Kelsey Sews

I'm Back!

2013-10-10T09:38:00.000-04:00

Well after my unintentional 6+ month hiatus - I'm back!

We had such a busy summer that there was no time for blogging and not much time for sewing either!

We went to Acadia National Park & The Great Smoky Mountain National park among other trips and had a fun filled summer.

Hiked to the top of Mt LeConte!

View from Chimney Tops

Now that fall is here things have become a bit less hectic so I should have more time to devote to sewing.

I just finished up some bee blocks and have a few tops ready for quilting so there will be more to share soon.

Heal @ do.Good Stitches

That Stash Bee

xo
Kelsey

Tutorial: Wedge Pillow - Charmed Madness

2013-03-27T07:30:00.000-04:00

Good morning everyone! It's my day to share for Charmed Madness!

I've put together a tutorial to make this cute wedge pillow from your charm squares.

Materials Needed:

24 Charm Squares
1/4 Yard Coordinating Solid
1/2 Yard or 2 FQs of Backing Fabric
Dresden Ruler
18" Pillow Form
Usual sewing accoutrements - pins, rotary blade & mat, iron, etc

Step 1: From your background fabric, cut 4 strips that are 2.25" x 18.25". Set aside.

Step 2: Now you are going to cut your charms into wedges. You will get two wedges from each charm for a total of 48 wedges.

First, trim 1/4 off of each side of the charm - not off of the top and bottom. Your square will now be 4.5"x5" and have two smooth edges.

Now you'll need your dresden ruler. Lay your square in front of you so that it is running 5" left to right. Then set the ruler on your square lining the 4.5" marking with the top of the square. Cut along both the left and right side of the ruler - see green lines on the picture below. (*A rotating cutting mat will make this a bit easier if you have one*) This will give you wedge 1 of 2.

To cut your second wedge you'll need to flip your ruler so that the 4.5" line is along the bottom of the square and the left side is lined up with your new diagonal edge. Then cut along the ruler on the right side - see the green line on the picture below.

Repeat for each charm (I cut mine in stacks of three) until you have 48 wedges.

Step 3: The next step is to piece all of the wedges into three rows. There will be 16 wedges per row. I pulled randomly as I put them together but you can also lay them out in the order you'd like.

To piece the wedges together you are going to choose two wedges, line up the long sides with the skinny end of one blade towards the wide end of the other. Leave a small tip of the large wedge showing (see layout below) and then sew along the long matched -up side using a scant 1/4" seam. Press seams open.

Continue adding wedges in the same manner (skinny towards wide). Once pressed, you would lay the skinny end of wedge #3 towards the wide edge of wedge #2 (Blue tails above) continuing on until you have 16 wedges in your row. Repeat to make 3 rows.

Step 4: Trim each of your rows to 18.25" x 4.25"

Step 5: Piece your pillow top together alternating background strips and wedge strips.

Step 6: Trim the pillow top to 18" square and set aside.

*I made my pillow with an envelope back and I'm including the directions for you make yours like that as well. If you'd rather make a different type, feel free!*

Step 7: From your backing fabric/s cut two squares that are 18" x 14". Along one of the 18" sides of each backing piece press the fabric over 1/2" (towards the back) and then 1/2" again. You can eyeball this.

Step 8: Stitch along the pressed edge of each piece. This stitching will show in your final product so be sure to use a coordinating thread.

Step 9: Time to make this into a pillow cover! Lay your pillow top right side up on your table/mat. Next lay one of your backing pieces, with the visible fold (i.e. wrong side) facing up towards you, matching the 18" unfolded side to the 18" right hand side of the pillow. Then lay the other backing piece with the visible fold (i.e. wrong side) facing up towards you matching the unfolded 18" side along the left hand side of the pillow. The second backing piece will cover the folded portion of the first piece you put down. The backing pieces will, and you want them to, overlap. Pin around the edges to secure.

Step 10: Sew all the way around the pillow using a 1/2" seam, backstitching at the end of each side for secure corners. Once sewn, trim the corner flaps off but be careful not to cut where the stitches meet.

