Handmade Christmas gifts - Pt.2

After I finished the quilt for my mother-in-law, I turned to finishing the quilt I'd started for my son. He had picked out the pattern and colors himself, but I think he forgot he asked for it LOL! I got the quilt onto the long arm the Friday evening before Christmas, started quilting it on Saturday, and finished it Sunday afternoon. I did the binding on Monday while the boys were at the movies with my in-laws (great timing!) He wanted it to be WARM. So there's 2 layers of 6.8oz polyester batting in it, and it's backed with black fleece. Take that!

And here's the final result. I am really pleased with how it turned out, my intersections looked a lot better than some of my previous projects. I guess that means I must be getting better!

This pattern is called Diamond Double. I picked it up at my LQS recently. My son had seen it once when I had to pop in for a cut of fabric, and asked me a couple weeks later if I'd make it for him :)

The center section is quilted with a loopy design, with some stars mixed in.

I debated the quilting on this one. I am relatively new and inexperienced with my long arm and free-motion quilting in general, and I always worry I'll "ruin" the project with bad quilting. But because this quilt was staying home, and I was pretty sure my son wasn't going to care what the quilting looked like as long as the quilt was warm and in the pattern he picked, I decided to be a little experimental. I got on pinterest and started poking around, and found a few nice simple designs I thought I could probably do in the blue border and the black corners, and modified another one to fill the inner black border. Then I filled in the wider black border with a simple winding line. I did a little doodling with these designs before I started actually stitching, to make sure I could do the transitions properly when I turned the corners. It's not perfect, but I'm really happy with it anyway. And my son LOVES it (and sure enough, doesn't care about the quilting hahaha!)

This is the second of 2 finishes for me in December. If you missed Part 1 and the quilt I made for my mother-in-law, you can read that HERE. And if you're looking for motivation to finish some projects of your own, check out my Facebook group, UFOQueen2013 (I can't change the name now lol). It's a great group for motivation and inspiration!

Linking up at:
   The Free Motion Quilting Project

Handmade Christmas gifts - Pt.1

Now that Christmas is in the past, I can post photos! This is a king sized quilt I made for my mother-in-law.

She was pretty surprised when she opened the box!

I did a simple all-over meander with some free-motion stars mixed in. I stitched in the ditch around the batik stars, and used the Magic Binding technique to bind it. I'm glad she liked it!

I was pretty happy with how it turned out!

This is the first of 2 finishes for me in December. Be sure to read Part 2 to see the quilt I finished for my son!  And if you're looking for motivation to finish some projects of your own, check out my Facebook group, UFOQueen2013 ( I can't change the name now lol). It's a great group for motivation and inspiration!

Love it? As of 1/10/14, this pattern is available in my Craftsy shop! Stop in and download your copy, and make one for yourself :-)

Linking up at:

   The Free Motion Quilting Project

Another 2013 Finish

I've been hard at work at the longarm machine to get this one done :) Took a few days for me to get the binding stitched down, I've never done it by hand before. But it's finally done, so take a look!

This one is currently available for sale in my Etsy Shop!

Or you can get the pattern to make your own in my Craftsy Shop!

FLASH SALE!

Hey everyone! There's a flash on crafting supplies going on this weekend! If you need fabric, you can find it up to 65% off, and yarn is up to 80% off. Friday and Saturday only, so hurry over! And as always, there are 23 FREE mini classes available, so you can learn something new while you're at it. Come take a look, you never know what you'll find for a great deal :) Just click a banner in this post to be taken right to the fabric or yarn sale :)

My FAB new bag :)

I sat on it too long, but it's finally done! I don't even remember when I started cutting this. It's only been a couple months, but really, it should have been done before now. Anyway, here's my Quattro bag! (The pattern comes from StudioKat Designs)

I LOVE the handles, I've never done them like that before! It's webbing wrapped and sewn into fabric. I'm in love with this bag!

