Thursday, October 28, 2010

Moda Scrap Bag Review

I've fallen in love with Moda fabrics, especially the Jelly Rolls.  If you have a hard time (like me) decided what fabrics go together, they are the perfect solution!  You get around 40 strips of color coordinating fabric that are 2.5" wide and 42" long.  Cheap, they are not!  Each one contains about one pound of fabric and costs around $35, but you can find them a tiny bit cheaper if you're lucky.  






Recently I stumbled across a great alternative - the Moda Scrap Bag!  These little gems contain the leftovers from making Moda Layer Cakes and are also generally color coordinated, but you never know what you're going to get.  You may get half a bag full of the same print, or you may get each strip unique.  These bags weigh 1/2 pound, so are half as much as a jelly roll.  The strips are usually 32" long, not 42" like the jelly roll.  These are important considerations when purchasing for a pattern intended for a jelly roll.  Scrap bags are hard to find and generally cost $10 to $12 each.  Some websites let you choose from the patterns they have available, while others do not.  I haven't been able to find these in an actual brick & mortar store.


I've been hunting these elusive creatures down for the past 2 months or so and stumbled across a large amount of them on ebay recently.  The seller generously provided combined shipping and so I snatched up 4 scrap bags for $34.  I bought 2 each of Verna and Fandango, and eagerly awaited their arrival!  
When they came, it turns out one of the Fandango bags had 1 strip of Fandango on the outside, and the rest were Awesome. I was disappointed not to have as much Fandango, but that's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes!  






Each of my bags had about 30 strips in it, without any duplicates.  Most did have a selvedge edge.  They ranged from around 2.5" to 3.75" in width, and most were 30" to 32" long.  There were a couple shorties in there that were only 6" long.  I've already started trimming the Verna down to 2.5" and have them sorted into cools vs. warm colors to make a Friendship Braid Quilt from Jelly Roll Quilts by Pam & Nicki Lintott.  I'm so excited and can't wait to show you how it turns out!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Give Away Time!

Adrianne at Little Bluebell is giving away a Moda Bliss fat quarter set to one super lucky winner!  Go check it out. but be warned, if you win, we're splitting the loot!  Giveaway ends Nov. 3.


Another great giveaway is being hosted by Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  In honor of her birthday, she's giving away a charm pack of Moda Bliss and 12 Days of Christmas to two lucky winners!  How fun :D   Ends 10/29.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

State Fair Fun!

Last month I entered some of my crafty items in the State Fair and they actually placed!!  How awesome is that?  I didn't win any money (only for best of show), but I did swell with pride when I saw my items displayed behind the glass with ribbons pinned on them :D


100% Recycled Category - my apron made 1st place!

Household Recycled Item - Stitch purse made 7th place!

Recycled Useful Item - plastic bag dispenser made 5th place

Sewing: Place Mats - made 7th place




Here are some of my favorite items at the fair.  I didn't make the following items, but wish I knew how!


I love the quilt in the center.  The blocks are so simple but a nice way to display special fabric.

I wish this had turned out better.  I've seen sunbonnet Sue, but never a cowboy!  Adorable :D

This was gorgeous!  3-D Southern Belle - on my to-do list!

This fall picture is made entirely of fabric!  

What a cute pumpkin :P

Monday, October 18, 2010

Thrilling Thrift Store Find!

I went to my secret thrift store this past weekend and was happy to find a bunch of J. Crew items!  Since I'm really trying to stick to my b*dg@t (what a swear word!), I only purchased this skirt.  It's a 100% cotton Ikat Monterey drawstring skirt from Summer '09, MSRP $65.  I love skirts that have pockets!  It was only $3 plus tax.  I'm not sure what I'll wear on top yet...



Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Quilted Laptop Sleeve

Since I started my new job, I've been carting my laptop back and forth a lot more than previously.  I have a case for it, but find it too bulky to fit in my tote bag.  So I was browsing the plethora of tutorials online, and decided to use this one from Robin Quilts, etc.  It's super easy, and turned out great!  I've received many compliments.  I promised I'd make my mom one next :D  




The outer flowered fabric is from a vintage bed sheet that I had left over from a swap.  The lining is actually a soft flannel Robert Kaufman remnant.  The binding is left over from making vintage sheet place mats - I had just enough!  

This was my first attempt at machine quilting with Francine (my Bernina 440) and the BSR.  I tried to create a meandering pattern.  Getting the stitch length consistent was difficult for me, but I'm sure the more I practice the better it'll look.  For now, promise me you won't look too closely!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Craft show update

Well everyone, the craft show didn't go as well as I expected :(  I did sell one apron at the end of the show, which covered the cost of the show.  The lady did want to buy another apron, but I have to make it first and couldn't bring myself to ask a grandma for prepayment...  


I did sit next to a couple lovely ladies and had fun while we were waiting to pounce on the people that walked by.  I was asked by a woman to make a quilt from her husband's dress shirts, so we'll see if that comes into fruition.  


My dad's coming to visit this week and I'm super excited!  Oh and my mom's on a mission trip in Austria right now, and I think she's bringing me fabric from Venice! Yippee!

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Another rail fence quilt

I sewed this rail fence quilt top together the other day.  As I was laying out the pieces, I felt kind of limited due to the fact that I only had 5 different fabrics to play with.  The fabric is from an off-brand jelly roll I bought at Wal-Mart last year.  It only had 5 fabrics in it, and not very many of the striped, but it was on clearance for $10 so I decided to go for it.



I've said before there are a lot of "oops" when I sew.  Spiral Stripes, the blocks I had originally intended to make with this fabric, were from the Jelly Roll Quilts book by Pam & Nicki Lintott.  I accidentally cut the blocks an inch smaller than they were supposed to be (eep!) and was quite in despair.  


A few months later, I decided I could figure out something to do with them, and used the rest of the fabric to make this super simple rail fence quilt.  I like the fact that there's a pattern of "T's" in the green because that's my last name. How awesome is a monogram quilt?  I'm not sure if I'll keep it.  I do have a whole other jelly roll in this same fabric so I may make another.  I'll be adding borders soon.  I'm thinking a thin robin's egg blue and thicker brown, with a green binding?  I'm planning to attempt machine quilting this baby myself.  Wish me luck!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

I'm so excited!

This weekend I'm having a booth at a local church craft fair - my first time ever!  I can't wait to see how it goes :D  Wish me luck!



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