Pretty Sewing Things

I was so excited today when I arrived home to see a delivery notice in my mailbox. I knew my Tula Pink Aurifil Thread had finally arrived. Look at the pretty case :)

And oh so gorgeous variegated threads :) Each spool has 1422 yards so I figured I could use them for a while. I just love the colours. I picked these up on Massdrop. It was actually my first purchase with them but there were so many orders for it that the company needed to fabricate more so I ended up getting my second purchase delivered first.

This is also a US company which can be good and bad.The good part is that the price is usually quite good. I picked this package up for $88.99 USD which includes shipping. The only issue is that sometimes you get charged through Customs. My package of 100 Wonder Clips did not get charged but my Aurifil thread did which cost me an extra $22.91 on top of the $88.99 USD for processing fees through customs. So I'm happy that I received the thread but I think I'll be a little more careful with my purchases from Massdrop. I still did a good purchase because Aurifil thread for that size usually runs around $12 a spool. I did buy this based on many bloggers opinions of Aurifil thread. I haven't used it yet so I'm hoping that I will like it since I bought this package of it :) A slight daring or crazy I know :)

I did make a trip to Panier D'Art with a friend yesterday. There is a huge sale going on all this week. There are new bolts put out every morning and they are priced $2, $3, $4 and $5 a meter! And 20% off the rest of the fabric. So I picked up a few items that were on sale.

And then I spotted some new fabric!

I love, love, love this fabric. It's a little more than I typically spend on fabric. It was $15.95 a meter but it was 20% off and I just purchased 1 meter. And I just love it! Not exactly sure what I'm going to use it on but definitely something special :)

I also just attached the binding to my monkey quilt with my Wonder Clips :) What little gems those are! Big thanks to Jenn @ A Quarter Inch from the Edge for introducing me to these. I'm hoping to be finished that quilt by tomorrow night :) I will take a picture of it even though it is almost the same as the last Monkey Quilt.

Here's to hoping tomorrow's work day goes by quickly!

Julia

Sunday Stash & Fabric Shop Hop

As part of my sewing vacation in Wolfville, I could not help but throw in a Fabric Shop Hop on my way home. First off, I bought an insane amount of fabric. Second thing, good thing my husband loves me :) So without further ado, here are my Fabric Shop Hop purchases.

Avonport Discount Fabric Centre was a daily visit while on my vacation in Wolfville. I only went three times and spent at least 2 hours there each time. The staff there is incredible and you learn so many useful tips from all the staff members there that it is so easy to spend a crazy amount of time there. So here are all my purchases from Avonport :)

There's even some fabrics stored underneath because I didn't have enough room on my cutting table with all my other Fabric Shop Hop purchases.

I'm usually not into a lot of these prints but I just couldn't stop staring at this panel. I decided to purchase it and I think I'll make some pillows out of each of the movie poster panels.

 Love this panel. I'm going to make a Teapot Holder and four coasters out of each set.

A few accessories :)

My mom bought each one of us this handy bag. They are pretty neat where you could fit an entire quilt in this bag. And the best part, they were only $19.99! Great purchase!

 Some Stencils.

And a couple of patterns. I love the Yellow Brick Road quilt. When I was a teenager, I had sea sponged my room bright blue and did the casings in a bright yellow. So this took me back to that room that I loved so much. My parents painted it as soon as I moved out lol.

I just love Avonport Discount Fabric Centre. One of the best places to visit. They have a facebook group which I have posted the link here. Sales and some of the new fabrics they receive are posted there.

When I left on Thursday, my first stop was A Needle Pulling Thread Quilt Shop in Digby, NS. Darlene D is the shop owner and what a sight to be seen there. There is a quilt room where beautiful quilts hang on the walls and then a bed which has a beautiful quilt on display. It is just a cozy shop that you can just enjoy the moment and have a chat or two with Darlene. I'll definitely be visiting again :)

 I picked up a few spools of embroidery thread, a stencil, black and white prints, red sayings print and an orange print. I'm sure my orange print will shock a few. Orange is my least favourite colour and this may very well be my first orange print purchase. I cannot remember ever buying it before. But I like the swirly print and thought maybe I should have a bit of orange for my stash.

Next up was just a few minutes down the road from A Needle Pulling Thread Quilt Shop, called Complete Fabrication. This store has a Facebook Group so I have posted the link here.

