LMS

Girls!–I can’t tell you how excited I am for this fabric!  Do any of you have that elusive fabric line..you’ve seen it in some other form(paper, wallpaper, artwork) and wished forever that it would be a fabric line?

I have wished & dreamed about the Sidewalks Scrapbook collection by October Afternoon becoming a fabric line for sooo long!

I would see these papers and think…if only…

And stumble across things like this:

And think what fabulous fabric this would be!

This print especially…

I even went so far as to contemplate how bad it would be to upload to spoonflower and print for my own use…I never did of course!

Since October Afternoon designs for Riley Blake I knew there was a chance that someday it might be fabric.  And girls, that day has come!

I am soooo excited!–Now I just have to wait until September.

And while we are talking about fantastic fabric lines…Cinderberry Stitches has teamed up with Riley Blake for this fun little line:

Cute Right?!

Riley Blake is knocking it out of the park this fall!

Today I’m sharing another recent magazine project.  This is my “Buttoned Up” pillow for the winter 2013 issue of Stitch Craft Create.  It takes full advantage of two hot trends right now…chevron and buttons.  Plus it’s super easy and you can whip it up in a jiffy!

Did you know that you can buy fantastic assorted bulk buttons from the Martha Pullen store?

I had to take a screen shot of all these lovelies!–Aren’t they fabulous!  I have been itching to work with these buttons–so when Shannon, the editor of Stitch Craft Create, asked if I had any projects up my sleeve and offered to send me buttons to use for my Buttoned Up pillow idea I jumped at the chance.

I love the way it turned out!–a super fun and quick project.  I machine quilted my pillow top following the chevron pattern.  This was actually the trickiest part of making the pillow for me–some of the larger buttons were a little bit tricky to navigate around.

And just look at all the cute buttons–I love the little flower ones.  And I stacked some of them to give it a little bit more added interest.

My chevron pillow is currently sitting on this fun little chair.  This was another project I took on during my break.  I picked up two gnarly chairs from my local thrift store, painted them, and refinished the chair cushions.  Love the way they turned out.

I picked up the cushion fabric online here–it’s a home decor weight fabric by Cosmo Cricket for their Odds and Ends fabric for Moda.  It’s also available in aqua and in green.  It is a beautiful text print and was just what I was looking for–I may end up picking it up in another color way (or two).  This fabric is also available in quilting weight fabric–just as cute, but the print is much smaller.

If you’d like a Buttoned Up pillow of your own, this issue of Stitch Craft Create is in stores now.

Happy sewing!

Today I’m sharing with you one of the most recent quilts I have designed for P&B Textiles, “Winter Solstice”.  I totally flaked on taking any pictures of my own, which I now wish I had so I’d have more pics to share with you!  When I receive fabrics for my quilts from P&B, time is truly of the essence and the quilt tops must be on their way back in as little time as possible…usually a day or two at most.

Winter Solstice Quilt using Marguerite & Marmalade Fabrics

My design features a Kaleidoscope quilt block and an alternate “9 patch block”(it’s not quite a 9 patch).  No curved piecing although it has the illusion of curves.

The free pattern is available in a large and small size.

The last two photos feature fabrics from Marguerite by Cindi Walker for Riley Blake & Marmalade by Bonnie & Camille for Moda.  The pattern works very well for showing off a limited color palette.  I was primarily working with blues/greys for the P&B quilt so I went with a high contrast design to show off the fabrics.

Hope your week is off to a great start!

I am very excited to once again have gotten the opportunity to work with Stitch Craft Create Magazine. =)  My Fall Petal Pillow is featured in the Fall 2012 issue which just came out.

We all know that I’ve kinda got a “thing” for applique and hand quilting.  This pillow combines the best of both worlds.  And I always love working with fall colors–and that unexpected pop of blue just works so well in my opinion.

There are so many cute projects in this issue of SCC…paper, yarn, fabric, felt, thread…I think that’s why I like this mag so much!  It’s just got a ton of cuteness going on–and as a mama who loves crafting, with a 7 year old daughter who loves crafting, we always find cute new projects we want to try & new inspiration on every page.

Can I tell you how much I enjoy being able to use Flea Market Fancy for binding!–No fear of not being able to buy more…at least for now…which is perfect, ’cause I love that little posey as a binding.

Shannon, the editor of Stitch Craft Create Magazine, was kind enough to send along an extra Fall issue for me to give away to one of my readers!  If you haven’t checked out Stitch Craft Create Magazine yet, or if you have and you’re addicted to it (like me), just leave me a comment for a chance to win a copy of your own. =)

And my weeklong celebration continues with Kerri of Sew Deerly Loved!

I’ve gotten to know Kerri through various swaps that I have participated in.  You might remember the pillow above that I made for her in the last round of the Pillow Talk Swap.  Or, the pillow below that I made from hexagons received from Kerri during the Hexagon Swap.

