Quick Project

I decided to play a bit in my sewing room today. I found this incredible tutorial by Ginny @ Darling Adventures. I went out to purchase some notebooks and picked out some fabric. This was a really quick project and I just think it is so fabulous. So easy to do! One extra tip, Ginny mentioned on her website is to measure your notebook and then add 1/2" to all sides when you cut your piece. I ended up trimming the notebook after I made the journal cover. I only seen the tip after the fact. Still is a cute journal and so easy. Here's a couple of pictures of the one I made.

I really like this journal cover and will definitely be making more. Especially since they are so easy. I think a few for gifts would be great. Quick and Easy but beautiful project!

Julia

Christmas Fun!

Me and hubby had lots of family staying with us over Christmas so I didn't get much sewing done. I had a few moments to finish off some projects. I was able to bind my first ever quilt that was made 7 years ago. I knew nothing about sewing or quilting back then. I didn't know about a 1/4" seam, strip piecing, basting....etc. I had figured out a patchwork quilt and cut out many squares. I sewed them all together attempted to make a diagonal pattern with the squares. Anyway it's been a long time since I touched that quilt. I had just the quilt top and I took it to a long arm quilter in my area to have the quilt finished. This quilt is huge! So here's some pictures of the finished quilt. My first ever quilt.

Another view.

I took this picture to show how many mistakes are done on this quilt top. It just shows me how far I've come from this first quilt. My 1/4" seam was so off. I didn't know how to nest the seams or any of those tricks. I do love the colours. And this quilt is a mix of cotton and flannel squares. So it will stay here to be used for years to come.

My hubby bought me a fantastic Christmas gift. I had been mentioning that I need to figure out how to store my fabric better. So here was my Christmas gift.

This stand is so tall. I can barely reach the top shelf. I put a couple of things on it Christmas Day :) here's the finished result....

I just love this overpowering stand. It all looks so beautiful. The stand, my fabric all organized and the beautiful colours. I could only put my cotton and backing fabrics on here. I'll have to figure out some organization system for the flannel and some panels. But overall, I'm very happy with this. It took me a few days but it looks so beautiful :) Love it!

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

Julia

Early Christmas Gift to a Lucky Winner :)

Well Christmas Eve has arrived! Hope you all have a lovely Christmas holiday with friends and family. I haven't done any sewing since the weekend. I'm hoping to maybe sneak in an hour or two in the coming week. The winner of the Christmas Charm Pack is........

Kate20 December 2014 at 11:28

Happy Blog Birthday! ♪♫♪♫

Congrats Kate!

I have sent you an email. And as soon as I have your mailing address I will send out that Charm Pack to you :)

Thank you to everyone for playing along! Hopefully I'll be able to have a few more giveaways next year :)

 

Merry Christmas!

Julia

Christmas Arrived Early :)

After a long work day on Monday, I walked up my steps to see my mailbox overflowing with plushy packages and a parcel with Sew Sisters label on it. I was over the moon! And also happy that I made it home before my husband could see all the packages :)

Two packages from Sew Sisters and two packages from the Fat Quarter Shop. It was like Christmas in my living room. I was incredibly excited! So my first present was....

Block #7 from the FQS Mystery Quilt! I still have Block #6 to do but then hopefully I'll get #7 done before I receive Block #8. My second present was....

Elementary Layer Cake....so in love with this. FQS had a special code to receive $20 off. So I picked up this Layer Cake. Just love it! Present #3.....

I received my Bargain Lover's Club package of Fat Quarters. I have to say, I wasn't enthusiastic about these. But I'll use them in something and add some color. And my final present was my Stuff Your Stocking purchases!

Fat Quarter Bundle,

Tonga Treats and more Tonga Treats,

A yummy Jelly Roll.

Look at the gorgeous top!

I also picked up some grip stickers for my rulers and a $50 gift card to use for some future purchases! After unpacking all of my purchases, I realized I do need to organize my sewing space. So in the New Year, I'm planning on organizing my sewing space to be more user friendly. Do you have any New Year resolutions yet?

I'm also hoping to do more smaller projects. I made this quick set of coasters and teapot holder. I used Insul-Bright for the teapot holder. These were quick and easy. I'm planning on making a few sets in the New Year to have for gifts and possibly have some sets for a Christmas market. 

I love the blue in these coasters! These are going to be part of a Christmas gift so I'm hoping that she likes them. They are so simple but beautiful.

Well I'm going to enjoy the rest of the evening....maybe relax with a cup of tea and read about organizing my sewing space :)

If you haven't had a chance to enter my giveaway yet, you can here :) 

Hope you all have a great evening!

Julia

One Year Bloggy Birthday Giveaway

Wow! One whole year has passed since I wrote my first blog entry. Amazing how time seems to flow quickly when you're having fun :)

These blog posts wouldn't be as much fun without the help of my husband, comments from all of you and the people who let me take their picture ;) Thank you from the bottom of my heart. It definitely brightens my days when I get a comment from a reader :)

This blog has been many firsts for me.

