Pin. Sew. Press.

Sneak Peek

2011-03-24T13:54:00.000-04:00

Hello there! Just wanted to pop in and say hi. We moved about three weeks ago and we're still getting settled into our new place, so I haven't had much time for sewing. Our new place is smaller and I no longer have a sewing room, so I'm trying to figure out how to find a little sewing space for myself without making a mess that takes over our living area. It turns out downsizing is hard work! That being said, we love living near DC again, as well as friends and family, so we're very happy to be here.

I think I promised you a post about the Dr. Seuss quilt my mom made Lauren for Christmas. I snapped some pictures in a hurry before we moved, but the lighting wasn't good and I need to take some new ones next time we have good weather. In the mean time, here's a sneak peek-

Taking quilt pictures with a three-year-old is always fun :-)

I'll try to take new pictures soon. My mom did such a great job on this quilt!

And here's a sneak peek of a quilt I've been working on since before Christmas.

The fabric is Monaco by Monaluna mixed with some Mendocino by Heather Ross and Modern Meadow by Joel Dewberry.

I've been agonizing over what fabric to use to use for the binding, but I think I've finally settled on Kona Ash. Now to find the time to actually do it!

Happy sewing,
Mary

We interrupt this silence for a blog post!

2011-02-23T22:08:00.001-05:00

Well hello there! I apologize for the long silence . . . it seems that my short Christmas break turned into quite a long break. I've been enjoying having Mr. PinSewPress home since he graduated and the time has just flown by!

After some nice downtime with the family, we're in the process of moving! Mr. PSP got a job in Virginia, so we're moving back to our home state after enjoying six years in Myrtle Beach. We're really looking forward to living in Virginia again, but all this packing sure is exhausting!

Today I started packing up my sewing room, and for the first time I sorted everything by color. It's fun for me to see everything laid out like this! It would look even better if I folded everything uniformly, but darn it, I'm just too lazy ;-) (Not to mention short on time!)

Anyway, I just wanted to pop in and confirm that I am in fact alive and well. Thanks bloggy friends for checking in with me during my long silence - I didn't intend to go that long without posting! I'll try to come back soon with some good quilty pictures. My mom made Lauren an awesome Dr. Seuss quilt for Christmas, and I have a few quilts in progress myself.

Happy sewing!
Mary

The Graduate

2010-12-15T15:56:00.000-05:00

Last weekend Mr. Pin.Sew.Press. graduated from our local university with an MBA in Accounting.

Needless to say, we're SO proud of him!

Now we'll see where the adventure of life takes us next!

I'll catch up with all of you after the holidays . . . I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas and New Year's!

Happy sewing,
Mary

Yesterday was my lucky day . . .

2010-12-01T09:43:00.000-05:00

because this is what I received in the mail from my partner in the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap!!!

This awesome, modern mug rug was made for me by Jessica (a.k.a. Quilt Happie on Flickr.) I saw it in our group photo pool a few weeks ago and loved it, and I was so surprised to receive it in the mail yesterday! Jessica also made me a wonderful little hexie-shaped needle book and included two of her favorite recipes and some delish dark chocolate in the package. (There's a tutorial here for the needle book if you're interested.)

Thank you Jessica for making my day! Your mug rug makes me smile every time I see it :-)

Happy sewing,
Mary

Cyber . . . Tuesday?

2010-11-30T14:12:00.000-05:00

Hello there! Well, it looks like I missed Cyber Monday. But never fear, I'm checking in with a little special deal for the shop. Now through mid-December all mug rugs ship FREE to the U.S. and Canada! So if you'd like a mug rug for yourself or to give as a gift, hop on over to my shop and snatch one up!

I've been sewing up a storm here like a Christmas elf . . . I'll check back in soon with some sneak peeks!

Happy sewing,
Mary

Holiday Favorites

2010-11-24T06:50:00.000-05:00

Feast your eyes on these beauties!

1. a winter wonderland..., 2. Cherry & Linen - Bird Ornament, 3. stocking, 4. Holiday Mug Rug, 5. handmade ornaments, 6. Linen Turkey Tea Towel, 7. Feature in Fat Quarterly, 8. wrapped up, 9. Christmas trees - front, 10. Holiday House FINISHED!, 11. Christmas Tree, 12. First Batch Finished...

Happy sewing!
Mary

It's beginning to feel a lot like . . .

2010-11-23T11:58:00.000-05:00

time to work on some holiday sewing!

I made this mug rug for the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap on Flickr. This group is entirely to blame for my mug rug addiction!

My mug rug was inspired by this awesome pincushion, and I used this free template for the design with Heat-n-Bond Lite. It was easier than I expected!

And here's a little sneak peek of a project I'm working on for someone on my Christmas list -

Fabric: Pure by Sweetwater
Block tutorial: found here in the Moda Bake Shop

How's your holiday sewing going? I'm way behind, as usual, because I'm a procrastinator! I like to think that I work better under pressure :-)

Happy sewing!
Mary

Favorites

2010-11-18T08:30:00.001-05:00

Ah, Flickr. My endless source of inspiration! I love being a part of this community.

1. Custom Seafoam Pear Pillow, 2. my APQ quilt- December 2010 issue, 3. Process pillow 2, 4. Necklace, 5. 052, 6. Quilting Process Mini Quilt, 7. 2217-01, 8. christmas ornaments, 9. Scrappy Pincushion Swap--Round 2

Happy Sewing!
Mary

Fishy Mug Rugs

2010-11-17T16:35:00.000-05:00

After hoarding my Heather Ross goldfish stash for a mere three months, I just had to cut into these guys and make something fun. No sense hoarding fabric and never using it, right? (But believe me, it was hard to make the first cut!)

I just love these fish combined with bright and cheery patchwork in aqua and tangerine. My inspiration for these came from here and here.

I like how Splashy is the star of the show on this first mug rug. Isn't he cute? He won the heart of one of my bloggy friends and is already off to his new home in New England!

This second mug rug stars Helen and Bjorn. They're great friends and I just couldn't bear to separate them. They're also up for "adoption" in my shop!

This final mug rug stars Splashy and his friend Spooky. These little guys are going to be participating in a giveaway for 100 Quilts for Christmas.

Haven't heard about 100 Quilts for Christmas? 'Tis the season for giving, and this wonderful event encourages us quilters to donate a small quilt or blanket to a local charity for a child in need. Click here for more details, and I'll keep you updated on where and when you can enter to win my fishy mug rug!

Happy Wednesday!
Mary

Join the Pin.Sew.Press. Flickr group! (and a sneak peek of my latest project)

2010-11-15T15:58:00.000-05:00

Hello lovely sewing friends! How have you been? I spent last week taking care of a sick little one. I'm ready to get back to blogging, designing, and adding some new goodies to the shop!

First order of business today . . . I now have an official {Inspired by} Pin.Sew.Press. Flickr Group! If you've made one of my Stay-Put Kitchen Towels or a mug rug inspired by one of mine, please add your photo to the group! I'd love to see what you're making!

Last week I finished up three more Bliss Cross mug rugs. I think this may be my last one is this particular design and fabric combo . . . it's time for me to design something new!

Here's a sneak peek of what I've been working on for the past few days. Yes, it's true, I finally cut into my goldfish stash! I came up with three new mug rugs starring these fantastic fishies, and I hope to finish the bindings soon so I can show you the set!

Next I really need to tackle some holiday sewing. I've been procrastinating, but Christmas is quickly approaching! Time to get to work!

Happy sewing,
Mary

Sew & Tell Friday: Mom and Daughter Handbag Set

2010-11-05T09:51:00.000-04:00

I was thrilled when one of my previous co-workers asked me to make this adorable set of mom and daughter-sized handbags. I mean seriously, how cute is that?!

I used this pattern by I Think Sew and copied the pattern at 70% for the mini bag. I think the mini bag is my favorite . . . it's just so darn cute! And I love the Amy Butler combo my customer chose. You just can't go wrong with Amy Butler!

I'm linking up to Amylouwho's Sew & Tell Friday. Be sure to check out all the other finishes!

Happy Friday!
Mary

I heart artsy-crafty babe (and she's having a sale!)

2010-11-02T13:18:00.000-04:00

Surely you know Beki of artsy-crafty babe, right?

I just love her patterns! Here are some bags I've made from her patterns. They're from my pre-blog sewing days, so I haven't showed these here before.

This one is called the Ava Rose Tote:

And this one is called the Short & Sassy Pleated Handbag:

(Can you tell these pictures are from my earlier days of photography? I think they were both taken with a flash (ahhhh!). . . there's definitely a reason I've switched to all natural-light photography!!!)

And here are the bags I've made from Beki's free patterns- the Pleated Tote and the Phoebe Bag.

Right now Beki is running a big sale over at her shop. All bags are 50% off and all patterns are only $5.

Seriously, how do you resist cuteness like this?

Happy sewing,
Mary

Modern Meadow Mug Rug Madness!

2010-11-01T08:30:00.001-04:00

Prepare your eyes for a feast of Modern Meadow + Linen! I finally sat down and finished handsewing all of the binding. Phew, that takes a while! But you just can't beat the end result.

On this one I went a little crazy . . . those finished squares are only 1/2"!!! I love the look though.

These mug rugs are in my shop, and now I'm back to work finishing up some custom orders!

I hope you had a great weekend! Did you eat tons of candy? I'm trying to pace myself (and my daughter!)

Mary

Blogger's Quilt Festival

2010-10-29T17:20:00.001-04:00

Blogger's Quilt Festival is here! Hooray! (And welcome new visitors!)

Here's a quilt I just finished a few weeks ago (sorry regular readers!) but I'm so proud of it and couldn't help but to bring it out again for the festival. Without further ado, here's my Modern Meadow {x2} boy quilt!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

What do you do when you can't decide on just ONE quilt pattern to use?

Make two quilt tops and forget about having a back!

This side was inspired by this mini quilt by Ashley at Film in the Fridge.

