The Long Weekend

I'm doing it.  I just bought the pattern and I'm going to make one.  My first one will be a scrappy one for my sister for Christmas.  I hope it turns out well, and I hope she likes it.

Mouthy Stitches 2 Tote

A couple of months ago I signed up for the Mouthy Stitches 2 swap and today I mailed off the tote I made for my secret partner.

Her inspiration mosaic had a lot of brightly-colored hexagons laid out in interesting combinations, so I decided it was time for me to do some hexies.  The layout for my hexies was inspired by the colors in the hexagons themselves.  I really enjoyed playing around with the different colors and seeing which ones looked good together.  I'm quite happy with how it came out, and I hope my secret partner loves it.

On the reverse side I played around with the quilting a bit.  Another thing I noticed about my secret partner's inspiration mosaic was that all the things she had pictured had some fun geometric-looking quilting, so I did my take on "geometric quilting" while trying to make sure it didn't get too busy.

In addition to the tote, we were allowed to go crazy and make whatever kind of key fob we wanted for our partners.  I stuck with the hexie theme and made my partner a reversible hexie keyfob with  lobster clasp.  Each side of the fob is made out of 6 half-inch hexies, and each side has a rainbow of colors.

I also added one of my new tags I had made recently to the bag.  Now my partner will never be able to forget who she got the tote from.

Linking up this post with:

Giveaway Winner!

 Winner Winner!!!!!

And the winner of my 100th post giveaway was comment #

Which is:

Congratulations Elizabeth!  I've sent you an email!

Thanks to everyone who entered and who gave me some amazing ideas for my classes.  I look forward to using some of them when I start teaching at The Makery next month!

More Stuff to Give Away!

If you haven't yet entered my 100th post giveaway you should go and do so now!

Here's the link: 100th Giveaway Post

And there's more!

The box I had to ship to myself from Sewing Summit because I didn't have any more room in my suitcase arrived yesterday and in it were the rest of the items I'm giving away.

So in addition to all the stuff listed in this post, I'll also be giving away:

One copy of the book Ruby Star Wrapping (which isn't even released yet!), one Spring 2012 Eclectic Modern design catalog for Joel Dewberry, one Pack 'n' Pillow pattern by It's Sew Emma Patterns, one Gabby's Sleepover Jammies pattern by Izzy & Ivy Designs, and one free month subscription to Creativebug.

(I'm turning comments off for this post because I don't want anyone to get confused and try to enter the giveaway here  To win all the things pictures in this post and on the giveaway post hop on over and enter on the original post.)

Good luck + thanks for commenting!

WIP Wednesday 10/17/12

Happy WIP Wednesday everyone!

If you haven't entered my big 100th post giveaway go here to do so now!

So, I have no idea how it happened but October seems to be a crazy hectic month for me in terms of the number of projects I have to do. When I actually sat down and wrote the list out I was amazed.  And this is all post-Sewing Summit stuff.  I did a ton of projects to get ready for Sewing Summit that I still have to photograph and share.

Here's my list (organized by when they have to be done by):
Before 10/20:
-Finish Mouthy Stitches 2 tote and send
-Finish class samples and photograph
-Halloween costumes

Before 10/27:
-Issachar's baptismal gown
-Plan baptism reception
-Plan Halloween party
-Jen's costume?/ presents and send

Before 10/31:
-Stash Bee blocks and send
-Believe at do. Good Stitches blocks and send
-Quilt August Believe at do. Good Stitches quilt

Ongoing WIPs (no deadline):
-"Be Creative" dresden wallhanging
-Mario blocks
-Christmas tablerunners
-12 Days of Christmas quilt
-Harriet's Christmas quilt

And to prove that I'm at least making some progress on my long list, here are some pictures:

Mouthy Stitches 2 Progress

Intro to Quilting: Applique Class Sample

"Be Creative" Dresden Wallhanging Progress

Believe at do. Good Stitches August Quilt Progress

What projects do you have going on that need to be done before the end of the month?

And again, If you haven't entered my big 100th post giveaway you should really go here to do so now!

100th Post Giveaway + The Makery!

I'm back from Utah!!!

