Craftsy BOM Update

So I have finally finished the April blocks for Craftsy's BOM class. Whew! I don't know why but the hexagons just seemed like to much work. But I'm finally over it and here they are!

 

I think both blocks are going to have some updates made before they actually make it into the quilt but at least now they are 'finished' enough for me.

Along with these blocks I also started working on the July blocks -- Dresden plates ooooohhh!!

 I really like the way this turned out. I tried not to think about the colors too much and just used 20 different fabrics from the fat quarter bundle that I started with. The next Dresden plate is going to be a more modern look and I should have that one done shortly :)

Once July is done I will be working on the August, September and October blocks. My goal is to have the entire top done by the end of November so that I can get it in to my quilter before the end of the year. 

The gal that is putting on the class put up pictures of her finished quilt and I can't wait to see mine all done up as well!

Have a great week!

Angela S.

Our first snowfall and other randoms

Hi All!!

Just an update that I am working mostly on Christmas gifts right now so there are not a lot of pictures to show since I don't want to ruin the surprise for people :) In between those projects I am working on a purse for myself and I will try to get that finished up and posted soon.  

In other news -- my sewing room is being rearranged and we had our first snowfall this morning! Crazy on both accounts! I will have pictures of the new sewing arrangement once I get the room put together in a reasonable fashion :)

I hope you all have a great weekend snuggled up with hot cocoa!

Angela  

Sewing for a cause!

This past Saturday I was invited by my friend Gerri Lynn to come and sew up some make-up bags with her. The bags that she was sewing are for the annual 'Make-A-Difference Day' event that Heirloom Creations hosts at their store. 

The past few years I have not made any bags but I did go to the store to help fill the bags up. The bags are filled with travel-size shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste, a toothbrush, deodorant and a comb. Here we are filling up the bags last year! For the 10th annual event Heirloom Creations provided 1,250 of these make-up bags to Children's Inn and other charities in the community. It's a really exciting day at the store...mostly because the young Girl Scouts are there helping fill the bags and then also because we are trying to beat our total from the year before :)

Charity Gift Bag Event - 2011

I wasn't sure how much help I was really going to be to Gerri Lynn and her friends but I figured I would just be sewing at home anyway so why not go hang out with some other gals. We had an awesome day of sewing....mostly because we were fueled by some great food! Gerri Lynn and her husband Ken had a system worked out so that while he was cutting fabric, she was putting in zippers and I was sewing. Our other friend Deb was either putting in zippers or sewing the side seams of the bags with me depending on how far behind I was getting :) 

Sewing and chatting away!

All in all we finished 270 of these bags! With the three of us sewing and Ken cutting it took about 7 hours but that's also accounting for my wonderful caramel roll breakfast and then our wild rice soup lunch mmmm mmmm good. Just imagine what a larger group of ladies could do! Also Deb and I were just using sewing machines and I would imagine that a serger would make quick work of those bags.

  

270 bags ready to be filled

If you would like to help fill the bags this year the event will be on Saturday, October 27th from 10am until the 'fillings' run out! Check out the Heirloom Creations link below for more information: 

11th Annual Make-A-Difference Day – Charity Gift Bags

If you would like to help actually make the bags for the next Make-A-Difference Day event here is a link with the bag instructions:

Charity Gift Bag Sewing Instructions

These bags are such a nice size that you probably even have scraps that you could put together to finish a couple of them. Donations of the bags and 'fillings' are accepted throughout the year. 

 

If this isn't something that interests you - no biggie!
BUT
I have to tell you that sitting and sewing with friends is an awesome way to spend time
no matter what you are making :)

 

Happy quilting!

Angela  

Pinterest Party

Best idea ever!!

If you are in the area please check out the Pinterest Party that Heirloom Creations is hosting on December 4th. There is sure to be lots of food and lots of fun! Bring anywhere from 6-20 gifts and get that many back :) 

Heirloom Creations - Pinterest Party Info

If you have any great ideas that you have found on pinterest please let me know! I am still looking around for ideas. I have a few things in mind but I'm just not ready to commit yet. I also would like to try and use up fabric I already have and that mainly means my Farmer John fruits and veggies fat quarters. I am thinking that I will only make 6 gifts since I'm not exactly sure who I would give them all to...or maybe I will just keep them all!

While I don't know what I am making, I DO know how i am wrapping the gifts up. Check this out:

Gift bags from newspaper 

I am thinking I will use the funny papers instead of the actual newspaper though because that's how my grandma used to wrap our gifts :)

This colder weather sure makes it easier to think about the upcoming holiday season!

Have a great week!

Angela  


  

Back in action!

Sorry all - I took a vacation from work, blogging and my normal life in general for a bit there :) Here are a few of the things I have been working on. 

This fun hexagon quilt is actually going to be my new shower curtain. I am so excited that I am putting my 'Hometown' fabric to use. The rows on the left have been pieced together but the rows on the right have not been. Working with fabric on the bias is not my favorite but I think I am really going to like the finished project. The pattern is from Layer Cake, Jelly Roll & Charm Quilts by Pam and Nicky Lintott. This particular pattern is called Hexagon Hiphop. 

