Scottie Watch

1. Unfortunately I can't take the credit for this first item, because my genius friend Cherie came up with the idea. Instead of buying one of those expensive rotary ruler suction thingies for $20-$30 at your LQS (or if you don't have a LQS and want to avoid shipping) you could go down to your local hardware/home improvement store and buy one of these for only $12. Toma-toe, Toma-toh, Ruler Gripper, Elderly Shower Handle. They're exactly the same, except one comes in pretty colors and costs $10-$15 more.

2. Save 20% off a purchase of $40 or more at Fabric.com with the code 'DOD412' (good through April 30th)

3. Save 25% off all Denyse Schmidt fabrics (including Flea Market Fancy) at Quilt Home using the code QHDSFMF' (good through April 30th).

4. Save 20% off your purchase at the Fat Quarter Shop with the code 'AnnaMariaQAL' (good through May 8th).

5.  I also have to give Cherie credit for this one too...she brought it to our retreat and I might have swiped it a time or two (so did Cara). It's called a Strip Stick and it doesn't look like much, but it makes pressing seams SO much easier, and it doesn't pull or distort the fabric while you iron. If you do a lot of smallish piecing (think HST's), bee blocks, or patchwork, you should definitely buy one. I already did :)

 
6. These labels are technically for labeling jam and other homemade goodies like cookies, but I think they would be adorable if you typed them up and spit them out on printable fabric for quilt labels! 

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Scottie Watch

 

1. Found a Tula Pink Neptune print here for $8.50/yard. Ready, set, GO!

2. Also, Whittle's Fabrics just posted a huge batch of new fabric on their site, all going for $4/yard. It includes some Parisville, Nicey Jane, Innocent Crush, Habitat, Greenfield Hill, etc.

3. For those of you left wondering how you'll edit your photos now that Picnik is nearing the end, check out PicMonkey! It's free (just like Picnik was) and so far, I actually like it a little better!

4. A couple of my friends have posted some pretty awesome free tutorials this week! Kristie @OCD posted a fun gardening apron on Sew Mama Sew (which I think would be adorbs alongside my knee pad! *nudge nudge, wink wink* You'll be stylin' & profilin' in the garden between the two of us!).

And Ang posted a meticulously written pattern on Moda Bakeshop today for that breathtaking owl backpack she created for the Sliced finals. Wonder if the adorable baby girl comes with it...

5. Be still my heart, Orla Kiely has teamed up with Bed, Bath & Beyond to produce some bedding!!! *sigh* I love Orla. The line comes out sometime in May, so mark your calendars (no word on a specific date yet...and trust me, I've been keeping a sharp eye on this!)

6. For you aspiring fabric designers out there, did you hear the upcoming Adobe Illustrator CS6 will have a tool for easily creating & editing patterns? That's right. You'll be able to easily create repeating vector patterns. Awesome.

Ray was watching one of his favorite techy YouTube channels and when they started talking about this, my ears immediately perked up and I had to wrestle him for the controller to keep him from leaving the video. I startled the bejesus outta him, because I always tune that stuff out and he couldn't understand why in the world I was so interested in repeating vector patterns, LOL!

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Scottie Watch

 

Life's been full of curve balls this past year, and I haven't been able to keep up with my blog like I wanted to. I have lots of quilt + bag patterns in the works, and I was also sad I didn't have time to scout things for Scottie Watch every week and it kind of died off. I'm going to try to put one together for every Friday, but fair warning - it might take me a little while to get back in the groove!

1. Fabric Mart has marked everything on their site 20% off right now (you'll see the discount once the items are in your cart). Even better, if you're a new customer you can use the code 'NEW' and get an additional 20% off. That means you can buy yardage of the Little Folks Voiles they have priced at $5.99/yard for the insane price of $3.83/yard!!!!

2. My friend Kelly let me on to a Fabric.com coupon code good for 20% off orders of ANY amount. The code is 'AMZN20'....and I might have ordered a buttload of Echo with it to use for pattern-testing :)

 

3. Speaking of Kelly, she had a genius idea for a new QAL (quilt along) yesterday. It's called the My Precious QAL because she's encouraging people to pull out those hard-to-find fabrics they've been hoarding like Gollum in Lord of the Rings, and actually USE them! Angela and I are her helper minions for the QAL, and the three of us scoured Flickrdom and put together a rather fabulous Pinterest board of ideas (there is so much talent in our Flickr community!). 

Oh, and did I mention there will be prizes each month for those who participate? Yeah. So put on your thinking caps and pull out those Heather Ross/DS/AMH scraps you've been hoarding! 

 

4. My other friend Tracey also started a fabulous new project on her blog, because we sewers/quilters have a tendency to overcommit ourselves. She's encouraging readers to limit themselves to three projects or goals a month, and stick to it. I know I could certainly use some boundaries with my quilting projects because I'm usually working on about 1,000 projects at a time...which is probably why I get burnt out and frazzled about once a quarter : /

5. Remember the Tallahassee block I used for my Cherry Blossom quilt? Well I found it on this awesome site called Quilter's Cache and they have about a billion different FREE block patterns available. What's really nice is that for most of the blocks, she has both paper piecing and regular templates you can download (depending on your preference). SO convenient!