There's a kangaroo pocket behind the peacock, a pocket on each end (where the black and diamond print meet), and a zipper pocket on the back. The only drawback to this bag is that I've been using my Sidekick so long that I don't have a wallet anymore because of the nifty pockets and card slots in that. So I have to find a wallet for all that stuff. (Or make one to match!)

My latest sewing project

My husband has been out of town all week for work, so I have been doing some housework and sewing. Today is the deadline to postmark my entry for the Push the Envelope contest at the American Sewing Expo! And it's done!

A little background...for the contest, they send 100 envelopes of sewing goodies out and you have to make something with them. This year's goodies were similar to last year, three spools of thread and a zipper, but the threads were green and two browns, and the zipper was a 7 inch cranberry one. I was really worried how it was going to come together!

Anyway, here it is! Sorry for the photo quality, my husband has the laptop so I can't get the good pictures off my DSLR, these were taken with my cellphone. I'll switch them when I have access to my memory card :-)

 This is the front. I used the Bellagio Bag pattern from studiokatdesigns.com. Last year, my 9 inch persimmon zipper was hidden inside my project, so this time, I modified the pattern and added this little pocket to the flap. The opening isn't big enough to get a whole hand in, but the pocket's not that big either, just big enough for a ChapStick or some photos or some other little thing you want to new able to get to. Not your cellphone though, there's a side pocket for that!

Here's the back, and the best display of 2 days of work! As I said, they sent three spools of thread. I don't own an embroidery machine, so I have to make do with what I do have! Since I can't do all that fancy stuff, I did a plaid with zigzag stitches out of two threads. Why 2? Because the third was this weird puffy stretch serger thread that my non-serger machine didn't get along with. So on the first day I did the plaid, and the second day I used the third third thread, with all it's lovely puffiness, to hand embroider the lazy daisies into the spots I left blank. The more daisies I stitched, the more I loved this print I created! Seriously, it's so much better in person than photos can show.

 Here's the bag with the flap folded back. There's a pocket in the front, and you might be able to see the cellphone pocket on the right side.

Here's a picture of the inside. The pocket has a zippered pouch on the front as well.

So that's it! You can see it in the Push the Envelope gallery exhibit at the American Sewing Expo in Novi MI at the end of September :-) Hopefully this year I'll get a ribbon with a number on it!

Connecting Threads fabric design contest - Need your vote!

You might have heard, but I've entered the fabric design contest at Connecting Threads! I entered my Moroccan Tiles design in blue and yellow. I'm trying to make it to the top 5 because the top 5 finalists will be asked to submit more designs for final judging, and the winner's collection will be produced and sold in the Connecting Threads catalog! I'm sure you can see how huge this would be for the winner. I'd love it to be me!

But for that to happen, I need your help. Please?

All you have to do is go HERE and vote for my design, it's the first one on the page. There's no signup necessary, but you do have to enter an email address (they're a small family run company, they won't spam you, I promise!) That's it! In two seconds, you can help me, a new unknown designer, get one vote closer to a real live collection that people can actually have! (I love the idea of Spoonflower, but lets face it, who can afford $18 a yard? Not me!)

Thank you in advance for your support!

Two new mug rug patterns!

Nothing gets the creative juices flowing like wasting two weeks training and testing for a job that you didn't get! Ugh, oh well. I can still design quilt patterns, even if I apparently can't score essays.

So, what have I made, you ask? I've started working ahead on a couple new mug rugs for Halloween. I'm sure my test pieces will become gifts for my boys' teachers, but for now, they're lovely samples for my new patterns, which are available tonight in my Craftsy Store!

What a busy summer!

I have been absent from my blog for far too long. It's mainly just because it's summer! We're still a couple weeks away from school going back in session, and we've been trying to make the most of the summer. So far, I've been to scout camp for 3 1/2 days with my son, and we've been to Michigan's Adventure for 3 days and Cedar Point for 4, and even managed a detour to Kings Island on the way home last week. We're still hoping for a trip to Ontario to go to Canada's Wonderland. Why not? We might as well use these season passes! We've also done some stuff locally, and still have plans to do more, once my boys are home from grandma's. These last two weeks have been sucked up by training and testing for a work at home job I was trying to get, and they're supposed to tell us next week if we're accepted (I'm pretty sure I'm not!)

