Monique's Stitches

One Little Corner of My House

2012-01-24T12:14:00.000-08:00

New throw and pillow for my bedroom couch

Carrie from Girls World Vibe curtain

entry into my sewing room from my bedroom

patchwork curtain on sewing room side

One thing leads to another in decorating, doesn't it?? We finished my sewing room addition about a year ago & have been undecided on the curtain I would put on the glass door going from my bedroom into the sewing room. Then came Girls World Vibe & I knew the Carrie fabric in either gold or brown would fit the bill from my bedroom side. I decided on the brown to contrast with the gold walls in my room. I added a small lumbar pillow with ball fringe to the couch to tie in the curtain. It's been really cold lately, so I've been wanting to make a minky throw for the couch in my bedroom. Do you see the chain reaction??? I finally got it together and used mostly chocolate and apple green with a tiny bit of pink and yellow with cream minky for the back. My Franciscan plates up to pull in more color and get 'stuff' on the walls!

For the patchwork curtain, I originally thought of Carrie in the aqua, then, well maybe the brown. . . my husband said that having that door right next to the Wall of Wow called for a busy, colorful print, so I decided to use my fabric scraps that I have stored in baggies by size. I used 8x8, 6x8 & along the bottom 4x8. I LOVE how it came out, and it's like a quilt on a door. I think if I could write a book it would be called Living with Patchwork because anything I can do to make something made of multiple fabrics, I do it. Now to do the other side of my room. . . and the lampshades... and my summer quilt that I hope will be using the Swoon pattern. . . stay tuned!

Please Read My Guest Post on Fabric Organization

2012-01-13T20:13:00.000-08:00

You can read about how I organize my cut and uncut fabrics on this blog. Thank you Allison for asking me how I organize fabric! If you need to get your room or space organized, follow her blog as she will be posting about all aspects of craft room organization! She is also co~founder of seamedup another place you need to visit!

Another Gorgeous Nursery!

2012-01-12T08:47:00.000-08:00

Take a look at the nursery that Carey put together for her daughter. I had the privilege of making the patchwork bumper and patchwork changing pad cover, skirt and blanket for the nursery. Here is the bumper separately

It is one of my favorite color combinations! Carey did such a great job with the details! I love the changing table/dresser with the artwork. I love how several of the details from the fabrics are combined to create one of a kind artwork that mimics the patchwork in the bumper. The tree is just a stunning setting for the crib and I love the crystal chandelier. All beautiful details. I absolutely love seeing things I make in their home setting. It's like everything comes alive!! Enjoy!

Girls World Vibe

2012-01-06T12:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was frustrated because I was expecting my Girls World Vibe fabric from fabric.com and my UPS delivery is usually at about 2pm. Yesterday he got here at 6ish!!! How dare he when I'm expecting a very exciting package! I wasn't able to play with the fabric until this morning~ it is was a highlight, as usual!! Girls World Vibe should be a staple in every person's fabric closet. I love the color-on-white in the brown, magenta, gold, aqua, green and tangerine colors. They go with both past and future (Crazy Love) collections, so if you are a Sis Boom stasher like me, they will nestle nicely with the others. I'm excited because I'll be using the Carrie damask in gold and brown around my house~ future fun posts. The rest of the groups can be found on my flickr or my shop

Sugar Hill

2012-01-04T12:52:00.000-08:00

Sugar Hill is here from Tanya Whelan! Its everything you love about Tanya's fabrics~ retro, vintage feel that is at home in a quilt, apron or purse. It combines beautifully with Darla & of course Jennifer Paganelli fabrics. There is actually a fuchsia in the small floral/bird print that I tried to pick out in some of the palettes. It can be a subdued or bold color palette. Can't wait to start cutting it up!!

New Quilt, New Year

2012-01-03T09:51:00.000-08:00

I finished and started a quilt yesterday, so thought I'd share. The bottom one was free motion quilted with minky on the back. I will only do small quilts with minky as it wants to more. Here is an application where your 505 Spray and Fix will really stabilize the layers. I folded the backing over the front for the binding and the quilt has a snuggly edge for baby to feel. Its a 40x40 size.
The new quilt I've made before~ it will be a twin size using 7" squares in a 10x12 pattern. I label the rows so I can continually pair up the rows until its all sewn up without the guesswork of keeping track of the order. Over the break Christina and I were able to finish 7 tops for either minky blankets or quilts, so stay tuned for the results of those tops. I've got my month laid out for me! :) What are you working on this month??

Crazy Love Set

2011-12-28T13:39:00.000-08:00

I wanted to wait to blog about the Crazy Love quilt and pillow I made for Jennifer Paganelli until after she blogged about it~ after all, its her amazing designs!! All I can say is put on your sunglasses as this is one vibrant collection. Everyone who saw it in my sewing room had a jaw dropping reaction~ its truely stunning! The amazing thing is that this is one fabric line where all the fabrics look good together. There are some color defined groups~ like the brown, fuschia, tangerine, purple, yellow or green, but they all intermingle and when put together make an eclectic gypsy~bohemian~70's look that is so different from anything else out there. It does match with her Honey Child, Queen Street and earlier collections really well.

I decided after a couple of days of thinking about it to go with a random patchwork pattern that I make so often. I really love that design for large prints as it is showing off the prints rather than the pattern. Since a few of the prints were large scale, I fussy cut some sections so it looks like more fabrics then there really are. I pre cut my usual (plus seam allowance) 8x8, 8x6, 8x4, 6x6, 6x4 & 4x4 plus large square in the corner is 11x11 because I really wanted to feature that design completely somewhere. After that I just played with the colors and patterns to get a pleasing mix and sewed it all up and backed it with fuchsia minky. For the pillow, I did a log cabin variation and started with a square in the corner and kept adding on different width strips to get a finished size of 16x16. I tried to mimic a crazy quilt using my different stitches on my Viking, here's a closeup

I used iron on batting to keep it simple, then used the pompom trim and backed with fuchsia minky & voila we have a crazy, eclectic set for anyone who wants an adventure in color

Crazy Love comes out in March~ can't wait to play with it all again. Can you imagine the amazing crib bedding this would make???

A Very Southern California Christmas

2011-12-25T18:36:00.000-08:00

Adult Table outside

The spread

With 95 year old grandma & great grandkids

My last minute skirt

I can't complain about the weather we had today in Manhattan Beach at my brother's house with lots of family. It was about 73 degrees, clear and sunny. We had an outside BBQ of tritip and shrimp with incredible sides, cakes for dessert and amazing appetizers. Normally the weather isn't THAT nice for Christmas, but this one was one for the books~ just gorgeous!! I had originally planned on making the Painted Portrait blouse to wear by AMH, but I must have measured myself wrong as it came out way too big~ I'll try to alter it another time! I made this skirt last minute from the Barcelona pattern from Amy Butler using the Clippings fabric from Loulouthi. There is a basic A line with zipper option that took about an hour to make. I skipped the lining and just hemmed it all up, love how it came out and intend to make more. What a beautiful day! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-24T21:57:00.000-08:00

This scripture was read at my church recently and it reminds us that we must celebrate the free gift God has given us in Jesus. The best present we will ever receive! Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas!

Quilted Patchwork Purse Gift

2011-12-21T11:08:00.000-08:00

I get to have help sewing from Christina one evening a week and I have found out that she LOVES bicycle fabric, so I thought this Munki Munki fabric would be a great basis for a project. I decided to do a patchwork purse, so I pulled from my stash (l-r): more Heather Ross flowers, Lizzy House' Foliage and Pearl Bracelets from Outfoxed, Anna Maria Horner's Maybe from Innocent Crush, Wildfield from Valori Wells Wrenly & Loulouthi Hugs & Kisses. I lined it with Hugs & Kisses and inside pockets (not pictured) in Maybe. For the back I took a smaller portion of the stripwork and made a pocket. I enjoyed hand quilting a heart around the 'bicycles i've loved' words as well as down some of the strips. I used a rust colored embroidery thread from Anna Maria's thread collection. Hope she loves it!

Handmade Crazy Love Birds

2011-12-20T12:28:00.000-08:00

I really love the bird tutorial I found from spool sewing to make these little birds. They are great for small pieces of fabric scraps as the finished length is apx 5". I had some scraps from my Crazy Love quilt that Jennifer blogged about recently and wanted to make ornaments, but I decided not to attach a string as I really like mine on my windowsill

You can see the one I originally did on the far left with Honey Child. They make great stocking stuffers or cute topper on a gift! I just machine sewed the bottom shut, but you could fancy hand sew it! I'm working on a few handmade gifts, not too many as I only have a few days left!! Made some pj pants for myself last night out of some flannel and am still wearing them at 12:30pm right now. Its a cozy day here in southern CA!!

Crazy Love Tee

2011-12-12T10:58:00.000-08:00

I made progress on my Crazy Love quilt over the weekend and LOVE how its coming along! I usually applique a design from a favorite fabric onto a tee shirt. I couldn't decide which one from Crazy Love, so I decided to make a patchwork block to applique. I started with a 1 1/2" square and kept adding different size strips around the center until it measured approximately 5". I ironed wonder under to the back and fused it to the tee and then used a decorative stitch from my machine with a flower motif to attach to the tee permanently. It looks great with my green sweater and jeans!!

