Twas the Night Blog Hop

Oh my! Would you look at all this yummy goodness.  I must say Jeanie from Gracie Oliver Arts sure spoiled me.  Everything was wrapped so beautifully.

Here is everything fresh out of the packaging. Jeanie has such wonderful craftsmanship and I am happy to be the recipient of all this wonderful goodness.

  She handcrafted me four wonderful items:

1. A Christmas themed Matryoshka Bin, filled with some wonderful sewing themed fat quarters.

2. A coffee Koozie, which will come in handy for that cup of hot Chocolate and Christmas Wassail.

3. Four festive fabric coasters.  I love these little beauties and my hubby has already claimed one for his computer desk.

4. A 10 minute Table Topper. She picked out the perfect fabrics!

Jeanie also added some extra goodies, I oohed and awwed for each package: A lovely little snowman ornament, wonderful scented hand soap, gingerbread buttons, a 2015 Calendar, and a wonderful Gooseberry tote to carry everything in. (It has a lovely snowman print and is folded up in the picture behind the soap).

  And to top everything off, she sent me printed instructions on  how to make each gift! That is a gift in itself.  Thank you so much Jeanie!  I am one lucky gal!

For my quick gifts I started with something for my knitting friends.

It is a Triangular knitting needle case and the pattern came from the book Sew Gifts! by Martingale.

This case is pretty long so it will hold your longest knitting needles.

Knitted dishcloths also make quick gifts.

Two of my favorite patterns are the Ball Band dishcloth and the Knitted Basketweave pattern.

For my young friends I made a Card and Key Wallet. Perfect for giving gift cards or cash. This pattern is also from the book Sew Gifts!  I don't usually buy books unless I like at least half of the patterns and this book didn't disappoint. There are several other small gifts on my "to do" list from this book.

For my adult friends who like to bargain shop I made some Loyalty Card Wallets. This was a free tutorial from Nancy's Couture.  I altered the pattern several ways by adding interfacing in the pocket sections, extending the width of the pieces by half an inch, using a 1/4 inch seam allowance, and adding a button/ponytail holder closure.  

I even made one of these for myself.  It holds all my loyalty cards and fits nicely in my purse.

No more rummaging through my stack of cards.  The fabric bowl can also be make pretty quick.  I made this one a long time ago from start to finish in a four hour class.

Next up is a gift for anyone who wants a unique way to charge and store their little devices.

I used the free tutorial at Positively Splendid.  She had a clever idea to use a command strip hook to hang the pocket on the wall next to the outlet.  I am going to do that too, that way I can use the charger holder for my android devices. Those chargers are too wide to fit through the grommet.

Last up is a small Christmas themed Cross Stitch. Right now I am deciding what I want to do with it. I have narrowed it down to either an ornament, the front of a Christmas pouch, or the focal point of a notepad holder.  I suppose I could make two more  trees and then I won't have to pick which project to use it with  ;)

  What was really helpful in stitching this tree was my new toy, the Beam and Read.  You can read all about it here.  I like how it gave me that little extra light to see my stitches better. It even came with a red or orange cover to give you a little different glow.  In the picture above I have it clicked on three light bulbs, but for my stitching I liked using all six.

Another thing the Beam and Read is good for is extra lighting for photo shoots.  Particularly when you play on the weekends and keep forgetting to take photos of your projects when the sun is shining so you have to take photos after you get off work in the evening when it is dark outside.
 

I turned on all the lights in the room and added an extra lamp, but I was still getting some shadows I didn't like. With the Beam and Read I was able to move the lighting where ever I needed it. Thus it saved my photos from being too dark and grainy.  I think I may take this light camping with me too. It's lightweight and super bright.

Make sure you head on over to Jane's Quilting to see what I sent her and check out the other hoppers as well to get inspired.

Thursday, Nov. 20

Quilted Delights - Me  :)

Jane's Quilting

Allthingz sewn

More Stars In Comanche

Pickles Quilting

Cate’s Linens

Thanks to Mdm Samm and Marlene for hosting a fun and inspiring hop!

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Flags on a Stick Blog Hop

I'm hopping today with the Flags on a Stick blog hop.