I couldn't help but pick this up especially after my vacation in wine country. It is an apron panel to be made up. I don't have an apron so this is perfect for me :)

My other purchases were a ruler holder which I have set up in my sewing room and it works quite well to keep all my rulers together. I bought the little penguin buttons for my sister. I've had my eye on the Rock Candy pattern designed by Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts for a while. So I decided to pick up this pattern as well. Cute shop on the waterfront in Digby.

Next up is one of my local quilt shops, Panier D'Art. It's a half hour drive from my house but that's close enough to be local right :) I go to this shop often enough but I hadn't been there for a little while. And since I had decided to do this little Fabric Shop Hop, I had to add a few local places that I visit.

 The purple Owl print at the top is just adding more to my stash. For a client, I will be using the purple Owl print that I had so I wanted to purchase more of it so I would have some for myself. Such an addiction I know. I also added the other owl prints for my personal use. Some day, I may need to make some baby quilts for myself. I also found another print that goes along with the wine apron I purchased that same day. I think I may make a few coasters out of the wine print. And last but definitely not least, my eye caught one of these panels and I couldn't help but purchase it. Read below to see the panel that caught my eye.

This is exactly how I feel about quilting. I couldn't have found a better saying to show exactly how I feel. So of course, I needed to buy some of this fabric as well. It'll make some beautiful coasters for tea :)

Next up, was this small little gift shop that sells a small amount of fabric and other handmade items. I cannot remember the name of this place but it is right beside Edna's Bakery in Port Maitland along the main road there. I also stopped in at Edna's Bakery because it is just so delicious in there.

I picked up a few cuts of fabric. The yarn fabric will be going to my mom. She is a knitter....almost as addicted to it as I am to quilting. The sewing accessories fabrics I think would go well when I make up a sewing bag so I picked up some cuts of that. And then the wolf pattern just seems perfect to fussy cut those pieces out to put into a quilt.

And my last stop was at another LQS, K & K Fashions in my town of Yarmouth, NS. Always great to see the staff who work here. Wonderful people. They do A LOT of alterations and fabrication for clothes. They have a good selection of fabric and I like the staff so I visit frequently :) Picked up these fabrics.

I love the purple background with the ladybugs. Insanely cute. And the puppy dog print is just irresistible for me.

I also stopped by another LQS called Designs by Nhung yesterday. Purchased a few things there as well. I'm mentioning this one in case if you're ever visiting Yarmouth, you'll know where the local quilt shops are :)

Well I purchased a fair bit of fabric and really should not need to purchase any more but I know I will. It's such an addiction. Right now, I will have a lot to work with and I'll be putting away some money for our sewing vacation next year.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Julia

Sewing Vacation in Wine Country

Well I returned from my vacation with my mom and sister in Wolfville, NS which I also term as Wine Country. It is beautiful there and there is so many vineyards. And the weather is typically gorgeous there. It's also the place where I got engaged :) So it's a special place in my heart.

We stayed at a nice cottage with a decent price so we could spend more money on fabric :) We arrived on Sunday and just set up our machines since we were visiting family that evening. Then the fun started the next morning! We went to Avonport Discount Fabric Store for three days in a row! I just love it there! Always something going on there and the staff are just perfect. I purchased a lot of fabric there...and then I seen something on their facebook group that I also want so I'll have to call and have them ship me a meter (or two) of some new fabric that just arrived. It is gorgeous! It has a bunch of quilter sayings that I've read lots of times :)

So after the visits to Avonport, we mostly stayed in the cottage and sewed up a storm. We had the perfect set up for three persons and we had cooked meals before going to Wolfville so all that was needed most of the time was to reheat them and add a few ingredients.

Here's a view of the kitchen part and my mom and my sister :) And this is also my sister's second time sewing. On another post, I posted a picture of the mug rug that she made. After that she was addicted and received her first sewing machine from my parents for her birthday.

The living room which a sewing machine was set up on the opposite side of the cutting mat.

We visited a few vineyards and I purchased a few bottles of wine (5) just to dull the shock of my husband seeing all the fabric purchases that I had made lol. I'll post my fabric purchases on Sunday since it would be way too long of a post if I did it all at once :)

Here are my projects that I worked on during the sewing vacation.

 Monkey Quilt Top is complete. Hopefully I'll have it quilted before the end of the weekend.

 Here is my Banner Block for the MMQG Banner. Which I may have to modify. I think I misunderstood the directions thought my block needed to measure 6.5" and I believe it's suppose to be 6" so I may have to modify it.

