a Paisley Sunflower

Free Form Rail Fence Quilt

2017-09-24T19:40:00.001-07:00

Has it really been a year and a half,or more since I posted?!! Sorry to all you sweet followers! Life has a way of happening and Bam,its a year or more later.

Lots of things have happened since the last post obviously,but what this post is about is...

The Freeform Rail fence quilt from the book Cultural Fusion. Here it is ready for the binding to be added. Just need to wind a couple bobbins first.

Binding attached to the backside of the quilt and pressing said binding in progress. This quilt has been a journey. It all started from a conversation with one of my best friends! Jamie,over at busy bee quilts we were talking about quilts/projects we were currently working on. She mentioned the book Cultural Fusion by Sujata Shah,so I of course checked it out online and ended up purchasing it.

Cotton and Steel fabrics are some of my favorites and were the obvious choice for this personal quilt. Being the Sweet friend she is Jamie sent me some coordinating prints she found at her local Joann's!

My blocks are actually smaller than the pattern called for since a lot of my fabric cuts were fat eights not fat quarters. The quilt blocks were made here and there in between other projects...

This past fall I joined a swap over on instagram and by chance was paired up with Jenn of JT Quilting . What a fortunate chance it was as we have become good friends :)

When she learned I Love sunflowers she made me an Amazing mini sunflower quilt! (but that is another story for another post) Of course this is my personal favorite block from the quilt! It also shows off some of Jenn's beautiful quilting! If you are looking for a Long Arm Quilter go check out her blog at the link above. I Highly Recommend her,and will be a returning customer for all future quilts!

Another close up/block with gorgeous quilted swirls and a flower quilted in here and there as well! This was such a fun quilt to sew up an,if I didn't have a million and one other projects waiting to be sewn up,I would make another one.

A better shot of the quilting perfection from a true free motion quilt artist.

A peek at the backside of the quilt,this backing/wide back fabric was purchased at my local Joann's fabrics.

The layout for the blocks normally has all the rails going in the same direction but I prefer to not have the same "cookie cutter" anything that everyone else has,so turned my blocks every which way :)!
After making all the blocks I got to thinking about the usual tug of war/blanket wars during the colder months...so decided to make the quilt top larger by adding a narrow border and then another scrappy border. Now the quilt is large enough that both the hubby and I will stay warm and cozy all fall/winter long!
This quilt is now on our bed and we will be sleeping under it tonight for the first of Many many nights to come. Thank you Jamie and Jenn for helping me create this beautiful quilt!

Bags,bags,bags & a tuffet too!

2016-05-22T20:18:00.000-07:00

As the title of this post suggests bags have been on my sewing agenda lately!

The Airport Sling bag bag by emmaline bags from the book On The Go Bags. This is a great bag,I loved the pattern,but let me just say…trying to ease leather is not going on my list of "fun"things to do!

The sun decided to come out from behind the clouds just as I snapped off this photo! So sorry for the glare on the inside flap of the outer pocket. You can see the results of my easing of the leather in this photo. The zipper is pretty bumpy/un-even looking. Just part of the learning to sew with leather curve.

A peek inside of the bag,and here you can see the lining fabric much better!

A close up of my bag bling! The metal label if from emmaline bags and the little glass person,I made in my sister's glass studio.

This is the April Bag for The bag of the Month club,(you can find it over on Facebook) a bag pattern club where you receive a new pattern for the first six months of the year. Each pattern is by a different designer.

The Gabby bag is an emmaline pattern,and while only available to club members through June 2016,will be released to the public sometime in July. I have belonged to this group from the start,it is exciting to receive a new bag pattern each month for the first half of the year,every year! It is also kind of like getting an exclusive pattern if only for a few months before the general public.

Inside a divided slip pocket as well as a zippered pocket to keep things secure. With the exception of the quilting on the exterior main bag piece this was a quick sew.

The Stand up and Tote Notice tote bag,is the first pattern I have sewn from Lisa over at two pretty poppets it will not be the last for sure! This was such a fun pattern to sew and it is a great one for mixing things up!

This is the back side of the tote but,could just as easily be the front,or if turned right side in,it could be the inside also. Such a versatile bag pattern!

Last month my sis and I took a Turban Footstool class in Lake Oswego OR. at the Pine Needle Quilt shop. The class was actually two Friday mornings,with a little homework in-between.

