It's finished!  I finished my Sew Lux Fabrics Holiday Hustle Quilt Along today.  I started this the beginning of August with the hopes of finishing it by the 31st, in time to be included in a random drawing for a great gift certificate from Sew Lux Fabrics.  Dangle a carrot in front of my nose if you want to get me moving!  And I managed to get it all finished, even with Oliver's sweet help.  I was trimming and squaring the quilt today when he pulled the scraps off to play with under the table. 

 

 

 

 

Here's the finished quilt.  It measures 51" x 59", a little smaller than the pattern says, but I must have taken up some fabric with my quilting.  And another use for Wonder Clips is to hold quilts up for pictures.  The photo doesn't show it, but the quilt is being held by wonder clips hooked to two hangers gripping the top of my entertainment center.  It worked well since I have no open space to place a quilt for photos.

 

 

 

 

This is my quilting pattern..... just simple, wavy lines running from top to bottom.

 

 

I tried the new (new to me, anyway) binding technique where you machine sew the binding on the back, fold it over to the front and machine sew it .... yes, machine sewn on the back and the front!  Here's how it looks on the front.  I used my stitch-in-the-ditch foot to sew between the two fabrics used in the binding.... kind of gives it a piping look.  It was very easy to do and I know that I'll be attaching most of my bindings this way in the future.  This technique is great for quilts that get a lot of use and washing.  The binding will really hold up!  Here's a link to the binding technique..... Susie's Magic Binding.  This tutorial has complete instructions so this won't be as confusing as my description.  Give it a try... you'll love it!

 

 

 

This is the back side of the quilt folded over onto the front.  By sewing the binding from the front side, you will have a narrow line of stitching below the binding on the backside.  I don't find this unattractive, but on an heirloom quilt, I would still hand sew my binding.

 

 

 

Here's the backside again, showing one of the corners.  It looks the same as any binding except for that narrow line of stitching below the binding. 

 

It only took me an hour and a half to sew the binding on this quilt!  That's the back and the top, both sides... completely finished.  It was really nice to finish a quilt binding so quickly.

 

Christmas in August!  One project done.... many more on my to do list! 

I focused on my BOM's this week and finished all three.  The first two are the BOM's from Sew Lux Fabric..... same pattern, two color ways.  The corners were paper pieced so these blocks went together really quickly.  The background fabric is white, even though it seems to have a blue cast on my monitor. 

 

 

 

This block is from The Fat Quarter Shop.  This is the 3rd block in this series and now I'm sure that this is going to be a basket quilt.  So far, all three basket blocks also share that blue square in the center.  Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts designed this block.  I just love these blocks!

Sewing Room Link Up

 

I'm linking up today with several other sewists who are sharing their sewing/crafting/creating spaces with Jennifer of Ellison Lane.  Link up with Jennifer to see lots of great sewing areas.  It's so much fun to eavesdrop into the world of other crafty ladies.  If you link up and join us, you will be eligible to win some great gift certificates!

 

This is my sewing room..... it's all of 6' x 12'.  As you can see, I make use of every inch.  I'm not going to fill this post up with lots of words..... if you have any questions and want to know what something is, etc., just email me or make a comment.  The photos will enlarge if you click on them.  I took these photos this morning without any clean up or straightening..... what you see is my real world.

 

 

 

 

 

The bookshelf is covering up a window.  I live VERY close to my neighbors and this window is only 6' away from their widow.  By covering it up, I have complete privacy although I loose the natural light.  I can be a bit of a hermit and crave solitude and quiet.  I can get a taste of this in my cozy little sewing room.  The little mini wall hangings on the shelves ..... hung with Clover Wonder Clips...... cover up totes full of fabric and other goodies. 

 

 

 

 

 

This area is next to the shelving unit and holds my ironing station.  There is also a cutting mat under the ironing surface.  I have used bed risers to make this high enough to be easier on my back.  Of course, all floor space is utilized under the table for more totes of fabric.  (I have more fabric in another room and also out in my garage....... I've been sewing my whole life and quilting since the 60's, so I have LOTS of fabric!)

 

 

 

This is the other end of the room with more shelves.  Most of these books are quilting books with an assortment of craft books thrown in.  More totes on top of the shelves with..... yes, more fabric.

 

 

 

Full view of the sewing end of the room.  My sewing machine is on the left and there is another cutting mat right next to the machine.  I can sew and trim without leaving my chair.  I also have a folding TV  tray that I use for ironing if I don't want to get up and go to the other ironing surface.  Sounds lazy, but if you are sewing tons of little seams, it sure cuts down on the time if you can sew and quickly rotate to trim and iron. 