 Here is my Signature Block for the MMQG Banner. I used Variegated thread and used my stitching letters on my sewing machine to do this. I had not tried it before on my sewing machine so it was a learning experience and I think it came out pretty well.

Block #2 is complete for my Fat Quarter Shop Mystery Quilt 2014. Can't wait to see what Block #3 will be. I had to stitch pick this one a few times since the points weren't meeting up as well as I'd like. But I'm happy with the result :)

Here are my mom's projects

 This is a Quilt Top that was completed by my mom but the hand stitched applique was done by a lady who passed away and was never able to finish her quilt. The family of the lady did not know what to do with the blocks, so they were going to be thrown out. My mom asked for them and finally many years later, she has finished the quilt top. It came out beautifully.

 This is just a small mini quilt to try out a new technique using a rotary cutter that has a cutting board underneath. So you quilt four pieces of fleece fabric and then use this special rotary cutter to cut through the top three layers and it leaves your backing intact.

Here's a better picture to see the close-up of the technique.

There were some extra squares with that applique so my mom made a body pillow out of the remaining squares. And luckily enough there were some cheap body pillows at Walmart and they fit perfectly.

Here is my sister's project for the vacation. This is her very first quilt. She picked out a pattern and then picked out the fat quarters needed and ironed them all. Cut them all out and then started piecing her quilt together.

 Here she is laying out all the pieces after making up her blocks. And then her finished quilt top :)

 The wind caught her quilt at the same time that I snapped the picture but I think it's a perfect picture :)

The colours are just beautiful and bright. She did a great job! Especially for her first ever quilt! Next lesson will be assembling the quilt sandwich, quilting and then binding.

So we had a great sewing vacation. We plan on going back next year but staying longer. Hope you all had a great week :)

Julia

July Library Report

Well it's difficult to believe that we are heading towards the end of July. How quickly is summer going?! So in the last month, I've finished hubby's Dressed to the Nines quilt :)

I also started to do get that order ready for another quilt like this. Hopefully I'll have that one finished in the next few months. The order has been put on the back burner by the buyer since they would like to have two other quilts done that is more "time sensitive".

I've also been doing a bit more on my embroidery machine. I've made these totes.

And a few purses which one lucky blog reader won on a giveaway held here on my blog :)

Also I've completed my first BOM for Fat Quarter Shop's 2014 Mystery Quilt.

I just love this fabric line! It is Snowbirds by Laundry Basket Quilts for Moda. It is gorgeous! And I was lucky enough to receive the second BOM today :)

I'm also working on an order for a Monkey Quilt. I'm working on doing the applique stitching right now. I'm hoping to have that one finished by next week or so.

I started vacation today :) So excited to have all of next week off! I'm so excited to be having a sewing vacation with my mom and sister. Five days at a cottage with sewing machines going, iron steaming and food cooking. And we'll be in wine country :) Just love it! Hopefully I'll have some pictures to post when I get back.

So I have not worked much on my library list this month. Maybe next month will be more promising :) I'm linking up with Adrienne at Chezzetcook Modern Quilts for the July link up. I'm having a great time with this library project and I have so many things to be thankful for that came out of joining it. Being able to meet other quilty people out there has been fantastic and being a member of the Maritime Modern Quilting Guild just makes me feel so happy to know there are other people like me :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend :)

Julia

Sewing Weekend Perhaps....

I am unfortunately not able to attend the MMQG Sew In tomorrow but I will however be attempting to sew up a storm this weekend. I've had some long days at work this week and did manage to sew a bit but I'm planning on really getting into the sewing groove this weekend. To start off, I only have a small amount of work left for the iPad Tote order I received a few days ago. It's very similar to mine since the customer loved the purple fabrics. I can't blame them, I love purple fabric too! And I love the blue swirl fabric. The little bit of blue for the flap just adds that extra beauty :) Here are some pictures of the progress so far.

I love how this one is turning out. Hopefully it'll get to the recipient by next week.

I also picked up a few fabrics at a store this week....I know I keep thinking that I don't really need more fabric but this deal was just too good to pass up. There was a discounted bin and the fabrics were $2.99 a meter! SO I purchased a few meters :)

Some of the fabric I bought to use as a quilt backing. I just picked out what I liked and the price was right :)

I'm hoping to get a good bit of progress on the commissioned projects that I need complete. The iPad Tote should be complete by tomorrow and I will start on a Monkey Baby Quilt. I'm also hoping that maybe going to the beach for a few hours may be in my future for tomorrow :)

Hope you all have a great weekend! Hope all the members at the Guild have a great Sew In! Hopefully I'll get to the next one :)

Julia

Winner, winner :)

The time has come for me to announce the winner of the giveaway.....the random generator has selected....