My finished Footstool in the foreground and my sister's in the background. We had so much fun!

I will leave you with a spiraling look at the tufted button in the center of the footstool! Until next time…

Sew Worth It

Much too Busy

2016-04-14T00:49:00.001-07:00

Life these days just seems much too busy for keeping up with my blog! My goal is to post once a week,so far that has not happened this year. Hopefully that will change soon…

This sweet Sewtogether bag arrived recently! It is from a swap I had joined over on IG last year. My package from the mini quilt swap has gone MIA and sadly it is lost in the USPS mail system somewhere.

My first ever experience with an oval handle,took me one hour to instal the first handle. The second one took a mere twenty minutes! Of course,that was due to the fact that I found a tutorial online with a great tip!

Both handles on the second one took twenty minutes total. Yes! This tiny houndstooth print and the solid colored bag above are both leather from my trip to Oregon Leather. The scrap bins have some really nice treasures hidden in them.

My bloom blocks 10,11,and 12 are now all completed,just need to sew up number 13 sometime this week to stay caught up.

Added six more freeform rail fence blocks to my growing stack for a new quilt for my own bed.

Made my first two blocks from the Sister Sampler Quilts book,Bonfire BOM. One for me and one for a "sister".

A glass adventure with my sister! We made up these paisleys,

Some butterflies

and finally some starfish! This was so much fun playing with glass in my sisters studio!

Thanks for reading! What have you been up to lately?

Sew Worth It

Another sew together bag with leather

2016-03-16T01:58:00.001-07:00

I have been playing around with some more of the leather purchased from the scrap bins at Oregon Leather!

The inside of this one is a mix of some Tula Pink fabrics. The leather this time is a shimmery grey!

I had a small amount of Tula Pink ribbon left over from embellishing a pair of capris last summer. It worked perfectly for the front of the bag. The handcrafted in the USA tag is from Emmaline bags shop,she has the best bag bling!

Here is a view of the side of the bag. Let me just say that I Love how my Juki sewing machine sews through the leather without any problems!!!

A peek inside the finished bag,these are really great organizer bags,for anything from sewing projects to cosmetics.

Me and the bag I won at the sew expo,from the Riley Blake booth.

Sorry I forgot to upload my Bloom blocks! Instead here is a photo of my spring window decoration.

Sew Worth It

The PinkLady Sewtogether bag & an unexpected visitor

2016-02-22T21:00:00.001-08:00

This past week just flew by,but then that is always the way when one is on vacation.

Recently my sister and I both had the same days off! We planned a girls day out in the city,first stop,the leather store! This is a bit of one piece I purchased. It laid rolled up on my sewing room floor for a few weeks until…

the plan formed. Pressing leather is not a good idea,a boning tool comes in very handy,as do lots of Wonder Clips!

Since this was my first time sewing with leather,I used cotton for the inside of the bag,and will probably continue to do so in future bags as well. Mostly because the prints add a lot of interest/color to the bag. It also helps to cut down on the thickness when sewing it together.

A big plus,which you can see from this side shot!

The finished bag,Love how this turned out! A complete success! and my unexpected visitor…

Little Miss Audrey Lynn! My granddaughter came for four days!!!

Sew Worth It

2016-02-16T14:05:00.001-08:00

Life has been busy as always,and although I didn't have time to post the last two weeks…

Bloom block #5 is all finished,pretty happy with how these blocks are turning out!

This is block #5 in the ugly sweater SAL most of these I have purposely made "ugly"but this one I am really loving ;)

Here are all my blocks so far for the freeform rail fence quilt that I have been working on slowly a few blocks at a time. The two smaller blocks are mistakes from not remembering what size I was making my blocks! Since I am using fat quarters and fat eights instead of the suggested yardage…so they will end up on the back of the quilt. Midas of course had to get right in the middle of everything! Only 19 more blocks to go…

Check out my IG on side bar to see what else I have been up to lately. Have a great week :)!

Sew Worth It!

Wading through the dust and cobwebs

2016-01-25T17:35:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that it has been around 8 ½ months since my last post here on the blog! Life has been rather busy,with a cross country move,to the pacific north west,and the addition of...

baby Peanut,born on Dec 6th 2015. She got off to a rough start,but is doing fine now!

