starting fears and a virtual quilting bee

I have been so out of the blogging scene for the last several months (or maybe close to a year) that I haven't been keeping up with posting here, let alone reading others blogs.  I just came across something that a dear friend of mine is doing and I wanted to give you a heads up!

I know a lot of you are seasoned quilters but I also know a lot of you (and others who I'm going to direct here to see this) are beginners and want to start quilting but don't know quite where to start or how to get the information you need.  I've had several friends ask and I always point them towards Amy's blog, Diary of a Quilter, because she's so down to earth and explains things very well.  Not to mention that each of the quilts she makes are gorgeous, and I'd like to replicate pretty much every single one!

She is hosting a virtual quilting bee!  Starting this month and going through the fall!  The first month of posts focus on basics with block tutorials following every other week.  Click on this button here to take you to the posts!!

I'm always afraid to start projects and cutting into my fabrics.  I have a theory I wrote about several years ago, The Science of Fabric Love, why it's scary to make that first cut!  I also find myself learning new things all the time from the basics section of various quilt books and tutorials found online.  Plus having a deadline and following a schedule are always good ways to improve my chances of completing a project!!

So go check this out!  Let me know if you are planning on participating!

purse palooza 2012

Hi Friends! I just wanted to give you a heads up that my pattern review of V. and Co.'s The Favorite Bag is up over on Sara's blog.

The fun thing about this bag is that is was part of some sewing that I did for Vanessa while she was getting her book, Make It Sew Modern, ready. It's been a while since I did it, and I felt kind of funny blogging about it because all I did was take her fabric and her pattern and sew it up for her! But it was cool that when she revealed the cover of the book I had to do a double-take!

What?!?
Seriously floored me.

She also asked me to sew up the Picture-Perfect Dress.  This one I love so much.

And it looks great in the book.

I've tried for a picture on sisterlouwho, but she wasn't cooperating much.

This is a really fun book with so many great projects from bags, to scarves, to flowers, wreaths and other decorative projects! I feel really lucky to have been able to work on such a great project with a dear friend.  Thanks V.!

{amylouwho} happy december!!! (and another giveaway!)

I LOVE December!  Everything about it!  Christmas, Christmas music, salted caramel hot chocolate (ahem, Starbucks I love you!),  Gingerbread houses, lights on houses, christmas trees, presents, birthdays (2 in our family!), etc.  It's just a fun, though exhausting month.

I wanted to introduce you to someone who might be able to help you with some holiday shopping for gifts, or for yourself.  My friend Leigh asked me if I wouldn't mind giving away some of her jewelry to my readers! And offer them an exclusive discount in her etsy shop. Of course I said yes!

Meet Leigh of LeedleDeedle Quilts and Designs.

she's the kind of friend that will split a fat quarter set of Fandango with you and give you all the turquoise pieces.

I met Leigh this year in my virtual quilting bee, Bee Tweet.  When I went to Utah this summer we met in person for the first time and it was so fun!  You know how you meet someone and you feel like you've known them for a long time?  Totally that kind of friend.  We were also able to hang out again this fall at the Sewing Summit.  It was awesome.  We would totally hang out all the time if I lived there.

She's made some amazing quilts,

but the project she is working on that absolutely blows me away is her hand stitched hexagon project.  WOW! It's so awesome V. wanted to steal it.

Not only does she quilt, she creates jewelry!  Which is where you come in.  She is giving one of you a pair of earrings from her shop.  I'm pretty sure I know I'd pick these,

or maybe these,

or these!

They are all so pretty!

To enter, just go to her shop and come back here and tell me which earrings you would pick! Easy!  If you want to be really fun, tell me the best present you are giving to someone this year.

Giveaway will be open until through Sunday night, 4 December, midnight-ish. I will announce the winner early next week.

In case you can't wait to see if you win, Leigh is having a sale all month long, 20% off her whole shop!  For amylouwho readers she is offering a 25% discount through next Friday, December 9.  Just enter the code AMYLOUWHO25 during notes to seller during checkout.

Good luck!! See you tomorrow for sew & tell!!

{amylouwho} dyeing to stitch blog tour and giveaway!!

