tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54672841074984146522024-03-13T00:41:14.512-07:00beadqueene's bits and baublesbeadqueenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14824787868826357899noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-29819821078347044122016-01-05T11:56:00.000-08:002016-01-05T13:00:49.400-08:00Out with the old...And in with the new.<br />
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2015 brought many life changes for me - some good, some bad - and had me re-evaluating the load I placed on myself with work, family, hobbies and other commitments. As much as I wanted sewing to be a priority because I enjoy it... over the summer I was so overwhelmed that sewing became an obligation and no longer very enjoyable. I dropped some sewing commitments that I enjoyed and wanted to be a part of, but just couldn't handle at the time and took a general hiatus from all things sewing related for about 6 months.<br />
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In the new year I'd like to keep up with the blog in order to keep track of my progress and not have to track down pictures of my makes, but I'm not sure if it will be realistic or not to make that resolution. Regardless I wanted to do a re-cap because even though I had a really turbulent year I still got a lot of sewing done.<br />
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I finished 1 baby quilt for a co-worker, and completed 3 tops from my long suffering WIP pile (not pictured are my first <a href="http://www.stitchedincolor.com/2012/07/tutorial-gemstone-blocks.html">gemstone quilt blocks</a> assembled into a baby quilt - I will use it to practice some FMQ).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMPGJNP5GB63Tjg-_WzDmZhqzOYK3g4zYLlmYdODrfif6IE5YXozeIkqC8NRaPisYw2NaycTQGnYKzs3h5YVnSPr-G-VbVgJGyOcYMUItv6lPKawtm3W007097_aPvGtbLNcswG88ZXrk/s1600/share_tempory+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMPGJNP5GB63Tjg-_WzDmZhqzOYK3g4zYLlmYdODrfif6IE5YXozeIkqC8NRaPisYw2NaycTQGnYKzs3h5YVnSPr-G-VbVgJGyOcYMUItv6lPKawtm3W007097_aPvGtbLNcswG88ZXrk/s640/share_tempory+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1. Baby Quilter's Mixology medallion (blogged <a href="http://beadqueene.blogspot.com/2015/01/medallion-baby-quilt.html">here</a>) 2. Heather Ross Saw Tooth Stars (twin size) 3. starting to quilt my massive queen sized X-Plus quilt at the Nov. DCMQG retreat</td></tr>
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I had the good fortune to attend 3 quilting retreats this year - <a href="http://beadqueene.blogspot.com/2015/05/sew-south-recap.html">Sew South</a>, Mid Atlantic Mod, and the <a href="http://dcmodernquiltguild.blogspot.com/2015/12/november-retreat-recap.html">November DCMQG retreat</a>. Sew South and Mod were back-to-back in April so I was a little burnt out sewing wise by MOD time but it was still a great couple of weeks. I participated in Secret Sister/Sewist at both retreats, and a private swap with my friend <a href="http://www.quiltyhabit.com/">Jess</a> at MOD.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUIPGyXi6Baba8L-HN4ck0lFH9UAPmijxBf1LvRzUQ6EiAvEDnEo5E3CFLg0eDllgrv_x8eTOgcIe17PYHVX74nbdG6H0CLmoULkalXc7SQSApvuduO_Y4xWyCpxjR01atYStnSxtgy2o/s1600/share_tempory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUIPGyXi6Baba8L-HN4ck0lFH9UAPmijxBf1LvRzUQ6EiAvEDnEo5E3CFLg0eDllgrv_x8eTOgcIe17PYHVX74nbdG6H0CLmoULkalXc7SQSApvuduO_Y4xWyCpxjR01atYStnSxtgy2o/s640/share_tempory.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1. Sew Together Bag made for Laurel, my Sew South secret sister (pic by @singallyouwant) 2. items made for my Mid Atlantic Mod Secret Sewist, Cathy from the Philly MQG (pic by Cathy) 3. Mug rug for Laurel (pic by @singallyouwant) 4. Jess with the Aeroplane Bag I made her, and me with my amazing mini she made me at Mid Atlantic Mod</td></tr>
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I also participated in 5 mini quilt swaps (4 hosted through Instagram and 1 at Mid Atlantic Mod), and a guild hoop art swap.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinlRzdbMp-ddu8U-Miyj8l296wp78YJGa26lUx8qA642T38Val7g45rVjexDK-hG-eAyq09UKzYV04jqSebZ4qEPlG0N50oYgTtFhxyRQI-FUU7r1rSbFXwy5JKwxp9deuu1xaz895n-Q/s1600/share_tempory+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinlRzdbMp-ddu8U-Miyj8l296wp78YJGa26lUx8qA642T38Val7g45rVjexDK-hG-eAyq09UKzYV04jqSebZ4qEPlG0N50oYgTtFhxyRQI-FUU7r1rSbFXwy5JKwxp9deuu1xaz895n-Q/s640/share_tempory+%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1. Schnitzel and Boo mini for @fernsfrocks 2. Rainbow mini for @blotchandthrum 3. Selvedge mini quilt for Mid Atlantic MOD 4. Cotton +Steel mini for @eloquentmime 5. Anna Maria Horner mini for @emileemason 6. Winter Solstace hoop art for @smartash (DCMQG swap)</td></tr>
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I also participated in my first craft show. I didn't sell much at the show, but I sold several items to co-workers who saw my pictures on Facebook. All-in-all it was a good experience and something that I hope to do again in 2016.<br />
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I wasn't going to set any year-long goals for myself but I did think of two that are pretty non-specific: 1. make things for me and my family/friends 2. use fabric in my stash! I did treat myself to a new sewing machine last month... so here's to getting stuff done in 2016!<br />
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Since I'm generally terrible at blogging, you can follow along on my <a href="https://www.instagram.com/beadqueene/">Instagram</a> where I'm much more active. Happy New Year :)Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-14946892350969071822015-05-13T18:46:00.001-07:002015-05-13T18:47:39.789-07:00Sew South RecapHoly cow, it's been almost a whole month since I went to <a href="http://www.sewsouthretreat.com/">Sew South</a>! I quit my job on April 10, went to Sew South April 16-19, Mid Atlantic Mod the weekend after, and then started my new job April 27... so, needless to say, things have been in flux around here lately.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was a rainy 6.5 hour drive from MD to NC!</td></tr>
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Sew South is a quilting retreat hosted by Jennifer of <a href="http://ellisonlane.com/">Ellison Lane</a>, held in Charlotte, NC. I was lucky enough to get a ticket this year, and I'm so glad I did!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I actually managed to pack a reasonable amount of projects. <a href="http://dcmodernquiltguild.blogspot.com/">DCMQG</a> represent! :)</td></tr>
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The structure of Sew South is a little bit different than Mid-Atlantic Mod (<a href="http://beadqueene.blogspot.com/2014/04/mid-atlantic-mod.html">2014 recap</a>, 2015 recap coming soon!) After a longer-than-expected drive, I arrived right in time for the welcome reception. I had time to settle in between the reception and the opening of the sewing room at 8 pm, and boy did I need the down-time to get my stuff organized and to relax after the long drive.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">The ballroom!</td></tr>
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On Friday and Saturday mornings the sewing room opened at 8am, and there was a group workshop each day. In the afternoons and evenings there was free sewing time with various activities sprinkled in.<br />
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On Friday, the ladies from Sew South Sponsor, <a href="http://www.dritz.com/#sthash.QDM4Xjqt.dpbs">Dritz</a> taught us how to make fabric covered rope bracelets. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My finished wallet that I use every day.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuOx5dljcBCBfmK_yWHZyXSlQ_5ecttvD1bW4lBeEm19XqasX2RMxl18whTPk9CaSkJMfoe_CKt5OxUkfLK5KNU-OrxA1fbjbFXxzZVuQPYseqmade-42taa7guKwXMGJbckhcazZVE-g/s1600/IMG_20150419_091702.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuOx5dljcBCBfmK_yWHZyXSlQ_5ecttvD1bW4lBeEm19XqasX2RMxl18whTPk9CaSkJMfoe_CKt5OxUkfLK5KNU-OrxA1fbjbFXxzZVuQPYseqmade-42taa7guKwXMGJbckhcazZVE-g/s640/IMG_20150419_091702.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All the pretty wallets!</td></tr>
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After the Dritz workshop, Jennifer walked us through constructing awesome wallets (yet-to-be-released pattern by <a href="http://lrstitched.com/">Lindsey Rhodes</a>).</div>
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On Saturday, Amy Gibson (from <a href="http://www.stitcherydickorydock.com/">Stitchery Dickory Dock</a> and the Craftsy BOM) came all the way from Colorado to talk to us about her new book, and teach us a nifty applique Drunkard's Path technique. I chose not to participate in the mini-quilt project, but it was so much fun to hear Amy speak, and to meet her in person, she's adorable!</div>
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My biggest achievement of the weekend was piecing the x-plus quilt top that I have been working on for years! All the ladies were so encouraging and the round of applause after the last seam was sewn was a reward in itself.<br />
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Jennifer had lots of other activities including Secret Sister (more later), a Fabric Basket swap, the Fat Quarter Game (based on LRC rules), get-to-know-you games, charity sewing for and door prizes of course. I had so much fun I barely took any pictures, but you can see them all in the <a href="http://www.sewsouthretreat.com/2015/05/sew-south-spring-2015-recap.html">full recap</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my table-mates: Heather, Lori, Jonan, and me!</td></tr>
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It was so amazing meeting old (internet) friends, and new. I was lucky enough to be at a table with <a href="http://www.lorihartmandesigns.com/">Lori Hartman</a>, Heather of <a href="http://thesewingloftblog.com/">The Sewing Loft</a>, and Heather's mom, Jonan who was a riot!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My awesome Roomie and bee-mate, Laurel!</td></tr>
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I roomed with my long-time #GraceCircle bee-mate Laurel (who was also my Secret Sister). I can't wait to go to Sew South again in the future. :)<br />
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Oh, and while I was in NC, I couldn't resist going out to the local BBQ joint, R&R Bar-B-Que... it was amazing!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">best Hush Puppies I've ever had.</td></tr>
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Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-6140423647126271072015-03-03T07:24:00.001-08:002015-03-03T08:48:50.342-08:00Sisterhood of the Traveling Quilts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi08KVLxjpQZ5v5_z9hJrTgVtf0xlsOYZZAAvYtLaTjxJ4399uQ4Ac-8jBAFYYhRlZNE-yV5msOmhzUIGvS60WfHh6f_Xla5Ww1sxkATD-za5YiISC5rdPE-xy4fw6cDHDgKo8mFrgjXHs/s1600/TSofTQ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi08KVLxjpQZ5v5_z9hJrTgVtf0xlsOYZZAAvYtLaTjxJ4399uQ4Ac-8jBAFYYhRlZNE-yV5msOmhzUIGvS60WfHh6f_Xla5Ww1sxkATD-za5YiISC5rdPE-xy4fw6cDHDgKo8mFrgjXHs/s1600/TSofTQ.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
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I was so, so excited to receive an email from Renee inviting me to join the second round of the Sisterhood of the Traveling quilts! <a href="http://factotum-of-arts.com/">Michelle</a> and I are the newbies this year and I couldn't be more excited to join in the fun. Last year, <a href="http://www.quiltsofafeather.com/">Renee</a>, <a href="http://quiltyhabit.blogspot.com/">Jess</a>, <a href="https://wasntquiltinaday.wordpress.com/">Ashley</a> and <a href="https://littleandlots.wordpress.com/">Laura</a> created some stunning quilts. You can see all the progress and finishes on the #sisterhoodofthetravelingquilts IG hastag: go... take a look... right now!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheYkwDCPN9QTOpQu4cTjFmnfAHQ_z9cTwNvqA15_tteVKBfTiKSlHf2_I-sLby5dTLYvfp4qaJzu0doWLELs2koc0hPezxaY7RKJBOtNexCUqtb7-izV1xuAp3PyyhFYslz-J7CGTfsj8/s1600/Sunday+Stash+%23179+-+Low+Volume+Fabrics.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheYkwDCPN9QTOpQu4cTjFmnfAHQ_z9cTwNvqA15_tteVKBfTiKSlHf2_I-sLby5dTLYvfp4qaJzu0doWLELs2koc0hPezxaY7RKJBOtNexCUqtb7-izV1xuAp3PyyhFYslz-J7CGTfsj8/s1600/Sunday+Stash+%23179+-+Low+Volume+Fabrics.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">image from <a href="http://www.redpepperquilts.com/2013/03/Inside-Voices-Fat-Quarter-Bundle.html">Red Pepper Quilts</a></td></tr>