Here she is,AKA Audrey Lynn,in one of her newborn photos. Be Still My HEART,yes I am a proud grandma.

There have been some sewing starts/finishes,this is one of the latest. A mini quilt for a swap over on Instagram. It is all finished,except needing a label on the back.

One of my current projects,is the bloom sew along, this is my first block. Last Monday was the first block,so when I get todays block done I will post it.

Sorry to all my readers for the overly long hiatus from the blog! I hope to get back into the routine of posting once a week. Mostly thanks to my daughter and nice who have both asked when I am Ever going to post again…if you are on IG you can keep up with me there as well,just search @apaisleysunflower

Sew Worth It

piece by piece

2015-05-11T17:16:00.000-07:00

Did everyone have a good mothers day? Mine was the best,because I found out that in November or December my first grandchild will be arriving!!! So Exciting…

Of course I spent some time sewing as well.

This is my Manhattan Miss bag,Aprils bag of the month pattern which also includes a Mamma size. If you just like to pack around the essentials this is the perfect size,the mamma holds more. I was able to incorporate my recent cross stitch into the flap!

Directly under the flap is a slip pocket,perfect for my sunglasses/reading glasses,or something of similar size. The pocket print comes off as yellowish,but actually matches the green in the cross stitch.

Inside,another slip pocket. Of course you can customize it however you like,but since I wanted a fast finish,I did not add the zipper to the flap for that pocket or any other customizations of my own. Next time…

A vintage paper pieced travel trailer/camper for my Pillow four Seasons Swap partner (on Flickr). The pillow cover will measure 20x20 when finished. My plan is to add aspen trees for a forest setting.

This round in Super Swaps (also on Flickr) the theme was thread catcher or table runner. Tiny paper pieced geese in sun prints by Alison Glass.

Almost done with the geese,these took me around 8 hours from printing out the pattern to finishing the last section. The smallest ones are four sections long,and the center larger one is three sections long.

The thread catcher in progress,just need to attach the bottom!

A peek inside. I ran out of the quilters linen so am hoping that my partner won't mind the two strips of sun prints at the back.

Another quick finish! Yesterday I whipped up this foot pedal mat,after seeing one over on FB last week. It works like a charm to keep my foot pedal from running/sliding away from me while sewing! It is a bit on the longish side,so if I were to make another one it would be a couple inches shorter. All it took was a binding strip and some gripper or shelf liner,to make it stay put.

I joined IG a while back (just keep forgetting to mention it in a post) you are welcome to follow me there. I am @apaisleysunflower over there :).

Sew Worth It

Mama's got a new Bag!!!

2015-04-29T18:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the rather long time between posts,but I seem to have misplaced my sewjo somewhere…I Really Need to find it as I have two swap items to get ~~cracking~~ sewing on Pronto!

Speaking of swaps,this is my Super Awesome tote bag received in round 6 of the Secret Tote Bag Swap!(over on Flickr) Last time I showed you the bag made for my partner,btw she Loves it :) I kind of cheated a bit when listing my three color preferences…because I listed green/aqua...

The top view,I am so in love with the jewel tone aqua prints that mamma fairy sews used!

I am not sure what pattern this bag is made from,but I Love love love all the pockets,there are 30 pockets in this bag!!! Some are narrow and will be great for holding notions like marking pens,slim rulers,and such. So a pocket for just about any notion you might have!

Check out the cute little dottie pincushion she made as one of my extras,it even fits around the narrow end of the ironing board. So I can switch it back and forth as needed.

The rest of my loot! Isn't that little dumpling zippy pouch just adorable?! The scissor lanyard coordinates perfectly with my cross stitch scissors,sweetness. Some zippers,fabric,and an extra strap so the bag can be worn cross body style. I was Sooo Spoiled :)

Sew Worth It

Whats in a Name & a bit of sewing

2015-04-18T13:52:00.001-07:00

A while back I mentioned that I would actually be officially changing the name of this/my blog. Well that has finally happened. The name has been changed to a Paisley Sunflower. You should still be redirected here from the old link,but if you are a follower you might want to use the new URL,or not.