I'm so pleased that my friend Candy of Candied Fabrics invited me to be a part of her blog tour for Dyeing to Stitch!  She is a master at making her own hand-dyed fabrics and along with the folks at Quilting Arts Workshop she has put together a comprehensive guide to dyeing fabrics and creating art with the finished product!

Look at cute Candy! Unfortunately we haven't had the pleasure of meeting in person but we have exchanged many many emails and facebook messages.  I can't wait to give her a hug in person when we meet in real life!

It was really fun to watch her and hear her voice!  She is a biology professor by day and has great way of connecting with her audience.

The DVD is broken up in to the following chapters.

Not only does she talk about the basics of dyeing and how she came up with her process, she discusses color theory.  

My favorite quote from the video, "I get obsessed with a particular color..."  I so hear you! (#turquoiseobsessionmuch?)  We've bonded over our love of turquoise-y blues and bright greens (and bird silhouettes)!

She even came up with her own “Candiotic Table of Elemental Color” 

She is able to recreate any color here by using the recipes she also discusses.

In the chapter, "Using Quilting as a Line + Conclusion", she shows how she makes her mini art quilts.  This was probably my favorite part of the DVD - her botanical sketches are gorgeous!  I love this pillow in particular.

She has definitely cultivated her signature look and I love it.  I love how passionate she is about creating every element of her art.  And really, when you think about the fact that she creates every part from the color of the fabric on up, it really is art.

Here are a few other examples of things that she has made (that I love!)

And probably my favorite was this quilt for babylouwho that several blogging friends made for me.  Candy contributed the fabrics.

What's a baby quilt picture without the baby?  I can't believe she's not this little anymore!

I feel a little sheepish to say that I've never watched any Quilting Arts TV.  But after this I'm excited to find more workshops that they've produced.  It was really well done!

And here's a preview of the video!





Now, for what you have all been waiting for - the GIVEAWAY! Would you like to own your own copy? Candy is offering up one copy of her DVD to one of you.

To enter:
Leave a comment telling me about a current work in progress!  Me? I'm working on a dresden plate mini quilt.  :) And leave an email in your comment so I can reach you!!

Winners will be announced on Monday, December 5!

And as reminder, here’s the rest of the tour:

1. Friday, 11/11 – Victoria Gertenbach of The Silly BooDilly­
2. Monday, 11/14 – Susan Brubaker Knapp of Blue Moon River
3. Wednesday, 11/16 – Kathy Mack of Pink Chalk Studio
4. Friday, 11/18 – Melody Johnson of Fibermania
5. Monday, 11/21 – Amy Ellis of Amy’s Creative Side
6. Wednesday, 11/23 – Diane Doran of Ooh! Pretty Colors
7. Friday, 11/25 – Vicki Welsh of Field Trips in Fiber
8. Monday, 11/28 – Brenda Gael Smith of Serendipity and the Art of the Quilt
9. Wednesday, 11/30 – Amy Webb of Amy Lou Who Sews
10. Friday, 12/2 – Robin Ferrier of Simply Robin
11. Tuesday, 12/6 – Natalia Bonner of Piece N Quilt
12. Thursday, 12/8 – Beth and the gang from Sew Mama Sew

Hope you are all having a great week so far! I'm getting ready to paint my kitchen tonight. I CANNOT wait!

{amylouwho} meet ms mcporkchop aka mini quilt queen!

  <center><a href="http://www.mommyandbeyond.blogspot.com/search/label/mini quilt challenge" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipCSxn4NuCNaOrjcTV07IS0FUJTV_EQhSUCYuU-GA4OAuGb5VDur5rg54pvl2taWxsNLT3jn2gzEsAKWOxsmk2kET3tZrXkMvte81BjcEjdKCNAlC4L7JTci3UtaBXNcUVsWu-yEqSGlI/s1600/miniquiltS%2526T-button.jpg" /></a></center>

In prepping for our mini quilt party on Friday (!!) I wanted to introduce you to the woman who inspired me and anyone else who has ever come in contact with her to make minis.  Amanda blogs at hey porkchop! and there you can see more about her sewing, canning, needlework and other adventures!

