Blogger's Quilt Festival Fall '12

This week is the Blogger's Quilt Festival over at Amy's Creative Side! There is some serious quilt eye candy over there, so go check it out!

The quilt I'm entering is my recent mini for the FLiQS swap! It was kind of a bold change for me from what I usually make, but I just love how it turned out.

 I used Denise Schmidt's Chicopee fabric and Essex linen. I designed the pattern in an uneven chevron. Since it was so linear I decided to use some curves in the quilting. I have never tried anything in FMQ except a stipple or straight stitch, so I went for it. I made swirls! The result was pretty cool and very dense.

For the tag on the back I appliqued a little arrow with all of the swap information.
I hope you like my little quilt and please remember to vote! 

Blogger’s Quilt Festival Stats

Finished quilt measures : approx. 20″x24″

Special techniques used : applique on back

Quilted by : Machine quilted me!

Best Category : Doll/Mini, Machine Quilting, Wall Hanging, or Viewer's Choice! ;)

Thank you!!

Sewing Summit Adventure

So I decided to leave my family for four days, hop on a plane, stay in a fancy hotel, eat good food and sew with all new sewing friends! Sound like a dream?? It almost was. But I did it, and it was a wonderful whirlwind. I'll take you through some of my experiences with shopping, eating, learning, and of course, sewing!

Thursday Registration

1. Waiting in the registration line for my class schedule and badge.
2. Swag bag from Mood given at registration full of all kinds of goodies!

3. My badge, it's official! I still can't believe I'm here. So excited.

4. My Moo cards. Moo.com gave everyone 100 free cards. It was so fun to swap cards with everybody.

The Shop Hop1. The Shop Hop bus! What could be better than a day of fabric shopping with fellow sewers?
2. First stop, Yellow Bird Fabrics. Great shop with inspiring apparel fabrics.
3. Pine Needles Quilt shop at Gardner's Village. Wish I'd had more time to enjoy all of the other shops too!
4. Pine Needles gave everybody on the bus fabric and a pattern to make a darling pumpkin pin cushion. Hidden in a few bag was a $10.00 gift certificate, and I got one! :)
5. Scene from the check out counter, it was a long wait.
6. Check out the fabric cutting line. I might have been the last one on the bus. I really didn't want to leave the store. ;)
7. Material Girls quilts in South Jordon. Love this store!
8. My view from the check out line. These girls really know how to shop.
9. My haul! I got some cute stuff from both shops, can you tell I love bright colors?

That evening was the Craftsy mixer. A chance to mingle and meet fellow sewists!

From left to right, Ella, Mary, Cindy, Amanda and me. I did meet some really nice people, but I have to admit I lean towards the shy side socially, so I really didn't get to meet as many people as I would have liked. I also don't want to come off as "fanzy" to some of the more well known bloggers. But it is sure fun to see people in real life that you've gotten to "know" online.

 The Classes, my favorite part! I love learning new concepts or new tips on things I do know how to do.

1. The Baby Lock sewing machines we used in the sewing rooms. My paper pieced strips from Elizabeth's class.
2. My schedule. I seriously had some incredible classes and learned a lot.
3. The metal frame purse I made from Kelly's class. Squeal!
4. The inside, I bought extra frames. Can't wait to make more of these.
5. I learned how to sew y-seams, partial seams, hexagons and diamonds from Faith & Kati.
6. Lee teaching paper piecing. Had a front row seat for this one! Loved it.
7. The star I made in the class, whoop!

8. My buds, Amanda and Amy and their stars, awesome!

9. Took a fantastic pockets class from Deborah. She was so fun and I loved learning more about pockets. Took the fear out of making them. Here is my slit pocket and slit pocket with a welt.
10. Learned about zippers from Sara. Can't wait to use those more.
11. Took a lounge pants class from Jana. Knew I could already make the pants, but wanted to meet Jana. She was such a hoot and gave us each a mustache and Sprinkles labels, so cool!

12. Friday night I crashed the embroidery break out class with Rachel. I learned some great tips and made this little guy.

  Grub. Another great thing about being away, I didn't have to fix any meals!

1. In the beautiful ball room at Little America. We had two lunches and one dinner there. That is the amazing Erin Singleton talking with us and giving out more swag.

2. Another great part about the lunches is seeing and meeting more people.
3. More peeps on the other side of the room.

4. Amy, Amanda and I ate at the Himalayan Kitchen on Thursday. Delicious Indian food.
5. Also tried Blue Lemon in City Creek Center, really fresh and oh so good.
6. Our keynote speaker on Friday was Joel Dewberry. Love him! He was so kind and just such an awesome guy. Not to mentioned incredibly talented. Already one of my favorites, getting to hear him in person made me like him even more.
7. Not food, but just as delicious! Joel's new line, Notting Hill. Can't wait to get some of that!
8. One Sweet Slice, AMAZING cupcakes.

