Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Winner!

Hey everyone!  Sorry for the delay in choosing a winner for the SMS Giveaway Day fantastic prize of the RK Kona Color card.  I was getting engaged in California!!  

I just asked my fiance (love that!!) for a random number and he picked #98.  Congrats Darcy!  I'll be in contact shortly.  I hope everyone had a great time winning prizes during the week.  Thanks for visiting my shop and my other social media sites.  Keep sewing!

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!

It's everyone's favorite time of year again - Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!  Have you checked out the list of prizes up for grabs?  I think it's so awesome that we can come together and celebrate our love for fabric and quilting with this event. 

Enough talk.  What's up for grabs?  One lucky winner will get a brand new Robert Kaufman Kona Color Card, complete with 303 colors! 

There are a few ways to win this great prize.

1.  Leave a comment telling me if and how you follow my blog.
2.  Visit my Facebook page and comment here that you did. 
3.  Follow me on Instagram: @drkornea and comment here that you did.
4.  Visit my Etsy shop: Don't Drool on the Fabric and comment here that you did.

You have up to 4 chances to win!  U.S. entries only please.  Contest open until 5 pm PST Friday, December 12.  Winner will be chosen by random number generator and contacted by email before December 14.  Please be sure I have your email address if you are a no reply blogger.  Good luck!

Choose Your Own Adventure Quilt Pattern Available at Moda Bake Shop

Hi everyone!  I've been working hard baking up a delightful new quilt pattern for you at the Moda Bake Shop.  My Choose Your Own Adventure string quilt uses two Modern Neutrals jelly rolls by Amy Ellis for the front of the quilt, with leftovers to make a fun modern quilt back too.  What are you waiting for?  Go check it out!

More Fall Sewing

Last year I started making maples like it was my business.  Have you ever had that moment of realization when you say, yeah, I what the heck, I'll cut into that Katie Jump Rope!  Or Mendocino, or Hope Valley, or whatever your special fabric is that you keep on a shelf to gaze lovingly at every now and then because you're scared to use it.  I finally said, let's do this.  These fabrics need to be treasured in an actual quilt and why not use them all at the same time?  They make the perfect fall leaf collection!  

I finished the top last December and shamefully let this languish in my closet until September when I pulled it out to finish it.  My life in Austin, Texas is too hot.  I have the opposite of seasonal affective disorder - I'm depressed when it's too sunny and warm!  I had to get some fall colors in my life.  

You can find the pattern for this quilt in Pretty in Patchwork: Holidays by John Q. Adams (Quilt Dad).   I decided to make some disappearing 9 patch blocks for my background squares to use a mix of low volume pieces.  I think that really makes the quilt special!

I wanted the wind to rustle my leaves.  I drew a few long arcing lines on the quilt top in water soluble marker in a pattern that seemed like the path the leaves would take as they tumbled across the sky.  Then I used my walking foot to start quilting on one path, filling the area in with 1/2" apart stitches until I decided it was time to change.  You can really see the quilting on the back.  I'm in love!  Do you need some fall in your life?  What's your favorite way to decorate for fall?

Halloween Craftsy Flash Sale!

Take advantage of Craftsy's Halloween Flash Sale happening now! Enjoy scary-good savings on select fabric, yarn and kits that are vanishing quickly. Hurry, this limited-time offer expires Friday, October 24, 2014 at 11:59 PM MT. Shop Craftsy's Hallowen Flash Sale fast while supplies last!

I've already ordered my Persimmon jelly roll for $24 :)  Stay tuned for what crafty project I make with it.

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Making my own Fall

I live in Texas now y'all (just thought I'd throw that in for effect!) and it's HOT down here.  I know it's October, but it sure doesn't feel like it with the temperatures still in the 90's and no leaves changing colors.  I miss you Fall! 

Since moving into my house a year ago, I haven't had much money or time to decorate for holidays but I decided it was time to lift my spirits and decorate with fall colors.  My friend Corinne at Must Love Quilts drew a picture of the cutest little punkin and Sunday afternoon I decided to make a few, which turned into this lovely mini quilt! 

Presenting my very own Punkin Patch.  If you want to make your own, check out her free pattern on Craftsy!  I used fabrics from my scrap bin for the pumpkins and Peppered Cotton Charcoal for the background.  Isn't it perfect?  You can find it in my shop!  I love some spiral quilting, and I did this in a fun orange thread. 

WIP Wednesday

I decided it was finally time to bust out some scrap jar star blocks that I received in a Flickr swap last year.  I asked for a rainbow of colors because, who doesn't love a rainbow?  Playing around with blocks on the design wall led me to put them on point and see what happened.  I like it! 

