  I'll draw a winner on Friday, the 16th.  :-)

Good luck!!