LMS

Today I am doing an exemplary job of procrastinating.  I have managed to take some photos of some new fabric that has rolled in.  I have been on a bit of a fabric buying diet so new fabric in the house is exciting.

These are a mix of Lecien’s “New” Old New 30s collection(not to be confused with the out of print collection) & a couple other Japanese prints mostly purchased from Sew Deerly Loved.

Such fun, fruity, feminine florals!

It’s a rainy day here in Ohio–usually these sorts of days make me feel like diving into something…but, not today.  Might be due to a not so great night of sleep…or just being lazy.  Rainy days are also great photo taking days…and my blooming trees are looking so pretty right now.  This is my little weeping red bud tree:

And my weeping peach:

Have you guys ever seen the water drops guy over on flicker?…amazing water drops photos(they aren’t photoshopped folks–they are just that amazing).  I had to try a couple myself–not nearly as cool but fun to do!–especially on a procrastination day. =p

Are you up to anything amazing today?–I need a kick into a much higher gear!

My scrap bin has taken a turn for the worse.  It’s overflowing and busting at the seams.

I would love to offload a medium flat rate box stuffed full of them to anyone who wants to pay the shipping for me to send them to you.

I can’t guarantee what you may find.  I found this little block…but, I’m hanging onto it….

There’s a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

It’s all quilt shop quality, unwashed fabric scraps…some larger pieces, some smaller.  You won’t get all the fabric in the pictures–there’s no way it would all fit…I’m telling you, it’s out of control.  I’ll leave out the solids…so a fun mix of prints.

Any takers?

If you are interested, just comment below and I’ll contact you for your paypal address to invoice you the cost of shipping ($12.35 for a medium flat rate box/US only).  I only have one box available right now.

Hopefully someone wants to help me with this crazy scrap bin!

~Boy!–You guys are fast!–the scraps have been claimed!~

I’m kicking off the week with my magazine winner…

Comment #60–BreannaS…congrats!  I’ll be in touch shortly!

Now onto some more fabricy goodness….let’s talk Notting Hill by Joel Dewberry.

If you guys have a chance to work with this amazing fabric, snatch it up!  The colors are so vibrant and really pretty much perfection.

 I’ve been working on a lot of different projects over the last several weeks and these fabrics have been just a joy to work with!  You will be able to purchase them sometime in November–I had heard the end of November.  So, keep an eye out for them.

In other news, for all of you Birdie Stitchers/Embroidery Lovers, I have a couple Holiday Embroidery designs that I hope to share with you as freebies in the very near future so be sure to keep an eye out for those also. =)

Enjoy your Monday!

September is my month in the Stash Trad Bee & I have totally been struggling with what block to have my group members make for me.  I have finally decided to go with a scrappy String Star.  Now, I know that I have seen a tutorial for this block somewhere (I can find the 6 pointed string star–but, I really wanted the 8 pointed one) but I’ve looked high and low to no avail.  So, here’s a tutorial of my own–it includes templates which I think makes things pretty easy–the one I had originally spotted did not.  If anyone stumbles across the one I had originally seen–please let me know, I’d love to give credit!

*Thanks to Ellen the block I had originally seen has been tracked down.  Thanks so much Ellen!–You can see the block I originally saw here.

Let’s get started:

You will need:

• a bunch of 1″ strings–for my block I am using a combo of Aqua, Coral, Yellow, Green & Grey/Taupe.
• a bunch of 2″ strings in the same colors(you’ll use these at the very tips of each diamond)
• a 1″ x WOF string from a solid of your choice (Kona Snow in my block)
• (4) 4 3/8″ squares cut diagaonlly once from solid of your choice (Kona Snow in my block)
• (4) 3 3/8″ squares cut diagonally once from solid of your choice (Kona Snow in my block)
• 4 copies of The Templates (make sure to set your page scaling to “none” when printing these out)

Begin by placing one of the solid strings aligned so the top edge runs thru the points on the right and left–you can see the placement in the picture above.  Use a little bit of temp. fabric spray adhesive to hold it into place & work from the non printed side.

After placing the solid string properly work the strings just as you would with any other string block until the diamond shape is covered with strings.  Make sure to shorten up your stitch length  You’ll notice that I used all 1″ strings for my block–in hindsight, I should have used (1) 2″ string at the points on each end.

Flip the block over and trim on the 1/4″ seam allowance line(the lighter line around the edge).  Remove paper.

Continue to make a total of 8 diamonds.

You will probably want to lay out the block before sewing the triangles in place as the triangle orientation varies.  Sew a small triangle and a right triangle onto each diamond unit like so(4 units will be made with this orientation & 4 with the opposite orientation–you’ll make a total of 8 units).

