No yesterdays are ever wasted for those who give themselves to today. -Brendan Francis

Thank you so much for all the congratulations' on finishing my Masters and for entering my little giveaway (the giveaway is open until next Thursday and you can find it here)! Also, I forgot to mention in my last post but also thank you to everyone who has purchased my little pattern "Itching to be Stitching" from The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery - I really appreciate all the support and hope that you'll show me your stitching when it's completed! Hmmm, what do you guys think about me starting a Flickr group where you could show off the things you've made using my tutorials and patterns? Let me know if that's something you'd like!

A big congratulations goes out to my lovely friend and "twin" Kate on the birth of her little girl Grace! I am so proud of you Kate and I wish you all the joy in the world with your new little beauty.

I've been busy sewing up a few things, but unfortunately (and geez, I hate having to keep saying this) I can't share much of it with you guys! Buuuuttttt, I can share a little giftie that I made for a friend's birthday last week.

I made this little clutch using Amy Butler's pattern "Clutch Purse with Antique Pin Closure" which can be found for free on the Better Homes and Gardens website. I used a print from Denyse Schmidt's County Fair line for the outside and a pale yellow solid (very close to the yellow medallions on the outer print) for the interior. As You can see I did not use an antique pin on the closure (which actually fastens with velcro) but rather sewed a large button to the flap.

One of the really neat things about this clutch pattern is that the front closure band actually comes around all the way to the back to form a handle (it is stitched down near the top of the clutch so that the front closure stays snug but the back forms the strap). I think this is a really great design feature because part of the reason that I rarely use clutches is the whole "clutching-all-the-time" aspect; if you have smaller hands and wrists like me you could actually slip this clutch right onto your wrist if you were dancing or doing something where you were worried you'd drop your bag.

The top corners of the clutch also fold in giving it a nice shape and a little room to expand. One of the things that I did differently from the pattern was to omit the interfacing because I was using a home dec weight fabric and the pattern called for quilting weight cotton. I did however still include the canvas between the outer and lining layers; the bag is not quite as stiff as I would have liked, but I think it would have been too stiff with the weight of interfacing called for. If I were to make this using home dec weight fabric again I would include the interfacing but maybe go down to a heavy-weight or medium-weight for a rigid but flexible clutch.

I have some seriously awesome yarn to share with you guys and my haul from Spring Creativ Festival (which my mum and I just went to yesterday), but I think I'll save those for the next post! Hope you're all having a lovely weekend so far - I'm off to work pretty soon!

What I've Been Up To and a Giveaway!!!!

So I haven't been around these parts for the last little bit (I know, bad blogger, I'm sorry), but there is a reason, I swear! Would you like to know what it is?! Well, here ya go...

That's right people! For the last little bit (it's not been quite  two weeks since I last blogged) I've been busy, busy finishing up all of my final papers and research, and now I am done! I handed in my last paper on Monday and it felt good! My official convocation isn't until June but I'm done all of requirements, so I'm calling myself a Master of Information now (and yes, that is actually what my degree is called)! What do y'all think about that?!

In honour of my finishing (and the fact that you will no longer have to hear me moaning about needing to complete papers), let's have a little giveaway, shall we? You all know my lovely friend Trish who owns Two Peas in a Pod Homegrown Designs, right? Well, she sent along some goodies just for you! I have four patterns to give away to two lucky winners...

This is group one which includes both the Madison Bag pattern and the Dorm Room Diva Pillows pattern.

And this is group two which includes both the St. Mary Backpack pattern and the Farmhouse Funk Pillows pattern - remember you can click on any of the pictures to make them bigger if you want some detail shots!

All patterns are also available through Trish's Etsy shop (check it out to see some more of her patterns) and they are also being sold and distributed by a number of quilt shops and companies (*ahem* McCall's *ahem*) so if you don't win my little giveaway you'll still be able to pick these babies up!

Here's what you need to do to be eligible to enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me which group of patterns

you'd like to win (and if you feel so inclined you could

congratulate me on completing my Masters, hahaha!)