#1 - Actually writing a blog about something.
#2 - The amount of people that I've met along the way by blogging is incredible. Whether it be by people commenting on my blog or by me reading other people's blog.
#3 - I feel a certain kinship with the other quilty bloggers out there. A mutual understanding of happiness, frustrations, and the joy of finishing a project.

I also want to thank all the quilty bloggers out there. I've learned so much from other people's blogs that I don't know if I would have found out about those things on my own. WonderClips are a very good friend. Thanks Jenn @ A Quarter Inch From The Edge. Or learning about the fantastic places to buy fabric in Maine through Anja @ Anja Quilts. Thanks Anja :) Feeling motivation through Adrienne @ Chezzetcook Modern Quilts by participating in the Library Project. Thank you Adrienne for hosting it. And I cannot forget about all the beautiful Free Motion Quilting done by Linda @ Scrapmaster. I could go on forever about all the bloggers that I've come across over the year but this post would never end.

Thank you to all the bloggers that I have met and the future ones I will meet for all the laughs, lessons and quilty love we all share. I know I'm being a bit sappy but quilting and friendships mean a lot to me :)

So with that, I'll move on to the giveaway. So up for grabs is this Christmas Charm Pack.

This is a Charm Pack I picked up last year from the Stuff Your Stocking event by Sew Sisters. I can't wait to see what the lucky winner will make with it :)

So all you have to do is comment on this post to be in the draw. The random generator app will pick a winner. This contest is open to anyone in Canada and the United States. The winner will be announced on Christmas Eve. Some lucky winner will get an early Christmas present :)

If you are a no-reply blogger, please enter your email address in your comment. Otherwise I'll have no choice but to pick someone else if I cannot contact you.

Thank you again for making this year a great one :)

Julia

Alice's Quilt and Saturday Stash

I finished Alice's Quilt last weekend but I couldn't get any outdoor pictures all week. It's been sort of crummy for the weather. And it's so dark so early now. But on Saturday morning, the sun was shining so I was able to take some pictures of Alice's Quilt.

After a few suggestions, I decided to bind the quilt in the brown. I think it frames the quilt nicely. I'm hoping the little girl who will be receiving this, will get to enjoy this quilt for many years to come.

I was able to do some shopping this weekend too. After getting some Christmas shopping done, I decided to head to a few quilt shops that are further away from my house. I picked up a few Christmas gifts for me :)

 I've never used plush fabric before so I decided to pick up 1/2 m of this light blue one. And those cute snowflake buttons were irresistible!

And so I picked up some green plush fabric at another store, along with a few other fabrics :) I picked up some cute quilt labels. I ordered some but they won't be in until after Christmas. So I picked up these cute labels.

I'm not sure how much quilting I'll have a chance to do during the holidays but hopefully a little bit :)

Final Library Project Report

Well the end is here. I'm a little sad for the library project to be over. I looked forward to reading everyone's progress monthly. But at the same time, I've learned a lot about myself and "lists". I made about 4 projects on my list of about 9 projects. However, I made a good deal of projects that weren't on my list.

Here's a recap of what I was able to complete off my list.

Funfetti Quilt

Dressed to the Nines Quilt

Owl Pincushion

Whispering Lake Quilt

What I learned about this process is that a list should be written in pencil! I didn't realize how much my list would change over the year. I made three commissioned quilts, one quilt to sell, a couple quilts for babies, a couple for gifts. When I look back at how many quilts I made this year, I counted 10! To me, it was a pretty amazing year. I also got married this year which was definitely the most amazing thing to happen to me. Marrying my best friend who accepts my fabric habits/addiction is true love :)

I'm linking up one last time with Adrienne @ Chezzetcook Modern Quilts. Take a peek at her blog to see all the other participants final entry for the library project. Thank you so much Adrienne for hosting this. I've met so many people through the Library Project and joined the MMQG.

And a big Thank you to the people who followed the Library Project all year long. I hope you enjoyed the journey :)

Julia

Thank Goodness It's Friday!

What an extremely busy work week! I barely had any time to sew this week. A few 30 minute sessions here and there. I had decided earlier on in the week that I wouldn't be able to do a lot of sewing so I took out my BOM from Fat Quarter Shop. These tend to be a quick little project but they do make me feel like I'm making progress. So here is my finished BOM for Block 5 of the Mystery Quilt.

I really love this one. A bit more difficult but it came out well. And I only used my seam ripper once so I call that a win for me :)

So I haven't worked on anything else this week except for that. I did however get a bit of shopping in.....Sew Sisters is having their annual Stuff Your Stocking event and I'm going to need to make a larger stocking...my oh my...And then of course there were some Black Friday deals.....Craftsy order here.....Fat Quarter Shop order there....and then I purchased some more fabric from a local store.

