Fantasia by Sara Lawson

I had the opportunity to work with Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness new fabric line called Fantasia recently. I love the feel of Art Gallery fabrics, they were a pleasure to work with! I wanted a picture with Holly in it because she is 5'5" and I wanted you to see how far it hangs.

My favorite print is definitely the unicorn in the grey color way. It resembles a chalk board and I love the storybook quality! The cute novelty prints in this line are the mushrooms & horseshoes~ great for fussy cutting and accents.

 The small floral is so pretty, I put it inside the bag. It comes in both pink and teal & would make great clothing. Thank you Sara for letting me play with your new collection! The bag will be listed in my shop in the next few days here. The collection should be available by the end of this month!

Circa is Coming!

It seems like I've been waiting forever for Circa by Jennifer Paganelli to come out! She had sent me some fabric to make her a quilt in January & I just fell in love with it! I love how it is a softer palette than Crazy Love or Happy Land, but the colors are still vibrant and true to Jennifer's style. I made myself a spring purse with some of the scraps so I can enjoy it until the yardage comes in, some time in May. I am also working on a simple patchwork quilt, pictures to come soon, for my bed!
I am taking preorders in my shop for a 40x56 blanket, as pictured in the first photo. If you want a different size, the prices are listed within the listing. Hawthorne Threads is taking preorders if you want the yardage as soon as it comes out!
A quick update on my chemo: I am halfway done! Yay! My side effects are manageable, I have no complaints! Prayer works. :)

Some Recent Finishes

 Random Patchwork quilt I will soon be working on

 Circa purse for me!

Flannel quilt for chemo

My new fav combo using golden browns and honey

So, I wanted to post something back to sewing somewhat. All of the above are recent finishes or soon to be. I love the random patchwork quilts and the first photo is a fabric group I'll be working with for a custom order. Love the finished combo Betty & I worked on. Next, my Circa purse, cause I needed a new one. Always patchwork! :) Third pic: during my first chemo I was cold & they had these nice, sterile white blankets to cover me, but I thought Anna's flannels along with the cute coffee & donuts munki munki flannel and a Sandi Henderson would brighten things up. I'm going to try to finish 2 more to hopefully give out to my 'neighbors' during chemo on Tuesday. The last blanket will go in my shop, but I really really love the combo and want to keep it! It's Jennifer, Anna Maria & Tina Givens. It really glows! 

A New Purse for Me!

 I started thinking about this purse when Anna Maria Horner released her Loulouthi line and I saw her fabulous pillow she embellished with hand quilting using the Summer Totem print. (I tried to find it in my favs on flickr, but it was too slow and I became impatient!) I was thinking it would be fun to use that print as a flap on a purse and hand quilt/embroider some details on it. I did that on the flap, sides and then just did a running stitch through the squares on the front and back. I am not a good hand quilter, and this was my first attempt at embroidery, but I love the results despite the imperfections. It is my own design using 4.5" squares, 4.5" sides. It will hold quite a bit for my summer travels. I decided against using a closure on the flap as I don't really like pulling the flap off each time. It's long enough to where things aren't going to fall out. I used the grapefruit color of the Summer Totem as I love the hint of pink and the colors Anna Maria chose to go with that light pink. I knew this would be a summer purse, so I focused on pulling out the lighter colors. I'm so glad to get this UFO off my list! :)

Crazy Love Messenger Bag

There are oh so many things I want to make with Crazy Love, but I decided to go for my messenger bag. Its a great way to mix up the fabrics. I've been playing with separating the colors more, but really this line calls to be mixed up, eclectic, fun & bright. You just can't go wrong. Flap: Priscilla, front/back Natasha, sides& inside flap Joann, insides Natasha pockets with Cecilia walls, strap on top a mix of it all! If you've been hesitant in mixing fabrics before, this line makes it easy! I've posted various combinations on my flickr under 'fabric choices' if you would like suggestions~ otherwise, dive in! This bag is now available in my shop! :)

And Here's the Matching Bag . . .

I made a bag to match the quilt. I strip pieced the front flap and back pocket & used "Jodi" on the sides, Dolin in the front and fussy cut Madeline for the top of the strap and used Maeve for the underside from Queen Street. Pockets are Kat Stripe & Casey Scroll & Sally used in the flap from previous Jennifer Paganelli lines. Back and inside pics on my flickr page & will be in my shop tonight! :)

Patchwork Bag

I am just in love with this color combination! Liz originally wanted a minky blanket with these fabrics, which I previously finished: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sewfunbymonique/5132977045/ but then decided to add a patchwork bag and here it is! Normally I just use interfacing on all the pieces, but this time I added batting and quilted the pieces. It was definately thicker and more difficult to go through the layers when putting it all together. I used my walking foot and pressed on! More pics on my flickr page. I am linking to Sew and Tell Fridays!