Hubby Helps

2011-12-10T11:37:00.001-08:00

I just had to take this photo of my husband! I was taking pictures of a blanket I finished and he was looking over the start of my Crazy Love quilt and had an opinion! One of the patches had the pattern sideways and he said he preferred all the prints facing the same direction. I see his point, but I like them in different directions in the random patchwork as that is part of the randomness. Tom is amazing in construction and creating as he's remodeled 3 houses for us. I value his opinion and am glad he cares~ but cute boy, I know what I'm doing! :)

Crazy Love Peek

2011-12-09T11:42:00.001-08:00

I just about fell over yesterday when I received this package from Jennifer Paganelli!!! Its fat quarters from her entire new line coming out in March called CRAZY LOVE. I have been waiting for Girls World Vibe to come out and hadn't even seen images of these fabrics yet! (I stalk her blog looking for peeps of new stuff!) I think what I love most about this line is the intricacy of the patterns and the (of course) super amazing color combinations that Jennifer is so famous for. This line is true Jennifer style with a 70's nod, but in incredible, electric colors. The orange fabric in the middle picture thats in the middle was hard to photograph on its own it is so electric!
I get to be part of a project with Katy from I'm A Ginger Monkey, Heather from Olive and Ollie and Toni in making projects introducing Crazy Love. If you love this line and Jennifer Paganelli (who doesn't??), then be checking back on my blog and the other amazing sewists blogs to see all the goodies we're going to make out of this amazing fabric!

Scrappy Star Block

2011-12-08T08:22:00.001-08:00

This one was a doozy, but so much fun! It took me a few tries to get the chevron piecing correct. I didn't understand how to do it, so jumped in and was fine until I realized that I forgot the part in the directions that said draw a line for half from the left corner & the other half from the right, so all my chevrons were going the same way. An easy fix, just redid those parts. This block did remind me, however, why I don't do many star blocks as I inevitably cut off some of the points and I don't want to go back and fix it! Luckily, this block is so busy that if you aren't looking for errors, you won't see it. I love the slices I got from some of the fabrics~ like Santa and the cookie. I squeezed in Anna Maria Horner's Needleworks fabric slicing it a bit bigger so you could see the motif. Onto block 5. It's not too late to start the quiltalong!

Fireplace Block

2011-12-06T11:28:00.001-08:00

I'm on block 3 in the 12 days of Christmas Sampler Quiltalong . I wanted a 'chair rail', so I used Sherri Berry's "Have a Sheri Berry Christmas" fabric for that part. The wallpaper is Jennifer Paganelli on the top, Polly Stripe, on the bottom Luca. The wreath medallion is also from Jennifer, Karen. It was too small on its own, so I used a snowflake print from Countdown to Christmas by Sweetwater with pinking shears to give it a cute edge. Stockings with scallop are from Bonnie & Camille & with check Tanya Whelan (red) Michael Miller (green). Of course, Joel Dewberry for my wood mantle and wood floor! I don't know which fabric the flame is, I got it from my LQS & its a scrap. I really love how it came out! Looking forward to making the others.

Ahh Vacation!

2011-11-27T18:15:00.001-08:00

We just got back from Cayucos, CA for Thanksgiving break and it was amazing as usual! The cousins got to play for hours on end at the beach & the sunsets are amazing. I'm ready for Christmas now! :)

Gorgeous Girl's Room!

2011-11-21T10:45:00.001-08:00

These are photos Sarah shared with me of her daughter's new room. I made the pillows for this day bed set up. You can see all the pictures of the pillows here . Isn't that wallpaper amazing??? What a perfect match! Her daughter is going to have such a wonderful bed to daydream, sleep and hang out on. Thanks for sharing, Sarah!

Fancy Santa Block

2011-11-18T15:53:00.001-08:00

I finished block 2 and I'm so very behind, but I am enjoying the process! I called this fancy santa because I thought his jacket and belt looked fancier than usual. The buttons are from the same cathedral windows fabric from Alexander Henry. I'd like some continuity in the sampler blocks. You can find this quilt along on Sara at sewsweetness blog.

Quilt from Recycled Crib Bedding

2011-11-15T17:09:00.001-08:00

The best of Jennifer Paganelli fabrics

Marie in blue from West Indies

random patchwork twin size

patchwork sham to match

I was given an exciting opportunity recently to take a crib skirt from a previously made (not by me) crib set and make it into a quilt. Amanda contacted me because she had seen my work on Jennifer Paganelli's blog (thank you, Jennifer!) and thought I might be interested in taking on this project. I said, 'yes, yes, yes!!!!' couldn't wait! The print from the skirt is Nicole in blue from a discontinued line called Mod Girls. There was also a fitted sheet in the Eliza Stripe that she wanted to incorporate, but since I had some that was brand new, we decided to use my stash for that. I pulled from my extensive JP stash to get all the colors from the main print including Bell Bottoms, Flower Power, Pretty Please, So St Croix, Poodle, Queen Street, and West Indies. The backing is Marie from West Indies and the binding & sham ruffle is the Eliza Stripe. I free motion quilted in Aurifil thread using a variegated fuchsia thread in a scroll pattern. I hope Amanda and her daughter enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it for them!

Quilt Along Block 1

2011-11-09T17:22:00.000-08:00

I finished the first block from Sew Sweetness' 12 Days of Christmas sew along! I am extremely behind in all the sewing, but hopefully most will be done before Christmas. I used the new Ruby scallop fabric for the truck base, Alexander Henry fabric for the wheels, presents and Santa. I omitted the door and machine stitched Santa after making the truck so he doesn't look squished in the truck. Hopefully #2 will get done quicker.

Little Apples & Ruby Tote

2011-11-06T13:32:00.000-08:00

I decided I needed a small tote bag to carry & keep my current Bible study materials in. I'm studying Beth Moore's Psalms of Ascent every other Tuesday~ I highly recommend it! I fell in love with Little Apples by Aneela Hoey & ordered the charm pack to drool on it for a while before the yardage became available. Ruby by Bonnie & Camille is another 'must have' & I noticed how great they looked together, so I decided to make a quilted tote bag out of the charm packs & then ordered yardage when it came out for the straps and inside pockets. The interior is from Bliss, a previous Bonnie & Camille line. I used interfacing for the interior & batting for the front and back with straight line stitching. Super easy & cute! :)

Patchwork Crib Bumper

2011-11-04T13:23:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of working with this fun color combination of plum, turquoise & tangerine. Tegan chose mostly Joel Dewberry fabrics from his newest Heirloom collection as well as Aviary 2 & Modern Meadow. Jennifer Paganelli's West Indies Chandler in brandy was a great match for the plums in the Damask, Crosshatch Dots (Hoodie) & Patricia Bravo's Moroccan Nights (zig zag stitch fabric). A great group of patterns to capture a baby's attention! I also made a patchwork and minky blanket and a skirt, pics of those are on my flickr page.

Sew Fun at Home

2011-11-02T10:57:00.000-07:00

I have so much fun working with lots of bright colors for my customers, but my home already has the fall colors of wheat, olive, chocolate and deep red. My husband won't let me change it all out as that would be a huge undertaking, so I've struggled to get the fabric designs I love into my home. I recently found the Thomas Paul fabric that's on the pillow at fabric.com & thought it worked well with the bird theme & color scheme already in place. I pulled together the caramels, chocolates and saffrons from recent collections from Sandi Henderson, Joel Dewberry, Jennifer Paganelli, Anna Maria Horner, Michael Miller & Moda. I used one voile to see how I liked it mixed in, and it works well. That particular color is really hard to find, but it matches well with Sandi Henderson's Fresh Cut Flowers in maize. My living room is finally ready for fall. I have some fabric pumpkins in the making and if I finish them before the end of fall, I'll post about them! :)

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T08:24:00.000-07:00

Having a 16 & 13 year old makes costumes tricky! No more Jack Sparrow and Cinderella, no complicated costumes to sew. Dylan decided on an undercover cop (no sewing!) & Holly wanted to be a Domo. I'm not sure how to describe a Domo, but her shirt looks exactly like one, just google it! Actually Dear Husband, Holly & I all worked on it cutting out everything, ironing edges under & satin stitching all the way around the outside. The teeth I just did a regular zigzag stitch. She does have shorts on, but will opt for leggings tonight. Off to get the house ready for 15+ teenagers tonight. Our house is the food/starting off point for my kids and their friends. Hope you have something fun planned! :)

Purple, Lavender, Plum, Lilac

2011-10-22T19:58:00.000-07:00

What ever shade you like of purple, its probably represented in the pictures above. Suddenly, lots of people want purple & I'm glad to see it! My bedroom used to be purples.

Laura Ashley House Party plum

This Laura Ashley fabric was my bedroom inspiration and I made a whole cloth quilt with this on one side and a quilting weight cotton on the other. Just love it! Someday if we ever have a guest room, it will be purple so I can use all the components from my former bedroom. :)

The top picture is a finished closeup of a patchwork and minky blanket~ notice no quilting~ just patchwork on one side, minky on the other. I backed it with lavender minky fleece. The second pic is a quilt I finished with Tula Pink's Topiary print on the back. I love the Bungalow Stripe in kiwi by Michael Miller for the binding. I'm almost out, then its gone! I enjoyed combining the plums and lavenders with limes. I scroll quilted with lilac thread. The next picture down with fabrics scribbled out is a future baby quilt. There are some similar fabrics, but each one is unique in their own way. I'm glad we have a better selection out there for purple. Not enough in my opinion, but who knows what's ahead??