 

Comment #10 which was....

1. 
   Linda3 July 2014 12:31

   Hi Julia! Look at you go! Love what you are doing with your embroidery. Very modern! I only think about sewing most of the time and I am so looking forward to our next Sew-In on the 12th. Can't wait.

Congrats Linda! Please contact me so I can get your prize out to you :)

And Thank you everyone for the comments :)

Quilting & a visit from "Arthur"

Well I hope everyone came out ok after the visit from hurricane/tropical storm Arthur this weekend. We were lucky where we only lost our power for a few minutes. Some people are without power still in our area.

I had a fairly productive weekend. Had a few ladies over Friday evening, sewed on Saturday and Sunday. I have completed the 16 blocks for the Dressed to the Nines quilt that I received an order for. They stack up nicely :)

I also dug out my Block One for the Fat Quarter Shop Mystery Quilt 2014. It's great to be making something that I don't typically do. Here's a picture of the center complete and the other pieces cut.

And completed block :) I am in love with this block. So pretty.

I also started planning for the two kid quilts that I need to make for Christmas time for an order. I'm going to have to try to fit in my library projects somewhere in there too. I'm hoping that my sewing vacation will allow me some time to get more complete on my list. But the commissioned orders need to come first since that is how I pay for my fabric ;)

Tonight is the final night for entry into the giveaway. I'll be announcing a winner tomorrow :) If you haven't already entered, here is the post for the giveaway :)

Hope everyone has a good night and good luck!

Julia

P.S. Jen from Quarter Inch from the Edge is having a giveaway to celebrate her blog's 2 year anniversary. And check out some really neat posts from her blog :)

Pick Me Up of the Day

So I've spent the last couple of days sewing a few more totes. I modified the pattern a bit to fit magazines/books. I'm constantly carrying quilting magazines with me whenever I go anywhere. It's almost a joke for some people when they see me since they know I am absolutely addicted to quilting. I wanted to make something to be able to organize my messy bags that I carry with me. So this tote will keep my magazines/books in perfect condition while keeping them organized in my purse.

I love purples! And I used Sulky Blendables in purple for the embroidery. Sulky Blendables doesn't pop as much as the Rayon Thread but it does look beautiful. I can't wait to try my Aurifil coming from Massdrop for embroideries.

Fits three magazines with a little bit of room to spare :)

The point sticks out a bit but it's not drastically bad. I should have accounted for this when I was making the tote. Purples just make me so happy and knowing that this tote is going to be holding my quilting magazines and gorgeous books makes me happy, happy :)

So I went out yesterday to my local embroidery shop and spent a small fortune there. Another expensive addiction but it is a healthy one :) Also received my order from Amazon. And I purchased a box of 100 embroidery needles....you know so I wouldn't run out :)

I can't wait to take a look at the software collection. A bit of a splurge purchase there since it cost $30 but I figure I'll have it forever. And I love using monkeys in my sewing projects. The wonderclips are something that I saw on Jennifer's blog Quarter Inch fron the Edge. After sticking myself so many times with pins while doing bindings, I couldn't believe these Wonderclips existed! So I found a pack of 50 on Amazon for a good price and then I had to order Simply Retro to cash in on the Free Shipping. Also on Massdrop right now, there is a deal for 100 Wonderclips for $23.99 USD. I purchased a package of them so having 150 should get me a long, long way.

I received an order today for a baby quilt. I will be making another monkey quilt. There's a deadline of early August so I'll be working on that quilt at the same time as the Dressed to the Nines quilt. I have all of the 144 - 5 " squares cut for that quilt. So just need to sew together my nine patch and cut, then sew up again :) I am so excited about these two orders. Always feels great that someone likes your work enough to commission a quilt to be made for them. Just over the moon today....even with "Arthur" arriving tomorrow. Hope you have some sewing plans that you will keep you out of that tropical storm.

If you haven't had a chance to enter my giveaway yet, you can enter on this post Embroidery and Giveaway. The lucky winner will be chosen at random on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning....Good Luck!

And Happy 4th of July to my readers across the border! Hope you're having a safe and happy celebration!

Julia