 

I'm making a few more purple blocks to put in the corners so the overall design is a cool toned X with warm toned fillers.  I'm debating between making this borderless and chopping off part of the scrap jar stars or adding white setting triangles so keep the integrity of the blocks.  I'll probably end up adding the white, just because I can't bear to cut them down! 

In other news, I'm sewing my extra purple blocks on my new 1941 Singer 221 Featherweight, Ethel.  Isn't she darling?  If you haven't sewn with one, they make the cutest little click clack noise while you're sewing away!

Craftsy Summer Clearance Sale!

Did you know the Craftsy's Summer Supplies Clearance is happening NOW? Shop and enjoy up to 75% off yarn, fabric and project kits before they sell out. Take advantage of some of the biggest savings of the year! Hurry, offer expires Monday, July 28 at Midnight (Mountain Time). Shop the Craftsy's Summer Supplies Clearance now to save! 

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Michael Miller Fabric Challenge 2014: Warp & Weft

Are you a member of The Modern Quilt Guild?  I am through the Austin MQG and we get to do fun stuff like get free fabric from companies to do quilt challenges.  The winner of this little challenge will get free fabric for a year!  Heck yes I'm in for that!

I've been shopping for rugs for my house for the past couple of months and really love the kilim rugs.  I was inspired by these rugs for my challenge quilt.  The triangle points are the fabrics that we received fat eighths of and we can add any Michael Miller prints or any manufacturer's solids.  I quilted organic wavy lines that represent the warp and weft of the woven kilim rugs.  This lucky duck is now hanging on the wall in my foyer.  The colors jive really well with my other decor.  Here's hoping I'm a winner!

WIP Wednesday: Pink and Orange!

Have you signed up for Quiltcon 2015?  I really wanted to take Anna Maria Horner's color theory class but didn't make it in time, so I decided to make it up to myself by creating a saturated quilt in summer orange and tangerines with pretty pink and fuchsia.  

The pattern is called Happy Weekender by for Moda Bake Shop, using charms and Kona white.  No two charms are alike and I received them in a Flickr swap ages ago, plus added some from my collection.  I like to put my favorite fabrics in the center of my quilts, and here we have some apples from Farmers Market, Zen Garden swirls, Henna Garden, Tula Pink Nest and more!  

I don't have solid plans for the lucky recipient of this quilt, but it's definitely going to be a girl, right?    

Just spreading the good news...

If you're a fan of Heather Ross, you probably have a hidden stash of hacked up pajama bottoms and slivers of Lightning Bugs and Other Mysteries, Far Far Away, and the ever elusive mermaids from Mendocino.  You probably paid an arm and a leg for most of it, or was that just me??  Shhh....don't tell my boyfriend! 

 

Anyways, fantastic news!  Heather Ross has confirmed on her blog that Windham is reprinting Mendocino but we have to wait until summer 2016.  Can you wait that long??  What's your favorite Mendocino print?  I love the cute little seahorses on raspberry pink on the bottom.

Happy 4th of July!

Zoey says have a wonderful weekend and may it be full of quilting!

WIP Wednesday: Family Room Pillow

I bought a house in October and I've discovered it takes me a very long time to make certain decorating decisions.  Like picking pillows for my family room couch.  I've been pinning and shopping for at least 2 months now!  Ridiculous.  

I finally decided to make my own because I'm a) cheap and b) tired of looking at (expensive) store pillows that aren't exactly what I want.  The other day I sifted through my Pillow pinterest board and chose Alissa Haight Carlton's pillow pattern as my first test subject.  My living room colors are navy, coral/orange, and grey with a little preppy green mixed in.  As I was looking through my stash, my beloved Katie Jump Rope that's been sitting on a shelf for who knows how long jumped out at me and I thought, what the heck.  Let's cut that!  Why not see my favorite fabric everyday on my couch?  Besides, it only needed a little bit.  Plenty left over!

So here's the front, almost all quilted.  I need a zipper and back panels quilted before I'm finished, so it's a WIP I started to avoid working on my Modern Quilt Guild Michael Miller challenge project due next Wednesday at our guild meeting.  Another day, another story :)

Happy Friday and a Winner!!

Who's ready for the weekend?  I know I am!  What a busy week.

Thanks everyone for entering my little giveaway.  Mr. Random Number Generator picked #28 as the winner of the gallon dude quilt scrap bag.  Congrats Sarah!  I'll be emailing you shortly.  

What are you looking forward to this weekend?  I think it's about time to see 22 Jump Street or How To Train Your Dragon 2!  

Do you love Aurifil thread?