Step 11: Turn your cover right side out, give it a press and insert your pillow form! Voila! A nice cheery pillow!

If you decide to make a pillow for yourself please share your pictures! Don't forget to stop by the Sew Lux Charmed Madness page to find links to the other tutorials as well as information about the giveaways and link-ups!

Not So Recent Finishes

2013-03-25T12:03:00.001-04:00

I hope you're having a great start to your week. I'm just popping in to post about some quilts that I finished months ago and haven't found time to share!

First up - a Swoon! Yep I finished a Swoon! This quilt was a wedding present for my cousin Molly, and her new husband, Mike. It was definitely a labor of love (which involved a last minute vacation day from work so I could finish it in time) but was completely worth it since Molly has sent me multiple pictures of it in use!

The fabrics are Birds & Berries by Lauren & Jessi Jung with Kona White for the background. I longarmed it myself with some simple loops.

Next up are some baby quilts I finished back in December. I posted some small pictures back then but wanted to share a bit more today.

I have two cousins who are sisters and were due in January & February of this year. One had a girl and the other a boy so it was fun to make two completely different quilts.

This one went to Addison. Just some simple pinwheels put together from a few Walk in the Woods charm packs I had. I pieced the back out of some remaining charms and then quilted it with some loops as usual.

Blake was the lucky recipient of the other quilt. I made a lot of sawtooth stars (10" blocks) using the Soaked collection from Connecting Threads. This line had so many cute prints and the colors were different than the usual boy collections and I really liked that.

LOVE those rain boots :)

Now I'm almost caught up on all of my quilty shares! I do have one other finish from last week, a big quilt for my husband, which I need to get some pictures of, and another that I'm hoping to finish this week as well.

Don't forget to check out all of the great tutorials going on for Charmed Madness! I'll be sharing a cute pillow tutorial on Wednesday.

Goodbye Google Reader

2013-03-18T15:19:00.002-04:00

Sadly, Google Reader will be going away this summer!

I'm giving Bloglovin a try and so far I like it! I also added Flipboard to my iPad and I really like that too!

If you'd like to follow my blog with Bloglovin here is the link:

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Charm Madness!

2013-03-18T10:47:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is the kick-off of the Charm Madness blog hop hosted by Sew Lux Fabric and Gifts! There is going to be 3 weeks jam-packed with tutorials, a linky, giveaways and prizes! During the blog hop head here to find updated links to all the posts as we go along.

The Charm Madness Blog Hop Participants & Schedule

Tuesday 3/19 - Jennie at Clover & Violet

Wednesday, 3/20 - Jess at Sew Crafty Jess

Thursday, 3/21 - Rhonda at Quilter in the Gap

Friday, 3/22 - Jenelle at Echinops &Aster

Sunday, 3/24 - Week 1 Giveaway Post

Tuesday, 3/26 - Lori at Lori H Designs

Wednesday, 3/27 - Kelsey at Kelsey Sews

Thursday, 3/28 - Lindsay at CraftBuds/LindsaySews

Friday - 3/29 - Jennifer at That Girl, ThatQuilt

Saturday, 3/30 - Stacey at The Tilted Quilt

Sunday, 3/31 - Week 2 Giveaway Post

Monday, 4/1 - Alyce at Blossom Heart Quilts

Tuesday, 4/2 - Wendi at prsd4tim2

Wednesday, 4/3 - Elizabeth at Don't Call Me Betsy

Thursday, 4/4 - Ginny at Fish Creek Studio

Saturday, 4/6 - Leona at Leona's Quilting Adventure
Sunday, 4/7 - Week 3 Giveaway Post

Plus - during the hop Sew Lux is offering 10% off all charm packs and mini charm packs now through March 22 at sewluxfabric.com.

Stash Bee - March

2013-03-01T16:04:00.000-05:00

I've been in the Stash Bee for quite a while now and March is my month to be the Queen Bee!!

I want to share what I'm asking everyone to make for me since I'm so excited about this quilt!

I asked everyone to please make one large Cracker Scrap block with white background and scrappy red and blue for the colors. My husband and I got married on the 4th of July and I'd love to have a 4th of July/Americana quilt!

