Round Robin 2013

This week I was able to complete another walker bag and a block for my guilds round robin that is starting this month. 

 This walker bag is my favorite so far. I think the dimensions are a bit better and the middle section( where the handles are attached) is reinforced with flat felled seams. I have not used these before but I think it will really help sturdy the bag up. 

The block that I created for the round robin includes 2 paper pieced cats and then 2 fabric cuts to make a type of windowpane. The round robin starts this month and there are 6 people in my group. Each month we will trade projects so by the end of the project everyone will have worked on each block/row. My piece is 16x14ish so I'm not sure if people will treat it like a row or a block - either way I am excited!

This weekend I am hoping to get a few more walker bags done and finally piece together the quilt blocks that are on my design wall. I also reallllly want to work on a new bag for myself but we'll see!

More to come!

Angela S. 

Charm Pack Lovin'

Valentine's Day is fast approaching so I thought it was about time to work on some lovey projects. I found a great Valentine's charm pack from Sandy Gervais called 'Flirt'. It has some great colors in it and has a really modern feel to it. 

Out of 1 charm pack I am making two table runners. Here is the first all done up and the second is pieced but not yet quilted. I started with the smaller one first since it will just go on an end table. I find that its helpful for me to make a 'test' run of some things. This was definitely one of those things that the second time around will work/look better :)

The pattern for the large runner is from the following video:

In addition to working on table runner I am also prepping binding for my Coffee Cats quilt. Here is a sneak preview of the quilting on it.

Mmmmm mmmm mmm. Just looking at all of those quilted coffee mugs makes me want some hot chocolate right now! The binding on the quilt is going to be the green color and I can't wait to get it all finished up. Chief must really like it as well since he has been making it HIS since I brought it home :)

Have a great week!

Angela S.

Slowly but surely...

I have been spending most of my time this week working on my 2012 Craftsy BOM quilt. So far all 16 blocks are completed and I have sewn in the sashings...they do need to be trimmed however. The cat is already a huge fan of this quilt. Anywhere I put the quilt down he has to be on it :)

The cat finally found something more interesting in the house so I was able to get the top and bottom sashing put on. Once those were put on he of course needed to investigate - again. 

While I was waiting for the cat to move I started working on 'Greta', another quilt from "Three Times the Charm". I had sewn the blocks during my holiday sewing lounge but I didn't have a chance to get them together. Here is what I have arranged so far. I'm still working on getting things looking just right. There are only 9 blocks and each block requires 4 pieces so I have a few extras to work with if I don't like what I see.

Here is a close-up of the pretty fabric. This is all from a kit that I purchased while shopping in Minnesota :) They had 2 different kits from the same book - both of which I have greatly appreciated. I can't wait to get back to this shop again!

Stay warm!!

Angela S. 

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