Tropical Storms = Sewing Time

This weekend was perfect sewing time...not only did I have a three day weekend, with hubby being gone one of those days, but it rained pretty much the ENTIRE day Monday thanks to Tropical Storm Beryl...it was fantastic.  We desperately need the rain around here, and it was a great excuse to sit around in my yoga pants all day sewing my lil fingers off.

Thanks to this marathon sewing, I was able to check a few things off of my list (oh, and rainy days + mailing deadlines = bad pictures, I apologize in advance...):

My package for my partner for Modern She Made Swap is all ready to go! (I even had a small box that I received a few books in from Amazon today that was JUST the right size...score!)

    

In addition to the bag, I also made a little key fob and zippered pouch. I am working on putting together a tutorial for the pouch as well! 

I also completed my blocks for do.Good Stitches. I really liked how these turned out and they were really easy to put together.  The block is called Radiant Ring, and we used the tutorial at Don't Call Me Betsy to make them.

I also got some progress made on a few other items, but having these two things ready to put in the mail tomorrow is a HUGE relief...I was starting to feel the pressure of getting it all done! So big shout out to Beryl for helping make it happen. 

In other exciting news, I just read about the Purse Palooza (I keep wanting to call it "Pursealooza"...doesn't quite have the same ring to it, does it?) that is being held through June at Sew Sweetness.  Now, as you might already know, I'm pretty obsessed with making bags, so this is right up my alley.  I have a baby bag that I'm just getting started on cutting pieces out for, and plans for The Chelsea Bag by Vanessa Christenson, totally perfect timing! I realized while planning these bags that I've never actually made a bag for my self, though I've made plenty of bags as gifts! I think it's high time I make some for myself, don't you??  

I hope you all had a fun, relaxing, productive holiday weekend! 

Swappy time!

Oh hey guys! So nice to see you again...have you been as distracted as me from doing anything BUT entering giveaways this week!? Kind of glad its over now so that I can get back to actual sewing, lol. (I can't only blame SewMamaSew Giveaway Day though...I also just discovered The One Stop Giveaway Shop, where Diane and Rachael find giveaways and post links to them, or if you are holding a giveaway you can fill out a form to be listed...I'm totally addicted...)

Anyway, I did manage to get some work done on my Modern She Made Swap item in between all the entering of giveaways and discovering LOTS of great new blogs, thankfully, cause this puppy's gotta get mailed out next week! I toiled for a while over what to make...the rules called for something with circles. Could be anywhere in the item, but had to include a circle somehow.  As this was my first big swap, I was feeling the pressure of trying to figure out something to make that my partner would enjoy, so it actually took me a few weeks until I felt comfortable enough to post anything to start with...

This is what I started with (without details as to why...because this hasn't been sent yet and my partner could be reading this!! ;-) )

Idea one involved an improv pieced circle supposed to be a tree...

Idea two was for some "port-hole" type things with some fun fussy cutting....

And I went with...

A combination of both!! I like the fussy cutting idea, but the port holes were too much within my comfort zone, and I really wanted to do this swap to push my boundaries a little bit.  I do not have much practice with improv piecing (to be honest the idea of it makes me mildly anxious...) so I decided to go that route.  At first I wasn't sure about it, I almost wound up scrapping the whole thing, but once it transformed more into the "tree" I really started to enjoy it. 

I appliqued it onto a tote bag (yes, I AM obsessed with making bags, so this part certainly wasn't out of my comfort zone...), made with a nice natural looking linen.  Turns out, linen is alot harder to work with that I had anticipated. I had the hardest time squaring it up and getting straight cuts, it kept getting all wonky on me! I love the look it has though so I will definitely be trying some other stuff with it (so ya know, if you have any tips on this stuff, help a sister out!!)

I ended up making the bag reversible, because I love items with multiple functions so it just had to be done...

I love the two sides...the outside is very fun and whimsical to me, while the reversible side is a little more classic and neutral. 

I also decided to add some hand stitching to the tree to add some interest. This was my first time hand stitching, and in true Jess fashion I started with absolutely no plan (ok...I had a plan to start with, but I totally did not stick to it what-so-ever)

I used some chain stitching to give the tree base some texture, and then just some straight lines around the tree in increasing size/distance...it reminds me of a radiating sun and makes me have warm happy feelings about this bag!  I don't think my hand stitching is very accurate, but for a first time I'm pretty satisfied with it. 

I really hope my partner enjoys this, I wound up having a lot of fun creating it! By the end of the weekend I also hope to be able to share my item for my mini-swap with Rebecca (or at least a sneak peak of it anyway...) and, if all goes according to plan, I am also hoping to have a tutorial! (There, I announced it, now I *have* to do it...right?) 

I'm linking up this week with Handmade Parade at There and Back...click the button below to check out some other great handstitching projects! 

Quick Update

Howdy strangers...feels like it's been a while since I've posted anything! It's been pretty busy around here, we've been cleaning out the house preparing for and having a yard sale, working on some projects around the house and all that fun stuff, but I have managed to squeeze a little sewing in here and there.  I have been a bad little blogger and not taken too many pictures of stuff as it's been in progress, so please forgive me, but here is what I do have to show for myself!!

