sew & tell v3.29 - catching up

Hello friends! My motivation has been coming in spurts, but I was able to catch up on some bee blocks and finish up the last bit of binding on a quilt.

This block right here, I love.  These chubby Dresdens from the book Material Obsession are my favorite of all Dresdens.  Fabric is from LOVE by Amy Butler.  Finished block measures 20"

When I received these fabrics she sent a picture of a flower and asked us to be inspired by it and make something.  When I finally figured out what to do it still took me forever to actually make it up.  Why? I HAVE NO IDEA.  Somethings just keep getting pushed to the back, and I'm embarrassed that this was one of them. It's from the bee I was in before BeeTweet started last spring.  YES.  It's that late.  And it's been eating at me.  But I wanted to make good on my committment.  Luckily the person for whom I made it is very sweet and forgiving and loves it.  Whew!!

This next block is for Ali of a²(w).  She sent us this picture of a painting and said she wanted to recreate it into a quilt:

 
Isn't that a genius idea!?

It was totally free formed pieced and just grew out of picking colors and sewing and slicing!  I may need to do more like this in the future. I love the way it turned out!

And last, this quilt from another collaborative effort!  I finished the last bit of binding (it had been sitting around so close to finished!) and now is ready to go to it's new home.  Well, almost, I still need to wash it and take some clothesline photos!  Brynn chose fabrics and pieced this one.  I quilted and bound it.

I am getting into a bit of a groove with my sewing.  I have a bunch to do for next week!  Be sure to come by on Monday for my part in the NYBeauty Quilt Along!




What have you been finishing up this week?

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!

sew & tell v3.23 a bee block and another {not a tutorial}

Hey friends!  I had a lot of fun feeling like a normal blogger this week and got some great feedback from my last two posts.  Thanks so much! It's so fun to read your comments and get new ideas.  I really do plan on emailing you back.  I'll get to it.  :)

I just have a quick finish for this week.  This lovely bee block for Leigh.  I am in love with every single fabric she sent.  Especially the pearl bracelets!

{not a tutorial} photo tip - how I take pictures, sometimes.
I don't pretend to be an excellent photographer, but I am trying to get better.  And learn how to use the little bit of light I do have to my advantage.  I wanted to show you something I learned about taking pictures during Vanessa's class at the Sewing Summit.

White foam board and poster board can really reflect your natural light well so that you can get a nice bright picture before you process it. So here's a zoom out of that picture up there.

The block is clothes pinned to the foam board, poster board on the table and light coming from the window to the left.  I took this picture in the late afternoon yesterday.  Zoom out again...

The room was actually kind of dark, but with that light reflecting on the white and getting up close and personal I was able to get a relatively bright picture. I didn't edit these at all post photo-taking. And didn't use a flash.  In retrospect, I probably would have lightened them up a bit more, but I wanted to just show you how a some cheap white poster board can help you take advantage of some natural light. I haven't gotten around to making an actual light box yet...


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!

beetweet block catch up

Does February seem extra long to anyone else this year? 

So in my recent habit of letting things slide through the cracks I realized I hadn't blogged about my bee blocks for a while! So here's a little round up for you.

In October, Amisha asked for hexies on a solid background. She sent this really cool moda crossweave on which to put them. I really liked playing with the arrangement once I got the hexies ready to stitch down. But to be honest I procrastinated this one for quite some time. It really scared me! I only finished this a couple of weeks ago. *hangs head in shame*
I think it looks like a chemistry diagram. In a cool nerdy way.

November, Jen sent this awesome 50s/60s -ish print to use in a log cabin.  And considering my recent love affair with orange and aqua she sent me that combo for my block.  I adore polka dots!

 I just love the orange and aqua together. And the polka dots!  I said that already, didn't I?

January, Rebecca asked for some wonky houses.  This block turned out better than I expected. I've done a house block before but it's been a while.  I like doing reverse applique on house blocks because sometimes you can be a little more detailed.  Plus, it's just fun to do something different!

I was going for a stained glass look with the fabrics I picked for the windows - I think it works...

I took some pictures of the process I used to do the reverse applique, I'm hoping to put that post together soon.

Bee blocks are really a great skill builder.  It's nice to be able to focus on just a block or two and learn something new.  Hopefully, I'll be able to finish my blocks for February today!  Thank goodness for an extra day this year!

sew & tell v3.15 - an almost finish

Hey everyone!!  Hope you've had a great week and found some time to sew!



