What do you think? I think it's very fresh and pretty looking! If you're 'itching to be stitching' (hahahaha, I slay myself!) you can find the pattern available here.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Itching to be Stitching - New Pattern Cover!
The lovely ladies - Amanda and Ashleigh - of The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery have released a new cover for the pattern I designed for them - Itching to be Stitching - and I thought you guys might like to see it...
What do you think? I think it's very fresh and pretty looking! If you're 'itching to be stitching' (hahahaha, I slay myself!) you can find the pattern available here.
What do you think? I think it's very fresh and pretty looking! If you're 'itching to be stitching' (hahahaha, I slay myself!) you can find the pattern available here.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
A Little Sewing and a Little Knitting + the Giveaway Winner!
I had this past week off from work (annual holiday that I had to take before the end of this month) and since we weren't going away anywhere I spent much of this week at home. I fully intended to sew and craft everyday to my heart's content but that really didn't happen (procrastinate much?); instead I watched Downton Abbey, some movies, went out for coffee with a friend, went thrifting, read four books, and only actually did a little sewing on Thursday. But I did make something fun!
I saw Tamiko's tutorial for this sock knitting bag on her blog and decided that I just had to make it (and pin it) because it was so pretty! Now let me preface this by saying that I had not actually ever knit socks before making this bag, but I just loved it so much, and really wanted to try making a round bottomed bag so I went for it!
All of the fabrics used (except for the lining) came from my scrap bin. The 40 squares that make up the patchwork exterior include some Heather Ross Mendocino, Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow, Patty Young Flora & Fauna, Basic Grey, City Weekend by Oliver + S (that white dot on yellow is one of my favourite fabrics ever), Sandi Henderson Meadowsweet, and a few others.
The lining fabric is also from Sandi Henderson's Meadowsweet collection. I did a few things differently than in the tutorial; I didn't hand stitch around the linen like in the tutorial but rather did two lines of top stitching in white thread. Instead of sewing my lining and exterior pieces together at the top while they were inside out (and then pulling them through a hole in the lining and sewing it up afterwards) I just turned everything right side out, turned the edges under a quarter of an inch, pressed, and top stitched everything closed. I also made my own draw string by basically making double-fold binding (strip cut at 1.5") and then top stitching along the open ends. I can't remember what collection the fabric I used is from but I think it's Lecien.
Ohhhh pretty! And because I know someone is going to ask - the yarn is Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in Tern which I bought online at Eat, Sleep, Knit.
And then, just because I made a sock knitting bag, I did in fact knit a sock - it was magic I tell you! I've actually had this yarn and pattern sitting around for about 2.5-3 years but hadn't started them, however with my new sock bag in hand it seemed inevitable and so I did. This first sock was started on Friday night while watching Who Do You Think You Are, Grimm, and When Harry Met Sally with Alex and was finished on Saturday morning while watching The Young Victoria. The second one is on the needles now and I'll tell you more about the pattern, etc when I have the full pair!
I bet you all want to know who won the fabulous $25 gift certificate from the Craftsy Block of the Month Tour giveaway sponsored by Fat Quarter Shop, right? Without further ado...
Woohoo, congratulations Heidi! Please send me an email so that I can send you your extra-special FQS gift certificate code. Thanks guys for playing along and I hope that you've all taken the chance to check out Craftsy's Block of the Month series.
I saw Tamiko's tutorial for this sock knitting bag on her blog and decided that I just had to make it (and pin it) because it was so pretty! Now let me preface this by saying that I had not actually ever knit socks before making this bag, but I just loved it so much, and really wanted to try making a round bottomed bag so I went for it!
All of the fabrics used (except for the lining) came from my scrap bin. The 40 squares that make up the patchwork exterior include some Heather Ross Mendocino, Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow, Patty Young Flora & Fauna, Basic Grey, City Weekend by Oliver + S (that white dot on yellow is one of my favourite fabrics ever), Sandi Henderson Meadowsweet, and a few others.
