Use What You Have Challenge

Feel free to use my badge.

Here is a little badge I created to remind myself that this month I am challenging myself (and you can play along too) to use what I have in my stash.  Uhm, don’t tell anyone that I went shopping yesterday, ok?  The fabrics pictured are just a sampling of what I have in my stash and I want to create an entire project without buying anything new.  I hope I can do it. I am pretty sure I can. If I need something, I’ll just go “shopping” in my stash. In truth, my stash isn’t really too overpowering. I am able to fit the majority of it on one bookcase.  I’ve only been collecting fabric for a little over three years anyway.  So, can you create something using only fabrics from your stash? With an entire month within which to work, how many projects can you complete? I am going to focus on a couple that are UFOs that I know I have all the materials to complete, I just have to put my mind to it and finish them. I am also working on a flower applique quilt that I am just making up as I go along.  It’s fun and even though my hand was hurting last night from cutting out so many flowers, I REALLY like the effect I am achieving.  I would post pictures, but unfortunately, the batteries on my camera DIED!  So, go ahead, go shopping in your stash, you might meet up with some old aquaintances and get to know them better and turn them into something beautiful.  I think you can use my badge, if you just right click it and select “Save Image As” you should be able to save it to your computer. Just do me a favor and link it back to my blog, OK? Also, please let me know if you plan to join the challenge and post your progress. Thanks! (I really get motivated if I feel as though I am not the only one in a challenge.) Until next time.

Happy Stitches to You,

Anna

P.S. This isn’t limited to only quilting, I’ll probably be making a few tote bags and other things with all those jelly rolls and charm packs I’ve collected. Also, I have some embroidery that I could work on without buying anything new.

A New Project, Maybe

Do you ever just wander around your sewing room/area searching for inspiration? I am maybe half way through with Chelsea Boutiqe, or at least with piecing the blocks, and I guess I have gotten bored. So today I started a new project without any idea what the end result will look like. I can sort of see it in my head. I was inspired by something in my scrap pile. I have this beautiful pink swirly batik that is left over from a skirt I made awhile back. Plus, at our last guild meeting the speaker showed her quilts and she did something that I think is called Raw Edge Applique. This is my sort of technique, you don’t have to worry about turning the edge under or carefully stitching around the end of the object. Just pick a decorative stitch and use that to stitch down the applique shape. Or at least, that’s what I think the general idea is.  So, I found a nice flower shape, enlarged it a little on my printer/scanner/copier (I love that machine) and have traced out my shapes onto freezer paper. The next step is to iron it on to the fabrics and cut them out. I am going to try putting the shapes onto denim. I think they will look really cool if I can do it right.  I am going to challenge myself. It’s called the Use What You Have Challenge. Can I make something without buying any new fabric for it? We’ll see. I’ll try to post my progress. Until next time.

Happy Stitches to You,

Anna

Quilting Bloggers

I don’t really know how I found this link (see sidebar) but I clicked it from someone else’s blog and found, to my surprise, a website that lists 978 blogs about…QUILTING!  They are trying to reach 1000 by the end of June and I really think they will do it. I was so excited to add my blog to their directory and then I found out, I am already listed in there! I have no idea how I got to their list but I am happy to be on there. They respresent quilters from ALL OVER THE WORLD!  How cool is that? It goes along with my theory that quilting is the universal language. So, if you have a blog, or even if you don’t, take a look at the Quilting Bloggers site and visit some of your fellow quilters/bloggers. Then add their badge to your blog if you want, it was the easiest badge I’ve ever added. I guess because their html is really well written or something.  I think I’ll be visiting them often. Help them reach their goal of 1000 quilting bloggers as well as be entered into a drawing for a super quilty prize!

On a personal note: Life is really still pretty busy for me right now and I am trying to sort things out at home. Sometimes I get so caught up with my excitement about quilting and sewing that I have to slow down and remember I have a husband who wants to know that he’s important too. So, if I don’t post for awhile, know that it’s because I am really working on sorting out everything right now. But I will still try to check in as often as possible. (And considering that I haven’t posted in a few weeks, I’ll probably say I will be MIA and then post three days in a row.) So, until next time.

Happy Stitches to You,

Anna

My Camera is so Cool!

