Sew South Here I Come!

I've been busy with lots of custom orders lately!

All that work has helped me keep my mind off the secret I was keeping!  I'm teaching at Sew South!!!!

There is a great line up of teachers and classes this year and I'm so excited to be going to Charlotte!  I used to live there and both my parents are from there so it's real homecoming for me!  I'll be sharing more details on my class soon!  I hope to see some of you there!!!!

Customs and Lost and Found

I've been getting a LOT of custom requests lately!  Here's a peek at some of the things keeping me busy!

An Amy Butler baby quilt for a new little girl due this fall

A farm-themed baby quilt with cow minky backing for another little one due soon!

A fall-hued Liberty quilt for my sweet friend Sara Rose, the photographer with a quilt addiction! :)

A queen size patchwork quilt with over 30 fabrics!  This one was so much fun to lay out!

I also found a "lost" project!  This one has been done for about 2 years and was put away in my closet.  I recently had to pull it out because I needed all the pins I used to baste it.  I guess I should quilt it one of these days.....

Here's a less wrinkled view of the finished top.

Swapsies: A Rainbow Mini Quilt

An IG friend mentioned wanting to swap with me and I could always use a new mini quilt for my sewing room so I happily agreed!  She didn't give me any instructions or preferences so I just made something that I loved!

Sadly, I love it a bit too much and I have a feeling I'm going to cry a little when I mail it to her! :)  I used this pattern by Diane.  CLICK HERE for a chance to win the pattern!!!  There are two versions, one finishes at 12" and one at 18" (mine is 18").  All of the fabric is by either Anna Maria Horner or Tula Pink with the exception of the black/white background fabric which is a print from Wordplay by Benartex.  Creating the 8 sections went relatively easy; the tricky part is sewing the 8 sections together so the everything lines up!  Lets just say I did not get it right the first, second, or third time with some sections!  I decided on some minimal radiant quilting from the center (thanks Michelle!) and my favorite color teal solid for the binding. 

Instead of highlighting the stars this pattern can create, I decided to highlight the geese!  I was surprised how different the pattern looked when I was done!  Change the fabric around and you get a whole new look!  I won't lie, this took some time and a LOT of background fabric--I tend to cut pieces way bigger than necessary when dealing with paper pieced triangles.  I somehow always muck it up and have the fabric fall short of the area I'm trying to cover.  I really hate ripping out tiny paper piecing stitches so I over compensate by cutting the fabric larger than necessary.  Anywho!  Hope Chrissy likes her new mini and it doesn't accidentally get stuck to my wall.........I mean, LOST in the mail! 

GeoCentric Summer Totes

It's no secret that I love making bags.......I mean LOVE it!  I've picked up a few tips in my bag making adventures, the most important of which is to choose the right fabric!  I rarely, if ever, make bag exteriors with quilting cottons.  I always prefer to use a home dec, linen, or canvas--something sturdy to stand up to being tossed around.  I am super smitten with Cloud 9's canvas line, Geocentric.  Not only is the canvas perfect to make bags, but I love the bright colors and simple, modern prints.  

I was SUPPOSED to be making a Pretty Pleats Reversible Tote designed by my good friend, Michelle, but there was a, um, cutting error.  What can I say?  I'm human!  No matter how many bags I've made, I still make mistakes!  This time, I accidentally taped the pattern pieces together incorrectly and cut out something that shouldn't have been.  Michelle's pattern is awesome and easy to follow and I have totally rocked it (the right way) before: 

See?  I can follow directions, really!  :)  Anywho, I had a Tim Gunn moment and decided to make it work!  The resulting three totes are a bit smaller than Michelle's design, but functional and cute all the same!

I even took the extra time to put my labels in these bag!  Usually, I'm too lazy to put my labels on bags, but I do like the "finished" look they give.  

These totes ended up being the perfect size to take to the pool or run a few errands.  The strap fits over my shoulder and the bag profile is slim and unobtrusive.  Since the GeoCentric line is canvas, the bag holds it's shape well without being stiff.  I see these bags making many appearances this summer!

Pixelated Snowflake Tutorial: Christmas in July Challenge

Merry Christmas in July!!!!  Christen of Love By Hand is have a great Christmas In July blog hop and sewing challenge!  You can read all about it HERE.  I was a bit ambitious in this challenge and decided to make a quilt!  Pixelated quilts have been super popular lately--I've make two pixelated heart quilts!--so I decided to pixelate a snowflake!  

Chrissy From Sew Lux Fabric sent me this super pretty fat quarter bundle of Winter's Lane which is 10% off right now, no coupon needed!

