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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ALYOF November Goal

I'm usually posting my last month's finish and then the new goal, but for this month there is no finish for October. So I'm making the goal for November is the same goal from October.  

October was a crazy busy month and I didn't even get a chance to look at my dresden plates.

This month I am determined to get them finished.

Check out all the other goals for November here at the ALYOF link up party.

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Black Cat Crossing Blog Hop

I am excited to show off my Black Cat Crossing projects!  I love this fabric line!

The colors are just my style.  I love the whole line and I wanted a little bit of each print.

The best way to do that was to buy some pre-cuts.  I bought two charm packs and two jelly rolls.

I also bought some yardage for the background on my first project.

This little quilt is a Schnibble pattern called Hook.

Schnibble patterns are cute little quilts meant for charm packs and the patterns are wonderfully written.

I took the quilt on a photo shoot in town.  This is at an old tobacco barn.
This particular barn was moved to town as a historical piece. The chimney which was used to dry the tobacco has been closed up, but it makes a great spot for photographing small quilts.

This quilt went together super fast.  This is one of those patterns that looks like it will take forever to piece together, but in reality it goes together really fast.

The picture on the front of the pattern shows the same background fabric used throughout, but I choose the option of adding a different color background triangle as suggested on Miss Rosie's blog and I am glad I did.  I love the look of the black.

Next I opened my jelly rolls.

I knew right a way that I wanted to make a Chevron quilt.

This particular version needs two of each strip so that is the reason I bought two jelly rolls.

The Little Fabric Blog gives a great tutorial on this method.  She uses three inch strips, but I went ahead and used the 2.5 inch strips and had 21 rows instead of 19 to make it a little longer.

You can use one jelly roll to make this quilt, but you will also need a solid alternating color.

Crazy Mom Quilts, whose version is called Zig Zag Quilt,  has a great tutorial using a solid background color between the zig and zags.

This is another fireplace on old tobacco barn.  I didn't know what they were for at first, but as I was taking pictures a fellow who was taking a Sunday Stroll with his granddaughter told me what they were used for.  He knew all about the barn and told me he was one of the guys who helped move it to its current spot near the museum.  It was fun talking to someone who knew about the history of it and could tell me more about how the buildings were used.

After making my Chevron quilt I had a lot of Jelly strips left.  Enough to start another quilt.
This is the start of "That 70s Quilt" from the book Strip Savvy by Kate Henderson.

When I bought my first round of Black Cat Crossing fabrics, I didn't know I was going to make this quilt, so I didn't get enough background fabric to complete it. Those two tan leftover strips from the jelly roll aren't going to be enough, but I still wanted to show off what I had done so far. I have 25 blocks patiently waiting for the background fabric to come in the mail.  

This is the quilt from the book and I am anxiously waiting for the background fabric to arrive.

My third project is a little drawstring bag. I used the tutorial from In Color Order. She also has a pattern for sell that offers measurements for different size bags.
Can you see who is sneaking up in the back.

Our neighbor had some kittens born in her shed a few months ago
and they like to come over from time to time to get snacks and some lovins.

This little black kitty is usually pretty shy, but he has been warming up to us

and he came over to see what I was doing.

He posed so purrfect for me.

His sibling couldn't resist checking me out too.

And before I was finished his other sibling, another black kitten, came over to see what all the fuss was about.  This is definitely a Black Cat Crossing area.

Thanks so much for stopping by and be sure to check out the other hoppers today.

Thanks go out to Mdm Samm and Wicked Wendy for hosting a fun hop!

Tuesday, October 28

Selina Quilts

Jane's Quilting

Quilted Delights  (Me)

Words & Stitches

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Book Holders

 One of the Young Women leaders at church asked me if I would make some book holders for the girls to keep their little church books organized.

I say little because the books are about 7 inches high.  I didn't have any of the books that go inside so I didn't get to take a picture showing how they look inside.  I also didn't think to take a photo of them open, but you can see some open versions here.  On the inside is three slots for books and a small pocket for a pen.

The tutorial I used called for fat quarters, but I also used some of the larger pieces from my scrap bins. 

To decorate the fronts, I used some of the  flowers I made this spring for the 60's blog hop.

My son also helped make some extra flowers that matched better with some of the other fabrics.

These were fun and super quick to sew up,  I cut them out one evening, and then sewed them all up the next night.  I gave them to the Young Women on Wednesday night and they were a big hit.