I directed them to the great tutorial from Cut To Pieces with my adjustments below.

The large block in the tutorial is made of two parts with white focus and two with color focus. I changed it up and asked for them all to be color focused. If you want to make a fully color focused block for yourself these are the pieces you'll need to cut:

4 - 6" Squares White (cut diagonally into 2 triangles)
4 - 2.75" x 7.25" White
2 - 6" Squares Red (cut diagonally into 2 triangles)
2 - 6" Squares Blue (cut diagonally into 2 triangles)
4 - 2.75" x 7.25" Red
4 - 2.75" x 7.25" Blue

Make two red units and two blue units. Then piece your four units into one block with the colors opposite each other and all colored points in the middle like mine below. The finished size will be 19.5" Square!

Are you in any bees? What block did you ask for when it was your turn as Queen Bee?

The Baseball Quilt

2013-02-28T08:56:00.000-05:00

Months and months ago a friend asked if I would mind making a quilt for a raffle she was putting together for her son's baseball team. They were raising money for a tip to Cooperstown. I agreed and figured I would just make whatever I felt like when the time came. Then she asked that it be baseball themed....hmm.

I decided that I would use some baseball fabric mixed with other non-baseball prints so that it would be baseball without being too baseball - makes sense right? I found a baseball print at Joann's as the focal point and then picked some coordinating blues and reds from my LQS.

The Big Star Quilt tutorial from Missouri Star came through again. I cannot recommend it enough! This is my second time making a quilt from it and my mom is on her second quilt from it as well. It whips up SO fast. In the video she uses 10" squares. I used 8" squares which I trimmed into 5" half-square triangles. Each star block is 18.5" unfinished.

A little bit of loopy quilting and a striped binding (love!) and it was off to the raffle where my friend's mom won it!

January Bee Blocks

2013-02-18T10:44:00.001-05:00

I'm still here! I've been so busy sewing that I haven't had any time for blogging!! I have two commissioned quilts to start/finish and then things will hopefully settle down.

In the meantime I thought I'd share my bee blocks from January.

do.Good Stitches

That Stash Bee

Stash Bee

I really enjoy participating in bee groups. It gives me a chance to try new blocks without committing to a whole quilt!

I'll be back soon with some more finished quilts including a SWOON!

WIP Wednesday 1-16-13

2013-01-16T09:16:00.000-05:00

Well hello there! I've been busy sewing and not too busy blogging but I do have lots to share soon!

The big finish this week is all of my blocks for the 3x6 bee. I used the Two Stars Squared pattern by Diane, which you can buy on Craftsy. I highly recommend the pattern! All of my blocks stitched up perfectly and there aren't tons of tiny pieces.

Now I just need to finish the Swoon quilt I started! Fingers crossed that I can finish the top this weekend!

Just in case you'd like to add a bit more fabric to your stash here are two great swaps going on -

Scrappy Trip Along Swap @ Happier than a Bird Quilts - We're swapping strips to make our own Scrappy Trip Alongs! One slot is 28 strips and there are a few openings left.

Text Me a Text Fat Quarter Swap @ Plum-Patchwork - We're swapping FQs of texty prints. Send in as many as you'd like and you'll get that many different ones in return.

What are you working on this week?

Linking up at Freshly Pieced!

2013 - A Lovely Year of Finishes - January Goal

2013-01-03T10:27:00.001-05:00

I have deemed 2013 the year of finishing things! I need to finish up (loads!) languishing projects and do a better job of not procrastinating. I do think that cutting back on my sewing obligations will help although I need to do 3-4 quilts and 12 bee blocks this month! This being said, when I saw the Lovely Year of Finishes that Shanna of Fiber of All Sorts and Melissa of Sew BitterSweet Designs put together I knew I needed to join in.

My January project is to take this pretty stack of fabrics and finish making them into a Swoon quilt! It must be finished (quilted, bound etc) by the beginning of February so this is the perfect kick in the butt to get it done a week early!