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As soon as I received the email I knew exactly what I wanted to do for my starter. I've been pretty obsessed with low volume fabrics for the better part of a year. It's amazing how my tastes have changed since I started sewing because I used to not "get" the LV hype (I blame <a href="http://woodenspoonquilts.blogspot.com/">Rachel</a> for converting me!)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbhprblNpM5us39_CBW8u4M8A2YDeJEvoyg0CKbc1RbHdtFlWPePKyGFBoRYTK88GeSmPVodYZ0WgMB7pguLG7VQlh5XbWBG0M4c-6zaxgM04LtJB6jKeT8JeNUjfMmyXbRsnmQGpsvY/s1600/sisterhood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbhprblNpM5us39_CBW8u4M8A2YDeJEvoyg0CKbc1RbHdtFlWPePKyGFBoRYTK88GeSmPVodYZ0WgMB7pguLG7VQlh5XbWBG0M4c-6zaxgM04LtJB6jKeT8JeNUjfMmyXbRsnmQGpsvY/s1600/sisterhood.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(clockwise from top left) <a href="http://mleknits.blogspot.com/2013/03/native-quilt.html">Native Quilt</a>, <a href="http://www.lorihartmandesigns.com/2014_12_01_archive.html">IG Mini Swap for @j_q_adams made by @lorihartmandesigns</a>, <a href="https://instagram.com/goldwillow/">#SSRoundRobin pic by @goldwillow</a>, <a href="http://store.annamariahorner.com/sketchbookbty.html">Anna Maria Horner Hand Drawn Garden: Sketchbook</a> </td></tr>
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Here is the inspiration mosaic I posted on Instagram after accepting my invitation. I think it's pretty obvious what I'm going for :) I'm not a huge paper-piecer, so I didn't bother doing any feathers, but I wouldn't be opposed to having them either! I plan to back the quilt with the AMH print, I bought 3 yards a while ago and have been saving it for the perfect quilt.<br />
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And here's my starter! There are 3 <a href="http://www.cluckclucksew.com/2012/04/pow-wow.html">Pow-Wow</a> blocks from Cluck Cluck Sew, 3 diamonds from Elizabeth Hartman's <a href="http://www.ctpub.com/patchwork-city/">Patchwork City</a> (which I did end up paper-piecing because I hate templates even more), and a couple 16-patch blocks with half-square triangles thrown in. Like the inspiration quilts, I want pops of bold, saturated color floating on a low volume background. I'd prefer low volume fabrics that have a white/cream/beige/gray background as opposed to pastels. The motifs will be anything with points (triangles, diamonds, stars, arrows, etc.). I can't wait to see what this group of super talented ladies do!<br />
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The rest of the group exchanged at QuiltCon, so my starter is off to Ashley first, and I'm waiting with baited breath for Michelle's to arrive. Our next swap will take place at the end of April where Ashley, Jess and I will be attending Mid Atlantic Mod :)<br />
Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-88064371788590091012015-02-06T11:48:00.003-08:002015-02-06T11:48:50.464-08:00Gift SewingI've been sewing a lot (but blogging little) lately. I didn't make a lot of Christmas Gifts this year, but I have resolved to make special birthday presents for friends and relatives in the coming year.<br />
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The two pieces I did end up sewing for Christmas were for my mom and Nana. <a href="http://aylin-nilya.blogspot.com/">Aylin</a> posted some gorgeous Christmas paper-pieced projects over on her blog. The patterns are free from Sewing Under the Rainbow's <a href="http://jednoiglec.blogspot.com/2014/11/last-minute-christmas-sampler-qal.html">Last Minute Christmas Sampler</a>. I'm really not a fan of the process of paper-piecing, but man I love the results!<br />
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So the Saturday before Christmas, I decided it would be a good idea to <i>start</i> making some trivets for presents... famous last words right!? Good thing I had eggnog <strike>and brandy and rum to keep me company</strike>!<br />
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I estimated each segment took an average of 10 minutes to piece, trim and press. Each snowflake has 16 sections x 2 trivets... I was literally sewing right up to the moment we had to leave to go to my Mom's on Christmas morning.<br />
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Both trivets are 12" square, and are made with <a href="http://www.joann.com/insul-bright/7145857.html">Insul-Bright batting</a> so they can be used as big pot holders.<br />
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My favorite part of my mom's trivet is the Cotton and Steel metallic netorious binding :) I just want yards and yards of this stuff in all the colors!<br />
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Last year I made little <a href="http://ayumills.blogspot.com/2008/05/tutorial-fabric-basket.html">fabric baskets</a> for the my fellow full-time librarian ladies in the reference department. Since then we have hired another full time staff member, so I asked her what she wanted handmade for her desk, and she asked for a "thingy to put her mug on."<br />
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Jodi, my co-worker, has her bulletin board upholstered with a lime green canvas, so her criteria had to be that it went with the lime green. The stack of 1.5"x3.5" AMH scraps I had laying on my cutting table definitely fit the bill :)<br />
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This was a super easy and quick gift to stitch up. it's just 3" rail fence blocks made completely out of scraps. The back is the AMH Postage Due print I used for my <a href="http://beadqueene.blogspot.com/2014/04/a-lovely-year-of-finishes-aeroplane-bag.html">Aeroplane bag</a> that I wanted to use up because I am so sick of having that fabric around, lol. And I used the leftover binding from the <a href="http://beadqueene.blogspot.com/2015/01/medallion-baby-quilt.html">Medallion baby quilt</a> I made last month.<br />
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Lastly on my gift sewing marathon, I promised my sister a double zip pouch ages ago. She was visiting over the summer when my first order of Cotton and Steel and she fell in love with Rashida's <a href="http://www.hawthornethreads.com/fabric/designer/rashida_coleman_hale/moonlit/tangrams_in_eggshell">Tangram print</a> and asked me to use it for her pouch.<br />
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I couldn't resist the Neon yellow zippers that match the yellow in the print. I used <a href="http://www.japanesesewingbooks.com/2013/05/27/free-sewing-pattern-and-tutorial-double-zip-pouch/">this tutorial</a> and the pouch came together really quickly. It's a super cute and useful pouch and I can definitely see myself making a lot more in the future! <br />
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(sorry night-time photo!)<br />
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Right after I finished this pouch, I decided I wanted to make a few more. <br />
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The top Vintage Happy pouch went to my other work friend, Abigail, for her birthday; I sent the middle C+S pouch to my Schnitzel and Boo mini quilt swap partner; and the bottom pouch is still sitting in my sewing room waiting for a good recipient. It might turn out that it turns into Craft Show inventory if that goal becomes a reality!<br />
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Next up on the gift agenda is a <a href="http://www.noodle-head.com/2013/05/super-tote-pattern.html">Noodlehead Supertote</a> for my friend and co-worker, Christine's birthday. I ordered <a href="http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/3475178">this fabric</a> from Spoonflower which will hopefully arrive in the next few days :)Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-58503499518141545662015-01-08T13:33:00.000-08:002015-01-08T13:33:28.768-08:00Medallion Baby Quilt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So far, 2015 is off to a great start for me in my quilting pursuits. True to form, I work better under a deadline and managed my first finish of the year in a mere 3 days :)</div>
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I found out several months ago that a good friend and co-worker's wife was pregnant with their first baby and had been planning to make them a quilt since they made the announcement Of course with me <strike>binge watching Gilmore Girls and Orange is the New Black</strike> slacking off, and with Holiday crazy-ness, I didn't get a start until after Christmas even though I knew the baby shower was quickly approaching.<br />
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I got a copy of of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1620331225/?tag=mh0b-20&hvadid=4963738593&ref=pd_sl_9rbnfq1200_e">Angela Pingel's <i>A Quilter's Mixology</i></a> and from the moment I picked it up, I wanted to make every single quilt in it. I thought the Medallion Baby Quilt would be a good start and perfect for a gift for the expecting couple. Angela's instructions for how to sew the curves and the patterns are fabulous. I will definitely be making more quilts from this book :)<br />
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Keeping #SewMyStash2015 in mind, I took stock of my fabric stash and did an initial sketch and pull.<br />
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The hardest part for me was cutting the templates accurately with the curves. I purchased "heavy weight" template plastic from Joann's several months ago, but it was total junk and my rotary cutter sliced right through it and my pieces weren't accurate at all. Frustrated, I broke down and bought <a href="http://www.frommarti.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=FMM&Category_Code=PPT-DPATH">Marti Mitchell's Drunkard's Path templates</a> which made the job so much easier! I ended up getting all the sizes available so I can make other quilts in the book more easily :) The proportions aren't exactly the same as the templates Angela has in the book, but I think it still looks great.<br />
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Other than the difficulty cutting, the quilt came together so quickly. Ryan actually made a comment that if I could finish this in 3 days, why had I been working on our bed quilt for a year and a half (because this quilt only has 72 pieces and is baby sized!) The top is made of a variety of prints, entirely from my stash. Each block finishes at 7" square.<br />
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For the quilting, I decided to go simple and just concentric circles using my walking foot. The circles are randomly spaced over the quilt at 1/2" or 1 1/2" increments. I used a lovely blue, white and pink variegated Aurifil from the <a href="http://tulapink.com/2013/02/18/tula-pink-x-aurifil-threads/">Tula Pink collection</a>.<br />
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After a quick poll of my Instagram friends, I chose a print from Anna Maria Horner's Field Study for the binding. It's completely by chance that the print contained all the colors that I used in the quilt. I had just enough to finish off the binding (another 1/2 yard used from the stash!) I machine stitched the binding down since I was on a deadline and for durability. I found a dark purple Gutterman I had in my thread stash that blended really well.<br />
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The backing is the only fabric I purchased for the quilt. I knew the baby's room was a minty green, so I thought this large scale Heather Bailey Up Parasol print would be perfect. The pattern calls for 2 1/2 yards for the backing, but I only ended up using a yard and a half since the quilt finished at 42"x42".<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5467284107498414652" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5467284107498414652" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5467284107498414652" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7498/16215581575_35ff555180_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7498/16215581575_35ff555180_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I gifted the quilt at the baby shower and soon-to-be mommy and daddy both loved it. I hope the baby will love and use it for a long time :)<br />
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<u>Specs at a Glance</u>:<br />
Top: 7 inch Drunkard's Path blocks in various cotton prints<br />
Finished size: 42" square<br />
Pieced and Quiltied with Auriful 50 thread<br />
Batting: Quilter's Dream 100% Cotton Batting <br />
Pattern from <i>A Quilter's Mixology</i><br />
Finished: January 3, 2014<br />
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<a href="http://www.projectleasa.com/?s=SewMyStash2015" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://tgiffriday.blogspot.com/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="TGIFF"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Fwi93lGrqBxKIBGKPbR67tCQmVBHSKau1bOjT_3bY9COJWTw3x5-4BDw6YVkB7vg3izMW4TtxtxMfVILhJ0eU6y1lplJUPInvCSmS2B30fWHTh3sHQ4mMCc7XQ6lRnnz3sXaabRWB7pw/s800/tgiff-button-blog.jpg" /></a> <br />
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<a href="http://www.projectleasa.com/?s=SewMyStash2015" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYgNkO6sJYMCDb2tE6NjJk5qj2kKXds33zhaYu0Ct0x2AG_yDgcu9TdiZ-QKSYhAUcVED-4IWQKXYj7nS93Q0n68oZEWLNdwkGh3GjOXzVtMr6KgNNE3H2dQIlmXsdxCF6Kv3wqwgkNZs/s1600/sms15.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a><br />
