I Remembered~~

...but only because my Mom called and reminded me when I was block swapping! LOL thanks Mom! :-)

I had a 6 foot table and the stairs~

I got all the blocks swapped, packed and back out in the mail by Monday.

They are starting to arrive home today. :-)  We had so many unique combinations this time.

It would be hard to choose a favorite!

 

Monday's mail also took my anniversary block to Temecula Quilts~

 

Did you make a block for their 10th Anniversary Quilt? 

You can find the info HERE.

It was a fun little block to stitch up~ and wouldn't it be cute for a milestone birthday quilt for a quilty friend?

 

I'm headed back to the sewing machine~ lots of catching up still going on here.

Until next time~

Happy stitchin'!!

 

String Blocks

Once or sometimes twice a year I host a string block swap for a group of ladies from the former HGTV Quilting & Needlework message board.  We now connect on a Groupbox board, or through Facebook.  ;-)

The latest blocks will be swapped tomorrow, so I got mine out and labeled them in prep for swapping.

Our guidelines are pretty simple~ we all sew the strings to washed, bleached muslin.  The blocks are to measure 8½ inches when trimmed down. Some of the ladies prefer to do their own trimming, so some of my blocks look larger. ;-)  Each player gets to choose the color and size of their center strip, and what colors they want for the 'strings'.  This time the choices included a lot of red. (which I love!)  I haven't made any blocks for myself yet, but I chose Seahawks colors~ bright green, navy and grey.  I want to make a lap quilt for my DS2 for Christmas. Hopefully I will get it done! 

I will try to remember to take a few pix tomorrow when I am swapping. I usually get so engrossed in it that I totally forget!  I need to wait for hubby to get home from work today to help me set up my table.

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!

What???!

My last post was almost two weeks ago?! How can that be??

Oh. Yeah. I've been sick. :-(   Bah humbug!  I do not like colds! And it seems like I caught a fun one. (not!)  Just when I thought I was better, I ended up back on the couch. :-(  This time I am better~ and hope to stay that way!!! I have way too much to do to be sick! ;-)

Yesterday I cut out a new pattern test bag. It was a quick and fun sew!

I was feeling adventurous, so I revved up the embroidery machine and added a bit of embroidery to the flap.  The flap, gusset, and strap are all in faux leather~ yeah I was missing sewing something fierce and had to pull out all my toys! LOL ;-)

 I love it! :-)

The inside has a very special hidden pocket~ easy to sew and a really fun feature.

There is also a zip pocket in there. 

This is the Sheridan Saddle Bag & is the newest bag in Nancy Stroop's Designz Collection.

Nancy is an Australian bag maker. She always includes a key chain pattern in her patterns. I didn't make it this time, but it is a fun addition~ especially if you are selling or gifting the bag. :-)

She also gears her patterns to newer bag makers~ lots of little reminders and tips to help you get great results!   

Tomorrow I am back behind my machine with a little quilt block making. I got behind in all my BOM's!  What are you working on?

Until next time~

Happy stitchin'!

ZigZags

ZigZagging is taking on a whole new meaning today! :-)

This is the ZigZag pouch by Liz of Moments Designs & blog.

There are two designs in the pattern~

 The one on the left is a little bigger and opened below~

 I put a fabric with a car track. Liz tells you how to make an actual road for cars in her pattern.

The one on the right is a little crayon pouch~

Aren't they cute?  Both will zip open until they are flat. The zipper 'zigzags' around them! :-)

The pattern also comes with an eyeglasses case or sunglasses. I didn't make it because I ran out of zipper. :-o but I do plan to make one... or more.  ;-)

You can find the pattern on Liz's Craftsy page.

She has also designed a larger pouch that could be used as an evening bag and you can get that pattern bundled with the ZiaZags pattern or separately. 

Be sure to visit her blog to see all the tester versions (they will be up soon!)

Some of the ladies used the pattern for doggy treats,  a little sewing case, etc I guess the possibilities are pretty endless. ;-)

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!

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'!!