Fabric Stash Sunday #8

Back in February, I had the chance to meet Elizabeth Hartman from Oh, Fransson!  I've long admired her work and have made several of her patterns.  I did the whole groupie thing, fawning over her and had her sign my books and take a picture.  She was great!  

Fast forward to last month or so when I posted a picture on Instagram of KJR ribbon flowers that I bought and said I only needed 2 more prints to finish my collection.  Elizabeth sent me an email telling me she'd send me one missing piece and that the envelope was lonely with just a fat eighth in it, and she'd surprise me with something else!  

Here are the extras that came in the package - quarter yards of these great prints from Violet Craft's Waterfront Park collection.  I told you she was great, right?  I really like the yellow domino dots and think those are going to be a great blender because they come in so many good colors.  Bridgetown is pretty awesome too!  Thanks Elizabeth, for such a fun surprise!

Fabric Deal Friday

I love a good sale and go by the motto, never pay full price!  Here are a couple deals that I've used recently.

For 20% off at Fat Quarter Shop until Sept 30, use the code fatquarterly459.  All of their jelly rolls are already 20% off, so hop to it for an awesome deal!  I just picked up a Lush Uptown layer cake and a Kona color card.

Pink Castle Fabrics is offering 30% off all pre-cuts and bundles this weekend only using the code BUNDLE30.  They're going quickly, so don't dilly dally!  I'm dreaming about the Sketch prints and low volume set.

Happy fabric shopping!

Also, there's a great giveaway today at Maureen Cracknell Handmade for a Bonnie & Camille Happy Go Lucky layer cake.  Don't miss out.

WIP: Chair Edition

I've always wanted a French arm chair for my living room, but they can be pricey, even on Craigslist.  When I found this one at a local consignment store for $65, I basically dragged it around the whole store while I was searching out other great steals.  When a fabricaholic is deciding what to reupholster with, things can take awhile....

I finally decided to go with the obvious: Echino Decoro buck in blue.  Obvious, because I'm an eye doctor, and that buck is wearing a fabulous pair of specs.  Here's where I'm at so far.  Everything is stapled and sewn back in place onto the wood frame, which I painted a glossy black.  I just need to finish the chair cushion cover, which is no easy feat.  I bought new foam for the cushion and it's a beast to cut to the proper shape!  Tips are much appreciated!  

People keep asking if this is going in my waiting room at my office.  Um, no.  It's going in my new living room!  And I'm going to call it my throne.  Or Zoey's throne, because the cat seems to be saying, hurry up already, I need something else to get fur all over!  I'm going to need a couple bottles of Scotchguard before this is all said and done!

Craftsy Sale!

Have you tried any of the awesome classes offered at Craftsy?  They offer a wide variety of video classes on topics like quilting, sewing, and cake decorating too.  You can even see the lectures from QuiltCon for free!  I'm taking Angela Walter's machine quilting negative space class now and loving it. I even tried some of the techniques in my Sew Cherry Over and Under quilt that I recently finished.

Right now, Craftsy is offering some of the quilting classes for up to 75% off.  It's so hard to choose between Leah Day, Camille Roskelley, and Elizabeth Hartman.  But the price is right, so go find one (or two or three) that suits you!

 

Finally, A Finished Quilt!

I can't believe how much I'm slacking in the finishing department this year.  I chalk it up to no longer being in a long distance relationship (because he's here now!), my brother moving in with me, and having a more active social life in Austin!  Whatever the reason, a finish still feels awesome.  Especially since this one turned out craze-amaze, to quote the annoying girl in the Jack in the Box commercial.  I'm so excited to mark something off my 2013 Finish Along list!

The fabric is mostly Sew Cherry by Lori Holt and the pattern is jelly roll friendly Over and Under from the book Scrap Basket Sensations.  I've been more adventurous in my FMQ lately and decided the negative space needed some giant mums and the prints would pack a punch with a back and forth loop that creates some movement.  By the time I went through eleventy billion bobbins, I decided that I was tired and just meandered the outermost border.  

For the backing, I used a Martha Stewart sheet from the thrift store.  Unfortunately after I started the giant flowers, I noticed there was a little pilling on the sheet which was supposed to be 100% cotton.  What??  Oh man.  I kept going even though I felt like it was pointless.  After I took it out of the dryer though, you can hardly tell, so maybe I'll be able to list it in my shop after all.  What would you do?  I wasn't planning to keep it, I spent too much time to just give it away, but wouldn't I feel guilty selling it??