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Linking up with TGIFF and #sewmystash2015on InstagramLizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-35999229233045209512015-01-06T10:09:00.002-08:002015-01-06T10:13:14.275-08:00A Lovely Year of Finishes -- January 2015 goalI tried this last year, but then life derailed my big sewing plans. Hopefully this year will be the big year of finishes for me. I already posted my yearly <a href="http://beadqueene.blogspot.com/2015/01/2015-sewing-goals-and-to-do.html">2015 WIPs and goals</a>, ALYoF will help me me on track on a monthly basis.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0yZLI3t-jg_Z7XQMIjKzLeZGiIAydtjZhpMEWM5JgMcgEJsYmFEe5EBBcN25XSadY35jDFBU-QIV4r7wK8QGS9qP_FlrmJJ7LQ_qBk4go0MKGwzgzY6C6XN3KelqwkIECzBfWrpXzzY/s1600/xplus.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0yZLI3t-jg_Z7XQMIjKzLeZGiIAydtjZhpMEWM5JgMcgEJsYmFEe5EBBcN25XSadY35jDFBU-QIV4r7wK8QGS9qP_FlrmJJ7LQ_qBk4go0MKGwzgzY6C6XN3KelqwkIECzBfWrpXzzY/s1600/xplus.jpg" height="398" width="400" /></a></div>
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The first blog post I have of my x-plus quilt is June of 2013 (too long!), so my January 2015 goal is at finish at least the top, and move on to the quilting phase :)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0yZLI3t-jg_Z7XQMIjKzLeZGiIAydtjZhpMEWM5JgMcgEJsYmFEe5EBBcN25XSadY35jDFBU-QIV4r7wK8QGS9qP_FlrmJJ7LQ_qBk4go0MKGwzgzY6C6XN3KelqwkIECzBfWrpXzzY/s1600/xplus.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a><br />
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<a href="http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com/?page_id=5263" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="A Lovely Year of Finishes"> <img alt="My Button" src="http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/image007.jpg" height="128" style="border: medium none;" width="128" /></a><br />
linking up with A Lovely Year of Finishes 2015</div>
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Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-41007694896726247802015-01-04T11:34:00.003-08:002015-02-16T19:20:25.318-08:002015 Sewing Goals and To-doI'm putting this in writing so I hold myself accountable, and it will be nice to cross things off the list! I'm sure this list will grow and change as the year progresses :)<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4C5HxPRU_OkDNsdCB5SBwP5vj6wTH0mcyyrUw0aYDIqN4jqPaEDjqduACK7MKlmmxn3wpFDbDN6qsGEE-y2Zca_ome4I3CicTO6kv1I63OlZG45vqP1tf3Ly_sAI9wa-rjS8NqwEcXkI/s1600/wipbox2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4C5HxPRU_OkDNsdCB5SBwP5vj6wTH0mcyyrUw0aYDIqN4jqPaEDjqduACK7MKlmmxn3wpFDbDN6qsGEE-y2Zca_ome4I3CicTO6kv1I63OlZG45vqP1tf3Ly_sAI9wa-rjS8NqwEcXkI/s1600/wipbox2015.jpg" height="285" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">my WIP box</td></tr>
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<u>Gifts + Swaps</u><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTEwRtOE-XXs7gb3OCThfeIZCC0uV37wk1aPCwXi-FK8ZAgMHiZnZFdKq2TVCr-bOL2t_vl0FQBZj1G5KbR343uBkjh1v_yt3gmjQKpMuk759o7EclopNizhRRbHvgurhV3nDW8GhAWI0/s1600/MJB+basting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTEwRtOE-XXs7gb3OCThfeIZCC0uV37wk1aPCwXi-FK8ZAgMHiZnZFdKq2TVCr-bOL2t_vl0FQBZj1G5KbR343uBkjh1v_yt3gmjQKpMuk759o7EclopNizhRRbHvgurhV3nDW8GhAWI0/s1600/MJB+basting.jpg" height="285" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">basting my first quilt of 2015!</td></tr>
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<ul>
<li><strike>Baby quilt for Tobin and Amy (Due Jan. 5) --</strike> currently: Finished!</li>
<li><strike>Schnitzel & Boo mini swap (Due Jan. 23) --</strike> currently: Finished</li>
<li>Birthday present for Christine (Due Feb. 10) -- currently: cutting/piecing</li>
<li>Birthday present for Shannon (Due March 14) -- currently: piecing</li>
<li>Rainbow mini swap (Due Apr. 6) -- currently: quilting</li>
<li>Sew South secret sister (Due Apr. 16) -- currently: planning</li>
<li>Sew South fabric basket swap (Due Apr. 16) -- currently: planning</li>
<li>Swap with Jess (Due Apr. 23) -- currently: planning and cutting</li>
<li>Mid Atlantic Mod Secret Sewist (Due Apr. 23) -- currently: awaiting assignment </li>
<li>Mid Atlantic Mod Mini Quilt swap (Due Apr. 23) -- currently: planning</li>
<li>Briar Rose Quilt for Autumn (Due July) -- currently piecing</li>
</ul>
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<u>Monthly and yet to be assignment commitments</u><br />
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<ul>
<li>Grace Circle blocks (monthly)</li>
<li>Sisterhood of the Traveling (bi-monthly)</li>
</ul>
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<u>Quilt WIPs</u><br />
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<li>x-plus quilt (<a href="http://beadqueene.blogspot.com/2015/01/a-lovely-year-of-finishes-january-2015.html">ALYOF January 2015 goal</a>) -- currently: piecing</li>
</ul>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkiPURnkLUW6FyT9ivOXb_dps3ag5lNX4F0HqHqLaVbmCqepKAP4CkVPAk96xsCuZEtOvzx6dyXVu15fskLpiSzmAV6RdcgoI0F1Czp5CkF_tk7vwYlwXtrAY4-zsHPmzUuX81eZ_y7GM/s1600/IMG_20141210_085303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkiPURnkLUW6FyT9ivOXb_dps3ag5lNX4F0HqHqLaVbmCqepKAP4CkVPAk96xsCuZEtOvzx6dyXVu15fskLpiSzmAV6RdcgoI0F1Czp5CkF_tk7vwYlwXtrAY4-zsHPmzUuX81eZ_y7GM/s1600/IMG_20141210_085303.jpg" height="285" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pile of x-plus blocks</td></tr>
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<li>DS disappearing 9 patch (Due June 7 so I can <a href="http://dcmodernquiltguild.blogspot.com/2014/12/denyse-schmidt.html">have it signed</a>!) -- currently: piecing </li>
<li>Starbright Quilt -- currently: piecing</li>
</ul>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM8q7DglxSmPhZjHNAL990SBK1YnRHFmiqxWffbTry8z_u59WPwoJgkVKeg_xb9rlhjGFeaCmmP-f2UsK1bvyBsqDCey7oZj5RFPvPvJ4Dw92TxJ7bR4FRKu66_3pPoRRoWkMrMYDiwpY/s1600/starbright+mockup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM8q7DglxSmPhZjHNAL990SBK1YnRHFmiqxWffbTry8z_u59WPwoJgkVKeg_xb9rlhjGFeaCmmP-f2UsK1bvyBsqDCey7oZj5RFPvPvJ4Dw92TxJ7bR4FRKu66_3pPoRRoWkMrMYDiwpY/s1600/starbright+mockup.jpg" height="285" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starbright Quilt mock-up</td></tr>
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<ul>
<li>Penny Sampler (in time-out) -- currently: piecing </li>
</ul>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIiu7lL7MmZW0IxVn3j-5jYQG5VgKdBOZZbNqLCjHhLZn2FiZ1kfiMA394UStvwAiN8VKYZFHtiD3cIJDZiYOSExAOdH8JFuKgN-sxNcoyGcwv8MRAH7UO_iSChcgq42zZ4RZyoWmrZ5E/s1600/penny+sampler+blocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIiu7lL7MmZW0IxVn3j-5jYQG5VgKdBOZZbNqLCjHhLZn2FiZ1kfiMA394UStvwAiN8VKYZFHtiD3cIJDZiYOSExAOdH8JFuKgN-sxNcoyGcwv8MRAH7UO_iSChcgq42zZ4RZyoWmrZ5E/s1600/penny+sampler+blocks.jpg" height="400" width="285" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Penny Sampler Blocks so far</td></tr>
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<u>New Projects</u><br />
<ul>
<li>Quilts for nephews (5) and nieces (1)</li>
<li>C+S Single Girl quilt</li>
<li>Stitched-in-Color "handstitched" class</li>
</ul>
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<u>Goals</u><br />
<ul>
<li>Sew 15 minutes every day</li>
<li>#SewMyStash2015</li>
<li>Blog at least bi-weekly</li>
<li>Learn garment sewing</li>
<li>FMQ!</li>
<li>Try selling at a craft show</li>
</ul>
Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-9392960748332177302014-12-10T09:02:00.000-08:002014-12-10T09:06:17.574-08:00WIP Wednesday: xplus quilt progressSince it takes 30 days to form a new habit, I started my New Year's Resolutions now so that they are already ingrained by Jan 1. Two of those resolutions are going to be be: spend at least 30 minutes every day sewing <i>something</i>, and start taking blog pictures on the weekends when I actually have sunlight (haha!). My biggest obstacle to blogging lately has been lack of time, space and light to take quality pictures. I would really like to start blogging more regularly :) <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's me, sewing at work!</td></tr>
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Despite my absence from blogging, I have been sewing quite a bit. In November, my department at the library started a program called "<a href="http://www.washcolibrary.org/slidenews.asp?action=slide&articleID=192">Hand Maker-space</a>" where all crafters are welcome to join us every-other Friday for snacks, fellowship, and of course, crafting time! It's been great to have an excuse to make during work hours, since I help facilitate the program, I can bring my sewing and play along.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The nice thing about my slow speed of quilting is that I can use new lines when they are released!</td></tr>
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The majority of my sewing room is still packed in boxes (this will be changing soon!), so I've had limited access to WIP's. I <i>could </i>dig them out, if I really wanted to, but I'd rather just work on things that are handy at the moment. Since we moved back in August, I've been working on my Japanese X and Plus quilt. <br />
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This project has been languishing for a while because the blocks are pretty time consuming (since I sew one block at a time), but it's one project that has been easy to get to, and bonus: the majority of the pieces were already cut which allows me to just sit down and sew a few pieces together here and there.<br />
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I've been plugging away at sewing these blocks together, I have 33 sewn so far, and need 56 for a queen-sized quilt. Ryan says he wants the quilt finished for Christmas... Will I finish it? Probably not. But I'm going to try :)<br />
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Linking up at <a href="http://www.freshlypieced.com/search/label/Work-In-Progress%20Wednesday">WIP Wednesday @ Freshly Pieced</a>! Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-55551540853097149672014-10-01T15:15:00.000-07:002014-10-01T15:19:53.032-07:00100 quilts for Kids finish!I finished attaching the binding to my Sock Monkey Jigsaw Puzzle quilt for 100 quilts for kids on Monday night after work. Unfortunately I missed the link-up because I couldn't get any good pictures yesterday due to heavy storms last night, oh well.<br />
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I think this quilt turned out so cute! The novelty prints really aren't my taste at all, but I think it will make a child really happy :)<br />
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I wanted something quick and easy for quilting so I chose to do organic wavy likes long-ways over the entire quilt. I started quilting over the seam lines (every 3 inches) then went back and added a wave in between each. In hindsight, I wish I would have used yellow thread (like I used to attach the binding) instead of white to make the quilting stand out a little bit more<br />
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I really need to seriously look into getting a heavier machine for quilting because even wrangling this small lap sized quilt through my little brother moved it all over the table (even though I have sticky shelf liner under it!)... Christmas is coming up ::wink::<br />
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The backing is the blue dots from DS Quilts at Joann's, it was on clearance for $7 a yard, so I finished off the bolt even though I only used about 2 yards on this quilt.<br />
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I had a little less than a half yard of the white banana print so I added a strip of that to the backing just for a little variety :)<br />
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The binding is a combination of Riley Blake and Robert Kaufman yellow dots that just happened to be the same shade as the solid yellow in the quilt! I had a very serendipitous romp through my scrap bin and managed to find two different but very similar fabrics... You can't even tell they're different in the grand scheme of things.<br />
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I machine attached the binding using the tutorial at Cluck Cluck Sew. I must be getting better at binding because I only had to go back and hand stitch over the section where the binding ends meet. I ended up with a measly 15 inches of binding scrap, so it really worked out perfectly.<br />
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I'll be turning this over the <a href="http://www.quiltsinthequeue.com/">Heather</a> at our DCMQG on Saturday where our batch of quilts will be donated to <a href="http://www.carpentersshelter.org/">Carpenter's Shelter</a> in Alexandria, VA. I hope the bright colors and happy monkeys can help bring joy to a child in need :) <br />
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<u>Details</u>:<br />
Finished Size: 54"x45"<br />