So I decided to finally start a new project tonight. I have been working on the Chelsea Boutique quilt, but it is getting sort of monotonous so I decided to get started on this baby quilt that I wanted to make. It was inspired by a charm pack from a line of fabrics called Peek-a-Boo. They are some really cute and sort of bright baby fabrics.  I found the fabrics for the entire quilt on one of our side trips to Quilt Haus in New Braunfels.  Well, that’s a separate story, but I had the entire quilt ready on my design wall. Here is a sneek peek:

 

I believe you can click on the image for a larger view, although you might want to put on your sunglasses!  This is before sewing it together (of course) so the sashing will be slightly smaller, about 1.5 inches.  Well, as I started piecing this together I thought, “Hmm, I have a video capability on my digital camera, wouldn’t it be fun to create a quick little tutorial about my favorite thing, Leaders and Enders?”  The answer was yes, so, after filming the video and playing around with my Windows Movie Maker I created a cute video. The only problem is that in order to get it onto this blog, I have to use a third party website such as google video, which is fine, except that I had to get some sort of approval since this is the first time I’ve used it. So, if you want to see the video I created, please visit the Quilting Friends site by clicking here. Time to go to bed. Gee, I could have probably finished an entire quilt in the time it took me to upload that video!

Happy Stitches to You,

Anna

Baby Steps

 

I am very proud of my progress on the Chelsea Boutique quilt. At this stage of the game, when I can put some of the completed blocks up on the design wall with the sashing and cornerstones, I get a little chill because it actually does look a lot like the picture of the finished quilt!  I had planned to work on this quilt all through the quilt retreat and even maybe get the top finished but that was not to be. I ended up working on a smaller, more manageable project at the quilt retreat (the pirate quilt) and put Chelsea Boutique aside. There was a reason for that, it’s called the Ripper Tipper. You see, there was this jar, and every time you had to rip out a seam, you had to put in a quarter and a piece of paper with your name on it. On the afternoon of the last day of the retreat the money was counted up and a name was drawn from the jar. The person who won got to keep all $76 that was in the jar.  Well, I didn’t have a lot of quarters so I put a dollar in the jar, if I had actually pieced Chelsea Boutique, I woud have spent about $50 in quarters I think.  In fact, the first block I tried to put together I had to rip three times because somehow every time I picked up the pieces I wanted to sew together, I picked it up incorrectly and sewed the wrong sides together. Since returning from the retreat (and being Ripper Tipper free) I have put together six blocks. Also, since this is a quilt that I put pieces together in between other quilts, I wasn’t exactly accurate with my seams or even with my cutting. So, that is of course, causing a lot of frustration at this point in the game. Oh well, I guess that’s my penance for thinking I could piece an entire quilt top in between the pieces of other quilts. Now, as I put these blocks together, I am trying to be as accurate as possible, and if I put it together and find that it looks wonky (a technical quilting term) I rip it out and resew it. Perhaps after I finish all 50 blocks, I’ll have learned a thing or two about accuracy.  And now, since I have this entire pile of blocks waiting to be pieced (two half square triangle squares, and two four patches for one block, I am trying to piece one or two blocks every day if possible, or whenever I can grab 15 minutes. The blocks are pretty small, only about 9 inches finished. But even when I get the blocks finished, then I have to go back and put on the sashing and the cornerstones, now THAT is going to be fun!  Also, I think it’s sort of cool that this quilt top looks really scrappy, but most of it is made with the Chelsea Boutique line of fabrics. I bought a kit to make it, but the quilt shop had sort of run out of all the Chelsea Boutique fabrics by the time they made the kit, so they added in some of their other vintagey and sort of 1800s reproduction type fabrics. It actually works too. I don’t know if this quilt will be big enough for my bed, but I am hoping that I’ll be able to add some outside borders to enlarge it if needed. Well, it’s pretty late so I am going to go now. I hope I’ll be able to make some more progress tomorrow. One last thing to leave you with. I made a new fabric covered bulletin board for myself over the weekend. I even found some cool brad type things that I turned into thumbtacks and they are covered in AMY BUTLER fabric! Sometimes I am really amazed at what I can find at Michael’s Craft Store.  So here is a picture of the bulletin board I made. I was going for a sort of Shabby Chic look. (Pay no attention to the bubblegum pink walls, those will soon be painted, hopefully.)

 

  

 

Happy Stitches and Happy Craftiness to you,

 

Anna

Quilting Retreat a Success

The quilting retreat was a lot of fun. I managed to finish my pirate quilt top, except that I plan to add some more traditional blocks to the outside of the panel quilt.  I also managed to make an adorable child sized apron that I hope to be able to take pictures of before I give it to the Panhellenic Council luncheon basket from Phi Mu.  So, all in all it was a fun experience. I even managed to pick up enough fabric for another project. Gee, wonder how I managed that. Actually, we stopped off at the Quilt Haus on our way to the Tennis Ranch where we were staying for the weekend. Then, on Saturday, we took a little side trip back to the Quilt Haus to get the fabric to make a baby blanket. That’s my next project, hopefully. When I got home yesterday I was so tired I layed down on the couch for a few minutes and fell fast asleep. I am still recouperating today!  Then, today after work, I went and bought a new Dell computer from Sam’s Warehouse! I never thought I could get a Dell there!  It took me at least two hours to adjust to using Window’s Vista and get connected to the Internet. Oh, life without the Internet is hard and I only experienced it for about two hours.  If you ever have an opportunity to go on a quilting retreat, you should do it! It is great fun and a rewarding experience.  I sewed almost uninterrupted for two days straight.  I also learned a lot about scant 1/4″ seams and the variations in patterns. But, that is a tale for another day. Right now it is late and I must depart. I hope to be back soon to share some more of my quilting adventures. Until next time.