I believe this is from the same collection as a Fat Quarter bundle that I picked up from Westwood Acres a little while back. At least the leave print on the side is from this bundle.

I think the other two may be too. Just totally fell in love the fabrics so I had to purchase a few meters.

I also received my prize from Sew Sisters! It was so exciting receiving this in the mail. I still can't believe I won!

Not sure what I'll use them for......as of right now, they will just stay in my stash :)

Hope everyone has a happy quilting weekend!

Sunday Quilting

Happy to say I finished the quilting for Alice's quilt this morning. So excited this one is almost done. It's a Christmas gift and I hate trying to finish something last minute. I'm really liking how this one turned out. I had an idea for the binding a few days ago but I did go through my stash and found a couple of options :)

Here's a few pictures of the quilt that I was able to take outside.

So I've narrowed the binding down to three options. Option number #1 is this Michael Miller choice called "Kaylee" I picked this up last year to put into my mother's quilt which can be seen here.

Option #2 is this brown fabric with pink squares and circles. I cannot find any information on it but it does seem like it would work.

Option #3 is this newly added addition to my stash from my trip to Bangor, Maine. This fabric from Jessica Swift by Blend called "BLOMMA" was my original thought a couple of days ago. Now that I have it next to the quilt top, I'm not so sure.

Here's a look at the fabrics.

So what do you think? Option 1,2 or 3. Thanks in advance for your input :)

Julia

What a week!

Sorry I've been a little absent last week. I was away for work for the week so I didn't get any sewing in until I returned home at the end of the week. I was having withdrawals! It was very exciting when I returned since I had numerous packages waiting to be opened :) Including birthday presents since my birthday was on Thursday :)

On my return trip from the city, I stopped in Avonport. I was the first customer since I arrived 15 mins before they opened. And the lovely ladies opened 10 mins early :) I was trying not to spend too much time there since I had appointments back home but I did manage to pick up a few things. It was my birthday and so I figured I could justify the purchases :)

Here are the lovely items....

First up, is this Animal Parade Book. It is completely adorable and I can't wait to make a quilt from this book! Maybe in the New Year ;)

Next up, are these pretty fabrics. I love the discount bin at Avonport! And these were just too cute to not pick up.

Last but definitely not least, were these patterns.

I can see making a few of those Handy Who for gifts. Way too cute!

When I returned home, I had all these packages waiting for me :) My husband was starting to wonder about my shopping habit. I had to explain that certain items come every month and the rest were purchases that just happened to come at the same time :)

First off, my monthly Bargain Lover's Club package came from Sew Sisters. You can see the details on this club here. Also check out their Stuff Your Stocking event. Last year was the first time I signed up and it was incredible. You can see the details of that deal here. You have to sign up for that event before Dec 1. Here is my monthly Bargain Lover's package :)

Next package was my Block Six for BOM from the Fat Quarter Shop. I'm a little behind for my blocks. I still need to make Block Five. Things just got a little too hectic this month :)

Then there was my order from Mad About Patchwork. There was a 15% off code to celebrate Mad About Patchwork's Facebook followers. So I purchased a couple of items from there :)

I picked up some of this lovely grass print from Martha Negley for Freespirit that I just fell in love with. And this Hadley charm pack by Denyse Schmidt for Freespirit. So pretty!

Then I received my Massdrop Aurifil Collection by Pat Sloan "The Perfect Box of Neutrals". I love my other collection by Tula Pink.

My hubby typically just laughs about how much fabric I have. Sometimes he tries not to think of the money I spend on fabric but I also lovely call him an "enabler"

My gifts from him was a $40 Gift card to a LQS and these....

 And he also took me shopping to a quilt shop that stocks lots of embroidery items. So I picked out the following items :)

I cannot wait to try out the Circular Attachment on my Embroidery Machine but I'm waiting until I finish a few to do quilts first. Especially the Christmas one and a quilt that I will be donating to my hometown Relay for Life to sell tickets on.

I had ordered this pattern a while back but she misplaced who she had ordered the pattern for. So it was great that it was still there and that I could pick it up.

It's a Diaper Bag with a Changing Pad attached. I thought this would be the perfect Baby Shower gift. So I'm hoping to make a gender neutral one to have on hand for the next baby shower.

I also started quilting Alice's quilt and I finished the Star Block quilt top. It was a fairly productive but busy weekend :)

I'm using my walking foot to quilt this and I have to say, I've very happy with the way it is going. So much easier to control especially with quilting flannel. Here's the Star block Quilt Top.

I also received terrific news from Sew Sisters that I won a pack of Tonga Mini Treats - Punch! I am so very excited about that. I've never won a giveaway before. Can't wait to receive them!

Well that was a recap of my week. It was a terrific week filled with lots of blogs to visit, packages, purchases, gifts, sewing, birthday wishes and ice cream cake :)

Julia