So far I have the whole top cut out, one block pieced, and the remaining eight are partially chain-pieced together. I already have my backing fabric too so I just need to get it done!

Linking up at the Goal Setting Party!

Year in Review & Hustle Winners

2013-01-02T08:22:00.000-05:00

First up - The 100 Day Hustle winners!

$25 Fat Quarter Shop Gift Certificate goes to link #37 - Jane from Where Jane Creates!

Madrona Road Fabric Roll From Westwood Acres goes to link #51 - Tessa from The Sewing Chick!

Fat Quarter Bundle From Fresh Squeezed Fabrics goes to link #16 - Fiona from Finding Fifth!

$20 Gift Certificate to Plum Patchwork goes to link #28 - Lindsey from Happier Than A Bird Quilts!

$20 Gift Certificate to Sew Lux goes to link #19 - Stacey from The Tilted Quilt!

Congratulations to all of our winners and a huge thank you to everyone who participated and to all of the shops who kindly donated prizes! I will definitely be organizing something similar next year!

I decided that I was going to try new quilty things in 2012 and I did! I joined bees, swaps, learned to paper piece and got a longarm!

I completed 10 quilts, one that just needs binding and one top for a total of 12 for the year!

Between the bees and my do.Good Stitches group I made boatloads of blocks in 2012!

One goal for 2013 is to up the number of quilts and reduce the number of bee blocks. I enjoy participating in bees but it can leave you feeling a bit overwhelmed at times. Once I finish out the groups I'm in I'm just going to focus on quilts and my do.Good stitches group for a while and see how that goes!

Here's to a happy, healthy and quilty 2013!!!

The 100 Day Hustle - Final Review

2012-12-27T10:07:00.003-05:00

I hope you're having a wonderful holiday season! Ours has been very busy but very enjoyable! Now it's time to play sewing catch-up.

It's time for us to recap how we've done on our Hustle Lists!

Here are my final results (you can find my original list here):

1. Leaf Quilt - Done!

2. Finish the T-Shirt Quilt - Done!

3. Quilt for The Hubs - Started working on it and have a few blocks done!

4) On a Whim Quilt - Blocks are all done now I just need to put the together

5) Sew.Happy.Quilt QAL Quilt - It's quilted!!! Binding is on the schedule or this weekend.

6) Baby Quilts - Done! Full post to come but here's a few pictures.

7) Swoon - I didn't get anything done on mine but I did start a second one! That one is a gift and I have it all cut and 1/3 of the way pieced.

8) Double Wedding Ring - I finished all of my arcs!

9) Christmas Quilt - I bought/received lots of Christmas fabric but didn't make any quilts! Next Year!

10) Small Gifts - We did a small swap in my do.Good Stitches circle and I made these for Marta!

Four finished quilts and some other small projects - not too shabby!! How did you do? Be sure to write up your post and link it up here by 10:00ET Monday the 31st! Don't forget about the prizes from our awesome sponsors!! You can see the list here - and I'll post winners on the 1st or 2nd of January.

WIP Wednesday 12-5-12

2012-12-05T09:00:00.000-05:00

How is it Wednesday again?!?! This time of year goes by so fast - slow down please! Although I've been checking more things off of my to-do list which is a great feeling!

The big finish for the week is two baby quilts that are getting mailed out to two lovely families. I'll post the pictures once I know they've reached their new homes but I'm smitten with both of them!

We also went out for my favorite tradition of the holiday season - cutting down our Christmas tree! I have only three requirements when it comes to the tree. 1) It must be real 2) It must be a Blue Spruce 3) It must be gigantically round - Think Christmas ball. This year's tree meets all the requirements :)

I also put together a little holiday swap amongst my do.Good stitches circle. For my partner I made a pincushion and a little needlebook!

For the pincushion I made a small Ohio Star block from some Chicopee.

For the needlebook I used this tutorial from nanaCompany. The tutorial is very well written and it comes together in a snap! I highly recommend making one for yourself - I know I'm going to!

I have one more big project, a Swoon Quilt, to finish before Christmas. My overly ambitious (read totally crazy and not going to happen) goal is to finish the top this weekend - I have one block done and nothing else cut yet. What are you working on this week?