 

What a weekend! It has certainly taken me a while just to wrap my head around it. Being with like minded people was amazing. Learning new sewing skills taught by incredible teachers so uplifting. Eating great food and getting awesome swag, so fun! But most of all meeting lovely friends, like Amanda and Michelle. So grateful to have met such beautiful people! And I can't wait for next year!

Speaking of swag, we seriously got so much stuff that I didn't think I would be able to fit it all in my bags! My suitcase weighed in at 53 lbs., but luckily the nice skycap let it slide. This is my Weekender stuffed to the gills. Waiting in the security line and carrying this beast was torture! But seriously SO worth it! Thank you Erin and the Sewing Summit staff for the time of my life!

Sweet Celebrations WINNER!!

Today's the day to announce the big winner of the Sweet Celebrations book and fabric giveaway!

Thanks to the Random Number Generator, the winner is #4, Sandi T.!!

 This is what she would grab at a quilt store:
As many Moda precuts that I could. They are so essential to making anything. So darn versatile and so many ideas. Of course, winning a copy of my own Sweet Celebrations sure would come in handy for all those precuts. Thank you for the wonderful recipe, a layer cake that I shall use and a chance to win.


Congratulations Sandi, we'll be in touch! And thanks to all of who entered. Don't forget to check the other blogs that you entered to see if you won!

Not a winner? You can order the book on Amazon today!

Summit Prep and an Amy Butler Weekender

I have just returned from the Sewing Summit and it's been hard to adjust back to real life! But it does feel good to be back with my family and routine again. I missed my hooligans. I will have a Summit recap post as soon as I can wrap my head around it, for now I will share what kept me busy in preparation for the Summit, whew!

 The biggest challenge I gave myself was the Weekender Bag by Amy Butler. I have had this pattern since it first came out with big intentions, but now I had a reason!

 

 The pattern required home dec fabric and lots of interfacing. In short, it was a pricey bag to put together. So I decided to use what I had. I had this gorgeous brown floral vintage remake fabric and thought it would be perfect. I found the lining fabric at Joann's on their red tag clearance rack. All the interfacing I got with 50% off coupons, score! 

I pushed myself further and thought with the style of the fabrics it needed to have leather handles. Never done that before (or made a major bag for that reason). But I found brown leather handles at by local fabric store, Sewing Party and I just love the way it turned out.

  For the piping I tried to find a vinyl fabric that matched the leather perfectly and wasn't too stiff to make piping out of! I ended up finding a faux suede-y fabric that was very supple and easy to work with and matched pretty well.

The worst part about this bag for me was the cutting! It took forever to cut out all the pieces with the multiple layers. Putting it together for the most part was fine. Just attaching that last panel that took a little finagling. I was finishing up the lining that had to be hand stitched in literally the night before I left.

I am definitely proud of this accomplishment. It was fun to cross it off the list. And the best compliment I got from people was that it looked like it was purchased and not homemade. I have to admit I was envious of some of the quilted Weekenders and there were some amazing ones. But I think mine is all original and I love the fabric so I'm happy with it.

 I didn't want to miss out on anything going on for the Summit and the other item that kept popping up that people were making was the Tova shirt. Now, I do not make clothes for myself, but I just fell in love with the style of this shirt. Since I was challenging myself, I went for it. I adore Liberty of London fabrics and of course florals, so that's what I picked to make it with. It turned out beautifully! I might just make more clothing for myself. Okay, no, probably not :).

For the zipper pouch swap I ended up making a second zippy. This time I used the Noodlehead pattern for the open mouth pouch. I might just start making zippy pouches a lot, they come together so fast and the result is so cute! I like the little tab at the end of the zipper on this one.

I also joined the Valor Quilt squares bee. Liz at Goddess in Progress decided to host a challenge to make squares for the troops and then she would join them together to make a quilt to give. Such a great idea. I made these two squares to contribute.

 I had some great Americana fabrics in my stash including a blue military print. It was fun to be able to add those.

 My final preps for Summit was cutting all of the fabric I would need for my classes! This is my disaster area when I was getting that done. I'm so glad I did this a week early because it took a while. But I learned how to cut triangles and hexagons, so it was worth it. I love learning new things.

 

 As you can see I was a bit busy preparing for Sewing Summit! I love that it made me make things that I have never tried before and things I've been wanting to make forever. And that's all before I even got there! I'll keep you posted on the things that happened while I was there. What a weekend! :)

 

Sweet Celebrations Blog Hop, Recipe, & GIVEAWAY!

Welcome to my day on the Moda Bake Shop SWEET CELEBRATIONS Blog Hop! If you are a new visitor to my blog, hello! I hope you'll find a happy place here. I am so excited to share the news about Moda's second book release!

   I feel so privileged to be a contributor with such an amazing group of "chefs". The book has been a long time in the making and I know that you will find a lot of inspiration and wonderful projects. And the best part, it releases this month! Here are some of the fabulous projects you'll find inside:

 How's that for inspiration!

Oda May over at Moda Bake Shop has asked me to answer a few questions for you!

1. Do you prefer a corner piece or a center piece when eating cake? Or do you not like to discriminate? 
I love corner pieces! I'll have to admit I'm a frosting fanatic, so I always ask for the corner. C'mon, it's the best part of the cake, right?
2.What is your favorite part of quilting – fabric selection, piecing, quilting, binding – and why?
Here is the order of what I love the best about quilting. 1. Fabric Selection. I love to pick out fabrics and a design a quilt and I have always loved the cutting! There is something peaceful and methodical about it. The little stacks of cut fabric just make me happy. 2. Quilting. I really like machine quilting! It used to scare me, but I actually get excited about it now. Maybe someday I'll have to get me a long arm (in my dreams:). 3. Binding. There is just something about picking up a needle and thread and hand stitching. And bonus, I can to crawl in bed and catch up on all the shows on my DVR to do it! 4. Piecing. It's crazy, but this is my least favorite part about quilting! Though it is fun to see the pieces come together, I just want it to be done!
3. If you could have a quilt shop spree, which items would you snag off the shelf? 
Fabric of course! And I love pre-cuts. It's such a great way to get all the fabrics available in a certain line and you know they already go together.  
                                                          Thanks Oda May!

 The time of year I was asked to celebrate is Back to School! This is absolutely my favorite time of year. One of my projects in the book is this back to school messenger bag and lunch tote! The gingham is patch-worked and they both feature a little apple applique. Ready for a yummy recipe to go along with it?

How about some Caramel Apple Cupcakes? That's right, instead of frosting there's melted caramel on top. Don't they just look like your favorite caramel apples? Here is the scrumptious recipe:

 

Now for the part you've all been waiting for, the GIVEAWAY! This is your chance to win a copy of the Sweet Celebrations book and my favorite pre-cut, a Layer Cake!! All you have to do is leave me a comment! What you would grab if you could go on a quilt shop spree?

Want a bonus entry? Follow my blog and leave me a comment saying you did!

(sorry the giveaway is now closed) 

Don't forget to visit all the other chefs on the blog tour. Each chef has their own giveaway and recipe card! That gives you more chances to win and a collection of great desserts!

Blog Tour Schedule

October 1 - StashBooks and Moda Cutting Table

October 2 – Melissa Mortenson and Melissa Corry
October 3 – Mary Lane Brown and Natalia Bonner
October 4 – Lissa Alexander and Corey Yoder

October 5 – Jane Davidson and Angela Yosten

October 6 – Jo & Kelli Kramer and Stefanie Roman

October 7 – Sherri McConnell and Megan Jimenz & Heather Andrus

October 8 – Angela Mitchell and Ellie Roberts (that's me!)

October 9 – Katie Blakesley and Aneela Hoey

October 10 – Amy Smart and Angela Pingel

October 11 – Vanessa Christenson and April Rosenthal

October 12 – Moda Bake Shop

October 14 – Readers have until midnight on the 14^th to comment on all the blogs for the giveaways.

October 19 –Winners announced on all the blogs.

Thank you for visiting my blog today and celebrating with me! I hope you come see me again! You can pre-order the book from Amazon today!

Easy Framed Design "Wall" Tutorial

I have dreams of a big sewing/craft room where I have beautiful stacks of fabric on gorgeous shelves, a huge cutting table and one entire dedicated "design wall". A place where I can put all my finished quilt blocks, fabric ideas, and UFOs. Alas, I have but a sewing closet. Don't get me wrong, I'm totally grateful to have that! But since there's not much room in my room, I decided to come up with my own design "wall". And you can do it too! It's SUPER easy!

You will need:  
Poster size frame. Use a coupon at Michaels or Aaron Bros. I had this cute white frame that used to be in my girl's room, but had no place for it anymore. I loved the frame and didn't want to throw it out, so it was perfect for this project! My frame has plastic not glass. If yours has glass, it's fine, just be really careful!
Quilt batting. I used Warm & White. It was a piece I had leftover from a quilt project-bonus!
Tape. I used a white duct tape that I had around. Any kind of packing tape would work fine.
Ten minutes! Yup, that's about it.

Remove the backing cardboard and plastic/glass. Set frame aside. Place your batting down and then place your plastic/glass and cardboard on top. Cut out the batting until there is 3-6" all the way around.

Fold up the bottom flap of batting and tape in place.

  Fold up the side corner as shown in photo below.

Then fold over the other side making a nice corner and tape in place.

Continue taping and folding corners all the way around until it looks like this. Easy peasy!

 Now carefully place your design wall back into the frame and bend down the frame pins to hold it in place.

Wholla! You have a beautifully framed design wall that you can hang anywhere!

Mine just fits in my little sewing space. It found a happy home surrounded by fun swap gifts and some beautiful little paintings by my friend, Vaishali. 

I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner, hope it inspires you to create your own design "wall"! If you make any of my projects, please share them on my flickr page!