Blogger's Quilt Festival

Hello to all the visitors stopping by for the Blogger's Quilt Festival! I'm Emily and I love to sew. Check out my tutorials here, and my recent finishes here. I also love to make zip pouches, so you'll see a lot of those here too! Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to see you around!

This year for my Blogger's Quilt Festival entry I'm sharing my Bella Quilt for Kathy.

This is my one of my most accomplished quilts ever, my most intense quilt.

The quilt was made for my Aunt Kathy, who has been a crafter for all my life. She's always had a project for us kids to work on, and shared her passion. She went through a quilting phase before finding her real love: polymer clay. For the past 10 or so years she's been passionately creating spectacular beads and necklaces - she's taught and written articles in magazines. She really is talented. 

Back to the story, when I was a kid Kathy gave me her old sewing machine. I was maybe 12? I started sewing and never stopped. So I guess I owe it all to her? So I made her a quilt to show my gratitude. 

So how does one make a quilt for an artist? I decided to work with black and white prints since they are a staple in Kathy's clay jewelry pieces. (it was a real stretch for me!). I started with a standard New York Beauty block and then drafted arcs of blocks to fit around it. Each border was drafted by hand, and nearly all of them are paper pieced. Each bit of this quilt took a lot of work psyching myself up to it. It was scary working on such a different and new to me style! 

In the end I absolutely love the quilt. It's really exciting to see it all together after all the planning and drafting! :) 

And the sweetest final touches? I added prayers written under the binding. Aunt Kathy will always be wrapped up in my love and prayers! 

Stats: 

Size: about 55" x 65"

Techniques: foundation paper piecing, hand drawn paper pattern, raw edge applique.

Quilting: meandering stipple with inclusions of "love," "hope," and hearts throughout. Quilted on my beloved Juki TL98E (Janice). 

If you're interested you can read all the details of the story / piecing here.

Now go ahead and check out all the other great quilts in the Blogger's Quilt Festival! 

To do list:

1. Take pictures of the Bubble Quilt - it's been finished for more than two weeks now!
2. Edit pics and finalize tutorial for Bubble Quilt!
3. Edit pics and finalize tutorial for Pillow Shams project - wanted these done for mother's day!
4. Order fabric for Summer Quilt - ASAP!
5. Focus on the mini quilt with a deadline! DO IT! 

Are those really sewing goals? Only one of those options includes sewing - notice how I did that? I need to let go of my fears and just decide on a design and go with it! I've been dragging my feet on this mini project because I just can't decide. Part of me wants to make something that would be well liked by others, but if I focus on that too much I loose sight of my own style, and ultimately the project is awesome-er if I LOVE it. 

There it is. It's Sunday night. I'd like to stick to this list throughout the week. I need to focus! :)

Mother's day is for moms, and for those who mother.

Happy Mother's day to all you mommy bloggers! I'm always a bit at a loss on mother's day. It's weird to be the mom on Mother's day, after living my whole life as a kid. :) Truth is, I'm pretty lucky. 

Mother's day is always a little odd for me in another way though. On holidays like this I'm really reminded about the kids that I want, that I wish for, that aren't here yet. As anyone who's spent any amount of time trying to conceive - the celebrations of motherhood are soured a little, by the loss of every passing month. Every missed chance. 

I'm entirely lucky to be blessed with Allie - as easy as it was for us to have her - she's perfectly mine. (Did I ever mention that she's got my attitude? For better or worse). It kills me that at this point she'll be 5 years older than any siblings (at the very least). She wants friends, and calls her friends "stisters" (adorable extra t's). 

There are so many deep feelings going on here. But I'll take them - each day is something new. 

I hope you all have great mother's days - give your mom a hug. Hug the strong women in your life - mother or not, let them know they're appreciated! 

SMS Giveaway Day!

Pencil Pouch - perfect for, well pencils, pens, and markers!

Welcome to the spring giveaway day hosted by Sew Mama Sew! 