The new header is still in the process of being designed,so that will be changed as soon as it is ready. I hope that all of my wonderful followers decide to stay with me through this change,and the lack of posting lately. The plan is to get back into a solid post once a week for sure and maybe twice a week depending on what I have to show you all.

What I have been working on recently…

The Oh Spit diaper bag from the Big-City bags book. My friend likes patchwork so I incorporated a bit into the front pocket of the bag for her.

The lining with divided pockets attached. One thing about this bag it has plenty of pockets,which is always a plus in my book!

All finished and ready to go! It is now at its new home patiently awaiting the arrival of a new babe for its first use.

The Secret Tote Bag swap round 6 over on flickr is one of three swaps I joined recently. This round was black and white with one other color. There was no specific bag we were to make,just what our partner wanted or we picked. For my partner I chose to make a Super Tote by Noodlehead. As you can see the one other color I chose out of the three she listed was red.

A few extra little goodies to accompany the bag to its new home.

This morning it began its trip,hopefully to someone who will love it for a long time to come! This was my first time making this pattern,I ~~used my seam ripper a lot~~ learned a lot so hopefully the next one will not require the use of the grim ripper ;). The only real issue,other than those of my own making,was the thickness on the sides/gusset part of the bag. Even thought I used a brand new leather needle to do the final top stitching it was a real fight with my machine to actually get it to sew over the thick gusset part. Other than that this was a fun bag to sew up!

2015-04-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

Guess it is high time I dusted off the ole blog!

Life has been busy lately and I have been taking a little blogging vacation…

Speaking of vacation,last month we were able to finally synchronize all our schedules! Which meant that for the first time in between 3-4 years we got together with both Jolene and Gil at the same time. Let me just say that made me one Happy Mama :))) We got together in St. George UT,this photo is taken from the view on Watchman Trail in Zion National Park. The Cherry on the top, we were also finally able to meet Carla,in person (the sweetie sitting next to Gil,his girlfriend)

As a parent one of my hopes was that my kids would grow into good caring adults. It made me proud as throughout all our hikes,I watched Gil stop step off the trail and pick up a abandoned water bottle or other piece of trash,and place it into his backpack.

While in St. George Jolene and I spent a couple hours at Superior Threads Headquarters! Upstairs is the fabric shop,while downstairs is this awesome warehouse filled with thread from small spools to very large cones. As well as the offices of the administrative staff.

This is also where your online order is processed and shipped from. All the clerks are so nice and helpful,even when you interrupt them time and again with just one more question :)

Gil and I at Fremont St in Vegas,I was so happy that he willingly posed for this shot with me! Usually he manages to make a funny face just as the photo is snapped,but this time he didn't.

At the entrance to the container garden there is this giant praying mantis,it is very cool. It also scared the crap out of me! Gil and I were standing by the gate talking about it when all of a sudden it started spewing flames out of its antenni.

This is my latest bag,it is the Oh Spit Diaper bag,from the Big-City bags book by Sara Lawson. This is the exterior front of the bag.

The finished bag all packed up and ready to go off to its new home!

This is my second cross stitch,just finished this evening after work! I have plans to incorporate it into a bag soon…

Sew Worth It

Random sewing & a Winner!!

2015-03-08T16:42:00.000-07:00

For the first time this year there will be no quilt or quilt top in my post. What?!! No I am not done with quilts yet,just taking a little breather. Okay,actually all this last week was spent cutting up scraps. One tote done one to go(at a later date).

This is the latest pattern I tested for Jessica of Sweetbriar Sisters . It is called Charming Chicks,the pattern includes the sweet little chick and the egg zipper pouch that holds it! Just follow the link above to her shop to see all of her adorable patterns.

These are super adorable and perfect for Easter,so I will be making up a few more. I just need to purchase some safety eyes as one great niece and one great nephew are still too little for googly eyes!

Yesterday I whipped up this sweet little swing bag. It is actually my own version of The Emma Clutch I won the pattern way back in October and just now got around to trying it out. The fabric used is some of my Nordika scraps,although the left side looks like two black squares that is not the case(just how the photo came out). For me this was just too big for a clutch,so I turned it into a swing bag instead.

On the flap I used some bag bling purchased from Emmaline's Shop. She has some pretty sweet Bling for bags that lets people know your item is handmade!

The Bag of the Month Club's January bag,the Companion Carpet Bag in progress. The large silver piece is some more of Emmaline's bag bling.

