Travelin' and Stashin'

When you travel out of town, out of state, or maybe even out of the country, do you make it a point to add local quilt stores to your itinerary?

Today, I DID!!

I'm in Oklahoma City this week for work. From the little of it I've seen, it's a great city. Have you been here?

I take a 6 am flight out tomorrow, but I discovered there are a few quilt stores in the area (thanks to the almighty google)...so I jetted out of my last meeting for the day and found my way over to Oklahoma Quiltworks.

 

I should have taken more photos of the shop, but as soon as I walked in I got sucked into the wall of pretties! You understand....Check out their website for a sneak peek. :)

With only 10 minutes to explore before they closed I did a quick loop around the store and found some goodies!

I had a few low-volume fat quarters picked out but ultimately settled on 1/2 yard cuts of these three neutral-ish (that's the technical term for it, ha!) geometric prints by Moda. 

I also picked up this great pattern, by Allison Harris who blogs at Cluck Cluck Sew, which I'd pinned a while ago. It's not new, but the fact that I still like it 2 years later means we're destined to be together, right?
It's fun to see some your favorite online designers' and bloggers' patterns in person, don't you think??

The ladies who worked at Quiltworks in OKC were very sweet and the store is just wonderful. They had a TON of modern prints, some great reproductions, a nice variety of precuts. I wish I could have had more time there! Although, for the sake of my budget and the carry-on weight limit on the plane, it's probably for the best that I only had a few minutes to dash in and out.

I do wish now that I had gone ahead and bought those other fun low volume prints, but I was trying to exercise something that resembles self restraint. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to plan for a longer visit on my next trip into town.

Hear that boss? I'm pretty sure there are some really important meetings I need to attend out here.. *hint hint*


Recently, I came across these blocks which are from the first round of the Mini Scrap Basket Swap. I think I'll turn them into a small lap quilt. It's good to see them in the day of light again! I'm sure that 5 more 12" blocks I need to finished this one out won't even put a dent in my scraps, but it'll be a good start!

"that girl" is back

Nobody likes "that girl"...

...the girl who doesn't return messages, who doesn't keep promises.

That is why it broke my heart 2 years ago when I had to very abruptly leave several online sewing groups.

I moved. I started a new job. I took on a second job. I travel frequently for work, and make the most of my time with my husband on the weekends, because for most of the week, we are seperated by 150+ miles.


Life happened, and I didnt handle it gracefully.
I had disapointed my friends in bees and swaps with unfinished blocks, and broken commitments.
I was that girl, and it broke my heart.


A lot has changed over the last two years. I've grown professionally and personally. I know more than before, what my strengths are, what my weaknesses are and I have committed to being more intentional with my time and energy.

A few things haven't changed though.



I still (and probably always will) love to create, to share ideas, to ask questions.

After 2 years of little to no involvement with the quilting community, I reached out to a local modern quilt guild. I was hesitant, because I didn't want to dive in head first only to disapoint my new friends. Here we are, 6 months later. I am so glad to be part of the local quilt guild and I am rediscovering the inspiration, the knowledge, and the support that makes the quilting community so special.

I'm back in front of my sewing machine.

I'm cautiously optimistic that I will some day, be able to participate in online swaps and bees, guilt free. I know I won't be that girl again.

But I think it I need to prove to myself, if nobody else, that I can see projects through to the end. To hold myself accountable.


This is a long and wordy post.. so if you've made it to the end, thank you for hearing me out.
It is theraputic to come out of the blog shadows. To start fresh.

Now it's time to face these blocks and myself. These have sat languishing in a closet to two years and they aren't going to finish themselves!
 

Mini Box Pouch (aka the webcam bag)

Some of you know that there have been some big life changes around here, not the least of which is that my hubby is working (and living) 170 miles away from me Monday-Friday.

We spent alot of time anxiously thinking about how this change would affect us and ultimately decided to try it for a year, so that we can each move closer to what we want to be,  professionally. 

We have "Skype dates" almost every night, so that we can see each other and talk to other about our day. Cute right? It's been a great tool for us... there was just one problem.

Or webcams didn't come with a case, and we didn't want them to get dirty or broken during his travel or around the apartment.

Enter a sewing solution!

I found this great tutorial from Sew Like My Mom.

{photo source}

Look at her cute bag!
Her pattern finishes at a useful sized cosmetic bag (9″ long, 5″ tall and 5″ wide).

I used the methods and construction techniques but I scaled it down, and used only cotton fabric (no vinyl).

I used a 7 inch zipper, scaled the exterior/interior pieces to 7" x 11.5" and cut out 1.25" squares.
It finished at a fun little size, apx. (4″ long, 3″ tall and 3″ wide).