Here is lovely Amanda! Msmcporkchop as you may know her.

photo courtesy Fresh Lemons via Flickr

As Faith at Fresh Lemons said, "Pretty sure Amanda is missing her calling as a quilting motivational speaker!" I'm pretty sure she did.
(all images courtesy Amanda - thank you!)
When did you start sewing and how did you start?  I started sewing in college, I did several mixed media pieces of art and here's a really awkward photo of me at an art show:

and I also started sewing cloth pads for myself. Around 2006 I started sewing frequently and started my business, modernacorn.

What is your favorite thing to sew and why?

Mini quilts!

And Farmer's Wife blocks because they are like mini quilts.

I enjoy the process of making minis so much more than full sized quilts. I can get across an idea, design, color theme in a small space in a relatively short amount of time. I can experiment and play with ideas without the commitment of a giant full sized quilt top.

Is there something you are afraid to try?

Hmm. I think I'm scared of garment sewing. I've made a few things but it's just NOT a pleasurable experience. In my mind I want a wardrobe full of Japanese Stylish Dress Book dresses but realistically I have neither the figure nor the skill set to create them ;)

What is the best thing you ever made? Was it your favorite?  Did you keep it?

This is so tough! I'm a big fan of most of the stuff I make but I give away a lot of it, I gave away 4 mini's at Sewing Summit. I do love making little mug rugs so I'm surrounded by patchwork. I think right now I love this New York Beauty:


I'm quilting and binding it hopefully this week!

Do you sew more for yourself/family or other people?

Lately it's been for other people, like books & companies but I prefer to sew for the pleasure of sewing, that way I can see where projects take me without any pressure. I'm pretty generous with the things I sew, I give stuff away often. I've toyed with the idea of selling some patchwork pouches and stuff. But I don't usually do sewn gifts, my friends & family are more into the stuff I can & bake...haha.

I can see why!!

How long have you been blogging? What are your favorite things about it?

I've blogging since 2001 (mostly paintings & stuff) but started msmcporkchopquilts.com in 2008! I love being able to share my ideas, my days, my favorite photos with friends online. I'm pretty bad at blogging & flickr though, I have so many things I sew and don't blog/take photos of lately. I've kind of been an internet hermit, I'm trying to get better though!

Here is lovely Amanda! Msmcporkchop as you may know her.

photo courtesy Fresh Lemons via Flickr

As Faith at Fresh Lemons said, "Pretty sure Amanda is missing her calling as a quilting motivational speaker!" I'm pretty sure she did.
What is one thing that you've learned about sewing/blogging that surprised you?

I think I'm surprised by how much people like the things I create. I kind of keep to myself and just sew what I like & makes me happy. It amazes me when people tell me that I've inspired them, mostly because I don't realize that people even know who I am! haha. I'm constantly learning new things, different ways to piece, different ways to cut fabric, different design elements. I think everyone is constantly evolving and growing; blogging totally helps that, if you get a ton of encouraging comments, you will just take more pride in what you create and want to keep creating!!!

What is your favorite sewing memory?

My favorite sewing memory is when I first discovered Japanese fabric on etsy. I would anxiously check my mail DAILY AND HOLD MY BREATH, just waiting for these fantastic packages of kawaii goodness. But of course it takes FOREVER for everything to arrive so I'd just wait. and wait. and wait. And then they'd arrive I'd just look at the fabrics for HOURS. I'd read Japanese craft books NONSTOP and just became obsessed with small, everyday patchwork. I'd sew all afternoon while Chop was in class, then he'd come home & I'd be like LOOK AT THIS LITTLE LINEN ZIP POUCH I MADE WITH FABRIC WITH EYEBALLS ON EVERYTHING!!!! I just love love love kawaii, zakka, everything! I'm happiest when I'm sewing on a sunny day with my favorite music, a pine candle burning and surrounded by cute fabric.

Anything else you want to share?

I'm excited to see the mini's everyone shares!!! I'm thinking they are going to be crazy cute & super inspiring!!! Thanks for doing this Amy!!!!


*****
Thank you so much Amanda!  I made my first intentional mini this weekend and I loved the way it turned out! I'm kind of sad that I'm giving it away.  I'm pretty sure my partner in the swap will like it though, that makes me happy!

I hope everyone is getting more and more inspired and excited to come to our mini quilt party for sew & tell on Friday!  Even if you haven't started one, you could totally make a mini by Friday!