Kerri has a wonderful shabby taste in fabrics and a design asthetic that really resonates with a lot of quilters.  Her blog is a wonderful feast for the eyes & her shop is chock full of red/aqua/pink fabric and a mix of other cute fabrics.

I dearly love each new Lecien Flower Sugar line of fabric–I always love the shabby prints and bright pops of color.

Flower Sugar Fabric Bundle--Photo Courtesy of Kerri

And of course this Sugar and Spice bundle fits right in with Kerri’s love of Red/Aqua fabric:

Sugar & Spice Bundle--Photo Courtesy of Kerry

Not only does Kerri have a wonderful selection of fabrics but she has got some great trims as well.  These buttons are just the cutest little things ever!

Riley Blake Buttons--Photo Courtesy of Kerri

I’m stoked that Kerri is joining in to help me and you all celebrate my birthday!  And I’m even more stoked about the giveaway Kerri suggested…how about a 1/2 yd. bundle of Sew Cherry?!?

Sew Cherry 1/2 yd. Bundle--Photo Courtesy of Kerri

 This fabric just came out and isn’t it the cutest fabric!  I’ve been eyeing it ever since I saw the previews and Kerri’s picture makes it look even cuter!  And the giveaway gets even better…Kerri is throwing in a yard of the coordinating ribbon:

Photo Courtesy of Kerri

Aaaannnd, as if that weren’t enough, right?!?–A coordinating crocheted cherries and flower set:

Photo Courtesy of Kerri

How’s that for a fabulous Giveaway!!

You have 3 chances to enter–Please make sure that I have a way to contact you!

 1. Leave a comment.

2. If you are a follower of mine or become one, leave a 2nd comment.

3. If you are a follower of Kerri or become one, leave a 3rd comment.

The giveaway will be open thru Tuesday, May 17 & I will draw the winner on Wednesday.

May sure to enter the giveaways from the last couple days if you haven’t already!  And stop back tomorrow for another great giveaway!

Comments are now closed. =)

They Grey/Yellow Fabrics I talked about last week have been turned into a fun pillow.  And for those of you wondering about my bobbin debacle–those blocks have since been resewn–and I want to give a huge shout out to all of us merrily sewing along with no thread. =)  My mom couldn’t believe I had sewn that many blocks without realizing I had no bobbin thread & hubby said “do the blocks stay together when they aren’t sewn?”…”thanks, hubby….very helpful.”  I was very glad to see so many other people in the same boat as me. =)

On to the Grey/Yellow pillow…the pattern is an “improved nine patch” or glorified nine patch”–I have seen it called by both names.  It is an older quilt pattern, maybe early 1900′s?,  usually involving many templates to make the blocks.  It’s a pattern that I have wanted to try for awhile and I knew that one of my back issues of American Patchwork and Quilting had a pattern for it.  I was getting all set to dig thru my issues to try to locate it–I have probably 10 years or so of issues so it was gonna be a bit of a task.  Well, lo and behold, look what arrived in my mailbox.

The newest issue of AP&Q–and what did my little eyes spy…

That’s right, a pattern for an Improved Nine Patch.  And what a great pattern it is–only two templates required…so much nicer than all of the templates typically required.  There is a bit of fabric waste using this method but it went together so nicely–I’d definitely use this method again.  I had originally thought I would make an 18″ pillow using 4 nine patch blocks–they finish at 9″.  But in the end, opted for one nine patch framed with a gray border followed by a white border.

I sandwiched the quilt top, stippled it, and finished with a grey binding.  I wish I had remembered to snap a picture of the back–it’s pretty cute and it has some fun new labels that I just got recently from Lilla Lotta–she has the cutest ribbons!

April ends Rachel’s Blogger’s Pillow Party–I can’t believe it’s been 4 months already!  So, this is my final entry. =)

Am I the only person who can sew together a whole stack of blocks before realizing there is no thread in the bobbin?–That whole stack up there—no bobbin thread…grrr.  Super annoying, right?!?  I felt a little bit better after chatting with a friend who has done the same thing–her idea of a low bobbin alarm was genious….I wish my machine had an alarm…I must admit this isn’t the first time I have encountered this problem.