Girl's World Cover Blanket

2011-10-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

I was asked by a customer of mine if I could make the quilt that's on the cover of Girl's World by Jennifer Paganelli. She said she knew I would know which one it was because she saw it on my blog. :) I told her it would be 'easy' to make because the print is a cheater print called Kimberly with the patchwork printed on. The finished size is 70x84 to fit a twin bed. Its pictured on a queen bed. You can see the ball fringe on the far side because it technically doesn't fit this size. We don't have any twin size beds anymore as my son is now about 6' and doesn't fit in one anymore. The backing is Kona cotton azalea and the ball fringe goes all the way around. I recommend a ball fringe with a wide strip that you attach to your item to. I've ordered ball fringe that has a minuscule edge and its a nightmare to sew on. This was a dream! I would call this a coverlet because there is no batting in the middle. I seamed 2 sides down the middle and sewed right sides together, turned right side out & ironed. I topstitched around the edge with white thread in the top, fuschia in the bottom and then attached the fringe switching out the top thread to match the fringe and viola! We're living in a Girl's World!!

Lark is Here!!

2011-10-12T12:48:00.000-07:00

Got my Lark by Amy Butler yesterday and despite my lack of energy, I was able to make a huge mess in my sewing room coming up with new combinations. Somehow all this vibrant fabric infused some energy and I was able to have a productive evening. Who knew new fabric was just what I needed?? More combinations can be found on my flickr . I pre ordered my Lark at Quilthome, it should be arriving everywhere else soon!

Embroidery Question

2011-10-11T11:28:00.000-07:00

Before

After

I've been stuck in bed with the flu or some other bug since Sunday, so I've picked up my stitching. Okay~ so I'm learning embroidery~ this is my first time trying a chain stitch. I got my book out and in the first photo was the result on the bottom of the stem. Then I went to welovefrenchknots , Bari J's blog about embroidery and clicked on 'How to Videos' and learned the chain stitch! The results are in the second picture & although those of you who have been embroidering for years will see the flaws, I'm just happy to see an obvious chain stitch!!

HERE'S THE QUESTION: can I pull out the stitching that looks bad from the V of the branches and below or will it unravel all the stitching that is done on that same strand that isn't bad??

If you are beginning to learn about embroidery, check out Bari's blog to learn the stitches and see great examples that other people do as well.

Kat's Nursery

2011-10-09T14:16:00.000-07:00

Kat sent me a link to photos from her finished nursery/guest room & thought I'd share it with you. She posted it on 'Rate My Space' so you can see more photos and rate it!! I had the privilege of sewing the crib bedding, pillows inside the crib & quilt on the bed. We started with the Its a Hoot fabric from Momo & coordinated from there. Kat did the rest including the Sprocket Pillow tutorial from Cluck Cluck Sew. I love how she moved the color and pattern all around the room~ everything is gorgeous! Enjoy!

Fun With Pillow Covers

2011-10-07T17:32:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted to make a bunch of mixy~matchy pillow covers and Sarah gave me that opportunity! She is making her daughter's bed into a day bed type of set up. The large bolster is 60" wide! I actually made 2 of those. They look like giant sausages in my sewing room. :) She then gave me various sizes and told me to mix it up with piping and fringe & I thoroughly enjoyed it all! I'm also making curtain tiebacks and bed skirt out of Dana from Honey Child which is also on the bolster. Beautiful set!!

Brandi's Nursery

2011-10-02T15:31:00.000-07:00

I had the priviledge of making the crib bedding for Brandi & she sent me photos of her finished nursery! I love when moms do that. It is so exciting to see my sewing come alive and I enjoy seeing all the elements that are chosen to coordinate. My kids are 13 & 16 so my nursery decorating days are over~ so I love living through these wonderful moms who let me sew for their precious ones. Enjoy!

Saturday's Quilting Job

2011-09-24T16:26:00.000-07:00

Today I've been quilting Jess' baby quilt. I'm using my Mega Quilter and I just love it!! Baby quilts are fun to quilt because they are a manageable size. I can do up to a twin, but a twin can be trickier. This one just flows right through. I think the hardest part about free motion quilting is keeping your stitches the same size. I think if you go with a speed you are comfortable and take your time, most of the time that is possible. However, the beauty of handmade are the quirks that come from a human making your item. It's a pleasure that I'm grateful I can do! :) Do you notice the Trader Joe's peach boxes stacked? They make great project holders! What are you working on today??

Teardrop Bag in Patchwork

2011-09-22T13:46:00.000-07:00

I had a custom order for the Teardrop bag from Amy Butler in patchwork and adding a flap and inside zippered pocket. I was up for the challenge! Nellie wanted purples, pinks and blues and so we decided on Heirloom & Ginseng by Joel Dewberry, Innocent Crush by Anna Maria Horner & Flower Power from Jennifer Paganelli.. I cut 4 1/4" squares for the body and 4 1/2" squares for the strap. The trim piece along the top as well as the 'hips' are all Wilflowers fabric. I had a flap pattern I use for my diaper/wipes case and it was the perfect size~ it just needed to be a little longer, so I went with that. I put a magnetic button in the middle of the front pleat and the flap for closure. Inside Nellie wanted a zippered pocket, so I used the Mail Sack pattern~ (one of my all time favorite bag patterns) to construct that. The other side is a patchwork pocket that is divided. I'm really happy with the way it came out & I hope Nellie is too! :)

New Ironing Board Cover & Iron

2011-09-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

Here is the ironing area of my sewing room. I used a quilt rack with shelf above and had my husband modify it so that the bar hung lower so I could get fabric in and out easier. I either hang fabric to be ironed or fabric that has just been ironed on the bar. I store books and specific projects (my ongoing hexies) or supplies (scripture fabric) in the bins above. My daughter made the little bird that hangs on the peg. Finished purses and diaper bags will also hang from there until they get mailed out. My ironing board was in desperate need of recovering, so I used Jona's tutorial here . She has a great blog with lots of helpful info. Her blog link is on the sidebar. I used Velentina in cocoa from the new West Indies & solid brown for the string to go through. It was easy enough to make and pretties up that side of the room. To the right is the cutting table I blogged about previously. I've had so many irons I don't like and I finally found one I really like! It's a Rowenta Pro Master DW8080 that I purchased on Amazon. In reading many many reviews I found out that if you buy a Rowenta it needs to be made in Germany, not China for it to be reliable. The steam is awesome and the tank is bigger and lasts longer than my older irons. Hope it lasts! :)

Wall Pocket

2011-09-15T09:16:00.000-07:00

Well, my hours on flickr and pinterest have finally paid off! I've been seeing these wall pockets and realized that one of my sewing machines is located next to a wall and how cute would this be next to it to organize??? Speaking of cute, I was finally able to use my Sherbet Pips fabric because Aneela's fabrics are the definition of cute! The gingham is from Darla. Had to add the selvedge edge~ any opportunity to do so is fun in my opinion. Another hexagon glued on a framing nail (see previous post). This took less than an hour to make & now I feel even MORE organized in my sewing room!

The Cutting Table and a Craft!

2011-09-14T12:47:00.000-07:00

Voila! You have a message board!

Use 1.5" strips after you peel off sticky adhesive

start with a blank canvas

hot glue roofing nail to the back of a hexagon for hanging

I'm trying to get used to this new format on blogger and can't get the photos in the order I want them, but you get the general idea! Last fall I purchased this white board at Joann's and on both sides of the frame you can peel off a paper which reveals a sticky surface that you can apply things to. Naturally, I thought of fabric! I have a bag of 1.5" strips that I pulled from and just layered going down. On the reverse, I then peeled the back of that and stuck the fabric that was wrapped around to it and then used some packing tape to hold it. The green cardboard with the white board attached was trimmed so we don't see in then I used the package tape again to attach the white board to the fabric frame. I decided a cute hanger was in order, so I got a framing nail that has a large, flat head on it and hot glued one of my hexies to the head. Next, fuschia grosgrain ribbon was glued to the back and now I can keep track of the orders I'm working on that day, but a Bible verse or sentiment. Fun & functional!! I don't think I posted about my cutting table because I was waiting to make that as well as I wanted to skirt that table. The drawers were originally underneath my daughter's bed for under bed storage under a trundle, minus the mattress. My husband made a shell to fit it and my MIL made the faux painted top. I skirted it because its just 2x4's for the legs and so I can store stuff under it. What kind of stuff? Flat rate mailing boxes, my supply of in stock blankets and a huge green garbage bag of all the little bags my fabric purchases come in. I recycle those when I package up someone's orders. The top drawer contains grosgrain ribbon, mailing tape, pinking shears and safety pins. Middle drawer is miscellaneous sewing notions and the bottom has ziploc bags with fabric squares for my made to order blankets. The storage drawers to the left have fabric designer names on them with a color so if I need red Tanya Whelan fabric in 8" squares, I have a drawer for that. I have many of those all around the sewing room that you will see on later posts. I love being ultra organized and try to keep all my blankets with the same size squares so that I can cut down on the organization. I keep my rulers, rotary cutters and Melissa's cute pincushion next to my cutting mat. The bin on top of the selvedge dresser has scraps cut into specific sizes where I will file them by color later. I hope to list in my shop a precut destash. I have 4x4, 4x6, 4x8, 6x6, 6x8 squares & rectangles as well as 1 1/2", 2 1/2" and 3 1/2" strips. If you are interested in purchasing anything before I list it, email me at sewfunbymonique@gmail.com.