Today I'm giving away your choice one tiny Pontoms Box Pouch (tutorial here), or one adorable pencil pouch. 

The items shown here are already spoken for so I'd like you to tell me what your favorite colors are   as well as which style pouch you'd like (pencil pouch, or pontoms), and I'll make one especially for you!

Pontoms Pouch - perfect for OB tampons, spare change, or any other tiny thing.

I'll keep it short and sweet here. If you'd like a chance to win (USA only please) leave a comment below telling me what color / shape you'd like. 

For a chance at extra entries you're welcome to follow me on any of these sources and leave a comment below (1 extra entry each).

Facebook

Twitter 

Instagram

Flickr 

There you go! Good luck!! 

(giveaway ends the evening of may10, 7pm CST)

****

Giveaway is now closed - Mr Random.org chose comment #60,

EmilyMay 6, 2013 at 11:52 PM

I love the pencil pouch in blue and pink!

I'll be contacting you soon Emily!

A Pretty New Cover for my Juki!

A few days ago my friend Jenna (the sewing student from this post) messaged me asking for tips / tutorials and general info on how to make a cover for he new sewing machine (I know, I know, it's so cool that she's really been sewing on her own!). So naturally I have a pinterest board for that. In my defense, I've been planning to sew a cover for another friend's machine recently - so I've been compiling links and inspiration.

Since Jenna was already planning on making one, I joined along (virtually of course, Jenna doesn't live nearby). I used this tutorial and it worked out just perfectly!

I omitted the side pockets, knowing that I wouldn't use them. Instead I added a bit of patchwork on the sides to look as if I had added the pockets. I used two layers of Pellon sheerweight fusible interfacing on the outer fabric (I would have used one layer of Shape Flex SF101 if I would have had it on hand) and it gave just enough body to the fabric for it to hold it's square shape.

My favorite part of this tutorial was the self binding bottom edge. Genius!

PS - It's super hard to photograph your sewing machine cover when your sewing room is a total mess... I should clean it, but I'd rather sew. Creativity is messy sometimes.

Have you seen me around?

I'm working on expanding my scope a little bit. Growing little by little. 

I have joined the Instagram crowd. I have to admit I really like instagram. It's a lot like flickr was back in the early days. I love all the WIP action going on there, as well as the general awesome friendly support. So if you're on Instagram follow me so I can follow you back! 

I've also recently added a facebook page for my blog. It's another way to receive updates. I'll be linking to all my new blog posts there, as well as announcing any giveaways. 

Finally I've been doing some twittering. Not a ton, I feel really restrained by the character limit! But I do LOVE joining in for Talkin Tuesdays (#talknt2 is 1-3pm est, #talknt is 9-11pm est). Join in tonight - it's always fun! Follow me over there on twitter!

And as always I'm on flickr. Flickr is my go-to time killer. I'm always taking part in or leading a swap (or two) on flickr, and I find a lot of inspiration there. 

I'd love to follow your pages too - leave me a link in the comments so I can find you! 

Mini Quilts: Mug Rugs

I've always been a huge fan of mug rugs. They're tiny, fast, and useful. It has only been recently that I've begun to really think of them as mini quilts though. I can put some intense piecing and quilting into a 5" x 8" mug rug - so why not recognize it as something more than a coaster?

I'm rambling.

What I'm trying to say here is that I made a mug rug recently. But I haven't been able to bring myself to use it yet. Actually I considered giving it away - I have the intention of making a mug rug soon for a friend - but this one isn't quite perfect enough. 

I love this little guy though. Scraps of some favorite fabrics, bound in the most perfect orange fabric (my last bit of it!)

Then there's the back. The back!! I wanted to test out my skills after long arm class, but the mug rug top didn't want fancy quilting... so I quilted the back separately. These are the best flowers I've ever made! Now I need to work on getting some consistent swirls! 

All this rambling, for a sweet little mug rug. I love it though, that's what matters.