Linking up at Freshly Pieced!

Stash Bee Blocks

2012-11-30T15:28:00.000-05:00

First up - the winner of the Charming Travelers packet is Mina from Kinda Quilty!

I just have to share the November Stash Bee blocks that I made for Jess of SewCraftyJess. I LOVED making these blocks!! I definitely see one of these quilts in my future :)

I have 3 quilts to bind, a few more bee blocks and a new quilt to cut out this weekend! What are your stitchy plans?

W.I.P Wednesday 11-28-12

2012-11-28T09:11:00.000-05:00

I've been working a lot on prioritizing my sewing lately. It's not always fun. Some (most) days I want to just sew whatever I want but I have things I need to do so those come first. I knocked a big one out last week - all of my 4x5 Bee blocks were finished and mailed!!!

I used the Supernova pattern from Craftsy and I highly recommend it!

I've also been quilting away and have three (!!) quilts that just need binding - hopefully tonight. Here's a peek at one of them.

Those quilts, a few more bee blocks and one more quilt to start and finish and I'll be done with everything I have to do this year!

What do you have to finish by the end of the year?!

Linking up at Freshly Pieced.

The 100 Day Hustle - Feature

2012-11-27T14:28:00.000-05:00

How are you doing with your list? I'm making progress on mine!!

We've made it 2/3 of the way through The 100 Day Hustle and today we have our second feature!! Please head over and visit Marit at Sew, love, live (Sy, elsk, lev) and check out the awesome mixer cover she's sharing!

Charming Travelers

2012-11-26T19:26:00.001-05:00

Long time no blog! I've been busy sewing and have lots to share soon!

A few weeks ago (I'm behind!) I won the Charming Travelers packet from Dana at Old Red Barn Co. The Charming Travelers is a traveling charm swap that Diane @ From Blank Pages started. It's a packet of charm squares that is traveling it's way across the country (or the world). When it stops at your house you pull out the charms you want to add to your stash and then replace them with some new ones! You can read all about it and see where the packets have been so far here.

I sorted through for the low volume charms. I'm lacking those in my stash and they'll be fun to add to the charms I'm getting from a low volume swap I'm in. Here's what I took!

Here's what I added in!

And here's a sampling of what is in the packet!

Want to play along?! I have the US Packet so only US participants please. There is an international packet so watch the Charming Travelers page to see how to win that packet.

One entry per person - just leave me a comment sharing your favorite holiday movie, song or tradition! Mine are White Christmas (movie), Carol of the Bells (song) and going to cut down our Christmas Tree :) I'll pick a winner Friday afternoon at 3:00ET.

Weekend Update

2012-11-12T13:59:00.001-05:00

First things first - The 100 Day Hustle link-up winner of the $25 Fat Quarter Shop gift certificate is Marla!

2-59 since #1 was my test link!

I did a bit of sewing this weekend and managed to finish my blocks for Jennifer's Hurricane Sandy Relief quilts. She isn't collecting any more quilt blocks but is accepting other supplies like binding in order to finish all of the quilts. Check out the Flickr group to see what is needed. I made two of each color scheme and sent them out today.

I also had time to finish putting together my quilt top for the Tula Pink Sew Along that Sara organized. I really wanted to use bigger cuts to showcase some of the larger prints. This pattern is adapted from a tutorial video from Missouri Star Quilt Company. The finished top measures 70"x70". Now I need to decide how to quilt it - I'm stumped on what thread color to use!

Completed Quilt Top!

Close up of the center

You can check out all of the Sew Along entries by heading over to the Flickr group.

Linking up at {Sew} Modern Monday as well!

The 100 Day Hustle - Half Way Point!

2012-11-09T08:04:00.000-05:00

Wow! I cannot believe that there are only 50 days left in 2012! Where has this year gone?