Another exciting thing about this quilt is that it actually has a label!  I'd had my eye on some different labels on Etsy when Julie at 627Handworks posted a discount code for the labels from the shop ikaprint.  My labels are so awesome and came all the way from Paris - oo la la!  I can't wait to slap these labels on everything.  
 

On a Whim Sewing

I've been working on Camille Roskelley's On A Whim quilt pattern for awhile now.  Remember that Amy Butler Weekender bag I made using Tula Pink Birds and the Bees?  I used the leftover fabric from cutting out this pattern.  This quilt will turn out as amazing as the weekender bag, I'm sure!  For the corners, I'm using a wine-purple linen blend.  I didn't pre-wash it, so I hope it doesn't bleed!  Yikes...  I have 13 of 20 blocks finished and I'm hoping to have the top finished before I move into my first house next month :D

If you have all the pieces cut, these blocks go together pretty quickly!

Starting to come together

Just keep sewing

And soon enough you'll have a finished block!

I threw in an AMH just because it played well with the others :)

On the AYoLF Q3 front, I did manage to baste my blue and yellow patchwork chevron quilt last weekend.  I still haven't settled on a quilting design, so that's on hold for now.  I only have 19 days left to finish so I'd better hustle!

What did you sew this week?

Fabric Stash Sunday #6

This past week, my friend Jessica decided to close her modern fabric store, Remnants: Fiber Culture.  Many of her friends and local sewists came to her shop for her closing sale.  While it was a sad event for many including myself, Jessica is excited as ever about focusing on her growing long-arm business. We all wish her the best, but I'm sure glad I could snag some fabric deals this week too!  I bought a range of Lizzy House Pearl Bracelet colors, a Painter's Canvas in black, and some Koi that will most likely make an excellent quilt binding.  Have you added anything to your stash this week?

September 2013 AYoLF Goals

It's not like I'm running low on WIPs around here, but I will hopefully be moving into my very first house next month so I need to crack the whip!  I'm busy dreaming of ways to decorate and organize my  dream sewing room.  Any suggestions would be helpful!

For this month, I want to finish my blue and yellow patchwork chevron quilt from the Moda Bake Shop.  It measures in at 78" x 78", so it's on the larger side and this is definitely ambitious amidst the moving plans.  I think I'll be doing some simple straight line quilting just because of my time crunch, even though some fancy stitching would be fun.  This quilt top has been finished for a couple months, so it isn't the oldest in the pile, but I'm planning to do a simple sheet for the backing when I want to do more complex backings for the other quilts.  

Ooo pretty quilt top

My favorite scissors, ducks, and ants on parade!

Love those pearl bracelets and tiny Tula ladybugs

More pretty blues

And sunny yellows

Here's the sheet I'll be using for the back.  Martha Stewart does it best!

WIP Wednesday: Bee Block Edition

This month I'm running way ahead of schedule with the Flickr Ima Bee!  Wendy asked for 12.5" Japanese x + blocks in bright colors with dark cross ends and a low volume/white background.  I'm in love with navy and orange-yellow combos lately, so the first one is no surprise to me.  The second is so girly fun!  I finally cut into my Alexander Henry Farmdale fabrics, but just a teeny bit.  Wendy's been great sending me extra Munki Munki or Heather Ross prints, so I'm sending her a little surprise too!  These will be off in the mail today, bound for Alaska.

Charity Blocks

I'm also busy sewing some charity blocks for the Austin Modern Quilt Guild.  As the VP of Communications, I'm in charge of the charity/outreach projects for the year and I've decided it would be fun to have a little challenge!  

I pick a block each month to post a tutorial about and pick colors, and the guild members make as many (hopefully not as few) blocks as they want and bring them to the meetings.  Each block they bring is an entry to win some of the blocks from the pot.  The rest will be used to make charity quilts.  

I'm having so much fun making these blocks in fresh colors and I love seeing them pop up here and there on members' blogs or Instagram!  Here are a couple I've made so far.  They measure 12.5" square.  The block is called Texas Puzzle.