Happy Stitches to You,

Anna

Quilting Retreat Weekend!

After work today I am heading out to New Braunfels for an entire weekend of sewing and quilting! My mother in law is coming along and we both expect to get a lot of projects finished. I am sure I will have a lot to report when I return on Sunday, hopefully I’ll have the time to post it. I feel as though I’ve neglected my blog a little bit lately, but I hope that will change soon. I might be getting a new computer and embarking on an exciting quilting adventure. Unfortunately, I didn’t get as many things cut out before the retreat as I had hoped.  But I have cut all the pieces for the pirate quilt as well as have all the pieces ready for the Chelsea Boutique. Believe me, after a week like I’ve had, I am so happy to have a relaxing weekend of sewing, quilting, and hopefully some chocolate!  Plus, all our meals are provided and even some snacks along the way. Now I just have to make it until 3:00pm. Hmm, that’s seven hours, I hope I can do it!  Here is my project list for the retreat:

1. Pirate quilt

2. Chelsea Boutique quilt

3. Child’s apron for gift basket

4. Train pillow case for Joshua

5. purse/bag for Lauri

6. Anything else I can come up with since I am bringing extra fabric, just in case and we are stopping by the fabric store too!

I hope to post an update on Sunday afternoon or evening.

Happy Stitches to You,

Anna

Anna’s Got a Brand New Bag

Here are some pictures of the new tote bag that I made for myself Sunday and last night.  I tried Lisa’s suggestions of putting a solid color behind (I didn’t have any foam board so I used kraft paper instead) when I took the pictures. I think they turned out rather well.  What do you think? You might notice that instead of just doing the traditional straight rows of stitching down the handles, I used a decorative stitch from my machine. That was really quite fun! I also changed the pocket up a bit. After looking at it, I realized the pocket would be too big and stuff would get lost in it, so I added an extra row of stitching to create a smaller pocket for my pens and the other pocket is perfect for my cell phone and keys.  I used fusible fleece on the back of the outer bag, which I completely LOVE for bag making.  It’s easy to apply and gives the bag extra stability.  I think it turned out pretty awesome considering that I had no real pattern for this. The best thing about making tote bags is that once you know how to do it, the instructions are pretty much the same every time.

Happy Stitches to You,

Anna

UFO Sighting, and finished!

I finished a UFO last night, but not exactly the way I had originally planned. Bear with me, I don’t have any pictures yet, of course, but I will take some soon. I want to set up a sort of a picture taking area as suggested by Lisa Boyer (who is not a professional photographer but offers some good advice) and then I’ll take the pictures. She suggests using something that is white, like foam board, as a background for photographs and then they will have a really cool professional look (those are my words actually).  You can read the entire post here. Thanks, Lisa for explaining picture taking in terms anyone can understand. Ok, so back to my project. Last year some time I bought a kit to make a cute bag called the Trixie bag (you might have to scroll down a bit to find it on this page). It has lots of adorable ruffles and is made with the most beautiful line of fabric called Wuthering Heights by 3 Sisters and Moda. Well, turns out I am not really very good at ruffles or gathers or anything like that, so I started to make the bag and then got discouraged and put it away on a shelf for a very long time. Then, on Sunday evening, about 9:00 pm I decided I wanted to make a new tote bag for myself. I searched all my patterns and magazines but couldn’t find a pattern I liked or wanted to make. I just wanted something simple and pretty. Then I spotted the fabric for the Trixie bag on my shelf. Hmm, could I make a tote out of that? Probably. I worked on it for a couple of hours Sunday night and last night and guess what? I made a NEW bag! And it really isn’t very much like the Trixie bag at all, just uses the fabric.  I can’t wait to post a picture, but I wanted to share before I even had the picture. Maybe this will get people to check back later today or tomorrow to see if it’s there. I’ll keep you in suspense until then. I just love it when I get inspired and even if I don’t have a pattern I end of making something fun and cute!  Until next time.

Happy Stiches to You,

Anna

Texas Bluebonnet Trail Shop Hop

Would you like to go on a virtual shop hop with me? If so, come along, we’ll hop in my hybrid and ride along. Don’t worry, most of the stores are in San Antonio, only a couple of them are out of town. Turns out, they always say it’s best to combine errands if you want to save gas, so why not visit SIX fabric stores in ONE DAY!?  (Click on the pictures for links to the stores’ websites)

First, let’s stop for breakfast. The quilt stores don’t open until 9:00 am and it’s only 7:30am.  Hmm, this place looks pretty good, The Magnolia Pancake House.