The hop is being hosted by Thearica and Mdm Samm.

Today's Hoppers are:

Bumbleberry Stitches

Quilted Delights - Me  :)

Red Quilts

On the Banks of Frog Creek

Words & Stitches

K and S Sweets and Stitching


And now without further ado... I present to you my my flag.

I was definitely thinking spring for my project.

My favorite flowers are tulips and since I have been in a paper piecing mood lately, I went in search of the perfect tulip paper piecing pattern.

I found just the one I needed here and moderated the pattern a bit to create my little spring flag.

It's a little stiffer than most quilts with all the quilting I put in it, 

but it still blows in the wind in the front yard. 

Again here are the hoppers for today.  Make sure you check them out.

March 27thBumbleberry Stitches
Quilted Delights
Red Quilts
On the Banks of Frog Creek
Words & Stitches
K and S Sweets and Stitching

The entire schedule can be found at Thearica's blog.

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Tackling some UFO's - Another finish

I've been working on some UFO's in my spare time and finished my Christmas Table topper.

It measures 25.5 inches in diameter.

I started this one in November of 2011.  I made one just like it for my friend for Christmas that year and liked it so much I decided to make one for myself at the same time, but I only got as far as making part of the top.  So when I picked it up this week I had to add the center, quilt it, and bind it.

This is a free pattern from Phillips Fiber Art using their 10 degree ruler.
It is called the Mini Ten Table Topper. Once you sew the strips together, it is just like cutting and sewinging a dresden block together, just on a larger scale.
This is my 5th finish from my my Q1 Finish A-Long list.

I am also going to link up to Handmade Christmas for February.

Several of the items on my Finish A-Long list this quarter are Christmas projects, which fits right in with the goals for Handmade Christmas.  I want to be ready for Christmas this coming year before December comes around.   This topper will decorate my small circle table for the holidays.
To see more Christmas ideas and projects that others worked on this month, click on the icon below.

After I got the binding done on my Christmas table topper I pulled out my Wild Thing quilt.  This UFO is also on my Q1 Finish A-Long list.  I have had some of the same projects staring at me for few weeks so I decided I needed to working with something different today.  I was able to sew all the quarters together for each block before I was called away from the sewing machine.  When I get some more personal sewing time I will sew these into blocks.

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She Who Sews Blog Hop

Today is the last day of the "She Who Sews" blog hop,  hosted by hosted by Carla of Creatin in The Sticks and Mdm Samm of Sew We Quilt.  All the previous projects have been wonderful and have definitely given me inspiration on how to use up the rest of my fabric.    

I am excited to show off my creations and I am going to start from largest to smallest.

First up is a new wall hanging for my sewing room. 

I call this one, "Just the Ladies"

My favorite lady is the the Hearts lady. I love her red hat and her green wings.

And her lips are the perfect shade of red.

 Second in the line up is my new wall organizer.

It will hold my smaller rulers and current (or next in line) patterns that I am working on.

The pattern is called Four-Pocket Organizer and was originally in the February 2011 Quilter's World magazine, but I bought the digital pattern from Annie's E-Pattern Central.

 Next up is a Mug Bag. Complete with built in mug rug.

I fell in love with this bag as soon as I saw it.  It is a free pattern from www.Red-Brolly.com  

The bag is meant to safely carry your special tea or coffee mug to your friend's house and back.

When you open it there is a pocket for your coffee and tea bags and a place to set your mug while you are drinking, but since I am not a coffee drinker I turned it into a small sewing bag.  Right now I have my yo yo makers in it.

It is perfect to carry around for road trips and doctors offices.

Here it is opened up. In the background is project number 4.   

It is little zippered sewing pouch.  You can never have too many pouches.  ;)

This one measures about 5 inches. Maybe a wee bit bigger with the binding.

 Now we come to the smallest project in the line up.  A needle and thread carrier. 

 Sometimes I do bindings in the car and this tiny pouch is perfect for that.

 The tutorial didn't call for velcro, but when I was trimming the extra strings I wasn't paying attention and I cut off the thin cord that was suppose to hold the case shut. Instead of un-stitching it and putting the cord back in I added the iron on velcro.  Perfect fix.