The above little wine bag was so fun to make. I especially love the cork fabric that I used as a lining. I know that the One Yard Wonders book has been out for quite some time now but I just picked it up recently. This was my first project from the book but it certainly won't be the last. I'm really interested in the pattern for the tabletop ironing board as well as some of the garment items such as the bedtime shorts. 

In other news around here....I get to see Darlene Zimmerman tomorrow evening! She will be speaking at my guild and then teaching a class the next day. I am really excited to see what topics she will be speaking on.

I will post an update on how things went :) In the meantime, have a great rest of the week!

Angela

A new purse and some baby books

Lazy Girl has done it again. Well actually this is an older pattern but still. I love their stuff. This was a super easy bag to make and they make zippers feel like they are not even work - mostly because they aren't. I picked up the cat fabric on my Minnesota Shop Hop Bus Tour. The pattern only takes 2 fat quarters, some batting and a zipper so its really easy to pick out cordinating pieces.

The books were all picked up from my Minnesota Shop Hop Bus Tour as well. The Little Golden book came from the shop in Worthington and the other two came from the shop in Windom. This will be the last of my baby books for awhile now i think :)

Hope you are all having a great week and hopefully your Friday goes quick!

Angela

English Paper Piecing Tutorial -- No Handwork!!

As part of my stash busting September I am working on my Craftsy BOM project. And I got stumped. I do not like handwork and don't want to do it. So I have figured out a way to skip the handwork and still get the look of English Paper Piecing. So here we go with my first tutorial!


I am working with 2" hexagons so keep in mind that this may not work as well for small pieces...but it is working for this size.   

 

Start with a piece of fabric that is slightly bigger than your template. Either pin or use glue stick to keep the fabric and the template together.

From here trim the fabric to roughly a quarter inch around the template. I go with a little more just for fun. 

Now get out those handy dandy Wonder Clips!! With 'regular' English paper piecing you would fold over the edges and baste around this hexagon...thats too much work. Instead fold over the fabric and place a Wonder Clip at each point. 

 

You will end up with some crazy looking thing like this. Place it on your ironing board and spray with starch of some sort. 

Then begin pressing.  Go around the flat sides of the hexagon first.

 

Now start removing the Wonder Clips and press down all of the points.

Flip the hexagon over spray with starch and press again. Wait to remove the pins and templates until JUST before you are going to sew the pieces together. 

Pins and templates have been removed and we are ready to sew!

Use a small zig-zag stitch that will catch both pieces of fabric. 
 

All sewn together - how cute!

And a close-up of the threads that bind them.
 

 Just keep on putting single hexagons together until you end up with a long chain. You will then be able to set them together side by side and use the same zig-zag stitch :)

 

 The final product -- hurrah!

 

I hope this helps others out there that don't like handwork but still like hexies!

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Angela

Another Free Craftsy Class

Hello All! 

I just wanted to give a heads up that there is another free quilting class on Craftsy's website. The gal leading this class is Elizabeth from Oh, Fransson! the class name is 'Creative Quilt Backs'. This class is described as a mini-class to give you a good feel of how the actual classes work and what the presentation is like.

Again this is completely free and a great way to see if you like the way that Craftsy is set up. Personally I find myself watching a lot of classes while I am in the sewing room and want some noise but don't necessarily want the radio on. The classes never expire and are available 24/7.   

In other news, I'm working on some projects on my list and should have some updates tomorrow :)

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Angela S. 

Fast and Furious Quilting

I made up a baby quilt from my new book 'Fast & Furious - Quilting As You Go' by Gudrun Erla. The entire thing took about 2.5 hours with cutting and binding time included.

I had bought a bag of scraps from a local quilt shop a few months ago with no plans. Turns out I had more than enough fabric to complete this quilt with what was in the bag. I did piece the back but the only downside to that is that some of my stitching showed though. I'm pretty sure a baby won't care though :) I really love the purple border print that was in the bag. I think I may have to make myself something with it!

I also managed to finish the binding on my new little runner tonight so I can show that off at my quilting meetings this week :)

Close-up of the fabrics

Front of the quilt

Pieced back

Happy Monday!

Angela

Productive Saturday

I worked on quite a few projects today so I can cross some things off of my list. I have been worked on some seasonal wall hangings for my grandpa. This is the second one that I have completed so its now in the mail. I think they are a really pretty thing to just hang on the door.

 

Next I worked on a soft baby book. I found out that I only had enough fusible for one book so I finished the one that I needed to get sent out and its in the mail now too :) I have never made one of these before but they are really easy and cute to boot so I think it will get a lot of use. 

Last night I got a wild hair and thought I would use my new book 'Fast & Furious - Quilting As You Go' by Gudrun Erla. You can find the book here. Amazon is a great source of information on this book because you can see all of the color pictures of the projects in the book. 

I picked the 'Lucky Charms' pattern for a cute little table runner. This whole runner is just 1 charm pack, a little bit of binding fabric and some cute buttons. I think you could probably finish the whole thing for under $15. It took me about 1.5 hours to get this far so with the binding on it will probably be finished under 2 hours!!

CLose up of the runner and cute button

Runner minus the binding

 I think today I am going to tackle some of my flannel scraps and see if I can complete another pattern from Gudrun's book. The quilts in the book and more like a lap/baby sized but that will be just find with me. 

I hope you have a production weekend too!

Angela S.