And this side was made using Elizabeth Hartman's Mixtape Quilts II Pattern, which I LOVE. The directions were so clear, the cutting was super easy, and she even provides a guide for block placement so I didn't have to stress and rearrange my blocks 100 times. Thank goodness!

I used simple straight-line quilting on either side of the sashing.

I absolutely love how the quilting looks on this side!

The fabric I used is from Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow line, which I'm completely in love with. I mixed it with Kona solids in white, navy, avocado, stone, and aqua.

This special quilt was made for my good friend Shannon who just gave birth to her sweet baby boy on Wednesday. Shannon and I met way back when we were 21 and working together and became fast friends. I will be forever indebted to her for introducing me to the wonderful world of modern fabric and modern sewing. Last August she posted about an Amy Butler giveaway on her blog. At that point I didn't even know who Amy Butler WAS! *gasp!* But once I clicked through a few links and started browsing modern fabric and patterns I was absolutely hooked. My very generous mom set me up with a sewing machine and all sorts of sewing supplies and the rest is history!

I had a blast making this quilt for Shannon since she's my only "real life" friend with an appreciation for modern fabric and modern quilt design. I mean, what other friend of mine will ever send me inspiration links from Crazy Mom Quilts and Flickr?! When I sew for my non-sewing friends I'm always a little afraid that they won't "get it" or might not necessarily love handmade gifts, so it was such a pleasure to sew for a friend with similar interests!

Now I just can't wait to see pictures of the new little man on his quilt!

Happy sewing,
Mary

I heart bugs

2010-10-29T09:15:00.003-04:00

So in the real world, I pretty much hate bugs.

But in the fabric world? I just love these Tula Pink bugs! I was up late browsing Flickr one night and happened upon a picture of these adorable thumbtacks and I just had to have them! I started clicking around and quickly discovered that Meredith sells these in her shop. After a quick, overly-excited message to Meredith I managed to score them before she listed them in her shop. Woohoo!

I've had these for a couple weeks now and I can't bring myself to take them out of their adorable little container. Here there are posing with my newly acquired fat quarter of adorable ladybugs, scored in a little swap with a Flickr friend. I think I'm just going to stare at these little guys for a while!

Happy Friday!
Mary

WIP Wednesday

2010-10-27T15:42:00.000-04:00

Happy Wednesday sewing friends!

I had planned to show you some more completed mug rugs today, but I got a little distracted yesterday by a sick little one and some lovely custom orders that I should be able to show you in the next week or so. One of them is for matching mommy/daughter purses. How fun is that?!

Anyway, I just finished making my scrappy bindings and attaching them to the front of my mug rugs.

Looks like I'll be spending my evening hand-sewing binding in front of the TV. I hope there's something good on!

Happy sewing,
Mary

P.S. - If you own a sewing machine in the under $1000 range and love it, please share about it in the comments! A friend of mine is looking for a machine and I'd love to send her some suggestions. I use a BabyLock Decorator's Choice (which I love!) but I'd like to give her some other suggestions too.

Another mug rug and tips for sewing with linen

2010-10-26T10:18:00.000-04:00

I've been having so much fun making mug rugs! This one is a mix of Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane with linen. I'm officially in L-O-V-E with linen! I just love the color and texture.

Here are a few tips if you'd like to sew with linen yourself. First, prewash! I never prewash my cottons, but linen shrinks quite a bit so I recommend prewashing in hot (yes, hot!) water and tumble dry low if your finished product is going to be washable. So if you're making a zip pouch you don't really need to prewash, but for something like mug rugs or placemats or a quilt I'd say prewashing is a really good idea.

Second, spray starch is your friend! When linen comes straight off the bolt it will have a slight stiffness to it since the manufacturer applies sizing to the fabric. But once you wash it, linen becomes very soft and wrinkly. It also tends to be pretty shifty when you're sewing with it, so I use lots of Magic Sizing (which is only a couple bucks at WalMart) and a hot, hot iron and basically starch my linen into good behavior. It makes a huge difference!

I've added my lastest mug rug to the shop, as well as a made-to-order option for both of my Bliss mug rugs in case you wanted one but missed out the first time.

I've been working on three more mug rugs with Modern Meadow. They just need binding and then hopefully I can show them to you tomorrow! I'm having way too much fun making these teeny, tiny quilts!!!

Happy sewing,
Mary

Sew & Tell Friday - The Nigella Bag

2010-10-22T06:00:00.004-04:00

Hello and happy Friday! Amy at Amylouwho is featuring me today for Sew & Tell Friday, so if you haven't visited be sure to hop on over and check it out! (Oh, and if you finished something this week and blogged about it, be sure to join in the fun and link up!)

My finish this week is a birthday gift for a good friend of mine. She L-O-V-E-S bags so I knew just what to make for her! It was fun talking with her about features she wanted and styles she likes and having her go through my stash to pick the perfect fabric. She asked for a bag with one strap, preferably more wide than tall, with exterior pockets. Here's what I came up with -

I started with the Mabel Messenger Bag pattern and made several modifications to meet my friend's needs. First I added two exterior pockets on the front and a "fancy" (ha ha) faux leather bottom. The bottom was totally inspired by this awesome bag. I found the faux leather at a local shop that sells home decorator fabrics and it was surprisingly easy to sew with. The only major difference is that you can't pin it, but I sewed using my regular 1/4" foot as well as my walking foot and it worked just fine. Oh, and I did use a size 16 needle for this bag since some parts of it where really thick. I love that the faux leather bottom will help this bag stand up to everyday wear and tear!

I'm not a huge fan of traditional metal snaps. I have tons of the 18mm variety, but the magnet is so strong that I often find it difficult to unsnap them. They can also be a bit unsightly sometimes. Enter the hidden sew-in magnetic snap closure. LOVE it! Although it was a little tricky working with the magnet sewn into the bag since it wants to stick to EVERYTHING - my scissors, my iron, the metal plate and feed dogs on my sewing machine. It wasn't a huge pain, but it was amusing!

My next addition was a metal swivel clasp just inside the bag so that my friend can just clip in her keys and not lose them in the bottom of her bag. The fabric I used for the interior is from Kate Spain's Verna collection.

Then I added metal rectangle rings, just because. These were really great during the construction of the bag since I didn't have to sew on the straps until the very end. It was nice to not have to deal with the strap being awkwardly stuffed between the exterior and interior while I was sewing them together. Also I should note that I deviated from the pattern here and made a fixed strap instead of the adjustable shoulder-to-messenger-bag strap the instructions called for.

And for my next trick . . . an interior zipper pocket! This was my very first one, and wasn't hard AT ALL! The pattern includes directions for this zip pocket, and I'm thrilled to have finally learned how to do it.

The fabric I used for this bag is from Amy Butler's Nigella home dec weight collection. It's so pretty, and luckily I have just enough left over to make myself a new ironing board cover. I sure wouldn't mind looking at this fabric every time I have to iron, and it sure beats the ugly cover I have now!

Well, this bag is off to meet her new owner tomorrow. I hope she likes it!!!

Happy sewing,
Mary

More Bliss Love . . .

2010-10-19T09:00:00.004-04:00

After my little weekend sewing project I just HAD to come up with some new sewing projects to use more Bliss! This time I paired it with linen, which is such a yummy combo!

I made two mug rugs, and I love how they turned out. Patchwork + linen + scrappy binding = GOOD STUFF!!!

What is a mug rug, you might ask? Well, it's like a coaster only bigger. Think of it like a tiny piece of art for your desk and a pretty place for your mug to rest. Or just a really, really tiny quilt. This one measures about 6 1/2" x 7 1/2".

I couldn't help making another tiny log cabin. They're just so much fun!

This one measures about 5 3/4" x 7 1/4".

You can find these little mug rugs in my shop. (P.S. - mention my blog in the comments section at checkout and I'll give you free U.S. shipping now through October 31st.)

These little mug rugs are addicting. I'm already dreaming up a few new designs using Modern Meadow and more linen. Stay tuned!

Happy sewing,
Mary

I heart patchwork

2010-10-16T19:27:00.000-04:00

Just a little weekend sewing to share -

{Front and back of patchwork cosmetics pouch}

This cute pattern is from Rashida Coleman-Hale's book "I Love Patchwork."

I hope you're having a great weekend!

Happy sewing,
Mary

Modern Meadow {x 2} = Double the Fun!

2010-10-13T16:11:00.000-04:00

What do you do when you can't decide on just ONE quilt pattern to use?

Make two quilt tops and forget about having a back!

This side was inspired by this mini quilt by Ashley at Film in the Fridge.

I used simple straight-line quilting on either side of the sashing.

I absolutely love how the quilting looks on this side!

The fabric I used is from Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow line, which I'm completely in love with. I mixed it with Kona solids in white, navy, avocado, stone, and aqua. (Mr. PSP loves this fabric too, so I'll be using it to make something for us when I can finally get around to it!)

This special quilt was made for my good friend Shannon who's having a baby boy in less than two weeks. Shannon and I met way back when we were 21 and working together and became fast friends. I will be forever indebted to her for introducing me to the wonderful world of modern fabric and modern sewing. Last August she posted about an Amy Butler giveaway on her blog. At that point I didn't even know who Amy Butler WAS! *gasp!* But once I clicked through a few links and started browsing modern fabric and patterns I was absolutely hooked. My very generous mom set me up with a sewing machine and all sorts of sewing supplies and the rest is history!

I had a blast making this quilt for Shannon since she's my only "real life" friend with an appreciation for modern fabric and modern quilt design. I mean, what other friend of mine will ever send me inspiration links from Crazy Mom Quilts?! When I sew for my other non-sewing friends I'm always a little afraid that they won't "get it" or might not necessarily love handmade gifts, so it was such a pleasure to sew for a friend with similar interests!

Now I just can't wait to meet the new little man!

Happy sewing,
Mary

Purse Week - I made the Top 10!!!

2010-10-12T09:21:00.000-04:00

I'm so excited to share that my Miss Maven Ruffled Handbag made the Top 10 in Purse Week over at A Lemon Squeezy Home!

You should definitely hop on over and check out the finalists and vote for your favorite. There's some serious talent over there!

