sew & tell v3.14: oh my stars! and bags! etc...

Hey friends! I had every intention of sharing a fun recipe with you this week.  Unfortunately as it goes, me (aka mom) got the sickies that everyone else in my house have been sharing for the last month! I thought I had successfully avoided it this time, but alas, the ear infection would prove otherwise!

I managed to get a guest post written for my friend Vicki's Focus on Free Motion Quilting series!





She is having link ups, guest posts, and prizes at the end of the month!  Go check it out, it's sure to be a good time.

For sew & tell this week, I thought I'd share a few other finishes from some December sewing.





I have had this bag in mind for a long time. In fact I had it almost finished when I took it to a sewing group back in the fall! It sat around being neglected and I finally finished it up.

The fabric is Oddysea by Momo for Moda.  I really love the shell print and the subtle colors.  It's a little change from my bright and vibrant Amy Butler and Sandi Henderson choices.

I love making these quilted dishmats.  I think it's very cute and kitchen-y!

I do love this citrus print.  It's from Patty Young's Sanctuary line.  I'd like to get my hands on some more!


I also made another quilt top this week.  I actually made the SAME one as the giant star from last week, but started with 10.5" squares, so it's finished at about 40" x 40".  It's a group effort for a mutual friend.  Another friend is quilting it and a 3rd doing the binding.  So it counts as a finish, right?

It was raining the day I finished it, so I had brotherlouwho hold it up inside so you could have a little perspective as to the baby quilt size compared to the last one.

Your turn to share!  Show us what you've got finished!

Linky Rules.  Please follow along for a fun party!

1. Please write the post for sew & tell - or add a blurb mentioning sew & tell to a post written since the last sew & tell.  If you are linking to a post with your own tutorial, please make sure it was a finish from this week and that the completed project is shown first.

2. One linky per person. (please put multiple projects in one post.)

3. Link to your specific post.  (See here for permalink instructions - or email me.)

4. Link back here with a link or a button (HTML on my sidebar).

5. Be sure to visit and leave comments on other's posts!

Please put your (blog)name instead of your project name, it helps us get to know each other better!

teacher gifts

I whipped these dishmats up the night before the last day of school.  I love a quick, easy and unique teacher gift. In another life when I taught school, the handmade heartfelt gifts were always my favorite.  I hoped my daughters PreK teachers would feel the same way. 

I reeeeeeeeeeaally wish I'd ordered some more of this Meadowsweet 2.  Sandi Henderson, if you ever read this, I love you for making such amazing fabric.

And thanks again Kim for the amazing chenille.    If fabric addiction were illegal we'd both be in jail. Kim is my 'supplier'.

This time I put some cotton batting in the middle to give it some heft and absorbency.  Then a little stippling and a super easy rustic serged edge.

And you don't really need any wrapping paper for presentation.

on a roll! {Spicing up the Kitchen Swap} update

Wow, 3 posts in one week! Are you sick of me yet?

I finished up and sent off my Spicing Up the Kitchen swap package a few weeks ago.  I wanted to wait to blog about it until my partner had received it.  And then I realized that I deleted the pictures of the completed project off my camera before I had actually downloaded them. Whaaaaaa?? I've never done that before and I am kicking myself!

This project was a lot of fun.  I love it so much I cut out a bunch of these so that I can make at least one more, probably 2.  I need to go get some more red polka dots.

When I started I was thinking I would make a cute half apron out of it.  But Barb is about to have her 3rd baby and I remember how I felt about tieing anything around my midsection postpartum.  I thought a table topper would be a better fit. Plus she has the coolest retro red table!

Here's a process pic I took, I got a little fancy free-motion quilting a flower in the center.  I just straight line quilted around the blades and zig zagged the circle in place. 

Then I stippled around the background and bound it in the red dot.

For batting I actually used insulbrite so this is heat resistant.  And the perfect size for a 9x13 casserole dish!

Luckily my partner, Quilting Barbie, took some great pictures of the package and the table topper on her table.  Here's one of the pictures:

The apple and pear fabric was a theme in her inspiration mosaic, I was so happy that I have it in my stash!  It's so cute on the back!

You'll have to go over to her post to see the rest.  And go to this post to see the dresden she made for the doll quilt swap!

This swap was so much fun and I hope to have it together enough to do another one soon!

good mail v. bad mail

good mail = stuff made with fabric
bad mail = junk mail, ads, EOBs, and bills


Luckily for me, this has been a VERY GOOD mail week!  So as not to overdo it, I'll just share one thing today.  I'll get to the others soon.

As I've said, I'm part of the Spicing Up the Kitchen {a modern swap} over on Flickr.  It's my first swap like this and it has been so much fun!!

