Christmas Wrap-Up

The jackets (in my last post) were a big hit~ the kids loved them! :-)

Here are a couple things I loved~

A little birdie from our DS#1 and his family~

And when it was unwound~~

Can you read it?  :-) Whoohoo!!

I also received this fun wall hanging from my Mom~

 I love it!  Now to find the perfect spot to hang it. ;-)

I hope your Christmas was full of wonderful surprises too!

Until next year~ ;-)

Happy Stitchin'!!

Last Minute Me~

The title describes me to a 'T'!  :-)

I have always been on time or a bit ahead at the holidays, but this year caught me!  I blame it on a water heater fiasco that happened in the two weeks surrounding Thanksgiving... losing two weeks to that just put me behind.  Every day I catch up a little more!  All the packages got mailed last week, the cards went out this week, we got the outdoor decorations up, yesterday I baked for DH's work party, and today I am cleaning up the mess from all those activities! LOL  Tomorrow I hope to decorate inside because I really like having the glow of the tree when we relax in the evenings.  How about you?  All set for next week? Or doing last minute things?  I still have two things I need to sew before I put my machine away...maybe Sunday. ;-)  Or Christmas Eve. LOL

I have had my embroidery machine humming and finished these two jackets~  

I purchased the jackets on sale and put on the embroidery designs.  They are an Anita Goodesigns CD from last year.  I love how they turned out!  I hope the recipients do too. :-)

I've also been trying to finish up my  mini Christmas project from Temecula Quilt Co.  A few posts ago I told you I was making the blocks with a mini charm pack (2.5 inch squares).  Well a few blocks needed bits bigger than 2.5 inches, so I ended up going to my LQS and getting a couple FQ's and a second mini charm pack~ I still have a lot of this one left as I only needed a few more squares. ;-)

I like how it turned out! I just have the two long borders to add. I added a very skinny border because some of my outside blocks ended up the same fabric as the border fabric and I felt it needed the little frame.  Hopefully I can finish this up soon! (after the last two gifts get sewn!) ;-)

I hope you are enjoying the season, and all your projects are finished and under the tree!

Merry Christmas!!

~Winner~Winner~

My giveaway winner is Marie!

Congratulations! I have sent your email address to Brooke, and she will email you the place mat pattern~ Have fun!

I intended to have some photos with this post, but that didn't happen~ on the bright side though, all of my mailing has hit the PO today!  Yay!

Have a great weekend!

Hindsight And A Giveaway!

If you've been following me, then you already know I am doing the Temecula Quilt Co Mini Christmas Sew Along using only a mini charm pack.  

Well, the joke is on me! I should have used two mini charm packs, or a little bit more for backgrounds because my mini charm pack is getting really low!  I am not sure how many more blocks I will be able to get out of it~ but certainly I won't get all of them. :-/

Here are the first 4~ today's block will join them shortly. ;-)

Are you here because you saw the word 'giveaway'? :-)  I made these placemats as a gift using Brooke @ Silly Mama Quilts pattern.  You can find the pattern in her Etsy shop~ Sunshine Serenade Placemats  I love the solid and prints she used, but my recipient likes 30's, so~

Brooke has generously agreed to sponsor a giveaway of her pdf pattern. :-)  If you'd like to be in the drawing, just leave me a comment... anything at all. No jumping through any hoops because aren't we all busy enough this time of year? :-)  I will draw a winner on Tuesday.

Thanks so much for stopping by~

Good luck!

Mini Christmas Quilt Along~

~~Block 2~~

My charm pack is still working! LOL ;-)

Mini Christmas Sew Along by Temecula Quilt Co. 

Happy Stitchin'!!

Happy December!

Do you have snow? Ice? Rain?  

We have had mornings of 'ice fog', which translates to 'stay home and sew' to me! :-)

With just three weeks to go, I need to buckle in behind my machine and get busy!

Today was playing with mini's~

Have you seen Temecula Quilt Co's Mini Christmas Sew Along?

It started today with block one~

 

~a mini friendship star block.  

I have been moving this mini charm pack from one side of my table to the other and decided to cut into it to make the first mini block.  I hope all the blocks will use pieces 2.5" or smaller, but if not, this will make a cute little pincushion or ornament! LOL 

Since I was still feeling mini :-)  I made a mini tote~

~it measures about 4 inches square and has a zipper at top.  Just big enough to tuck in a little Christmas candy. ;-)  I didn't have a pattern for this, just an idea.  I may have to make a few more! LOL

I hope you are well into your Christmas sewing~ or are you finished? I tend to burn that candle from both ends until the last minute!

