Snowin' & Sewin'

We got snow!  

Yes, I may be one of the few who is happy about it, but we have had such a mild winter, we needed the moisture. My daffodils were starting to poke their little green heads out already! :-o  This won't last~

we are supposed to be in the 50's by the weekend. 

I didn't remember to take a photo last night until it was almost too late!

That is my little quilting cottage, and our neighbors roof.  I don't use the cottage in the winter because our heating bill is high as it is, adding that would be too much. 

These are some of the blocks I worked on at retreat~

 

My Mom & I are each making two with the same outer triangle/inner square color and will exchange our duplicates this summer. 

Our rule was we couldn't buy any fabric, but use our scraps. ;-)

I didn't take along enough white-on-white to finish the outside corners of the blocks, so I sewed a bunch of centers. ;-)

The block is from Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks magazine, Issue 14 and is called 'Monkey in the Middle' by Jenifer Dick of 42 Quilts.  We thought it would be a great stash buster! :-)

A snow day means a 'sew' day so I am off to do just that!

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!

Talissa Zip Tote

Good morning!

One more pattern test to share with you today~  The Talissa Zip Tote is part of Nancy Stroop's Designz Collection and is the February pattern. We had a lot of fun testing this tote for Nancy and you can see all the gorgeous bags that the other testers made by visiting the link above.  

I changed it up a little and used piping to highlight the seamed areas.

 

 

The outside of the bag features a pocket under the flap. The top zips closed (under the flap) and inside there are more pockets. ;-) I love a bag with plenty of pockets!

The straps are just the right length to sit on your shoulder.  

I had a busy January with the bag testing, but it didn't stop me from other sewing! ;-)

More on that in my next post. :-)

Until then~

Happy Stitchin'!

The Sublime Bag~

January was a busy month of bag-making and pattern testing for me and I loved every minute of it! :-)

I think the reason I like to do it is because of the challenge it gives me. At any rate, I really had a fun month!

Next up is the Sublime Bag by Sew Sweetness 

 I need to find some fun zipper pulls for the two zippers in the front~ 

they open into one nice pocket. :-)

 Inside there are two slip pockets on one side and a zippered pocket on the other. You can just seek a peek of the zipper pull in the photo.

 And the bottom has feet! :-)

This pattern is part of the Bag of the Month Club, so it won't be released to everyone until the club ends,

but if you would like to get busy sewing it today~ joining the club will give you 6 great purse patterns from some wonderful designers. And the price is really reasonable. Check it out here.  

I will be back tomorrow~

In the meantime I am sewing on my Solstice Sew Along blocks today.

Is anyone else doing Pat Sloan's Solstice Sew Along?

Until tomorrow~

Happy Stitchin'!!

A Fun New Bag~

I recently tested a fun bag for Svetlana @ S.o.t.a.k. Handmade Blog and I loved it!

I tested her Alice Purse using Kraft-Tex, so I did make a few minor changes to accommodate the Kraft-Tex, but nothing major. It sewed like a dream!

The woven fabric I used for the top was a remnant I had picked up a while ago, and it seemed perfect for this bag. 

Sorry this last photo is kind of dark~ I took that one on a rainy day and then waited a week for the sun to come by to take the others. LOL

Please stop by Svetlana's blog and view all the pattern tester bags~ I can't choose a favorite!

Also, the pattern is on sale for 48 hours~ the link is in her blog post.

I just got back from a mini retreat where I sewed like crazy! LOL So more photos will be coming soon.

Until next time~

Happy stitchin'!!

Just For Fun Sewing~

 Have you seen the wall of mini quilts in various blogger's sewing rooms?

Always wanted one of your own? Well, now is your chance!  :-)

Caroline at She Can Sew blog is doing a monthly mini sew along. 

I wanted to make a mini a month last year, but never got started. This sew along is just the kick in the pants I needed! LOL

Here is my January Friendship Star mini~

Now I can hardly wait until February's mini! LOL

Jennie @ Clover and Violet is doing a Flora Supply Case sew along.

She started a couple weeks ago, but it is pretty informal and you can easily catch up.

I am making this for ME!  I always wanted a little zippered case with a calendar

in my purse and this will work perfectly.

I have everything cut for the inside and the interfacings fused down~

now it is time for some fun sewing! :-) 

In between my little bits of fun, I am continuing to work on En Provence~ Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Quilt. I just have a few more hour glass blocks to put together and it will be quilt assembly time. :-) Yay!!

I hope you are taking time for a little fun sewing too!

Until next time~

Happy stitchin'!

Block Sewing~

Good morning from a frosty wonderland!

We don't have any snow, but we got the cold and frost, and well, after Christmas I am ready for warmer weather! LOL

I spent this week working on blocks.

I belong to a group of quilters called the 'Sunshine Quilters'. We started on the HGTV forums years ago and now we have a small Groupbox group. We make blocks for each other for charity quilts.  I am trying to get everyone's blocks made early this year as last year I ran out of steam toward the end of the year. ;-)

 These blocks will go into quilts for kids or Project Linus.  This gal makes charity quilts year 'round, and I really admire her for that! When all the blocks come together, the white will be stars. :-)

 These two will go into a wheelchair quilt for a Veteran.  This lady supports her local VA with her quilts~ another very good cause!

This gal is new to our group and requested 18" blocks to be made into NICU quilts for incubators.

I asked for Rail Fence blocks in red, white & blue and hope to do a Veteran quilt too.

I am also sewing along with Pat Sloan's 182 Day Solstice Challenge

I'm not sure if I will make all 25 blocks, or just enough for a twin size quilt.

This will be for my DGS.  The light background has tiny gold dots in it. ;-)

I am headed back to my sewing machine and the Bonnie Hunter mystery blocks.

I got a bit behind, but as long as I keep plugging away I will get there! 

What are you sewing?

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!!

A Little of Everything~

My first pattern test after the holidays was to help Liz @ Moments Designs

update her first pattern. The Up, Up & Away Passport Wallet can be used for more than just a passport!

To celebrate the first birthday of this design, the pattern is on sale on Craftsy until the 23rd of January. 

Liz makes the majority of her bags in faux leathers~ and she has a gorgeous collection! But her patterns are also written so you can use decorator weight fabrics or quilting cottons.  This time I wanted to venture into the faux leathers.  I found a remnant and gave it a try. Unfortunately, the remnant I found did not like my domestic machine!  So don't look very close at my stitching!  I learned a lot of tricks, so hopefully, the next time I venture into faux leathers will be better! ;-)

I also used my embroidery machine to add the buckle embroidery~ the machine loved the FL!

The buckle design came from Urban Threads.

The pattern has three different versions~ pockets on both sides, or two sizes of zip pocket on the right.  I chose to do the largest zip pocket on the right, you can tuck a large cell phone or paperwork behind the pocket. 

All-in-all I am very happy with my passport wallet. :-)

I am still plugging along on the En Provence Mystery quilt by Bonnie Hunter.

Almost ready to sew blocks! :-)  I have also been doing a bit of cutting and organizing for the upcoming year of sewing.  I went to Michaels and got some project boxes. I want my projects to be more 'grab & go' when we go out in the motorhome this summer. 

How have you started out the year?

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!