Fabrics: various scraps including Erin McMorris Funky Monkeys for Moda and Robert Kaufman Kona Solids; backed with DS Quilts for Joann's<br />
Quilted with Gutterman<br />
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Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-61980547712229384442014-09-17T14:45:00.003-07:002014-10-01T15:18:46.803-07:00WIP Wednesday: 100 Quilts for Kids Edition<div align="center">
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Happy hump day friends! Welcome to my stop on the DC Modern Quilt Guild 100 Quilts for Kids blog hop. Last Saturday member from the DCMQG met in Alexandria, VA to sew up some quilts that will be donated to a shelter in the Alexandria area. 100 Quilts for Kids was started several years ago by <a href="http://swimbikequilt.com/">Katie Blakesley</a>, the 2014 drive runs through September 30, so you still have time to donate a quilt! If you're interested, you can find details on <a href="http://www.quiltsinthequeue.com/p/100-quilts-for-kids.html">Heather's blog</a>. I would also encourage you to check out the other stops on the blog hop:<br />
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<a href="http://tinkingalong.wordpress.com/2014/08/05/100-quilts-for-kids/">Lynne @ Tinkingalong</a></div>
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<a href="http://munchkinquilts.blogspot.com/2014/08/100-quilts-4-kids-bloghop.html">Meli @ Munchkin Quilts</a></div>
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<a href="http://hastyquilter.net/2014/08/20/100-quilts-for-kids/">Alyson @ The Hasty Quilter</a></div>
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<a href="http://modernbias.com/2014/08/26/100-quilts-4-kids-2014/#sthash.ZvEdF6Lu.dpbs">Carla @ Modernbias</a></div>
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<a href="http://fullerbydesign.com/dc-modern-quilt-guild-100-quilts-for-kids-blog-hop/">Susan @ Fuller by Design</a></div>
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<a href="http://swimbikequilt.com/2014/09/finished-quilt-100-quilts-for-kids.html">Katie @ SwimBikeQuilt</a></div>
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About a year ago, I received a giveaway prize from Erica at <a href="http://www.kitchentablequilting.com/">Kitchen Table Quilting</a>. The medium flat rate box was generously stuffed with tons of fabric, including several large scrap cuts of Erin Michael's 5 Funky Monkeys for Moda.<br />
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Not being a novelty print kind of girl, I wasn't really sure what to do with these cute little monkeys, but when I received the email about the 100 Quilts for Kids drive these seemed like the perfect fabrics to use. For those who are regular readers of my blog, you all know I quilt at a glacial pace, so I wanted something quick and easy but not just basic patchwork. So I did a couple Google searches and came up with this adorable<a href="http://quilting.about.com/od/quiltpatternsprojects/ss/jigsaw-puzzle-quilt-pattern.htm"> jigsaw puzzle block pattern</a>.</div>
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Here's the layout as of the Sewing Day last Saturday, I forgot some fabric so I had to fill up the blank spaces when I got home. I certainly got a lot more accomplished than I would have at home though, and managed to complete more than half of the quilt top at the sewing day!</div>
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Since the complete stash is still not unpacked, I had to resort to chopping up the scraps of sock monkeys along with other scraps to have enough for the entire quilt. I threw in some red, lime, and yellow solids and was able to come up with enough for a lap sized quilt. I decided to go with the 9" block so I had less sewing to do :)</div>
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As is my normal fashion, I finished the quilt top last night. Despite the fabrics not being my taste, I am really pleased with how it turned out. I just noticed taking the pictures that I sewed one of the strips on upside down (can you spot it?) so I'll have to fix that! I have a larger cut of the white banana fabric to use for backing, and I was thinking of picking up a few yards of a <a href="http://dsquilts.com/fabric_and_patterns.asp?PageID=263&ImageID=801">DS Quilts Fancy Free plaid</a> to complete the back (its on clearance for $7/yard!). Hopefully I can get it quilted and bound in the next week or so! I really need to start quilting on a deadline more often ::wink::</div>
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I also participated in making a few blocks for the group quilt. DS Quilts donated a bunch of fabric for the Charity Drive. Heather had us turn the fabrics into hourglass blocks. </div>
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They turned out so cute, don't you think! Keep and eye on the DC Modern <a href="https://www.flickr.com/groups/dcmodern/">Flickr Pool</a>, and <a href="http://dcmodernquiltguild.blogspot.com/">blog</a> to see our finished quilts!</div>
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<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-sAd-6swdgNU%2FU8XUjhPoxNI%2FAAAAAAAAAlg%2Fdnm9rG_q4xQ%2Fs1600%2F100%2BQuilts%2Bfor%2BKids%2BButton.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=" with "https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sAd-6swdgNU/U8XUjhPoxNI/AAAAAAAAAlg/dnm9rG_q4xQ/s1600/100+Quilts+for+Kids+Button.jpg" -->Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-73031746617703980002014-09-03T09:50:00.000-07:002014-09-03T09:50:39.997-07:0010 Quilty Little Secrets<a href="http://www.13spools.com/2014/08/10-quilty-little-secrets.html" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="13 Spools"><img alt="13 Spools" height="200" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3898/14755494527_9cc843b09d_c.jpg" style="border: medium none;" width="133" /></a>Well Hello! It's been quite a while since I've blogged. We (finally) bought a house back at the end of April, closed on it at the end of May and have been moving and getting organized ever since. Work has also been absolutely <i>insane</i> since May... I won't bore you with the gory details, but blogging has been pretty much last on my list. Now that we're somewhat settled in, I'm starting to get back into a routine.<br />
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I thought I'd ease back into blogging by joining up on the 10 Quilty Little Secrets linky party that Amy over at 13 Spools is hosting. I've really been enjoying reading everyone's, so if you haven't seen them, click on the button to go over to Amy's blog and check it out!<br />
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1) I sew over pins <i>all the time</i>. When I took home economics in middle school, the teacher said it was perfectly OK... I've only broken a needle maybe twice and it's certainly never flown into my eye or caused any safety issues (the thread keeps the broken tip connected). <span style="font-size: xx-small;"> **this is my personal experience, don't sue me if you get impaled by a flying broken needle**</span><br />
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2) I don't really like "wonky" or "improv", I find it way more difficult to purposefully make something look crooked than to precisely piece things.<br />
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3) I don't change needles or rotary blades until I absolutely have to. Mostly because I can't find my replacements while my sewing stuff is still packed in boxes, and I'm lazy and cheap.<br />
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4) I have more WIP's and UFO's than finished projects (quilter ADD...)<br />
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5) It completely floors me when I see people practically giving their quilts away on etsy. I agree with Molli Sparkles' post (<a href="http://www.mollisparkles.com/2013/11/tgiff-no-value-does-not-equal-free.html">original</a> and <a href="http://www.mollisparkles.com/2014/08/tgiff-no-value-does-not-equal-free-it.html">follow-up</a>) about how quilters (and crafters in general) drastically undervalue themselves. I doubt I will ever actually try to sell my handmade goods because of this, and the fact that the general public expects low prices for handmade goods.<br />
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6) I don't buy quilting books (or books in general)... I borrow them from the library (and get to "suggest purchases" because I'm a librarian ::grin::)<br />
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7) I generally don't like Art Gallery Fabrics <span style="font-size: xx-small;">--go ahead throw rotten vegetables at me--</span> don't get me wrong, their designs are beautiful and I have purchased some and use them... but... a) I don't find the feel of the fabrics to be luxurious at all, I think they feel thin and cheap and my machine doesn't really like sewing with them. b) I find their marketing tactics to be off-putting. AGF designers are the only ones I have seen that exclusively sew with AGF fabrics and that makes me sad... see next point.<br />
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8) It really bothers me when bloggers "sell out" and only promote their fabric or sponsors' fabric. I liberally un-follow blogs that only blog about sponsor's or giveaways, or their own fabric line/patterns.<br />
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9) I am terrified of the actual quilting process. I love piecing and binding, the quilting scares me though and I dread it... probably why I have so many WIP's and UFO's.<br />
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10) I don't like making blocks that produce a lot of waste, and I don't like purposefully making extra large blocks just so I can square them up. If the blocks are "close enough" that's fine by me. I do however find trimmings so pretty :)<br />
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Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-39063892325994565512014-04-16T16:18:00.002-07:002014-04-16T16:18:56.587-07:00WIP WednesdayIt's been a while since I've done a WIP Wednesday post... sadly there hasn't really been much in-progress until this month. My main project goal for Mid-Atlantic Mod was to work on my Briar Rose Sawtooth Stars quilt for my niece. She will be 3 in June so I want to have it finished for her birthday.<br />
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--apologies I always seem to start off with crappy IG pics!--</div>
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I tried to get the majority of my fabrics cut so that I would be able to sew, sew, sew at the retreat, but at 2am on Wednesday before I left for lancaster I realized that wasn't going to happen. As I was cutting I realized I was going to need more solids as well.<br />
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<tr><th><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmowC9RYgzqAMcYyEOEaYIMkp3Pb-Pryw2nncKwD_cUtyHfLSQdBP9O5wgUqCpphCH58Y8nXkyZdDFMvddJECBMMXHOm0Tl4RPoCxvmMA1ZsYNbCx7acx7NeR3YTYMofLug81ukVeLqEU/s1600/IMG_20140404_223134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmowC9RYgzqAMcYyEOEaYIMkp3Pb-Pryw2nncKwD_cUtyHfLSQdBP9O5wgUqCpphCH58Y8nXkyZdDFMvddJECBMMXHOm0Tl4RPoCxvmMA1ZsYNbCx7acx7NeR3YTYMofLug81ukVeLqEU/s1600/IMG_20140404_223134.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></th>
<th><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisUWZjYDP79tni7gmIQxDBzohxFOYcgTMUJ1t1AtHXLx3iTQWA7wn44ewNpWn5t0kp60UUpW4gvoBx3JhZLJWEoulTBCPUA0D4Z2uW56UC22AtpooUZFYHEEq26woegmq5Vwews18gHqk/s1600/IMG_20140404_214614.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisUWZjYDP79tni7gmIQxDBzohxFOYcgTMUJ1t1AtHXLx3iTQWA7wn44ewNpWn5t0kp60UUpW4gvoBx3JhZLJWEoulTBCPUA0D4Z2uW56UC22AtpooUZFYHEEq26woegmq5Vwews18gHqk/s1600/IMG_20140404_214614.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></th></tr>
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Since I knew I needed 4 flying geese per star, I sewed up a few test blocks using the <a href="http://quilting.about.com/od/quiltpatternsprojects/ss/No-Waste-Flying-Geese-Quilt-Pattern.htm">no-waste-flying-geese method</a>. The about.com article even had cutting instructions for common block sizes, so I didn't even have to do quilt math for a 6 inch finished geese!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pretty stacks of solids :)</td></tr>
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Between more cutting, and socializing, I only managed to get a few blocks done on the first day of the retreat. I got down to business and sewed more Friday and Saturday and ended up with 18 blocks by the end of the retreat.... not too shabby considering all the other things <a href="http://beadqueene.blogspot.com/2014/04/mid-atlantic-mod.html">I got up to</a> :)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Rvmi-4w_goZNgvZY-eFZBM-1VuydV-keeOx_zXw32j8xMrJ6f0FW5gtfS-BYj4McXMuBuR7WddQSru_xVdAzM-2gITYZR7qmkdQ1e3FRqU7LRULMKlrpoqmAtnnFRKr7ZeTk0EvPR_o/s1600/DSCN0588.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Rvmi-4w_goZNgvZY-eFZBM-1VuydV-keeOx_zXw32j8xMrJ6f0FW5gtfS-BYj4McXMuBuR7WddQSru_xVdAzM-2gITYZR7qmkdQ1e3FRqU7LRULMKlrpoqmAtnnFRKr7ZeTk0EvPR_o/s1600/DSCN0588.jpg" height="456" width="640" /></a><br />
