What I Am Working on Now

This mess is sitting on my ironing board.... it's about 15 pieces in process of becoming a large tote bag.... One of the first steps had me driving an hour away to my friend's house to get help in interpreting the instructions after hours of frustration with a seam ripper and reading the pattern repeatedly.... I will post when it's done.

I'm Back!

Sorry it's been so long since I posted last. January/February has been BUSY! I haven't been doing a lot of sewing lately- mainly due to the fact that my husband is leaving for a Washington DC internship, so I have been spending more time with him rather than ignoring him while I hide up in my sewing room. I know I will have tons of time to sew (and blog) while he's gone. Joann's had a President's Day weekend sale on interfacing, so I stocked up! I have about 5 projects waiting for me.....
I have had to keep up with the quilt block exchange.... This is the one I had to do for January: (the first picture is of the blocks completed by other members, and the second picture is of the one I completed.) I am pretty happy with the way mine came out. The lady included a handy gadget called "Thangles" that made doing the triangle units QUITE easy to do!

I have been asked to do a sewing group for my church and have recently started it. People aren't as excited about sewing as me, but I think we will have fun. We're going to try and do simple projects together once a month, I will let you know how it goes.

Oh! And as an update to my previous post, Westminster Fabrics withdrew their policy of having a price freeze after I stocked up on a bunch of their stuff. Go figure.

Snowy Weekends and Corporate Snobbery

When the weather is like this:THIS, is what happens in my house:

Above, is the quilt top I made out of Heather Bailey freshcut fabrics from the "Hip Baby" pattern I found at a quilt store when I was in UT for a friend's wedding this past fall. It was A LOT of cutting (probably the first quilt I have ever made that wasn't "strip" piecing) but it was pretty easy. I am going to save my pennies to get this longarmed because I am too proud of it to ruin it with my very poor machine quilting skills (or lack thereof).

I made these two purses yesterday, same pattern of the one I made my sister for Christmas. Can you notice the difference between the two? (The one on the right has a shorter lip than the first). Which one do you like better?

And finally, Amy Butler's "Birdie" Sling pattern, this is the outside:

Here's one side of the inside:

The fabric is Heather Bailey's Pop Garden- a kind and generous gift from my hubby.

I know, I know. I have been making a lot of purses lately but I cannot help it. They are so fun and a lot more sewing than cutting (hello quilts!).

Onto disappointing news: I just learned that Westminster fabrics is putting a price hold on all of their fabrics. Basically, starting Feb 1, all of their fabrics cannot be sold for less than 9.50 per yard for a full year. They are not increasing their wholesale prices, their reasoning is to make their fabric a "premium brand." It's a way to take away the competitive edge online retailers have, most specifically etsy.com Their prices are generally 7.50 a yd, whereas local quilt stores sell for closer to 9.50. I have to say that I would LOVE to buy my fabrics from local quilt stores but I do not because:

a. they are few and far between (the closest one to me, that doesn't sell 'country' fabrics, is a good 45 minutes away.

b. their hours are impossible to accomodate (hello people, I have to work to be able to afford to buy the fabric)

c. if they by a very small chance, happen to carry the brands/designs I prefer, it is usually in the least attracive color pallette because they get so picked over.

Anyway, I am also disappointed because I have been planning and scheming to open up my own online fabric store. I guess when I do, I probably will not be carrying Westminster. (Another negative aspect of their policy is that retailers have to hang onto stock that isn't selling, rather than trying to unload it fast through a sale. Who has the space for that?!)

Margaret Bag

I made this purse over the Christmas break, you can find the free tutorial here
I really liked making this bag and have to say I am pretty happy with the way it turned out. Th only problem is that the fabric is so light in color- I will probably use it sparingly in order to prevent it getting really dirty. I will at least wait till spring- given all these constant winter storms we've been having. The hardest thing was doing the pleats on the exterior- but it definitely adds a lot to the look of the bag.

I really liked the tutorial- it taught me some valuable things when it comes to making a purse. You can't really tell from the pictures, but this bag has some serious structure, thanks to 2 layers of interfacing and 1 layer of cotton flannel to reinforce the bag.

BTR Clutch

The night before my sister-in-law left to go back to Texas, we decided to do a "simple" purse and each make a Bend the Rules clutch. Of course, we couldn't make it simple and decided to put beading on the outside. I sent the one I made off to a friend before taking a picture, but this is the one Missy made. She kindly left it for me- thanks Missy!

I did about 1/4 of the kind of beading she did- she was much more talented and ambitious than I was.

Coffee Cozy and Cash-less Wallet

Hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year's. My husband graciously gave me lots of fabric for Christmas- but I will try to refrain from more fabric pictures and show you some of my latest projects. I have been sewing up a storm on this snowy weekend. I am working on a baby quilt today and I am cruising right along. I find it REALLY hard to stop doing a project I am in the middle of- but I needed to take a break. So I am posting a couple of posts from crafts from the holidays- those will appear this week.

In the meantime, I made these last night for Heather, one of my coworker's, for her birthday that is coming up this week.

On the left is a "cash-less wallet." I think next time I make this, I will make it wider in order to fit business cards more easily. The pattern is from, you guessed it, Bend the Rules.

On the right is a coffee cozy from a free tutorial on I found online here. I still need to test it on a cup to see if it will fit right.