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!

Pre-Market Sewing

Yes, I am a little late showing you the projects I was working on before the last Quilt Market, but I think they are both worth the wait. ;-)

I pattern tested this bag for Amy @katicupcake

It is called the 'Get Outa Town tote'~ and I used it when I went to retreat in October. It is nice and big and holds so much!!  I love it!

The outside has pockets all the way around it~ with side pockets that cinch up and are great for a bottle of water!

And the inside is loaded with pockets too~including a large zipped pocket~

 

..and a magnetic snap closure. :-)  I really enjoyed making and using this bag! :-)

The other item I pattern tested was an apron~

It is called the 'Miss Sally' apron.  Hmmm~ I should have had a model!  It sports two really nice large front pockets, and the bib is a little fitted which I love!  Guess what I will be wearing as I cook Thanksgiving dinner. :-)

Both patterns will be available on Amy's website soon.

Until next time~

Happy stitchin'!

And Happy Thanksgiving!!! ;-)

The Appaloosa Bag

I had the pleasure of pattern testing a bag for Sara at Sew Sweetness.

This was my first time testing one of her patterns and let me tell you~ it was fun! Her patterns are a little more involved, but I love my bag!

If you follow the link above, you will see all the tester bags on her blog.  I went a different direction than the others and chose to use corduroy.  I love the texture!

                          The inside has a zipper pocket and the accordion pleated front pockets.

My corduroy looks a little wrinkled there~ I was so excited I didn't give a final press! :-o

I used the Soft and Stable foam by Annie's, which gives the bag a really nice shape and sturdiness.

Sara has the pattern for sale in her shop.  And there are lots of fun versions on her blog.

Thanks for stopping by~

Happy sewing!!

Lotsa Blocks!

Today I am swapping blocks from 2 swaps I recently held.  The Christmas block swap is based on a free pattern from Connecting Threads called the 'Glory Be block'.  I had 8 swappers including myself and over 200 blocks to swap!

My tables were loaded~

The other swap we call the CYOC swap (choose your own color).  I had 11 swappers, myself included, and over 250 blocks.  My eyes are kind of swimming in my head right now, but I love the blocks!

Everyone chose their own center string and colors for the strings in this swap and we had some lovely combinations. I forgot to take a photo when I had all the blocks out, but I did snap one of some of my blocks. 

I chose a 'rainbow' theme.  Bright colors in any of the 'roy b giv' colors.  I love the blocks and they will make excellent donation quilts for babies.

Next up on my cutting table is a quick quilt for our DGD and a bag for me! :-)

I hope you are finding lots of time to sew this fall too!

Until next time~

Happy stitchin'!

I'm back! ...again! :-)

I just know you are beginning to wonder about me!  

Well, as soon as I got those pincushions swapped, I needed to get my stuff together for a quilting retreat! :-)

This year it was no ordinary retreat~ Bonnie Hunter joined us!

If you want to read about the adventures she had (with us) you can read all about it on her blog, starting with her  Thursday October 22nd post.  We had a great time!

And I even managed to get done most of what I took!  LOL

Two Swoon Alice Shopper Totes~~

       This is a free pattern on the Swoon Sewing Patterns site.  

I found the Christmas print at Hobby Lobby. It is a heavier decorator weight fabric. The front pocket has a magnetic clasp.

I also made some zipper pouches~

No real pattern, but I did use Noodlehead's zipper insertion method to give them all wide openings. ;-) I did not use her sizes in the chart she provides as I machine quilted the sides and wanted to make them the size of the machine quilted motif. ;-)  The appliques letters are from Designs by Juju

 

And I made some note pad cases~~

 

The pattern is from The Sweet Tea Girls.

I didn't exactly follow this pattern either. ;-)  LOL

I quilted up a yard of fabric for the inside and then cut it into the size needed.  I made a bunch for a swap, so that helped to stream line the process. I haven't made any for myself~ yet! :-o

I also made nearly 60 string blocks for a swap. Sorry, no photo.  

And we had a little mystery class fun~

We made these little caddies that fit over a 5 x 7 inch plastic frame. 

There are a few free tutorials on line. I found this one, in case you want to make some up. ;-)   

Quilts & Pieces Quilting Tool Caddy.  