Firstly, I finished the top to my first baby quilt (ok, I actually finished this about 2 or 3 weeks ago, but I'm just now getting around to sharing it...)

I figured out why I was having trouble with my layout...it's called "Jess can't add", lol. It ended up working out pretty much as I had planned thankfully. Now I've just got to decide how to quilt it...I want to make it fun, but also simple and something that will wind up nice and soft.  I'm thinking making some zig zags in the big strips, and maybe some fun little shapes in the little squares? Hm. We shall see...right now it's sitting patiently all folded up on my sewing table waiting for it's turn to be finished. 

Next I've been working on my Retro Flowers quilt...It's coming along nicely, I am a wee bit behind schedule on the QAL, but I think I'll be able to catch up. I've got 3 blocks done so far, 6 more to go. Then I have to decide on the sashing...

I've also been working on my project for my mini-swap with Rebecca, my Modern She Made swap, and my blocks for this months do.Good Stitches...these three are this week's priorities and will hopefully be if not finished then at least pretty far along by the end of the week.  It's been hard to devote a lot of time to sewing during the week...by the time I get home from work and get everything around the house down, my feet are starting to get pretty swollen and since I've yet to figure out a way to comfortably put my feet up while sewing, I've had to keep my sewing sessions pretty short lately which is REALLY slowing me down! Ugh! 

Anyway, back to work for me while I still have the energy.  Hope you all had a great weekend!!

Liebster Blog!!!

Not much has been going on around here this week, chugging along on a few of my projects but hubby was actually home this week (yay!) so not a whole lot that is worthy of being shown has gotten done. However, my week was totally made when my friend Diane at from blank pages passed along the Liebster Blog award to me! She is one of my newer blog friends and I absolutely adore her and to top it off she is talented to boot, so I was shocked and honored that she chose me to be one of her recipients :-)

I've only been blogging for a few months now, and I'm still trying to find my niche in this great big blogging world, but I love the community and being able to share my stories as I go (albeit only with about 9 people right now...maybe I can get to 10 by the end of the month and we'll have a party??).  I am very thankful to my small following for bearing with me through my awkward ramblings...without you, I'd still be talking to me self!! lol

So, what is the Liebster award, you may be asking? Well let me tell you....

The Liebster award (German for favorite) is for bloggers with 200 followers or less. As a recipient of the award, you have the chance to thank and link back to the blogger who gave it to you as well as pass it along to five other deserving blogs.

Now here's the rules: 

Liebster Conventions:
1. Thank your award presenter on your blog and link back to him/her.
2. Copy and paste the award to your blog.
3. Present the Liebster Award to 5 blogs that you think deserve to be recognized.
4. Let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
5. Have faith that your followers will spread the love too! 

My 5 2 blogs that I am awarding this to are:

1)  Habibti at Home- Sarah was my first blogging friend. We both started our blogs right around the same time and are in similar stages in our lives, so it has been fun to chat with her. She's quite the talented quilter and also shares on her blog about the fun travels she takes, so I like to try to live vicariously through her ;-)

2)  Tickle and Hide- Jodi is simply amazing! She makes some truly beautiful quilts and children's clothing, not to mention she is super sweet.  

A few of the blogs I follow and love have already received the award, hence my breaking of the rules and only awarding it to 2, but in case you do not know them already, you should definitely still check them out- Sew Festive and as previously mentioned from blank pages. 

Again, many thanks Diane for spreading the love! :) 

W.I.P. Wednesday: A Week of Firsts

So this week I've put my daring pants on and have jumped into a few new things:

Firstly, Rebecca at Sew Festive Handmade has been trying to convince me of the fun-ness of swaps...I am a bit hesitant to join one, so I've been picking her brain on these, asking her all kinds of crazy questions to try to make up my mind.  Well, she is super, and not only answered all my questions, but also offered to do a mini swap with just to two of us so I could get a feel for swapping! With a bit of trepidation, I agreed, and made my first inspiration mosaic. I am going to make her a pouch, and she is going to make me a mini. I've already started playing with a few ideas, one is a new-to-me technique and I am really digging it so far but it needs some adjustments before I settle on it. I cannot preview it since I don't want to ruin the surprise for her, but I think it's going to turn out pretty fun!

I was going to see how our mini-swap went before joining a regular swap, but then I saw this: Modern She Made Swap.  I told my self I better not, since I have a few projects on the horizon that I'd actually like to get done, but then decided to just jump in...because by the time I finish all this other stuff, I probably will be about to pop and will not want to join one then.  So now's as good a time as any....right?! I'm still a little nervous, but hopefully it will be fun and I will not totally suck at it. If you are interested, I believe there is still space!

Ok, so on to the actual sewing...I've been talking about my Retro Flowers quilt for a while now (which is my FIRST quilt!), and wouldn't you know it, Bianca at Sweet Diesel Designs and Megan of City Stitches went and decided to start a Quilt-A-Long for Retro Flowers! This was obviously a sign, so I've joined in on that too...my first QAL!! I've gotten started with just my first block this week to see how I could manage the curves.  Turns out, not too shabby!

