Brrrr - Winter is getting serious

As I type, the temperature here is -1 degree. If you factor in the wind chill it feels like -21 degrees out there. Hence the reason I am staying inside all day sewing!

I started out by attacking my scrap basket and fabrics that have been gifted to me. I found the perfect blocks to use while making up some walker/wheelchair bags. Here are a few of the blocks all sewn together. This is actually a shot of what the back of each bag looks like.These pretty blocks were all string pieced together with nowhere to go - so now hopefully they will be making someones day.

Here are the finished bags! 

Bag 1

Bag 2

And together now :)

 The last photo shows both the front and backs of the bags. The left side is the back and the right side is the front. The front side has one large pocket, two smaller pockets and a small slot for a pen to fit. The back side is different on these bags - one has a large pocket(top) and the other has two smaller pockets(bottom). Personally I think the one with two large pockets would work better because you can roll-up magazines and fit them in there but who knows! I will have to check with the volunteer coordination at Good Sam and see which she thinks people will prefer. 

Pinterest Project #2

I didn't work off of a pattern but more like a general idea. The video below gave some great instructions however since I was working with scraps, wanted to add an extra pocket AND needed to add a pen holding pocket I adjusted as necessary.

While thinking about not going outside I was reminded about something I had seen on Pinterest a long time ago. A hooded scarf or scoodie.  I had bought the fabric to make one this fall and just didn't get around to it so here we are. I used tan sweatshirt fabric and purple flannel to make mine. I wasn't exactly sure how long I wanted to make the scarf part but I think this will be a nice size to wrap around your neck in the winter and not worry about adding to much bulk underneath your coat. The tutorial that I used can be found here.

With all of that I'm off to drink another cup of hot cocoa!

Angela S. 

Craftsy BOM 2012 update

Here are a few of the things that I finished up this week.

The three blocks are from the 2012 Craftsy BOM. The pattern originally calls for 20 blocks to be made however I am going to stop at 16 :) This will make for a smaller quilt but I think that I can get around that by adding borders which the original pattern does not have. 

I am going to try and finish the blocks in the quilt-as-you-go or fun and done method. We'll just have to see how that goes!

Modern Dresden Wheel Block - July

Ohio Star Block - August

Double Star Block - August

I also took some time to make a couple of mug rugs for a friends birthday. They are about 5.5 x 10.5 which I think will work better than the first one that I showed which was about 5x7. 

  
I think that I need to make up a few of these for myself!

Happy Wednesday!

Angela S.

Pinterest Project #1 - Mug Rug

Hello all! 

Here is my first Pinterest project :)

A mug rug is not quite a place mat but is larger than a coaster. It's the perfect place to set your coffee and a snack while at your desk.

Check out this gal's Matchstick Mug Rug tutorial. It's totally cute and so easy. I think it will be a great way for me to use up some scraps and practice my binding.    
 

In other news, Craftsy is once again offering up a free Block of the Month. I'm not sure if I will make this years quilt however I still signed up just so that I can watch the videos :)

I hope your week is going great!

Angela S. 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

With the new year I have some 'sewing resolutions' that I would like to share. 

I would like to make the following items in the next year:

• 13 charity pillowcases for the One Million Pillowcase Challenge
• 13 toiletries bags for Heirloom Creations
• 13 random sewing projects from Pinterest
• 26 wheelchair/walker bags for the Good Samaritan Society

I know that I always seem to find other projects as the year goes on but these are a few things that I want to focus on. I know that I have fabric to do the smaller projects but this will also give me some liberty to shop for larger cuts - especially for pillowcases. 

I also have a few on-going projects that I would like to finish:

• 2012 Craftsy Block of the Month quilt
• Beginner's Quilt-Along quilt
• 'Hometown' fabric shower curtain
• Scaredy Cats wall hanging
• Paper pieced Christmas cat wall hanging
• Continue working through the book 'Three Times the Charm'

 I'll let you know how I'm doing as the year goes on :)

Angela S. 

Sewing Lounge Update

Hello all!!

This week I got to spend some time at Heirloom Creations sewing with a few other gals. We got to hang out and sew the entire time the store was open AND they fed us lunch everyday -- awesome!!

I started the week by working on pillowcases :) 

  LOVE the Grinch!!

These fabrics used to be a 5-yard quilt kit...but they have been converted to 5 pillowcases instead. 


I also started working on a few more patterns out of the 'Three Times the Charm' book. 

 Meet Charlotte!! She is done up in Christmas prints and I'm hoping to spend Christmas Day quilting her.

Meet Dora!! Well hell-o thirties prints. I loved this little charm pack so much that I just had to make the quilt bigger. The pattern does not call for the small white border around the blocks but I thought it really helped set the blocks apart. The original pattern also did not call for the second, larger border but again -- once I got started I just couldn't stop!

 I am going to the shop again tomorrow so hopefully I have more to show you this weekend. Now for the task of actually quilting all of these!!

Happy quilting!

Angela S.

Pinterest Party Video

Heirloom Creations has posted a video for the Pinterest Party -- check it out!

We are also already in talks about the next party - find more information here.

We got some snow here yesterday so I am going to stay inside all day :) ahhhh should be a wonderfully productive day!

Happy sewing!