The lining fabric is also from Sandi Henderson's Meadowsweet collection. I did a few things differently than in the tutorial; I didn't hand stitch around the linen like in the tutorial but rather did two lines of top stitching in white thread. Instead of sewing my lining and exterior pieces together at the top while they were inside out (and then pulling them through a hole in the lining and sewing it up afterwards) I just turned everything right side out, turned the edges under a quarter of an inch, pressed, and top stitched everything closed. I also made my own draw string by basically making double-fold binding (strip cut at 1.5") and then top stitching along the open ends. I can't remember what collection the fabric I used is from but I think it's Lecien.
Ohhhh pretty! And because I know someone is going to ask - the yarn is Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in Tern which I bought online at Eat, Sleep, Knit.
And then, just because I made a sock knitting bag, I did in fact knit a sock - it was magic I tell you! I've actually had this yarn and pattern sitting around for about 2.5-3 years but hadn't started them, however with my new sock bag in hand it seemed inevitable and so I did. This first sock was started on Friday night while watching Who Do You Think You Are, Grimm, and When Harry Met Sally with Alex and was finished on Saturday morning while watching The Young Victoria. The second one is on the needles now and I'll tell you more about the pattern, etc when I have the full pair!
I bet you all want to know who won the fabulous $25 gift certificate from the Craftsy Block of the Month Tour giveaway sponsored by Fat Quarter Shop, right? Without further ado...
Heidi Staples of Fabric Mutt
Woohoo, congratulations Heidi! Please send me an email so that I can send you your extra-special FQS gift certificate code. Thanks guys for playing along and I hope that you've all taken the chance to check out Craftsy's Block of the Month series.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Whatever fortune brings, don't be afraid of doing things. - A.A. Milne
A few months ago I was approached to do a commission for a baby quilt. The baby's sex wouldn't be known prior to birth (although I can tell you now that she ended up being a girl) so the quilt needed to be gender-neutral and one special request was made - that the focal fabric be classic Winnie-the-Pooh.
I like to refer to classic Winnie-the-Pooh as "naked Pooh". I was a little bit leery at first of taking on this commission because I have never made a baby quilt that uses typical "baby" or kid-type fabrics - it's just not my thing. But I said yes in the end because of the person who requested it.
Let me tell you - finding the classic Pooh fabric was a bit of a feat! It is out-of-print and not all of it was 100% cotton either. In the end I ended up turning to eBay where I paid a bit more than I would have liked (the shipping was positively atrocious too) but I managed to find a fat quarter bundle of four prints - one of which I didn't use because it was just a pink floral - and enough of a classic Pooh flannel for the backing.
I fussy-cut all of the centre squares and the cornerstones are somewhat fussy-cut too. The centres of the blocks at the four corners are hard to see because the fabric is a light-blue Pooh toile on white but they're fussy cut too. I paired each of the centre blocks with two prints from the City Weekend collection by Oliver + S for Moda. City Weekend is one of those collections that really grows on you; I wasn't so sure about it when I first picked it up at sample spree at Quilt Market in May 2010 but since then I have really fallen in love with many of the prints - especially the basic dots and grids - the yellow mini dot is now one of my favourite fabrics.
The centre block is definitely my favourite - I just love all of the colours together! I used nine different Kona solids too for this quilt - I'm pretty sure these were Maize, Banana, Lemon, Sunflower, Bluebell, Pear, Honeydew, Ice Frappe, and Aqua. Don't quote me on the colours though, I was comparing the cuts I have to my colour card and I might be off on a couple since a number of the colours are very similar. Oh yes, and I also used white Kona too!
The blocks with the geese are modified Weathervanes that I saw in one of my quilting books and the other four are ones that I modified off the original Weathervanes (when I got tired of making HSTs *wink*). I am really happy with the way it ended up! Using the Pooh fabrics and trying to come up with colours and a design without knowing anything about the intended mother nearly killed me, but in the end I think that it came out quite cute without being overly "cutesy" and the colours are gender-neutral but also really fun.
