Bee Blocks for verykerryberry

Kerry sent us some ADORABLE sewing & kitchen themed fabric for February. I loved every single piece of fabric she sent and I really, really, really want to keep these blocks for myself! If I hadn't already been late with my previous two month's blocks, I might have been tempted to hold them hostage for a little while before I mailed them :)  But sadly, they will be going in the mail tomorrow...*sigh*

We used a tutorial she'd written herself called Floating Bricks. I loved using this pattern because organic quilting really gets my creative juices flowing....cutting and sewing however you want without having to worry about straight lines and seams matching up...ahh...it's a beautiful thing!

And I hope she doesn't mind, but I threw in a piece of unsanctioned strawberry fabric from my stash. She has the word "berry" in her Flickr name....plus it matched the rest of the fabric perfectly...so I couldn't resist!

Block Numero Uno

Block Numero Dos

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Scottie Watch

1. I found an adorable new merchant on Etsy that sells some of the cutest textiles and prints. And speaking of awesome Etsy shops, some of my other favorites are this one, this one, this one and this one.



2. I mentioned this last week, but I think it bears repeating. The Post Office has Flat Rate padded mailers now! You can order them for free from their website, and since they're a little larger and have more give, they fit waaaaay more than the regular cardboard flat rate envelopes. The cost is the same...only $4.95 anywhere in the U.S.


3. Just heard some exciting news that Heather Ross will be putting out a 3rd Far Far Away collection! It will include three Snow White and two other kids prints.  Supposedly they will be a cotton/linen blend like her last line, but two of them will be sheeting weight. The line will debut at Spring Market, so I bet some pictures will start cropping up soon!

photo from MarthaStewart.com

4. Super cute strawberry pincushion tutorial from Martha here. Go use up those scraps!



5. And here's another one of my favorite tutorials. If money grew on trees, I have those canisters in my kitchen to match this, this, and this.

photo from delicious days

6. Know someone that's under the weather? Having a bad day? That did you a huge favor? Well, then bake them a precious cake in a mason jar! I like to place a scrap of fabric (instead of paper) on top of the lid and tie it in place with a piece of twine :)

7. After the MQG meeting at my house last night, I'm feeling a little self-consious about the amount of fabric scraps I own! It's a love/hate relationship. So continuing on the theme of #'s 4 & 6, here's a link to some great ideas for using up those tiny pieces of fabric in your stash. I especially like the no-sew flowers and light switch covers.



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An Awesome Swap

Thanks to a referral from my friend Angela, a girl on Flickr that was looking for a bag in exchange for some Mendocino came across my path. Angela knew I'd been hunting for some of the Presentation, so I made this bag in exchange for 3 different Mendocino prints, including the Presentation one. It was a fun twist to the usual swapping experience :)

After browsing through my photostream, my swap partner decided she wanted the "A Day in the Park Backpack Tote" by Liesl + Co. I've made several of these, so I was able to put it together in a couple days. The worst part was actually cutting all the fabric, because I had to fussy cut most of the exterior fabric, plus you have to add interfacing and a layer of canvas under the exterior fabric to provide extra support. It's a lot of cutting....but the pattern is really easy to follow and the bag itself is very well designed. I have one that I take on every vacation, and it's a God-send. I'd highly recommend the pattern in case anyone is interested :)

Here are some "action shots" of the bag at work...sorry they're kind of murky, but I wanted to take them inside on a chair so you could see how the straps work!

Backpack Mode

Tote Mode

Closeup of the Front

**Some of you asked for specifics on the fabric, so I thought I'd add that info to this post. I knew they were older home dec fabrics from Amy Butler, but wasn't sure on the specifics since my swap partner is the one that picked them out and mailed them to me.  I thought they were all from the Belle line, but after I surfed around AB's website for more info, I discovered two of them are actually from Nigella. The main fabric is Primrose in Aqua, the straps are Seeds in Okra, and the interior (which isn't pictured) is Starflower Tiles in Forest.**

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Fabric Conquests

Last week was the week of random, awesome fabric finds. I found a Neptune charm pack for $18 (including shipping) on an obscure website, and then a few days later I stumbled across a fat quarter pack on Etsy that was being sold for a song and a dance. Sometimes I feel a little guilty when that happens, because I feel like I'm taking advantage of sellers that don't know they're sitting on a gold mine!

And finally...after many long nights of intense internet searching...I found some Henna Garden in Pumpkin...and it was on sale! It was marked as a remnant because it was the end of the bolt, so I ended up with a little over a meter! I've been looking for at least a yard of this print for months, but I have a pretty strict cap on what I'll pay for yardage and could never find any that was reasonably priced. But thanks to my friend Leila, I was able to coordinate shipping from an online shop in Germany to the U.S. - yay!!! They wouldn't ship directly to the States, so I had them ship it to her elsewhere in Europe, and then she forwarded it to me. I heart my online friends :)

So....any of you make a long-sought-after fabric conquest this week? Doesn't it make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Please leave a comment and share your tale of fabric glory!

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Crescent City Necklace

Remember the necklace I made for my sister for Christmas? Well since Bry won the mystery prize in my last giveaway, I made one for her! She chose the colors plum, raspberry, cream and white. I mailed it off today, and hopefully she likes it! And if you're reading Bry, thanks for your patience because it took me a really long time to get this to you :)

This is an original pattern of mine, and if there's enough interest, I might put together a pattern for my Etsy shop. Let me know if you're interested!

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Get your keisters over to Purl Soho!

Purl Soho is having a crazy sale right now! They have a ton of Echino and other Kokka fabrics on sale for $10/yard, Modern Meadow for $5.76/yard (and they have a pretty large selection), a handful of Folksy Flannels for $6.36/yard, as well as assorted laminates and oilcloths (including some Nicey Jane and Echino).

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Scottie Watch

1. I mentioned this in my post yesterday, but Del Ray Fabrics is offering a coupon for 25% off your total purchase. The coupon code is LUVU25 and it expires today. Did I mention they have Ruby Star Rising, lots of Echino, and Cloud 9 Organics fabric? Most of those prints are in the ballpark of $15/yard, so you can get them for a fairly reasonable price with that coupon :)

2. I love to use cute rubber stamps to make personalized cards for my swap packages, and sometimes I even stamp things onto my quilt labels using textile ink. When we lived in Chicago there was a Paper Source right around the corner from our apartment, and they have some of the cutest stamps I've ever seen. This one is my favorite and I use it all the time. They also have a ton of cute gifts...sometimes I like to scroll through that page just to get inspiration for new patterns!

3. I stumbled across the Etsy seller shanlee2009 yesterday and it looks like she's selling off all of her fabric. Everything is $5.00/yard and she has a ton of basics like polka dots and gingham. She also has some designer stuff from the likes of Amy Butler, Erin McMorris, and a few prints from Riley Blake Mfg.

4. First of all, I was pleasantly surprised to see one of my favorite websites, Apartment Therapy, post something about quilting. It's an ubercool urban decorating site, so needless to say, quilting doesn't really pop up on their radar much. Secondly, the quilt in question is pretty awesome. It's made out of old dress shirts - which is a fantastic idea for Father's Day!

photo from ApartmentTherapy.com

5. While Denyse Schmidt's Greenfield Hill isn't my thing and I won't be buying any for quilting or decorating purposes, I think a handful of prints would look fabulous made into retro bags or dresses. Collette Patterns immediately popped into my mind as soon as I saw the Preservation Peony print in blue. I think their Crepe pattern would look beautiful in that print with a wide yellow sash and this cardigan.

6. Did you know the Post Office has Flat Rate padded mailers now? You can order them for free from their website, and since they're a little larger and have more give, they fit waaaaay more than the regular cardboard flat rate envelopes. The cost is the same...only $4.95 anywhere in the U.S.

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Fabricpalooza

Soooooooo......I went on a bit of a rampage. And because I need a semi-legitimate excuse to feel better about it, I'm gonna go ahead and blame it on the househunting blues. Hello fabric purchases, goodbye willpower.

I finally caved and bought some of the Parisville prints while they were still having the 15% off Parisian sale on Fabric.com. And naturally, I doubled up with another 15% off coupon code. I've never been a huge Tula Pink fan...and it's not because I don't think she's talented...I actually really admire her skills as an artist and think she designs some of the most inventive prints I've ever seen. It's just that the colors and patterns usually aren't my cup of tea....am I making any sense? I'd picked up a handful of her prints from Hushabye and Plume along the way, but Parisville is the first line of hers that I've really loved. I think it might be because it reminds me of one of my favorite movies, Marie Antoinette. That movie is pure eye candy.

 L to R: Fans in Mist, Cameo in Mist, Fans in Pomegranate, Cameo in Sky, Fans in Sprout, Cameo in Sprout

And right after I made that huge purchase, I got a 25% off coupon code from Del Ray fabrics. I knew they carried a bunch of Echino prints, so I scurried on over there because it's darn near impossible to find discounts on Echino. I also used my favorite "well I'm already paying for shipping excuse" to sneak in some prints I've been wanting for months...a dobby voile and some Farmdale.

L to R: Little Folks Dobby Square Dance in Citrus, Farmdale Blossom in Gray, Echino Cameras in Purple, Echino Bird Stripe in Green

Oh, and speaking of the I'm-already-paying-for-shipping excuse, 6 yards of my favorite Modern Meadow print found it's way into my cart at Fabric.com when I was buying the Parisville prints...

Modern Meadow Herringbone in Lake

And last but not least, here are some fun little goodies my friend sent me as a thank you for making her a quilt. She got them from my two favorite places...Anthropologie and Etsy. The necklace and snap-closure pouch are from Anthro, and the zipper pouch is from a seller on Etsy. Oh...and the best part? She also threw in about 6 brownies from the Fat Witch in NYC. She lives in Brooklyn and they're the one thing I always ask her for. Note that there are only 2 brownies in the picture....Ray and I got a little carried away when the package arrived.....

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F is for Friends

If it weren't for my friend Angela, I wouldn't have entered this block in the Block Party Contest...

...and won this sweet, sweet stack of fabrics (plus a mystery pattern)...

Also, is it weird that I watched that episode of Spongebob when I was in high school (and it's the only episode I've ever seen), but I still remember the words to the song verbatim? I think they might need to investigate that show for signs of brainwashing tactics....

Thanks Angela :)

F is for Friends who do stuff together.

U is for You and me.

N is for Anywhere and anytime at all.

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Finished Rain or Shine Quilt Top

I finished the top for my Rain or Shine quilt this weekend! Ray was sweet enough to get up from his nap/That 70's Show marathon and help me take photos yesterday afternoon :)

A group of us from the NOLA Modern Quilt Guild are taking a long arm quilting class at a local store, and I'm gonna use this as my test project. After we take the class we'll be able to rent their machine by the hour, so I'm super excited about finally having a long arm machine at my disposal (because I'll finally be able to finish this bad boy!)

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Scottie Watch

1. Have you all seen that Pink Chalk Fabrics is starting a solids of the month club? Isn't that a fantastic idea...I'm totally signing up! I especially love that you can choose from different size cuts of fabric (Fat Quarters, 1/2 yards or full yards).

2.  Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is the best cookbook I own. Everything I've made out of it has been the best version of that thing I've ever had. Devil's Food Cake...Cheesecake...you name it. All of her recipes are delicious. If you love to bake, you should definitely own this :)

3.  Robert Kaufman's Metro Living is on sale for $5.93/yard on Fabric.com. And bonus, if you use the coupon ABAND1102, you can get an extra 15% off at checkout (which would mean the fabric would only be $5.04/yard!)

photo mosaic from Sew Mama Sew

4.   The website Stitch Steals has awesome daily deals on everything from patterns to fabric bundles to ribbon. You can also "like" their page on Facebook so you can see their deal updates on your Home page.

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Quilt Story Block Party

I'm running late...as usual...so here I am posting my submissions for the Block Party mere hours before the deadline! There are three categories (Traditional, Modern and Creative), and rules dictate that you can submit a block to each one. It's up to your discretion to decide which category you think your blocks fall into :)

Here's what I'm entering in each category:

TRADITIONAL
This was one of two blocks I made for my partner's mug rug in the first round of the Mug Rug Swap. I used Jennifer Paganelli's free DWR pattern and shrunk it on a copier by 50%.

MODERN

I just finished this one the other day for Samilou in the Quilting Divas Mini Sampler Bee! It's an original pattern inspired by this block.

CREATIVE

And this block is the oldest of the bunch! I made it last August for janesfabrics in the 3rd quarter of the 3x6 Bee. It might possibly be my favorite block I've ever made :)  The pattern was designed by Aneela Hoey of comfortstitching.

If you want to check out all the entries in the contest so far, click here!

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January blocks for Bee (A Little Bit) Japanese

One machine malfunction and two weeks later, I'm finally finished with my January blocks for Bee (A Little Bit) Japanese! I'm gonna start on February's blocks for Kerry tomorrow night so that I'm actually early this month instead of late :)

Tong asked for blocks inspired by Denyse Schmidt's Drunk Love pattern. Here's what I came up with:

Block 1

Block 2

And here are a few fun things I picked up recently! I swapped my friend Karen a couple yards of fabric for the It's a Hoot layer cake, and I found the 2 yards of the Park Slope Leaf Dots in green at an online shop the other day. I just couldn't pass it up. I didn't have any yardage of it, and it's probably one of the hardest prints to find from that line.

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Blocks for the Quilting Divas Mini Bee

I've managed to finish 4 of my 6 blocks for the Quilting Divas Mini Bee so far. I got my design inspiration here. Tonight I'm gonna start working on my January and February blocks for the Bee (A Little Bit) Japanese because I have to get those done!

Blue, Green, Gray and Kona Snow 

for mamamary2

Orange, Gray, and Kona Medium Gray 

for Samilou

Blue, Green and Kona Stone 

for mccuisti

Yellow, Gray, White, and Kona Medium Gray

for meg_kay77

 

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