I had just complained to Ryan about how unproductive I had been today….waiting in the Doctor’s office from 11:00 to 12:30 before even leaving the waiting room tends to make for an unproductive sort of day.  I thought I would sew up a couple blocks…you know, be productive….well, that didn’t work out very well.  Now, I can add another 20 minutes of unproductive to my day…unless poking needle holes in fabric makes me productive LOL! =)

On a happier note, I have this lovely stack of fabric:I am hoping to turn them into something fun.  Hopefully, utilizing bobbin thread this time. =) I picked up the two bottom fabrics from Fresh Squeezed Fabrics this week.  They are from Anthology’s Bryant Park collection of fabrics.  I had just been itching for a reason to purchase them.  When the collection came out, they immediately caught my eye–so glad to have them added to my fabric stash. =)

Here’s to days of bobbin-full sewing! =)

2 Doctor’s visits and 2 Dentist appointments in the last week is too many for me–& also explains the lack of blog posts around this place!  If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time you’ll remember that my oldest daughter, Chloe

has been having a lot of problems with colds/allergies since beginning Kindergarten this fall.  Well, this has led to a lot of fluid behind her ears which her Doctor’s have been trying to clear out since January.  She had a follow-up appointment last Tuesday and they saw little improvement so she’s on another 6 weeks of medicine to try to dry out her crazy ears.  Fast forward to Thursday,  a routine dentist check-up for Chloe and myself–but, unfortunately Chloe’s last set of molars didn’t quite develop like they should have which led to some unexpected drilling/filling.  Chloe’s comment, “Well, that wasn’t the best.”  Thursday afternoon she started complaining about her ear hurting–I ended up taking her to the Dr. Friday–and she had a bad ear infection.  Another round of antibiotics for her–and a scare for me when her temp went up to almost 105 Friday evening–who knew ear infections were so volatile?!?  She is now much improved and enjoying a day of Kindergarten today.  Hopefully we can get those ears dried out so she doesn’t need tubes!

On to this little gal, Elonie

On Thursday, I had talked to my dentist about her first dentist appointment & I ended up taking her in to see him today.  And, she got a “frenectomy”—sounds horrible, I thought it was horrible(I didn’t expect them to do the procedure right away today but I knew if I put it off I wouldn’t be any more gung ho on a different day)—luckily she was a champ and didn’t think it was a big deal.  Now she’s loaded up with stickers and tatoos, a princess toothbrush, cool “sunglasses” & popsicles.

So, I hope things can settle back down around here!  I know most of you pop by to see interesting quilty things and not so much kidder things.  But, there was just a lot of kidder things going on this last week! =)

I do have some bee blocks to share with you that I have finished recently though so, you’re gonna get a little bit of eye candy. =)  For Do Good Stitches in March we were asked to make 12.5″ blocks featuring non overlapping circles in whatever size/quantity we wanted to.  The requested colors were gray/yellow/lt. blue and bright pink.

Do Good Stitches Bee March

For Do Good Stitches in February we were working on a Village/Transportation themed quilt:

For March in the Ringo Pie Bee we were asked to do “Spring Beginnings”–nothing too bright/lush.  I think this may be one of my favorite bee blocks ever–within just a couple hours of learning the theme, I had this block finished and ready to go.  It was such a great theme for the month. =)

For February in the Vibees we had a two person month–first off some Anna Maria Horner Fabrics and half square triangles:

And secondly, some pinks and a request for bordered triangle blocks:

Union Jacks in vintage fabrics were on the agenda for February in the Ringo Pie Bee:

So, there ya go! =)

I finished up Megan’s block for Bee Hexed In–I ended up adding in a couple yellow/orange colors.  I think it might be my favorite of the four I have already made but when I see them all together I think they are all pretty rockin’. =)

Bee Hexed In Blocks--October, November, January, February

 I finished up the cutting on the Single Girl quilt I am working on for the quilt along.  I am making the twin size so I had to cut 31 pieces for each of 12 rings.  I was glad that I didn’t check to see exactly how many rings I needed prior to beginning the cutting–had, I known/remembered that I needed 12 I may not have started. =)  My DVR was all ready with lots of reality tv shows recorded (you know I’m a reality TV junkie) so the time went quickly.  My two year old, Elonie, also helped me choose the fabric order along with big sis Chloe, that was also entertaining. =p

I thought I would take a minute and share some of my favorite Birdie Stitches blocks that have popped up in the flickr group recently.

1. LMS _ Embroidery BOM – Blocks 1 & 2, 2. love birds block 2 finished, 3. Birdie Stitches February BOM, 4. birdie stitches bom2 closeup, 5. DSC_0593, 6. Birdie Block #1 Jan, 7. 100_2817, 8. birdie stitches b o m, 9. Little Miss Shabby Block 2

Aren’t they totally cute?  You can join in on the BOM any time you’d like.  New blocks are posted the 1st of every month & you’ll find all the info. that you need over in my side bar under Birdie Stitches. =)

Bee Hexed In--February

 For February, Megan requested jewel tones for her Hexagon block in Bee Hexed In.  I think this stack will fit the bill.  Last month in January, Brooke asked for a neutral palette with splashes of aqua, yellow, and orange.  Here is her finished block:

Bee Hexed In--January

 Such a fun little bee and the blocks always look so pretty!