I had a great time making all these little storage containers and my new wall hanging.

This is a fun fabric line to work with.

Yep, there are two Mug Bags.

Since I made the mug bag out of strips instead of fat quarters and was able to get two bags out of one strip, and was able to sew two bags at a time. One for me and one to Giveaway.  I'd love to share one of the Mug Bags with you. Just tell me where you are from when you leave a comment and I will put your name in a hat to win my extra Mug Bag. I will pick a winner sometime Monday February 10.

Thanks so much for stopping by and make sure you check out the other ladies who made projects for us today.

February 6th

Lixie Makes It

 How ART you?

 Seams To Be Sew

threads on my socks
Quilted Delights  (Me)

Life in the Scrapatch 

krislovesfabric

Sew We Quilt

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Quilt as you Go Table Runner and Kits

This is a small table runner I finished up last fall but never got around to blogging about.

It was a quilt as you go pattern and came as a kit from Connecting Threads.

This one was fun and quick to put together. I did it in one evening.

I like to order fabric and thread from Connecting Threads and from time to time when my shopping cart is close to free shipping I throw in a kit to bump me just over the limit. 

As I was making goals for the new year, ~~ Goals which ended up being somewhat vague - better chances for success if I leave them open to interpretation ~~  I listed "start on some of those kits I keep buying".

I have a total of 8 unopened quilt kits sitting on the shelf in my sewing room and 2 in progress.

Two table runners, 1 wall hanging and 5 quilts. 

These are the only two not from Connecting Threads.
One is from Fig Tree Quilts, the other I won in a blog giveaway.

These are the two in progress.  Again from connecting threads

   I'll be listing these two on my Quarter 1 Finish Along list for 2014. And, if I get these done I will well be on my wait to completing my new year's goal.  :) 

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Pretty Pouches for Christmas Presents

Merry Christmas!
I can finally show off the little creations I made for my friends and family.

First up, two jewelry pouches.

I really like these jewelry pouches. Hopefully my two young friends in MN do as well.

I can't gift an empty pouch, so I added a couple necklaces and a pair of earrings for both of them. 

For my friend in TN, I made a pencil pouch. I used this free tutorial.

I like the look of scrappy batiks. I makes me think that this pouch is perfect for an artist.

 I even made the ends scrappy.

For the stitching on the top I used a heavy weight variegated thread. It think it helps add to the scrappiness.

I also sent her three ear bud pouches.  One for her and her two daughters.

I am very proud of these three.  They are the best ear bud pouches I have made.
The actually turned out as circles!  The other ones I have made turned out as wonky weird ovals.
They still ended up with a home though, my daughter is the savior of pouches gone bad.

And of course, some hand knitted dishcloths to give away.
Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

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Covered Notebook

My friend celebrated her birthday last week and I wanted to make her something special.
We are both attending college classes together so I decided to make a cover for her notebook so she can jot down notes in style. He favorite things are tie dye, peace signs, and rainbows.  So when I saw this fabric at the Hobby Lobby, I snatched it up and put it in my cart.

I didn't have a pattern, Instead I measured the notebook and cut the fabric to match with 1/4 inch seam allowance.  Next time I will give myself a little more seam allowance. When I turned everything inside out I lost more than a 1/4 of an inch and the note book fits kinda of tight.

This is my first completed project for 2013.  Last year I kept a running total of my finished quilts only.
Perhaps this year I will make a running list of other projects as well.

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My Red String Runner

I found the tutorial for Red String Runner at Quilting by The River. I was drawn to it right away.  Perhaps because she made it in my favorite color.  Then when my Mom asked me to make something for her I decided to give this runner a try.

Look at that corner!  Could it get any perfect.  Just looking at it makes me smile.

I did have to get a refresher on how to bind the other odd angles and I found a good video for that here.

It is raining today, but I went on the porch and took pictures anyway.  It gave me a chance to fiddle around with the manual settings on my camera so I could capture the colors I wanted.

I really like this quilted runner.  When I showed it to my husband though he said it was too small and wanted to know why it wasn't big enough to lay under.   Then he proceeded to tell me how to make it better - Make it bigger, add more bright colors etc.  As if he quilts... 

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