I think I need to make one up to have by the computer as I am always misplacing my pens and pencils!

Ok, Whew!  That was a lot of sewing!!  And I still have so much more to do!

I'll try to be back sooner!  Until then~

Happy sewing!!

~And More Pincushions!

I just love these fun and functional pincushions!

I have them all over the house.~ really, I do!

It keeps me from traipsing back and forth when I need a pin or safety pin, and I just think they are so cute!

 How about a little sewing machine? It even has a little pin for the needle!

 Lemon meringue pie?

 Or little purses.  They have a pocket on the back for your needle pack, thimble etc.

And this fun mix came from a swapper in Australia!  Doesn't she have some clever pincushions?!

Finally a variety of biscornu pincushions!

I missed a few photos, I was just too excited with all the wonderful variety! LOL

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Happy Stitchin'!

Winner! Winner! & Pincushions!

Nope, no chicken dinners here! LOL

The winner of the PDF Bookbag Backpack pattern is .....

#1!! ~ Barb from BejeweledQuilts by Barb

Congratulations Barb!!  I will send your email address to Samantha and she will send you the pattern. :-)

Now, I promised you pincushions!~

In my excitement of taking them all out of their boxes to swap, I missed a few pix! :-o

These lovely CQ pincushions came to us from a Canadian swapper.  She sent along scissors fobs too.  The deep red is a luscious velvet.

 The fun hearts were done in an embroidery machine hoop!
Isn't the piping perfect?

My contributions. ;-)
I went mini and boy were my eyes crossed by the time I was finished with them! :-o

So much work went into these beauties, from hand crocheting the doily to adding the embroidery stitches. :-)

And froggies!  Along with a Sunbonnet Sue armchair pincushion.

I have to tell you~ swapping was so hard, that I ended up drawing names for most of the pincushions. 
It sure helped me to pass them out when there was only one or two of a certain style. ;-)

I'll be back tomorrow with more of the swap pix!
Until then~
Happy Stitchin'!!

Bookbag Backpack Pattern Release & A Giveaway!

 Good morning!

Happy Thanksgiving to all those readers in Canada!

Samantha from At home with Mrs. H revised her Bookbag Backpack pattern and I was lucky enough to test her updated pattern.  I love it!

I have been using mine for my laptop and all its cords and stuff.

Everything fits in it beautifully!  The outside has a nice big pocket, which didn't need the snap to hold it closed, but I added it just for fun. :-)  The outside is a decor weight fabric, and I used quilting cotton on the inside.  This was really an easy pattern to sew up and I love its roominess!

I knew I would never wear it as a backpack, so I left those straps off.  This side has a nice size zippered pocket on the outside.

The inside has a special zip pocket and also a few patch pockets.  I usually sew an

extra little seam in the patch pocket and shorten that bit so my pen, stylus etc doesn't fall into the bottom. ;-)

Be sure to check out Samantha's blog for all the tester versions of this bag~ there are so many it is hard to choose a favorite!  :-)

For a chance to win a pdf of this pattern, leave me a comment telling me how you would use the Bookbag Backpack.  I'll draw a winner on Friday, the 16th.  :-)

Good luck!!

Happy Fall y'all!!

I know I am late, but really~ is it that unusual?  My blogging seems to be late a lot this year, but I will get better!  I have so much to show you, but can't right now.  I am either working on test projects or gifts and neither can be revealed just yet.  :-/

I am having a hard time admitting it is October!  Where did September go?

I do have something fun to show you today.  Hubby and I went out with the motorhome over the weekend to celebrate our anniversary.  DD house sat for us because she was in a wedding taking place locally.  She brought home these adorable pumpkins and left them by my front door!

The wedding had a totally autumn theme and these were centerpieces.  Aren't they fun?  And don't they look really good with my red bench? LOL  I couldn't bring them inside when they looked so good by the front door.  ;-)

This is a peek of where hubby and I went~ to the ocean!  We had a wonderful time and I came back ready to sew.  I get my machine back from service today and I'll be back soon with some really fun pincushion pix.

Until then~

Happy Stitchin'!!

Work (?) And Play...

My hubby says that anytime I am behind my sewing machine, I am playing. LOL

I would never admit that he might be on to something!! Shhh!!!

