In Times of Tragedy... I Paper Piece.

I think we have all had a bit of an emotional day with the tragic school shooting. We're all hugging our littles and trying to grasp the reality of what happened. 

After watching approximately one news cast this evening I couldn't take any more. I needed something to provide a bit of numbness. So I went to my old friend, foundation paper piecing.

Yes, I paper piece when I need to clear my mind / when I don't want to think / when I need to feel something other than the emotions in my head. (is that weird?) 

It seems that I haven't taken a photo of this since adding the last border -- which is a wide border in a black and white print... 

It didn't hurt that I've been wanting to finish this quilt before Christmas... but I keep putting it off because this next step requires drafting another giant circle of paper pieced flying geese... which to say the least, is not easy. (I'm fairly sure there's a computer program out there somewhere that would do this for me, but I haven't yet learned). 

So. That's what I did tonight. I drafted up that giant arc of geese... each "unit" includes 8 geese (approx 3" x 4" each) - and the arc will require six units of geese. I finished one unit and cut the fabric for the other 5 units! I feel accomplished. The piecing of the other units should go fairly quickly since everything is prepped. 

This is truly mind-numbing work - but not in the normal sense -- doing all the drafting and prep work takes a lot of brainpower / measuring / double checking  It leaves no room for any other thoughts. Such a luxury on a day like today. 

Mug Rugs By The Dozen!

You might be thinking that with all the pouches popping up around here that I haven't been quilting at all. Well that's only partially true. but I've been working a lot on some long term projects - harder piecing, and finishing some little stuff. 

One of my major projects the last few months has been a commission for 13 mug rugs (yes, thirteen!). My mother-in-law has had a couple made by me (and even made by Allie) mug rugs on her desk at work. Her employees like them... so MIL had me make them each one! 

I worked toward having a variety of colors and styles - there are a few guys who will be receiving them so I couldn't have them all girly! As it turns out, a couple of my favorites are those gender neutral ones!

I've been working on these slowly since September, and sat down to do all the quilting in one afternoon. It was fun to play around with a variety of quilting for these. 

I also tried homemade spray starch when I was preparing the bindings. I decided I don't like spray starch (after it singed onto the bottom of my iron - and I can't get it off!). It's nice that it makes things crisp, but overall not worth the hassle.

I made my own labels (printed on my printer), fused to the mug rug backs, and sewn into the binding. I know these won't be permanent, as the Wonder Under washes away in a few washes, but they're nice to have on there. 

Finally, I used a bit of embroidery floss to tie one of my Moo cards to each one. I like using this as a little tag, so people know who made the item, and they can then follow my process here on the blog. 

I'm hoping these mug rugs are well received - either way, they've greatly helped fund my trip to QuiltCon! 

Happy Little Pouch Hop: Week 2 Winners!

Finally we're ready to announce the week 2 winners for the Happy Little Pouch Hop! 

Congrats to all the winners! Check your Flickr Mail soon, you'll be hearing from us!

Prizes have generously been donated by:

$10 gift certificate to Fat Quarter Shop - #3 SuddenlySandra

Gathered clutch pattern #24 SuddenlySandra (again!)

Oh Fransson!

Oh Fransson! perfect zip pattern - #28 Negligent Style

Oh Fransson!

Oh Fransson! perfect zip pattern - #10 jennyWrenCameron

One package of Pellon SF101 - #43 Hook and Needle

While Baby Naps - kit - #61 Paskiaq1

And the last prize, the co-host's fav pouch... 

$10 gift certificate to Fat Quarter Shop - Cutsewpresslove, which was one of the only pouches found in both Elaine and I's flickr fave's! :) 

Thank you to all of our sponsors and all our great pouch enthusiasts who played along! I can't wait for next year's pouch hop! Be sure to follow Elaine and I's blogs, we make lots of pouches throughout the year too! :) 

Doll Quilt Swap 13 - Sketching and Planning!

Just after Thanksgiving we received our partner info for the thirteenth round of the Doll Quilt Swap. I'm really excited about this, and I'm feeling really inspired by my partner's style. 