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Final List for the 2014 Finish-A-Long

I have enjoyed being part of the 2014 Finish-A-Long

It has definitely helped me tackle my UFO pile.

This quarter I am starting my list off with the last six that didn't get finished from last quarter.

My Strip Tube Quilt	My Polk-A-Dot Dresden Quilt
The Christmas Dresden Quilt	Finish the Quilting on my solid Star Quilt
Pythagoras' Lute Quilt	One Block Wonder Quilt

These next ones are new to my FAL list. 

Finish up my animal paw quilt	Quilt this Halloween Panel.
Quilt this fall Panel	Finish up this fall leaf quilt
Come up with a way to finish what I started with this.	Finish up this other polk a dot Dresden quilt

I know this is a bold list for the last quarter, but I started the year with a list of twelve things so I figured I would end it off with a list of 12.  It will be fun to see how much I can actually get off the list during the Holiday Season.

I am linking up here with all the others who are working on their finishes.

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ALYOF Finish and October Goal

I finished this quilt with a few hours to spare for the September ALYOF link up.
You can click here to see all the other finishes for September.

I decided to take out the light red chevron fabric in  the center sashing, but I kept it as an inner border. I quilted it using an all over meander pattern.

I wanted a darker navy fabric for the binding to match the Reunion fabric, but I didn't have any in my stash so I went with the darkest blue I had.  I was worried at first, but it turned out pretty good.

The quilt measures about 45 x 50 and I already have a little cutie in mind to mail it to.
This quilt is also on my third quarter list for 2014. So go to knock another UFO off my list.





My October goal is to finish the quit top for these Dresden plates.

They are all sewn together, they just need a backdrop.
I am aiming to finish only the top this month because this is costume month and I know most of my sewing will be going toward that, but I really want to make some progress on this quilt because I want it on my couch for the Christmas holiday.

So my goal is one Dresden quilt top.

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Rush Hour Blog Hop

Lets jump right into to the Rush Hour Hop!

Red and Black is one of my favorite color combos. Add a little white and gray and you have a marvelous color palette that begs to have quilts made out of it.

I ordered several different half yards and some full yards of the Rush hour line and used up almost every bit of it.  These first two quilts were both made in five days.  Now that is rushing it for a quilter!

First up is my Strip Tube quilt.   This quilt went together pretty quick.

I cut out and sewed the top in one day.

Then I quilted it the next day.  A two day quilt!

It is a nice lap size measuring 64 x 46 inches.

I grabbed some Red, black, and white from my stash for the back.

Far away it looks like gingham, but a close up reveals that it is a slightly different pattern.

When I made my strip quilt I cut up this light gray building fabric to go in it, but it was too light and didn't mix well in the strip quilt. Instead of putting the strips in my 2.5 inch scrap bin I decided to come up with an idea to use them right away.  They ended up being the perfect color to go in the center of the long and short blocks of my "Smell the Flowers" Quilt.

 It is originally called "I'm Blushing" and is a pattern on Moda Bake Shop designed by Natalia from Piece N Quilt.  I cut and sewed the top in one day.

The applique took another day - I'm slow with that part.  Then I quilted it on the third day.

That is what you call quilter's rush hour!

I had to add some extra red and blacks from my stash to finish up the top of this quilt.

I am happy that all the fabrics play well together.

This one measures 74 x 56 inches.

More black, reds, and whites from my stash for the back.

The quilting shows up really well on the back.

I still had a little more fabric so I made some bags.

You can never have enough bags.

When I am rushing to get out of the house for weekend trips it is nice to have all my stuff packed in a small bag for me to grab and head out the door.

The first bag is the Jet Set Bag from ByAnnie.
I was drawn to it right away because of its shape.

I love the inside fabric with the clocks and people on the move.

The next bag is a recreation of my old Avon makeup bag that had seen better days.  It was my favorite makeup bag to take on trips because it fit everything I needed in the makeup department. Instead of chucking the old bag in in the trash, I took it apart and used the pieces as a pattern to make a brand new bag.

The clock lining up on the inside was a happy coincidence.

Phew! The sewing machine has been rushing this month for sure.

Check out the other bloggers who are Rushing along with me today.

Friday, September 26

The Quilting Queen Online

Quilting Quietly

Vicky Myers Creations

Grammie Q’s

From This to That

Quilted Delights  (Me)

Check out the whole schedule here.

Thanks to Carol and Mdm Samm for hosting this great hop!

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