Both of these are made from Amy Butler's Lotus fabrics that I received for free from an order of fabric from my favorite online fabric seller. Finding fabric I like where I live is not easy- all of the quilt stores have odd/impossible hours and very "country" type selections. Plus buying fabric online is $2-3 cheaper a yard than what you find in the stores, which more than makes up for the cost of shipping.....

Lotsa Pockets Purse

Here's an adorable purse I made for my sister for Christmas. I am in love with Heather Bailey's Pop Garden fabrics. This purse took only about 2.5 hours to make. I plan on making one for myself soon- it would be a great little purse to carry your scriptures in for church. It's hard to tell from the pictures, but there are 3 pockets on both sides of the purse- on the outside. So fun!

Orange and yellow quilt

Pleated Bag Beauty.... again

I made this purse for my sister in law, Missy. I am in love with this bird fabric by Alexander Henry.

Cute purse- Manhattan pattern

I made this in early November as a Christmas present for my sister-in-law, Melanie. I really love these Amy Butler fabrics!

Manhattan Purse: Part II

Here is the purse I made in October for my mother-in-law, Julie. I am in love with these fabrics- they came from a fat quarter set from Joann's. Those packs always have the cutest prints, but you never find the same things on the bolts.

Overdue wedding present

For almost a full year I felt really guilty for not giving my husband's brother and his new wife a wedding present. It's been my goal to make a quilt for every sibling that gets married but when Ben and Melanie got married last December, we were living in a tiny studio apartment with absolutely no space for sewing..... So, almost a year late, here is a quilt I made them in time for their first year anniversary..... in honor of their December nuptials, I made a quilt with Christmas fabrics.... my own pattern and the first time I've ever actually machine quilted a quilt.... I am happy with how it came out:

This is the back:
Congrats Ben and Melanie!

Guild related projects.....

As promised, here are some of the really cute quilt blocks I won at last month's Chelmsford Quilting guild UFO auction. Aren't they adorable? The only problem is that there are about 4 blocks missing- V, W, X, and Y. It's going to be a challenge to make my own, but I will figure it out.This weekend's project, besides working on Christmas presents, included making the next block in the block exchange. This one was CHALLENGING! I was so glad when I discovered that the person who had made the block had stuck in several "extras" of the triangle units- but despite this help, I used the seam ripper quite often. It's projects like this that remind me that I desperately need to take a quilting class because I am self-taught and could really use some real instruction. Here are the two blocks that came in the box I received.

This is my block. I am pretty happy with how it came out. Even though I am not a dog person, I absoltely love this pattern and maybe someday I can make my own for a nursery quilt sometime.

And just for old time sakes, here's some fun and very bright fabric I bought at the local quilt store, Candlelite quilts. I absolutely love it.

Less than two weeks till Christmas! Then I will finally be able to post all the many projects I have been working on for gifts for family.

Quilt Square Exchange Part II

Here is the original block I had to copy for October's quilt block exchange. A country version of Jacob's ladder:The lady provided a "Nifty Notions" ruler that was quite helpful in making the triangle parts. I definitely procrastinated this small project- I made it the night before the meeting. I won't be able to do that with the next block.... Wait till you see it! I will post pictures soon.

Here they are together: I don't think I did the greatest job.... But I am still technically a beginner......

I have a lot to catch up on here. Last week's quilt meeting was a blast- it was an auction of everyone's castoff unfinished projects, unused fabric, books, and tools. If I had more money- I would've gotten a lot more than I did. But I was able to come home with an unfinished baby quilt I absolutely adore. I will post about that later this week.

Keepsake Quilting

My good friend and I took a trip up to Lake Winnepesaukee to visit the famous "Keepsake Quilting" store. I was VERY impressed with their fabric selection. The only thing that was kind of a bummer was that they didn't necessarily have the fabrics listed in their catalog at their actual store. But they had an awesome policy of giving you free shipping if you ordered from the catalog at the store- I've been gathering up various prints for a Taxi by Timeless Treasures quilt and I finally got my last print from them. So these were my purchases from the day:

A darling fat quarter set of the Sock Monkey series:

And some fabric for a Christmas present, a purse, and a sewing themed quilt I am planning. Isn't it so cool how they fold the fabric for you like this?

Quilt Square Exchange

This year I am participating in the Chelmsford Quilt Guild block exchange. They made this activity geared for beginners because in years past the "exchange" activities intimidated less experienced quilters. Basically, I had to pick a block design, make one block, write up the instructions, and submit it to be passed around from month to month - and in April I will get a bunch of blocks from people.... Meanwhile, I have to make a different block each month for other people. I will post a picture later of the block I have to make this month. I am excited- but we'll see what the ladies do with mine- it might be difficult because the quilts they all make are very "country."

Vintage Skirts

I'm pretty sure someone embellished this skirt with felt birds and leaves, that it wasn't manufactured like this.

I think the print on this is gorgeous. Unfortunately, it doesn't fit as it is- I would be lucky to be able to fit my thigh in the waist part. But I am pretty sure I can alter it to knee-length. The tag says it was "Hand printed in Finland."

Pleated Bag Beauty

Here's a purse from Amy Karol's Bend the Rules Sewing Book, "Pleated Bag Beauty." This is the first time I made one, and I am in love with how it came out. It was a somewhat intimidating project at first, but it went really well and I actually didn't make any major mistakes. I am especially pleased with the fabric combination- both prints are butterflies. This is going out to a friend as a very belated birthday present.