All finished! The making of this bag sure had its ups and downs. The end bag is totally worth it though!

A look inside. This was the first time using a tubular frame for me,surprisingly it was not one of the bumps along the way.

Another first in bag making,adding feet to a bag! Which by the way is really quite easy.

So who is the winner of the Kona Color Card???

Chiska,Congratulations you are the winner of my old card! I have emailed you for your snail mail info!

Thanks to everyone who entered,for your comments on my post :)!

Sew Worth It

another finish & a Giveaway

2015-03-01T19:14:00.001-08:00

In the blink of an eye it is March! This year is just cruising right along,before you know it spring will have sprung!

However,it is not spring yet…

Cabin Fever is finished! That makes this quilt finish #8 for 2015 :)

A few extra blocks and a little AMH Innocent Crush for the backside,and this one is a wrap!

Recently this Sweet pillow arrived in a squshie package from one of my Best Friends :)! Also included in the package…

A new Kona Solids color card!!! Thank You Jamie :)! The card on the right is my old one with 243 colors on it. So would you like to have my old Kona Color card? Just let me know in your comment! I will choose a winner and post who it is next Sunday. Good Luck.

Sew Worth It

Sew the Library

2015-02-25T15:42:00.001-08:00

No,I didn't fall off the earth,just blog land! Sorry for the lack of posting lately but,in order to stay focused and stay productive it was necessary.

So,what has been keeping me busy…

quilt # 7 for this year! This is my buzz saw quilt from The book Fabulously Fast Quilts by Amy Smart. This is my second quilt from this book,although this one was not as fast as the butterfly effect quilt,it was still fairly fast to sew up.

For the back of this quilt I decided to pull out a few of the gothic windows blocks from w a y back in April 2012(my month in stash bee that year). It felt great to be including these in a project finally! You can see the quilt made from most of the blocks.

No photos outside today as it is a slushy/snowy mess,with more on the way. I did not want to risk dragging or dropping this beauty in the slush.

Finished this quilt measures at 67 x 82,a little larger than the one in the book. Simply because my borders are just a bit larger than the pattern called for. Although there are more quilts in the book that I like,next month it is time to move on and sew from some other books/magazines in my sewing library.

Linking up with Weekend Doings this month for Sew the Library

*** Just a little note to my regular followers,you may or may not have noticed that my header is quite a bit different! In the near future I will be changing my blog name and url. The current header is temporary until I find someone to make me a professional one. If you know anyone let me know! More on this in a later post ***

Sew Worth It

January recap/February focus

2015-02-07T18:39:00.000-08:00

Sewing progress for the first month of 2015..

left to right
# 1 Stick shift quilt front/back
# 2 little Red in the Woods quilt front/back
# 3 Fall Frolic quilt front/back
# 5 butterfly effect quilt front/back

Quilt # 6

Todays finish,the first for Feb is my Mellow Yellow Stick Shift quilt. The spot where I usually hang my quilts for photos at the Steam Plant (which used to actually be a steam plant back in the day,but is now a theater and art mecca) had a large pile of snow in front of it. So the stairs were the photo spot today.

The back side,is a lot more pieced than planned,but then the quilt is two rows longer and three sticks longer than originally planned.

These are the fabrics I am hoping to use for my January BOM bag,if there is enough,if not it will be back to the stash to find something that will work. There is still some hardware needed for this bag,so we shall see if it gets completed this month. The fabric for this months bag has yet to be pulled…

Sew Worth It

Sew the Library (twofer)

2015-01-31T14:29:00.000-08:00

Have you heard,or are you participating in Sew the Library? It is a monthly link up hosted by Fabric Mutt and I think a few other bloggers will be hosting throughout the year too. This is not one of my usual link up party's,but this is a New year and time for New things...

So I am participating. For this month (the first link up) my project is a quilt,from the book Fabulously Fast Quilts. This book was a Christmas gift from a very special friend. Jamie and I decided to have our own little sew along this month. The pattern we chose this month is butterfly effect.

The prints in the quilt came from a Color Me Happy jelly roll,the solid is Kona Nightfall,which is actually a darker blue. The binding strips are two grey prints from the jelly roll mixed with a green with white polka dot Dear Stella print. The name of the book holds true,as this was pretty fast to sew up,and turned out fabulously!