 

 

And here's a full view of the other end.  Kind of gives you a perspective of my little space.  It may be small, but it's very functional and efficient for my needs.

Hope you'll visit the other blogs to see more sewing rooms.... I love snooping.... don't you?!

 

I finally finished my donation for the 2013 Mennonite Hunger Relief Auction.  The finished size is 16" x 16" and there are 200 pieces in the top.  I've called it "200 Pieces."  Pretty creative title....huh?  This is the auction that only allows hand quilting, thus, the quilting is sparse.  :)  There is no way that I could have done any quilting in the tiny blocks themselves.  I planned to bind the hanging with the turquoise fabric, but didn't have enough.  I ended up using a gray fabric from my stash.

 

 

 

Here's a close up of my clumsy quilting.  It came out OK, but if my hands didn't hurt so much, I could make smaller stitches.  This may be my last donation for this auction because of the hand quilting requirement.  I'll just have to see what my thoughts are after the first of the year when it's time to start planning the next quilt.

 

 

 

 

The auction isn't held until the latter part of September.  I usually attend and will let you know if my little hanging sells.  It's for a great cause, so I hope someone likes it!

Week two of the Sew Lux Quilt Along.  This week, I've added my sashing and my borders to the charm square sections.  Sorry about these pictures.  This quilt is only 53" x 60" but I don't have a large enough spot of floor space to lay it down for shots.  I had to put it on top of my bed for the pictures which leaves them distorted and not rectangular.  You get the idea, though.....

 

 

 

 

This is a nice pattern and a great use for charm packs.  Again.... go to the Sew Lux link above to get the free pattern and instructions.  I spent one afternoon sewing the charms together and another afternoon cutting and sewing the sashing.  Pretty fast for a nice sized lap throw.

 

 

 

Next week is the quilting and binding.  I struggle with the quilting part and will wait to see if they have some good tips for machine quilting instead of just jumping in and finishing my quilt right now. 

 

I saw this "simple" child's craft on Pinterest and thought it was kind of cute.  I picked up a few supplies.... cheap melting beads and a special surface to align the beads.... and set forth.  Placing the beads was quite easy, although tedious.  (They had a tendency to roll away or stick to my fingers.)  The sewing machine on Pinterest didn't have a base but I wanted my machine to stand on its own.  Once you arrange your beads, you iron the beads to melt them.... first one side.....cool.... turn it over and iron the other side.  The bottom of my iron must not be flat or heats unevenly, as I had a terrible time getting a consistent melt.  You can see that I really did a melt job on the right side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'll give it another try some other day with another iron.  It was fun to make and would make a cute ornament or gift tag if you left the stand off.  Consider the possibilities.... :)

 

 All of the "Christmas in July" and "Christmas in August" blog hops have inspired me to join a Christmas quilt along.  Sew Lux Fabrics has a quick, simple one that just started, so you have plenty of time to join in.  It starts with a basic charm pack and could be made with any charm pack and any theme, not just Christmas.  All the details can be found through the link above.

 

 

This is the fabric that I'm using.  I got the charms all sewn today and next week we will get instructions on the sashing and borders.  Oh... it's free, of course, and is a great pattern for a cozy lap throw.  Hope you'll join me!

 

Before.....

 

 

 

After.....

 

 

 

 

Here's the second block in the Fat Quarter Shop Designer Mystery BOM.  Since this is also the second basket block, two for two, I'm seeing a potential pattern.  It might be too soon to call, but I'd be really happy with a basket quilt made out of these great fabrics.  We'll see what next month brings!

I finished this month's Sew Lux BOM.  (Yeah... I'm on schedule....two months in a row!)  Again, I'm doing this BOM series with two fabric lines.... same pattern..... different fabrics. 

 

The first block is done with the original fabrics, the fabrics that are shown in the directions.  It came out pretty well without too much trouble.  I like the way the directional middle fabric gives kind of a spinning effect. 

 

 

 

The second block didn't go as smoothly.  I'm not even sure if I have the fabrics in the right places even though they tell you which fabrics are A, B, and C.  I do wish they would enclose a photo of the finished block using the alternate fabrics.  I'm a visual kind of person and I'm not sure if I've put this together correctly or not.  It really doesn't matter, but I do think I'd like the navy on the outside, similar to the first block. 
 

 

I will probably get my Fat Quarter Shop BOM in the mail tomorrow or the next day and I'm actually ready to work on it.  Bring it on!

