Keeping My Sewing Machine Hot!

More completed projects~ I love it!

I joined an on-line postcard swap and since September is National Sewing Month, we decided to make postcards with a sewing machine theme.  Mine are machine embroidered (Design from Designs by Juju)

They were really fun to play with!

And I finished my grandson's backpack~ he loves Batman, so...

The pattern is the Cumberland Backpack from Sew Sweetness.

I also made this trio of pouches~ the Paladin Pouch from Sew Sweetness~

The pattern is part of a 4 pattern bundle currently on sale. 

I have more things on my cutting table and hope I can keep up my momentum!

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!

Quilts!!

Hi! Are you having a good summer?

Time has not been my friend this summer~ it seems it has been one huge rush!

I am really looking forward to some slower days this fall & winter. ;-)

So quilts~ here you go!

The first one is a pattern by Erica of Kitchen Table Quilting called

The Zola Quilt

It goes together a lot faster than it looks like it would. :-)

This is the baby size  35" x 47"

Next is this whopper called Noteworthy Labyrinth.

It was a pattern through Moda Bake Shop, but I cannot find it in their archives now :-/

It used 2 jelly rolls and some yardage of the white on white.

I had picked up the jelly rolls from Tuesday Morning a while back because I liked the dots~ I didn't realize there were so many repeats in each roll, so it was a little challenging not to get the same prints next to each other. I love how it turned out! It measures 88" x 88".

This little lap quilt is called Happy Halloweeny, or the fabric line is called that.

It is a free pattern on the Blend Fabrics website.

 

I purchased the kit for this one on my way to a retreat and decided to sew it up at retreat. Boy am I ever glad I did!  The quilt shop purposely shorted the fabric in it (they wanted me to cut the sashings WOF instead of length like the pattern called for BUT they did not put a note in the pattern to do that, nor did they mention they substituted fabrics!)  When I realized I was short, I went back to the shop since it was close by, the owner was less than happy to help me.  She told me she no longer had the fabric & offered to give me the yard from another kit (no, it would still have to be pieced), to substitute from her clearance section or solid fabrics (no), and surprise-surprise, her daughter came out about that time and said 'we have that fabric'. Then she only wanted to cut the 59 inches for the sashing length instead of the 2 yards the pattern called for! (no again!)  I walked out with my 2 yards but she didn't apologize for my inconvenience, thank me for bringing it to her attention or anything else. She lost 7 customers that day because the retreaters thought she behaved badly too, which she did!

 

I don't have the info for this quilt but if you are really interested I can find out. My friend put it together from a kit she had brought with her. 

 It is flannel and I think it may be from Henry Glass.

That is all for today!

I will be back with more pix soon!

Until next time~

Happy Quilting!

 

Sewing! Sewing! Sewing!

I know I promised quilts in progress, but the designer isn't quite ready for me to show it yet. ;-)

So instead I will show you a bag in progress~

This is Sweet Retreat's Little Sister Pattern. 

I need to sew the binding down, and then add a zipper to the top. :-)

Almost there!

I also made this little bag for my DGD~

Sorry, no pattern, I was just using scraps. :-)

I added a tissue holder~

And then decided she needed a little hand sanitizer holder too.

LOL

Sorry my pix are a little dark~ my fancy light burned out!

I will have to go shopping. :-(

Until next time~

Happy sewing!!!

What Happened to July??!!

Is your summer flying by as fast as mine?  It seems like it is just zooming here!

We just got back from a short trip to the Oregon coast. The weather was perfect, the whales came out in Depoe Bay and we had a lovely week of R&R. :-)

Sorry, no pix of the whales--I was too busy watching them! LOL

We also went to the Latimer Quilt & Textile Center in Tillamook and saw the most amazing quilts from the Civil War era.  I am telling you, if you ever get a chance to view the "Love Blooms"
        Quilts from the
        Volckening Collection

 GO! :-)

You won't be disappointed. The entire center was very informative and has a lot of smaller collections, plus they had weaving classes (with a room full of looms!)  

On the sewing front~

I did a pattern test for Kris at KM Designs by Krisy Kreations.

We made luggage tags and she allowed us to get creative with the tie on part. Hers had adorable half inch buckles, but since I didn't have those, I went with ribbon and hooks.

I made mine out of faux leather and sparkle vinyl. They will be for my sewing machine trolleys because at retreats, many of us have the same trolleys and I want to be able to easily spot mine in the mess. LOL 

I have done a couple other pattern tests, but too soon to show you yet. ;-)

I am also working on some sewing machine covers as gifts and got the machine embroidery finished this past weekend. I just love these zebras! The file was a free design a few years ago, I am not sure if it is still out there and I am sorry, but I have lost the designer info. If you know it, please let me know and I will add it. ;-) 

That's all I have to show for today, but I will be back soon with some quilts-in-progress pix.

Until then~

Happy stitchin'!!

Where to Start?

I have spent most of June visiting grandkiddoes and welcoming a new DGD... no sewing!

It was wonderful!!! :-)

 Older sister and brother were so much fun to be around. We made some great memories!

And the newest arrival was such a calm little cutie!

I loved the snuggles. <3 nbsp="" p="">

It is hard to get back to my regular scheduled projects after such a fun trip! LOL

More soon~

Yellowstone In Spring

One of my favorite places to go is Yellowstone national Park.

We had been in the fall twice, but never in the Spring.

It was wonderful!

We saw all the animals and babies...so cute!

I did not get a photo of a mama goat leading her baby along a sheer drop, but it is something I will never forget. They are so nimble!

We saw plenty of bison and babies cavorting, & elk but somehow I didn't take photos~ too busy watching them. ;-)

I loved watching the black bears and cubs too~

 

The water falls were all pretty awesome~ lots of water rushing!

Tower Falls

I didn't take a lot of pix, but I sure enjoyed our time there.

Until next time~

Happy summer!

A Simple Heart--tutorial

We have been hither & yon the past month camping (more about that in another post). 

Anyway, I needed to make a simple 12.5 inch unfinished heart block for a comfort quilt and didn't have any patterns with me. So I pulled out my paper & pencil and got to work.

I thought you might like to see how I made my block, and if the need ever arises, I hope you remember this tutorial and come back! ;-)

I used a red FQ and cut-

3- 3.5 inch x 6.5 inch rectangles

1- 6.5 inch x 12.5 inch rectangle

From a white on white print I cut-

10- 3.5 inch squares

Mark 8 of your squares with a diagonal line.

Then, sewing just to the outside of that line, sew two to two corners of the 6.5" x 12.5" rectangle.

With the remaining 6 we will make flying geese by sewing them to the 3.5" x 6.5" rectangles.~~

**When sewing the squares to the rectangles I find it very helpful to start in the center of the rectangle as opposed to the corner.  If your machine has a tendency to 'eat' corners (and you have put in a new needle), try this and see if it helps. Also hold onto your thread tails when starting. ;) 

Trim off the excess fabric leaving a quarter inch seam allowance. Then press the seam allowance on the large rectangle toward the rectangle. Press the seam allowance on the smaller rectangles away from the rectangle. 

Add the 3.5 inch squares to the other half of your flying geese rectangles. (2nd photo above)

I pressed the seams of the flying geese away from the red EXCEPT for one seam.. the one that will match in the center of the heart, needs to be pressed toward the red so the seams will lock together.

Sew those two flying geese together and press the seam open.

Use your remaining two 3.5 inch squares and sew them to either side of the remaining flying geese unit. Press toward the 3.5 inch squares.

Finally sew the three rows together. :-) And you have one 12.5 inch square heart block~

Easy peasy.  

Until next time~

Happy Sewing!