You are probably thinking this is a crazy back side for a quilt called butterfly effect right? well,having my own "style"is one of the things that makes my quilts unique,and this one is no exception. As you know I love things that are reversible…

Finish #5 for January!
Sew Worth It

Productive Focus

2015-01-25T18:33:00.000-08:00

Do you choose a word(s) at the beginning of each new year? Some bloggers/quilters do some do not. Until this year I was one of the do nots. For some reason it just felt right,although I did not link up anywhere or anything like that.

It is just a personal thing having to do with my quilting/bag making goals for the year. Speaking of that here is Fall Frolic all finished!

inside and closer up.

Again,inside since the sun was dipping by the time I finished! This one was actually finished last weekend. Quilt finish #4 for January!

This past week has been a busy one,with two new quilt projects in the works. Butterfly effect from a "Color Me Happy"jelly roll,and Kona Nightfall blue yardage.

and the second Stick Shift quilt,using "Mellow Yellow",a FQ bundle and strips from a "Silent Film" roll up/jelly roll. Both tops are finished at this point,photos will come as soon as I can find daylight hours…

My words for this year…Productive Focus

Sew Worth It

my Tammy 4 all seasons

2015-01-18T21:00:00.000-08:00

When I saw the post for the Tammy 4 all seasons post over at Sew We Quilt back in November I just Had to jump in…even though I had never so much as sewn one x stitch!

Before we get to my bag many thanks are in order though: Firstly Thank you to Mdm Samm for this wonderful hop,and for my new found skill (albeit the skill part is still questionable) the wonderful magnets,and my Tammy bag kit!
Thanks also to Mary for so graciously moving me to a later day in the hop,so I would have time to finish my cross stitch,and for being our head cheerleader!

Many thanks to All the wonderful sponsors including:
Brooke of Brooke's Books For all the Awesome cross stitch patterns
Cori of Chitter Chatter Designs For all the Sweet Pinny patterns
Apple Heart Mdm Samm's shop for the Tammy Bag pattern
Beam N Read (LED light)
DMC (floss and Aida cloth)
H. A. KIDD (monaco fabric/cloth)
Readers (reading glasses)
Snap Source (snaps and a gadget for attaching them)
Yarn Tree (Q snaps)

Thank You,Thank You,Thank You!

Since I was more than a bit nervous about starting with the cross stitch,the Pinny came first.

The box pleats (the first time for making these) gave me a few fits,but nothing major.

When Mdm Samm said that it took her two weeks to finish her cross stitch/tammy bag I figured it would take me at least twice that amount of time. Wrong! It took me F O R ever. Okay it only took me around six weeks… Apparently I can not count,or count correctly anyway! The ending result…

well just don't look too closely or you will see stitches where they should not be,no stitches where they should be...

Finally the day the hop started I finished my cross stitch! Let me just say I was (and still am) Ecstatic!

On to the rest of the Tammy bag. The handle was my only problem child,even though I measured and marked the center…you guessed it,I sewed it on crooked. Sigh,ahh the challenges of sewing new to me patterns!

Since my DD and her hubby installed software upgrades and more memory to my computer for Christmas,I have not yet re-learned how to edit my photos. So you can not read the label I added to the back of the bag. The label says "This Took FOREVER" That being said,I am sooo in Love with my newest Bag finish and,yes,I will be doing more cross stitch in the future! However,the next one(s) will not be on a schedule but rather when the mood strikes!

Okay I have gone on long enough about my Sweet new Tammy,Off you go to check out all the Wonderful Stitchers I have the pleasure of Sharing the day with!

January 19, 2015

KrisLovesFabric

Ga's House

Secretly Stitching

Creatin' in the Sticks

Grandmama's Stories

WHY-KNOT-KWILT
CeLynn's Sunflower Patch (you are here :)

Kick Starting 2015...

2015-01-10T17:53:00.001-08:00

Well after a longer than planed absence from blogging,I am finally back. During my hiatias I was busy,busy,busy!

The Fantasy Row baby quilt for Gil's friends baby was finished in time to link up for the last ALYOF of last year,but since I didn't have my computer…

that didn't happen. I recently received a message from the recipients,both mama and baby love it!