So let me catch you up on me! I haven't done a ton of sewing or designing lately. But I have been working on finishing the templates for an almost completely paper pieced quilt I'm designing, and I hope to have that ready for testing soon. I've also been doodling a little, and modifying some designs for some contests I've entered. And here's a picture of the sewing I've been doing! Sorry for the photo quality, I couldn't spot my good camera right away so this was taken with my cellphone.

I have been seeing stars for weeks! But the stars are finally all done. I'll be filling in the blanks with more black, and then I'll add some borders. As it sits now, it's already 96" square, so this'll probably end up being king sized! Either that, or I'll change my mind and make two more of the bigger stars and make a couple throws (still 72" square each to start!) We'll see what happens when I get there.

Once school starts back up, I'll have all day to work on new stuff! (Once the housework's done of course, honey! LOL)

School's out!

That's the right, no more school for the summer! So now comes the task of finding stuff for my kids to do for the next 11 weeks! Eeeeeek! LOL

My youngest will be heading off to kindergarten in the fall, and he has been wanting to learn to read. So I found a free online curriculum at allinonehomeschool.com for him to work through. He already knows his letter sounds so it's a matter of him learning how to put them together, and this site's Getting Ready 1 section starts basic reading at lesson 172. So that's what we're doing this summer! It uses a really old reading primer book to pull words from, so some of the words are a little outdated (who says lad anymore?) But the concept is sound.

And now that my oldest is done with school too, we're planning on going thru the 4th grade math section of the same site this summer since his grades in math are not good. But with only one computer, they have to take turns, and each will distract the other when one is on and the other isn't...so I came up with a solution!

This is our word wall!

I took some sticky notes and a black marker and made him a word wall with all the words he's learned in his lessons so far (and a couple duplicates, and some extra words he also knows). I had tried flash cards but they ended up everywhere and then ended up in the garbage. This way they stay put, and he can practice his own sentences. He thinks it's a game!

He manages to have fun with some sentences he thinks are just hilarious LOL!

So that was completely unrelated to quilting, but still a fun project. I can't wait to see our word wall at the end of August!

This week's quilted project

I finished another one today! I've never finished two quilts in a week. Granted...they're both baby quilts. But it's a start, right? It's a step in the right direction, I'm finishing things, and progressing toward quilting my bigger tops, while practicing on my smaller ones.

Anyway, this is my newest finish!

This is the bonus baby quilt top that I made from the cut off corners of my most recent mystery quilt design, called Waste Not, Want Not! which is available in my Craftsy shop and comes with directions to make TWO bonus baby quilt tops from those little corners that I used to just throw away! (I was so wasteful in my quilting youth LOL)

I did an all over loopy stitch. As I went along, I could see my stitch length getting more consistent and my movement getting better overall. But...(you knew there would be a but! LOL) I did also notice my loopies get smaller and tighter. I guess that's a good thing, I just wish it hadn't happened halfway through a quilt! But that's ok, that's why I'm practicing, right?

I have decided to load up my Window to My Soul quilt on the frame next. It's almost all loaded...but I apparently laid my batting on there 90 degrees off, so it's too short and too wide LOL I trimmed off the extra, so I'll just stitch it onto the bottom and that'll be enough!

Finished a baby quilt today :)

This week, I decided to do something with the extra big star block I have. So I added a few things and made it into a baby quilt top. And for the first time, I used my Gammill to free motion quilt it, without markings or a pantograph pattern. In fact, I discovered my long arm is way easier to control from the needle end! This may put an end to pantographs for me, since I would be able to see the pattern to trace it anyway.

Then I used a "magic binding" technique I found on pinterest to bind it. My stitch length still needs work (I'm at least the 3rd owner of my Gammill, it's from the 80's so no stitch regulator), but overall, I think I did pretty well! I'm happy with it. Just need to figure out what to do with it now!

Anyway, here's the final piece!