2. If you are a follower, or if you become one, leave a second

comment and you will be entered a second time.

There you go - two chances to win! Please remember to leave two separate comments for each entry or yours will only be counted as one - also, remember that I have comment moderation set so if your comment doesn't appear right away it just means that I haven't approved it. I'll announce the winner of the giveaway here on the blog next Thursday!

Who wants to come up to Toronto to celebrate with me?! Or, if you're going to Quilt Market next month, maybe we could all get together and have a little party - yes please!

*GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED*

New Pattern Release and a French Knot Tutorial!

Hi all! So it's Friday and I promised I'd be back to share something very exciting and fun, so here I am! You know The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery, owned by the super-talented Amanda and Ashleigh, right? Well, they approached me a few months ago about being a guest designer at The Frosted Pumpkin and I am happy to say that my first cross stitch pattern for them, Itching to be Stitching, is being released today! How exciting is that??!!

Itching to be Stitching features cute sewing notions including a vintage-inspired sewing machine, buttons, thread, and the ubiquitous tomato pincushion! The pattern itself features a colour chart, list of colours you'll need, and a very handy stitch guide. Since this is the first Frosted Pumpkin pattern to feature french knots (leave it up to me to throw a little wrench in), they are not included in the stitch guide, however I offered to write a little tutorial with photos that you can find below.


Itching to be Stitching is available for purchase from The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery as a PDF download and I am here to answer any questions you might have about the pattern. I am so excited to be working with Amanda and Ashleigh (and didn't Ashleigh do just a fabulous job with the pattern cover? I love it!) on such a fun project, and can not thank them enough for asking me to come on-board for a little bit - I think I've now officially earned the nickname Kaye Pumpkin ;)

Cross Stitch French Knot Tutorial

So I stitched up the little tomato pincushion from the pattern for you to demonstrate the french knot technique - as you can see the french knots are used to create the heads on the pins. And remember, you can make any of the pictures larger by clicking on them! Oh, and just as a note, I use three strands of floss rather than the normal two (this will effect the size of your french knot).

Using the specified colour, bring your floss up through the aida using the same hole where you finished stitching the pin.

Bring the floss all the way through. Now wrap the floss three times around the bottom half of your needle. Note to self: paint fingernails before taking closeups of your hands next time!

Holding the excess tread taut, but not tight, with your left thumb (if you stitch right-handed) use your right hand to put the needle down through the hole diagonally opposite (i.e you brought your needle up through the bottom left hole of the square, put it down through the top right hole of the square). Keep holding the floss taut with your left thumb as you pull it through the knot - don't pull too tight or you could cause the knot to pop through the hole and onto the back of your aida.

And you're done! There are a few different ways to do a french knot (some people use one hole to come up and then go back down at the centre point of the square, and others use a colonial knot for cross stitch instead) - this is just the way I do them! If you like to do your french knots a little differently or would like to use a different knot altogether - go ahead! It's all part of the fun of cross stitching!

I'd really love to hear your thoughts on Itching to be Stitching and I hope y'all like it! And don't worry, if you like this pattern, I may just have a few more things up my sleeve!

Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best. -Henry van Dyke

Oh wow, thank you so much to the three people who have purchased from my little destash shop - I could not be more happy and grateful for your support! I also sold the version of Pinwheels in the House that I made for the Moda Bakeshop pattern yesterday to someone that I know (I wasn't even actively trying to sell it but she asked me if I had any baby quilts completed that she could give as a gift and that was the one she chose) - woot! Actually, talking about selling the original quilt from the pattern is a nice segue into...

Quilt by Michelle

Michelle from Lily Pad Quilts emailed me today to let me know that she had just completed her very first ever quilt using my Pinwheels in the House pattern! Didn't she do a fabulous job?! I'd be impressed even if this wasn't her first quilt - her colour choices are spectacular and if you enlarge the photos that she has in her blog post you can see what a lovely job she did at matching up corners and pieces. I have a feeling that Michelle is going to be life-long quilter! Remember, if you've made anything using one of my patterns or tutorials please feel free to email me a picture and I'll feature it here on the blog!