I like to refer to classic Winnie-the-Pooh as "naked Pooh". I was a little bit leery at first of taking on this commission because I have never made a baby quilt that uses typical "baby" or kid-type fabrics - it's just not my thing. But I said yes in the end because of the person who requested it.
Let me tell you - finding the classic Pooh fabric was a bit of a feat! It is out-of-print and not all of it was 100% cotton either. In the end I ended up turning to eBay where I paid a bit more than I would have liked (the shipping was positively atrocious too) but I managed to find a fat quarter bundle of four prints - one of which I didn't use because it was just a pink floral - and enough of a classic Pooh flannel for the backing.
I fussy-cut all of the centre squares and the cornerstones are somewhat fussy-cut too. The centres of the blocks at the four corners are hard to see because the fabric is a light-blue Pooh toile on white but they're fussy cut too. I paired each of the centre blocks with two prints from the City Weekend collection by Oliver + S for Moda. City Weekend is one of those collections that really grows on you; I wasn't so sure about it when I first picked it up at sample spree at Quilt Market in May 2010 but since then I have really fallen in love with many of the prints - especially the basic dots and grids - the yellow mini dot is now one of my favourite fabrics.
The centre block is definitely my favourite - I just love all of the colours together! I used nine different Kona solids too for this quilt - I'm pretty sure these were Maize, Banana, Lemon, Sunflower, Bluebell, Pear, Honeydew, Ice Frappe, and Aqua. Don't quote me on the colours though, I was comparing the cuts I have to my colour card and I might be off on a couple since a number of the colours are very similar. Oh yes, and I also used white Kona too!
The blocks with the geese are modified Weathervanes that I saw in one of my quilting books and the other four are ones that I modified off the original Weathervanes (when I got tired of making HSTs *wink*). I am really happy with the way it ended up! Using the Pooh fabrics and trying to come up with colours and a design without knowing anything about the intended mother nearly killed me, but in the end I think that it came out quite cute without being overly "cutesy" and the colours are gender-neutral but also really fun.
Classic Pooh Quilt
Commission
Finished Quilt: 36x36"
Finished Quilt: 36x36"
Completed: February 17, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
Craftsy Block of the Month Tour + Giveaway!
Hey all! Welcome to the first stop on the Craftsy Block of the Month Tour! If you're new to these parts feel free to pull up a chair, put up your feet, and stay awhile - and if you've been around here for awhile you know I love you! Stick around until the end of this post because... let's just say, there might be something in it for you!
Since I'm the first stop on the tour I thought it would be both prudent and fun to start off with a little overview of the Block of the Month course. Block of the Month is a free video course being hosted by the super-talented Amy Gibson of Stitchery Dickory Dock; each month Amy walks participants through making one or two 12x12" quilt blocks with the end goal of having a 20 block sampler quilt at the end of the year. Since this is a video course you get to actually see Amy cut and sew each block step-by-step and are able to follow along with her, pausing, and rewinding whenever you need. One of the neatest things (I think at least) about how the videos are set up is that each one is divided into sections (introduction to the block, cutting fabrics, etc) so that participants can do each step in manageable sections if they so choose rather than feeling that everything needs to be done all at once.
Here is a picture of Amy with the January blocks - the January video is called "Slashed Blocks" and features both the Asterisk and Wonky Pound Sign blocks.
February's blocks feature half-square triangles and include the Balkan Puzzle and Chunky Chevron blocks. In case you want to know, you can't skip ahead in the videos - you have to wait for each month's to be released but I can tell you they look so fun! Each month also includes a printable materials list and the full set of instructions in PDF format. Cratsy's courses and workshops are set up in such a way that participants can all see and interact with each other with a discussion forum being featured beneath each video - if you go and take a look you can see that many people are asking and answering questions, showing off their blocks, and just generally having fun together. As the instructor of the course, Amy is also available to answer any questions and help participants along the way.