West Indies Blankie

2011-09-06T15:43:00.000-07:00

Had to play with my West Indies stack and came up with this baby blanket. Its almost like instant gratification with this size. The brown Chandler damask will be seen all over my home shortly. Just love that one! As you can see West Indies blends well with Jennifer's other fabric lines~ great for a fan like me! :) This one will be in the shop shortly.

Guitar Blanket for the boys!

2011-09-03T12:06:00.001-07:00

I love this Jam Session print from Michael Miller! I'm always on the search for cute boy fabric, and this is definitely a favorite. I thought it would be fun to take some photos with Dylan since he plays guitar. The pictures came out really fun. Hope this blanket goes to a music loving home. :)

T Shirt Ruffle Pillow

2011-09-01T08:26:00.001-07:00

Another pillow made for Holly's room. This one we made out of a kids XL long sleeve tee. I've been so inspired on pinterest with all the diy ruffle tutorials posted, that we did one using a tutorial from this blog. It is the softest pillow and perfect for her new dish reading chair. :)

West Indies!!!

2011-08-30T14:31:00.001-07:00

I was supposed to get my West Indies from UPS on Friday & it didn't come. On Monday about 8pm he showed up with my box. Our usual delivery time is around 2pm. Boy that was a long wait! Holly really wanted to tweak her room to reflect the fact that she's a teenager now & the Chandler print in brandy looked like a fit. Her Shabby Chic quilt from Target has a dark plum-y color in it that has been hard to match. It turns out that it is perfect. I'm glad Holly has an eye for color. The main difference between her and I is that she has to have an exact match & she doesn't like things busy! :) I'm always trying to coax her into pushing the envelope in her room & she won't have it! I am thrilled, as usual with West Indies! The colors are deep & saturated and have endless combinations with her other lines. I put a couple 'outsiders' here and there, but mostly having practically every fabric line she has makes it look eclectic enough! So far I've seen fabric.com , sewlovefabrics , quilthome and sewmamasew with West Indies.

Jewel Box Baby Blanket

2011-08-26T09:26:00.001-07:00

Just finished this for a customer, but will be available as made to order in my shop. I love the glow of the Heirloom plums, fuschias and golds. I also added: Anna Maria Horner (Loulouthi, Innocent Crush), Patty Young (Grand Bazaar), Kristian Howell & Jennifer Paganelli.

Secret Garden by Sandi Henderson

2011-08-25T17:41:00.000-07:00

Hawthorne Threads got a few of Sandi Henderson's Secret Garden in, so of course I ordered it. I enjoyed seeing what goes with what. I could seriously play with fabric combinations all day! :) My favorite palette is the large Medallion print, Garden Gate in the speckle colorway with aqua, red and golds. Its is a beautiful large scale print that would be amazing as curtains or a bed skirt. Hope they get the rest of the prints soon!

First Day!

2011-08-25T13:10:00.000-07:00

Can't believe they started already!! Dylan is a Junior this year and Holly is 8th grade. It seems that summer has gone so fast with the hot days just starting here! Yesterday was really the first day and all went well~ meaning they had friends in their classes! :)

A Week's Worth of Eye Candy

2011-08-14T11:04:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving for vacation today, our last one before the kids are in school. Leaving you with beauties from the fabulous Jennifer Paganelli fabric lines. Its always fun to play with her fabrics & I'm counting down until West Indies comes out! She featured some of these on her blog so check in with her all week to see more lively combinations. Enjoy the rest of summer!!

One Fabric, 3 Ways

2011-08-09T14:42:00.000-07:00

Modern Chevron

Eclectic Chevron

Cottage Chevron

I love Paula Prass' new line, Botanika! The chevron in particular is such a great print with lots of colors and the pattern isn't 'perfect' in the lines. I couldn't decide which way to go style wise, so I decided to create 3 looks with the chevron. The first one is a more modern look with fallish colors. There's a small amount of olive green and I loved the Anna Correopsis print with it, so I coordinated from there. I tried to stick to the deep, warm colors with the exception of a white background from Kristian Howell & Valori Wells and the light blue from Valori Wells. I think all dark would be too heavy. I like a balance.

The second group is more eclectic. I was matching color rather than print style. I was originally thinking about pulling in all the colors from the chevron and it looked too disjointed so I settled on the black-petal pink-periwinkle colors.

The third is more cottage looking. I kept it from looking too sweet and predictable by adding Amy Butler's Floating Buds and the more graphic Joel Dewberry bird print and floral. Jennifer Paganelli's paisley is a perfect match and balances well with the other two periwinkle~purples from Paula. I don't know that I have a favorite, but usually the more fabrics I can get into a group the more I love it. Sometimes I start pulling things together only to hit a roadblock because of the color or style. This was fun! :)

Simple Summer Totem Beauty

2011-08-05T09:21:00.001-07:00

Summer Totem from Anna Maria Horner's Loulouthi line is one of my fav patterns! It is such a gorgeous, stand alone print. I'm not sure I could cut it up, but having random bits of this pattern COULD be awesome if I could do it! I'm working on a crib set for Jaclyn and she wanted a simple blanket with this print in the strudel colorway with cream minky on the back. I have to say my room looks awesome with this on the bed. :) I may make one for myself in the tart colorway (cream background). I'm still working on my hand stitched purse in grapefruit. Its slow going as I've been sewing so much so I can go on vacation in a week! Gotta get busy!

Gorgeous Heirloom!

2011-08-01T19:58:00.001-07:00

I had fun putting together the color combinations with Joel Dewberry's new Heirloom collection. The colors are really saturated, so they pair well with Jennifer Paganelli and Anna Maria Horner. Some of the fabrics match the older lines. I love the 'old' aviary print group. I still have it in pink as well, but it was too pastel for the pinks in this line. Hope you enjoy seeing new and old favorites together!

New Toys to Play With

2011-07-26T17:13:00.001-07:00

After seeing the post about Aurifil thread by Katy I knew I had to try it. I ordered a few spools to start plus this AMAZING color chart with real threads on it! :O I love charts of all kinds, it can go with my Kona cotton chart and Moda Bella Solids chart. I used a yellow Auriful thread to quilt the quilt in the first picture and it was marvelous, smooth and has a nice luster to it without being shiny, if that makes sense. My only complaint is that I wish the thread colors had names to them, not numbers. I'd be happy to take that job on if anyone is listening~ lol! I took a stab in the dark ordering the thread not knowing if I was getting ivory, white, etc. Now I have my chart, tho and I'm good to go!

I also got the Modern Log Cabin quilting book from Amazon and love it. I've always loved log cabin blocks and the variations that you can make with them. The author shows you the different patterns with their names and then each quilt or project lists which type of log cabin block it is. There's both quilt projects as well as pillows, pincushion, apron, bags and more. I know I will be trying out the projects. :)

UPDATE: Mr. Alex Veronelli from Aurifil sent me an email with an attachment that has all the names of the thread! What a nice guy! He said they will be on the thread cards in the future. I found out that the thread color I used on the quilt is Medium Butter. :)

Stitches in Progress

2011-07-22T17:40:00.000-07:00

I'm enjoying stitching around the motifs in Summer Totem in grapefruit. I was inspired by Anna Maria's blog where she showed how she did the same for a pillow. I've always loved quilting around a flower in a print. I sometimes feel like I'm scribbling over someone's artwork when I do free motion all over. Its just a very time consuming process that I only do for myself. In the shop I like to keep it simple or no one's order would ever get done! :) This piece will eventually be a flap for a purse for me. I'm doing the front and back pieces in color coordinated patchwork and fussy cut some of the Summer Totem for the sides. They will all be hand quilted whilst I watch tv with my family. It will be a beautiful purse when its done!

New Fabrics!

2011-07-18T08:33:00.000-07:00

I've been having fun playing with Valori Wells new fabric line, Wrenly. I think my fav combo is combining that line with Loulouthi by Anna Maria (2 pics up) or the orange/reds in the top picture would be so exciting in a quilt or crib set! Have you bought any Wrenly yet?

Thrift Store Score!

2011-07-13T17:42:00.001-07:00

Roses print in frame $10

Franciscan Apple serving tray $20

Cross stitch tablecloth $8

Tiny painted pitchers with golden brown flowers $3

Tiny cups for maybe salt or spices? $3/set

Rumply ruffled light jacket~ cute with tank top & jeans $3

I had the best time at the thrift store today! It was just one of those perfect days. I kept bringing more and more stuff up to the counter. I told the lady, "I've never found so many things I want here in the same day! " It is one of those boutiquey types that have gorgeous embroidered linens~ one of my weaknesses and great china/pottery and some of the clothes are gorgeous! I actually had some birthday money, so it was fun to get so much for the money. I had fun when I got home rearranging my mantel & dining room. I've been trying to lighten up the family room, so its been great finding these light colored beauties! Off to sew, hope your summer has been fun so far!