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I've been sewing them piecemeal here and there as I have time. I need 35 blocks total and plan to do a skinny border of Essex Linen in Flax to bring it up to twin size. I'm not sure how I want to quilt it, but maybe I can get up the guts to try a <a href="http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com/2012/06/quilt-along-18-go-loopy-with-loopy-line.html">loopy FMQ meander</a>...<br />
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Linking up with WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced. What is on your sewing table?<br />
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Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-63818084575476330682014-04-14T14:43:00.004-07:002014-04-14T14:45:10.870-07:00Mid-Atlantic ModSo I am just now unpacking and catching-up from an amazing weekend at Mid-Atlantic Mod. Yup, it's been a week since I returned but I have been scrambling at work from those two extra days of being off. I did take my nice camera, but I was having so much fun that all I managed to take was IG pics on my Nexus (sorry!)<br />
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Mid-Atlantic Mod was a joint venture put together by <a href="http://momotaromakes.blogspot.com/">Andrew</a> from the Philadelphia MQG, <a href="http://juicy-bits.typepad.com/">Jess</a> from Central Jersey MQG, and <a href="http://swimbikequilt.com/">Katie</a> from the DCMQG, and wow did they do a fantastic job! 65 quilters from the Mid-Atlantic region got together at the Doubletree in Lancaster PA for a 4 day quilting extravaganza :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are just the projects I packed. I had a laundry basket with interfacing, an ironing board, ott light and other stuff... PLUS my clothes, lol!</td></tr>
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After packing up way too much stuff, I headed off to Lancaster. It's a really convenient, straight shoot via Rt. 30 and took a little over 2 hours because of traffic congestion in York, PA. Since this was my first quilting retreat I had no idea how much I could realistically get accomplished. I guess I overestimated since I figured I could get a TON of sewing done without having to worry about dishes/laundry/vacuuming/work, etc. etc. <br />
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It was so great getting to meet other quilters whom I had only known through the online community that I ended up socializing the majority of Thursday and only managed to get two of my Briar Rose blocks constructed (more on that on Wednesday!).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDKAUjmXPzzJIXwxaQXhoe-OaK9uEruaArOoR0RI-U5bfmRMkBy1BIkAG_gAwxTcYyr3HcOVaqKo5n80uiMNa76fx5UG8Av1WpzoSTICKsNdSclpfmcsLxWXLy_ARwJFQCmWXmNFFxpTQ/s1600/mam3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDKAUjmXPzzJIXwxaQXhoe-OaK9uEruaArOoR0RI-U5bfmRMkBy1BIkAG_gAwxTcYyr3HcOVaqKo5n80uiMNa76fx5UG8Av1WpzoSTICKsNdSclpfmcsLxWXLy_ARwJFQCmWXmNFFxpTQ/s1600/mam3.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shopping for Kona solids at Burkholders. Photo from @<a href="http://instagram.com/jtlevitt">jtlevitt </a></td></tr>
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I got a little bit more done on Friday... especially SHOPPING! Jess S., Jess L., Rachel and I took a trip to <a href="http://www.burkfabric.com/store/">Burkholder's</a> which was about a 40 minute drive (you can see more pics of our trip on Jess's post linked at the bottom of this post). Burkholder's was giving Mid-Atlantic Mod attendees a generous 25% discount so I walked out of there with quite a bit of fabrics, some out-of-print and hard-to-find.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib1HgTZq20PPijIZLZJyDb4rePrZRMWl7oeE0_YoxTNInTh-lpUz0BBQRkXMmBWJOZGgTjxWVsZ2HaLC9zZwVNhPnz_fEzbK5oYy65ndLtVtncmmJKIdmH6J4bP8Z_paRzfXhLfr8AsNE/s1600/mam4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib1HgTZq20PPijIZLZJyDb4rePrZRMWl7oeE0_YoxTNInTh-lpUz0BBQRkXMmBWJOZGgTjxWVsZ2HaLC9zZwVNhPnz_fEzbK5oYy65ndLtVtncmmJKIdmH6J4bP8Z_paRzfXhLfr8AsNE/s1600/mam4.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sassy Tassel Pop Shop</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When we arrived back at the Doubletree, the proprietor of the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thesassytassel">Sassy Tassel</a> in downtown Lancaster had set up an amazing pop shop in the ballroom. She had some great out of print fabrics: Tula's Parisville, AMH Innocent Crush, DS Hopevalley... /swoon. The Sassy Tassel was also offering an awesome 25% off, AND buy 4 get on free on all pre-cuts. Needless to say, I bought more fabric :p<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg56ZK4GMIF43TRYaUD9QPqTbAn1yvqGwseWwm6ex5AOfpXxCySsb-_xDkPeam3WzuYik0Vwhzleydq_UXYN4ehRR8lutK0HdM9PxDfOIaJy5kJIaxd-ajqyvHF06ojxpM5nNlda5LQmTw/s1600/DSCN0574.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg56ZK4GMIF43TRYaUD9QPqTbAn1yvqGwseWwm6ex5AOfpXxCySsb-_xDkPeam3WzuYik0Vwhzleydq_UXYN4ehRR8lutK0HdM9PxDfOIaJy5kJIaxd-ajqyvHF06ojxpM5nNlda5LQmTw/s1600/DSCN0574.jpg" height="640" width="456" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fabric Haul from Burkholder's and the Sassy Tassel. Check out all those OOP beauties!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUTJYoGYVu2mePTkb3tZuziVr55_jHbE5_1l2ZfNcNufauatyBFBzGQVJRPp3mN5dM8TSvTp3Wbmpbn_qU7qL0szfpg4nWmvh-9pBGLqfsuVOfHvWJJaf_zxokGXzmnBIUuWRZ67w725o/s1600/DSCN0577.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUTJYoGYVu2mePTkb3tZuziVr55_jHbE5_1l2ZfNcNufauatyBFBzGQVJRPp3mN5dM8TSvTp3Wbmpbn_qU7qL0szfpg4nWmvh-9pBGLqfsuVOfHvWJJaf_zxokGXzmnBIUuWRZ67w725o/s1600/DSCN0577.jpg" height="456" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kona: Cloud, Alegria, School Bus, Camellia, Sour Apple, Cerise, Kale</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I really went to Burkholder's for solids, which I legitimately <i>needed</i> for my Briar Rose blocks. But as you can see I came home with way more. But at such great deals and so many OOP fabrics, who could resist?!?!<br />
<br />
Saturday, I took two workshops: Piecing Gentle Curves with Andrew, and Modern Log Cabins with Jess L.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4MJu4ZLH_QcEMlxPM8ghsfLuerVfKu0aNricX1cfGoerygRPVEZjxO4GV8yQw5wXoeUGyvHuizmGGBubYOVMa7dfUVJ9LFL_FxU9Leb0TG49df1s8Gpqq6ORwvB-QrfGFcXB_l9zAIY/s1600/mam5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4MJu4ZLH_QcEMlxPM8ghsfLuerVfKu0aNricX1cfGoerygRPVEZjxO4GV8yQw5wXoeUGyvHuizmGGBubYOVMa7dfUVJ9LFL_FxU9Leb0TG49df1s8Gpqq6ORwvB-QrfGFcXB_l9zAIY/s1600/mam5.jpg" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Piecing Gentle Curves fabric pull and results</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMqeDpt3ARHZMyBq5HqeSySB5RwP14ZN1JJrT5J-wM8w2DfEAjqxA0pH-dWGqAYfmuV5TxWP6HPTcGxNyW4b1hHb6a_nyyB8UntdvS1JE3jorTYr0XkpakSWy5eA3KrlQOLK_nbDd8dag/s1600/mam6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMqeDpt3ARHZMyBq5HqeSySB5RwP14ZN1JJrT5J-wM8w2DfEAjqxA0pH-dWGqAYfmuV5TxWP6HPTcGxNyW4b1hHb6a_nyyB8UntdvS1JE3jorTYr0XkpakSWy5eA3KrlQOLK_nbDd8dag/s1600/mam6.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Modern Log Cabin Block</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I really don't have definite plans for these blocks yet, but it was nice to break out of my comfort zone and try new techniques. One thing I discovered that I do really love working with solids so I'll have to be sure to keep stashing them!<br />
<br />
Besides working on the Briar Rose quilt for my niece, I wanted to make a divided basket for a friend who just had a baby (to match the <a href="http://beadqueene.blogspot.com/2014/01/mommy-plus-one-quilt.html">quilt</a> I made for her).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYH7ObKOLvlO6C65BUpZ0qxL70HHcGtqzf87xI0ZTvP0vuBG2cvTuYl9rhGREAINj_9q_fPNWEvfOdmdPxQ3Y-5MG_6DfaPe9JSMhWRTuSsO1EbYkKRufvFam7DosO_7c199YCUTi2bT8/s1600/mam7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYH7ObKOLvlO6C65BUpZ0qxL70HHcGtqzf87xI0ZTvP0vuBG2cvTuYl9rhGREAINj_9q_fPNWEvfOdmdPxQ3Y-5MG_6DfaPe9JSMhWRTuSsO1EbYkKRufvFam7DosO_7c199YCUTi2bT8/s1600/mam7.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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Silly me, I decided to <i>start </i>the divided basket around midnight on Saturday... it's definitely hard to follow directions after a few beers and an exciting day. I did end up finishing it on Sunday morning but unfortunately didn't get to stop by and see my friend after the retreat as planned... it came in handy for toting my fabric haul home though!<br />
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All-in-all it was such an amazing experience to meet people that were previously bloggy friends, and to make many many new friends. Hopefully I can start attending DCMQG meetings regularly even though it's a not terribly close to my house. The entire weekend was so inspiring, even if it wasn't terribly productive. I will hopefully be able to return next year, and hope you'll join us too!!!<br />
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Things to remember for next year:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>participate in a few of the activities</li>
<li>a cushion for the hotel chair with a fancy cover of course</li>
<li>shoes with more arch support</li>
<li>veggie snacks </li>
<li>more travel handmade items :)</li>
</ul>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWr7lxwuAPpWUS6UsBA5_8zIzFv-9Vd6FgYlmR2KiHxBIzKrnjl1yGbF3hBIXi0aduzrWhSN9coWwk7mPIYf2LuseXGGog677AW34XuEahdd88ByhH581zzw5KYtMyobvrF8lCoC9rC1Y/s1600/DSCN0580.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWr7lxwuAPpWUS6UsBA5_8zIzFv-9Vd6FgYlmR2KiHxBIzKrnjl1yGbF3hBIXi0aduzrWhSN9coWwk7mPIYf2LuseXGGog677AW34XuEahdd88ByhH581zzw5KYtMyobvrF8lCoC9rC1Y/s1600/DSCN0580.jpg" height="456" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kickass SWAG!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There are so many things that I didn't cover in this post, so you should check out some other great Mid-Atlantic Mod recaps! And the #midatlanticmod hashtag on Instagram :)<br />
<a href="http://quiltyhabit.blogspot.com/2014/04/mid-atlantic-mod-recap.html">Jess @ Quilty Habit</a><br />
Rachel @ Like to Sew (<a href="http://liketosew.blogspot.com/2014/04/mid-atlantic-mod-i.html">part 1</a>) (<a href="http://liketosew.blogspot.com/2014/04/mid-atlantic-mod-ii.html">part 2</a>)<br />
<a href="http://sparrowquilts.com/work-in-progress/midatlantic-mod-modern-quilting-retreat/">Miki @ Sparrow Quilts</a><br />
<a href="http://dcmodernquiltguild.blogspot.com/2014/04/mid-atlantic-mod.html">DCMQG</a><br />
<a href="http://ifinallyhavetime.com/2014/04/07/mid-atlantic-mod-sewing-retreat/">Linda @ I Finally Have Time</a>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-23154718354865919662014-04-01T17:38:00.000-07:002014-04-01T17:38:52.476-07:00A Lovely Year of Finishes: Aeroplane Bag March Finish<a href="http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com/?page_id=4304" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="A Lovely Year of Finishes"> <img alt="My Button" src="http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/ALYoF2014Sm125x125.jpg" height="125" style="border: none;" width="125" /></a>
Well ladies and gents, I finished myself a piece for #travelhandmade. In the eleventh hour last night I was finished... too bad I finished it too late on March 31 to take satisfactory pictures and post to the link-up.<br />
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March really was just a whirlwind of activity... Lots of Master Gardener stuff gearing up... where the heck did the month go??? Lucky for me, the weather was super crummy and I had two glorious days of pretty much nothing to do except sew this past weekend.<br />
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Part of my goal this month was to make myself an <a href="http://www.sewsweetnesspatterns.com/products/aeroplane-bags">Aeroplane Bag</a> by SewSweetness so I would have something to tote my sewing machine with me to Mid Atlantic Mod.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgExGer9h8ULvkjv0oHLOUeJiJo7wci6D-j9VP1zMCTfygK332nFMaKWIeAjX2OFGNb5hjRCziuO9TdGsftibgaWq5OisJtkQkLdI_wOnv9UROpDKIgMfKmXe2p83SQ-0ojpDTJyKa2qGs/s1600/DSCN0569.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgExGer9h8ULvkjv0oHLOUeJiJo7wci6D-j9VP1zMCTfygK332nFMaKWIeAjX2OFGNb5hjRCziuO9TdGsftibgaWq5OisJtkQkLdI_wOnv9UROpDKIgMfKmXe2p83SQ-0ojpDTJyKa2qGs/s1600/DSCN0569.jpg" height="456" width="640" /></a></div>
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I am so pleased with how it turned out! And, with the exception of the AMH Dowry print and interfacings, I had all of the other fabrics on-hand.<br />