I'm taking pre-orders for Aurifil thread on my Don't Drool on the Fabric page.  If you'd like to order, just post in the comment what color, size, and how many spools you'd like!  I'll Paypal invoice you for the order and once it arrives, I'll send another for shipping.  I'm keeping this pre-order open until Monday, June 30 and then I'll place my purchase for us!  

Pricing: 

50wt large spools are $10+shipping, fills in sets of 6
50wt large spool kits $100+shipping
50wt cones $36+shipping
Cotton thread chart/card $35

Don't forget to sign up for my giveaway!  Open until Wednesday at midnight.  

photo from Aurifil.com

Just One Block

I sewed this up for a secret project for the Austin MQG.  Really simple and quick!  I found the pattern through Coats & Clark's Spool QAL, page 5 I believe.  It's a 12.5"x12.5" block.  Thanks for stopping in!

The fabric scrap bag giveaway is still open until Wednesday night.  Be sure to sign up here!

A Quilt for a Dude: Which Direction? & a Giveaway!

My brother moved to LA about 6 months ago to find a job.  He knew one person.  That kind of leap takes guts, right?  He had actually been living with me for several months before he moved to LA and it was a neat time to get to know him better.  He's 4 years younger than me, but we were 5 grades apart in school so I went to college when he was only in junior high.  

His job prospects weren't the greatest and the whole family is naturally worried about him.  I decided a couple months ago to make him a surprise quilt to hopefully cheer him up, remind him of home, and comfort him when he's down.  I don't think he necessarily needs a blanket for warmth in LA :)  It's hot enough in Austin that people give me crazy looks when they see the piles of quilts all over my house, so I need to send them out in the world!  

I didn't think to take good pictures of the quilt because I was just so excited to mail it to my brother as soon as it was finished, so my apologies.  I call the quilt "Which Direction?" because the triangles point east and west on the front and north and south on the back.  My brother is going through a trial in his life where he's struggling to carve his own identity apart from me or our mom and dad and I know that can be confusing, so I think I subconsciously chose this pattern to fit his current circumstances.  

The pattern is based on "Trail Marker" by Ashley Newcomb (Film in the Fridge) for the Jan/Feb 2014 issue of Quilty magazine.  The pattern called for the blocks to be trimmed to 5.5" wide, but since I'm lazy and my ruler was 6" wide, I cut them 6" wide and added more blocks to make it almost queen size.  I pulled fabrics from my stash that seemed manly.  The quilting is curvy, watery type meandering that softens the sharp angles.  I'm so pleased with how it turned out!  I love the dark binding and the backing fabric is Dear Stella that I absolutely adore.  I mailed it last week and he sent me a text as soon as he got it thanking me.  

I'm so proud that I'm able to make nice things for the people that I love.  I'm usually a selfish quilter and make quilts just for me, but every now and then I make a quilt for someone special.  My brother is a great guy and I hope he knows how much I love and believe in him.  We may be thousands of miles apart, but he can remember his family when he needs to wrap up in something warm.  Sorry for all the sentimental stuff in this post, but isn't that what makes quilting awesome??  

I have a lot of neutral low volume larger scraps left over after making this quilt that I've stuffed into a gallon ziplock bag.  Turns out it's over a pound of fabric!  Do you think the scraps should be your next project?  I feel a giveaway coming on...

Here's how to enter.  Choose as many or as few as you like!
1.  Leave any comment you wish on the blog.
2.  Tell me how you follow me: Bloglovin, Instagram, Flickr, Twitter, Pinterest.  Leave a comment for each way!
3.  Repost and tell me that you did.
4.  Check out my Etsy store and comment below on what's your favorite fabric.
5.  Like my Etsy store on Facebook and leave a comment below.

US entries only please.  Make sure I can contact you through email.  Entries will be accepted until midnight CST Wednesday, June 25.

Craftsy Big Summer Sale Starts Now!

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links

Have you tried any Craftsy classes yet?  I have and I love learning new quilting and sewing techniques from the renowned teachers!  Right now you can save up to 50% off on ALL online classes at Craftsy's BIG Summer Sale.  Cooking, cake decorating, sewing, gardening and so much more... all up to 50% off, with some classes starting at just $9.99! This is a sale not to be missed, so make sure you hurry because it ends at 11:59pm MT on Monday, June 9th.  I'm thinking about Adjusting the Bust and Beginning Serging because I've been playing with the free Colette Sorbetto pattern lately.  What classes are you interested in?

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Week!

Woohooo!  It's that time of year - you spend so much time at the computer entering to win fabric and sewing goodies that your eyes hurt at the end of the day and your hands are cramped up!  Or maybe that's just me...