New in the Shop & Pinterest

2011-07-10T20:45:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to put a random patchwork blanket in my shop with the cottage/shabby chic fabrics. I love red and pink together and just added a pop of green. The Casey Scroll seems to end up in almost everything I make! What will I do when I run out?? Used lots of another fav designer, Tanya Whelan with Darla and Delilah as well as some Farmers Market from Sandi Henderson.

I have been having a great time pinning things to pinterest. I've been finding all my fav flickr friends there and can follow them and see what they love. Its a really fun place to have your 'all time favs' in one group. You can pin from blogs, flickr, etsy listings. I've found some great shops on etsy that way, too. If you click on the red bar at the top of my blog you can see what I've pinned. You need to request through pinterest an invite to start your own pinning, but you can look at everyone elses pins in the meantime. Mine took about a week from request to acceptance. I'm not sure what the criteria is or if its to keep it from flooding. Lots of fun to add to 'things to do in your spare time'! :)

Spice Market Tote

2011-07-07T09:03:00.000-07:00

I made these last week, the day before I left for vacation for my SIL and for me. I gave her the Love tote & I made mine out of Soul Blossoms with the inside in AMH Maybe in tangerine. I love the cool/warm color combo! Overall, it was a fun pattern, I made the larger tote. I will probably make the smaller one as well. Here is my experience: the pattern calls for attaching interfacing TWICE to the exterior & interior panels. It sounded like too much for me, so those totes are singly interfaced. They hold up well in my experience so far. The straps don't call for interfacing, which I was surprised, but I like because then they are floppy and don't weigh the bag down. My own personal problem with this size is that there is only 1" difference between the length and width and I got the positioning wrong, so make sure you identify & mark top so that you don't do that. Its easy to get it mixed up. On both bags my lining was either smaller or larger than the outside either due to the mix up or??? So that was a bummer! I used the laminated Sandlewood print for my SIL with straps & lining in the regular cotton. I like the stiffness it gave in addition to the interfacing. Overall, a make again~ it was fairly quick to put together, would make great Christmas gifts if I can be that organized this year!

Couch Recovered

2011-06-24T15:45:00.000-07:00

This couch is sooooo old, handed down from my mom with cat scratches from her cat on the upholstery. This is its 3rd time being recovered. It just really serves a purpose in our bedroom, so we keep it. My MIL had a bolt of this mustard courderoy so I used that for the base and then used Loopy Vintage floral from Jennifer Paganelli for accents on the couch and piping on the pillows. The bird print is from French General's Pom Pom de Paris and is called Le France. We'll see how long this recover lasts!

Cake Pop Kids

2011-06-23T19:53:00.001-07:00

Something fun to do for the long summer days just starting. My kids and their friends made cake pops from the Bakerella book. They decided not to decorate with candy, just dip them. I felt kinda sad that I just got one cake pop, but they are super rich and sweet & so one was plenty!! The kids ate lots, so it wasn't too much for them! :) Hope you are doing fun things this summer!!

Rosetta Ruffle Bag

2011-06-16T14:03:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to make a Rosetta Ruffle Bag from Sis Boom for a long time, and finally got the push to do it my customer/friend, Mary wanted a purse, so I suggested this pattern. She picked out Wallpaper from Josephine Kimberling's Glam Garden line and Oliver+S Park Ramble and I used the dot from the same Oliver+S City Weekends line for the inside. I did one side with pockets that are triple divided and were shown in the pattern and the other is a 5X8 single pocket for the other side. As usual, the Carla Crim/Jennifer Paganelli pattern is perfect! I enjoy sewing and seeing a photo of every step. The results are always so finished and professional looking. I'm working on one for me in turquoise and red. Hope to finish it before my vacation!

Patchwork Diaper Bag

2011-06-09T10:55:00.001-07:00

I had the pleasure of sewing a patchwork diaper bag for Nakia recently. Its one of my favorite things to sew~ well anything patchwork is! :) I used 5" squares and just trimmed down as necessary to create this aqua, lime and teal bag from fabrics by Amy Butler, Jennifer Paganelli, Patty Young & Michael Miller. She ordered a changing pad in Patty Young's Hummingbird and wanted an aqua/green bag so I added that print to the mix and any others that coordinated. Jennifer's Ann Flower Mural was added towards the end because as I walked by my fabric wall I noticed it would be gorgeous in the mix. I enjoy impromptu fabric mixes. You never know what coordinates sometimes until you are sewing along and you see one more who wants in on the fun! Tomorrow is the last day of school for my kids, so I've got lots to do today. Hope you are enjoying your day!

Dresden Plate Clock

2011-06-06T11:12:00.000-07:00

I finished the block for my sewing room clock a while back but had to wait for my husband to put the clock mechanics in because I didn't think about a particular issue. Sometimes my creative mind doesn't think about the logistics. I bought a 24" artist canvas to stretch out this block and didn't notice that a piece of wood runs across the back in the middle making it difficult to put the clock mechanics in the back. Duh! Luckily it fit between the canvas & wood. It bulges a tiny bit, but I don't care. :) I used the dresden plate block from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings book and then stitched it to Kona white and quilted it. Then I stretched it across the canvas and stapled in the back. I used various fabrics from Jennifer Paganelli including her newest Honey Child. Loooove it!!! Still working on getting more together in my sewing room, so more to post coming up. For now, I can now see its almost 11:30 and I'm still in my pajamas, so I'd better go! Have a great day!

Loulouthi

2011-05-26T22:21:00.000-07:00

Super excited to get in Anna Maria's newest line, Loulouthi. I saw an interview with her on DIY Dish and so now I know how to pronounce this collection. The 'thi' is pronounced 'ti'. Ha! I think I'll just name it Loulou. :) As usual, her new fabric line doesn't disappoint~ full of color and pattern and delicious colors. I had fun creating coordinates for them~ many match with her other lines, Innocent Crush, Garden Party and Drawing Room. Love that! The 'fun blue' is really a different blue, but Amy Butlers Temple Doors in deep water and Laurel Dots in periwinkle are a great match. The Summer Totem and Clippings are really large prints with lots of color. I'm not sure if my first instinct is to cut them up to show off the different motifs or just frame a large portion. I love that the fabric designs are works of art themselves. I have the best job!! For more fabric combos using Loulou, see my flickr page.

Practical Bag

2011-05-23T11:48:00.000-07:00

I made the Practical Bag by Tanya Whelan last week for Holly. She needed a beach bag to match her bathing suit for beach day at school. She chose Jennifer Paganelli's Queen Street fabrics & this pattern was so easy to sew together! This would be a great summer project to teach your kids to sew. There is no interfacing, buttons, or zippers. I would have liked a pocket, but you can definately add that easily. It takes a yard for the outside and a little less than a yard for the inside, so if you have a fabric stash you can easily make this on a whim. This may be the pattern for teacher gifts this year.

Another WIP

2011-05-19T10:03:00.001-07:00

Another blanket I'm working on, finished the quilt in the previous post and loved working with the voile/quilting cottons. I really want to do an all voile quilt, its just so amazing!! This one is for Dana who wanted a 56x64 random patchwork in fallish warm colors and she's a huge fabric fan, (she also sells fabric) so I wanted to put both new and old fabric lines because I know she will appreciate that! Just have to add a little more to the bottom and then its time for chocolate brown minky on the back. :)

What I'm Working on Today

2011-05-14T11:44:00.000-07:00

Had to delete the last post~ those huge spaces were bugging me! No more tutorials from me unless I figure out how to close those gaps. I did hit 'delete' in between, then when it posted there were those huge gaps again, so forget it! Here's Elena's quilt top done, I'll be quilting this cutie today. Its grey and icky and this top brightens everything!! Its got the voile, so I can't wait to see how it quilts. :) What are you working on this weekend??

One quilt finished, one started

2011-05-06T13:05:00.001-07:00

The random patch quilts are my very favorite to sew! I love playing with the placement in color and pattern. I just finished Jenna's quilt in the oranges and pinks and now Elena's with purple, red and blue. I'm also using voile in this one, so can't wait to see how this works. The back will be mostly voile with a border of the regular quilting cotton. Can't wait to work on it this weekend!

Got Girls World??

2011-05-04T09:45:00.001-07:00

I received my Girls World book last week, but haven't been able to blog about much lately!! I had a weekend visit from my mom, so I wanted to catch up on orders so I could enjoy her visit (which I did), and now I am back catching up again!! Here's why I love Girls World:

*There are 4 dress patterns that go from size 2-14, so my 13 year old can still wear one of the dresses

*There are gorgeous frills & feminine touches for the girly girl, but the Tallulah Halter Dress has simple lines for girls like my Holly who want less ruffles. I can see making quite a few for her for the summer, can't wait to do that & post about it! (I think Jennifer needs a pattern for moms in that style, hint hint!!)