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Since I sew mainly at night, it's difficult for me to get good "in-progress" pictures, but I did end up posting a lot of my progress on my <a href="http://instagram.com/beadqueene">instagram</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitoFdcR_VIgDYIpbfLVXrFxw2FLkweDAcfyOt34a2rxTiC3WjmCQDaUI05AXr5HsxqNzJQf1Nr-2aNv3IVtnA-wd9PRXigE0rF8Pod8clzkhwvjWW6UKjrTiSAXeU4DXQaot5Gddkafg8/s1600/Untitled-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitoFdcR_VIgDYIpbfLVXrFxw2FLkweDAcfyOt34a2rxTiC3WjmCQDaUI05AXr5HsxqNzJQf1Nr-2aNv3IVtnA-wd9PRXigE0rF8Pod8clzkhwvjWW6UKjrTiSAXeU4DXQaot5Gddkafg8/s1600/Untitled-3.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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I pulled the fabric on our very rainy and gloomy Sunday afternoon, and started cutting around 4:30. I kept sewing until around 11pm and got both outer and lining panels completed. On Monday night after work I attached the zipper and finished the entire bag around 10pm. So from start to finish the bag took me about 11 hours (including breaks)... not too shabby.<br />
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I still consider myself a "confident beginner" when it comes to projects, especially non-quilting projects. This bag was definitely a challenge for me, but I wouldn't say that it was difficult, it just forced me to try new things (zippers <i>still</i> intimidate me). I will definitely purchase more of <a href="http://www.sewsweetnesspatterns.com/">Sara's patterns</a> in the future. Her instructions are amazing and made the whole process much easier. The splitting zipper made installation a breeze and also helped ease the assembly process. I did end up having to do some hand stitching around the zipper ends, but I think that's more because of my lack of experience than anything else.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8rigu5sw07xGvgqk1USdZIoTj8k_sgJkczvfjvFnTHfmB0Z0ftxpN4-pW99zm9vKMN1_g1pC_V5ffkDqfb3vflxCgW4Qnb9TQ_5BuGExSAeRc-H5dan6dPfDGYd18StN0fIgZGoLxraA/s1600/DSCN0568.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8rigu5sw07xGvgqk1USdZIoTj8k_sgJkczvfjvFnTHfmB0Z0ftxpN4-pW99zm9vKMN1_g1pC_V5ffkDqfb3vflxCgW4Qnb9TQ_5BuGExSAeRc-H5dan6dPfDGYd18StN0fIgZGoLxraA/s1600/DSCN0568.jpg" height="456" width="640" /></a></div>
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As I mentioned before, the outer main fabric is Anna Maria Horner Dowry "Postage Due" in Berry. This is the only fabric that I purchased for this project. The straps and bottom fabric are made from Anna Maria Horner Field Study "Fine Feathered" in Denim, and the yard I had in the stash is sadly now reduced to scraps because I made a booboo cutting the first time.<br />
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The lining is Kona Kale which coordinates pretty well with the green on the main print. I was originally going to use a different Dowry print for the pocket lining, but settled on the cute navy dots from DS Quilts Blossom Reel collection at Joann's.<br />
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Since I chose to make the large size, it fits my sewing machine perfectly, with spare room on the the sides for my extension table, cord and foot pedal. I may use some of the leftover Peltex to make a more stable bottom just to support the weight of the machine. I don't think this is absolutely necessary, the bag construction is sturdy, I'm just not as confident in my bag-making abilities to trust my seams, lol.<br />
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<i>I purchased this pattern and all fabrics with my own funds and did not get compensated in any way for this post.</i><br />
<br />Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-70854976416832510032014-03-07T15:39:00.000-08:002014-03-07T15:39:56.681-08:00A Lovely Year of Finishes: March Goal<a href="http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com/?page_id=4304" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="A Lovely Year of Finishes"> <img alt="My Button" src="http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/ALYoF2014Sm125x125.jpg" height="125" style="border: medium none;" width="125" /></a>Does anyone else feel like February went by way too quickly? Between work, bad weather, and being sick all last week... I really don't feel like I got much done (except buy lots of fabric... but that's a story for a different post, lol). I have to say, I'm glad it's March, because <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCcQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmidatlanticmod.blogspot.com%2F&ei=cTgWU5GOD8uQ0QH4x4GQBw&usg=AFQjCNGS5PpfK8qDYDrOA4qi96pPas8ZVQ&sig2=7Vrbmg_DsbBS625qCaJV3g&bvm=bv.62286460,d.dmQ">Mid-Atlantic Mod</a> is only a month away!!! This will be my first quilting retreat and I'm really looking forward to having 4 solid days of quality time with my machine and other quilters :)<br />
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I am a little embarrassed that I call myself a quilter and I don't have <i>any</i> travel handmade products to take along with me to the retreat. So my March Goal is to make myself an <a href="http://www.sewsweetness.com/2013/03/aeroplane-bags.html">Aeroplane Bag</a> to tote my sewing machine, and maybe a little caddy for my supplies. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ton6Y8yBYYZUCqErmyfGMj8Ih_CYl4frYgaK99K7mVHJl2rtwH9dq4XhiLUPy17U9g9Qfc4Wy_Ew-kazKPFVB9x_KcYjwE1bhofWAWgfHWwSt1MM4Hmhh8El0J9i267aMVVDW6ruZU0/s1600/fabricidea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ton6Y8yBYYZUCqErmyfGMj8Ih_CYl4frYgaK99K7mVHJl2rtwH9dq4XhiLUPy17U9g9Qfc4Wy_Ew-kazKPFVB9x_KcYjwE1bhofWAWgfHWwSt1MM4Hmhh8El0J9i267aMVVDW6ruZU0/s1600/fabricidea.jpg" height="207" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a><br />
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<br />
I really should make it out of fabric that I already have, buuuuuut... I
want it to be more durable so I'm thinking I'd like to use Charley
Harper and Bark and Branch canvases. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtXGB2R47qqWXHoorfrzKB6Sfp6VkLOHjeN9UcCeofBM5qSqbbYCdP64OULSyH62DrZQo8doErRgOXan15GpziZrg3cDfMup8z8Qh_VDQGnqumo3-EouaQpjvTGsdULDl18I9jQAgC2Ow/s1600/DSCN0553.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtXGB2R47qqWXHoorfrzKB6Sfp6VkLOHjeN9UcCeofBM5qSqbbYCdP64OULSyH62DrZQo8doErRgOXan15GpziZrg3cDfMup8z8Qh_VDQGnqumo3-EouaQpjvTGsdULDl18I9jQAgC2Ow/s1600/DSCN0553.jpg" height="456" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">blocks in various stages of completion</td></tr>
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I would also like to finish my Scrapper's Delight quilt. I have a lot of the blocks made, or in progress, so I'm close to having a finished top. I can't say for whom I am trying to finish, because I'm not sure if she reads my blog or not... but I would like to give a little lap quilt for her office. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK0x9j056IOVNIlyTWTSGGgom5RrFTdSHFOjlXrh6yQDHTAJy6oZAxtBZHKChruAg8VzgUYsfGhAn1CSDu6RKFq73bMAeyCKBOcLmeuAFNcdM3BOJzcPjg_9UoIKZ4Com-mHWfJpQ0xj4/s1600/DSCN0551.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK0x9j056IOVNIlyTWTSGGgom5RrFTdSHFOjlXrh6yQDHTAJy6oZAxtBZHKChruAg8VzgUYsfGhAn1CSDu6RKFq73bMAeyCKBOcLmeuAFNcdM3BOJzcPjg_9UoIKZ4Com-mHWfJpQ0xj4/s1600/DSCN0551.jpg" height="456" width="640" /></a></div>
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Since 72x72" is way larger than a lap size, I decided to copy <a href="http://sotakhandmade.blogspot.com/2013/06/scrappers-delight-finished-quilt.html">s.o.t.a.k. Handmade's</a> idea and increase the block size to 15.5" (which will produce a 60x60" quilt instead).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfjdxePEt7paUo7Pcz1xhluuAEpQScvNk40Jp_CjMjrv8g2ay8wVDdujHd_d_frKIPa8V91tkgU9BZWIKrva3D4RYAhfUSiVa9GMjBveoY_VypM448mp5xAYNrsvv6-3SXV7ivmU_LDKE/s1600/DSCN0552.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfjdxePEt7paUo7Pcz1xhluuAEpQScvNk40Jp_CjMjrv8g2ay8wVDdujHd_d_frKIPa8V91tkgU9BZWIKrva3D4RYAhfUSiVa9GMjBveoY_VypM448mp5xAYNrsvv6-3SXV7ivmU_LDKE/s1600/DSCN0552.jpg" height="456" width="640" /></a></div>
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With all the colors and pretty scraps, I can't wait to see it together. I just hope it's not too busy for it's intended recipient :)Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-55741547549249203642014-03-03T12:13:00.000-08:002014-03-03T12:24:56.516-08:00Scrap-bee-licious March Queen Bee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7306/9403480642_f005bb4c14_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7306/9403480642_f005bb4c14_o.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
I am SO EXCITED to be Queen bee for the Scrap-Bee-Licious Bee this month :) The hive is composed of 13 amazing ladies, and you should check out beautiful work!<br />
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Ashley @ <a href="http://wasntquiltinaday.wordpress.com/">Wasn't Quilt in a Day</a> (<a href="http://instagram.com/abhinton">IG</a>)<br />
Gwendellyn @ <a href="http://therainbowrevolts.blogspot.com/">the Rainbow Revolts</a> (<a href="http://instagram.com/therainbowrevolts">IG</a>)<br />
Cath @ <a href="http://www.wombatquilts.com/">Wombat Quilts</a> (<a href="http://instagram.com/wombatquilts">IG</a>)<br />
Alyce @ <a href="http://www.wonderlandbyalyce.blogspot.com/">Wonderland by Alyce</a> (<a href="http://instagram.com/wonderlandbyalyce">IG</a>)<br />
Nicole @ <a href="http://www.modernhandcraft.com/">Modern Handcraft</a> (<a href="http://instagram.com/modernhandcraft">IG</a>)<br />
Rachel @ <a href="http://liketosew.blogspot.com/">Lets Begin Sewing</a> (<a href="http://instagram.com/liketosew">IG</a>)<br />
Nanette @ <a href="http://www.yeahimadethat.com/">Yeah I Made That</a><br />
Robin Sue @ <a href="http://robinsuequilts.blogspot.com/">Robin Sue Quilts</a><br />
Stephanie H. @ <a href="http://simplesewendipity.blogspot.com/">Simple Sewendipity</a><br />
Stephanie A. @ <a href="http://quarterincher.blogspot.com/">Quarter Incher</a> (<a href="http://instagram.com/steph_quarterincherquilting">IG</a>)<br />
Michelle @ <a href="http://factotum-of-arts.com/">Factotum of Arts</a> (<a href="http://instagram.com/ml_wilkie">IG</a>)<br />
Laura @ <a href="http://litteandlots.wordpress.com/">Little and Lots</a> (<a href="http://instagram.com/littleandlots">IG</a>)<br />
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So now that you've gone and checked out all of these talented ladies' blogs (and hit follow!), on to my March Block choice. If you're like me, you have bins literally overflowing with scraps. That's the whole point of this Bee right? Hopefully this block will eliminate your smallish squares :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holy Scraps, Batman!</td></tr>
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This month, I'd like two 12.5" <a href="http://happyquiltingmelissa.blogspot.com/2013/05/star-value-tutorial-for-between-heaven.html">Star Value Blocks</a> by Melissa at Happy Quilting. I've been eyeing this block for a while and was glad that nobody in the bee has picked it yet :) Before you look at the tutorial, and get mad at me for asking you sew SO MANY tiny 2" squares, just look how pretty the blocks turn out ::wink:: Also, you can check out <a href="http://happyquiltingmelissa.blogspot.com/2013/05/more-beejeebers-blocks.html">this post</a> to see how the blocks will come together<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">For color selection, the scrappier the better! Try to choose as much variety in fabrics and colors as you can. The only change I'd like to make to Melissa's Tutorial, is that I would like </span><i style="text-align: left;">black or charcoal</i><span style="text-align: left;"> instead of gray squares. That way you can mix the lighter grays in with the Low Volume squares. I made both of these blocks with scraps that were laying on my dining room table, I didn't even dip into the scrap bins! I also ended up cutting down charm squares from swaps for the Low Volume and Dark pieces to make things a little easier. </span>
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<u>Cutting Instructions per Block</u> (There is a great chart on the<a href="http://happyquiltingmelissa.blogspot.com/2013/05/star-value-tutorial-for-between-heaven.html"> tutorial page</a>, but I'll put it here for easy access):</div>
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<li>For the Star quadrants: choose 8 colors (preferably different prints) -- from the first print cut <b>1</b> 2" square, from the second print cut <b>1</b> 2.5" square. Repeat for each color for a total of 8 squares of each size.</li>
<li>For the Diamond Pieces: choose 4 more prints (any color, or multi-color) -- cut <b>1</b> 2.5" square from each</li>
<li>From a mixture of Low Volume scraps -- cut <b>16</b> 2" squares, and <b>16</b> 2.5" squares</li>
<li>From Black or Charcoal scraps -- cut <b>12</b> 2.5" squares</li>
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<u>Helpful hint</u>: Chain-piece these suckers! lol</div>