Angela S.

Pinterest Party Results!!

The Pinterest Party was a success!!

In sad news, the pictures of my gifts are lost somewhere but I have pictures of the gifts that I received. That said while I don't have pictures - here is the link to the tutorial that I used to make my gifts:

The premise behind the party was just like that of a cookie exchange. You bring 6 presents, you get 6 presents back. You bring twelve presents, you get twelve presents back. In my case 6 was the lucky number. 

We started the night off with drinks, appetizers and dessert-type snacks. From there we all drew a number and got in line around the gift table. We were not told who brought what gift so that made picking your gifts each time very difficult! Also you had to plan for the fact that for some of the gifts there were only 6 meaning that the next time you got in line....those gifts could already be gone!! Each time around you drew a number again to get in line and pick a gift for that round. 

SO ---without further hesitation here are the gifts I received!!

chipboard Christmas album

envelope cluth

 notebook cover with antique fabric and lace

 fabric cornucopia with antique fabric and lace

 embroidered gift bag with decorated ornament

 milk glass pincushion

 When Heirloom Creations posts videos/photos from the event I will post a link to them so you can see the events in action!

When the night ended we talked about having another party sometime this spring so I will keep you all posted :)

And now to prepare for my Christmas-time sewing retreat -- lots of fabric to cut!

Have a great rest of the week!
Angela

Meet Bertha from Three Times the Charm!

Whew - my Pinterest Party gifts are all complete!! With that said I got to do some quick sewing this weekend. Here is what I was working on :)
 

Here the table topper is before being all sewn together.

The pattern that I used was named 'Bertha' in the "3 Times the Charm!" book. While shop-hopping this summer I picked up two kits for the 'Greta' quilt - oops. Thankfully the 'Greta' takes a lot more fabric than the 'Bertha' so i have plenty of fabric for the top AND enough to make up the backing. This will end up being a wedding gift for a special person :)

If you haven't seen this book before it is really great. All seven patterns are shown in three different color ways which I think is really helpful! This was a quick pattern to cut and the quilt will end up being about 24x27 inches which would be great for a table topper or a doll quilt. I think you could also use this as a cute wall hanging.

Here is the table topper with all blocks sewn together and with borders attached.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and have a good start on your Christmas gifts!

Angela S.

Barbados Bag - Finished!

I picked up the kit for my latest bag from Heirloom Creations before I left for vacation in October. I finally got it finished up now -- eek! Oh well, better later than never. This bag provided me with a much needed break this weekend since I was working on Pinterest Party gifts again. 

Heirloom Creations is doing a 'Bag of the Month' type of things these days so they had kits and patterns all ready to go. Here is a link to their article for the October bag of the month. As you can see mine should have flowers on the outside pocket but I didn't like that fabric as much so I made that the 'main body' of the bag. 

The pattern for the bag is from Pink Sand Beach Designs and I have to tell you it was a little confusing! I think my issue was that I had cut out my fabric a few weeks ago and then didn't get back to it today so i had to keep measuring my pieces to see if they were the front, the back, a pocket or a lining. Next time I make the bag I will be labeling my pieces :) 

The inner pocket of the bag is bag enough to fit my iPad with room to spare! The top of the bag has a zipper closure and there is also a zippered pocket of the front(my cell phone is peeking out). On both sides of the bag there are open pockets and there is a set of pockets inside the bag as well. 

I wore the bag out and about today while running errands and the length of the strap is perfect even while wearing a winter coat. In the summer this bag may look a little long on me but that can easily be adjusted next time I use the pattern.

I made a little trip out of town this weekend and FINALLY visited the Dell Rapids quilt shop, Always Your Design. I have seen this shop at a few quilt shows so it was nice to finally get there in person. My husband helped me pick out this great cat fabric. 

I have no idea what I am going to make with this but it was just too cute to pass up! 

I have got to get back to those Pinterest gifts now but I'll check in again soon!

Happy quilting!

Angela S.

Pinterest Party Sneak Peak and other Ramblings

So I have finally figured out what I am making for the Pinterest Party that I am going to! Here is a sneak peak of the fabrics that I am using.

Ohhhh aren't they just awesome! When I bought them I still had no clue what I was making so I just picked up two yards of each. I found both of them at the Fabric Bin in Aberdeen, SD. If you have not been there I highly suggest checking them out. I lived in Aberdeen for nearly 8 years and didn't step foot in the store until after I moved away - sad. Anyway they have TONS of great fabric and loads of samples. They also have a Facebook special every Friday. I happened to shop on a Friday and the special was $1.50 off each yard of bolted fabric - woohoo!

The plan is that I will start/finish cutting up my fabric this weekend and hopefully get a few things sewn since I have a 3-day weekend.

Tomorrow night it is time for my guild meeting and I just finished up the blocks for that. We made the Patience Block this month - pretty!! The guild provided the leaf fabric and I used some Kansas Troubles fabric that I thought went well with it. 

This was an easy block to make and ended up being 12 inches. The last few we have made have all been smaller so its nice to get something this big for once. I think these blocks would be nice to make with leftover fabric and place on the back of a quilt. 

Well enough for now! Wish me luck with the Pinterest Party and I hope to have a few more things posted soon :)

Angela S.