*Being more of a 'home sewer' I was drooling over all the projects under the Home section~ Holly loves the Patchwork Memory Board & wants to make George the puppy! I need to make the Birthday Banner~ really!!

*There are no sew projects~ lamp shade, headband and the ingenious "Ambassador of Goodwill" badges.

*Yay, a quilt pattern, pillow pattern as well as an amazing Canopy with Pinwheel Strands for your bed

Can you tell I LOVE this book? The photography is amazing, I love seeing her fabrics in action & combined. After I look through it, I am truly inspired to create!

You can see my journal & notecards in the background, all happy colors to add to my desk. :) I really love the quilt I recently made, so with the scraps I made a mug rug so I can see the blue, fuschia & orange combo every day. Hopefully, that catches you up with what I've been up to lately!

Vote for Lindsi!

2011-05-02T22:30:00.000-07:00

My previous post on Lindsi's nursery (scroll down to see) ended up with so many questions about the details of her beautiful new baby's room. One commenter, Jan, has a website where you can enter your nursery in a contest & asked if Lindsi wanted to. I forwarded the info & she's up on Jan's site now, here's the link: http://www.unique-baby-gear-ideas.com/the-bold-and-the-birdyful-nursery.html She named her nursery "The Bold and the Birdyful"~ cute!! All you have to do is comment where you rate the nursery~ super easy. If you are looking for baby room inspiration, this is one site you have to check out. Tons and tons of rooms to look at in every style imaginable for both girls, boys and gender neutral. If you want to enter your nursery, just contact Jan by clicking "contest" on the home page. Have fun browsing and don't forget to vote!!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T08:09:00.001-07:00

Wishing you a wonderful Easter! "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." John 20:29 You can find this beautiful print here http://www.etsy.com/listing/72589663/he-is-risen-8-x-10-giclee-art-print?ref=pr_shop

Inspiring Nursery

2011-04-19T09:10:00.001-07:00

This gorgeous nursery design is courtesy of Lindsi who ordered her crib bedding from me~ you will recognize the ruffled crib skirt from a previous post! I thought her nursery was so gorgeous, so I asked if I could share the photos with you all. Originally she showed me the bird pictures that are above the crib~ she went in a totally different direction than I thought, and I love it!! That dark plum wall really sets everything off and I love the contrast with that and the bedding. That plum is in small amounts in the Love fabrics by Amy Butler & it just comes to life. Enjoy!!
*****LATER NOTE: heres where she bought the narrow bookcase: http://furniturewithasoul.com/ ********

Must Have Notecards for Paganelli Fans

2011-04-18T14:49:00.001-07:00

Squealed with excitement today as I received my Sis Boom notecards and Material Obsession book from Amazon today! I also ordered the Sis Boom journal, but for some reason they are shipping it separately and it will arrive tomorrow. If you love Jennifer's fabrics like I do, then you HAVE to get the notecards! There are 2 cards of each of these prints (but also 2 different colors per print, so no 2 cards are the same): Ann Flower Mural, Stephanie, Marie, Amanda Fleur, Kayla, Jackie, Michal, Leann, Loopy Vintage Floral (yay!!), Matt's Tux, Sally and Libby paisley. The envelopes are Libby Paisley with a cute Sis Boom shape to put someone's address in it. The box itself is gorgeous and looks great on my desk. :) Can't wait for the Girls World book to come out!! Will be reading Material Obsession this week~ it is so colorful!

Jamie Dress Finished!

2011-04-17T13:27:00.001-07:00

Wow! Had so much fun sewing this dress, the deadline for the sew along really helped me. Here's my take on it: The size I made after taking my measurements was one size larger than if I were to buy a dress at the store. I have a small bust so I didn't make the bodice one size larger as Sara recommended . I ended up cutting the front elastic smaller still to adjust further. For the skirt I used my ruffling foot and ended up using one WOF, (width of fabric) trimming the selvedges,

plus about 5". I just cut the skirt width after pinning it to the bodice. It is a tad poufy, but not too bad. Overall, the fit was awesome for the bodice and the instructions were easy to follow. Somehow I missed the step to encase the elastic, so its free flowing on the bodice, but it seems fine. Love love the patchwork I did for the bodice. Its adds some fun without being to busy using all black and white fabrics~ not that I am opposed to mixing it up!! I now have a fun basic black dress. :)

Joann's Score

2011-04-16T19:53:00.001-07:00

I had to get some supplies at Joann Fabric today and of course had to see if they had any of the DS quilts fabric line from Denyse Schmidt. They did, but I only had 2 coupons, so I bought the dots. Love 'em!! Holly found the floral on sale from a line called 'Garden Party'~ its totally her right now, so we will be making something for her with it. We bought all that they had left~ 1.25 yards on sale for $4.50/yd. All the fabrics have a wonderful feel to them! Holly found the pincushion, too. She was excited to show it to me and I paused for about 2 seconds & said, "Its Meadowsweet!!! Put it in the cart for $7.50!!!" The little cushion lifts up for storage, its completely adorable and was so necessary. A girl can't have too many cute pincushions. :) They also had it in Poppy Parade in Loden but the Vintage Paisley matched my sewing room better.

Jamie Dress Sew Along

2011-04-15T11:24:00.000-07:00

I am participating in the sew along Jamie dress with Sara from http://www.sewsweetness.com/. I have procrastinated in starting this project mostly because I couldn't figure out which fabrics. They needed to be from my bursting stash, so I went round and round. I finally decided a basic black dress would be nice in one of my fav prints, Casey Scroll. Still didn't cut it out. I kept thinking of patchwork like Sara did for one of her dresses, but I just wasn't sure. I really don't think I could cut out and sew using all the same print. I'm just a patchwork kinda person. I finally decided on using 4 1/2" strips with the center of the front bodice larger to fussy cut the flower. This is how I sew~ 4 1/2 sounds good. Oh, whoops, I need another 1/2". I"ll just add more of the polka dot. I just fly by the seat of my pants. It works well for quilts~ not so much for clothing!! It is fine, hopefully no one will notice the extra add on. I couldn't sleep last night & I felt creative so I went through my fabrics and picked out which ones & sewed them up for the bodice and cut out the other pieces. Then I got everything ready to sew the next day & went to bed at 1:15. Then as I was trying to sleep I thought about using the fancy stitches on my machine to give it a crazy quilt look and a little more detail. Sheesh, finally went to sleep. Got to get back to bumper sewing and then fit in the dress in between today. More pics posted on my flickr page.

Violet's Quilt

2011-04-04T17:44:00.000-07:00

This baby quilt was part of a set that I was allowed to mail later because I got backed up. Samantha already received her crib skirt with the same 2 border strips at the bottom and pillow cover with the same 2 strips around it. She let me have 'free reign" on choosing the fabrics, but needed Elizabeth Rose in ice included & she wanted the border design on all items. I chose my favorite Jennifer P fabrics and included some coordinates from Tula Pink, Heather Bailey and Anna Maria Horner. This quilt looks really similar to my patchwork curtains . . . :)

Ruffled!

2011-04-02T16:54:00.000-07:00

Just finished a custom order for a Bliss Bouquet crib bumper and I attempted the ruffled skirt. It took much longer than I had planned and in the end I added one more ruffle (really!) of Cypress Paisley in lime because it came out too short. My ruffling foot got a work out and actually pooped out at one point, but Handy Husband was able to fix it, thank goodness! I was sweating at the thought of doing the running stitches/pulling for gathers on this one! It truly looks like a ball gown fit for a princess baby!!

New Aviary 2!

2011-03-28T19:46:00.001-07:00

Got the new Aviary 2 fabrics in today! Had fun playing with them! Really different color combinations. I'm so glad Joel Dewberry did this~ like 'the best of' with other colors! I saw he has another new collection coming out called Heritage, I think in May. It looks amazing as well! I know I'll have fun playing with these fabrics!!

Honey Child WIP

2011-03-25T11:25:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the lack of blogging! My computer is not hard wired to the internet yet & I just have wireless which is either super slow or there is no connection. I am sometimes able to use it for a short time, like now. All my pics are on my computer and I just can't post without a pic! Lots of WIPs, but I am just LOVING this color combo. I started with Danielle on the bottom (dark purple background, fuschia & orange~ wow!!! Can't wait to finish this and 3 other quilts that need to be quilted. I'm using a Mega Quilter to quilt and can't find all those bobbins I bought. Its hard finding things in my new room. Sometimes I'm too organized and can't find which 'special spot' things are in. :)

Patchwork Curtains in My Sewing Room

2011-03-12T08:51:00.000-08:00

I got two more elements in my sewing room done~ patchwork curtains & skirting my work tables. Keep in mind that I took stuff out so you aren't distracted by everything else going on! :) I love how the curtains came out, exactly the look I wanted! I combined mostly Jennifer Paganelli prints with Amy Butler, Anna Maria Horner, Tanya Whelan, Sandi Henderson, Dena, Patty Young. I went to my scrap bags and just pieced according to the colors I wanted with an overall word in the back of my mind~ picnic. I'm not sure why I had that direction, but I tried a few different color combos and this one captured the colors and look I was going for. I find it easier to decorate a room with a word or theme in mind. I hot glued velcro to my tables and then sewed velcro to fabric and attached them. I love how its all shaping up, but I still have lots more to do!