The start of my first quilt for this year! Jamie and I decided in December to have a sew along from the book she sent me for Christmas. The book,Fabulously Fast Quilts by Amy Smart can be found in her shop. Before we sewed a quilt from the book though,we decided to sew her Stick Shift quilt from the tutorial on her blog. Here are my sticks all chain pieced.

The sun had already dipped behind the mountains by the time I went to take photos late this afternoon. So they are all a little dark,and I was not able to lighten them up by editing them without really changing the colors. In the quilt tutorial,the solid is all one color,but you know me…I had to change it up a bit and added in a few Kona Glacier strips in each row interspersed with the grey.

The larger piece is an Kona Iron Grey,the smaller one is Kona Glacier. The print fabric used for this quilt was a fat eighth from Joann's,purchased this past summer. Which by the way was the perfect size for a 45 x 48" baby quilt. After using some of the scraps in the backing there are only a handful of really small pieces left. So almost no waste,which is pretty sweet!

Half Vintage Modern one of the tops I finished back in September…now the quilt is also finished! The second finish for this year!

The colors show up much better in this cell phone shot during quilting.

The backside is mostly the print under the safety pin in the center of the photo above. The stripe is a Comma print with pale orange. This one is going to my great niece Sorenna,since the little squares with the girls came from my mom's stash,and were originally intended for one of her grand/great grand babies.

Finish #3 of this year,the second top from September last year, little Red in the Woods quilt. I didn't crop out my quilt holders hands,because it would have also cut off the top of the quilt.

Straight line quilting on this one to accent all the strips.

A couple larger scraps of Kona solids and a clearance print from Joann's a few years ago.(I think)

Hope everyone had a wonderful New Year,I sure did! All three quilt finishes this month were courtsey of a Much needed four day weekend over NewYears! Kick Starting 2015...

Big-City Bags...the Final edition

2014-12-25T21:01:00.000-08:00

This month for the BigCity Bags SAL (button on my side bar) we could sew up any of the bags in the book. Since my favorite bag in the book is the Chandelier Swing bag,that is the one I chose to make.

All year long we have been sewing the bags from the book and not once have I used any of Sara Lawson's fabric. Until now anyway! For this one I broke into my FQ bundle of Jungle Avenue that I had been ~~hording~~ petting and trying not to drool on ;)

Normally I am not much of a "pink"girl,but I really love this text print! Not to mention that some of the bundle made a Sew Together bag for someone for a Christmas gift.

The main reason this bag is my favorite is because of the size. It just holds the essentials,which is what I usually pack around.

A peek inside,love this street map print too!

How about one with an exotic flair? This one was made with a piece I cut wrong for the Sound Check bag.

I need to stock up on zippers before the month ends and the discount runs out! I was hoping to use a gold or black zip,but since all three of my black zips went into the Sew Together bag...

The goldish print inside does not really match,but since it is inside it is okay. This has been such a fun year with lots of bags! My skills have grown exponentially since the beginning of the year. Hardware has been tried and some of it mastered. Some still needing more practice runs.

I hope you will join me next year as my bag making (and sewing in general) continues! I heard recently Sara has sent a new book to her editor...and I have already signed up for the next edition of The Bag of the Month Club!

* Happy Holidays *

2014-12-21T20:34:00.002-08:00

Just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! My computer is going in to be serviced over the Holidays.

So other than one pre-scheduled post I will be MIA until my computer returns sometime in early January 2015. See you in the New Year.

Until then Happy Sewing!

Flower Power

2014-12-14T12:48:00.000-08:00

Are you ready for Christmas? No? Me either,but I am close! A friend of mine has three sweet little girls...

These cute little flower purses and wristlets were made using this pattern purchased recently from an Indie seller on Craftsy. They are a bit fiddly and time consuming but,they turn out so cute! If you have a little girl or know one that loves all things girly,this is the perfect purse pattern. The far left one was my tester.

The lining was my planed exterior fabric...which is why I generally sew up a tester when making something for someone else,and using a new pattern for the first time. It still turned out cute though. I know one more little girl who might like this one.

I have all but finished the baby quilt top for ElaniaGrace,with my own twist on the pattern of course. As well as some pink thrown in,because every little girl needs at least a little pink!