50 Days left means that it's time to check-in for The 100 Day Hustle.

Here's my progress so far (you can find my original list here):

1. Leaf Quilt - Done!

2. Finish the T-Shirt Quilt - Done!

3. Quilt for The Hubs - Started working on it and have a few blocks done!

4) On a Whim Quilt - I put all of the blocks together now it just needs to be made into a top!

5) Sew.Happy.Quilt QAL Quilt - No, but it's the first quilt I'm quilting when the longarm comes next week!

6) Baby Quilt - I actually need to make two now. I have one planned and the top for the other almost done!

7) Swoon - Nothing yet - I really want to get this one done though!

8) Double Wedding Ring - I finished all of my arcs!

9) Christmas Quilt - I bought a Dear Mr. Claus FQ Bundle so now I just need to make something!

10) Small Gifts - I have a few ideas but nothing yet

How are you doing with your list?! Write up a check-in post and link up here.

Now onto the prize! I will randomly draw one winner from all of the links and they will win a $25 Gift Certificate from The Fat Quarter Shop! Check back on Monday to see if you won!

Please visit some of the other bloggers who are linking up - that's half of the fun - and keep hustling!

Let's Help!

2012-11-06T11:52:00.001-05:00

**First, I had a reminder for The 100 Day Hustle Link-Up last week and said that it would start today. I should have re-read my original schedule first - the halfway point is on the 9th and the linky will go up that morning. I'm so sorry!! If you already posted or wrote your post no problem just remember to stop and link-up on Friday. Thanks! **

Do you know Jennifer from Knotted-Thread? She's a fellow blogger who has family & friends that live in New Jersey and were impacted by Hurricane Sandy. She is working to put quilts together for those in need and is looking for block donations. Please consider heading over to the Flickr group and signing up! I signed up for a batch of each color. They are very quick to put together and won't take much time or fabric and you'll feel great about helping others!

Sew Seasonal Blog Hop

2012-11-03T05:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my stop on the Sew Seasonal Blog Hop! Kristy & Alyce have done a great job of putting the hop together and wrote two awesome patterns as well!

I worked with ornament #3 from Alyce's Ornamental pattern. The pattern gives you directions to make either a 5" or 10" block of each ornament. I chose to use the 5" directions and made some holiday coasters!

The 5" blocks work perfectly with charm squares. I only used 3 charm squares plus some white per coaster! Once you make your block just layer it together with batting and backing, baste, quilt and bind. They come together quickly and are cute too :) I will definitely make some more to share with others this Christmas.

From now until the end of November both Kristy's and Alyce's patterns are FREE for you on Craftsy and you can head over to their blogs for a great giveaway!

Be sure to stop and visit Susan from Patchwork N Play who is also sharing today, as well as everyone else in the hop!

1st November: Kristy from Quiet Play & Alyce from Blossom Heart Quilts

2nd November: Marieka from Bespoke Bites & Jane from Where Jane Creates

3rd November: Susan from Patchwork N Play & Kelsey from Kelsey Sews

4th November: Janice from Better Off Thread & Erin from Missy Mac Creations

5th November: Lucy from Charm About You & Rebecca from Making Rebecca Lynn

6th November: Charlotte from Lawson and Lotti & Amy from Amy's Crafty Shenanigans

7th November: Jess from the Elven Garden & Cindy from Live a Colorful Life

8th November: Elaine from Dashasel Sews & Kelly from Jeliquilts

9th November: Beth from Plum and June & Fiona from Finding Fifth

10th November: Juliet from Tartan Kiwi & Fiona from Celtic Thistle Stitches

11th November: Taryn from Pixels to Patchwork & Anorina from Samelia's Mum

12th November: Megan from Jaffa Quilts & Jane from QuiltJane

13th November: Gemma from Pretty Bobbins

Merry Christmas!!

October in Review

2012-11-01T08:23:00.001-04:00

October was quite the stitchy month!! I'm really trying to work on projects off of my Hustle List.

I finished two quilts - Maple Sugar and The Mary Kate Experience. I did my do.Good Stitches and Stash Bee blocks, started on my 4x5 bee blocks and joined the 3x6 bee! Plus I started a Sparkling Cider quilt for my husband, started my my quilt top for the Tula Pink Sew Along and finished all of the On a Whim blocks I started ages ago!