I Love Custom Orders!

2011-03-10T13:02:00.000-08:00

Sophie asked me a few months ago if I could make a baby blanket for her using this Chiang Mai print from Shumacher. We went back and forth choosing colors to accent but not compete with the print. I went to my local quilt shop & got some coral blenders then added some from my stash from Amy Butler, Sandi Henderson, Kate Spain, Tina Givens & Valori Wells. The chocolate brown border is from Robert Kaufman. Cream minky is on the back side. The dragon print is dry clean only, so Sophie will have to be careful with it~ but what a stunner!! Love how it came out.

Wall of Wow!

2011-03-05T19:43:00.001-08:00

Sorry I haven't been blogging much lately~ I've been folding all these fabrics neatly in my new room. It was unbelievably fun to be able to touch & refold each one to fit on these shelves. My husband bought them at Borders since they were closing our local store. They are 6" deep and perfect. I can now find everything!! They are by designer, line & color. They are really overwhelming in person, but I'm getting used to it! I took some close ups and I think I was just too excited because they all came out blurry! :) I will take some new ones later. Next up, skirting my work tables.

My New Desk Area Finished!

2011-03-01T11:22:00.000-08:00

Well, I am slowly starting to move into my new sewing room. There is so much to put up, attach & move that it will be a slowish process. I thought I'd post as an area is finished. My first priority was getting my desk area finished so I can use my computer asap. I painted an antique chair I had white as well as the desk. The desk was Tom's grandmas & it already had 3 layers of paint on it. It looked like the original was aqua~ which I would have loved! I used fabrics from Jennifer's new Honey Child line for the chair skirt. Dana in green for the seat (from Jennifer's fqs she sent me), skirt in Danielle in green that I ordered from http://sewmamasew.com. The piping & ties are from Queen Street & are a great coordinate. For the desk top, I used iron on vinyl that comes in 17" width & I use it for the back of changing pads. I ironed it to Elizabeth Rose ice from Flower Power & pinked the edges for cuteness. It makes a great mouse pad as its smooth & adds color to the all white desk. Lots more to show you coming up!

Crib Set Request

2011-02-26T13:18:00.000-08:00

I had an unusal request for this crib bedding~ use the colors & style of my logo (you can see it in my blog title)! Samantha also wanted me to choose all the fabrics, but include 2 strips of the same fabric on all items to tie them together. I still have the quilt to make which will include more fabrics, but I don't have to get that finished for another month. I can tell you I had SO MUCH FUN picking everything out and sewing it up! A snippet of Elizabeth Rose in ice (main fabric on skirt) is in my logo, (with Jennifer Paganelli's permission!) so I based everything around those colors.

Cute Boy Fabrics!

2011-02-25T08:42:00.001-08:00

As soon as I saw this fabric line from Monaluna called 'Circa 60', I knew I had to get some! It is hard to find cute boy fabrics, so this was a must. Its organic, so its a little more expensive, but I have combined it with prints from Momo, Valori Wells, Kate Spain & Patty Young . I put it in my shop as a custom minky blanket order, but it could be anything! I just love that color combo. :) I purchased mine at http://fatquartershop.com

Dresden with Sis Boom Fabrics

2011-02-21T08:29:00.000-08:00

This is my first Dresden Plate block ever! I am having so much fun with it! I've been wanting to play with my new Honey Child fabrics, so I figured this is a great way to mingle them with other lines Jennifer has. I won't tell you yet what this will eventually be, but something fun! :) I used the pattern from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings book from the Center of Attention Quilt. Some of my points didn't get as pointy as I'd like, but I'm sure I had some error in sewing them. I was really careful about the 1/4" per Anna's recommendation. We'll see if it lies flat when I'm done. So far, so good!

Honey Child Has Arrived!!!!

2011-02-18T14:45:00.000-08:00

I am beyond excited!!! Those of you who have been reading my blog know that I am a HUGE Jennifer Paganelli fan. Her newest fabric line called Honey Child is simply amazing, as usual! I was on Twitter on Valentine's Day & fatquarterly (the downloadable magazine) asked, "If you could have one stack of fabric for V Day, what would it be?" Of course, I said 'Honey Child' knowing it wasn't coming out until May~ and Jennifer got the message & sent me a FAT QUARTER STACK!!! Who knew I would get my Valentine's wish come true?? I just got the stack today and immediately dropped my paint brush and pulled out all my Jennifer fabric to see what went with what. I have posted all the fabrics with coordinates on flickr, but put 3 of my favs here on the blog. I'd say my absolute fav is Danielle in purple (top pic, left side) & my fav combo is the top one as well. Here colors glow, making everything vibrant & beautiful! You definately need to get this one. BTW, I heard on Jennifer's blog that sewmamasew has the prints in already! Heres the link: http://tinyurl.com/4ztr9fz

New Quilts

2011-02-17T11:55:00.001-08:00

I just finished the quilt pictured above, size 50x70 for some newlyweds. I think it has a nice combination of his & hers prints and it was so fun to swirly quilt it all! The top picture is a quilt I am just starting for Carla. We are finalizing the prints and I love the colors so far. Can't wait to get sewing on it!

Hexagons

2011-02-16T09:05:00.001-08:00

Hexagons intimidate me on so many levels! I have always loved Grandma's Flower Garden pattern, but felt it wasn't something I could do. Hand sewing, crazy seams, the block laying flat, hand sewing (I know I said that already, but its my least fav part of sewing! ) Many people say they can't sew because they don't have enough patience. I'd say I'm in the middle on the patience level & this really pushes my patience~ all that hand sewing and hand cutting takes FOREVER! I think what helps is that this is a 'side project' with no end date. I tend to put end dates on everything. If I'm leaving on a trip, if my mind decides I need to leave at 9am & if I go past that time~ even if there is no reason why I can't leave at 9:15, I get stressed. So, in order to enjoy this project~ because I will really love the end result~ I force myself to not put an end date on it. To be honest with you, I'm really not planning a whole quilt with hexagons. Probably just some instant gratification projects~ pillows, etc. I adore finding the perfect flower to capture inside the hexagon shape. I'm using 1" hexagons in a paper piecing package I bought at http://sewdeerlyloved.etsy.com because cutting out all those hexagons would just set me over the edge with boredom!

Now the Fun Begins . . .

2011-02-11T06:59:00.000-08:00

There is my faithful MIL painting my sewing room 'Ionic Blue' by Behr. I am trying to juggle my orders, finishing the rooms in our house & 2 sick kids, so she was really helping me out. I can hardly wait to get in this room!! My inspiration piece is Jennifer Paganelli's Loopy Vintage Floral in turquoise & it is a great match. Most likely it will be President's weekend that I can 'move in' as our family room is a higher priority. We are really squished eating and trying to relax in our living room with floor to ceiling stuff. We will feel like kings in our new space!!!! I am dreaming every night of the possibilities in decorating this room. Can't wait!!

Felix

2011-02-05T17:18:00.000-08:00

Today my daughter made another of her super cute fuzzy friends. Instead of using felt she used fleece as the base. I was so impressed with the finished product. I hope this one ends up in my sewing room! =)

Tips for Working with Minky

2011-02-05T12:14:00.001-08:00

I work with minky ALOT, and I've seen how many say its really difficult to work with. It is, but its not impossible! Here are some tips for success when sewing with it.

*First, pin. Then pin. Then pin!!!

Minky wants to shift, so this is really helpful. I like to pin going in both directions~ see top photo.

*Pin on the floor or a surface where none of the minky will hang over the edge. When transferring, try not to bunch it, but keep it straight as much as possible. Sometimes once its on my sewing table I carefully fold the outside edge over. You don't want the minky to hang over the edge and then become distorted. This is important the whole time you are sewing it.

*Give yourself some wiggle room, just like when layering a quilt.

I cut my minky at least 2" larger than the cotton fabric I'm sewing it to.
Some shifting will occur no matter how careful you are pinning, so if it gets a tad askew, you won't end up without minky in a corner.

*A walking foot helps stabilize the layers as well, but sometimes I used my regular presser foot & it works well, too.

*Don't pull the minky as you sew it or you will definately be off by the time you finish sewing that side.

*If you find that you are REALLY off as you are sewing, you are better off ripping the seams out and starting over or your whole project will be off.

*Remember not to iron on the minky directly or it will melt! :)

Hope these tips are helpful. Its so soft and cuddly and the end result will be your reward!

My WIP

2011-02-03T09:03:00.001-08:00

The ripple effect of adding on 2 rooms to our house is that you want to redo the other rooms! My family room has similar colors to the wip above, but is darker. I want to brighten it up with a lighter paint and livelier fabrics. I started with Amy Butler's Twilight Peony in saffron and started adding fabrics from there. I am fussy cutting the Cameo fabric from Parisville as the face on that fabric doesn't go with my theme, but maybe I'll add one just for fun. :) This is going to have to go on the back burner for awhile as I am overloaded with orders that were due YESTERDAY :O and my sewing room should be ready to paint a week from this weekend!!!! So, I've got to crank for the next week in order to have time to paint it and speed up the process of moving from the dining room to my new room. I can hardly fall asleep at night with all the thoughts I would like to implement in my creative space!!!!!