I have something very exciting and fun in store for y'all on Friday, so be sure to come back and check it out!

Some more destash!

Hey all! So I added a little more to my destash shop - thank you soooo much to the four people who have ordered so far, I really appreciate it!

There are currently two Flea Market Fancy bundles listed - Bundle One and Bundle Two - both have nice sized pieces as well as smaller pieces that are suitable for string quilts, stamp quilts, ticker tape quilts, or other small patchwork projects.

I have also listed a lot of Urban Chiks Blossom fat quarters and another lot of Fig Tree and Co. Mill House Inn which includes a charm pack, fat quarters, and other pieces.

I have not listed my Heather Ross Mendocino or the Tula Pink Neptune yet because a few people called dibs on them but if they decide not to purchase them I'll list them next. Aaaannnnddd, I still have some other scrap bundles to list too!

Thanks again for helping me with my little destash and fund-raising efforts - you guys rock!

A little de-stash going on...

Hey all! In an attempt to make a little money to help fund my trip to Salt Lake City in May for Spring Quilt Market I have decided to destash some of my hard to find and out of print fabrics. I'm pretty sad to see these babies go but it will be worth it when I get to see all of my super-awesome quilty friends, especially my "big sister" Jennifer. I have been saving up from working at the library, but as many of you may know, being a full-time graduate student is an expensive business!

Here is just a little taste of what I have up for grabs:

Heather Ross Spoonflower prints. These guys are each 1/4 yard across the width of fabric - aren't the gnomes just too cute?!

Denyse Schmidt Katie Jump Rope. The brown stripe is larger than a fat quarter, the two blue prints are about a fat quarter, and the green argyle is 15x22" and then some.

Tula Pink Full Moon Forest. Three fat quarters including the super-awesome aqua squirrels print!

This is just a little sampling of what is available in my little shop - currently there are other Heather Ross, Tula Pink, and Anna Maria Horner prints available and I still have more to add including some Tula Pink Neptune, Heather Ross Mendocino, and maybe even a little Flea Market Fancy (if I can get up the courage to let some of it go).

If you're interested come on over to Etsy and see my little destash (I'm sure Alex would appreciate it if some of the fabric were to get out)!

Be not simply good, be good for something. -Henry David Thoreau

Only three papers left to go and then I'm all done with my Masters degree - woot woot! I know it's still a bit to go but I am so excited to almost be finished and to graduate! I've also got some sewing projects up my sleeve but nothing I can show right now, so how about some completed knitting instead?

As I mentioned when I showed this project partway completed, I have a couple of girlfriends who are pregnant right now - I'm sure they know exactly who they are, but I'm not going to say right now so that at least there will be a bit of excitement when they receive their gifties in the mail.

First up is my Firefly Cascade - this one is knit with Spud & Chloë Sweater in Firely. I just love the colour so much and the leaves on the placket are just too too darling!

This is my Earthy Cascade - it's the same pattern as the cardigan above, but the yarn slightly lighter (worsted vs. aran weight). The colour is a bit off in the pictures above, it's a bit browner and the buttons are a very pretty lilac-grey. The yarn for this one is Cascade 220 Superwash in Walnut Heather; the leaves on the placket look a little different, but I think this is just because of the yarn I used.

I steam blocked both of them (my first time steam blocking) and I really like the way they turned out. I originally intended to steam block the Firefly because of the cotton content of the yarn, but, since I actually had them both done at the same time, steam blocked Earthy too - I love the fact that I didn't have to wait for them to dry, woot! Now I just need to package them up prettily and then they'll be off in the mail to their new homes.

I really do love making things for my friends and it has been so so nice to knit up these cute little cardigans because I know that someday pretty soon they'll be keeping some very special babies warm!