I have a new quilt to show you guys but I'm waiting for it to be delivered in the mail. It's a baby boy quilt with lots and lots of Modern Meadow goodness . . . can't wait to show you!!! Hopefully it will arrive by the end of the week. Talk to you again soon!

Happy sewing,
Mary

Plan B

2010-10-06T00:31:00.000-04:00

If at first you don't succeed . . .

make coasters!!!

These little blocks were originally going to be part of my DQS9 quilt, but once I made them I just wasn't in love with the quilt idea. I tossed them aside and made this quilt instead.

But after making my last set of coasters, I got the idea to make these into coasters too. They finished at about 5" square, which is a really nice size. I was so pleased to find a new (and better!) use for these tiny blocks! I gave the coasters to my parents when they came for a recent visit.

And speaking of my parents . . . happy *early* birthday Mom!

Happy sewing,
Mary

Calling all Neptune fans!

2010-10-05T18:06:00.000-04:00

Just a heads up that I added some new yardage to the shop!

Happy sewing,
Mary

Miss Maven Ruffled Handbag

2010-09-24T00:18:00.001-04:00

Can I even tell you how much I love Amy Butler's latest book Style Stitches?

A LOT! A book full of fabulous bags? Yes please!

And after no less than 12 hours of hard labor, I'd like to introduce you to the Miss Maven Ruffled Handbag.

I used Amy's Full Moon Dots print and a Midwest Modern print and I love the combo. So pretty!

The inside of the bag has a false bottom for extra stability. Nice detail! I deviated from the pattern on the pockets and made my own to suit my needs.

I have to tell you, this was THE.MOST.DIFFICULT. bag I've ever made. The pattern is listed on the "Experienced" level and they aren't kidding! When I first read through the directions I didn't think that any one step sounded too hard and I dove right in. But I must have overestimated my skill level because this sucker gave me run for my money! I had broken thread drama making those ruffles, and don't even get me started on making and attaching those adorable handles! I can't even tell you how many times I pinned and re-pinned and stuck my fingers. But then it was done and it was so worth it!

I'm really grateful for the deadline of the Amy Butler Sew & Tell Challenge to keep me going, because I might have given up otherwise! My bag is far from perfect but I feel really good about working through such a difficult pattern.

After making this crazy hard bag I need some serious quilting therapy. My next task is quilting a baby quilt for a friend, and believe me, that's EXACTLY what I need!

Happy sewing!
Mary

Sometimes you win!

2010-09-23T12:19:00.000-04:00

Like many of you, I enter TONS of blog giveaways but never really expect to win.

Imagine my surprise when I won this fabulous mini quilt from Kristina Wilberg of Sew Domestic!

I had seen this mini on Kristina's blog back in May, so I was thrilled when I saw that she was giving it away! As part of the giveaway Kristina also promised to send some scraps. I was expecting, well, scraps, but instead this is what she sent . . .

Wow, thanks Kristina! Now I have plenty of fabric to make something fun and girly!

Be sure to visit Kristina's blog to ooh and ahh over her adorable new baby girl (born last Friday!) and stop by her Etsy shop Quilted Treasures for fun fat quarter bundles and other goodies.

Happy sewing!
Mary

Are you ready . . .

2010-09-21T23:15:00.000-04:00

for Amy Butler Sew & Tell day this Friday? I'm on my way!

The husband (who spoils me!) talked me into buying this FABULOUS book last week and there are SO many great bags I'd like to make!

The Cosmo Bag, Style Stitches

Origami Bags, Style Stitches

Blossom Handbag, Style Stitches

Miss Maven Ruffled Handbag, Style Stitches

Seriously, you have to check out this book next time you're at the book store. So.many.awesome.bags. Sigh . . . :-)

For the Amy Butler Sew & Tell challenge I've decided on the Miss Maven handbag - in Amy Butler fabric of course! It's such a cute bag and totally unlike anything else I've made or own. Lauren took a crazy long nap today (3 1/2 hours . . . unheard of!) and I spent the entire time cutting out fabric and interfacing. Phew! Am I rediculously slow or what? I thought I'd start sewing after she went to bed tonight, but I have to admit that after that marathon cutting session I needed a break for the night.

Are you joining in the Amy Butler sewing challenge? I can't wait to see what everyone makes!

Happy sewing,
Mary

Neptune Destash

2010-09-19T18:43:00.001-04:00

I've been lucky to have fairly easy access to Tula Pink's Neptune line over the last year at my LQS (local quilt shop, if you're wondering!) It seems that the average Myrtle Beach quilter is not nearly as obsessed with this line as my online blog friends and Flickr friends are! Neptune is pretty much impossible to find online these days.

Anyway, I haven't been able to figure out what I want to make with my small stash, so I think it's time to let it go . . .

7 Fat Quarters (still available)

~~One half yard of SS Pink in Coral~~ SOLD!

~~Two "Deep Sea" prints~~ SOLD!

You can find these goodies in the shop!

Happy sewing,
Mary

Doll Quilt Swap - Received!

2010-09-14T13:36:00.000-04:00

Look at what Jessica made for me!

| Front |

| Back (in gorgeous Tanya Whelan Fabric from the Dolce collection!) |

| Pretty hand-quilted bird detail on front |

| And the same detail on the back |

| Plus some extras . . . additional fabric from the quilt back AND a hand made card! |

Thanks so much Jessica! This is hanging in my sewing room where I can see it every day!

Happy sewing,
Mary

{Aqua & Tangerine} Tiny Log Cabins

2010-09-11T16:28:00.000-04:00

I decided I wanted to play around with tiny log cabin blocks the other day. I had so much fun I made five. Four became coasters -

I'm disappointed with the skipped stitches in my quilting, but I was using a size 9 needle and maybe it just wasn't up to the task. I later switched to a size 14 and didn't seem to have any more trouble.

I love the backs of these coasters too!

The fifth log cabin became an easy pincushion. I experimented with the triple stitch on my machine for the quilting on this one.

I just love these colors!

AND, I just have to share that I used basting spray for the first time ever on these little log cabins and I'm IN LOVE. Sooo nice to not mess with pin basting on such a tiny "quilt sandwich." I used 505 Basting Spray from my LQS, but I'd like to find something cheaper. The 505 spray was $13 - yikes! Not sure I'd be willing to use it on a larger quilt at that price.

I definitely see more tiny log cabins in my future . . . too much fun, and perfect for scraps!

Happy sewing!
Mary

First day of preschool!

2010-09-09T12:02:00.000-04:00

Lauren had her first day of preschool yesterday. She was so excited! I think we managed to get all of the obligatory "first day" photos.

Mr. PinSewPress is even going to make an appearance here . . .

I love my girl!

I think she's going to have a great school year.

Happy sewing!
Mary

Pleated Handbag

2010-09-07T19:58:00.000-04:00

Three cheers for another bag! I had this one all cut out when I made my first one a couple months ago, and I'm just now getting around to finishing it. It sure is nice to pick up a project when everything's already cut out!

I love this bag pattern by I Think Sew. There are so many fabric combinations I want to try! I like this one because it can be used for daytime or evening.

You can find this one in the shop. Up next: clutches? zip pouches? perhaps some Stay-Put Kitchen Towels? So much to sew, so little time!

Lauren starts preschool tomorrow (three mornings a week) and I have high hopes for a very productive fall, sewing-wise. When do you get your sewing done? I sometimes sew while Lauren is awake, but that can be challenging to say the least! Most of my sewing is done during naptime and after she goes to bed. I sure don't watch much TV anymore!

Happy sewing!
Mary

A new bag and a new venture

2010-09-06T15:15:00.000-04:00

I gave in and splurged on a little Far Far Away 2 recently. I'm proud of myself for not hoarding it - within two days I dove right in and started cutting it up!

I love this color combo for an early fall bag, and I'm loving this Bracelet Bag pattern by Keyka Lou too! It was fun learning how to make those cute circular handles, and I finally understand what the sewing term "facing" is all about. Aha!

The exterior fabric is Roses in Dusk and the interior fabric is Moon and Stars in Tangerine. I also have to mention that I love this lightweight cotton canvas. It's so perfect for bag making and so easy to work with.

Aaaaannnndddd . . . after dragging my feet for at least the past six months, I have finally opened an Etsy shop! Let's just call this a soft opening, since my only item listed is this Bracelet Bag. More to come soon!

If you want to visit my teeny tiny shop, click here.

Happy sewing!
Mary

At last . . . a finished "Man Quilt!"

2010-09-03T08:00:00.002-04:00

Last January, I set out to make my husband a quilt. A manly quilt.

He said it couldn't be done. (The manly part, that is.) But if there's one thing you can say about this quilt, it's definitely not girly! I fear I may have gone overboard with all that Kona Black, buy hey, it's manly! The rest of the fabric is Authentic by Sweetwater, which is such a great, unique line!

The back is mostly the "Dictionary" word print with a strip of patchwork at the top to make it a little more interesting.

I especially love the Authentic number print for my number-crunching husband who's getting his MBA in Accounting.

I really like this green stripe for the binding. At first I was bummed that I didn't cut the stripes horizontally, but now I kind of like them running vertically. (And yes, I machine stitched the binding to the back of the quilt. Don't judge - this is a BIG quilt! For me, at least.)

Here it is resting on our couch, where it will spend most of it's time! I'm not crazy about my quilting (concentric diamonds) or thread choice (off-white.) I wish I was comfortable with free-motion quilting, because I've heard that's easier to do on large quilts. I was also really stumped on what thread color to choose. Maybe I should have used a variegated thread? Oh well, my husband likes it and that's what matters most!

The Man Quilt measures 70" x 80" and is by far my largest yet! It took over my entire breakfast nook while I was basting it. In this picture I'm standing where the kitchen table should be. We squished it into the family room so that we could have dinner with my parents. Yep, this is what it's like to live with a quilter!

All in all, this my least favorite quilt so far. It's a little too bold and geometic and it was big and heavy and awkward to work with. However, it's DONE and that is a very good feeling indeed. And now Mr. PinSewPress doesn't have to steal my quilt that's way too small for him anyway :-)

I'm linking up to Amylouwho's Sew & Tell Friday. Be sure to check out all the other great finishes!