So here's my plan (so far), I'm going to start piecing some foundation paper pieced stars, English paper pieced stars (like those Camelot stars), free pieced stars, and some half square triangle chevrons to mix things up. The scale of these stars will vary from about 4" - 8". 

I'm not quite settled into a color scheme yet, but since my goal for swaps is to challenge myself, I'm pretty sure I'm going to try to accomplish a balanced low volume, scrappy, grey background. I have a few fabrics in mind... but it's going to be strange for me.

PS: Linking up for WIP Weds @ Freshly Pieced!

Pattern Crush - A New Modern Fabric Shop!

Today I'd like to welcome my newest blog sponsor, Pattern Crush! 

Pattern Crush is a brand new online fabric shop owned by Samantha who is inspired by modern fabric designers such as Tula Pink, Deneyse Schmidt, Kate Spain, and Laurie Wisbrun. Samantha has been sewing and blogging over at her blog (also named Pattern Crush), and she's just starting out in the scary and exciting venture of fabric shop ownership!

Pattern Crush is up and running, and is currently taking pre-orders for Tula Pink's Salt Water! These fabrics are priced at a reduced sale price for all pre-orders! This fabric is set to arrive in the shop soon, and will ship soon after! 

Please help me welcome Pattern Crush as my newest sponsor! Go see what they have to offer, and snag some of that Salt Water so you'll be the first to get your hands on it! 

For frequent shop updates follow Pattern Crush on Facebook! 

HLPH {Challenge} - Final update!

It figures that on the last night of the challenge I would make my favorite pouch all week!

I set out to make something just for me - I guess I was feeling a little down because I've made all these awesome pouches, yet I'll be giving them all away at Christmas this year. SO, of course I needed one just for me.

I decided that it should be a pencil pouch since I don't have one, and because then I could use it every day in my purse! I initially thought of this tutorial, but it makes an unlined pouch. Then I thought about the way these were constructed, and knew that the lining part would work just the same (essentially it is the same, without boxing the bottom two corners). Then I added a bit of this (I sure love my "purses" pinterest board - pouch inspiration galore!). Finally I added this as the color inspiration! (yes, I essentially stalked my flickr account like I would for any swap partner!

I love the results! I wasn't quite on spot with my colors - but I was working with what was handy - and these hexies were already basted and joined into a rainbow strip. I'm love love loving the pull tab - I used two layers of Pellon 809 Decor Bond and Pellon 805 Wonder Under.

Finally, a little bit of pretty pouchiness for me! 

Happy Little Pouch Hop: Day 10 - The Final Day!

Can you believe our two weeks have come and gone already? I just can't believe it! Elaine and I have had a lot of fun gathering all you Pouch Enthusiasts together to share ideas, tutorials, and pretty pouches! Thank you guys for making this blog hop so much fun!

Let's take a little look back at what we've made...

Pouches made by you!!! Find the proper links to all these pics tagged here.

HLPH {Challenge} - Pouches made by me in the past two weeks!! 

As a lover of pouches I must say that I don't want the pouch hop to end! So you can all continue to post your pouch makes in our flickr group and.... Join us again for round 2 of the Happy Little Pouch Hop - the same time next year! That's right - We're planning to make this a yearly gig which is absolutely perfect for finishing off our christmas sewing (pouches! Everyone gets pouches!)

I sure hope you guys have enjoyed this as much as we have!

I'm sure you'd all agree that it's time to thank our fabulous sponsors! Be sure to check them out for all your pouch making needs!

Prizes have generously been donated by:

Oh Fransson!

Don't forget to submit the pouch(s) to our flickr discussion for this week to be eligible for our fabulous giveaways! Submit your pouches to the discussion page no later than Saturday, December 8th at 12:00 Noon, CST! We'll draw names using Random.org, and we'll also choose one "Happy Little Pouch Hop Favorite" which will be chosen from Elaine and I's favorite's (I hope we can agree - since they're all so awesome)!

If you'd like to weigh in on our decision please check out our flickr group page and leave a comment here with the link to your favorite pouch made during the swap (this week or last). I can't wait to see what you guys think!