Another Quilt

I finished my sisters string quilt 2 days before Christmas. I was really under the wire with this one. I love how it turned out. I split the blocks up with sashing to make it a little less busy and binded it with orange and red dots from Amy Butler's Lotus fabric. I quilted it with some straight line quilting with my brand new walking foot. I don't know how I lived without this. I couldn't believe how easy it was and how smooth the back of the quilt was. I pieced the quilt back with 4 extra blocks I had and more Kona Snow and some Kona Medium Gray.

I think I really have the quilting bug right now. I am finishing up 2 pillows for my mom for this weekend and already have 2 more scrap quilts I'm dying to start. My BF also asked me to make him one in solids. I have been wanting to do a solid one for a while but don't really know how I want to go about this one.



I also have a few bags to list in my shop whenever I find a good chunck of time to take pictures. I really hate that part of it. My photography skills suck but I keep working at it.

I hope everyone had a great holiday!

One Down....

It's been a long time since I have posted any new projects. I have been really busy sewing. There's a ton of new wallets and pouches in the shop now with new bags to come as soon as I find time to take the pictures.

I have finished my brother's girlfriends quilt. I posted the quilt top a while back. It has been just waiting for me to make the back and quilt it. I finished it in about 6 hours. I really like it. I messed up when I was measuring the back so there is a lot of random piecing but I really like it. I am getting a lot better at free motion quilting too, but can still use some practice. She really likes pink so I made a simple coin quilt with all my pink scraps. I hope she likes it because it may be really hard for me to give it away.

I still have to quilt my sister's which I'm hoping to start tonight. I just got my walking foot in the mail and am excited to do some straight line quilting. I really like the look of it but I have no idea how I'm going to do it on the scrappy string quilt.




BTW...If anyone has any tips on how to photograph quilts, I could really use them.

New In Shop

I have been sewing. Really I have. It might not seem like it since I haven't been listing much. I just really hate taking pictures and editing them. I would rather just keep sewing. Here are a couple of new bags I've just added to my shop. I know I always say this but these are my favourite so far.

New Dress

I bought a new sewing book a few months ago called Chic and Simple Sewing but haven't gotten around to making anything out of it. I really don't like to make clothes very much. I always find that nothing fits right no matter how much you try. The sizing really annoys me as well. I normally wear a 4-6 but find I have to make around a 10-12 in regular patterns. Anyway, I was bored the other night and decided to make the back to school dress. The pattern was really easy to follow and I sewed the dress in only a couple of hours including the cutting. I used a purple twill fabric because I wanted a heavier dress in a solid colour. I was really happy how it turned out. The only change I made was to the pockets. I wasn't crazy about the plain and somewhat big pockets that the pattern called for so I fooled around until I came up with ones I liked. The dress is wearable now but I think I'm going to take the bottom half of the dress in a bit and maybe take up the hem a little. Overall, I was very happy with how it turned out. I will definitely be making more from this book.

Plans for 2010

I did this last year in place of resolutions and it worked fairly well, so I've decided to try it again. I have taken what seems to be a very long break from both blogging and my Etsy shop. This was mainly due to a sudden move that took longer than I anticipated and before I knew it, the holidays were here. I have still been sewing but it has mainly been items for my new, fabulous (I think) apartment and holiday gifts. So here is a list I have been somewhat been forming in my head of things I need to do to get back on track. I will probably will add some and take some away but I hope that blogging on it will help keep me on track.
1. Finishing organizing my new sewing room/closet so it is more functional.
2. Post the new bags and pouches I have already sewn in my shop.
3. Work out a sewing schedule that works with my full-time job schedule to better utilize my
time.
4. Finish the new bag design that has been in my head for a couple of months that I haven't had
time to try out and write.
5. Try and blog at least 3 times a week.
6. Try to list or renew new items in my shop daily.
7. On a personal note try to get back to running at least 4 times a week. This gives me the
energy and motivation I need to get through my busy days.

Please feel free to add any tips you have to manage your time and keep organized. They are always greatly appreciated.

Tutorials

It's a very blah rainy day here today and I'm not really motivated to do any shop sewing. I have been browsing online and have come across a lot of really great tutorials I would like to try. Here is just a few that I really like. Just click on the picture to go to the tutorial.

1. Amy Butler Hourglass Pillows


2. Coasters from The Sometimes Crafter


3. Patchwork Kitchen Mat from the Sew, Mama, Sew! blog

Double Pleat Tote

There are some new bags in the shop. These are Double Pleat Totes. They are the same as the Double Pleat Tote with Sash (which have sold out) but without the sash. I love these bags. They are probably one of my most favourite bags I've ever made. They are a great large bag that holds a lot of stuff but are still light weight. I especially love the wider straps. They're really comfortable on your shoulder when you carry a lot. They are made out of home dec weight fabric and 150z organic canvas. I am in love with this organic canvas. It's expensive but worth every penny. These bags here are made with fabric from Joel Dewberry's Ginseng collection which I absolutly love.



I am also working on some mini notebook holders. They are really cute and handy. They hold a little notebook and pen and has an extra pocket for receipts or coupons. I will hopefully have some posted today.

And lastly, I haven't forgotten about June's giveaway. I will be posting that hopefully in the next week I just haven't decided on the prize yet.

April Giveaway

I know, I'm really late with my giveaway this month. I've had a busy month finishing my quilt, sewing Easter dresses and keeping my shop stocked.
This month I am giving away a pink and brown dot large tote. It is great for when you have a lot of stuff to carry and makes an excellent diaper bag.
Just post a comment below about anything you like or don't like in my shop, any fabric that you are loving right now or any sewing or quilting blogs that you love (I'm always looking for new blogs to read). I have two bags to giveaway this month. The contest will end at 9:00 P.M. EST on Sunday May 4th.
Good Luck!

Vacation!

I started vacation on Thursday. I really thought I would get a lot more done already. I know it's only Saturday but I really haven't done anything for my shop. One thing I really wanted to get done by the end of the weekend was my quilt from the quilt along I mentioned in my last post. I got all the layers sandwiched and pinned on Friday and that's it. I'm afraid to start the free motion quilting. It looks so pretty right now, I'm afraid of messing it up.
I did make my 18 month old niece a couple of dresses for Easter tomorrow. They are really cute. One was a pillowcase dress that I'm very happy with, and it has matching bloomers. I will post it tomorrow with a link for the pattern. I made it in less than an hour. It's great for a beginner sewer or an advance sewer who wants a quick and easy project.
Since I have family dinners for the next two days, I don't think I will be getting anything else done this weekend. At least I have the whole week off.

New Messenger Bag

I have finally finalized my new messenger bag. After many attempts of making one I liked, I have finally come up with one I love. I think it's the perfect size for everyday use. I didn't want it to be too big but I wanted to fit everything I needed to take to work in it. It has two outside pockets and 3 inside pockets because I like to keep my stuff organized. I only have two posted now but I should have more coming this week.

Holiday Sewing

I had big plans for holiday gifts. I was going to sew baskets and fill them with aprons, potholders, coasters etc... for the females in my family. This just didn't happen this year. I thought I would post this tutorial for anyone who wants to try it. I found it on this blog from oh, fransson! which I read almost daily. Here is the tutorial. Let me know if you try it.