I did mess this one up a little...apparently I cut wrong when squaring so this did not line up. I do not know why I still pieced the two halves together, because now that's just even more seam ripping for me if I want to fix it...ugh.  Oh well, happy to say the rest went fairly well and I'm ready to move forward with the rest of them. I'm only doing 9 blocks, so hopefully it won't take me too long...

Check this out, I'm even chain piecing the curves like a pro!! Haha

I've also started on my FIRST baby quilt!! I bought a bunch of fabric with no real plan in mind to make just a small quilt that can be used to play with on the floor or cuddle with in the rocking chair...my friend Sarah at Habibti At Home has also just made her baby it's first quilt, and I was really inspired by it and knew I wanted to do something fun and simple like she did.  I almost flat out stole her design, but settled on something a little different.  I've got two layouts I need to choose from:

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Layout A

Layout B

Yeah I know, not much difference...Layout A would have sashing in between each of the 6 inch blocks, while Layout B would have sashing only at the ends of the rows of 6 inch blocks.  I was not planning on any sashing on those rows originally, but due to some measuring errors I'm having to adjust a bit (the long strip of the owls should have been cut to be 42" long, but I cut in the wrong direction and they wound be being about 34"...ugh). I think I'm leaning towards B just to keep it simple...thoughts or other ideas??? Another thought I had was to just add in the 6th 6 inch block on each row as originally planned, and it will just be cut off a bit...hm. 

Anyway, I'm really excited about all these firsts! I'm just hoping I can stick with it all and get everything done. So what have you all got going on this week? Anyone else joining this swap or QAL??

Today I'm linking up with W.I.P Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

WIP Wednesday..

Something about that new stack of fabric with the prospect of making some new exciting things really gave me the kick in the pants I needed to get some progress made on some other stuff, 'cause these last few days I've been a bit sew crazy, trying to get as much done as possible in the little time I have to work on it...

First up, I started and finished my blocks for this month's do.Good Stitches. This month was led by Jess @ SewCraftyJess, and she chose the Japanese x and + blocks.  I was a bit scared of these at first, but once I looked at the tutorial and started them, they were so stinkin easy!! I can see why these have been really popular...

We had free reign on color, and she said "the more vibrant, the better"...but I think I got a little TOO vibrant on my first one?  I don't know, I'm not really big on scrapiness, so it bothered me not to have any kind of cohesion...it started to grow on me a bit after a while, but I did decide to tone down my second one just a tad. 

Next up is some progress on my Curves projects! I finally got my pot holders and Rainbow Road runner quilted, and I'm just waiting for some more time to bind them.  I also tried out two of the other projects, both of which have been epic failures! One is fixable, I just got super frustrated and didn't want to look at it anymore, the other I totally scrapped...good thing I was using scraps for that one so no tears shed on lost fabric...apparently advanced improv curves are not my friend!

    

  

FINALLY I got to start on my Retro Flowers quilt! I happened to win a set of templates from the lovely Jill @ Made On Mainstreet and they came in today so as soon as I opened the package I ran back to my sewing room and got to cutting!  It was suggested to me that Lou Lou Thi might not have been the best choice to use for this due to the larger prints as they will get a little lost which unfortunately I did not even think about when choosing this, but I decided to try out my first block with one of the larger prints to see how it works...I had to fussy cut alot which stinks, but I think it will work.

I've got some big plans to get started on, but this weekend is my birthday and my parents are coming to town so I will probably not get much done for a few days, BUT I am super excited about what I've got planned!!

Anything exciting going on in your neck of the woods?? I'm linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

It's A....

GIRL!! 
We found out Friday, so today I headed out to the fabric stores to try to find some inspiration for the nursery...little did I know I'd come home with about 23 yards worth!! Yikes...Totally did not intend on actually purchasing all this today...but when fabric speaks to you, you cannot ignore it!

Mountain of fabric!!

These are the prints I picked out for the nursery...I had not planned on so much Kate Spain, but I started out with that print on top (which I've forgotten what it is and it's in the wash right now, so I'll have to get back to you on that...) then found the Kate Spain that matched perfectly!

I found this owl print and picked out some others to go with it to make a simple quilt.  My LQS is closing down (pause for a moment of silence) and every thing is between $5-$7 a yard so I couldn't resist stocking up on all of this...

These I plan to use for a diaper bag.  

And these are just for fun, because who can resist a good fat quarter??

So the bad news is that my LQS is closing, the good news is I found a new store in town called Chickadee Shop that has some super nice stuff (mostly Moda...).  I went there once a few months ago right after they opened and was not too impressed but decided to give it another shot today now that they've been opened for a while and (obviously) found some really nice stuff.  PLUS they are soon to be a Bernina dealer...not that I can afford a Bernina, but at least I can go stare at them :) They are a bit pricier than I'd like, so I won't be shopping there too often, but at least it's a place in town I can go for some good modern fabrics!

Well, I'm going to go sit by the washing machine to wait for my fabrics to be done so I can start playing!! Hope you're all having a nice weekend!