Finished a baby quilt today :)

This week, I decided to do something with the extra big star block I have. So I added a few things and made it into a baby quilt top. And for the first time, I used my Gammill to free motion quilt it, without markings or a pantograph pattern. In fact, I discovered my long arm is way easier to control from the needle end! This may put an end to pantographs for me, since I would be able to see the pattern to trace it anyway.

Then I used a "magic binding" technique I found on pinterest to bind it. My stitch length still needs work (I'm at least the 3rd owner of my Gammill, it's from the 80's so no stitch regulator), but overall, I think I did pretty well! I'm happy with it. Just need to figure out what to do with it now!

Anyway, here's the final piece!

And here's the "magic binding". See that neat little pinstripe of blue in there? I really like this. And it's all machine stitched, right along that line between the blue and the yellow. It takes a little bit of extra time, but I think it's worth it!

 

 

Now that I've gotten this one done, I'm excited to start quilting another one! I have this one ready to load onto the frame in a little bit, I'm just trying to decide how to quilt it. I am thinking a simple loopy meander. What do you think?

 



Pin It Now!

The BIG reveal!

Today is the day! I'm posting the last clue of my mystery quilt, and a photo of my own completed top....and one of the bonus tops too!

Here's Clue #10!

I'll be removing all the clues from my dropbox next Friday, so if you're missing any, get them now! After next week, this pattern will be available for sale in my Craftsy Shop.

And....Here's my final photos. What do you think?

 And my little bonus top :)

Pin It Now!

Well, that's not going to work...So here's the clues you've been waiting for!

I've been delaying posting the last couple of clues because I've been working on a way to change the URL of this blog without having to do lots of work copying and pasting, and also without everyone having to find what they're looking for from their bookmarks, links, and pins (in other words, the super easy solution that causes no problems whatsoever!) So far, I'm not having much luck, SO...Here are the next few clues that I haven't posted. I apologize for their lateness, and I promise, clue #10 will be available here on Friday (and that will be the last one!)

Here are the clues that you've been waiting for!

Clue #7
Clue #8
Clue #9

This Friday, May 17, I will post the 10th and last clue with the final assembly instructions. After that, these clues will still available for one week. On Friday, May 24, I will remove them from my blog and the complete pattern will be available for purchase in my Craftsy store. So, if you are missing any clues, get them while you can!

 I'm not sure if anyone's actually following this mystery on my blog anyway, most people follow it in my Facebook Group. Are you following along? Leave me a comment! Pin It Now!

Did you know....

....that Craftsy offers several FREE mini classes? Yup, totally free! They offer the same great format as the rest of Craftsy's classes, but they're shorter, and feature student-led discussions. So you can learn a new skill (or play with a skill you already have) and try out Craftsy's awesome classes without shelling out a penny. I have signed up for several of them, and I'm looking forward to going through them. The ones I'm going to do first are Creative Quilt Backs, and Modern Buttercream. I bet you thought I was going to pick another sewing or quilting class, didn't you? Well, I'll probably do those at some point, but I'm hoping to try some of the classes that teach stuff I know NOTHING about. I'd love to be able to make my own birthday cakes instead of going to Kroger to get them!

So if you're looking to try a new craft, but you don't want to invest any money into a class just to try it, check out Craftsy's Free Mini-Classes.

And don't forget to check out the pattern store (including my pattern store, which you can get to from the tab at the top of this page!) to find tons of patterns you might not ever otherwise see! There's some pretty amazing patterns in there.



Pin It Now!

LAST DAY TO VOTE!

If you've been following my blog recently, you know I'm entered in the Bernina WeAllSew Fabric Design Contest. Well, today is the last day to repin to vote for my entries! All you have to do to vote is to go to THIS PIN BOARD and repin my entries. Just a warning though, there's now over 200 entries, and mine are AAAAAALL the way at the bottom, so you have to keep scrolling to find them. If you haven't repinned (or if you have!) please come repin my entries. I'm a long way off from first place, but not too far off second (I lost my second place spot sometime this week and just realized it!)