Sew together the units made above into 4 quarter units(here you can see the two different orientations).

Sew the quarters together to complete the block.

And there ya go!  A fun, mostly mindless block. =)

Thanks so much for your input in regard to my last post!–It definitely gives me some things to think about. =)  Today, I do have something I can share with you…from start to finish–pretty exciting. =p

The family and I got back yesterday from a weekend of camping.  I had taken along my boring old composition book which I have taken to using for writing notes, inspiration, patterns etc. in order to wrap up a few projects.  But the notebook was so dreary, it definitely needed some jazzing up–yesterday afternoon, jazzing up became my Sunday project.

I swapped some fabrics with Aneela awhile back and in with the fabrics she sent she included some Liberty of London fabrics.  I decided to use those and I added some Liberty prints from my stash in with the mix.  Then I threw in some Anna Maria Horner prints that worked well with the Liberty prints.  AMH’s voile prints are similiar in weight to Liberty fabrics.

I decided to use the same Linen that I had used in my Stitch Magazine pillow—a great chocolatey color.

I new the basic design idea that I wanted to use…Perle Cotton stitching with a cute little Dresden.  I found this free pattern on craftsy.com which provided a mini dresden template so I didn’t even have to draft my own pattern.

The stitching on my journal cover is all done using 8 wt. Perle Cotton on my sewing machine(regular weight thread in my bobbin).

I used a fun blue flower print to finish the edges on the inside of my journal cover.  And a perfect stripe for the binding on the top and bottom.

The back of the journal features the straight line stitching.

If I had more time, I would have added a little pen pocket or an oversized pocket to store a calculator/cell phone.  But, since I was after a quick finish project, no pockets were added.

All in all, so much better!  And the nice thing is, is that the journal cover can easily be removed and used for my next journal once this one is used up.  Perfect!

I’ve had a bit of a lazy week this week.  I’ve wrapped up and shipped some things off to where they need to be–I don’t have any looming deadlines aside from a couple bee blocks that need to be made.  So things have been pretty lazy around here this week.

I find that I work best with deadlines for specific projects.  If left to my own devices I can flit from project to project not accomplishing much–and in the meantime drumming up even more ideas I’d like to see come to fruition.

I am constantly amazed by some quilty blogs that I visit who manage to crank out quilt tops weekly.  I can do that, and have done that, but only for a very short duration.  Then, I need some time to chill out and recharge the creative.

I had a wonderful lazy morning yesterday chatting with my Grandma.  I took her over a bin of fabrics that I knew I wasn’t going to get around to using….and we talked quilts.  It’s a great day when it starts out with fabric talk.  My grandma is working on finishing several quilts tops that her mom had made.  I was especially intrigued with an appliqued quilt my great grandma made using red and orange solids.  Pretty on point with today’s solid trend and probably made close to 100 years ago.

She also talked about the times when fabrics were very difficult to purchase, they just weren’t available to purchase during the war–hence the introduction of Feed Bags/Sacks & how they first began making their way into clothes and quilts.  It was a little slice of fabric history.

And it maybe, just maybe has given me a little boost of creative to dive into these fabrics I pulled earlier this week.  Although my day might be spent just hanging with my girlies. =)

After my post yesterday, I had a number of questions about the differences in solids.  With so many choices it can sometimes be overwhelming to decide on the best course of action when choosing a solid..do you go for the perfect color, weight, manufacturer?  Where to start!

I certainly haven’t worked with all of the solids on the market but, I have worked with a lot of them and here are my thoughts.

I’m gonna start with Kona Cotton Solids.

With 243 different colors available, Robert Kaufman’s Kona Cottons certainly has the most color options.  And you may have seen the new Kona Cotton book just released by Stash books:

Robert Kaufman is also releasing a special Bounty of Basics bundle featuring all of the solids used in the new book…pretty cool.

So, aside from the myriad of color choices, what makes Kona Cottons so special?  For me, the pull is definitely in the number of colors available.  I like the color graduations offered–solids with fewer colors available don’t offer the same small jumps in color graduation.  Having small changes in color makes it easier to get that perfect shade that I’m looking for.  Kona Cotton Solids are easy to find online & the color cards are now much easier to purchase than they have been in the past–I highly recommend color cards!  I always keep on hand Kona Cotton in White and Kona Cotton in Snow–I purchase several yards of each during my LQS’s sales.