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If you need any scraps for variety let me know, as you can see, I have more than I know what to do with. Also, I know the block looks like a pain, but it's really not. The tutorial has some great tips and tricks for making assembly easy. Thanks gals, you rock! I can't wait to see what you come up with :) Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-78073510506406100512014-02-14T09:46:00.001-08:002014-03-04T12:21:22.329-08:00TGIFF: SSM#4Happy Valentines day Lovlies! I was hoping to post this last week but we didn't have power... no power = no internet = no blogging = sadface :(<br />
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Have I mentioned how much I love swaps? Well I am a glutton for swapping, so I <i>had to </i>participate in the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/2078052@N20/pool/">Sew Sew Modern #4</a> Swap over on Flickr. Check out the Flickr pool to see all the amazing goodies that have been swapped :)<br />
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I can't reveal who my partner was for this round, because she hasn't received yet (the snow + ice + no power made me a few days late sending).<br />
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This was my initial fabric pull (sorry IG pic). I wanted my patchwork to mirror the Pennant print from KOI. When I started cutting, I decided to take out the Salt Water print because it didn't look great cut into tiny 2.5" triangles, it was a little too olive drab to fit in with the other prints. I also ended up adding two other KOI prints for variety.<br />
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In-progress (also from IG). I ended up staggaring the rows to try to mirror the inspiration fabric :) And I went with a scrappy low volume background. The flying geese are 1.5x5.5" attached to another 1.5x5.5" strip of low volume.<br />
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And here's the finished pillow. I am so pleased with how it turned out. Especially since I just cut and sewed, with no pre-planning. It still ended up square!<br />
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I did an off center chevron following the point of one of the geese. The lines are 1" apart done in a hot pink Gutterman thread. I also zig-zag stitched the binding on, because inevitably I miss a few spots on the back when machine binding with a straight stitch.<br />
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I finished off the back with the Pennant print and did a simple envelope closure (I'm too much of a chicken to try an invisible zipper!)<br />
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For the "small item" I took my scraps and made some scrappy coasters, they're so cute :)<br />
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And what swap would be complete without some extras :) I included a lil' twister ruler and a cute ball of variegated Perle cotton. Since it's headed overseas I wasn't sure what the restrictions were on sending food, so I opted not to send any candy along this time.<br />
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I hope you like it partner! I had a great time making it for you!!!<br />
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<a href="http://tgiffriday.blogspot.com/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="TGIFF"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Fwi93lGrqBxKIBGKPbR67tCQmVBHSKau1bOjT_3bY9COJWTw3x5-4BDw6YVkB7vg3izMW4TtxtxMfVILhJ0eU6y1lplJUPInvCSmS2B30fWHTh3sHQ4mMCc7XQ6lRnnz3sXaabRWB7pw/s800/tgiff-button-blog.jpg" /></a>Linking up with Thank Goodness it's Finished Friday!<br />
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Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-55443373841013371202014-01-31T14:39:00.001-08:002014-02-14T12:20:20.072-08:00Mommy Plus One Quilt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I am so excited to share with you not only my first finish of 2014, but my first quilt finish <i>ever</i>!</div>
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My best friend, Laura is expecting a little girl March 4 and as soon as she told us she was pregnant, I knew I had to make the little one a quilt :) The great thing is, with all the snow days we had in the beginning of January, I was able to finish it before her shower.<br />
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Laura originally told me that she wanted pink and purple as her color scheme, but when I started laying out the pluses it looked too two-dimensional with only two colors. So I took a cue from the Erin McMorris fabric (lower right in the above pic) and pulled some peach into the quilt.<br />
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I tried to lay out the fabrics so that they were pretty evenly distributed between the different colors and shades.<br />
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I quilted it with a <a href="http://blog.petitdesignco.com/2012/10/orange-peel-or-pumpkin-seed.html">Pumpkin Seed walking foot design</a> which took about 2 days, but mostly because I wasn't very comfortable with wrangling a quilt under my machine and it took me a few passes to get the hang of it.<br />
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It's backed with lavender Minky (you can also see the quilting better on the solid side) -- which is sooooooo soft! I think I just might back all my quilts in Minky!<br />
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The binding is a Riley Blake polka dot that matched the Minky. I machine attached it using the tutorial from <a href="http://www.cluckclucksew.com/2013/01/machine-binding-tutorial.html">CluckCluckSew</a>.<br />
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There are a lot of firsts in this quilt for me, and I am so proud of it. It has definitely given me the confidence to have a great (ahem lovely) year of finishes this year. I hope baby girl gets lots of use out of it and that she loves it as much as I do!<br />
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Her mama was very happy with it :)<br />
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<u>Quilt Specs:</u><br />
36" x 53" finished dimensions (3.5" finished squares)<br />
fabrics from a variety of designers including Riley Blake, Violet Craft, Heather Ross, Erin McMorris<br />
backed in Minky<br />
stitched and quilted with Gutterman thread<br />
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<a href="http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com/?page_id=4304" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="A Lovely Year of Finishes"> <img alt="My Button" src="http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/ALYoF2014Sm125x125.jpg" height="125" style="border: none;" width="125" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://tgiffriday.blogspot.com/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank" title="TGIFF"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Fwi93lGrqBxKIBGKPbR67tCQmVBHSKau1bOjT_3bY9COJWTw3x5-4BDw6YVkB7vg3izMW4TtxtxMfVILhJ0eU6y1lplJUPInvCSmS2B30fWHTh3sHQ4mMCc7XQ6lRnnz3sXaabRWB7pw/s800/tgiff-button-blog.jpg" /></a></center>
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Linking up with A Lovely Year of Finishes! and TGIFF!Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-20399538159293518882014-01-06T10:21:00.000-08:002014-03-04T12:54:51.902-08:00A Lovely Year of Finishes: January Goal<a href="http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com/?page_id=4304" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="A Lovely Year of Finishes"> <img alt="My Button" src="http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/ALYoF2014Sm125x125.jpg" height="125" style="border: medium none;" width="125" /></a>2013 was a year of building skills and dappling in multiple projects that struck my fancy. 2014 will be my year to finish projects! In order to hopefully keep myself on track, I am going to participate in a Lovely Year of Finishes. I didn't really get into the blogging world until last summer so I missed out on a good chunk of the party last year.<br />
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(IG pics ahead since I generally work on things in the evening and I'm terrible at taking in-progress pictures) <br />
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My best friend is having a little girl, due in March. Her shower is January 11. So my challenge after the new year was to finish a baby quilt in 10 days! Save the fact that I have not yet finished an entire quilt, I've been working my tail off to get this gift finished :)<br />
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The quilt top is finished, and I spent the weekend working on quilting. I think the only thing that allowed me to get this done is the 1 1/2 snow days we had last week. I hope to have it completely quilting, bound and finished by Thursday (I have to since I'm leaving for the shower in PA Friday night).<br />
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<br />Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-19909411315618278612013-12-08T15:44:00.001-08:002013-12-08T15:44:15.646-08:00Sunday Stash #5: Black FridayDid you take advantage of the proliferation of Black Friday-Cyber Monday deals last week? I sure did... I really don't need more fabric, but who can resist such juicy deals :)<br />
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I am definitely not in the habit of stashing solids, so I forced myself to stock up on some. I looked at fabrics I already had in my stash and checked out Pink Chalk Studio's "<a href="http://www.pinkchalkstudio.com/blog/">What Goes with What</a>" to find some coordinating solids since I've realized it's a pain to buy solids on when I need them, then have to wait for the mailman ;)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWkKGp3FEsjWUXmAQCwOrFvRQr294Kk4MY2ei7cln3hX_809SUE_1EyprjoxyJLGWcJJBt14yo0K8pemj3hnMxNOP-0IS-c02rsv-G7_krg5fT3pteBspzYbOPW46xFdLuXtB-TMVddYI/s1600/DSCN0068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWkKGp3FEsjWUXmAQCwOrFvRQr294Kk4MY2ei7cln3hX_809SUE_1EyprjoxyJLGWcJJBt14yo0K8pemj3hnMxNOP-0IS-c02rsv-G7_krg5fT3pteBspzYbOPW46xFdLuXtB-TMVddYI/s640/DSCN0068.jpg" width="456" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top: Kona Poppy, Kona Melon, Kona Carnation, Kona Cedar, Kona Parsley<br />Middle: Kona Wasabi, Free Spirit Solids Chartreuse, Kona Bonsai, Kona Kale, Kona Cypress<br />Bottom: Free Spirit Solids Parrot Blue, Cotton Couture Aqua, Cotton Couture Periwinkle, Kona Amethyst, Kona Petunia</td></tr>
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I already had purchased some solids to go along with my <a href="http://beadqueene.blogspot.com/2013/08/wip-wednesday-dogwood-petals.html">Dogwood Petals</a> quilt, but I wanted to round out the stash, and also get a few of the new Kona Colors -- Kona Kale is definitely my new favorite :)</div>
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I also allowed myself to order one half yard bundle from Etsy. I could have definitely purchase several, but I had willpower this time and limited it to one.</div>
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It came down to AMH's new "Dowry" Line, or Rashida Coleman Hale's "Koi." Since Dowry was just released, and Koi is getting harder to find, I decided to get Koi now and maybe I'll ask Ryan for Dowry for Christmas ::wink::<br />
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Last but not least, I waited in the hellishly long line at Joann's at 7:30am on Black Friday. I took a number when I got there, chose my fabric at a very leisurely pace, and still ended up waiting about 45 minutes get my fabric cut. I really didn't have anything going on though, so it was totally worth it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpgUoBg_9ijWhkV-gKTFGFe3BcF5BWDp4Hh93lPDMlQuykK7RUUZZzNq4gHhpc2z7fd9WLtQl26HUuA3gD4bBKK3okkMElRc171KhvqN11gDfFaZEnZFQpiUwppb1l2yd1zrNzl_S0LSs/s1600/DSCN0067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpgUoBg_9ijWhkV-gKTFGFe3BcF5BWDp4Hh93lPDMlQuykK7RUUZZzNq4gHhpc2z7fd9WLtQl26HUuA3gD4bBKK3okkMElRc171KhvqN11gDfFaZEnZFQpiUwppb1l2yd1zrNzl_S0LSs/s640/DSCN0067.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fabrics from Julianna Horner, Denyse Schmidt, Cloud 9, Stonehill Collection, and Legacy Studio</td></tr>
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I snagged up a bunch of stash builders at 40% off, plus the 25% off coupon. I also got 7 yards of printed flannel that I hope to <a href="http://www.daysforgirls.org/">put to good use</a> after the holidays.<br />
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I think I'm done buying fabric for the rest of the year. I'm debating whether I have the willpower to go on a fabric fast in 2014... not sure I do, but I'm sure going to try. Did you snag up any hard-to-resist deals?Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-70709501867439611262013-12-04T15:22:00.001-08:002013-12-04T15:22:38.791-08:00WIP Wednesday -- Scrap Attack editionI've been terribly remiss in my blogging lately. Things are finally calming down at the library, but with the Holidays things are busy at home... a girl can't win. This post should really be all about the holiday sewing that I'm doing, but I haven't even started it yet.<br />