Jenaveve Love

2011-01-29T14:16:00.000-08:00

EEEEk!!! I love these prints! http://quilthome.com is having a sale on all Valori Wells prints including her newest line called Jenaveve. I ordered all 3 bird prints & HAD to have that purple, and well the red might match my house . . . So glad I ordered it. I'm not sure what I will do with them yet. They are a cotton linen and have such a nice feel. They are super soft & flexible, not stiff like Far Far Away. They feel a little thicker than regular quilting cottons, but move the same. Get some!!

Sweet Dolls on Etsy

2011-01-28T16:01:00.000-08:00

Holly has a knack for finding the cutest things on etsy! She spends more time than I do (sometimes!) searching. If you look at my 'etsy favs', most are from her. Especially those non fabric related! She found http://sweetdolls.etsy.com (btw, how do I just insert the shop name, but not the actual url for a link??) Holly fell in love with Jane and kept going back and looking and then the picture of Jane from the listing became my computer background. Okay, we'll buy her! When the little box arrived, we both loved how she was wrapped~ just how a little friend should be~ with matching tissue paper and a tulle ribbon. The next step is the photo session. Holly never wants to be in the picture, but her smile is so genuine when she really IS happy, that a momma has to capture that! So I got both photos. A sweet smile and childhood memory of a new friend named Jane who is so well made and will be loved for a long time. :)

Playing with Photos

2011-01-23T18:58:00.001-08:00

I am often a frustrated photographer! One of my favorite things to do is take pictures, but I don't want to take the time to figure out my camera or the software (I use Corel Paint Shop Pro~ I am afraid of Photoshop from Adobe!) that edits them. Recently I discovered that if up up the 'saturation' level in editing a photo, the colors are so much richer! I always struggle to properly capture the beauty of all these amazing fabrics I get to work with. People have commented that their order is always better in person, so I hope with the saturation increased a little more of the true color is shown. The blanket above I just finished and it is so bright and cheerful and I am finally happy with the finished picture!!

My Fabric Closet

2011-01-19T09:19:00.001-08:00

How do you store your fabric?? I'm taking a poll. I have reorganized my fabric closet several times. I started out by color, but as my stash grew and my orders increased, I needed to quickly identify if I have a certain fabric. Next, I grouped by designer, then color. Recently I have been going to designer, then print, then fabric line. For some designers I have many colors, same print. For example I have almost every color of Jennifer Paganelli's Casey Scroll. I put all of those together. For Amy Butler, I have it organized by fabric line. Sandi Henderson is more like Jennifer Paganelli. Tanya Whelan I have by fabric line, then color. I have almost every Darla fabric, a few of Ava Rose & Barefoot Roses and a few of her newest, Delilah. Then there's the orphans that don't have a bigger group or maybe I purchased them for their color. They have their own group by color. For my new sewing room, the local Borders bookstore closed up and my husband bought 6 of their shallow bookshelves. They are 6.5" deep. One whole wall in my new room will house these bookcases & hopefully I'll be able to spread out my fabrics better to see what I have. All this rearranging has lead to a hope of selling off my extra fabrics I don't need or use. I don't want to trade necessarily because I have most of what I need. I may just post my extras with a wish list and maybe I can get more of a certain fabric I need. What is your favorite source for fabric swaps?? I will also donate some to our sewing group at church. I think most of my fabrics are a little more wild than they normally use. :) Any helpful info to the above questions would be treasured!!

Parisville Altered Tshirt

2011-01-14T11:31:00.000-08:00

Well, in my quest to fancy up my everyday tshirts, I saw this 6 1/2 " leftover strip from Tula Pink's Parisville fabric called French Lace in pomegranite. I forgot to measure the length! I think it was apx 22". I ironed the strip in half, then brought the raw edges to the center as shown above & ironed the ends towards that side, too. Originally I tried to do a large stitch length 6 on my machine on both sides about 1/4" from the center to pull the threads to gather both sides. The usual happened~ both strings broke. I really detested gathering until I bought a gathering foot. So, I just went over those stitch lines again & voila! Why didn't I do that first? Well, I was afraid the machine gather wouldn't keep the sides straight, so if I do it again, I would do the same, but call the 6 stitch length a basting stitch to hold it in place. It came out a little longer, so I cut a little off & then attached the bottom end on the inside of the tee. I went back and pinned fairly often and in different directions & sewed down the center & 1/4" from that on both sides. How will it wash, you may ask? Don't know, hopefully well. When I get a creative moment, I just go for it. If it washes well, then I can make them for others, if not, thats the end!! It is now my official Valentine's shirt. :)

WIP Gray, Chartreuse & Blue

2011-01-11T08:53:00.000-08:00

In between orders I'm working on this new color combo. I started with Anna Maria's Lovesme Lovesmenot in leaf and Amy Butler's English Garden in bluestone. I really liked them together, so then I pulled out some coordinates from my closet from Jennifer Paganelli, Patty Young, Denyse Schmidt as well as AMH & Amy. Oh, yes! The Coriander in pine looks lovely with it! I was kind of excited about that, and Patty Young's Hive and Hummingbirds in lime~ gorgeous!! Then, I got some of the Ty Pennington's Impressions line and was super excited to add those. Its really coming along and I really do love it. I'm not a huge gray fan~ its the smallest section in my fabric closet~ but I love this color combo. Not sure how long it will take to complete, but I work on it a little each day! Sewing room update~ slooooooowly coming along. Hope to start the stucco part Saturday. Maybe 1 more month of no heat?? I'm really tired of being cold!

A Bright Spot on a Grey Day

2011-01-06T12:06:00.001-08:00

I got to finally work with Soul Blossoms! I really like that fabric line, but find that I enjoy using one of those prints to pull prints from other lines. Each fabric is a work of art and looks good supported. I made a single fabric blanket using the Pillow & Maxfield Pretty Bird fabric & saw how great it looked with Disco Flower. P&M's new Gypsy Bandana has great saturated colors~ love the reddish fuschia print with this. Kaffe goes with everyone, and Paperweight is one of my favs~ need it in every color! Jennifer Paganelli prints are in almost everything I do, the Queen of Color herself!! BTW, go to her blog to preview Honey Child~ amazing color combos~ can't wait! I was worried about the pics because its sooooooo grey here. I'm already ready for spring, I guess thats why I picked the bright colors!

Sewing Machine Cover

2011-01-04T12:36:00.000-08:00

When my blogging friend, Jenny Fish told me she was turning 40, I really wanted to make her something. Its fun making something for someone who sews as much as I do! I decided on a sewing machine cover~ BTW, I don't have one for my machine yet, so this was an experiment of sorts. I opted for all Jennifer Paganelli fabrics since we share a love of all things Sis Boom. I used 8" strips of as many different fabrics as I could find and sewed white Kona cotton to each side. Then I quilted across each strip then free motion quilted the white part (I tried to put her name on it if you look closely at the top~ J's are hard to quilt!). For the back I used Nancy in aqua from the So St Croix line because I know Jenny is partial to Jennifer's blues! One end is finished with a striped ruffle and the other I experimented with using a selvedge edge & it seemed to work! Ribbon ties complete the cover~ which Jenny calls her sewing machine 'blanket'. I wanted it to 'puddle' so I made it a little longer. It looks more feminine, don't you think? Can't wait to make one for me!

Crib Bedding

2011-01-03T14:52:00.001-08:00

Oh, how I love Tina Given's Opal Owl! I have enjoyed sewing this set while this cute owl looks at me. :) It seems like I just ordered this line and now she has a new line called Haven's Edge. Its got wonderful purples & pinks in it and can't wait to see what it plays well with! I have quite a few orders for crib bedding to sew this month, so this is the first one finished. I love how Bubble Burst from AMH coordinates so well with the owls. I can forsee boy bedding with that one!

UFO Finished!

2011-01-01T09:57:00.001-08:00

I have slowly but surely been getting better from the flu/sinus infection. We are still under construction, no heat, so we are more bundled and snuggly here. Its hard to sew with all those layers on!! A few days after Christmas I took a trip down to Manhattan Beach to visit my 94 year old Busia, a family friend and my brothers family. Pictured are my Busia, niece & Holly. She gave me a quilt her BFF made her a few years ago. Its in need of repair, but I know its a wonderful momento for her. I was honored to receive it! My Busia used to sew and I'm sure has passed the sewing gene to me, although she was more of a clothing sewer. There are no quilts made by her, unfortunately!! Pam, our dear friend/family was the recipient of the patchwork clock & I think she liked it! She made all the girls (& Dylan!) flannel pj bottoms and appliqued their initial to a tshirt, as pictured. Finally, I was able to finish a UFO that I started last spring using a Mail Bag pattern from Pink Chalk fabrics: http://www.pinkchalkfabrics.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=39_75_78&products_id=3 I have really needed a roomy bag, so I'm so glad to take that off my list and put it to use! Inside I used Jennifer Paganelli's Marie in aqua with Amy Butler's Full Moon Dot in slate. Denyse Schmidt's Hope Valley in New Day was a great match for Sketchbook. Now to make a coordinating scarf! Looking forward to a productive and creative new year & can't wait until my sewing room is finished!!!!!