Today the mailman came and had a package for me.  I was surprised, because I hadn't ordered anything lately.  Then I saw it was from Amber, at One Shabby Chick, with whom I was in A Notion or Two (we both dropped out this year.)  So I wasn't expecting anything from her.  Then it dawned on me that she must have been my secret partner in the swap!  I was ecstatic as I had seen her WIP in the group's photostream!

the loot

If you have seen any of Amber's work, you know how pretty and scrappy and unique it is!  Her blog is one of the first that I started following when I found out about the sewing/crafting blog world several years ago.  I'm so honored to have some of her work that I can use and admire on a daily basis!

She made this gorgeous table runner.

That looks equally good in my kitchen at the bar or on my dining room table!

I just love all of these fabrics she used! The prints and the colors.

look at that quilting!!

And she included two oversized square hotpads. I don't have anything like this and am sorely in need of some!

upon further inspection these are all made from crazy nine patches.  is that what the kids are calling them these days?

And I was just telling my mom how I boring I think most kitchen items (sold at most big box stores) are and ALWAYS the same sage, burgundy and navy. totally Not me.

you had me at aqua polka dots

This however. TOTALLY ME!! yippee!

and look how good my brownies will look while cooling. Perfect! Thank you so much Amber!!

And you know what's funny? The block I made for her on Round 2 of our bee is what has inspired what I am making for MY partner in the kitchen swap. Here it is in progress.

In other news. I think I found my sewing mojo again. Anyone up for Sew & Tell next (February 25) Friday? I have a quilt I want to share! I'd love to tell you about all the things I figured out during my break.

More soon.

spicing up the kitchen swap

I didn't mean to be disingenuous when I said I was going to take a blogging break for the month.  But, some bloggable things have come up!  AND taking the pressure off has made me feel more like blogging.  I really am still on a break - I wrote this post the other day when I posted about the Block Party event (see button on sidebar).

In the midst of deciding to take a break, Darci of Stitches and Scissors emailed me to see if I was interested in participating in Spicing Up the Kitchen {a modern swap} on Flickr. I was glad the timing would work out so that I could participate - I've wanted in on a swap for a long time! I decided to commit.

So here's my inspiration mosaic. It was so hard to decide what to decide what to put in here - I focused on color and style and there were probably a 100 other pictures I could have included.

1. my kitchen, 2. Organic Kitchen Towel & Coasters, 3. Dish Towels, 4. Spreading the Word....Love, 5. Hot Pad in Moda Arcadia, 6. ticker tape progress, 7. table runner2, 8. dishmat2, 9. Front of Hexagon Hotpad, 10. Doll quilt, 11. Nine Patch Quilt Along Progress, 12. another one, 13. Star quilt in progress, 14. Bridget's Pinwheel Quilt, 15. star quilt 2, 16. Stay-Put Kitchen Towel

I live on a military base, i.e.: base housing. Granted, it's nice for base housing, but it's a little plain Jane.  I took this picture shortly after we moved in.

And this is how I bring some color in, mostly turquoise/light blue.  And evidently I have a thing for polka dots and damask-y prints.

oh, and then there's this:

aaaaaand, these lovelies gifted by a dear friend:

I seriously am obsessed with this color - it just makes me so happy! I do think it looks nice with a splash of that green.  And I have this to make a curtain for the window.

The person assigned to me has a blank slate in her kitchen and likes a lot of the same color vibes as I do! I think I'm going to go with a table topper/wallhanging and/or some towels or hotpads... Stay tuned.

I don't have to send out until March. Whew! I can work on it while my mom is here. Oh yes! Did I tell you my mom is coming? yeehaw! Sew-fest 2011.01 here we come!

sew mama sew GIVEAWAY day!

go here to read more

I love this day!  I participated in one of the first ones they did and it was so fun - I whipped up just a little something to offer up to you today.

If you have been here before you might have figured out that I have a bit of a thing for Amy Butler anything.  I got an email from my local quilt shop that they had Soul Blossoms in and it was 20% off.  I just went in to look.  I SWEAR.

To be honest I wasn't sure I was going to even like it.  I had seen it online and was intrigued but nothing really jumped out at me.  So I just wanted to go see for myself.  It's an interesting line.  Very complex.  And it doesn't have your typical mix of prints - blenders, small, large, etc.  They are ALL bold, large, vibrant and pretty amazing!  I definitely was drawn to some more than others.

 I couldn't leave empty-handed!

I decided it would be fun to use such a new print for my giveaway prize today!  I whipped up one of my favorite kitchen accessories!  A dishmat! (teapot not included - sorry!)

And after taking these pictures - I think maybe I'll start calling it a teapot rug!