I had hubby pick out his fabric and it was kind of adorable to watch him walk around the store looking for the perfect combination. He did pretty well, I think. Don't you agree?  

So... I kind of love our his & hers webcam bags. And I love that we we can keep in touch during our time apart without having to worry about scratched lenses or tangled cords.


Have you modified or resized an already awesome tutorial? Or do you always play by the rules?

This is what catch up looks like...

So here I am. On the 2 months mark from the move and starting the new job.


you know what?

There are still random half-unpacked boxes scattered throughout the house,
and I am still not quite current on my sewing commitments.

 But I am happy with where my life has taken me in the last 10 weeks.
More on that later.... for now, I will share my new sewing space and some of the blocks that have zoomed out of here at a crazy rate now that I am set up and and have time to indulge in my crafty endeavors.

I got my sewing space set up. I am not blocking a doorway or windows, and I have a real desk!
Gosh feel like I am moving up in the world.... LOL!








Here are the first of many goodies I hope to sew in my new home.

 




It feels good to be home, with a cup of pumpkin spice coffee in hand and squishy fabric all around.

Have you been sewing your way through your transition into fall?
Perhaps like me, you are just happy to leave windows open while you take care of weekend chores.

Getting back to normal... maybe.

It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks!
I sent out fabric to two bees and a swap....





 

Wooh! My living room floor is clear again and I am done trekking to the post office with laundry basket full of squishy envelopes.

I won't be hosting another swap round right away (I promised hubby at least a few weeks of postal normalcy) but it was a huge success and I want to thank everyone who participated.

Just look at the beautiful variety we came up with!

And somehow I did manage to get a bee block sewn for someone else in the fabric frenzy.

This block was super easy, and only required two 10" squares each of the print and the background.
I like the movement of the dots in it, don't you? Here is the full tutorial if you would like to check it out.


I don't love the color on its own, but it will look great with the other fabric Susan has chosen.

How has your June been? Are you getting into summer craze or summer laze?

1000 ( x 8 ) words

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I don't know who 'they' are, but let's say they are right.

Here, in "8000" words, is why you haven't heard much from me here in blog-land.

In addition to sewing I've been getting fabric and instructions out as June host for 3 groups!

The lady behind the counter at the post office has no idea what's in store for her tomorrow ;)

I have to say, May kicked my butt- the heat and stress made for a very cranky, unproductive vibe for alot of the last few weeks. 

Fortunately, I got to clear my head a bit with a 26 mile bike trail ride along the Lehigh Gorge last week.

Here's to an equally productive (and hopefully less stressful) June!

Basket Weave Block: (free) Pattern Review

Hey Folks!  It's FRIDAY!!!
I have a few more things to do today before I can officially give into weekend indulgences, and one of them is sharing a little pattern review with you!



I saw this stunning purple block from Nydia a few weeks ago. I became obsessed with it, and would seriously 'visit' the photo every couple days. I am not telling you this not to make you think I am a freak, but because it was one of those blocks that made me think 'that is way to gorgeous and hard for me to make!'


 Well I asked Nydia for her pattern, and she was generous enough to share it. She has posted a FANTASTIC (FREE) tutorial on her website.

Here are a few things I've learned:

• It is a dramatic looking block, but it is not hard to piece! Speaking as someone who is terrified of paper piecing, this is the perfect block for the first time pp'er or newbie. 
• It can be time consuming, if you are new to it and only work one quadrant at a time, but it has no weird angles, and is easy to do.
• Do a practice block. Once you get a feel for it, you can easily 'pseudo' chain piece and work on several quadrants at the same time. This reduces the trips to the ironing board- and makes it go a bit more quickly.
• I recommend using real foundation piecing paper, or a light weight craft paper. Copy paper can get a bit thick in some of the seams. The craft paper is easier to tear off at the end too, which means you don't have to shorten your stitch length quite so much. I used a fisher price 'Doodle Pad' that I got from a dollar store at a whopping $1.  It's just slightly heavier than newspaper and I printed the template straight onto it. Easy!
•  It is very scrap friendly.... but don't get too skimpy with your scraps, if your fabric moves you will have to rip a seam.  If you give yourself a little extra fabric to play with you can trim it neatly, and it will looks very crisp once complete.

Still scared? Don't be! I asked a few others what their first time with this block was like. They echoed the sentiment that it can be slow going at first, but is easy to do, and well worth the time!


(Nydia's color wheel interpretation)

 
(Katy is working on a beautiful aqua and green version) 

 

Give it a try- you won't regret it! Thanks for sharing this block Nydia!!