Mmm, yummy pancakes. Actually I prefer waffles, how about an apple cinnamon waffle with pecans and a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice? Sounds good to me! (Sorry, I didn’t take a picture for two reasons, 1) I thought I would get some strange looks taking pictures of my food and 2) I ate it before I remembered to get my camera!)

OK, breakfast is done and it’s just about time for the first shop to open. We drive up the street about a mile (hmm, could I have possibly planned it this way?) and here we are at Creative Sewing Center.

They have a lot of bolts of fabric and some yummy goodies inside. I said hello to my good friend Paula who I became friends with when I worked here a couple of years ago. I was a sewing machine sales person, but I wasn’t very good, I never sold a sewing machine to anyone but my husband! (And I didn’t even get a commission off that because we bought it after I moved on to another job.) Oh well, I have certainly gotten my money’s worth from that machine and still going strong! Oh, where does the time go? We need to get on the road if we want to visit the best store, Creations, in Kerrville, Texas. By the way, did I mention that every store always has a theme during the shop hop?  Sometimes the themes are really obvious and sometimes they aren’t. The theme at Creations was The Pirate Quilter, or something like that, and all the characters from The Pirates of the Carribean decided to stop by. I couldn’t resist getting a picture with Will Turner (aka Orlando Bloom!)

 

 

Creations is a great store, it’s in a very old Victorian house! I love quilt stores that are in old houses. Since quilting is a tradition that has quite a history it makes sense to have a quilt shop in a house with a history as well!  After we got our fill of Creations, including a VERY cool pirate quilt kit (for a future post), we head back to San Antonio to visit some of the local shops. Next, let’s visit one of my favorite local shops, Memories by the Yard. Their theme this year is an ice cream shop! All the ladies have cute aprons and paper Bluebell Ice Cream hats (Bluebell is made here in Texas, in Brenham) they even give away free ice cream!

 By this time, I need a little break, let’s sit down and plan out our next course of action. I think we’ll go to Las Colchas next. It’s downtown a little ways, since it’s only about 3:30pm we can get down there before the hectic 5:00pm work traffic (did I mention we are doing this trip on a Friday?)  Hmm, here’s a Sonic, let’s stop in for a quick Cranberry Slush and Cherry Limeade and then we’ll be refreshed and ready for the next store.  Ahh, Las Colchas, housed in a Sear’s kit house circa 1910, it looks so festive and exciting today!

This is a store where we can go crazy! Oh, as I walk in I see the perfect fabric kit for a queen sized quilt! It has all the colors that go perfectly with my bedroom. Here’s a picture of the fabrics on my bed with some pillow shams I bought in Fredericksburg.

You’ll have to wait to see what the quilt will actually look like!  At least this way my husband will know that I actually do something with the fabric I buy! Well, almost time to go home, but I think we should visit one more store that just happens to be on the way back to my house, Seventh Heaven Quilt Shop.

This shop is nice as well. I found my fat quarters for a special quilt block I am making (more about that later too, or you can visit Quilting Friends to see more about the Churn Dash for the Cure quilt).

Hmm, I am really getting hungry, guess we should grab a bite. Let’s go to La Madeleine.  Yummy tomato basil soup and a portobello sandwhich, perfect. At this point, it’s only about 6:30pm and the shops are open until 9:00pm for the shop hop.  We can go back to Memories by the Yard or go to New Braunfels which is about 45 minutes away. Well, after some discussion, New Braunfels wins, partially because if we go there we get another free fat quarter! Sure, we’ll drive 45 minutes for a free piece of fabric, who wouldn’t?  Well, fast forward, here we are…

Well, what do you know? Their theme is also pirates this year! Well, can’t have too many pirate things, is what I say. They have an awesome assortment of Jelly Rolls at this shop and I really like their version of the Bluebonnet Shop Hop quilt. (It actually includes the pirate theme.) After my bank account recovers I might just come back for that kit.  By this time, we have almost been shopping for 12 hours! It’s almost 9:00pm and time to go home. It’s been a busy day and we have a lot of “quilting booty” in my car. Good thing we have the cover of darkness under which to bring it in to the house. I hope you have enjoyed the virtual shop hop as much as I enjoyed the real shop hop, and I REALLY enjoyed that shop hop! And since we hit the stores on Friday it gives me all of Saturday and Sunday to wash and organize my fabric! I’ll post pictures of my stash organization later. There were actually seven other stores that we didn’t get to visit this year. That’s OK, perhaps next year we will.  Well, until next time.

Happy Stitches to You,

Anna

P.S. I am sorry if the pictures aren’t all centered, WordPress changed their picture uploading and even though it’s an improvement, I am still figuring it out.