I'm So Excited!!

...and I just can't hide it!!

LOL are you singing that song now? 

I received the best mail!!

I am going to be the Henry Glass Challenger for September~

Whoohoo!!!

You can read about the Desire to Inspire Challenge on their blog.

I was sent a box of 'Irish Blessing' by Janet Rae Nesbitt of One Sister Designs.

Since I have some Irish in me, this was right up my alley!

 Sorry, I really should have pressed before pix, but I was just too excited!! LOL

Now what to make... :-)  I have a few ideas!

We will see how many I can finish. 

What is on your cutting table this week?

Until next time~

Happy stitchin'!!

A New Laptop Bag

I did this fun pattern test last week for Tori of Toriska patterns

The Mercury Messenger Bag comes in two sizes. The larger can hold my laptop and the smaller is more purse size.  I chose to do the larger because my laptop bag was showing its age. ;-)

Tori's patterns are very well thought out and illustrated. You have options for faux leather &/or cork.

I chose the red faux leather since I knew I was keeping this one. ;-)

My DD was visiting last weekend, took one look at it and said~ 'that would make a great Christmas present!' LOL ....I love it! :-)

The pattern is on sale for a limited time, so be sure to check it out with the above link if you are interested.

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!!

Not Found In Quilt Shops~

I have some less-than-traditional  items in my sewing supplies.

I am sure you do too!

Here are a few of my favorites~

A foam placemat from the Dollar Tree~ your sewing machine foot will not move on this, even on carpet!

A metal chopstick from the Asian Market~ great for turning things, poking out corners, etc.

 

A witches finger -LOL-  It is the best finger stiletto! You can find them in the pop-up Halloween shops. ;-)

 

A retractable back scratcher?  Oh yes! Not only for that itch you can't reach, but it has a magnet in the palm~ great for picking up dropped clips and pins, and it has a long reach in case that spool rolls under the table. ;-) From Harbor Freight.

 

And a trimmer- it is battery operated and is the best seam ripper!  Again, Dollar Tree. ;-) You need to supply your own battery. 

Now tell me, what less-than-traditional things are in your sewing box?

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!

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'!!