And here's the "magic binding". See that neat little pinstripe of blue in there? I really like this. And it's all machine stitched, right along that line between the blue and the yellow. It takes a little bit of extra time, but I think it's worth it!

Now that I've gotten this one done, I'm excited to start quilting another one! I have this one ready to load onto the frame in a little bit, I'm just trying to decide how to quilt it. I am thinking a simple loopy meander. What do you think?

Linking up to Leah Day's Linky Party!



The BIG reveal!

Today is the day! I'm posting the last clue of my mystery quilt, and a photo of my own completed top....and one of the bonus tops too!

Here's Clue #10!

I'll be removing all the clues from my dropbox next Friday, so if you're missing any, get them now! After next week, this pattern will be available for sale in my Craftsy Shop.

And....Here's my final photos. What do you think?

 And my little bonus top :)

Well, that's not going to work...So here's the clues you've been waiting for!

I've been delaying posting the last couple of clues because I've been working on a way to change the URL of this blog without having to do lots of work copying and pasting, and also without everyone having to find what they're looking for from their bookmarks, links, and pins (in other words, the super easy solution that causes no problems whatsoever!) So far, I'm not having much luck, SO...Here are the next few clues that I haven't posted. I apologize for their lateness, and I promise, clue #10 will be available here on Friday (and that will be the last one!)

Here are the clues that you've been waiting for!

Clue #7
Clue #8
Clue #9

This Friday, May 17, I will post the 10th and last clue with the final assembly instructions. After that, these clues will still available for one week. On Friday, May 24, I will remove them from my blog and the complete pattern will be available for purchase in my Craftsy store. So, if you are missing any clues, get them while you can!

 I'm not sure if anyone's actually following this mystery on my blog anyway, most people follow it in my Facebook Group. Are you following along? Leave me a comment!

Did you know....

....that Craftsy offers several FREE mini classes? Yup, totally free! They offer the same great format as the rest of Craftsy's classes, but they're shorter, and feature student-led discussions. So you can learn a new skill (or play with a skill you already have) and try out Craftsy's awesome classes without shelling out a penny. I have signed up for several of them, and I'm looking forward to going through them. The ones I'm going to do first are Creative Quilt Backs, and Modern Buttercream. I bet you thought I was going to pick another sewing or quilting class, didn't you? Well, I'll probably do those at some point, but I'm hoping to try some of the classes that teach stuff I know NOTHING about. I'd love to be able to make my own birthday cakes instead of going to Kroger to get them!

So if you're looking to try a new craft, but you don't want to invest any money into a class just to try it, check out Craftsy's Free Mini-Classes.

And don't forget to check out the pattern store (including my pattern store, which you can get to from the tab at the top of this page!) to find tons of patterns you might not ever otherwise see! There's some pretty amazing patterns in there.

LAST DAY TO VOTE!

If you've been following my blog recently, you know I'm entered in the Bernina WeAllSew Fabric Design Contest. Well, today is the last day to repin to vote for my entries! All you have to do to vote is to go to THIS PIN BOARD and repin my entries. Just a warning though, there's now over 200 entries, and mine are AAAAAALL the way at the bottom, so you have to keep scrolling to find them. If you haven't repinned (or if you have!) please come repin my entries. I'm a long way off from first place, but not too far off second (I lost my second place spot sometime this week and just realized it!)

Here's a refresher of my entries. I very much appreciate any repins you can give me!

Busy designing today

I usually post my mystery quilt clues in the morning (or try to!) but today I've been pretty busy. I decided that I wanted to put together a real collection of fabric designs to print up and put into a portfolio, so I have something to send to fabric companies in the very LIKELY event that I don't win the fabric design contest I'm in right now.

So, working off what I have already started with, I've now got 6 designs colored into a total of 30 different combinations, in a new collection in my Spoonflower store. Most of them are not available (and probably won't be for a while!) but there's a couple I pulled from my old designs so you can get those. Come visit and see what's new!

Moroccan Tiles in Blue and Yellow

Let me know what you think!

Clue #6!

You can grab Clue #6 now!

Time for Clue #5!