November is looking to be a fun month as well! My mom and I went in on a used longarm together and it should be getting delivered in the next couple of weeks!!!!

The Sew Seasonal Blog Hop starts today! Head here for the details and here is the schedule! I'll be sharing on Saturday.

1st November: Kristy from Quiet Play & Alyce from Blossom Heart Quilts

2nd November: Marieka from Bespoke Bites & Jane from Where Jane Creates

3rd November: Susan from Patchwork N Play & Kelsey from Kelsey Sews

4th November: Janice from Better Off Thread & Erin from Missy Mac Creations

5th November: Lucy from Charm About You & Rebecca from Making Rebecca Lynn

6th November: Charlotte from Lawson and Lotti & Amy from Amy's Crafty Shenanigans

7th November: Jess from the Elven Garden & Cindy from Live a Colorful Life

8th November: Elaine from Dashasel Sews & Kelly from Jeliquilts

9th November: Beth from Plum and June & Fiona from Finding Fifth

10th November: Juliet from Tartan Kiwi & Fiona from Celtic Thistle Stitches

11th November: Taryn from Pixels to Patchwork & Anorina from Samelia's Mum

12th November: Megan from Jaffa Quilts & Jane from QuiltJane

13th November: Gemma from Pretty Bobbins

And don't forget that The 100 Day Hustle half-way point linky opens on 11/6!

Linking up at Lynn's Fresh Sewing Day

The 100 Day Hustle - Prizes!!

2012-10-30T10:08:00.002-04:00

How is your hustling going?! We hit the half way point one week from today! Where have the past 50 days gone?

I am so excited to share the prizes with you! We have some great shops that kindly donated prizes!

Fat Quarter Shop

Fat Quarter shop has donated two $25 gift certificates! One for the linky next week and one for the final link-up

Westwood Acres

Westwood Acres has donated a Madrona Road Fabric Roll!

Fresh-Squeezed Fabrics

Fresh-Squeezed Fabrics has donated a bundle of 8 fat quarters to the winner!

Plum Patchwork

Jessica of Plum Patchwork donated a $20 gift certificate!

Sew Lux

Sew Lux has donated a $20 gift certificate!

First off, a big thank you to all the shops who are donating prizes!! It is greatly appreciated!!

Secondly, I contacted these shops in particular and asked if they'd like to sponsor a prize because I have shopped with them in the past, have had a wonderful experience and happily recommend them to others. Please take a few minutes to pop over to their shops, take a look at what they have and get a few goodies for yourself!

Winner!

2012-10-29T08:26:00.003-04:00

And the winner of the Traveling Stash is Rachel!! I'll be sending you an email today :)

I hope you all had a great weekend! Ours was busy with Halloween festivities and lots of basement organizing to prep for some excitement that is *hopefully* coming soon!

Maple Sugar

2012-10-26T12:06:00.004-04:00

Without further adieu, my new favorite quilt, Maple Sugar!!

After seeing Maple leaf quilts popping up all over Instagram and Flickr I decided that I had to have one!! I found this set of directions on Quilters Cache, tweaked them a bit, and then made 36 blocks for my quilt.

I used 18 different fat quarters and made 2 leaves of each print and and paired them with a cream background.

At the last minute I decided to make two blocks that were opposite with cream for the leaf and brown for the background. When I laid out the top I decided to make them a focal point in the center.

I backed it in the perfect Fall print from the Bella line by Lotta Jansdotter.

I quilted it myself on my machine in my usual all over loopies and then bound it with a fun leaf print from Connecting Threads.

As I said, this is my new favorite quilt, and it's my husband's favorite as well! It has been shuffling around from our bed to the couch and is in use quite often.

This is also my entry for the Blogger's Quilt Festival over at Amy's Creative Side! There are so many awesome quilts that are entered so make sure that you stop over and get inspired!

Quilt Stats:

Size - 72" x 72"
Pieced by Me
Quilted by Me on my home machine
Best Category - Throw Quilt

Also linking up with Finish it Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts!