Monday, December 30, 2019

2019 Was A Very Busy Year For Me

I was scrolling through my sewing photos and was surprised at how many projects 
kept me very busy in 2019. There were a lot more than I realized!





These are most of the Sew Incredibly Crazy's "A Time For All Season"
block of the month for 2019. I have a few more to sew!


I might have missed a few,  but I think this shows most of them.

I hope 2020 is a good year for all of us...Happy New Year!

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Merry Christmas And 2020 Blog Hops

It's almost Christmas...yikes! Are you ready?
I'm finished with my shopping, but I never did get Christmas cards in the mail. Whoops!
I didn't want you to think I forgot about you...


The first two blog hops in 2020 are Winter Blues and Color It Red.
Carla and I would love to have you join us by sharing a project or by visiting!

Carla at Creatin' in the Sticks will be hosting Winter Blues in January.


I'll be hosting Color It Red in February.


Contact us if you want to play along!

Once again, I hope you have a very Merry Christamas!

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Beth's Quilt "Call Me Chic" And It's Thursday

Beth's quilt is done (she's my niece) and it's "I Like Thursday" all in one post.
I've gifted quilts to several nieces and their children, but I still have more to sew
to get one to each of. Beth's quilt, "Call Me Chic", is the latest gift.

Call Me Chic
61" x 71"



I bought a layer cake and some yardage of Riley Blake Design's "Granny Chic" by
Lori Holt. Beth wanted a shabby chic quilt, so I'm hoping she'll like this.


Quilting was done by Quilted Works...I love it!


I used my favorite scalloped border around the edges.


I just needs a ribbon around it and it's ready to go!
I sell the pattern in my Etsy store HERE.


One of my Instagram friends had this on her post so I decided that since I'd really
 been hitting the online shopping pretty hard, my delivery people deserved this.
They have had big smiles when they see it and I liked seeing that!


One of my favorite things about finishing a quilt is the adventures we go on to find just
the right spot to take a photo. This trip wasn't too far away and was beautiful.
I really like/love the scenery in this area!



I really liked the rock this quilt was sitting on for a photo. This was just up the hill
from where we live. It has some beautiful views, but this rock was very interesting.


 Shocking, but I actually made cookies for Christmas.
I like cookies way too much so I'm not stepping on the scale until January!

I found a really good sale on some copper cookie cutters.


Nothing quite as good as Nestle Tollhouse Cookies.
I chilled the dough first and really like how they came out.


Sugar & Spice cookies from my mother-in-law's recipes.
I love using the cookie scoops for this.



I have fond memories of making my gr-grandmother's peanut butter cookies.
I'd dip the fork in flour and push it into the cookies. Her recipe was so good!


I host blog hops every other month...this one is in February.
I really like blog hops!


We had a couple hours of snow!


Check out all the
 "I Like Thursdays" with LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color.

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Riley Blake Designs Sparkle Basics Blog Tour

This is a perfect time of year to share Riley Blake Designs "Sparkle Basics" in their blog tour.
For most of us, December means cold weather and snow that "sparkles."
Christmas has shiny tinsel and then there's New Year's Eve's fireworks and confetti.
Yep, it's a perfect time for this sparkly fabric!

No snow but the clouds were dark and hinted at a storm.
I love the desert with or without snow!

50" x 50" in six of the "Sparkle" fabrics


Definitely a storm brewing behind the quilt!


The choices for "Sparkle" fabrics are incredible and every one of them shines!



Riley Blake Designs Sparkle Basics are great for quilting, apparel, and home decor. 
The fabric works for backgrounds and backings, and is 100 per cent cotton, too.


These are the fabrics I used in "Winter Storm."


I loved how beautiful they went together (cool rock, too!)


The black rose gold was perfect to help create "the storm."


Of course it snowed the day after I took all the other photos!
Not much snow and it ended a little too quickly,
 but I will take what I can get...it was fun to see and enjoy!




I used my favorite iron-on adhesive for the snowflake.
Therm O Web's Heat n Bond Lite is awesome!
The protective paper peels off so easy and it comes in a inkjet printable version,
which means no tracing. Just print your design, cut out, and iron to fabric.





Aurifil 40wt white thread for the quilting and Aurifil 40wt black thread
for the applique stitching made everything go together even sweeter.


The silver stripes were perfect for the binding.


You can find the "Winter Storm" pattern HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!
Check out the Riley Blake Designs Blog for more fun projects.

Monday, December 16, 2019

New Blog Hop For February "Color It Red"

It's time to announce a new blog hop for February..."Color It Red"!
I think it is pretty obvious what the theme is, don't you.
"Color It Red" will run from February 17-21, 2020.


The "Color It Red" blog hop rules are simple:

Make a project with red in it. It can have red flowers, red dogs, red...anything.
It just have to have some red fabric in it.

You can make a mug rug, pot holder, mini quilt, baby quilt, bag, etc.

Post your project on your assigned day and list the other blog hoppers.

Have a giveaway or don't have a giveaway. It's totally optional!

Visit everyone's blog on the list and leave a sweet comment.