I have watched the first couple of videos (unfortunately I haven't been able to get started on my blocks yet though) and I think Amy is a natural! I have already suggested this course to a couple of first-time quilters but I also think that the not-so-first-timers will like it a lot too! It's so nice to participate in a quilt along with a bunch of other people with minimal pressure - you don't even need to keep up and make the blocks each month you can just jump in whenever you'd like since the videos will continue to be available at least throughout the year. It's also a bit of a mystery quilting experience too since the blocks are only unveiled when each month's video comes out.
Alrighty then, as promised, there might just be something in it for you for sticking around with me until the end! Fat Quarter Shop has generously donated a $25 USD gift certificate to each of the 14 blogs participating in the tour to give away! That's right - that means that when each of us puts up our tour post on our respective blogs you can enter to win! Can you imagine if you won all 14?! That would be way-awesome - however I'm putting my money on zero chance in a frozen hell of that happening! One can dream though...
Okay, so I guess you want to know how to enter, right? You have two chances but please be sure to leave separate comments for each entry. Here's what you've got to do:
Since I'm the first stop on the tour I thought it would be both prudent and fun to start off with a little overview of the Block of the Month course. Block of the Month is a free video course being hosted by the super-talented Amy Gibson of Stitchery Dickory Dock; each month Amy walks participants through making one or two 12x12" quilt blocks with the end goal of having a 20 block sampler quilt at the end of the year. Since this is a video course you get to actually see Amy cut and sew each block step-by-step and are able to follow along with her, pausing, and rewinding whenever you need. One of the neatest things (I think at least) about how the videos are set up is that each one is divided into sections (introduction to the block, cutting fabrics, etc) so that participants can do each step in manageable sections if they so choose rather than feeling that everything needs to be done all at once.
Here is a picture of Amy with the January blocks - the January video is called "Slashed Blocks" and features both the Asterisk and Wonky Pound Sign blocks.
February's blocks feature half-square triangles and include the Balkan Puzzle and Chunky Chevron blocks. In case you want to know, you can't skip ahead in the videos - you have to wait for each month's to be released but I can tell you they look so fun! Each month also includes a printable materials list and the full set of instructions in PDF format. Cratsy's courses and workshops are set up in such a way that participants can all see and interact with each other with a discussion forum being featured beneath each video - if you go and take a look you can see that many people are asking and answering questions, showing off their blocks, and just generally having fun together. As the instructor of the course, Amy is also available to answer any questions and help participants along the way.
I have watched the first couple of videos (unfortunately I haven't been able to get started on my blocks yet though) and I think Amy is a natural! I have already suggested this course to a couple of first-time quilters but I also think that the not-so-first-timers will like it a lot too! It's so nice to participate in a quilt along with a bunch of other people with minimal pressure - you don't even need to keep up and make the blocks each month you can just jump in whenever you'd like since the videos will continue to be available at least throughout the year. It's also a bit of a mystery quilting experience too since the blocks are only unveiled when each month's video comes out.
Alrighty then, as promised, there might just be something in it for you for sticking around with me until the end! Fat Quarter Shop has generously donated a $25 USD gift certificate to each of the 14 blogs participating in the tour to give away! That's right - that means that when each of us puts up our tour post on our respective blogs you can enter to win! Can you imagine if you won all 14?! That would be way-awesome - however I'm putting my money on zero chance in a frozen hell of that happening! One can dream though...
Okay, so I guess you want to know how to enter, right? You have two chances but please be sure to leave separate comments for each entry. Here's what you've got to do:
1. Leave a comment letting my know if you have participated in a BOM or other type of block-making quilt-along (i.e. Blogger's Block-a-Palooza, FWQAL etc) before and what you thought about it.
If not, why not?
(Also, if you're participating in the Craftsy BOM, let me know!)