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Instead I've been playing with my prolific scrap pile. I posted this pic on Instagram last week (play along with #scrapbagofshame). I really don't know how I generate <i>so many scraps</i> considering I have yet to finish a quilt... but i do, so I'm turning them into useful things.<br />
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Have you looked at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sunday-Morning-Quilts-Projects-Treasured/dp/1607054272">Sunday Morning Quilts</a>? They have so many beautiful scrap projects in the book that I thought it would be a good starting point to try to tame this pile.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkPlIrt2cMb-v9weQjdGOMxJMt840Oz-Jl5SvKEDo7RJrA8tij4tD23VrG3yefVuriTdHAZoKqpI2BJazBhKCFxusEXNMO5a473DBf1iQ4056TMOWTFTRACDmzeU5CWtMDODDIuv95sN4/s1600/DSCN0065.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkPlIrt2cMb-v9weQjdGOMxJMt840Oz-Jl5SvKEDo7RJrA8tij4tD23VrG3yefVuriTdHAZoKqpI2BJazBhKCFxusEXNMO5a473DBf1iQ4056TMOWTFTRACDmzeU5CWtMDODDIuv95sN4/s640/DSCN0065.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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I started with the Scrapper's Delight quilt because I have lots of strips and strings and I was thinking it would be a good charity quilt and opportunity to practice FMQ. I have three blocks complete, and many in progress blocks (yay chain piecing!) I'm loving how they're turning out so far :)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Kdt__LbKRyUblvxC_w7W0EDxZ0sVl01y3MYrhP07JxWD08q4gjBKwpEymwi_ZQrCQpyUe5O7acmS2JdQFrvpLzF4yYvQlsUk6PFE4ujxGCwyOCAkjdhYgtP3BqetPL8tZM0XbefuUEo/s1600/DSCN0064.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Kdt__LbKRyUblvxC_w7W0EDxZ0sVl01y3MYrhP07JxWD08q4gjBKwpEymwi_ZQrCQpyUe5O7acmS2JdQFrvpLzF4yYvQlsUk6PFE4ujxGCwyOCAkjdhYgtP3BqetPL8tZM0XbefuUEo/s640/DSCN0064.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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I got so tired of sorting through the huge scrap pile that I decided to try another project from the book -- scrap storage baskets. They're coming together really quickly from my larger scraps. I've been using the Quilt as you Go method to make the panels instead of sewing a slab then quilting. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix6OxvtzNnrOrABeKR1Jgx_a5gp7Rl57FGiaUddKOXTsTiCu83KtbM6VJyy_n_JmfoaCb3lsTWOTplKxPSoamElNDa8JsOOfeTc_DJZHHZtbOrCWHFccpuCfYZleYCRF94TzH3iv3wVhI/s1600/DSCN0059.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix6OxvtzNnrOrABeKR1Jgx_a5gp7Rl57FGiaUddKOXTsTiCu83KtbM6VJyy_n_JmfoaCb3lsTWOTplKxPSoamElNDa8JsOOfeTc_DJZHHZtbOrCWHFccpuCfYZleYCRF94TzH3iv3wVhI/s640/DSCN0059.JPG" width="640" /></a>Since this was spur of the moment, I just need to get the correct interfacing for the lining and then I'll have the red complete.<br />
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I didn't plan the orange slab as well, so it has some random scraggly bits that I'm hoping get lost in the seam allowance.<br />
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In other QAYG scrappy news, I finished my Modern Scrappy Bits item. <a href="http://www.incolororder.com/2013/01/hst-zipper-pouch-key-fob-tutorial.html%E2%80%8E">It's Jeni Baker's Half-Square Triangle Pouch</a> tutorial but made with QAYG panels. Didn't it turn out so cute?!<br />
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<br />My partner asked for low volume and aqua. Surprisingly I didn't have that many aqua scraps, so I'm happy I was able to come up with enough to add some color.<br />
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I'll probably table these projects for the week because I'm hoping to catch up on the rest of my commitments for the month (bee blocks, swaps), then get my Christmas stockings sewed up :) What have you been working on?<br />
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<a href="http://www.freshlypieced.com/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced" height="150" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8357/8253389546_fdb631e427_o.jpg" width="150" /></a>Linking up with Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday<br />
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<span id="goog_1568416562"></span><span id="goog_1568416563"></span>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-66245059547063137452013-10-28T07:10:00.003-07:002013-10-28T07:10:49.987-07:00Halloween Sewing SwapHappy (almost) Halloween! I love Halloween, it's always been one of my favorite holidays. So, of course I jumped at the chance to participate in <a href="http://mcsqrd.blogspot.com/">Martha Fipps'</a> Halloween swap. And I didn't hesitate to buy a whole slew of new Halloween fabrics (lol!) Unfortunately I had no idea when I signed up that life was going to be so crazy the last couple months so it was a little hectic getting 4 items sewn up for my partner.<br />
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My partner wasn't too picky, but didn't have kids, so all of the items were for her. I decided to try my hand at making <a href="http://acuppaandacatchup.com/">a cuppa and a catch-up's</a> nesting bowl pattern using Rachel's (@<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wooden_spoon/">woodenspoon</a>) flying geese dimensions for the focus print. I made the 7" bowl and it turned out HUGE! The basket filled up with all the goodies stuffed a medium flat rate box.<br />
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I also made Noodlehead's small <a href="http://www.noodle-head.com/2012/06/open-wide-zippered-pouch-diy-tutorial.html">Open Wide pouch</a>, a little card wallet using the leftover HSTs from the flying geese, and an improv pieced coffee cozy with some more scraps.<br />
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Isn't that button and Riley Blake: Too Cute to Spook adorable?<br />
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I received a lovely package in return from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ktmcg82/">Katie</a>. It turned out that it was an even partnered swap, so I created for and received from the same person. Katie claimed she was new to sewing, but after looking at the items she made me, I don't believe it! She did such a fantastic job with everything!<br />
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I think the coasters are my favorite -- scrappy on one side, text print on the other -- what could be better than that?<br />
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I had such a fun time decorating over the weekend. The bunting goes perfectly over my fireplace and the table runner on the coffee table :)<br />
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Did you make anything fun for Halloween?Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-20500198516921642022013-10-17T15:21:00.001-07:002013-10-17T15:21:22.977-07:00Bee BlocksI'm finally getting caught up on my September/October commitments. Who knew opening a new library building would be so exhausting!<br />
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For September's Scrapbeelicious bee, Gwendellyn @ <a href="http://therainbowrevolts.blogspot.com/">therainbowrevolts</a> asked for "themed" scrappy trip blocks<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The theme for this one is scraps that were on my table... they just happened to be coordinating from Cuzco and Glimma</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rainbow DS prints -- a mix of Chicopee, FMF, Florence and Croquette</td></tr>
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For the Grace circle of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/dogoodstitches/">do.Good.Stitches</a>, Irelle asked for a modern solids block (<a href="http://www.sewmamasew.com/2011/12/modern-block-of-the-month-bom-sew-along/">November BOM</a> from Sew Mama Sew). <br />
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These blocks took me about an hour and 15 min each, but I cut every piece right before I sewed it since each component had different measurements. I think it would be easier to do an entire quilt using this pattern and bulk cut the pieces. I used Kona Medium gray for my neutral then a mix of solids I had laying around from my meager stash of solids.<br />
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Finally for <a href="https://www.threadbias.com/groups/newbee-quilters">Newbee Quilters</a> over at Threadbias libellenart asked for a <a href="http://filminthefridge.com/2012/02/23/converging-corners-block-a-tutorial/">Converging Corners</a> block in black, red and gold for a quit for her son. I don't have a lot of "masculine" prints in my stash, so the pickings were pretty slim. I had to keep asking Ryan if it was boy-ish enough :)<br />
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And for October, emptysea asked for a rainbow <a href="http://www.dontcallmebetsy.com/2012/03/patchwork-wheel-block-tutorial.html">patchwork wheel</a> block. I had some fun with fussy-cutting on this one :)<br />
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The only blocks I still need to to do be all caught up are the October Scrapbeelicous blocks. I am a little intimidated by this one because Cathy (@<a href="http://wombatquilts.com/2013/09/30/paper-piecing-monday-scapbeelicious-style/">wombatquilts</a>) wants a low volume paper-pieced block (maybe 2 if we're feeling up to it). I haven't done paper piecing yet, but we've gotten to the introductory posts in the paper piecing portion of the Penny Sampler class. So hopefully I'll have more confidence in the coming weeks once I get caught up! :) Thanks for stopping by!Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-83826814949687997232013-09-19T16:21:00.002-07:002013-09-19T16:21:56.927-07:00What I've been up toCross-stitching! Yes, just what I need... <i>another</i> hobby, amirite? <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery -- Halloween Spooky Sampler</td></tr>
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But moving a library is seriously hard work, I'm talking pretty intense physical labor putting 215,000 books on the shelves and shifting them several times so they all fit... especially for people who generally work desk jobs. So instead of sewing when I'm exhausted, which usually ends with picking out stitches over and over and a lot of cussing at my machine, I decided I needed something to do while I'm just sitting and relaxing.<br />
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It's seriously impossible to resist the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's samplers -- they are too damn cute. I'm almost done with the Halloween Spooky Sampler, and in between weeks, I've been working on the Woodland Sampler... Yup I'm totally hooked!<br />
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<i>Gah! Those hedgehogs :)</i><br />
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<a href="http://627handworks.com/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://627handworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/linkyparty_02.jpg" /></a>Linking up with Thursday Threads @ 627 Handworks!Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5467284107498414652.post-72181618928711044472013-09-15T17:57:00.000-07:002013-09-15T17:59:38.792-07:00Giveaway: Travelling Stash<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Greetings all! About a month ago, I had the good fortune to win a Travelling Stash box. Apologies for taking so long to get the giveaway posted but (as my regular readers know) life has been <i>insane</i> lately with our Library move.<br />
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The travelling stash came in a Medium Flat Rate box, stuffed full with goodies :)<br />
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Lots of fabric including a few yards of an AMH voile, about 10 patterns, an instructional video, a few notion items, some small Aida cloth and several large charm packs.<br />
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I grabbed 6 fat quarters (ack blurry pic!). I had my eye on one of the patterns, but right now I have too much on my sewing table as it is, I have no idea when I would get around to actually sewing it.<br />
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I'll be adding 2 FQ's and a Quilter;'s Quarters from Denyse Schmidt to the box. I haven't picked the FQ's yet though, so that will be a surprise for the lucky winner :)<br />
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If you'd like to get in on the <a href="http://karmawillowdesigns.blogspot.com/2013/09/traveling-stash-99.html">Travelling Stash fun</a>, please leave me a comment and I will draw a winner on Wednesday (September 18). Due to insane international mailing rates on a Medium Flat Rate Box... I'm going to have to limit this giveaway to <b>US only</b>. If you are a <a href="http://anyonecandecorate.blogspot.com/2012/09/are-you-no-reply-blogger-how-to-fix.html">no-reply blogger</a>, please leave an email where I can contact you if you win :)Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09385262695954588401noreply@blogger.com3