I will be blogging about the prizes for your entries soon!  Stay tuned!

{amylouwho} an introduction and a giveaway

*****THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED*****

Sara of Sew Sweetness is going to be a regular contributor to our sew & tell Fridays!

Isn't she adorable? That's her naughty secretary bag and amazing dress she made!

I love getting to know people, especially their sewing/crafting history.  I thought it would be fun for you to get to know Sara a little better! We met through a mutual sewing friend and I finally begged enough that she started blogging last year!  I'm constantly amazed at the beautiful and professional looking items she creates!  And she has something to giveaway today!

*****
When did you start sewing and how did you start?
I first learned to sew in the 3rd grade. My mom had little sewing lessons for my friend and I, once a week. We made a drawstring bag and a dress. My mom let me wear my dress to school (although hers didn't, lol). I didn't take up sewing again until about 8 years ago; I thought it would be a great idea to mass-produce purses and sell them online. I made them assembly-line style. They were pretty awful actually!! I still have the parts in a big garbage bag, and my husband is constantly asking when I am going to finish them. My skills 8 years ago are not the same as they are today; he just doesn't understand why I'm not going to finish them. :-)

Her skills today.  WOW.

What is your favorite thing to sew and why?

I really love to sew all kinds of things...quilts, bags, clothing for my kids, clothing for myself, accessories...I will try anything. It is such a challenge to me to try new patterns, and I love it! I love the idea that there are so many free tutorials out there on the internet, it makes sewing so accessible for everyone.

photo courtesy Sew Sweetness

Is there something you are afraid to try?

I am actually nervous about trying to hand-sew hexagons. I always say I'll try it, but something is holding me back. That's probably the only thing I'm afraid to sew, everything else...let me at it!!

What is the best thing you ever made? Was it your favorite?  Did you keep it?

Usually, I'll say that my currently completed project is my favorite! However, there is a bag that I keep coming back to every few months (whereas my other bags, I'll use for one stretch and then don't go back to); it was a bag that I made from a Jenna Lou Designs sewing pattern called the Mabel Bag, and I made it with an Echino fabric. I love it so much!! It's a simple, beautiful design.

photo courtesy Sew Sweetness

Do you sew more for yourself/family or other people?

Obviously I like sewing things for myself, and I like making gifts, but I have an extreme phobia of making items to sell online, or getting custom requests. In that instance, sewing becomes like homework or a chore for me, and I'm always concerned about taking the fun out of sewing. Mainly, I just want to work on what I want to work on! I do like testing patterns or tutorials for other people, though!

photo courtesy Sew Sweetness

How long have you been blogging? What are your favorite things about it?

I've been blogging for one year and a month. It's gone by really fast! When I look at some of my blog posts from the beginning, I can't believe that anyone actually followed me in those days! I've learned that there really is a science to it all...taking the right photos, assembling your postings so that they grab attention right from the beginning, and keeping things fresh and exciting. Networking also plays a roll (commenting on other blogs, putting images up in Flickr, hosting giveaways, sew alongs, etc.). My favorite parts of my blog are the sewing pattern reviews and the tutorials...I am big into reading reviews for anything (products I buy, sewing projects, etc.), and so I feel the pattern reviews especially are one of my major focuses. It's funny because when I was younger, I was always trying to get into journaling. I could never keep up with the entries, and when I did read back over what I had written, it was really boring. I don't feel that way at all with my blog. Growing up, my parents always thought that I would be a writer, and in some tiny way, I sort of have. I enjoy the writing process and having well-thought-out blog posts. The hands-down best part about blogging are all the friends that I have made...I never would have gotten into blogging if it weren't for Amylouwho, and I never would have met Amy if it wasn't for my great friend, Kim (My Go-Go Life).

I know you were a GoBaby Accuquilt blogger - do you like your machine?  Are you able to use it a lot?

I love it!! I have the Accuquilt Baby, but am hoping that Santa brings me the regular Accuquilt machine for Christmas! I did use it a lot for several of the tutorials on my website (although, even if you don't have a machine, I've attached templates to use for those projects instead). It makes cutting so much quicker, and very precise. That is the problem I have when cutting out many pieces from a paper template...they are not exact, and it seems the more I cut, the less precise I am. Some projects it is not so vital to have exact fabric cuts, whereas others (such as a Double Wedding Ring Quilt), it is extremely important that your fabric cuts are exact, or your quilt won't turn out. I like the dies the best that have more difficult shapes; for instance, I would probably not buy a die for strips (just because I'm on an extreme budget), as I'd just use my ruler and rotary cutter.

made with the accuquilt diamond  die.

How do you manage sewing, blogging, and taking care of your family?

Family always comes first. But once the kids are asleep, I'm usually sewing from 9:30pm until around midnight. I like having that big chunk of uninterrupted time to sew, because especially if I'm making some clothing, I need to be really focused on my project. The blogging time usually fits in around then, too. Over time, I've learned that it's a big no-no to be taking photos at night, so I will squeeze in photographing projects during the day (and usually have my kids help in some way).

What is your favorite sewing memory?

My favorite sewing memory is taking my kids to Joann Fabrics (we're there at least once a week). I let them pick out fabrics for things I'm making for them, and I also let them help me pick out my Kona solids. Often, I'll take a small swatch of fabric in with me, and I have them match up the swatch to the correct bolt. They also like taking the bolts (I'm often only getting 1 or 2 things, so I can use coupons on everything I buy, lol) up to the cutting counter, each of them takes an end.

Anything else you want to share?

If you're interested in sewing, never be afraid to try something!! It might not come out exactly right, but each project will teach you something new about sewing. I mess up all the time, but there's always the seam ripper, and if worse comes to worst, you can always use the fabric for another project. You also don't have to spend a lot of money on sewing supplies...I am constantly buying large chunks of fabric in the form of bed sheets, old dresses, or curtains, usually for a dollar or two, at the thrift store. Get free sewing patterns online or take a sewing book out from the library. Just get sewing!! :-)

Thanks so much for having me, Amy!!!
*****

Sara, thank you for being so inspiring!

For all of you Sara is giving away one of her amazing bags that she's made!

You can have up to 2 entries (1 comment for each entry)!
To enter all you have to do is:
1. Leave a comment telling us your favorite WIP (work in progress)
and/or
2. Visit Accuquilts page through THIS LINK to sign up for free patterns and newsletter. Come back here and leave another comment telling me you did so.

Easy~peasy!  I'll leave the giveaway open until early next week! (Be sure you leave an email if you are a no-reply blogger!!)

And don't forget to come back tomorrow for sew & tell  to link up your finish for the week!

lucky penny + pincushion kit giveaway

Do you have a lucky penny? I do! And she blogs over at sewtakeahike! If you were around this summer you got to read several of her guest posts as she helped me out when I was birthing and moving. Oh yeah, that sounds way more glamorous than it really was.

She was part of A Notion or Two quilting bee with me last year.

Backtrack. I wanted to tell you one of the things I figured out while I was 'away' was that I need to not over-commit. It's not fair to the people that are constantly waiting for me to make good on my end of the deal. And it's not fair to me not enjoy making something because I of the worries that comes with it - guilt for being late, nervous if they will like it, making things because I HAVE to not because I want to. I'm not saying that I didn't want to be a part of such a fun group, but with my life getting so crazy this last year, I couldn't in good conscience continue with the bee and I dropped out. It was a fun group for 2 years. It turns out a lot of us had run our course and it's practically a new group. And I'm a little bit sad that I'm not still in it, because I recognized a lot of sew & tellers in the new group and how fun would it be to quilt with you!! So I've been playing catch-up on bee blocks the last few weeks and have 5 to show you and one more to make.

Okay, back to Penny! I just got the bee blocks she made for my month. I had wanted to make Rachel's Pinwheel Sampler quilt but couldn't do the quilt along, so I decided to have my group make some of the blocks! And they all turned out so cute!

Penny designed this asterisk block for the pinwheel quilt and I love it!  She is a pro at paper-piecing and this just makes me happy! I know it was made from her heart.  That is one important lesson I've learned from Penny.  If it's truly made from your heart it will be perfect and creative and unique!

#1

#2

And if that weren't enough she also included a sweet flannel blanket for babylouwho.

She knows how to rock a crochet hook that's for sure!

She's so sweet she also gave me one of her footstool pincushion patterns to giveaway!

Actual kit will mostly likely differ from the photo.  But knowing Penny, it will be equally awesome!

Isn't it adorable?!

Just leave me a comment and tell me about a blogging friend you've made.  I'll leave the giveaway open until, oh, I don't know, Wednesday 22 February?  Remember Sew & Tell will be back next Friday! (24 Feb)

I ♥ all of you, my dear blogging buddies!

*fine print - no compensation was received for doing this giveaway.  Penny's just nice and wanted to share!

sew & tell v. 1.0.3

Hello! I have been recovering all week from our little getaway.

Lake Habeeb - Rocky Gap State Park, Maryland

I got to catch up on some sleep and that's all I've been wanting to do since I got back!  I hope you are all ready to go for sew & tell!  (yes amy, that means you.  and you too!)

I panicked a little last night when I realized I hadn't touched my sewing machine all week and needed something to post today!

Then I remembered a quick little project that I had been putting off - The Undercover Crate, by the lovely and talented Laura Gunn.  Who I wish I knew (does it count that I know someone, who's sister knows her?  I know, how very Ferris Bueller of me.).

I've been following her blog for a while and was pleased to see that we have the same taste in spray paint.  You will enjoy looking around her blog.  She's got great style.  I just ordered some of her debut line, Lantern Bloom, and I cannot wait to get it!

Anyway, back to sew & tell!  I have a big plan for my bedroom, involving several prints from Amy Butler's Nigella collection.  I made a duvet cover about a year ago.  I ♥ it so much!  When I first bought the fabric I didn't have any idea what else I was going to do.   But it's been evolving into a pillow, duvet, fabric wall art extravaganza!  Expect more to come.

Our nightstands are a bit of the problem in the reading material storage area.  So I bought some ugly crates and decided to try out Laura's tutorial.

I think I'm in love!

And here it is in it's new home:

It's just a small piece of the overall vision, but I can't wait to finish up the rest!  I need to go make the cover for my side now!  This tutorial was SUPER easy and took less than an hour (easily).

Are you ready to share your finishes and accomplishments from this week?!  I'm ready to see them! Please follow the sew & tell rules below.

1. Link to a post about a finish you had this week (don't just link to your blog, please!)

2. Link back to this post so more peeps can join in the fun!  If it is a post from earlier in the week, just please add a note about sew & tell.
3. Enjoy getting motivated and patting each other on the backs in the comments!  This is the funnest part about sew & tell - sharing and inspiring!

a little spotlight

Have you been to this blog yet? I just discovered it a little while ago and Jodi has all sorts of fun things to look at. From cool blog finds, to fun projects that are easy to do, giveaways and tips on using Blogger.

Blogger has some great tools - and I figure most people who are blogging know about them, so even though the techy-geek inside gets really excited about a new trick, I never write about it. But she did! And I wanted to share with you.

1. noreply- comment: I get really sad when someone leaves a comment (which gets emailed to me) and I can't email them back because they don't have an email address attached to their profile. She explains here how to fix that! And it doesn't mean your email address is published for the whole world to see - just the person on whose blog you commented.

2. Scheduling posts: How about only having a little time to blog - you can work up several posts and schedule them to post on different days through Blogger's Post Options. She explains this too!

3. Following and Labeling posts: The followers feature is fairly recent. She explains how to put it in your sidebar as well as the importance of labeling your posts.

4. Embedding links: I've had some people ask how you set up links within a post. Super easy!

• Select the text you want to be a link,
• Click on the link button (to the right of the text color button)
• A box will pop-up where you can type/paste in the web address to where you want the link to take your readers.
• The selected text will then become a different color and underlined all on it's own!

Some of this may seem elementary, but I just discovered Google Reader with in the last year, and it changed my whole blogging experience! Hopefully this is helpful to some of you too!

*******
In other blogging news:

Are you following Lollychops Big Time Bunny Week??

Make sure you check out the posts for each day this week. She has lots of free downloadable patterns, labels, etc. Her projects are fun, she is hilarious, and your day will be brighter and better for visiting her sweet, crafty site.

** these two lovely ladies had nothing to do with these posts, I just love them. There wasn't anything in it for me. Just sose ya know.