If you are unfamiliar with Kona Snow, it is that perfect shade of Creamy White–no starkness as with White, but not ivory enough to be off white or cream.  I used Kona snow in these projects:

Now, the not so good thing about Kona Cottons Solids…the dye lots can vary.  I’ve noticed this especially with the darker colors, greys for instance.  So you want to make sure to purchase in the quantities you need.  I’ve never had any trouble with Kona Snow which I purchase a ton of at different times but I have with several greys.

Now, onto Moda Bella Solids. 

I love working with Bella Solids!  Weightwise, they are similiar to Kona Cottons–the Bella Solids are just a bit more lightweight and slightly silkier.

Bella Solids are offered in 157 different colors.

My absolute favorite thing about Bella Solids is that they coordinate perfectly with Moda’s lines of fabric.

This is a screen shot of the Vintage Modern PDF of fabric swatches available online.  Do you see the solids listed on the left?–Those are the solids which perfectly match Vintage Modern.  No need to match them yourself–purchase any of those and they are sure to match–this is especially handy if you are purchasing fabrics online.  Moda has started listing the coordinating solids on all of their online swatch pages….very handy!  If you are working with Moda fabrics you are always going to have a great coordinating solid.

RJR Cotton Supreme Solids

I’ve been working with RJR’s line of solids on several different projects recently.  The weight of these fabrics is beautiful–very similiar to Bella Solids–the RJR solids have a light sheen to them which is so pretty.  Both the Bella Solids and the RJR Solids are “drapier” than the Kona solids.

Cotton Supreme Solids are available in 156 colors.  41 of these colors are solids that coordinate with Robyn Pandolph’s lines of fabric for RJR.  The remaining 115 colors are wonderful–very warm shades which I am always drawn to–lots of sherbety goodness.

I hadn’t worked with Cotton Supreme Solids a lot previously but I will definitely be adding more into my stash of solids.  The weight/hand of these fabrics and the color choices available are wonderful.

Michael Miller Cotton Couture Solids

I just picked up a Cotton Couture Color Card a couple weeks ago which you may remember.

Cotton Couture Solids are lightweight and even more drapey than either the Cotton Supreme Solids or the Bella Solids.  If you have worked with Sandi Henderson’s Secret Garden Fabrics or even Art Gallery Fabrics, that is the weight of these solids.

Cotton Couture Solids come in 85 colors–and the colors are like a little jewelry box of shades.  I found a perfect Watermelon shade which I had been looking for–I love when I can find the color in my head translated onto fabric.

I haven’t had a chance to work with these solids that much.  I did use one of the shades of white for my French Roses Quilt:

The weight of that quilt is fantastic–Cotton Couture solids scream summer time.

FYI, Color Cards for Kona, Bella, & Cotton Couture can all be found at Fat Quarter Shop.

Art Gallery Pure Elements Solids

I love these solids!

These are lightweight solids just like the Cotton Couture Solids–very drapey–with a beautiful sheen.

They mix beautifully with the Art Gallery Prints and are of the same weight.  While, there are only 33 colors of Pure Elements Solids, the colors offered are fantastic–no primary colors–just beautiful jewel tones.

 Free Spirit also has a great line of solids.

This is a mix of Kona/Bella/Free Spirit Solids.

I haven’t used the Free Spirit solids as often as the other solids.  But, they are equally great and have 100 different colors to choose from.  These solids will coordinate with many of your favorite Free Spirit lines of fabric.  Hawthorne Threads carries a color card of these solids.

Whew!  I hope that answers some of your questions about solids!  These are the solids that I use most often.  I’ve been very happy with all of them.  With the rise of solids being used in quilts(as opposed to tone on tones) I am sure that we will be seeing larger solids collections and more fabric companies expanding the solids offered.  The right solid color choice can certainly make or break your quilt so I really can’t say enough about purchasing the color cards available.  It makes choosing the right solid so much easier!

Bella by Lotta Jansdotter for Windham Fabrics

So much more exciting to receive this kind of mail rather than the usual stack of bills.

Fabric line is Bella by Lotta Jansdotter due in stores in August.  And, it’s just as amazing as Echo.

I’ve been slowly working on cutting my Marmalade charms for the Fusion Blanket Crochet Along.  However, this week is VBS at our church and that is keeping my evenings full.  We kicked off on Sunday evening and had 120 kids & last night we had almost 150.  I’m helping with the crafts….surprising, right? =p

For those of you joining in on the Crochet Along, you can snag the button on my sidebar if you’d like.  And I’ve created a flickr group here.  I’ve also teamed up with a couple partners in crime who will be co-hosting the Crochet Along.  We’ll probably be kicking off in the next week or two with some fun giveaways. =)

So, grab a button, spread the news, join the group, and start collecting some charms!