I had an absolute blast these past few days attending the 2012 Sewing Summit in Salt Lake City but now I'm home again and it's time to get back to business.

As promised I have a giveaway today to celebrate my 100th post on this blog, and it's an awesome giveaway if I can say so myself.  I have a surprise for everyone though!  The giveaway isn't just to celebrate my 100th post, it's also to celebrate the fact that beginning in November I'm going to be teaching modern quilting and sewing at The Makery in Anaheim, CA.  Yay!

The Makery is a combination craft studio/ co-working space/ creative classroom/ supply shop located in Anaheim California that offers quality instruction in a variety of mediums to crafters of all levels.  In the words of The Makery "We believe in community. We believe in creative expression. We believe in Accessibility."

Starting in November I'm going to be teaching beginning classes in applique and piecing, as well as pouch making and papercrafting.  I'm super excited for this opportunity to work with tha amazing owners and all the other great instructors at The Makery and to be able to share my love of quilting with others.

For the full schedule of classes offered at The Makery, please go here.

Now onto the giveaway!

I had the idea for this giveaway a few months ago and when I realized that the giveaway would end up being right around the same time as Sewing Summit I knew that I would have add some Sewing Summit swag to the pile of loot.

 

So here it is! The giveaway pile o' loot includes: 5 coordinating fat quarters of Reflections by Gudrun Erla for Red Rooster fabrics, one Kate Spain fat quarter with a tag signed by the designer, one seam ripper from Babylock, one measuring tape from Craftsy, a set of "handmade with love" tags, one "Sew Blog Love" sticker, one 4" square template from Tabslot, one set of buttons by Basic Grey, and since I wanted everyone to benefit from all the swaps going on at Sewing Summit I included one I-Spy charm set (with 112 charms!) and one handmade zipper pouch.

And there's more!  I had so much stuff coming back from the Sewing Summit that I couldn't get it all in my suitcase, so I had to ship some stuff home in the mail, including some magazines and books that I'm also planning on including in the giveaway bundle!

So here are the details for the giveaway:

For one entry, tell me what kind of small project you would want to complete in a beginning quilting class.  A mugrug? Some coasters? Something else? And what would be a good design? Basic squares? Half square triangles? log cabin? It would have to be something that could be completed in 3 hours by beginner sewists.

For a second entry, follow my blog (or already be a follower) and tell me so.

For a third entry, "like" Sewing By Stephanie on Facebook and tell me so.

For a fourth entry "like" The Makery on Facebook and tell me so.

The giveaway closes at 11:59 PM PST on Sunday, October 21st, with the winner announced Monday morning.

 Happy Commenting + Good Luck!!!!!

Sewing Summit Bound + 99th Post!

And I'm off!  Sewing Summit 2012 here I come!!!

Before I leave though I want to take the opportunity to share a photo of all the stuff I made for the swaps and for Travel Handmade this year.

If you look hard at the photo you'll see both a camera bag and an organizer made with Pat Bravo's Rock 'n' Romance.  I did it!  I managed to make the two things I really wanted to make before Sewing Summit.  They took me all of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday but they are well worth it!

Be on the lookout for my 100th post and big celebratory giveaway Monday morning when I get back.  In the meantime, for everyone going to the summit I'll see you there, and for everyone staying home I hope you have a great weekend!

Finished Tree Skirt

I thought I'd take a quick break from feverishly finishing up stuff for Sewing Summit to show you a finish from a few weeks ago.

Some regular followers of mine might remember the Christmas tree skirt and tablerunners that I had on my WIP list a few weeks ago.  Well, I haven't made much progress on the tablerunners but I quilted and bound the skirt!

Laid out and ready to be basted

Why you never turn your back on a quilt when you're basting on the floor

I free motion quilted the skirt in a pebble design and bound it with a Santa's Workshop by Riley Blake Designs print in red and white.  I love it so much, I can't wait until after Thanksgiving when I can pull out the Christmas tree (we use a fake tree, not a real one) and see how the skirt looks on the tree.  For now though I just have to admire the way it looks by itself.

Pebble quilted and bound!

I'll try to get some better pictures of the skirt once I get the tablerunners finished, but for now I have to get back to sewing for Sewing Summit!  Only two days left!