Here's a refresher of my entries. I very much appreciate any repins you can give me!

Pin It Now!

Busy designing today

I usually post my mystery quilt clues in the morning (or try to!) but today I've been pretty busy. I decided that I wanted to put together a real collection of fabric designs to print up and put into a portfolio, so I have something to send to fabric companies in the very LIKELY event that I don't win the fabric design contest I'm in right now.

So, working off what I have already started with, I've now got 6 designs colored into a total of 30 different combinations, in a new collection in my Spoonflower store. Most of them are not available (and probably won't be for a while!) but there's a couple I pulled from my old designs so you can get those. Come visit and see what's new!

Moroccan Tiles in Blue and Yellow

Let me know what you think! Pin It Now!

Clue #6!

You can grab Clue #6 now! Pin It Now!

Time for Clue #5!

Yup, it's Friday again, which means it's time for the next clue! Are you ready for it?

Clue #5!

If you're not following my blog yet, you should! You'll get updates on the mystery and won't miss a clue. Pin It Now!

Some new fabric designs

I decided to doodle a bit today, and played with a variation of my Moroccan Tiles design. Here's what I came up with!

And don't forget to vote for my original Moroccan Tiles, and my other entries, in the WeAllSew Fabric Design Contest! See my blog post for more info.

Moroccan Tiles 2

What do you think? I like that it seems lighter than the original design. More colors coming soon! Pin It Now!

My Staple Dress

So, I don't typically sew apparel because it's a pain to fit to myself, and my dressform doesn't really reflect MY shape. What looks good on the dummy looks awful on me! Every now and then, I try again, just to see how I do, but I'm just no good at fitting. So when I saw the pattern for the Staple Dress by April Rhodes, which doesn't have any fitting, I thought I'd give it a try. I even already had the elastic thread for the shirring. I didn't want to use any of my "good" fabric though, in case it came out looking horrible. So I tried it with some kind of silky polka dot fabric that someone gave me, and here's what I got!

I did the drop hem (you can't really tell because I took this pic on a tripod that was probably set up a little too high!), and I added some extra shirring because the single row wasn't enough. I think it could look a lot cuter if I liked the fabric more! So I might make another one. I might also do the next size down, this is a little baggy under the arms. What do you think?

I love the idea of the Go Make Shit blog and the Staple Dress challenge. I'm kind of trying to figure out a challenge to put on my own blog now! Hmmmm.....

Don't forget to come help me out and vote for me! Check out this blog entry to see how :) Pin It Now!

ALL Craftsy classes are on sale today!

If you missed any of the classes on your wish list in Craftsy's spring sale this weekend, you're in luck. Today only, Craftsy has put EVERY class on sale! Every class on their site will be priced between $9.99 and $24.99 until midnight tonight, 4/8/13. So "Spring" on over and grab them before the prices spring back up!

Pin It Now!

Craftsy Sale this weekend!

You can get Craftsy classes for up to 75% off this weekend! There will be different classes on sale each day, and the most will be on sale on Saturday, so be sure to check back daily.

What's on sale today? I was going to list them all here, but there's really too many to list! They're priced as low as $9.99, so now is the time to sign up. Click the banner below to head over, and they'll all be right there for ya, with categories on the left so you can go right to what interests you.

Pin It Now!

Mystery Quilt photos

Ok, so to update you, here's MY mystery quilt photos up through clue #3. I will post my photo for clue #4 when more people have had a chance to do it!

Clue #1 - Tri-Recs units

Clue #2 - I hadn't pressed my HST's open yet, so they're off to the side

Clue #3

Pin It Now!

Mystery Quilt Clue #4 is ready for you!

I have been posting these clues on my blog on the Tuesdays following the Friday I post them on my facebook group. That was only because I originally forgot to post them to my blog at all! So I'm catching it up here and will be posting them on Fridays for the rest of the mystery. So, here's Clue #4!

