Saturday, May 22, 2010

And the winner is...

The winner of the Sew, Mama Sew May day Giveaway is...


Congrats Sarah! You should be receiving an email from me shortly.

Monday, May 17, 2010

SMS Giveaway Day

Up for grabs is one of my most popular products!


Zoology Diapers and Wipes Case
For those times when you don't need the entire diaper bag. Just grab the case and go. Or use it to keep your bag organized. Comfortably fits a wipes container and 2 large diapers. This case is thicker and more durable than most, because of its inner lining, and keeps its shape even when it’s not filled. It wont get all slouchy and crumpled like others do.
Zoology Diapers and Wipes Case
See more photos and item description here.

For your chance to win, leave a comment telling me what your favorite item is from my shop. You also MUST leave an email address to contact you. Follow/Subscribe for an extra entry...be sure to leave an additional comment. Giveaway will be open until May 20th and item will be shipped by May 24th. I will ship internationally.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Snippets Quilt

Remember this little preview? I actually managed to finish this quilt pretty quickly and it's even made it into the hands of it's new owner. I have been wanting to make this quilt for a very long time and am excited to finally have it completed because I knew just who it was intended for.
Snippets Quilt
The pattern comes from a Moda Bakeshop Tutorial. It's a really simple quilt that uses only a charm pack and 1 yard of solid white (plus backing and binding.)
Snippets Quilt
This quilt had a few "firsts" for me. It was my first time making prairie points. They were pretty time consuming. They also came out very wrinkled after washing. But I love the look they added to this quilt. Not sure if I'll do them again though.
prairie points

quilting close up of Snippets Quilt
It was also my first time quilting the flower petal design (not sure if that's the official name for it.) It's definitely far from perfect, but I was fun to try something new. I really like this quilting design on top of the half square triangle blocks (which are in this case, making up pinwheels.) It gives them a subtle roundness and lots of movement.
quilting on Snippets Quilt

May's Bee Block

Chelsea's request for her fussy cut blocks was "framed" squares. I love her inspiration quilt and think the fabrics she chose will look great with this quilt. And the fabric she gave for the fussy cut centers had soo many options of what use.
May block for Chelsea
May block for Chelsea
May block for Chelsea

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Garage Sale Finds & Tutorial

I found some really great items at a garage sale recently. All for $2!
Garage Sale finds
Turning tool, glass jar (with a really cute finial-like top), and a bundle of bias tape makers
Bias tape makers
The tape makers run from $5-$10 each brand new, and these dont look like they've ever been touched!

Have you ever heard of a turning tool?
Turning tool
It's a tool that helps you turn fabric tubes right side out (like ties for an apron, etc.)

This tool isn't a necessity, especially at its hefty price of anywhere from $30 to upwards of $60! But it sure is great to have if you can find one on the cheap. In another post I'll show you how to make your own version of a turning tool that has worked wonders for me previously to getting my hands on this great little tool set.

If you've never heard of a turning tool before and wonder how this contraption works, here's a little tutorial for you:

Start out with your tube of fabric, sewn right sides together, a metal tube from the set that fits in your fabric tube and a wire hook.
Turning tool tutorial- supplies
notice the little spiral on the end of the wire?
Turning toos tutorial- supplies
Stuff your fabric over the metal tube.
Turning tool tutorial- step1
Insert the wire in the metal tube.
Turning tool tutorial- step2
Pull your fabric just over the end of the metal tube and push the wire spiral through the fabric.
Turning tool tutorial- step3
Gently start to pull the wire back through the metal tube and the fabric will start to pull through, turning itself right side out.
Turning tool tutorial- step4
As you pull the fabric, it will come out the other end of the metal tube.
Turning tool tutorial- step5
Keep pulling until the fabric is all the way through and Voila! Your fabric tube is now right side out! Just iron your fabric tube and you're done!
Turning tool tutorial- finished
Super fast and simple. So much better than spending hours trying to push a safety pin through all that bulky fabric!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

April Block for the Fussy Cut Bee

I had the hardest time trying to figure out how to put these fabrics together. In the end, it wasnt so hard because I barely had enough fabric to squeeze out this block. I wish there would have been enough of the purple fabric to have it in the center and the other corners, but I think it still turned out well. I love the tree print!

April block for Victoria
I had also read about the problems everyone else was having putting this block together and was a little scared to try it out. But I finally made myself. And I almost gave up soo many times. It is a really difficult block to piece! Hence the name Jig-Saw. But I miraculously was able to get it put together. The whole time making this block, I swore I would never make this block again, ever! But in the end, I actually really like the way it looks. I like how it takes the traditional whirly-gig block and adds the center square. I'd probably alter it for myself and not have the triangle pieces in the corners.
April Block- Fussy Cut Bee
If you are interested in making the block, the template and instructions can be found here. Even it you're not interested, take a look at how it's pieced together. Once you get the hang of it, I dont think it would be too difficult to make an entire quilt out of. The hardest part is figuring out which direction to offset the pieces when putting it together. The instructions for this block are horrible, if you can even call them instructions. They're more like just diagrams. All in all it was a great learning experience!

See more blocks made by other bee members here.