My Sewing Room + Birthday Fabric

Today I thought we'd take a look into my sewing room!

I'm super lucky to have my own space in our home for sewing.  When my husband and I moved a little over a year ago we knew that we would need 3 bedrooms: one for us, one for an office for him (he's in the process of writing his PhD dissertation so he's in there a lot) and one for a sewing room for me.  Last week was my 27th birthday and as a gift he made me a new sewing table, so I thought I'd show it off, and while I was at it, why not show off the while room?

New Sewing Table and Ironing Dresser

Sewing Tables

The table on the right is the new table and it measures 8'x3', the table on the left was a graduation gift from my husband and it measures 7'x2'.  He hasn't had time to do it yet but the plan is for him to drop down my sewing machine into the table so it's flush with the tabletop.  That way it will be SO much easier to quilt on.

Tower with scraps, Supplies Shelf, and Dressform

Desk and Dressform

Fabric bookshelf!

A Peek into the Closet

I also got some yummy fabric!

Yummy Fabric from Purl Soho

30's Reproduction fabric from Aunt Barbara

Fabric from Beckah

Knit Cowl from Beckah

The stash stack fabric wasn't for my birthday, but I thought I'd show it off anyways since it's so pretty.

September Stash Stack Fabric

EDIT: Just in case you were wondering, the ballerina painting above my sewing tables was painted for me by my sister Jen when I graduated college, and the dog portrait over my dressform is a portrait of my dog Davey painted by my mom as a birthday present last year.

New Sewing Kit

I can't believe that it's already October 3rd!  Where did August and September go? 

In anticipation of Sewing Summit (which is only 8 days away!) I decided that I needed a way to keep all my quilty tools organized.  With hundreds of quilty people in attendance all bringing their own tools I knew that things would get lost if I didn't have some way to keep my stuff all together.

Thus came an idea to make myself a large pouch to hold everything.  Using the Perfect Zip Bags pattern from Elizabeth Hartman and a Gnome Paper Piecing pattern from Bubblestitch I whipped up this pouch to match the amazing pouch I received from Karen as part of the Modern Scrappy Bits Swap.

Gnome Pouch

Pouch From Karen

The pouch is mainly linen, but for the background of the paper piecing detail I used Kona Bone, the same fabric Karen used to make my little pouch.  I also lined the pouch with a grey dot that matches the fabric inside the wonky house pouch.  For a fun detail (and since the back was boring) I embroidered my Blog logo "Sewing By Stephanie" onto the back.

Detail of back of pouch

I made a few modifications to both patterns.  For the gnome pattern I omitted the lantern that the gnome guy usually holds and added in the grass.  For the bag pattern I made all of the dimensions larger than the pattern calls for so that I would end up with a larger bag.

After making the bag I used it for a few days and then decided it wasn't enough.  Knowing myself I know that I would still manage to lose my tools while at Sewing Summit, even if I took this bag with me.  Then I saw this post by the Sometimes Crafter as part of the Sewing Summit Travel Handmade series and knew I needed to make myself something like it.

I didn't use a pattern, instead I just pulled together all the tools I knew I wanted to take with me and figured out what size I would need to make it so that it would all fit.

Open Sewing Kit

I made this out of the same linen I used for the gnome pouch, and for the lining I used one of my favorite dot prints.  There are three layers of pockets: one large one in the back, two medium ones in the middle, and four smaller ones in the front.  Each layer is padded, and you really can't see in the pictures but the back is quilted with a swirly design.

Open Sewing Kit

I added a velcro closure and a piece of felt on the flap to hold pins.

Closed Sewing Kit

And on the outside of the flap I did a little more embroidery (you know-- just to make it match).

I still have a TON of stuff on my "to make" list before Sewing Summit next week, including:
-4 swap items for our roommate swap
-PJs
-Pouch for the pouch swap
-Luggage tag
-Name tag
-Camera Bag
-Organizer

I've been holding off on making both the camera bag and organizer because I want to make them using Pat Bravo's Rock and Romance fabric line.  The fabric was just released yesterday and I ordered it from the Fat Quarter Shop as soon as I heard.  Hopefully it'll arrive in time for me to make both the organizer and camera bag before I leave for Sewing Summit!