Also, I'd like to ask you a favor. If you're a pinner, please help me out by visiting this pinterest board and repinning my entries for this contest! You can see my entries here, just repin them and that's a vote! Thanks a bunch :)

Pin It Now!

Mystery Quilt Clue #3!

If you're following along, here's Clue #3!
Pin It Now!

WeAllSew Pinterest Bernina Fabric Design Contest!

http://weallsew.com/2013/03/27/weallsew-pinterest-fabric-design-contest/

 

You know I like to design fabrics, right? And I've recently decided to start marketing myself and my art to some fabric manufacturers. But this contest, and the possibility of a new Bernina and an interview and critique with Benartex, was something I couldn't pass up!

 

 

 

So I entered my 10 designs a couple hours ago.. I hope you'll come and vote for me by repinning my entries! The entries will be posted on THIS PINTEREST BOARD. I was one of the first to submit an entry so my entries are close to the very bottom of the board.To vote, you just have to repin my entries. But you have to repin them from this board directly, not from someone else that repinned them! Only repins (not likes!) from this board will count. Here's pics of my entries so you can find them. Thanks for looking and voting!

 

 

 

Pin It Now!

New fabric design contest - pt 5!

Pin It Now!

New fabric design contest - pt 4

Pin It Now!

New fabric design contest - pt 3

Here's more!

Pin It Now!

New fabric design contest - pt 2

Here are my next 2 entries.

Pin It Now!

New fabric design contest - pt 1

Here's my first two designs:

Pin It Now!

My Craftsy Wish List

I really discovered Craftsy in September of last year, and I have been thrilled to be able to post my patterns somewhere that people can see and buy them, and it doesn't cost me an arm and a leg to operate it (in fact, it's free!) I've also taken advantage of the amazing classes they offer. I'm enrolled in several of the free ones, but also a few of the paid ones, and they're great! I'm enrolled in Machine Quilting with Wendy Butler Burns, Free Motion Quilting a Sampler with Leah Day, and Sew Retro Perfect Bombshell Dress with Gretchen Hirsch. The format of these classes is so great! You can watch as many times as you want, and if you have questions, you can ask, and the instructors and classmates can answer them for you.
 
Have you looked through the class list yet? They add new classes every week. Currently, my Craftsy Wish List looks like this:

1. Mastering Foundation Paper Piecing with Carol Doak
2. Free Motion Fillers Vol. 1 with Leah Day
3. Quilting Big Projects on a Small Machine with Ann Petersen
4. Vintage Inspired Veils for the Modern Bride with Doreen Vandermeer


Sigh...I'd love to be a Craftsy instructor one day...Till then, I'll stick to working my way through the classes I'm already enrolled in!

Check out all of the other great Craftsy Classes by clicking here!

Pin It Now!

Did you know Google Reader is shutting down?

Well, that's what I heard. So if you're following my blog on Google Reader, you may need to find a new way to follow me. Here's one! Follow my blog with Bloglovin and you'll never miss a post :)

You can also follow me on Facebook HERE! Pin It Now!

Tried something new today

This morning, I stuck my neck out and decided to try submitting my fabric designs to some fabric companies. I contacted several companies to find out what I have to do, and the one I wanted to send my designs to most was the first to respond. So, since they said I could submit via email if I have an online portfolio, I went ahead and sent them my link! Now, for the grueling 3 week wait to hear back from them...I'll let you know what happens. I have three other companies that I have information for, so I'll go down the list if I get rejected! Pin It Now!

New Dear Jane block

I know I'm behind in posting my Dear Jane block photos, but I had to share this one. I've gotten as far as block D-7. But here is block D-5, and my new favorite!

This is a 5" block, made from my Moroccan Tiles fabric design (available HERE) in red/violet. I'm really thrilled with how easily this print fit into this block! Pin It Now!