Sew On!

Hello!

I know it has been a while, but life does happen. In this case my sweet sister-in-law passed away and hubby and I made the 1500 mile (one way) car trip to get back to the mid-west for her services.  It was a bittersweet trip.  Although she was in constant pain from a number of health issues, she never complained. She left us way too soon.  :-(

On the flip side of that trip, we were able to see our families.  His sisters flew in for the services, and we spent a day traveling to visit his Mom in a nursing home.  We stayed with my parents as they were centrally located... and no way I was going to travel 1500 miles without spending a bit of time with them! ;-)  I got to spend some time sewing with my Mom, and I even scooped snow on our last day. LOL  We got back here right before Thanksgiving and spent the day with 2 of our kids.  It was a great day and they spent the night so DD and I could do a little shopping and crafting too. :-)

My niece spent time studying in Ghana last year and she sent my Mom a box of fabric.  Really interesting batik fabrics.  I wish I had taken a photo of them all.  Anyway, we made the Barbados Bag by Pink Sand Beach Designs .  

One for my niece and one for my DD.  Sorry the lighting is kind of dark. 

I guess snowy days will do that. ;-)

Are you sewing on Bonnie Hunter's  En Provence Mystery?

The first step is 4 patches~ lots and lots of 4-patches!  Yesterday I went through my bucket of neutrals and cut a 2 inch strip from each of them.  My neutral bucket has really gone down! There was a time that I couldn't get the lid closed~ now it closes with room to spare. ;-)  Anyway, I don't think I have enough strips for 220 4-patches! :-o  

This is all my strips sewn together.  Any guesses on how many 4-patches I will get? 

I know there are some uglies in there! LOL Maybe if they are small enough... ;-)

That's all for now~

I'll be back to see who guessed closest as soon as they are pressed and cut. ;-)

Until then~

Happy Stitchin'!!

A Fun Craft Bag~

It has been quite a few months since I tested this pattern for Sara @ Sew Sweetness.

 

The Oslo Craft Bag~

 

 

She designed it for a magazine and now that the magazine has released it (or however that works! ;) ), she is able to share it.  And guess what!!??  She is offering it as a free pattern for her newsletter subscribers. So be sure to hop over to her blog and sign up! wink-wink!

I found those nifty button mitten clips at Hobby Lobby and decided to use them for my handles. I made faux leather handles. At the time I was waiting for my FL, so couldn't photograph it with handles.  Now it is in the motorhome which is covered for the winter, so no pix. Sorry. It is really a great size tote for all your sewing or crafting needs.  The pockets on the ends snap closed and there is a divider inside. Be sure to check out all the tester samples at Sara's blog!

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!

Thinking Christmas?

First, thank you for stopping by and helping me with my quilt layout.  I still haven't quite decided what to do, but I will let you know! ;-)

Second~ did you realize there are only 7 more Fridays until Christmas is upon us? Yikes!!!!

So if you are frantically sewing away, I'd like to share a free pattern that I had the pleasure of testing with you~

...the Yuletide Stocking! This is a brand new, FREE pattern from Toriska! This is an easy pattern, and a pretty quick sew. There are multiple variations so you can personalize your stockings for your whole family.  Not only is this pattern free, but Tori is running a sale on her other sewing patterns through Monday. You can find the coupon code in this blog post: Yuletide Stocking
You can also download the pattern on Craftsy: https://www.craftsy.com/…/yuletide-christmas-stockin…/463983

Since I tested this one last month, I kinda didn't have Christmas on my mind yet~  ;-)

:-o  All I can say is, the pattern really is versatile! LOL  I added rivets to the front for my ribbon, and gently pointed one of the cuff variations. The testers all did a nice job with their stockings, so be sure to stop by Tori's website to see them.

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!

Ideas Wecome!

Good afternoon! It is another rainy day here. The perfect day for sewing!

I got myself caught up on a BOM I am doing with a group of friends from the former HGTV message board.  The leader chooses a block each month and everyone makes it in 'their' fabrics.