 

I went ahead and put the borders on last night, going with a 3" border.  I can always make it narrower.  It's now 16" square. I'm going to bind it with the turquoise fabric if I have enough left over.  I may even pipe the edge instead of regular binding.  I had planned on adding a tatted trim around the blocks, but when I laid it on top of the blocks, it just took your eye away from the quilt and made it too complicated..... didn't add anything to it. 

 

 

Now I have to hand quilt it.  Yuck...... I don't enjoy hand quilting at all anymore.  Too painful for my hands.  This auction will only allow hand quilted quilts.  You can machine piece...thankfully.... but cannot machine quilt your donation.  This little quilt is just screaming for precision, machine quilting in some sort of straight line or geometric pattern.  My hand quilting will not do this justice and will actually make it less appealing.  When you are auctioning off quilts for hunger relief, you would think they would allow machine quilting which would probably double their quilt donations and thus make tons more money.  But, alas, rules are rules ..... traditions must stand .... and hand quilt, I must.

Auction Quilt

 

I had a chance to continue with my auction quilt this week end and have finished the tedious blocks.  This LITTLE quilt is only 10" square finished and has 200 pieces in it!  I'm pleased with my design and the overall look and I'm now ready to add borders, which I think will be 2" or 3".

 

 

 

 

Here's the backside where you can see all of the pieces.  I used a soluble foundation paper, so I'll be able to soak the papers off and iron it dry, trying to keep things from distorting.  I'll add the borders before I remove the papers, which will also help it to keep a nice square shape.

 

 

 

 

The problem with this being so small (I'm thinking it will be only 14" to 16" square with its' borders added) is that it won't be very visible when it's actually on the auction block.  If I get it to the organizers in a timely fashion, it will be listed in the auction book, where I'll be able to add a little description about it.  I'll be sure that I make that happen so that it doesn't get overlooked with all of the big boy quilts.  :)

4th of July

Happy 4th of July!

 

I'm very grateful to live in the United States where I'm blessed with many freedoms and privileges.  Many thanks to all who have made this possible.  God Bless the USA!

I started working on a new project yesterday.... a small wall hanging for the 2013 Mennonite Hunger Relief Auction.  It's held in late September and I have donated a quilt or hanging for the past 4 years.  This year, I decided to go small.  Really small.  These blocks are 4" finished and have 37 pieces in them!  Although the pattern is easy, it still took me about 2 hours to make just one block. 

 

 

 

Sorry about the poor picture quality.  I have a new photo editing program and I'm still in the learning curve.  This block is actually perfectly square, but the tips are not laying flat on my board which makes it look distorted. 

 

 

 

 

This is one of those projects that you have to walk away from and change pace once in awhile.  It does get tedious.  I'm only doing four main blocks, some smaller PP sashing blocks, and then the border.  I has to be hand quilted to be donated in this particular auction..... I hate to hand quilt with my terrible arthritis...... but I will only be quilting the outer borders and maybe a spot or two in the blocks.  I'll just have to see how it goes.  I may also tat a border around the perimeter of the blocks too.  Most of this is just up in the air and I'm designing as I go, hoping for a happy ending.  Hmmm....... 

 

I'm on a roll...... here's Block #1 in the newest Fat Quarter Shop Designer Mystery BOM!  This is the first in the new series of 12, the June block.  It may be almost the end of June, but I'm still, for this moment in time, caught up.  I love the Avalon fabric line and I thought this was a really nice basket pattern.  OK..... bring on the July block!

 

 

 

And then there were 12........, 12 blocks.  I finally finished the last block in the Designer Mystery BOM series!  I've loved all of the blocks and the fabric selection, which was Vintage Modern. 

 

 

 

 

This is a gallon size baggie filled with all of the leftover fabric from this BOM series.  It weighs almost 2 pounds!  Some of the pieces are small, like the triangles that you cut off of Flying Geese, but there are also larger pieces...... many FQ's and even larger pieces.  I would guess that there are about 5 yards in this baggie, plenty to make many more blocks, use as sashing, or whatever.  This is what has impressed me the most with The Fat Quarter Shop BOM's...... they are so generous with their allotted fabric that you don't have to worry about making a wrong cut.... there's plenty of fabric for a do-over.

 

 

 

 

I'm now ready to start the next Designer Mystery BOM series using the Avalon  fabric line, which I also love.  I've already received Block 1 and Block 2 will be here in a couple of weeks.  I always have good intentions to keep up to date, but life sure has a way of interfering with my sewing time.  We'll see how it goes this time around! 

Another Designer Mystery BOM.  This is the 11th block...... only one to go!  If any of you have made this block, you might notice that my block "swirls" in the wrong direction.  I messed up on the first cut that I made and decided that if I messed up the same way on the next 7 cuts, it would still come out OK..... just backwards.  Anyway, it worked!  Off to make block #12......