Happy sewing!
Mary

Tissue Box Cover for Amy

2010-09-02T16:43:00.001-04:00

As a part of my swap with Amy I made her this reversible tissue box cover for her newly remodeled bathroom. You can see pictures of their gorgeous new bathroom here.

I used the Pink Penguin Reversible Tissue Box Cover tutorial for the overall construction and Beki Lambert's applique design from Stitch Magazine for the design on the front.

Below is the back of the tissue box cover. This simple strip of patchwork is intended to mimic the strip of green tile on Amy's bathroom wall.

And this is the reverse side. I decided to make this one pretty simple since the other side is so busy! I used my favorite grey Flora and Fauna print and appliqued an "F" in Kona Coal on the front for Amy's last initial.

Amy and I also swapped scraps, but of course I forgot to take a picture of the scraps I sent. Oh well! Hopefully Amy will enjoy all of her new modern scraps too!

Happy sewing,

Mary

DQS9 - Finished and in the mail!

2010-08-31T17:37:00.000-04:00

After dragging my feet for at least a week, I forced myself to mail this doll quilt to its new owner today. I think it's probably a good sign when you pour enough of yourself into a swap item that you don't want to let it go!

If you're not familiar with the Doll Quilt Swap, all partners are secretly assigned so none of us knows who is sewing for us. I'm anxious for my partner to receive her quilt because I think she'll like it!

When I gave you guys a sneak peek of this project, I was stressing about hiding my starting/stopping threads for the quilting. You all had some AMAZING advice (thank you!) but in the end I decided to not stress about the backstitching showing and just go for it. If you look closely you can probably see it in the picture, but I just decided it wasn't the end of the world.

My design was inspired by this gorgeous quilt on Flickr and I used solids because I know that my partner likes them. I have to say that now I'm kind of hooked on solids too! I used Kona Stone, Kona White, and 14 colors from my Kona Starter Pack.

I'm really happy with the way this quilt turned out. Mr. PinSewPress likes it so much he asked me to make another one for us to keep. When I can work up the motivation, I just might do that! Someone on Flickr mentioned that this would make a great table topper with a vase in the middle, and I completely agree! I think we just might "need" one of these for our kitchen table.

Here's hoping my package makes it to it's secret location safe and sound. It's always a little nerve-wracking when your hard work is in-transit!

Next up . . . I finally finished the "man quilt!" Pictures and a blog post coming soon!

Happy sewing,
Mary

The whole school of fish!

2010-08-26T13:30:00.006-04:00

Remember when I was lamenting that I didn't have any super adorable goldfish in bags?

When I published that post back in July, I was mostly hoping someone would take pity on me and send me one teeny tiny goldfish.

However, I got much more than I expected!

When my blog friend Amy and I agreed to do a fun one-on-one swap, she said she wanted to make something for me based on one of my previous posts.

Just look at this amazing mini quilt she made for me!

I can't even tell you how much I adore this little quilt. I just love Amy's version of the goldfish in bags! The bags are linocut prints that Amy hand-carves on linoleum blocks from her own original designs. The fish are hand painted with freezer paper stencils. (If you'd like some of Amy's original goldfish in bags, she has some of her prints for sale in her shop. And if you're curious about the linocut process, Amy did a great post about it here.)

I also adore the colors on this mini, all the great Make Life prints (one of my very favorite fabric lines!) and the great mix of hand quilting and machine quilting. This mini is hanging in my sewing room and I love looking at it every time I go in there!

Amy also sent me this great handmade card, also with a linocut print. This one is just perfect for a beach girl like myself!

(I haven't finished my end of the swap yet . . . but I'll be done by the end of the month!)

My goldfish luck didn't end there . . . almost as if they had coordinated it, I got this package in the mail on the very same day - a surprise from Mr. Pin.Sew.Press!

We have a policy of not getting each other birthday or Christmas presents. Instead we like to give each other little surprises throughout the year.

Let me tell you, this was a huge surprise! I had actually made peace with the fact that I'd never own these little guys, and I can't believe my husband went to the trouble of tracking these down!

I'm happy to report that all my new fish are getting along nicely.

Thank you so much Amy and Mr. Pin.Sew.Press. for making my day! I promise to take good care of my new pets :-)

Happy sewing,

Mary

P.S. - I think Blogger hates me . . . I can't get rid of all those extra spaces in the middle! What's the deal?

Procrastination Sewing

2010-08-20T11:59:00.002-04:00

Does anyone else out there engage in procrastination sewing?

I have a bunch of other things I should be working on . . . the man quilt, my DQS9 quilt, a tissue box cover . . . but last night I just HAD to make this little case for my iPod.

I recently signed up for the The Biggest Loser 5k, and this is my motivation to take my iPod to the gym and go running. Running is definitely NOT one of my favorite fitness activities. If only sewing burned more calories . . . :-)

I just love this adorable Kokka cheater print.

Oh, and that buttonhole? My first ever! And it was nowhere near as hard as I expected.

For the binding and lining I used this fun green polka dot print from the adorable Rainy Days and Mondays line.

EDITED: I somehow completely forgot to mention that I made this with the Pink Penguin Super Simple Camera Case tutorial. Be sure to check out Ayumi's great tutorial!

I'm linking up to Amylouwho's Sew & Tell Friday. Have a great weekend!

Mary

WIP - Doll Quilt Swap

2010-08-09T10:28:00.000-04:00

After much agonizing, I finally came up with a design I like for my first round of the Doll Quilt Swap. I can't even tell you how much time I've spent scouring my partner's Flickr favorites and blog, but I think my "research" has paid off. I'm pretty sure this is right up her ally.

Here's sneak peek of the progress I'm making. I've had so much fun making my first all-solids quilt. I used Kona Stone and Kona White as well as 14 colors from my Kona Starter Pack. This little quilt is about 22" square, but I'd love to make a larger version of this someday, maybe as a baby quilt or a throw.

I still have to quilt the center, but one thing that's holding me back is that I need to learn how to hide my starting/stopping threads. I usually just backstitch at the start and finish of my quilting lines, but on this project that doesn't look too good with the white thread showing against the stone colored fabric. Any advice or links to a tutorial would be greatly appreciated! I frequently hear bloggers talking about "pulling their threads through" or "hiding their threads" but I have no idea how to do this. I still have so much to learn!

Happy sewing!
Mary

When blogland and the real world collide

2010-08-05T18:10:00.000-04:00

Today I had the pleasure of meeting Robin of Fonville Farm . . . in real life! As many of you know, it's a rare occasion when we actually get to meet our Flickr and blog friends in the real world. This was definitely a special treat!

Robin and I both participated in the Potholder Pass rounds 1 and 2, and we met online when I contributed to a quilt that a group of us made for her when she suffered an unexpected loss. (For the full story about Robin's quilt, click here.)

Mr. Pin.Sew.Press. was kind enough to take a picture of us with Robin's gorgeous quilt. See those nine mini pinwheels in the center? They were made by me! The other blocks were made by lovely and generous quilters from the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, and Norway. The quilt was assembled, bound, and quilted by the wonderful and talented Amy of During Quiet Time.

Robin, it was a pleasure meeting you and I hope our paths cross again someday!

Happy sewing,
Mary

Pin.Sew.Press. meets Gee's Bend Quilts

2010-08-05T12:37:00.000-04:00

So I bet you didn't know that I spend my free time hand quilting Gee's Bend quilts, did you?

Okay, well not exactly. But our local art museum is hosting a Gee's Bend quilt exhibit until October, and part of the exhibit is a fun quilting bee.

To be honest I don't know the first thing about hand quilting, but it was fun to take a stab at it (ha ha ha.)

Here's my sad attempt at quilting a little heart.

And here's me trying to do a cheesy pose with a needle and thread, but of course you can't see it in the picture!

I wish I could have taken pictures of the quilts on exhibit, but unfortunately there was no photography allowed. Bummer! You'll just have to check it out for yourself.

And in totally un-sewing related news (but the same day), I also got a haircut! I just couldn't leave off with that last picture of me with my shaggy hair :-)

Happy sewing!
Mary

The coolest quilting project I've ever seen

2010-07-29T08:00:00.004-04:00

I was flipping through Quilter's Home Magazine today and came across this gem.

I've never seen anything like it. Coolest.Project.Ever.

This fantastic VW Bug cover was made by Janice Jones, Maureen Orr Eldred and Carol Gier Becker of the Northwest Quilters' Guild in Portland, Oregon. They crafted it for their annual quilt show. Can you even imagine trying to tackle a project like this?! I can't!

Check out their whole Flickr set here: Making a VW Bug Quilt Cover
Just amazing!

Happy sewing,
Mary

Buzz buzz buzz . . . it's Bee time!

2010-07-27T19:10:00.001-04:00

So I joined a fabulous online quilting bee a couple months ago - Bee Splendid!

We're only on the second month of our bee and it's my turn already. I really agonized over what block I wanted everyone to make. There are really too many options! But I wanted something that wouldn't require me to buy too much fabric - trust me, I have a stash that needs to be USED already! I also wanted to pick something that would allow each member of my bee to use her creativity and show her personality in each block.

About a month ago I ordered this Kona Cotton Starter Pack from Pink Chalk Fabrics and it got my creative wheels turning . . .

I used each solid as an inspiration piece to pull different bits of coordinating fabric from my stash. It was a really great exercise for me, as some of the solids are colors out of my normal "comfort zone" and I had to make them work with what I already had.

I'm asking the ladies in my bee to use these stacks to make scrappy "Drunk Love" inspired blocks like the ones pictured below.

I whipped up a couple blocks last night. These are SO much fun to make! I love that you don't have to worry about precision or matching points. You can just be creative and come up with something fun as you go along.

This next one is my favorite -

I really can't wait to see what everyone makes with the fabric I'm sending - and maybe they'll add a little from their own stashes too! Fun stuff!

Happy Sewing!
Mary

Things I'm loving . . .