Shirley at Simple Sew and I are teaming up to give away a lovely set of 5 fat quarters in sizzling black, white and hot pink!  There are lots of ways to enter, so be sure to head over to her blog and sign up!  

On a side note, Don't Drool on the Fabric will be open this week but orders won't be shipped until Monday, May 19 due to me being on vacation.  I won't have internet access, so I hope you win some goodies in my place!

Fabric PSA!

Good golly Miss Molly... I just found out about this website called Massdrop that group buys things that the members request.  It's kind of a neat concept!  Anyways, they organized a couple Liberty of London group buys that are both ending today.  

As a fabricphile, I've always coveted the beautiful Liberty prints and feel of Tana lawn.  So naturally, when I saw that I could get a gorgeous FQ bundle or 3 meters of it for $24/yard, of course I'd jump on the chance! I'm not being paid or endorsed by Massdrop or Liberty, but I'm just sharing my love for it and want you to sign up so we can get the lowest possible price! 

Go check out the FQ bundle or the 3 meter sets before they're sold out!  Plus, if they have 50 people repost their photo to Instagram, they'll throw in a pack of 10 Clover Wonder clips for free!  Don't forget #massdroplovesliberty

photo from Massdrop

Another Giveaway to Celebrate Don't Drool on the Fabric!

Wow, you have another chance to win a green and orange FQ bundle custom curated by my friend Melissa at Missouri Mel!  She's been on an orange and green kick lately and these fabrics really fit the bill.  Go check out her blog to enter to win!  And just in case you can't wait to see if you've won, I've stocked them in my shop.  Happy Friday everyone from Don't Drool on the Fabric!

Don't forget you still have time to win a low volume bundle from Amanda at What the Bobbin?

BIG News!

I opened an online fabric store!  You can check me out at Don't Drool on the Fabric.  What sets me apart?  Excellent question!  I have current fabrics at reasonable prices and I also have a stash of hard to find goodies that change regularly.  I have a Facebook page for the most up to date info, Instagram handle dontdroolonthefabric, and Twitter handle drkornea.  Please contact me with any questions!

To celebrate my opening, I'm giving away two low volume/low value fat quarter bundles with my friend Amanda, at What the Bobbin?  There are tons of chances to win, so go check it out!  

http://www.whatthebobbin.com/2014/04/22/dont-drool-on-the-fabrice-giveaway/

Craftsy Easter Sale!

Craftsy is having a huge Easter sale today (4/18) through Monday (4/21).  You won't want to miss out because some of their fabric and yarn supplies will be marked up to 75% off!  I've been keeping an eye on the Kaffe shot cotton bundles and it may be time for me to pull the trigger.  What will you choose?

Trying a new hobby

Since buying our first house in October, I've realized I don't have much furniture.  And by much I mean I had a breakfast table, 3 chairs, a couch, dresser, and a full size bed.  Doesn't really fill up 2800 square feet, right?  At first I was frustrated that I was spending so much money on furniture and accessories that didn't even seem to make a dent in the echoing rooms.  Reason (aka Mr. Sew E.T.) stepped in and told me to stop spending all our money and make a b-u-d-g-e-t.  Yuck.  I hate those!

We started in January and I think we're doing pretty well overall.  I fell in love with this gorgeous live edge table but just couldn't fit a $7,000 dining table into the budget - go figure!  I was determined to have something similar.  I even went so far as to contact my local sawyer (that's the term for a person who saws wood!) who saw the picture and quoted me $4,000 to build the table and I would stain and lacquer it.  Ok, getting closer, but not quite there yet...

I'd spent some time daydreaming at Ana White's blog before, and decided that now I have a house and a garage (plus a Mr. who likes power tools), why couldn't I start building my own furniture?  I made myself a Pinterest board just for my ideas and even found a really cool one for a live edge inspired version using big box lumber.  I decided to try the Truss Beam Table from Ana White and Shanty2Chic for my first attempt.  We bought a Kreg Jig K4 Pocket Hole System, sliding compound miter saw, belt sander, and table saw mostly from Craigslist or the pawn shops around town.  We've been working on it for about a month and a half now, but I'm sure if we had a match under our bums we could have finished in a much, much shorter period of time.  Lots of other things to do around the house too you know!

Table base is upside down for finishing before we attached the table top.  That's the bottom.  See all those holes?  Those are the pocket holes to join the boards with the Kreg Jig.  