I got a little bit of sewing in, but didn't actually finish anything.  I got together with a friend earlier in the week and we both tackled a project we had been putting off.  This is a practice layout of a hexie block I am doing for my bee, BeeTweet.  I think it's going to be really cute once finished.  I just have to applique them all down.

So I hope you don't mind that I don't have a real finish to share today. Maybe I'll have something done by tomorrow and I'll link up with everyone else!!

If you just can't get enough of me, AnneMarie of GenX quilters featured me today!  She's so great and you will love her blog!  Go check it out!

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!

merry fall!

Well, hello there friends! I know I've been in absentia for a little too long. As has Sew & Tell. Without boring you with all the details I'll just say this. I've lost my blogging mo-jo a little bit. I'm sure you are not surprised. Things have been busy with my oldest starting real school this year, mrlouwho being gone a lot in preps for a deployment, babies at home to take care of, and still not having that sweet spot in my house for taking photos.

Plus, I know there are so many blogs out there to read, and I only want to blog about things that are fun and encouraging, so that I'm not wasting your time when you come visit.

Along these lines, dear Kim gave me a little pep talk last week, and I think we came up with a solution for bringing back weekly Sew & Tell. More details to come. THIS Friday! So get your projects and posts ready to link up.

I have been sewing quite a bit actually. It's amazing when you don't blog as much you can get a lot more things finished! I wanted to share with you today what I chose for my month of my quilt bee, BeeTweet. My month was August and I have had some Christmas prints laying around~ I actually won them in a giveaway a couple of years ago.

 I sent my group this inspiration mosaic for what I wanted. I was thinking, whimsical and Christmas (obviously).

I was late (of course) sending my fabric out and they are starting to trickle back in.  These are the 3 I've gotten so far, and I'm so excited to get the rest!

I'm thinking of a square in square type of sashing. I hope it will be as cute in my head...

See you soon!  Sew & Tell on Friday!!

of bee blocks, hurricanes, head colds, and excuses

There is a reason I wasn't going to join any more bees or swaps this year. You want to know why? I am TERRIBLE with deadlines! I can blame it on the power being out during the hurricane, getting my first child ready for kindergarten, this horrible cold I've had for a week now, or downright fear of doing blocks I've never done before. And then there's the keeping up with 3 kids and trying to keep my house clean.

Okay, those all played a part, but the real excuse? Procrastination. And I feel REALLY bad about it. So to dear Darci and John, I'm SO SORRY!!!

I've actually had these stars done for a while. I love doing them - we used this tutorial.  I love the green background she chose.  It's a bold choice and one that will work well with all of her fun bright things!

I haven't sent them off yet, because Darci and I are doing another little separate swap and I have yet to finish up my part of that. UGH. The guilt. She already sent me what she made. AND IT. IS. AMAZING. I can't wait to show it to you.

Now John (aka Quilt Dad) asked for spider web blocks. And I. Was. Scared.  But once I read the tutorial and started sewing, I realized they aren't much different from a string block.  And I love the way they turned out!!

As always, I put off starting them because I was afraid of ruining them!  Especially since he sent this gorgeous Tula Pink Flutterby fabric which is out of print.

Once these are all put together it is going to be stunning.  I can't wait to see it.

So now that school is getting in full swing, I'm at the end of this cold, and I don't think we have a hurricane hitting us this week, I might actually be able to get some more sewing done.  Let's hope so!

don't judge me. i couldn't help myself!

So back at the beginning of the year, I opted out of continuing on into a 3rd year with my quilting bee.  I was feeling overwhelmed and under-productive.  And was always LATE.  Ugh.  I was beating myself up over it.

A few months ago Darci of Stitches and Scissors asked me if I wanted to be a part of a new bee she was starting up!  I was hesitant, knowing my weaknesses and time constraints, but the group of people looked so fun, I couldn't say no.

The bee was named after a discussion with a lot of the group members on Twitter.  Hence the bee's name: Bee Tweet.  I'm still clueless when it comes to Twitter.  I hesitate to get too involved as I feel like I've already got an IV line from the internet into my brain...

So here's my first block for the month of May.  Erin asked for a variation on the wonky log cabin.  It was nice to change it up a bit and I think her quilt is going to be scrapalicious!