2010-07-19T01:22:00.001-04:00

. . . Kona Color Card from Pink Chalk Fabrics

. . . the quilt-hanging wire my husband hung in my sewing room.

. . . my fabric for Bee Splendid!

August is my month, and I'll be asking the lovely ladies in my group to make scrappy Drunk Love blocks like this.

. . . my little helper. I love her the most. Even if she makes huge messes in my sewing room :-)

Happy sewing!

Mary

Organize your rulers

2010-07-17T15:57:00.000-04:00

I love all my Omnigrid rulers, but they can be kind of awkward to store.

I came up with this solution and it has worked SO well for me!

I got this simple plastic mail sorter at Target for $5.99.

It holds everything perfectly, from the smallest ruler (4"x8") to the biggest (12.5"x12.5").

Do you have any great organization tips for the sewing room? Please share!

Happy Sewing!

Mary

Pin.Sew.Press. is on Quilt Story today!

2010-07-14T11:53:00.000-04:00

I'm sure that by now you've heard of the fabulous blog Quilt Story, right?
I'm honored to be featured on their blog today! Hop on over and check out all the fabulous quilts they've featured!
Happy sewing,Mary

A new handbag!

2010-07-08T18:12:00.000-04:00

So I kind of love this purse . . .

This is the No. 10 Charming Tote Bag by I Think Sew. I just love the asymmetrical handle and the way it attaches with a button. After I saw this version on Flickr I knew I had to make one.

I bought this pattern along with the No. 22 Pleats Shoulder Bag for a whopping $5.50. Score! (You can find the combo deal here.) Why so cheap? The designer calls these "sewer friendly" patterns, which basically means there are very few instructions included and you need to be very comfortable putting the bag together on your own. If you're comfortable with making pleats and installing magnetic snaps and other general aspects of bag making, then you'll probably find these patterns to be a pretty good deal. If not, I think you can find the full version of each pattern on her website, but you'll pay about $7.00 per pattern instead of $3.50 apiece.

I always seem to forget how tedious bag making is! So many pieces to cut out, interfacing to deal with, and so on and so on. But this one is so cute, it was totally worth it. I made it for a friend and I'm happy to report that she loves it too!

Happy sewing!

Mary

For the love of goldfish (and aqua and tangerine!)

2010-07-02T22:41:00.003-04:00

I really love these little guys . . .

1. goldfish to go, 2. Heather Ross goldfish, 3. 5 little coasters, 4. goldfish squared twin quilts, 5. Heather Ross Baby Quilt, 6. Heather Ross Baby Quilt, 7. Passport Cover, 8. Goldfish & Tangerine Dot Car Seat Strap Covers, 9. goldfish

Aqua and tangerine has to be one of my favorite color combos. (Did you know there's a whole Flickr group dedicated to aqua and tangerine?!) And these little goldfish just make me smile. They have names for pete's sake! Adorable.

All you fabric addicts out there know just how rare these out-of-print Heather Ross prints are. You can't find them anywhere! They were certainly long gone by the time I started sewing.

Except that I did find them on Etsy today. And I was pretty excited until I saw the price. $45 per yard. Per yard! Seriously?

If you're looking for a real bargain, I just checked back on the link and the price is down to $42.50. You can find the goldfish in bags here and the swimming goldfish here. Still out of my price range (by about $30 a yard!), but if you snatch it up will you please just cut out one teeny tiny fish in a bag and send it to me? Just one? I'll feed it and take it for walks and everything, promise.

Thanks :-)

Mary

I heart LBG Studio

2010-06-29T00:30:00.001-04:00

Check out these awesome goodies I won in a giveaway over at Steals, Deals, and Heels!

These items are handmade by my blog friend Vanessa of Little Big Girl Studio. Even better!

Pink and navy is one of my favorite color combos. I just love this little zip pouch and key fob. The zipper is installed SO nicely . . . I'm going to need a lot more practice before I can achieve that myself! Good thing I bought 50 zippers to practice with.

I've admired Vanessa's work for a long time. In fact, I think she may have been my very first Flickr contact way back when! Her projects are so cute and inspiring. If you don't already know Vanessa, be sure to check out her blog and her shop!

Happy sewing!

Mary

Instant Gratification

2010-06-18T01:17:00.000-04:00

Sometimes a girl just needs a little instant gratification, sewing-wise!

Enter Noodlehead's Gathered Clutch:

This is such a fun project, and it goes together quickly.

I decided to interface it with fusible fleece instead of mid-weight interfacing. I like the added body, but it definitely made it harder to sew, especially when sewing around the zipper tabs!

I seem to have the hardest time photographing Nicey Jane fabric. No matter what I do, I just can't seem to convey the colors properly!

Oh well, you'll have to take my word for it . . . the colors are really pretty in person!

Have a great weekend!

Mary

Modern Siggy Swap Blocks

2010-06-14T01:35:00.000-04:00

Well hello there blog friends!

After an unintentional "sewing fast" of two and half weeks, I'm back in the game!

This weekend I whipped up 101 Modern Siggy Blocks for the Modern Siggy Swap

In case you're not familiar with this swap, here's the deal: Each participant makes 101 blocks, complete with their name, city, and state signed on them. We all ship our blocks to a central location where they're redistributed and then we each receive 100 different blocks back in the mail (1 block goes to a charity quilt), each made by a different person. Then, of course, we each piece our blocks together to create a quilt that represents 100 different quilters from around the world.

Pretty cool, huh?

I used an Arcadia Honey Bun (only $12 on Etsy!) for my blocks, and I'm really loving the colors in this line. Too bad it's out of print!

I used a black Sharpie Ultra Fine Point for my signatures and I think it worked pretty well. I found it easier to print my letters instead of trying to sign them in cursive. I used some light starch when I pressed my fabric, but it was still a little tricky to write on!

Writing my information over and over again 101 times became a little mundane. I had a bit of an "oooops" while signing late at night . . .

Ha ha, Myrtle Ely! That would be quite the granny quilting name, huh? (I'm pretty sure she lives in Mary Beach . . . ) I might just have to use this name if I'm ever trying to pass for three times my age. You never know when you might need an alias.

Happy Sewing!
Myrtle
Mary

Tiny quilts for tiny babies

2010-05-27T18:56:00.000-04:00

My husband and I know a couple whose twins were recently delivered prematurely at 28 weeks gestation. These amazing, tiny babies are fighters and they're growing stronger every day!

Since these babies will be staying in the NICU for a while, I decided they might need some colorful quilts to brighten their surroundings.

This one's for the baby boy, Tuller -

Front

and back-

Tuller's quilt is made mostly with Moda's Make Life fabric. I added Michael Miller's Groovy Guitars to the back because Tuller's daddy is a musician.

And this quilt is for Ada, the baby girl -

Front

and back

Ada's quilt is made with Tula Pink's Plume fabric, and a tiny piece of Groovy Guitars on the back for fun.

Both quilts measure approximately 28" x 31". My hope is that they will bring a bit of cheer to this new family of four!

Please lift up a prayer for these tiny babies, that they will grow big and strong, and for their parents, that they will have strength and peace and hope during this trying time. If you would like to follow their story, they're blogging about their journey here.

Tutorial: Stay-put Kitchen Towel

2010-05-23T23:59:00.039-04:00

Hooray for Anna's "Spice Up Your Kitchen" event over at Noodlehead! I'm so glad that Anna invited me to participate, because my kitchen definitely needed some spicing up and this was just the motivation I needed!

I have a husband and a two-year-old daughter, and we all love to eat! So as you can imagine, we spend a good amount of time in the kitchen. With all that activity, it drives me NUTS when our kitchen towel ends up on the floor. With a two-year-old this happens a lot!

I'm excited to share my solution with you . . . the Stay-put Kitchen Towel. It's easy to make and you can showcase your favorite fabric on a previously boring kitchen item. Perfect!

(Scroll to bottom of post for a printable version of this tutorial.)

Materials:

one kitchen towel, and be sure to prewash if it's new!
three strips of fabric (see cutting details below)
2 yards coordinating ribbon for ties
coordinating thread
measuring tape
rotary cutter, self-healing mat, and ruler
sewing machine (and I recommend using a walking foot if you have one)

Step 1: Cutting

Cut three strips of fabric as shown in picture below:

Step 2: Fold under raw edges of strips

With right side of fabric strip facing down on your ironing board, fold over 1/4" on each short side toward the wrong side of fabric and press.

Repeat for all three strips of fabric.

Step 3: Determine spacing and place strips on towel

Using your measuring tape, measure around your oven door handle and determine where you'd like your ribbon ties to fall. (For my handle, I'll sew the ribbon ties 6" apart.)

Place strips on towel, spacing your top two strips based on your measurement from the last step. I measured from center of strip to center of strip, since the ribbon ties will be inserted behind the center of each strip.

Pin strips in place to prepare for sewing.

Step 4: Sew strips onto the towel

Stitching close to the edge, sew strips onto the towel

IMPORTANT: For the top two strips, sew only the top and bottom (long sides) to the towel, leaving both short sides open. This creates a tube where we'll insert the ribbon in Step 5.

For the bottom decorative strip, stitch along all four sides.

Step 5: Feed ribbon through the tube

The easiest way to do this is with a Clover Easy Turn Tool (shown below - I got mine in the sewing section of our local craft store.) If you don't have one, attach a safety pin to the end of your ribbon and "inchworm" it through your top tube.

Step 6: Measure and sew the ribbon tie

Step 7: Create the gather

Hold the loose end of your ribbon taut while you gather your towel to the desired width. Just go with whatever looks good to you.

Pin loose end of ribbon in place, and cut your ribbon to the same length as the other side.

Stitch along the edge of the fabric tube, securing it to the towel and sandwiching the ribbon in between (just like the other side.)

Step 8: Finish the towel

Repeat steps 5 through 7 for the second strip, and you're done!

Go ahead and tie it onto your oven door handle. Nice job!

(Added 6/6/10):

Treat your ribbon ends to prevent fraying
Touch each raw edge of cut ribbon to an open flame (a lighter or candle will do.) You'll notice that the end of your ribbon will melt slightly, "curing" the ribbon and preventing fraying in the wash. Easy!

Items made from this tutorial are for personal use only, please.

Click here for the printable version of this tutorial.

Happy sewing!

Mary

And the winner is . . .

2010-05-21T00:20:00.000-04:00

#161, Shana!

The Reversible Nicey Jane Bag will be headed your way soon!

This year's Sew,Mama,Sew Giveaway Day was a blast. I'm going to kind of miss getting 200 emails a day. Looking forward to next year!

Happy sewing,
Mary

I heart potholders!

2010-05-20T17:11:00.000-04:00

Try not to be too jealous . . . but look what I got in the mail last weekend!

Amy of During Quiet Time made me these awesome potholders for the Potholder Pass Round 2, and she also sent some adorable mini potholders for Lauren to use!

Lauren loves her new potholders -

but I love mine more :-)

You can read more about these awesome potholders and my sad tale of lost mail here.

Next, here's what I've been working on the Potholder Pass Round 3:

These were inspired by the amazing Winter Rainbow quilt by Faith at Fresh Lemons. If you haven't seen this quilt yet, you have to check it out!

I've admired this quilt for a while, and when I discovered that this quilt was also a "fave" of my secret partner on Flickr, I was instantly inspired! I made the potholder on the right first, pulling out stacks and stacks of fabric and sewing together little strips to make the blocks. I love how it turned out, but it took a LOT of work, so I made the potholder on the left a bit simpler. I think they make a great pair!

I wanted to keep up with all the other cool ladies in the Potholder Pass and try my hand at adding grommets. (Everyone else is doing it!!!) Unfortunately the actual installation has been a little harder than expected. I've been hammering away on my grommet tool and can't seem to get the darn thing to bend and play nice!

Here's the back, and as you can see my sad, sad grommets aren't fully installed yet.

I think it's time to swallow my pride and ask the husband for help!

Am I just a huge wimp, or has anyone else out there had trouble with their grommets?

Happy sewing!
Mary

Giveaway Day: Reversible Nicey Jane Bag

2010-05-16T12:01:00.001-04:00

Hooray for Sew,Mama,Sew's Giveaway Day!

If this is your first time visiting my blog, welcome!

If you're a regular, welcome back :-)

Either way, I'm glad you're here!

Up for grabs today:

this Reversible Nicey Jane bag!

I think it would be perfect for all of your spring-time adventures.

This bag is kind of special to me, because it was the subject of my very first blog post!

It was made using the Lickety Split bag pattern by Made by Rae.

You don't have to jump through any hoops for this one . . .

just leave a comment and you're entered!

(One entry per person, please.)

Be sure to include your email address so I can reach you if you win.

(If it's linked to your Blogger account and viewable to the public, that's fine too.)

I'll accept entries until 11:59 eastern time on May 20th,

then I'll choose a winner with random.org.

International entries welcome.

Good luck!

Happy sewing!

Mary

Coming soon to a blog near you!

2010-05-13T12:56:00.000-04:00

Just popping in to tell you about some exciting events coming up soon in blogland!

First, prepare yourselves for Spice Up Your Kitchen Week over at Noodlehead!

Anna has teamed up with some of her favorite bloggers,

and starting May 17th, she will share 10 days of fantastic tutorials

you can use to spice up your kitchen!

(Oh, and did I mention that I'm one of the contributing bloggers?

How cool is that?

I've been working feverishly on my kitchen project and I can't wait to share!)

Next . . . have you heard about May Giveaway Day over at Sew,Mama,Sew?

Basically, anyone with a shop or blog can participate by offering a giveaway on May 17th.

All of the participants will be listed on the Sew,Mama,Sew blog that day,

so prepare yourselves for a LOT of blog-hopping and giveaway-entering!

If you want to participate by offering a giveaway, follow this link for details.

As for me, I'm thinking about offering up this bag, which has been slightly popular on Flickr. ;-)

I'm looking forward to meeting new people in the process!

And finally, have you heard about the Blogger's Quilt Festival?

This online quilt show looks like lots of fun, and I can't wait to join in!

If you're a quilter, you should too!

(I was hoping my "Man Quilt" would be done in time,

but unfortunately that's not going to happen!

Oh well.)

That's all for now . . . Happy sewing!

Mary

Modern Siggy Swap Round #2

2010-05-10T17:18:00.000-04:00

Come on and join in the fun!

Details can be found here.

You have until the end of the week to sign up!

Guest post at Come and See the Seitz

2010-05-06T12:33:00.002-04:00

I am so honored to be doing a guest post over at Come and See the Seitz today!

You can check out my post here.

It's full of my favorite tutorials, with tons of ideas for last minute gifts for mom.

Happy sewing!

Mary

WIP Wednesday

2010-05-05T17:25:00.000-04:00

Happy Cinco de Mayo, sewing friends!

Being the wild girl that I am, I celebrated with a little sewing :-)

Here's what I've been working on . . .

potholders for the Potholder Pass 3 -

I can't even tell you how excited I am about these potholders. My secret partner requested "bright and modern," which is right up my ally! I just need to hand sew the binding to the back and these fun potholders will be done.

Next is a work in progress that's been sitting around since December -

Sad but true, this table runner has been sitting like this since Christmas! Everything but the binding is done. What's even more pitiful is that I've been using this on my dresser for at least a month . . . with no binding on it! (Can you tell that's my least favorite part?)

Looks like I need to hunker down and have a little binding party tonight. (Yup, that's how I roll!)

Have yourselves a happy Cinco de Mayo!
Mary

Sew & Tell Friday: A little bit of sewing and little bit of telling

2010-04-30T14:12:00.000-04:00

Well, after nine consecutive days of grandparent house guests (my mother-in-law and my parents, back-to-back), I haven't accomplished much in the sewing arena!

I did, however, make this grocery bag dispenser for my mom. (Tutorial here.) I finished it just in the nick of time before they had to leave!

My mom and I have very different taste, color-wise, so this one is really different than the first two I made. However, it was lots of fun to put together a color combo that was "out of the box" for me, and she really likes it!

While I haven't been sewing much, we have definitely been enjoying the great outdoors! I love spring weather in Myrtle Beach.

Be sure to check out the other fabulous finishes over at Sew & Tell Friday.

Have great weekend!
Mary

I heart naptime

2010-04-27T16:38:00.000-04:00

and this is my idea of a naptime well spent . . .

Have you discovered Stitch Magazine yet?

It pretty much rocks.

This issue features projects by Beki of Artsy-Crafty Babe (her project is on the cover!), Ayumi of Pink Penguin, and Rashida of I Heart Linen, to name a few. I love seeing some of my favorite bloggers in print, and I love how modern this magazine is!

Now if only we could get a quilting magazine this hip and modern!

Happy sewing!
Mary

Monkey Business

2010-04-27T01:29:00.004-04:00

Introducing . . . Molly the Monkey!

Lauren loves monkeys, and my mom was sweet enough to make this for her!

Molly was made using this free tutorial.

Her clothes and socks are made from Heather Bailey fabric.

Don't you just love those shoes? And the socks? Adorable!

Thanks Mom!

Where's my mojo?

2010-04-21T01:39:00.001-04:00

I have been a sewing slacker lately. S.L.A.C.K.E.R. For real.

Where the heck did my mojo go?

If found, please ship it to me immediately!

I have plenty of projects in progress, it's just that I can't seem to finish anything. Hmmmmmm.

Well, I have to blog about something, so here are some cute pics we took over the weekend. Our weather has been really nice, so we headed out to the park with our tripod and handy camera remote (no more messing with the self-timer, hooray!)

Lauren was so cooperative in our family photo shoot, it was amazing!

And of course we took lots of pics of the little one by herself:

Gosh I love that kid!

Well, my goal is to have something finished and ready to share by Friday. I think I can, I think I can!

Hope you're having a good week . . . and hopefully it's more productive than mine.

Happy sewing!

Mary

Sew & Tell Friday: Director's Chair Makeover

2010-04-16T08:00:00.001-04:00

Is it cheating if my "Sew & Tell" is actually something my mom created?

Even so, this project is pretty awesome and I want to brag about my mom's skills a bit.

To start, here's a chair my parents bought for me when I was a toddler:

Hey, no giggling at my middle name!

Last summer my mom decided to give the chair a little makeover so that Lauren could use it.

It took lots of sanding, lots of stain, lots of varnish, my mom's awesome sewing skills, and a little help from her fancy embroidery sewing machine. (I did contribute by picking out the fabric and stain color!)

Doesn't it look great? Totally modernized and re-personalized.

This is Lauren testing out her chair for the first time last summer. She was so happy to have a chair her size!

Thanks for all your hard work mom!

I'm linking up to Amylouwho's Sew & Tell Friday, so hop on over and check out the other finishes too!

Have a great weekend!

Mary

Pinwheeling my way to sanity

2010-04-11T23:16:00.000-04:00

I really, really, really needed a break from the Mommyhood today. I was just one whine away from my breaking point, and luckily my husband stepped in to the rescue. And as a bonus, Lauren's Uncle C was in town today, so between the two brothers Lauren was thoroughly entertained and I had many glorious hours to sew and regain my sanity. Phew!

I buried myself in pinwheel making and caught up on the last three weeks of Rachel's Pinwheel Sampler Quilt Along.

We only have one more week of block making left, then we start to assemble our quilt tops. Yay!

I've also been working on the Man Quilt this week, and hopefully I'll have a completed quilt top to show soon.

After my marathon sewing session I felt much better, so Lauren and I celebrated by making brownies. Sanity regained!

Hope you had a great weekend!

Mary

And so I tried to design a "man quilt"

2010-04-06T00:07:00.001-04:00

I've been promising my husband a quilt for a while.

I've been scouring Flickr for inspiration, but nothing quite fit.

He was beginning to give up hope.

And then I happened upon these awesome quilts (from none other than Red Pepper Quilts and I'm Just a Guy Who Quilts) and I immediately went to work with this pile of Authentic by Sweetwater (which has been sitting around since Christmas) -

and turned it into this -

Bold, huh?

The husband was pretty skeptical that I could make a quilt look manly. But he gave me lots of feedback while I was laying it out, helped me make some design choices, and by golly, he likes it! In fact I think he actually agreed that it's "manly"!!!!!

I'm hoping it's not too bold, but I really felt like I had to add a lot of black to up the "man factor."

Now it's time to sew these blocks together! The finished quilt top should be 6' square, making it my largest quilt to date, and my biggest challenge to date!

Wishing you a happy and productive week!

Mary

Sew & Tell Friday

2010-04-02T10:27:00.000-04:00

Thanks goodness it's Friday!

I was up late sewing last night, which is becoming the norm for me on the night before Sew & Tell Friday. But it's just so satisfying to end the week with a nice finish!

First I finished my Nicey Jane Grocery Bag Dispensers:

And since this "recipe" was from the Moda Bake Shop, it only seemed appropriate to use some Moda twill tape for the hanging tab.

I finished these before midnight (which is kind of early for me on a Sew & Tell Friday "eve"), so I decided to start a whole new project and whip up this adorable Patchwork Pencil Pouch:

This pouch was designed by Vanessa over at Little Big Girl Studio, and the awesome tutorial can be found here. It's quick and fun! Even the zipper was super easy to install.

This project was perfect for using just the tiniest bit of Verna fabric from my stash, and I just love patchwork.

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend.

Happy sewing!

Mary

WIP Wednesday

2010-03-31T23:35:00.000-04:00

And for the record, it is officially still Wednesday as I'm posting this, although I admit it's awfully darn close to Thursday. But "WIP Thursday" just doesn't sound right!

Anyway.

Here's what I've been working on this week:

Two mini "quilt sandwiches" in Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane, ready to be quilted and sewn into grocery bag dispensers. I'm hoping to have these done by Friday!

I've been adding to my pinwheel collection for the Pinwheel Sampler Quilt Along -

And finally a work in progress that's all in my head at the moment . . .

A nice stack of fabric (Authentic by Sweetwater, plus some Kona black and charcoal) sitting there patiently, waiting to be cut up and sewn into a quilt for the husband. Don't you just love that number fabric on the right? It's just perfect for my husband who's getting his MBA with a concentration in accounting. Number fabric for my favorite number cruncher!

The problem is I just can't decide on a design for this quilt. I was originally just going to make a simple patchwork quilt with the layer cake, but then I decided I wanted to make the quilt a bit larger, so we can both cuddle under it on the couch. The husband is losing hope that I'll ever get around to making this, but I will, I promise! I just have to keep staring at this stack until the right bit of inspiration hits me.

Well, I'd better hurry up and publish this post before the clock hits midnight and I make a liar out of myself regarding the whole Wednesday thing.

Happy sewing!

Mary

Potholder Pass Round THREE!!!

2010-03-30T13:30:00.000-04:00

So I found out yesterday that there will be yet another round of the fabulous Potholder Pass! Hooray!

If you're interested, check it out here. You have until the end of April to sign up, and we'll be sewing in May. It's loads of fun and I hope you'll join in!

And now that my package has been delivered I'm pleased to reveal my secret partner who I sewed these potholders for in Round 2:

It's Lydia, of Layne James Embroidery and Designs! She has a great blog, and and an awesome shop too.

It was really fun to sew for Lydia, and I was almost laughing when I first checked out her blog because we have so much in common - we're close in age, married our high school sweethearts, stay at home with our two-year-olds, live in the southeast, and sew for sanity! She was assigned to me randomly, so I thought that was a pretty funny coincidence. It was fun to meet her through this swap.

Now I'm just watching my mailbox (patiently!!!) and waiting to see what's headed my way. This is a blind swap, so I have no idea who's sewing for me. It could be anyone, anywhere! Fun!

Mary

Sew & Tell Friday

2010-03-26T08:00:00.002-04:00

Three pretty camera cases!

I admit that the one on the left is recycled from Tuesday's post, but when I made two more today I couldn't resist photographing them all together.

(Fabric: Left - Tula Pink's Plume; Center - Sandi Henderson's Ginger Blossoms (teal) and Patty Young's Floura and Fauna (grey); Right - Sandi Henderson's Ginger Blossoms)

The pattern is Keyka Lou's Camera Case Wristlet.

Be sure to check out all the other finishes over at Sew & Tell Friday!

Have a great weekend!

Mary

Life's a beach

2010-03-25T00:00:00.000-04:00

The weather was gorgeous here today . . .

. . . and the husband was able to sneak away from the grad-school-grind for a bit, so we enjoyed the weather together!

After our little trip to the beach, Lauren and I spent some time hanging out at home . . .

. . . and some quality time reading the Pottery Barn Kids catalog (which is full of quilting inspiration!)

I absolutely love this time of year - it's warm but not hot, the bugs aren't out yet, and there are enough tourists in town to make things seem lively, but not so many that it's crowded. I love spring!

I had the chance to test-drive this camera case while at the beach today, and I loved it so much that I started cutting fabric to make three more . . .

As you can see I didn't manage to keep myself inside long enough to do any actual sewing. How can you pass up good weather, anyway? :-)

Let's hope I can get these done in time for Sew & Tell Friday!

Happy sewing!
Mary

I heart Keyka Lou

2010-03-23T15:15:00.000-04:00

Have you discovered Keyka Lou's patterns yet?

I'm kind of a big fan.

Here's my latest - the Camera Case Wristlet

(Like my tripod-turned-product display?)

It even has a nice pocket in the back where you could stash your debit card, drivers license and some cash when you're on the go.

(Fabric: Tula Pink's "Plume")

This camera case was pretty easy to make, and I plan to make a few more as gifts for friends.

You don't even have to use it as a camera case -

it would be really handy for carrying your keys, phone, and lip gloss while you're out and about.

I'm also a big fan of Keyka Lou's Pocket Clutch pattern.

I made this one back in February for a friend's birthday:

In case you haven't heard, Keyka Lou is having her anniversary sale right now at her shop.

All PDF patterns are $5 and available for instant download.

I'm definitely going to take advantage and pick up a few patterns I've been wanting to make.

Happy Sewing!

Mary

A Quilt for Lauren

2010-03-19T14:47:00.000-04:00

Remember the quilt I started on Monday? It's done!

It's a bit busy for my taste, but Lauren (my 2-year-old) absolutely loves the fabric as has lots of fun pointing out the owls, snails, turtles, trees, flowers and birds.

I used straight line quilting for this, mostly because I'm not brave enough to try free-motion quilting yet! I quilted straight lines 1/2" apart on the sashing, and eyeballed straight-ish lines approximately 1" apart across the blocks.

The fabric is Love U by Deb Strain for Moda, and I think it's perfect for a fun 2-year-old quilt.

Here's a peek at the back:

I just love those owls!

I used this tutorial by Elizabeth from Oh, Fransson! for the quilt pattern. Since the tutorial is for a baby quilt, I modified it a bit by adding 1 1/2 more charm squares to the width, and two additional rows to the length. I wanted this to be large enough for Lauren to use at night on her toddler mattress, although she hasn't really gotten the hang of sleeping under covers yet!

I was also feeling particularly brave yesterday and decided to hand-sew the binding to the back of this quilt. I usually machine sew my binding, and to be honest the result doesn't bother me much. I guess I'm not a "binding snob" . . . yet! But I was intrigued by the romantic notion I seem to hear about from all the other quilters - of curling up on the couch with my husband for several hours, chatting and watching tv while hand sewing binding.

I found this awesome tutorial that finally made sense of the hand sewing process for me. And after a mere five hours, I can finally say that I get it! It really does look pretty good, compared to machine sewing, but it sure did take a LONG time! And it was kind of nice to spend time with my family while sewing, and be a bit more productive while watching tv . . . but did I mention that it took a long time?!?! Well, at least I overcame my fear of hand-sewing, but I can't promise I won't go back to machine sewing binding, at least some of the time!

I'm linking up to Amy's Sew & Tell Friday. Hop on over and check out the other finishes too!

Have a great weekend!

Mary

Sneak Peak - Lauren's Quilt

2010-03-16T13:32:00.000-04:00

I was especially productive yesterday, and managed to make an entire toddler-sized quilt top!

My plan is to have this quilt completely finished by Friday, so I'm only giving you a sneak peak for now. (Plus I'm having fun playing with a new camera lens!)

Aren't the owls fun? My daughter absolutely loves this fabric. She's been playing with the charm pack for a few months now, and it was time for me to get to work and make her a quilt with it already!

I also finished up my Pinwheel Sampler blocks for the week . . .

Getting tired of seeing these yet? :-)
We still have four more weeks of block-making to go.
Then we'll start constructing our quilt top. Fun!

Well, Lauren is getting restless and looking for trouble, and that means it's time for me to go!

Have a great week!
Mary

Sew & Tell Friday

2010-03-12T02:56:00.000-05:00

I missed last week's Sew & Tell Friday due to major frustrations with a zipper at the 11th hour.
So this week I was determined to make a comeback!

I didn't have patience to deal with the zipper again, so I started with something in my comfort zone.

Coasters!

These aren't just any coasters.

They're the new cousins of the potholders I made on Tuesday for the Potholder Pass 2.

See?

They were meant to be together.

And I'm really grateful that these turned out well, because this next project . . .
not so much . . .

Don't you hate that when you spend a bunch of time working on something, and then it doesn't turn out well and you feel like you wasted your time?

We'll just call this a learning experience. No more sewing while I'm tired!

At least the fabric is pretty - Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane.

On a happier note, today is my husband's birthday!

Happy 29th birthday to my best friend and favorite person ever :-)

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Be sure to check out all the other finishes over at Sew & Tell Friday.

Mary

I heart half square triangles :-)

2010-03-09T16:25:00.000-05:00

I swear I've been sewing.
Really I have.
I just don't have a lot to show for it at the moment . . . just lots of half-finished projects!

You see, the problem is that the weather has been AWESOME, and we've been doing a lot of this . . .

. . . and a tad less sewing, and certainly much less time spent on the internet.

But I'm still here!

And that brings me to my new love of HSTs, or half square triangles.

It all started with Rachel's Pinwheel Sampler Quilt Along, especially this super-easy half square triangle tutorial.

Now that I've been doing the quilt along for three weeks, I can't seem to stop making HSTs!

Here are my blocks for the week . . .

And then I just couldn't stop making HSTs, so I made these . . .

. . . which I'm not completely crazy about . . . but I think if I make future blocks with some white mixed in, I'll like it much better. The fabric is called "Eva" by BasicGrey.

And finally on my HST-craze, I made these . . .

I'm so proud of my little pinwheels! And the zig-zag is kinda fun too. These are for the Potholder Pass hosted by Amy at During Quiet Time. I used leftover bits from a Hushabye jelly roll to make these (leftover from this quilt and this quilt.) I really hope my secret partner likes these!!!

And now that I got that out of my system, I can move onto some half-finished projects I have sitting around. Here's hoping I'll have some finishes to share for amylouwho's Sew & Tell Friday. If you haven't already joined in the fun, you should really check it out. It's great motivation to get those unfinished projects finished already, and meet some new people in blogland!

Hope you're having a good week . . . happy sewing!

Mary

you've got mail!

2010-03-04T17:10:00.001-05:00

Today was a great day for mail . . . new sewing goodies!

First, 50 beautiful zippers from Zip It Zipper Supply:

I heard about this shop from Anna over at Noodlehead. I used to buy my zippers one at a time from Walmart for about $2 apiece. Then I discovered Zipit and I got this pack of 50 8" YKK zippers for $24 (including shipping.) I'll do the math for you . . . that's 48 cents per zipper. Awesome!

Jennifer, the owner, even included some cute little goodies from her other shop, KungFuCowgirl Kawaii Goods and Supplies.

So cute, and of course Lauren thought these were just for her.

Then, another package with my very first yard of Japanese fabric!

I got this great Kokka patchwork print from Hawthorne Threads, which is probably my favorite online fabric shop. It's definitely the most user friendly and visually appealing online fabric shop I've visited. They even feature customer creations that show each particular fabric in use. I find that really helpful for estimating the scale of the printed fabric. Oh yeah, and the owners are very friendly and provide excellent customer service. And did I mention they do a weekly giveaway? (Nobody's paying me to say this, I swear!)

Last, but certainly not least, is a tiny little package (envelope, actually!) that I received last week:

My very first quilt labels! I ordered these from Sweetwater Street. You may already be familiar with this company through their awesome fabric lines "Authentic" and "Make Life".

I'd really like to make a habit of labeling every quilt I make. There are some great tutorials out there for making your own labels, which I might attempt in the near future. Rachel has a super easy one here, and Julie has one here that uses Photoshop and Spoonflower.

Well, it's time for me to log off and head out to the the gym, because unfortunately sewing just doesn't firm and tone, you know what I mean? :-) (If sewing were exercise, I would be one fit lady!)

Happy sewing!
Mary

cabin fever and a new pattern

2010-03-04T00:20:00.000-05:00

It's been a bit cold and rainy here in Myrtle Beach, and the little one and I are getting cabin fever.

She wanted to play in the rain . . .

But I thought it might be a better idea to play with water inside, where it was warmer.

The good thing about cabin fever is that it makes me want to sew! I downloaded Keyka Lou's newest pattern yesterday (only $5!), and since it's quick and easy I was able to make it while Lauren took her nap today.

Keyka Lou's Easy Reusable Grocery Bag

The apple fabric is from the Metro Market collection by Robert Kaufman.

And I didn't really mean to advertise Cheerios, but I didn't have any "Generic O's" handy. :-)

I've never taken my own bags to the grocery store, but with a cute bag like this I might have to!

What are you sewing this week?

Mary

Back in the saddle again

2010-03-01T23:26:00.000-05:00

I didn't do much sewing last week. My parents were in town and my "sewing studio" just happens to also be the guest room!

It was kind of nice to take a break, though. It gave me lots of time to "incubate" new ideas and plan what I want to do. And now I'm back at it!

I started Rachel's Pinwheel Sampler Quilt Along this week, and I am loving it! I started a week late, so I had to play catchup and sew two sets of blocks:

This is my first time making pinwheels and it's lots of fun. I managed to line up my points pretty well thanks to my 1/4" foot (thanks Mom!) This fabric is Chloe from P&B Textiles. I've gotten a lot of feedback on Flickr that no one has heard of this line, and it's kind of fun to be using something outside the mainstream!

On Saturday the husband and the little one and I went to Wilmington, NC, where there just so happens to be a certain quilt shop that I LOVE. It takes us about an hour and 15 minutes to get there, so I don't get to go often and it was a nice treat! You should see the Amy Butler and Heather Bailey selection at this place!!!

Husband and little one went to the beach nearby so I could shop.

They had fun, and I got to shop in peace. Everybody wins!

Have a great week!

Mary

Turning Twenty-Nine

2010-02-26T19:23:00.000-05:00

Yikes!

I'm turning 29 today.

(For the first time, I promise!)

I sewed myself a little something for my birthday.

This is the Quilted Bible Cover by Amy @ Park City Girl. (Free tutorial here)

I've been meaning to make this for a while -

my Bible was looking a little worn and needed some dressing up!

My mom (who also loves sewing!) spoiled me with a trip to the local quilt shop.

Hooray for new fabric! Thanks mom!

(Bonnie & Camille - Cotton Blossoms)

She also made me this awesome Heather Bailey pincushion (based on this tutorial)

(Top and bottom shown)

I love that flower button!

And then she further spoiled me with a new ironing board.

I'm soooo excited!

Never thought I'd say that, but my old one was about 10 years old, the cheap one we bought when I was heading off to college, and it was really sad looking.

I didn't care much (and didn't iron much!) until I got into sewing 6 months ago.

But now that I spend a significant amount of time ironing (oops, I meant pressing)

it's really, really nice to have a new one!

Well, it's my birthday so I think it's time to log off now.

I'm linking up to Sew & Tell Friday over at amylouwho. Better late than never!

Have a great weekend!

Mary

Turning Two

2010-02-23T21:59:00.000-05:00

Little One turned two yesterday.

Where does the time go?

I wanted her to have a special birthday shirt, so I whipped this one up at the last minute.

No sewing involved!

I printed out a big #2 from Microsoft Word.

I traced it on freezer paper, ironed it onto fabric backed with Heat-n-Bond Ultrahold, cut it out, and ironed it on the shirt.

My favorite part is the birthday candles :-)

I went a little crazy with the other shapes, but I had fun with it.

Now we'll just have to see how it holds up in the wash!

(P.S. - I can't take credit for the applique on her jeans - those are from Old Navy)

Quilting Hangover

2010-02-19T16:59:00.000-05:00

Well, I've done it again.
Stayed up waaaaaay too late sewing.
3:30am to be exact!
But I finished my quilt and it was well worth it.

I've been working on this quilt for a couple months now. It's a gift for friends of ours who just had a baby, and I had promised myself I'd finish it by the baby's due date. Well, the baby came three weeks early, but I still managed to meet my deadline since the baby was technically due yesterday :-)

This quilt is based on the Sweet Menagerie Nine Patch Quilt from the Moda Bake Shop. I used Tula Pink's Hushabye fabric, which I absolutely love! In fact, this quilt is a "cousin" of my first quilt. I had tons of jelly roll strips left, so this pattern worked perfectly.

Here's the back:

And here's a another picture of the front. In this one you can see how I quilted it.

(Yes, it's laying on the back of my car - part of my photography experiment of the day!)

The quilting was inspired by Ashley at Film in the Fridge. I really love her methods of straight line quilting!

And this is my "Little Helper." We really enjoyed the sun today.

I'm linking this to amylouwho's Sew & Tell Friday, which was a great motivation to go ahead and get this quilt done! So thanks for the motivation Amy, and now I'm off to nurse that darn quilting hangover . . . **yawn** . . . and figure out what to feed the family for dinner!

Hushabye Baby Quilt - Progress!

2010-02-15T22:07:00.005-05:00

I've been working on this quilt for a while. I'm making it for friends of ours who just had a baby, and my intention was to have it done before the baby was born. She was due February 18th, but surprise! the little one decided to come along at the end of January instead!

I have my "sandwich" pinned together, so now I just need to decide how to quilt it. Decisions, decisions!

The Lickety Split Bag

2010-02-14T22:52:00.000-05:00

I have to be honest with you. When I first saw the Lickety Split Bag by Made by Rae, it wasn't love at first sight. Don't get me wrong - I love her designs! I love her blog! I'm a huge fan of the Buttercup Bag.

But the Lickety Split Bag just didn't do it for me.

Until I saw this. Rae donated this bag to the Crafthope for Haiti Etsy shop, and I absolutely fell in love with it. Unfortunately I couldn't afford to buy it, but I knew I absolutely had to make one for myself!

This is what I made:

Because this bag is big (it requires one yard of fabric for the front and another yard for the reverse side) it's perfect for showing off fabric that you LOVE. This gorgeous fabric really caught my eye last time I made the pilgrimage to only shop within 90 minutes of my house that carries designer fabric. (But I'll whine about that some other time.) It's Nicey Jane by Heather Bailey and it is so perfect for spring! You really must see this line in person. Very, very pretty.

Because this bag is reversible, I get to show off MORE gorgeous fabric! (Nicey Jane again.)

I used Rae's Pleated Pocket Tutorial, which adds a really nice touch.

Did I mention that the Lickety Split Bag has NO interfacing?!?! I've never made a bag without interfacing, and I admit I had a really hard time not using any. It felt wrong, like wearing boots without socks or clothes without underwear . . . but after agonizing for a bit I just went with it and sewed the interior and exterior together with nothing in between!!! Now that's living on the edge, I tell you. The result is a very flexible bag, but I think once I fill it with the contents of my purse it will fill out just fine.

Now that I have a pretty spring bag, can I just have some warm weather? Please?