Here's the almost finished product!  I'm so excited about how it turned out.  Not the $7,000 table, but it will work just as well and the cool part is we built it together.  I'm always impressed with how crafty I am!  I'll talk more about the finishes I used on the table to turn it from blah pine to sultry mocha in a future post.  Have you made any wood working projects?  How did they turn out?  Do you want to see more of the projects I'm working on?  My to-do list is almost as long as my quilting list now!

Yes, this is my formal living room slash impromptu workshop.  The table is so much better in person!  We put the bench together last night - more on that later.  

MQG Riley Blake Challenge Finish!

As a member of the Austin MQG, I am now a proud member of the Modern Quilt Guild too.  They have fun things for members like Sew Downs and fabric challenges.  The most recent fabric challenge is wrapping up and winners will be announced soon! 

Members were given a fat eighth bundle of Riley Blake fabrics - a few prints and solids too.  We could make anything we wanted as long as it was quilted (and modern - however you want to interpret that).   We could add any Riley Blake prints and any brand of solids to make the project our own.  So little guidance!  I just stared at my bundle for quite some time before inspiration hit.

 Here's my entry, inspired by my boyfriend.  We go to the movie theater for classic movies on Wednesday nights.  My eyes have been opened to various beloved movies that I'd missed out on as a kid for some reason - Big, Fast Times at Ridgemont High (I couldn't believe that was Sean Penn!!), Groundhogs Day...  You know before the movie starts, there's usually a silence your cell phone ad?  This was when we were first introduced to the Geico camel commercial.  The first time we saw it, we both laughed our heads off and played it for all of our co-workers.  The second, third, fourth time we saw it, we were still laughing our heads off.  

One night after the movie, I determined to sit down and work on the Riley Blake challenge.  My mind wandered to the camel, and then just for fun I sketched out a camel applique quilt, adding the fun saying at the bottom.  I showed the sketch to my boyfriend, who almost fell out of his chair with hysterical laughter.  The crazy piecing caused me some fits at times, but I'm so pleased with how it turned out.  I quilted using a scalloped loop to enhance the hump theme :) Once I get a hanging sleeve on this puppy, it's headed to the wall at my boyfriend's office.

Did you participate in the Riley Blake challenge?  We had so many good ones at our Austin MQG meeting last week.  Check out our link up for that here!

Emily and the Technicolor Cats

Back in December, Elizabeth at Oh, Fransson! started the Catvent Quiltalong.  She designed 25 different cat blocks for each day before Christmas and has the tutorials posted on her blog.  I couldn't help but start a few and thought this would be a great way to use up some of my overflowing scrap bucket.  Well, they're small so they don't take up as many scraps as I was hoping, but I'll have another project on my list for those soon I'm sure! 

I thought these would be adorable for a quilt that I give to my dad, who's a veterinarian.  Won't they look cute hanging at his clinic?

Sweet Valentine's Day Free Quilt Pattern

My friend Corinne has an excellent tutorial on her blog, Must Love Quilts, that's perfect for Valentine's Day.  Isn't it sweet?  I can't wait to make one - triangles have been on my list for awhile now!

Heart Quilt and Tutorial from Must Love Quilts

Heart Quilt by Must Love Quilts

A February Finish!

Remember back when I started working on my custom sewing table?  I was inspired by From Marta with Love.  Aren't their tables fab?  My bf helped me do the power tool stuff back in November and I finally finished adding the decorative touches - aqua paint of course!  I used Sherwin Williams SuperPaint in Tidewater 6477 and gave it a couple of coats of poly.  It's so smooth now and the fabrics just glide right over when I'm sewing.  I can't wait to start my next quilt!

That pillow under the table?  Yeah that's a cat bed.  Carlton and Zoey like to visit me in the sewing room and love sitting on the cat bed under the sewing table.  It's made from a fish shower curtain that I found at the thrift store!

Winter Blocks for Winter Weather

Hey there!

Have you been having fun with the weather?  It's been crazy here in Texas!  Yesterday was about 30 degrees and today it's 65, and tomorrow...well back on the roller coaster again.  

I've been stitching up a few charity blocks for the Austin MQG.  Jessica chose a block by Pat Fryer called Good Neighbors for this month's block.  She picked contrasting blues and aquas for this lovely pattern, along with a silver or white background.  I used some of the leftover fabric from my Riley Blake Challenge to piece these.  Won't they all look so crisp and clean like fresh fallen snow when all put together?  

Did you know I'm a chef?

A Moda Bake Shop Chef to be exact!  Go check out my tutorial for quick Honeycomb Wine Coasters at the MBS today.  I'm always so tempted with those cute Honeycombs and was stumped with what to make with them.  So I made something up myself and I do say, they turned out nicely.  Have a look!