Spools on Parade Pouch and Pincushion

Happy Friday! Here we are at the start of a long holiday weekend, and to me, the mid point of Summer. Summer has been a huge distraction this year. There is so much I want to do to enjoy these lovely, bright and long days. I crave light and sunshine and want to take advantage of these few months. So some of my sewing hasn't gone as planned (Weekender Bag, cough cough). Sometimes the best laid plans get pushed aside, and this was one of them. Chrissy has been sewing and has updated her blog with her bag progress.

I have been sewing here and there and if you want a fun project, head here to grab a kit or pattern. The kit comes complete with everything you need to make a cute pouch and pincushion. You only need to add a zipper and cute zipper charm.

Sew and Sew by Chloe's Closet for Moda is just the most adorable and summer fabric imaginable. The colors remind me of frozen sorbet in all different flavors. These are must have in your stash.

The back of my bag was a happy accident, and I love the back of my pincushion. That measuring tape print is perfect for everything!!

I hope you all have an amazing 4th of July! God Bless America!!

Weekend Inspiration - Hexie Pouch and Pincushion

 

Hi! Are you ready for more inspiration?

This week I thought we would stick with a hexie theme, but this time go tiny!!

My daughter has been using a sad excuse of a zipper pouch for her double point knitting needles and crochet hooks. It was time to make her something cute. She has loved hexie flowers since the first time she saw them, so I knew I wanted to include one on her pouch. She's a big linen fan so that was a must as well.

I measured the dimensions of her old bag because she said it was the perfect size. Mini hexies were the perfect size, so the first thing I did was punch some templates out of card stock using my Fiskars medium size punch. You can find one at Joann Fabrics and use a coupon. I think I had a 60% off so it was really affordable. Sometimes they are already on sale too!

Stitching hexies is an enjoyable way to spend a half an hour and is about the amount of time it took to make my hexie flower. You can find a great mini hexie tutorial here.


The only zipper I had on hand that would fit was metal. I really love the way it looks and will buy more to have on hand when the urge to make a pouch hits.  My only advice is to make sure that the zipper is the exactly size you need. This was a 7" zipper and was just a tad too small, but I made it work. You want to make sure the fabric zipper ends are what you are sewing over, not the metal teeth. Your sewing machine will thank you.

Those hexies were so dang cute that I decided to make something for me. I kept seeing the Deluxe Pincushion on Instagram and knew that's what I wanted to make. It's from the book Sew Organized For The Busy Girl by Heidi from Fabric Mutt.  I always seem to modify patterns and switched the pocket to include a hexie. I also added binding to the top of the pocket.

I improved at stitching the hexies onto my project :)

Hope you try one or both of these projects. Let me know if you do and if you have any questions!! You can find a great selection of fabric here.

The winner of the Diamond Walk pouch kit is Linda who said  "So pretty, this reminds me of mermaid scales! 💙💚💜I'm working on binding a quilt, and I have the perfect zipper for this bag!!!!" I'll send you an email to get your mailing address. Thanks to everyone who let me know what they are working on. It's so fun and inspiring to find out what everyone is sewing!!

Daysail (or how I got my "sewjo" back)

 

I've been in a bit of a sewing slump lately which I really hate. I started looking through my fabrics and decided to play with some Daysail. If Bonnie and Camille can't get you out of a sewing funk, nothing can. I decided to revisit the cathedral window pincushion. I haven't made one of these in forever. I made one and my sewjo was back.

I made another pincushion so that I had a pair.

And then i started a mini Sew Together bag. I added some blue polka dot that I found at Joann's and was instantly in love with the red, white and blue.

This is my fifth Sew Together bag and my first mini, and they get easier and more fun to make each time. I love making scrappy pockets and colorful zippers and patchwork on the outside.

This one is a gift for someone special, and I have two more in the works. My sewing machine is happy to see me again!

Color Play

I have been having fun playing with color and trying new techniques for the past few weeks. If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you know I love color, but that I usually mix it with white. Lots of white. This cute little pincushion has white, but I love the text print that still adds more color. Fussy cut fabric buttons are my new favorite :)

Check out these double hexagons. Almost no white to break up all that color and all those prints.

The finished pillow. One of my favorite makes ever. You can find the tutorial here if you'd like to make one. It is called the Easy Double Hexagon Pillow. Easy? Yes. But very labor intensive. I think it was worth it though.  Small projects are still making me happy.

I also tried a different Dresden plate using Lori Holt's smaller thimble ruler. 12 blades instead of 20. It allows you to use larger prints which is wonderful.

The above photos are from both my camera and my phone. I am really having a hard time with my camera lately. I have tons of natural light in my new house, but am having a difficult time capturing it with my camera. I love composition of my phone photos (instagram) and they look wonderful there, but not so much here on my blog. I am hoping to have some time to play with my camera, and get the photos here back to the way they were last year. 

Check back later this week for a fun giveaway!!!

Learning Curve

I remember the very first time I saw this amazing pincushion. It was just over two years ago and I had just started my quilting adventure. I remember wishing that I could make something that lovely. It looked so complicated and difficult. Something that I could never possibly make. I forgot about that pincushion until this afternoon, while I was working on an Etsy order for a little half Dresden pincushion that I make for my shop. I am always looking for a new challenge and that pincushion popped into my head. I started cutting more little Dresden blades and then went back and found Mary's wonderful tutorial. I don't have the patience to do the amazing hand work that Mary does, but I love my finished pincushion. It's actually too cute to stick pins into, so it is going to live on a shelf in our TV room.

Most of the past few weeks have been spent working both at my "big girl" job and on a custom order using Country Girls.