2. Leave another comment if you are a follower of my blog.
That's it! Two easy-peasy ways to enter! I will close the comments in a week (on March 2nd) and announce the winner here on the blog. International entries are, as always, welcome! Also, please remember that I have comment moderation enabled so if you don't see your comment right away it just means that I haven't had the chance to approve it yet (duplicate comments will be deleted).
I really hope that you guys enjoyed my stop on the tour and learned a little something new about Craftsy and/or the Craftsy BOM! If you still need to know more I posted a bit more about Craftsy in this post and be sure to check them out here! And just in case you're interested you can find me on Craftsy here!
*the giveaway is now closed*
*the giveaway is now closed*
Monday, February 20, 2012
Giveaway Winner + Craftsy Block of the Month Tour!
Hey all! How are you guys doing? I'm a couple of days late in announcing the winner of Parson Gray's Designer Select Fat Quarter Bundle, but I hope you all will forgive me! My mummy was in town on Saturday and I spent most of the day today sewing up a new purse (which I'll show y'all very soon), but without further ado...the winner is...
Now for a little announcement... Have you guys heard of Craftsy? Craftsy is a place where crafters of all sorts can share their projects with each other, view and upload pictures, create project pages, take classes and workshops (both paid and free), and now buy patterns from indie designers (automatic download and designers don't have to pay any fees - amazing) - I *heart* Craftsy a whole heck of a lot!
One of the super-cool things that Craftsy has going on right now is a free Block of the Month workshop hosted by Amy of Stitchery Dickory Dock. This BOM features video tutorials with step-by-step instructions on how to make a variety of blocks. I've signed up for the BOM and have already watched the first couple of videos. A few weeks ago Amy approached me and asked if I'd like to take part in a blog tour for her workshop - of course I said yes, you know because Amy's a cool person and stuff. There will be a number of stops along the way, with the your hosts doing a variety of posts - since I'm the first stop on the tour I'll be doing an overview/review of the workshops, but others are doing tutorials and interviews and more!
These nifty little blocks are the ones that Amy made for February's workshop video - pretty! As an added bonus every stop on the tour will be giving away a $25 USD gift certificate courtesy of Fat Quarter Shop - woot!
Here is the tour schedule:
Lotti of Lawson and Lotti
Congratulations Lotti! Please send me an email with you mailing address and FQS will send out your bundle directly! Lordy, so jealous!
Now for a little announcement... Have you guys heard of Craftsy? Craftsy is a place where crafters of all sorts can share their projects with each other, view and upload pictures, create project pages, take classes and workshops (both paid and free), and now buy patterns from indie designers (automatic download and designers don't have to pay any fees - amazing) - I *heart* Craftsy a whole heck of a lot!
One of the super-cool things that Craftsy has going on right now is a free Block of the Month workshop hosted by Amy of Stitchery Dickory Dock. This BOM features video tutorials with step-by-step instructions on how to make a variety of blocks. I've signed up for the BOM and have already watched the first couple of videos. A few weeks ago Amy approached me and asked if I'd like to take part in a blog tour for her workshop - of course I said yes, you know because Amy's a cool person and stuff. There will be a number of stops along the way, with the your hosts doing a variety of posts - since I'm the first stop on the tour I'll be doing an overview/review of the workshops, but others are doing tutorials and interviews and more!
These nifty little blocks are the ones that Amy made for February's workshop video - pretty! As an added bonus every stop on the tour will be giving away a $25 USD gift certificate courtesy of Fat Quarter Shop - woot!
Here is the tour schedule:
Feb 24 - Miss Print
Feb 25 - Hoosier Toni
Feb 27 - Fresh Lemons
Feb 28 - Qubee Quilts
Feb 29 - Amy's Creative Side
Mar 2 - mon petit lyons
Mar 3 - Mel's Own Place
Mar 5 - Breakfast for Dinner
Mar 7 - Sew Paint Create
Mar 9 - SoChick
Mar 10- Spin the Bobbin
Mar 12- Diary of A Quilter
Mar 14- Ellison Lane
Mar 16- Old Red Barn Co
Make sure that you come back on the 24th to visit with me for the first stop and if you'd like feel free to grab the button below and link it back to Amy's workshop - there are already a ton of people participating so I know you'll have a great time discussing your blocks, working out issues, and getting to know the other quilter's in the discussion session!
