Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Work in progress

Isn't she cute? Only 6" tall :)
My very first Dresden!
I'm making a pillow for my living room
out of the scraps of my Hometown fabrics.
This is all I have left and I'm going to use every morsel!!!

Take a look at this fantastic table topper my friend Denise
made for me! How perfect is that?????

I also fed my addiction just a bit more this week.
Look what the mailman brought me!
I had to browse around over at Cotton Charm
one more time and picked up some more fabric
and 3 more patterns and 26 yards of rick rack.
(does that seem like a lot of rick rack?)

I quickly organized my rick rack and now it's ready
for whatever project might need just a little "something" :)

I'm pretty sure I'm done shopping....

for a while......

really :)

Monday, January 30, 2012

Today's lucky winner is.....

Corrine
Who said:

 "I would love to do a Christmas in July sew along or a Valentine's one and a St. Patrick's one and a Spring Showers one, and Cinco de Mayo one (ok, one every month). Even though I've only done a few small "getting to know my machine's" projects I've enjoyed having that extra push to sew something each week!"


I just want to say "Thanks so much" to everyone who joined
the After Christmas Sew Along!
I had such a good time and it was motivating
to see all your awesome projects :)
I appreciate that you took the time
to let me know if you'd be interested
in the Christmas in July Sew Along.
I am already working on lining up some more  fun prizes!
 
July will be here before we know it!!!

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Another little Hometown project :)


Please tell me that I'm not the only person
who uses a hand towel as a place to park a curling iron?
It's amazing what you can get used to
when you see it every day.
I mean...I can sew.
I don't have little children running amok in my home....
well not every day  anyways :)
Now that I'm feeling better,
I really don't have an excuse any more.

I find myself looking at my home in a whole new way.
There are so many projects yet to do.
I took the Hometown scraps that were leftover
from my bathroom curtain and made this little quiltie
for my curling iron to rest upon :)



Now I have even smaller scraps left over
and I can't bring myself to throw away even the tiniest piece.
I'm just so in love with it.
You'll probably be seeing it popping up
in all kinds of fun little projects over here :)
What's on your "to-do" list around the house
that you're planning on for 2012?







The Winner for Week #4 is........

Shreena5!

Congratulations!!!
Please email me with your contact information
to claim your $75.00 Gift Certificate
to the Fat Quarter Shop!
I so envy you right now!!!!

I can't believe 4 weeks have already gone by!

Thanks so much to everyone who played along!
You made this such a fun experience :)
And a special "Thanks" to all the
generous donors who offered such great prizes
and discount coupons!


Friday, January 27, 2012

Last day of the Sew Along & A New Giveaway!!!

Wow! It's hard to believe that 4 weeks
have already gone by!
Tonight I'll be picking the winner of the
$75.00 Gift Certificate from Fat Quarter Shop!
You have until 10:00pm to post your projects
Also, just a reminder,
don't forget to use those coupon codes
from the very generous etsy shops before they expire!

I hope you guys have been having fun!
I've been so impressed with all the great
projects I've seen on flickr!
You are all so talented!
I'm going to miss hearing from you guys!
I hope you'll still stop by and say "hello" from time to time!!!

My hubby asked me to make 2 more
cup cozies for the ladies who work in his office.
These are super FTS (fun to sew)
so yesterday I made the pink "Hello Kitty"
and the green & brown one for them.
I made the red one for me :)
I do loves me some hearts!

And now for the Giveaway:
This has been so much fun that I was
planning on doing "Christmas in July Sew Along"
as a way to get a jump start on Christmas gifts.
I'd like to know who would be interested in joining.
I also need to know if any of you have taken advantage
of the coupon discounts to the esty shops.
I'll be giving away a cup cozy
very similar to the red one shown above.
You have 2 chances to win it.
#1 - leave a comment and tell me if you would be interested
in the Christmas in July Sew Along
#2 - leave a comment telling me if you used the coupons
from any of the etsy shops during this sew along.
That's it. Easy peasy.
You have until Sunday night at midnight to enter.
I'll announce the winner on Monday morning.


Thursday, January 26, 2012

Some Hometown Happiness!

I don't know how it is at your house,
but over here my hubby and I need to agree on
the decor inside the house.
(Maybe that's why after 11 years the house is still not finished)
The problem is that I love red
and he loves blue.
It's not very often I run across things that incorporate both.
So when I found these bath towels at Marshal's
a while back, I knew I had to have them.
It was a way to bring some red into our only bathroom.
And then when I saw this line of fabrics
by Sweetwater called "Hometown"
I could have sworn I heard angels sing!!!
It's the perfect fabric for this tiny room!
I used red for the valance
and I pieced 6 different fabrics for the side panels.

I used french seams so that it would look neat
from the front and backside.
I pressed the enclosed seams to one side
and stitched them down.

I'm pretty happy with the results :)
I have one more small project to work on
for this bathroom.
Hopefully I'll have it done tomorrow
and I can post pictures.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

A little more "Cozy" love :)

After making the cup cozies "drink sleeves" for the guys yesterday,
(seriously......if the guys heard me call them "cup cozies",
 they'd never use them!)
I wanted to get busy making 3 more
for some special ladies in my life.
This time I used a Sweetwater pattern that I found here.
It's a very simple pattern and I love the scalloped edges :)
The pattern calls for velcro,
but I like pony tail eleastic and buttons better.
The pink one was made using 6 leftover charm squares
that I cut in half and pieced together.
I'm always trying to find ways
 to use up charm squares in little projects.

These labels are from the Sweetwater etsy shop.
They are high quality iron on labels
that come in a variety of styles
and I love the way they add something special!



And speaking of using up charm squares......
What do you use the leftover charms for?
I'd love it if you would share your ideas!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Life is too short......

It's hard to believe that January is almost over!
These cups were supposed to be Christmas gifts
for my hubby, my son and my son in law.
Clearly that didn't happen!
So today I finally got them done.
I found a fat quarter of this awesome
Robert Kaufman cigar fabric months ago on ebay.
I paid too much for it,
but I haven't seen it before or since then
and it had Cuban cigars on it and my hubs is Cuban!
So that makes me feel a bit better about buying it.

Anyhoo.....
the guys get together at our house every
Friday night and smoke cigars outside
and talk about "man stuff".
I was able to fussy cut 2 "Cuban" cigar boxes
for my hubby and son
and 1 "Big Wolf" for my son in law :)
I used fusible fleece to pad them
and lightweight denim for the backing.

I bought the cups at Joann's.
I had these great wooden buttons in my stash
that I bought over 25 years ago,
 so it was fun to give them a good home!

My hubby is VERY serious about his coffee
and would never use a cuff on his ginormous coffee mug,
but in the summer time he would use this for iced tea.
I have one on my cup like this and it really works
well to keep the cup from "sweating" while the ice melts.

And now for the most fun part of all......
I had these labels made over at the Sweetwater label website.
You can have custom labels made
in any quantity you like....and they are inexpensive too!
I had their moto "life is too short to smoke bad cigars"
printed along with the secret initials of their "group".
I can't tell you what they stand for
as I have been sworn to secrecy myself :)

Well that's it for today.
I think these would make great Valentine's gifties
for the hard to sew for men in your life!
And don't forget to post your projects
This is the final week!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Friday Night Sew In #10....The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.....

Last night was my 10th Friday Night Sew In and I spent
the majority of the evening working on the borders
 of my Hideaway Quilt.
I ended up having an allergic reaction to butternut squash
that made me cut my evening a bit short.
(weird....I know)
I finished the borders this morning.
From a distance, it looks pretty cute.
I've decided that I'm going to show you the
"wonk factor" up close and personal.

WARNING:
If you are squeamish...
you may want to cover your eyes....

Here's the good....

the bad.....

and the ugly.....

I learned a lot during the process of making this quilt
and I'd like to think that if I made the same quilt again today,
it would come out better.
That's what learning new things is all about :)
When I was a little girl and first learning to sew,
my mom (the professional seamstress) used to say to me
when I was disappointed about the outcome
 of a garment that I sewed that was a bit wonky:
"walk fast and no one will notice" :)
Ah....words to live by!

The Winner for Week #3 is.......

Nana's Treasures!
Congratulations!!!
Please email me with your address info
and I'll get your fabric and quilt pattern off to you!!!

is now open!

I can't believe that we are already
heading into our 4th week!
I hope you guys are enjoying
your time sewing!
Don't forget,
this week's prize is the big one!!!!

Will you win it?
(I know I can't.....dang it!!!)
Good luck everyone!
I can't wait to see what you guys post this week!

Friday, January 20, 2012

What a Fabulous Friday!!!

Today was such a special treat for me!
with my wonderful friend Amy :)

Can you believe the detail work in this applique quilt?
I really want to try to do applique this year...
but certainly not something of this scale!

This quilt was amazing in person!!!

I managed to get a picture of Amy shopping.
I got in trouble twice for taking pictures
in vendor's booths.
I didn't want to steal their patterns,
I just wanted pics of their beautiful work,
but I totally understand why they have to say no to photos.

Amy and I spent some time admiring
the many quilted vests & jackets worn
by the ladies at the convention.

Maybe we should wear some next year.....?

Or not?


I picked up a few patterns
and a couple of templates
and received a free f/q with one purchase.

I had a wonderful time!
So many beautiful things to see and buy.....
but I promised the hubby I'd be good :)
And tonight is the Friday Night Sew In
so I'll be working on my Hideaway quilt.

And just a reminder
that I'll be picking a winner at random
 for Week #3
of the After Christmas Sew Along
tonight at 10:00pm and posting the winner
tomorrow morning!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

My Tyrolean Train Wreck

I am finished with stage 1 of my Hideaway quilt.
I still need to sash it and add the borders
and then hand quilt and bind it.
I am using the "Hot Cross Buns" pattern
from the Schnibbles Times Two book.
This Hideaway fabric with the coo coo clocks,
tiny deer, and chalets in the Alps,
 just reminds me so much of Germany.
Maybe that's why I love it so much.

Anyhoo.....
This pattern has made me realize (once again)
that I can not expect perfection.
I've had to embrace the "wonkiness".

*sigh*

My lovely Hot Cross Buns are more of a "hot mess"
or if you prefer...
"My Tyrolean Train Wreck".
I'm showing the photo from a distance
so you can't easily see the severe "wonk factor".
I dream of a day where every intersection
of my quilts will meet........
(it could happen...right?)
In the meantime I will just enjoy the process.
And for some reason I really love
these little piles of fabric goodness
 that come from squaring up my blocks.....
maybe it's just me?

And I thought I'd share this little Christmas house
that I stitched last night :)

And for those of you that are playing along
or just following along with the After Christmas Sew Along,
be sure to check out the flickr group for week #3.
There is some serious crafty goodness happening over there!
I've bookmarked a few fun projects myself :)

Monday, January 16, 2012

Won't you be my neighbor?

I have a few new little homes
 to add to my growing neighborhood :)
I have to admit...they are addicting.
I love that I can stitch them
sitting next to the hubs in the living room
while he watches his "blow them up - everyone dies" movies.
My quilt will not have 365 little houses
and it will only be a lap quilt.
I have it all planned out in my head
and we'll see if it turns out the way I hope it will.
In the meantime I started cutting the pieces
for my Hideaway quilt.
I love this fabric.
Reminds me of Germany
and the co-ordinating gingham just makes me happy!
I'm going to start piecing it today.
I can't wait!!!

I also wanted to mention
in case you hadn't noticed the flashing button
on the right-hand side of my screen,
but I've joined the Craftsy Block of the Month.
It's a free online course and each month
she'll be showing us how to do two different
kinds of blocks.
At the end we'll put it all together
in to one large quilt.
How cool is that?
I'm going to learn paper piecing
curved piecing, Dresden's and much more!
All free! Being new to quilting
I'm super excited to learn new things!
I haven't shown pics of the first 2 blocks
because I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of them.
I'm planning on making my quilt smaller
than the 20 blocks she'll be teaching on.
That way, I'll watch the videos each month
but only make the blocks I really like.
If you want to learn how to quilt
hop on over there and register!

Saturday, January 14, 2012

The winner for Week #2 is.......


Suddenly Sandra!
She made this adorable bib :)
Congratulations Sandra!
Please email me with your contact info
to claim your fabric bundle.

I am really enjoying seeing all the great projects
that you guys are posting!
And I love all the new blogs
I've been finding out about because of this sew along!
I hope you guys
are having as much fun as I am!

The flickr group for week #3 is now open!
The prizes for week three are
this super Rolie Polie by Riley Blake
AND this quilt pattern by Cotton Way
Remember, anyone can join in at any time!
You can post pics of any sewing project
you are working on this week.
Please remember to check out
all the great etsy shops
that are offering discounts during the sew along!
For more details and all the coupon codes
for the After Christmas Sew Along click HERE.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Hi...I'm Karen and I'm a fabric-aholic :)

It was a good day yesterday indeed :)
Just look what the mailman brought me!
There is something magical
about a brand new piece of fabric.
So many possibilities!
Sometimes you just want to admire it,
hold it for a little while,
and never really use it for anything
because you're afraid you'll mess it up
and won't be able to get any more.....
or maybe that's just me?
I mentioned to you last week that I found a great online shop
called CottonCharm.com that is having an amazing sale!
Layer cakes as low as $16.75?
Charm packs as low as $4.25?
Jumbo rick rack .72 cents a yard?
Moda yardage as low as $3.44 a yard?
I know right?????
And Kelly, the owner is the sweetest person!!!

Everything in the store is on sale!
I may have ordered twice already......
I may have more in my online shopping cart right now......

How adorable are these snowmen?

Sorry...I bought the last of what she had... 

Besides admiring my new beauties yesterday, I did manage
to finish another basket liner for Evie's room.
I only have 1 left to cover
and I should finish it today.

For those of you who are playing along
you have until 10:00pm tonight to post your projects
for the chance to win the 1/2 yard Riley Blake fabric bundle
generously donated by Bratpacks Fabrics!

I'll post the winner here tomorrow!
Good luck and have fun sewing!!!!