We also celebrated a birthday and are anxiously waiting for Spring to arrive. Can I just say how much I love turning the clocks ahead???? It is pretty close to being my favorite day of the year. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

The Sewing Olympics

This week the Olympics has been on almost 24/7 at my house. I mostly listen, and look up when it sounds exciting because it's the perfect backdrop for sewing.

I am still having so much fun with the Quilty Fun Sew Along.

The spring tulips almost make me forget that it has snowed almost every day for the past few weeks.

Each new block becomes my new favorite. I am having so much fun organizing my scraps and actually using them. This is almost the first time that I have been confident enough to use fabrics from different designs. Love trying new things.

Another pincushion. It's supposed to be a spool....can you tell?

The start of a quilt for a custom order using Tasha Noel's new Country Girls. So cute and so much fun to sew with.

 

This my version of an Irish Chain that I kind of made up as I went along. The fabric is Scrumptious. I added ric rac along the border and I think it makes this quilt. YAY! A finished quilt!!

I jumped on the mini quilt bandwagon once again with Mini Dwell. I am so happy Camille is making so many of her awesome quilt patterns into minis. Oh how I loved making these happy little cottages!!!

I think this may be my favorite make ever! Do you have a favorite of your own???

Hello from the Sewing Room

Hello! Here's where I've been spending lots of time while it looks like this outside...

 

This is what the Polar Vortex looks like. Lots of snow and really cold. But that's fine with me. I just surround myself with lots of color.

The start of something cute...a pillow? A table topper? Not sure yet.

I've been having a blast with Lori Holt's Quilty Fun Sew Along aka as the school of quilting. I kid you not, my quilting has improved by leaps and bounds since I started quilting along.

Pincushions. Something new for my shop.

And a mug rug that's a gift for someone special. The cute Susan Branch print in the center was a gift from super sweet Amy.

Mini Swoon blocks. 8" squares of total cuteness!! My first block honestly took me three hours, but I am picking up speed.These have been my "go to" in between sewing orders and working on my Quilty Fun sampler.

Take THAT Polar Vortex!

2013-A Crafty Year in Review

Better late than never. A little recap of some of my makes for 2013. At first I thought, I really didn't make anything new, or anything that I kept for me, but while browsing through my folders I found lots of things that were new AND a few things that I did indeed keep.
The granny square table topper looks so cute on my dining room table. The churndash blocks are hanging in my sewing room. The "handmade" sewing machine cover actually does double duty as a cute chair back slip cover. New for this year was the mug rug, of which I have now made dozens. The hexie pillow was fun to make, and I'd like to do another.
I'm looking foward to a very creative 2014!

Sewing

Sewing has felt fun again this week. I did a little sewing just for me. The Prettified Pincushion from Patchwork Please. A totally different color palette for me, but I kinda like it!! I see lots more of these being made in the near future!! I had a hard time figuring out the paper piecing instructions, but once I did it was a total blast and I would love to find some more fun paper piecing patterns to work on.

A little Halloween sewing. A cute table runner. Simple patchwork and ric rac. Can't go wrong there.

This fabric makes my heart sing. I LOVE the colors and all the vintage inspired prints. The bunting is in my shop.

And I wanted to share...

my new Origami Owl necklace!!!!!! A birthday present from my mom and daughter Becky. I love it so much. How lucky am I that my kids birthstones are aqua and red???? :)  Lots of birthday celebrating is on tap for the weekend and I can't wait!!!

Hope you all have a fun weekend too!! xoxo

happy go lucky

Happy Go Lucky. The fabric. And my state of mind. This summer for the first time in a very long time has me feeling happy go lucky. Less stressed. Loving my new house. Grateful for air conditioning all this week as the temps have been in the 90's.

 Peace. Quiet. Happy.

Stepping out of my comfort zone, I made a dresden pillow with long blades! This pillow cover is 14" square and makes a cute little accent.

I adore the prints and colors in Happy Go Lucky. Somehow the navy makes all the colors seem more vibrant! I am going to make more dresden pillows for my Mom, who just bought a LIME green couch and the navy and greens from Happy Go Lucky are a perfect match!!! Her pillows will have my usual smaller blades and large circle center. I still love them!!

The pincushion, quilt and pillow are in my shop.

Today we celebrate my sweet son Gavin's birthday!! For the first time in 27 years, the temperature on his birthday will be below 90!! Bring on the cake and ice cream.....

Have a wonderful week!!! xoxo

Catching Up

This weekend finds me catching up with Etsy orders, and catching up with all of you here on the blog.

My just for fun sewing has been a cute little log cabin pincushion

and working on my scrappy trip around the world quilt (the top is finished!!)

I have been making dozens of bunting banners and several quilts for my shop. Thanks so much to all of you who have supported my little shop ♥

I went on a road trip to Ikea for my daughter's birthday and basically celebrated her birthday all week long!!

I also have a new addiction called Instagram. I recently upgraded my phone and have been able use the Instagram app!!! If you want to catch up with me there, I have posted a link over on my sidebar.

The mailman just left a package from Amazon which contains Helen Philipps' Patchwork book, so I am going to go make a cup of coffee, grab a fresh from the oven oatmeal raisin cookie and decide what to make first!!!!

It's So Simple

I have been having fun these past few weeks working on a custom order all made with The Simple Life!

I love these prints. This bunting banner print is near and dear to my heart.

A pinwheel and prairie points quilt. (Tutorial by Jodi Nelson at Pleasant Home.)

A patchwork pillow. This fabric was so much fun to fussy cut.

I also made bunting banners, both large and small. A cathedral window mini pillow. A mini quilt to be used as a counter hot pad. I don't think I will ever tire of aqua and red.

I spent the afternoon getting everything packaged and ready to ship. It is always such a relief to finish a big order, and I have a stack of orders ready to be filled, but I am taking a break tonight so I can watch all the glitz and glamour in Hollywood!