Friday, February 10, 2012
It's Giveaway Time - Parson Gray's Curious Nature!
Hey all! So it's that time again - we've got another giveaway from the fabulous Fat Quarter Shop! This time around we've teamed up to giveaway Parson Gray's Designer Select Fat Quarter Bundle which is a fabulous mix of twelve prints from the debut line - Curious Nature - and three coordinating Free Spirit Designer Solids (Espresso, Cream, and Manatee).
So who is this "Parson Gray" you might ask? Well, his real name is David Butler and he just so happens to be the husband of the oh-so-fabulous Amy Butler! I've met Amy a couple of times at Quilt Market, and even though I'm sure he was running around somewhere, I haven't had the chance to meet David - although, if all of his lines are as stunning and versatile as this one I am sure that I will meet him at a Quilt Market in the future!
Feel free to watch this awesome interview with David in his Curious Nature booth from this past Quilt Market and you can find the quilt pattern that he shows and talks about as a free download on the Free Spirit site. By the way, I totally agree with John when he was doing his Hey Girl tweets and said "Hey girl, I'm as excited as u are that Amy Butler's husband is designing fabric now too. And you're right: that is one ruggedly handsome man." Yup, ruggedly handsome...anywho...
Okay, so I guess you want to know how to enter, right? You have two chances but please be sure to leave separate comments for each entry. Here's what you've got to do:
Man guys, I'm super-jealous of whoever wins this - I would love to get my hands on some of this fabric to make a quilt for Alex! Good luck everyone - you're all winners in my mind *wink*!
*the giveaway is now closed*
So who is this "Parson Gray" you might ask? Well, his real name is David Butler and he just so happens to be the husband of the oh-so-fabulous Amy Butler! I've met Amy a couple of times at Quilt Market, and even though I'm sure he was running around somewhere, I haven't had the chance to meet David - although, if all of his lines are as stunning and versatile as this one I am sure that I will meet him at a Quilt Market in the future!
Feel free to watch this awesome interview with David in his Curious Nature booth from this past Quilt Market and you can find the quilt pattern that he shows and talks about as a free download on the Free Spirit site. By the way, I totally agree with John when he was doing his Hey Girl tweets and said "Hey girl, I'm as excited as u are that Amy Butler's husband is designing fabric now too. And you're right: that is one ruggedly handsome man." Yup, ruggedly handsome...anywho...
Okay, so I guess you want to know how to enter, right? You have two chances but please be sure to leave separate comments for each entry. Here's what you've got to do:
1. Leave a comment letting my know which item (fabric, pattern, bundle, etc)
is your favourite from FQS' Newest Additions page.
2. Leave another comment if you are a follower of my blog.
That's it! Two easy-peasy ways to enter! I will close the comments in a week (on the 17th) and announce the winner here on the blog. International entries are, as always, welcome! Also, please remember that I have comment moderation enabled so if you don't see your comment right away it just means that I haven't had the chance to approve it yet (duplicate comments will be deleted).
*the giveaway is now closed*
Monday, February 6, 2012
Recently...
Bread was risen and baked...
Some early cuts of a new fabric line - Flock - arrived from a lovely friend...
Homemade taco seasoning became a football favourite...
Two bottles of red wine were enjoyed with friends over a dinner of lamb and quinoa...
Followed by a buttermilk cake layered with homemade whipped cream and
raspberry Bonne Mama - inspired by a lovely lady that I truly admire...
Some books were read... and more than these besides...
A new one begun...
And another perused at leisure...
Yards and yards of binding were sewn down and a special project completed...
...but that's another story for another day.
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