The pattern calles for hexie shapes in the second strip,I decided to use my smallest circle ruler to tie in with the bubbles in the fussy-cut square row. The rest of the circles/bubbles need to be made and the top will be finished. I also omitted the two ruffles near top and bottom of the quilt and am contemplating adding large ric rack there. This will now take a back seat so I can finish up my last couple gifts.

Happy sewing!

December Goals...

2014-12-07T17:28:00.000-08:00

This month is always a roller coaster ride,as far as goals go! Mostly because of all those last minute gifts that have to be finished up.

This summer Gil asked me to make something for a buddy and his girl,who were expecting...last week he finally got back to me! The baby was born just before ThanksGiving,could I please make a crib sized quilt? Of course I can,Ha,it just might not get finished until after Christmas. This is the pattern I am using,the girl version(bottom quilt)

Although this quilt will be for a baby girl,mom likes yellow and chose a print from my stash that is aqua with tiny little duckies all over it. These are the start of the pinwheel row for the quilt. (my ALYOF Goal this month)

This weekend I made a lot of progress on my Fall Frolic quilt top! Sadly,it now has to be put aside so Christmas presents get finished.

Did you take advantage of any sales this past week? This loot and 2 bolts of SF101(Shape Flex interfacing,not pictured,from Joann's) were my big splurge for the year! Jelly Roll ruler,Tri-Recs rulers,Elizabeth Hartman's,Kona Roll up,Oakshot cottons bundle,darks(from Craftsy). Thread box,also from Joann's.

Linking up:

A Lovely Year of Finishes

a random Wednesday

2014-12-03T20:07:00.001-08:00

I can finally show you a bag that was made late this summer...

It all started here,with this paper pieced pattern...

and ended up here. This tote bag was a birthday gift for Jolene. I was informed recently that it is Awesome!

These are my cute little snowmen that I pattern tested for Sweetbriar Sisters. When looking at the pattern after printing it out my first thought was that it would be a bit difficult. It was easy peasy! This is the first pattern I have tested for them,but it won't be the last!

Last night I pulled out this basket that holds my spool collection. They are going to become ornaments in the near future.

I saved the best for last! Today these lovely goodies were waiting for me in the mailbox. In a recent email to my friend Jamie(over at busy bee quilts) I mentioned that I still had not found any more Bias Plaid in Orange for my Fall Frolic quilt. Being the wonderful friend she is,she sent me the 30 inches from her own stash,and Sweetened the package with notions! Thank You Jamie :)!

Soon I will have a quilt top to show you...

Big City Bags ~ Sound Check Bag ~ Take 2

2014-11-30T11:48:00.002-08:00

Did you all have a nice ThanksGiving,with lots of turkey and Family? Hope that wherever you were it was a wonderful time spent with Family and friends!

My last post (just below this one) was all about my mis-adventures sewing up my first Sound Check Bag. One of the two Bags we could sew up this month for the Big City Bags SAL.

The second bag is of course the Sound Check Bag. The fabric for the exterior of this one was a gift from my friend Jamie,of busy bee quilts. She has a great eye for fabric,Thanks Jamie :)!

After all the problems with the last Sound Check Bag I was a little hesitant to cut into this beautiful fabric! But as they say,nothing ventured nothing gained...

The interior is a pale pink with an almost cream color polkadot. It is actually pretty cool,as the dots pick up colors,when I had it next to the yellow they almost looked a faint yellow shade.

Happily this time around there were almost no mistakes made. When it came time to add the side panels they were 2 1/2" short! After emailing Sara (just an FYI here,she is super about getting back to you,asap)! She replied to my email within a half an hour. I realized that I had forgot to round the corners on the side panels. That was my only issue this time round! (yay)

When pulling fabrics for this bag I wanted to use an accent fabric that coordinated with the flesh/peach color. This is one of those times when thankfully I did not have anything in that shade,so the yellow it was. The yellow gives this bag a pop that the other color just would not have.

We went to Riverside Park to take the photos today,because they have set up all the Christmas trees for the season. I love to go and see them,they are all decorated by individuals/shops that are local. Some are in memory of loved ones that have passed on. Some are just themed for the shop that has that tree. These cute little snowmen are a pattern I tested recently...more on that in a later post. See this post from a couple years ago,for a look at Holiday Park all lit up at night.