 

 

I stopped in one of our thrift shops the other day and found this little steal for only $3.00.  I love old sewing machine attachments and goodies.  This box was taped shut.... (unfortunately, with a scotch-type tape) ..... and I ended up removing a little bit of the box hide to get the tape off and open the box. 

 

 

This is what I found inside the box.  Lots of attachments and they are all in good shape.  The box did not include the foot that the attachments attach to..... make sense?  I may already have that foot in some of my other sewing machine implements.... I'll have to take a look. 

 

 

Also in the box..... I saved the best for last....... were these screwdrivers and awl.  These will be loved and used often.  What a great buy for $3.00!

 

 

I hope you find some unexpected treasures today!

Follow me with Bloglovin"

 

For what it's worth..... I have added a button on my sidebar to follow me via bloglovin'.  I'm still not the least bit clear about this whole changeover.... but I needed to keep up with the trend.  I joined with just my email..... not through Facebook, so if you are like me and don't want any more things running on your FB page than necessary, you can join and follow through email.

(Good grief ..... why did they mess with Google and something that worked so well?!)

Hope you had a pleasant, relaxing week end.  I didn't get much sewing done, but I did get to spend a little time in my sewing room this afternoon. 

 

First..... here's my sweet Oliver in one of his favorite spots, checking out his backyard turf.  Strictly and indoor cat, he keeps careful watch over his yard and lets me know if there is an uninvited intruder.....AKA- a stray cat or juicy bird.

 

 

 

 

I didn't get caught up with my Designer Mystery BOM series, but I did get one block done. I'm not going to beat myself up for only making one block..... one block is better than none!

 

 

 

 

Here's a little tip that I use to keep things organized while I'm making blocks.  This particular BOM series has a lot of pieces in the blocks and it gets confusing sometimes.  It's easy to pick up the wrong piece.  Many of these pieces are the same size, and even the same fabric, but they go in different places.  I just use pennies with an alphabet sticker pressed on top and place them on the pieces as soon as they are cut.  I use pennies because they are weighty enough that if I have my ceiling fan on, they stay in place....little pieces of paper drift around.  You could use any sticker to write your alphabet or row number, use a label maker..... whatever.  It helps me keep track of the pieces and I make fewer mistakes in construction. 

 

 

 

Happy sewing!

Sewphie and I had a little quality time together yesterday and I was able to work on my Fat Quarter Shop Designer Mystery BOM series.  I finished Block 7, Block 8, and Block 9.  I'm getting there!  Hope to get 10, 11, and 12 finished today or over the week end..... and then I'm ready to start this year's BOM.  This BOM series runs from June to the following May, so saying "this year's" is a little confusing.  In any case.... there are 12 blocks in the series and I'm behind!

 

 

Tammy Bag Blog Hop

Hello Everyone! 

 

 

Today is the last day of the Tammy Bag Blog Hop and my day to show you my creation. 

I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get this bag finished because of health issues and computer issues.  I'm writing this post early (it's hopefully scheduled for the proper day to publicly post) just in case my laptop takes its' last breath. 

I must thank Madame Samm for this blog hop (nothing new about that)..... but this time, she is also hosting the hop and has  designed the pattern that we all used to make our Tammy bags.  If you are interested in making a Tammy Bag yourself, click here to find the pattern in Madame Samm's Craftsy Store. 

There have been some really beautiful and creative Tammy Bags in this hop..... tons of eye candy!  Here's the list of the other bloggers that are sharing their bags with us today.  Please stop by each blog and admire their Tammy Bags!
  

Felicia

Dawn

Carol

Britt-Inger

Kiera
Sharon
Jeanie (ME)
Mandy
Theresa
Mdm Samm

Here's my Tammy Bag!  I had this fabric in my stash and found the purse clasp at Joann's, so the cost was only a few dollars.  For the most part, I more or less followed the directions provided.  This pattern does have lots of room for personalization and making it your own.  I chose these cute Jazz Cats for my Tammy purse.  My pictures are not great and don't quite show the exact color of the fabric.  It's more of a royal blue with a purple cast.

Large, lined pockets on both sides on the outside.......

 

Large, lined pockets on both sides of the inside......
 

 

I don't know how I'm going to use this bag just yet, but I thought I'd show it with some maracas.  The bag is large enough for many uses......I'm just not sure what mine will actually be housing. 

Thanks so much for visiting today!  I'm hoping that I'll be able to sew and be more active in Blogland soon.  I surely do miss my sewing machine!