Are you in?


Send me an email with the following information:

Your first name
Your email address
Your blog name
Your blog URL

Don't have a blog?
I can host a few people. Email me if you're interested.

Wondering how to do this blog hop thing? 
Start with the first name on the first day and click on it. Once you're at that blog, 
look around, leave a comment to be nice,  and then click on the next name on the list 
(they will have the list on their blog, too.) Keep going to each blog until you're done.
Come back the next day and start the process all over. It will last five days and be 
full of incredible sewing inspiration. You will be in awe of everything, I'm sure!

You know you want to play along...email me!

Benartex 12 Days Of Christmas Quick Gift Project Hop

Whenever there's a holiday or birthday, it seems like I'm always rushing to make
someone a gift at the last minute. I hoping I'm not the only one like that!

The Christmas countdown is on … and Benartex is here to help you with fun, 
festive and fast projects that you can finish before the holidays! 
Join them on their Facebook page and Instagram account December 12th 
through the 23rd for the “12 Days of Christmas – Quick Gift Project Hop”.


Each day they will share a project from a fabric and/or pattern designer 
showcasing some of the most current collections – along with where you 
can find the tutorial or pattern to create the project. We hope you'll 
enjoy the inspiration and ideas, and that they help you get in the 
holiday spirit (and maybe cross a few names off your gift list too!).

You can find their Facebook page HERE and their Instagram page HERE

A pillow is a quick and fun gift to give. Making it personal is even better!
Know someone who loves dogs? Benartex "Dog On It" is a perfect choice!
Look at those faces!


This "Dog On It" pillow is 18" x 18" with an opening in the back to slide in a pillow form.
You can make either of these pillows (or both) really quick!

Supplies:

Benartex "Dog Gone It" fabric
Thread
18” x 18” pillow form

Fabric needed:

Fabric A – 1 fat quarter
Fabric B – 1 fat quarter
Fabric C – 1 fat quarter
Fabric D – 1 fat quarter
Fabric E – 1 fat quarter
Pillow Back – 2 fat quarters


Cutting instructions for each pillow:

Cut 1 – 8” x 8” square, Center Block
Cut 2 – 1¾” x 8” strips, left and right Border A
Cut 2 – 1¾” x 10½” strips, top and bottom Border A
Cut 2 – 1½” x 10½” strips, left and right Border B
Cut 2 – 1½” x 12½” strips, top and bottom Border B
Cut 4 – 3½” x 12½” strips, left and right Border C
Cut 4 – 3½” x 3½” squares, corners, Border C
Cut 2 - 13½” x 18½” rectangles, pillow back


Center Block: Fussy cut that sweet dog face to an 8" x 8" square.


Border A: With right sides together, sew 1¾” x 8” strips to left and right sides of Center 
Block. Press seams towards borders. With right sides together sew 1¾” x 10½” strips 
to top and bottom of Center Block. Press seams down.

Border B: With right sides together, sew 1½” x 10½” strips to left and right sides of 
Border A. Press seams towards borders. With right sides together sew 1½” x 12½” strips 
to top and bottom of Border A. Press seams down.



Border C: With right sides together, sew a 3½” x 12½” strip to left and right of Border B. 
Press seams towards borders. With right sides together, sew a 3½” x 3½” square to the both 
ends of remaining 3½” x 12½” strips. Press seams towards center. With right sides together, 
sew corner strips to top and bottom of Border B. Press seams down.



Pillow Back - Fold under 1/4” on one long side of each 16½” x 18½” rectangles.
Press. Fold over again 1/4” and press. Top stitch close to edge of fold. Place the pillow
 front right side up on a flat surface. Place the two backs, right side down
over the right side of the pillow front with turned under edges towards the middle 
of the pillow. Overlap in the center and line up the outer edges with the pillow front. 
Sew around all the edges. Trim corners. Turn inside out and press around the edges. 
Place preformed 18” x 18” pillow inside through the flap.





You can get the instructions for the 18" x 18" pillow in a PDF download HERE.


If you've ever tried to find a quick and inexpensive gift for a teenager, you know how hard it
can be. How about a reading pillow? It's easy and can be made with fabric from your stash.

This reading pillow measures 24" x 24", has a strap to carry it, and a double pocket in the back.


Fill the pockets with books, phone, or an extra gift.


You can get the PDF downloadable instructions for the 24" x 24" reading pillow HERE.

You'll have to check out these last minute gift ideas on the Benartex Facebook 
and Instagram, and visit these fun blogs, too!

December 12 - Debby Kratovil Quilts
December 13 - Rachel Rossi Design
December 14 - Grizzly Gulch Gallery
December 16 - Just Let Me Quilt
December 17 - Pat Sloan
December 18 - The Crafty Quilter
December 19 - Cora's Quilts
December 21 - Charisma's Corner
December 23 - Love to Color My World

Thanks for stopping by!

Day Two Virtual Christmas Cookie Blog Hop

 Yesterday was a sweet day of Christmas creativity and yummy goodies. Thank you to all of the participants and visitors! Check out these fab...