Yup, it's Friday again, which means it's time for the next clue! Are you ready for it?

Clue #5!

If you're not following my blog yet, you should! You'll get updates on the mystery and won't miss a clue.

Some new fabric designs

I decided to doodle a bit today, and played with a variation of my Moroccan Tiles design. Here's what I came up with!

And don't forget to vote for my original Moroccan Tiles, and my other entries, in the WeAllSew Fabric Design Contest! See my blog post for more info.

Moroccan Tiles 2

What do you think? I like that it seems lighter than the original design. More colors coming soon!

My Staple Dress

So, I don't typically sew apparel because it's a pain to fit to myself, and my dressform doesn't really reflect MY shape. What looks good on the dummy looks awful on me! Every now and then, I try again, just to see how I do, but I'm just no good at fitting. So when I saw the pattern for the Staple Dress by April Rhodes, which doesn't have any fitting, I thought I'd give it a try. I even already had the elastic thread for the shirring. I didn't want to use any of my "good" fabric though, in case it came out looking horrible. So I tried it with some kind of silky polka dot fabric that someone gave me, and here's what I got!

I did the drop hem (you can't really tell because I took this pic on a tripod that was probably set up a little too high!), and I added some extra shirring because the single row wasn't enough. I think it could look a lot cuter if I liked the fabric more! So I might make another one. I might also do the next size down, this is a little baggy under the arms. What do you think?

I love the idea of the Go Make Shit blog and the Staple Dress challenge. I'm kind of trying to figure out a challenge to put on my own blog now! Hmmmm.....

Don't forget to come help me out and vote for me! Check out this blog entry to see how :)

ALL Craftsy classes are on sale today!

If you missed any of the classes on your wish list in Craftsy's spring sale this weekend, you're in luck. Today only, Craftsy has put EVERY class on sale! Every class on their site will be priced between $9.99 and $24.99 until midnight tonight, 4/8/13. So "Spring" on over and grab them before the prices spring back up!

Craftsy Sale this weekend!

You can get Craftsy classes for up to 75% off this weekend! There will be different classes on sale each day, and the most will be on sale on Saturday, so be sure to check back daily.

What's on sale today? I was going to list them all here, but there's really too many to list! They're priced as low as $9.99, so now is the time to sign up. Click the banner below to head over, and they'll all be right there for ya, with categories on the left so you can go right to what interests you.

Mystery Quilt photos

Ok, so to update you, here's MY mystery quilt photos up through clue #3. I will post my photo for clue #4 when more people have had a chance to do it!

Clue #1 - Tri-Recs units

Clue #2 - I hadn't pressed my HST's open yet, so they're off to the side

Clue #3

Mystery Quilt Clue #4 is ready for you!

I have been posting these clues on my blog on the Tuesdays following the Friday I post them on my facebook group. That was only because I originally forgot to post them to my blog at all! So I'm catching it up here and will be posting them on Fridays for the rest of the mystery. So, here's Clue #4!

Also, I'd like to ask you a favor. If you're a pinner, please help me out by visiting this pinterest board and repinning my entries for this contest! You can see my entries here, just repin them and that's a vote! Thanks a bunch :)

Mystery Quilt Clue #3!

If you're following along, here's Clue #3!

WeAllSew Pinterest Bernina Fabric Design Contest!

http://weallsew.com/2013/03/27/weallsew-pinterest-fabric-design-contest/

 

You know I like to design fabrics, right? And I've recently decided to start marketing myself and my art to some fabric manufacturers. But this contest, and the possibility of a new Bernina and an interview and critique with Benartex, was something I couldn't pass up!

 

 

 

So I entered my 10 designs a couple hours ago.. I hope you'll come and vote for me by repinning my entries! The entries will be posted on THIS PINTEREST BOARD. I was one of the first to submit an entry so my entries are close to the very bottom of the board.To vote, you just have to repin my entries. But you have to repin them from this board directly, not from someone else that repinned them! Only repins (not likes!) from this board will count. Here's pics of my entries so you can find them. Thanks for looking and voting!