Lately I've been working on some pattern tests that have been pretty detailed and I needed to concentrate.   I'm also making some pincushions for a swap~ I had to make them mini which didn't make them easier! :-o

But such fun seeing them come together.  :-)

I found the cowboy boot on-line, but printed it off at 50% :-o

The Minion was also a google find

and the watermelon slice was me winging it.  I need to get all these finished!

 

Today I just needed a few minutes of 'total play'!!

I decided I could use a new zipper pouch so I quilted some fabric with just long squiggles.  

Relaxing!

Tomorrow I will finish it up.  Oh yeah~ it was play!! :-)

Hope you have been finding time to 'play' too!

Happy Stitchin'!!

Winner! Winner!!

Not a chicken dinner this time! :-)

Congrat's to...............

paulette said...

I would LOVE to make this bag! It's gorgeous!! I would like to make it in fun contrasting fabrics...and there are some fun fabrics out there! Thanks for the chance!
Paulette

September 18, 2015 at 5:47 PM

I will send your email addy to Samantha. 

Thanks to everyone who stopped by!

Have a great day!!

A Release and a Giveaway

Remember my Hobo Bag?

 Reversible Hobo Bag pattern by Mrs H

You can now see all the bags made by the pattern testers at Samantha's blog~

At Home With Mrs H

Go on~ go take a peek. ;-)  Then come back and tell me if you would like to make a bag too!

What fabrics would you use?

One lucky commenter will win the PDF pattern from Samantha!!

I will leave the giveaway open until midnight on Monday the 21st and announce the winner here on Tuesday.

Make sure I have your email or a way to contact you!

Good luck!

Have a great weekend!

My New-Old Machine!!

This is the jewel my Dad found for me and I brought back from our trip in August~~

  I love the case!!!

Isn't she a beauty?  

 She is a 192K

Spartan was made by the Singer Company; she was made in Great Britain.  I haven't looked up her 'birthday' yet, but I have sewn with her!

I know 'Spartan' is probably a boys name, but I am calling her a 'she'. LOL

She sews beautifully!  I was having some troubles with bending and breaking needles working on a bag and she just blew right over the tough spots!  Whoohoo!!

Be sure to stop back tomorrow as there is a little giveaway involved. ;-) ;-)

Until then~

Happy Stitchin'!!

A Hobo Bag for Autumn~

Hi there!  I'm so sorry if you are looking for the 'one fun thing' I brought back from my latest trip~ I still haven't taken photos, but they will be coming...soon I hope!!

Lately I have been playing catch-up around the house and doing a bit of fun sewing. :-)

Samantha from  Mrs H is a bag pattern designer,

and I had the opportunity to test her newest pattern~

The Reversible Hobo Bag

I made this with 'me' in mind!  I have been wanting a new autumn bag!

I chose wide wale corduroy for one side and a tone-on-tone quilting cotton for the other.  I strayed from the pattern just a little bit as I did not use my contrast for the other side, that is why you see the orange inside. ;-)

                                      I love the side detail and the uniquely shaped handle~

it fits my shoulder perfectly and is quite comfortable. I like the corduroy so much that I doubt I will ever reverse the bag, but if I do, you will spot me in a crowd!  LOL  It has a zipper pocket on the back, and also inside, so my phone & keys are handy.

Our weather has been cool lately, I am ready for autumn!

How about you?  Done any fun sewing just for yourself  recently? :-)

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!!

Just 5 dollars!!

Hi all~ just look at what I found!

My neighbor and a few of her friends were having a yard sale.  I spied some books, so stopped in to pick up a few. (I love to read!)  And then I spied this wall hanging artfully draped under a guitar....

 

 

hmm, was it just for decoration?  I asked if I could see all of it and the owner came over and told me her tailor made it and she really didn't know much about it but she was selling it for five dollars! :-)

Well, I couldn't leave it, could I? LOL  I'm pretty sure the fabrics are from the 90's.  But what really attracted me besides it being a star block :-) is that it is totally hand quilted! :-)

Do you know the name of the block?  

I know I have seen it before, but just can't think of the name.  All of the stars are machine pieced~ with all the points intact!  It has a tiny spot on it and one fabric is already starting to show a lot of wear.  I plan to just keep it for inspiration. :-)

We had a death in our family a couple weeks ago and DH and I needed to make a quick trip back to the mid-west.  Last week is rather a blur for me, but I did bring one fun thing home with me.  I'll save that for my next post.  ;-)

Until then~

Happy stitchin'!!