I use mine all the time for my pots to drip dry on.  And when it's not covered with dishes, it just looks so pretty!

More lovely dots that I used on the reverse. I really think she makes the best dot prints. EVER.

The dishmat, teapot rug, placemat, centerpiece table topper, tray liner (use it for whatever you want!) measures about 15 x 24 inches, is lined with an terry cloth kitchen towel, has serged edges with an all over stipple quilting design.

I'm kind of sad to give it away - but I think I'm going to go buy more.  In lieu of buying this,  I have a bottle of liquid starch and some bookshelves that need some color.

I had fun making it - I hope you love it!


To enter just leave a comment telling me your favorite experience or favorite thing about teaching someone else to sew. (U.S. entries only - sorry other friends!)  

Make sure you have an email attached to your profile or leave it in your comment.  **Read this post if you are a no-reply blogger - you may not even know you are!**

Giveaway ends the night of December 17th - winner picked by random.org and announced shortly after!

sew & tell - amy butler extravaganza and giveaways!

*****Comments Closed***** Winners to be announced later today!*****

It's the day we've all been waiting for!  I'm so excited for today's Amy Butler exclusive sew & tell!  I can't wait to see what everyone has finished for today.  I've been getting emails and sneak peeks and think it's going to be fun browsing everyone's links!

I'll admit, it's been a rough week here.  I haven't felt well most of the week, and after finishing the baby bedding last week, I'm feeling like anything I do will be a little anti-climatic.  But, if it involves Amy Butler fabric it will still look nice!  So finally, last night, after everyone was in bed I tried to figure out something fun.

So here's what I did. 

I've been wanting to make one of these FOREVER.  I found 2 of my favorite Amy Butler prints and cut them the size of an old kitchen towel - the absorbent terry cloth kind.  I even used a clean one.  Then I just cut my fabric the same size.  And then made a little sandwich - fabric/towel/fabric.  I had to piece the one side, because my scrap wasn't quite big enough.

Then I decided it would be a good idea to quilt it.  And why not free-motion?  I needed the practice and it was only 11:00.  PM!! I really should have just gone to bed.

I think you can see the quilting better in this picture.  It's definitely not perfect, but hey, it's really my first time doing it.  So maybe I just need to tackle a couple of my quilts and get better.  I'm not sure if you can see it, but I just serged around the edges to finish it off!  Super easy and now my kitchen looks better already.  And so does my adorable teapot!  :)  I might actually want to wash some dishes now.

And I love that I can look at two of my favorite prints all the time!

There are a lot of giveaways for today's participants!  I'm going to be selecting several winners for the following gifts.  To enter you must link up your Amy Butler project and/or comment on this post.  Let's be creative with our comment entries.  Tell me about your favorite memory sewing!  I will take comments until Monday night, September 27.  Winners will be announced sometime on Tuesday.  If you link up and comment you will get 2 entries!

1.  A winner will be chosen from those who linked up today to receive the following 2 patterns, and 3 yards of Amy Butler fabric from The Material Girls Quilts!

www.thematerialgirlsquilts.blogspot.com

2. A winner will be chosen from all linkers and commenters (one comment per person) to receive the Birdie Sling pattern and a $25 gift certificate from Fabricworm!  So you can pick out fabric to make your bag!

www.fabricworm.com

3.  Another winner will be chosen from all linkers and commenters to recieve the laptop cover and mp3 case pattern.

4.  And then there's these awesome headbands!!

I'm going to be giving these two away as well!! Thanks so much to my dear friend Allyn who made them this week, especially for two of you!!  You may have seen her post last week featuring more of these darlings (her girls AND the headbands!).  Maybe I'll decide to pick someone from my facebook page, maybe I'll just pick my favorite project, maybe I'll use random.org for all of them.  Either way you'll want to come back to see who wins!

I feel like every sentence I just wrote should have an exclamation point after it!

Thanks to everyone who has been so excited about the challenge!  I can't wait to see all the things you've made -  It's going to be such great eye-candy!


What Amy Butler project did you finish this week?

ALL PROJECTS LINKED UP THIS WEEK MUST BE A SEWING PROJECT AND HAVE AN ELEMENT OF AMY BUTLER IN THEM (fabric and/or pattern).  
Please show good bloggy manners and follow the linky rules.  Refer to the sew & tell page if you have any questions or wonder why your link may have been  deleted.

1. Link to your specific post about a sewing related finish you had during the time period for the Amy Butler Challenge.

2. Please mention sew & tell in your post and link back to this  post (link or button) so everyone can join in.
3.  Pat each other on the backs in the comments! Please, don't just link up and leave, we all want to hear from you!