I decided to use up some of my CW scraps and to prove that I am, look at this~

 

I needed 2 rectangles 2 7/8 x 5 3/4 inches, I only had one~ so I sewed together every last scrap for the second one. LOL 

I don't think it shows at all in my block~

The block on the left is Farmer's Daughter  and the right block is State of Georgia

Both are 10 inch blocks from Quilters Cache.

This is a shot of all my blocks together.  The BOM does not include finishing directions, we are each to do what we want.  And that is where y'all come in!  Do you have any finishing ideas for me?

Sashing? Colors, type etc?  I am open to lots of suggestions!  This is most likely not the final arrangement~ I just threw the blocks out there~

That's it til next time~

Happy Stitchin'!!

Still Sewing..

I was at retreat when Liz from Moments blog released her Rubie Crossbody Bag, but I did get my pattern test completed in time. :-)

I used an outdoor fabric with a waterproof back, the front kind of shimmers and was very hard to photograph! 

It was really fun to add the rivets and special little touches. And under the cowl there is a hidden pocket~

which you can't even see in the photo!  Do you like my wild lining? LOL

I also tested a quilt pattern for Amy @ Kati Cupcake. It isn't on her site yet~ it will make its debut at market next week.

It is called 'Perfectly Perfect'  and I think it is!

I love the effect of the stars exploding!

It measures 68½ x 68½ inches

 Once it is quilted, you will find it on my bed! ;-) LOL

I have had my sewing machine humming all week and will have more to show soon!

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!!

17 Zippers!

Good afternoon! 

I spent the weekend at a local retreat and got a lot of things accomplished~ including putting in 17 zippers! 

That is a record for me. LOL I also got 9 large quilt blocks together, and few other things I will show another time.

This photo does not include all of the zippered things I made, because some are going to be gifts. ;-)

And two I dropped off at our local quilt shop before I took pix! :-o  I am going to be teaching classes there and dropped off the samples... exciting!!!  I have never taught a class in a quilt shop before, so if you have any tips or hints for me, I would really appreciate all the help I can get!  :-)

The patterns from top left~ 30's Playtime Pouch from Sew Lux Fabrics  There is a trio of patterns in the set, and it happens to be on sale now. ;-)

Top & bottom right side~ Needle Holder Project Pouch from Birdcage and Thread  

I did make a couple slight changes to the pattern.

And bottom left is the 'Cheerio' Wallet by Kati Cupcake 

 This one is for me, I noticed my wallet is starting to fray! :-o  I guess it really isn't good for a person who makes wallets to have a ratty one herself. ;-)

Although western WA suffered through some terrible winds and buckets of rain over the weekend, we stayed warm and dry at the retreat center.  Both there and here at home we had pouring rains, but no trees down or power outages.  Our temps have been on the chilly side. Today our high is 53º so far. Of course, I did manage to bring a cold home with me. :-/

I hope you had a good weekend and are getting lots of things accomplished this week.

Until next time~

Happy stitchin'!

Quilting & A Winner!

Some of you were very close! :-)

We were hiking the Cape Flattery trail on Washington's Olympic Peninsula.

A truly gorgeous area! 

Thanks for all your guesses! The winner this time is .....

Woolen Sails!  :-) Congratulations!

If I could have your snail mail addy, I will send a little surprise out on Monday. 

In quilting news~ yes, I still do quilt. Quite a lot actually, but that is a whole 'nother post! LOL

Anyway, I finished a store sample last week for my local quilt shop. Yes, I have a quilt shop in town!! :-) I was so happy to find it! And really surprised to learn she had been open nearly 2 years!!! But she is just now getting really set up, making a classroom, finding teachers etc.  It is all really coming together and I was thrilled to sew a sample for the shop.

This is called Autumn Meadow and is a free pattern on the Riley Blake website. 

It measures 45" x 45". 

I quilted it in an allover floral pattern. And for the first time, I braved sewing a binding on by machine~

I used a ton of clips, and it worked!! I only got a little wonky in a couple spots, but overall, I was very happy.  I figured she will eventually sell it, and the sewn binding will be sturdy for a toddler, and handle many washings with ease. 

I hope you are enjoying a little quilting too~

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!!