I promptly sliced and diced it to make this quilt top!  Sorry, my ambition got the better of me and I didn't have time to quilt it yet! :)  

Fabric requirement:

FQ Bundle of Winters Lane or whatever holiday fabric you want

2 yards background fabric (technically, you only need 1.75, but I like extra to be safe)

Cutting:

(120) 2.5" print squares***

(165) 2.5" background squares

(4 10.5"x20.5" background rectangles

(4) 4.5" x 10.5" background rectangles

(4) 10.5" x 10.5" background squares

Yeild:

50" x 50" quilt

***You can easily make this using any size squares you want to make the quilt larger or smaller.

This is actually a super simple top to put together, so long as you follow the diagram below!  For the most part, I put the small squares together in 5x5 blocks, but you can divide it up however you'd like.  I find working with only 25 squares at a time prevented mixups and seam ripping.  

This would make a great wall hanging, table topper, lap quilt or bed quilt depending on the size of the squares you want to use! 

Check out all the great holiday tutorials!

July 8 – Christen, Love by Hand

July 10 – Sarah, Stitching & Bacon

July 15 – Kelly, Kelbysews

July 17 – Lyanna, Purple Panda Quilts

July 22 – Tessa, The Sewing Chick

July 24 – Kristen, KD Quilts

Then, during the month of July, start and finish your own holiday sewing project to link up July 26-30 for a chance to win one of three amazing prize packs from these amazing sponsors!

Grand Prize

$40 gift certificate to Sew Lux Fabric

Pearle Cotton Sampler from Sew Lux Fabric

3 Sewing Prints from Pen & Paint

Paloma FQ bundle from Dear Stella

1 pattern from LBG Studio

Second Prize

FQ Bundle from Michael Miller

2 sewing prints from Pen & Paint

Pearle Cotton Sampler from Sew Lux Fabric

1 pattern from LBG Studio

Third Prize

Havana FQ Bundle from Monaluna

1 sewing print from Pen & Paint

Pearle Cotton Sampler from Sew Lux Fabric

Winners will be selected by the judges, which will consist of all of the bloggers plus Chrissy from Sew Lux Fabric. Entries will close on Tuesday, July 30 and winners will be announced on Friday, August 1. 

How To Enter: The Details:

Enter any project you’ve made during July to get ahead of your holiday sewing. It can be anything (not just the projects we post here) and can include any fabric – it doesn’t have to be Christmas fabrics or colors.

Starting July 26, you'll be able to link up your entry at Love By Hand. You'll have until 10:00 PM EST on July 30 to add your entry – one entry per person. Link a new post from your blog, your Flickr account or your Threadbias account – you don’t have to have a blog to enter!

Craftsy Class Giveaway!!!!

I'm sure most of you have heard of Cratsy, but if you haven't you MUST check it out!  I SOOOOO wish this was around a few years ago when I was clumsily teaching myself how to sew through blogs and tutorials! You can take classes on how to make quilts, bags, garments, etc.  There are even non-sewing related classes like cake decorating, paper crafts, knitting, and crocheting!  Classes are much less expensive (some are FREE!) than you can find at your local shop and you can take them in your pajamas! 

Anywho!  I got to try out Tara Rebman's new Quilt as You Go Patchwork Bag Class and now I'm giving away this pouch I made using her method along with her class to one (lucky!) person!  

Tara's class is super easy to follow and is a great introduction to quilting and bag making at the same time!  She is a fabulous instructor!

Tara teaches you her easy method to create her adorable Tinker Tote bag:

And a sweet clutch!

Aren't they cute?????  Perfect for the summer!  All you have to do is

 CLICK THIS LINK TO ENTER

If you have a Craftsy account already, just use your login information.  If not, signing up for Craftsy is free! Only one entry per person and you have until Thursday, July 4th to enter!

Picnic Time!

I recently realized our family needed to keep a quilt in the car--you know, for emergency picnics and playground adventures!  I love simple patchwork so I cut up my fat quarter bundle of Anna Maria Horner linens (from Amanda) and whipped this up!  For those eagle-eyed fabric junkies, yes, I left out one of the feather prints (the purple/maroon one) because it just wasn't my fav.

I decided to try hand-tying a quilt for the first time!  I have to say, it won't be the last!  Super simple and quick!  I used pearl cotton and tied the center of every square and at each 4-square intersection (so roughly, every 4").  To see a how to on hand-tying, check out this VIDEO by Mary Fons.

My squares were cut at 9" so they finish at 8.5".  The quilt is about 60"x68"  I really love the texture and durability of the linen.  It's perfect for something that will be used outdoors with boys tromping all over it!  

For the back I had the perfect amount of this adorable Lucie Summers Summerville letter fabric!  I think  it's a nice contrast the craziness that's on the front!  I also used some premade Anna Maria Horner binding I've had for a while.  I can't wait to get this washed and in the car.....I feel a picnic coming on!