6. This next item falls into the category of why the heck didn't *I* think of this before? It's a completely ingenious (and easy) way to make custom Roman Shades. I was frantically trying to get curtains up in my guest room last week because my parents decided to come down for the Final Four (GO UK!!!), and I wanted to make a roman shade instead of regular curtains. Problem was, I only had two days in which to do it. I read through about a dozen online tutorials, and all of them looked complicated and involved way more work than my lazy butt was willing to do. Enter this tutorial, which has you buy a cheap fabric shade at Walmart and sew your fabric directly over top of it. GENIUS!!! And it only cost about $30, which was totally worth it to me :)

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Scottie Watch

1) I found an awesome new fabric shop called Form & Fabric. They offer $2.99 shipping on all orders, and have a nice selection of out-of-print Echino and Anna Maria Horner prints.

2) I know my friend Angela will be all over this sale because she loooves Sweetwater! Quilt Home is offering 25% off all in-stock Sweetwater prints with the coupon QHSWQC.

3) This looks like a fantastic book! It's called Sewing with Oilcloth, and I keep flipping through the copy at my local Barnes & Noble, debating over whether I should order it on Amazon or not. Anyone tried her patterns yet?

4) Never done embroidery before? Want to try something simple for a project like a few embroidered words? Then you should check out the tutorial I used from Jenny the Artist when I was making my mug rug for the 1st round of that swap. It's really easy, and the choices are virtually endless when you consider all the different fonts floating around out there! It would be really easy to make handmade, personalized Christmas stockings this way :)

5) Haven't registered for the Sewing Summit yet? Well, you should! The last day for registration is this Sunday, Oct. 2 (closes at midnight). *chants* Do it! DO it! DO IT!

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Scottie Watch

I know you've been missing that cheesy, bearded mug up there! (Ray shakes his head and gives me that "you're completely ridiculous" look whenever he catches a glimpse of that photo) The DWR Quilt Along has been occupying most of my Fridays lately, so it's been a while since Sir Whiskers has made an appearance with his sleuthy internet finds ;)

Let's see what he's managed to rustle up this week...

1.  Are you all familiar with Stitch Steals? Each day they email you with a new "deal of the day"...usually anywhere between 30% and 50% off the retail price. They've had some particularly adorable fabric up for grabs this week (the Riley Blake "Farm Fresh" bundles have been calling my name...) Their deals include practically anything sewing related...including thread, notions, books, fabric, and so on. You can sign up for email alerts if you click on the button along the right-hand edge of the site.

2. I've stumbled across an unusual number of adorable free tutorials lately:

• Pleated Fabric Flowers
• Awesomely detailed purse frame tutorial
• An iPad case. Too bad the iPad I just bought is my husband's birthday present...which means I can't swipe it from him ;)
• Reversible hobo bag
• Scrappy wallets here and here

3. Cathy over at Wondrous Woven Fabrics has some really good deals going on in her Sale section. We're talking $4.99/yard for all Parisville, Greenfield Hill, Sherbet Pips and Soul Blossoms prints, and $7.98/yard for Loulouthi.

4.  If you're looking to teach sewing lessons, or to learn a new skill besides quilting (like garment making), you can go to Betterfly.com.  It's a pretty cool site - you search by interest, then by location, and it will populate a list of crafters in your area that teach lessons (and their pricing). You can also post your own services on the website for free - go get 'em tiger!

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Scottie Watch

1. I'm still thinking about storage solutions. Check out this adorable fold-out needle box kit.

Photo from Michelle (i like orange, too)

2. After seeing the above photo of Michelle's snazzy quilted pencil cups (bottom right), I immediately set out to find a tutorial. Mission accomplished.



3. I hate how ribbons fray at the end after you cut them, but I've always been too lazy to actually look up directions on how to prevent it. Consider this another item checked off my To Do list.



4. Fabric.com is having a huge Christmas in June sale. Most prints have been marked down to about $7/yard, and you can get another 15% off the sale price with the coupon code THX115. I was having a moral dilemna yesterday when I got the sale email, because I wanted every single print from this collection and also this one. However, the final price tag wasn't husband-friendly, plus I really only need Fat Quarters of any given holiday print and the smallest cut they offer is a 1/2 yard. My friend Karen and I came to a solution that will probably work for most of you...we compared shopping lists, and then ordered the prints we both wanted so we can split them into FQ's. Win-Win. We both get the Christmas fabric we want, but at half the price :) 

P.S. Novelty Christmas prints make the CUTEST Mod Bento Box quilts. Have I ever shown you guys pictures of the one Karen made for me last year? I love how she mixed in some flannels for added texture. I nap under it year-round. And one of these days, I'm gonna get around to making a cute advent calendar and tree skirt. I'm telling myself this year is gonna be the year I finally do it. We'll see ;)


5. Form & Fabric is having a 20% off moving sale, plus shipping is only $2.99.  I bought myself some wholesome and delicious Aviary 2 prints - yum yum. I got the Bloom print in Lilac and Granite, as well as the Lodge Lattice in Lilac and Vintage Yellow.

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Scottie Watch

1. If you're participating in the DWR Quilt Along, I've started a Flickr group! Feel free to post photos of the lovely fabric bundles you're putting together for it - I'm itching to see them :)

2. Lately I've been thinking a lot about storage. Namely, cute storage solutions. Found some good ideas here and here, and some amazing inspiration here.

3. I've also been thinking a lot about babies, since roughly 94.2% of the females I know are pregnant right now. Check out this quilt pattern (scroll down to "Monkey Business") in the latest issue of Quilter's World. Isn't that about the cutest baby quilt you've ever seen?

Photo courtesy of Quilter's World

Or how about this sweet & simple lamb quilt? I like it because it's gender neutral, and could work well with just about any nursery decor. I love giving presents like that because they're a lot less stress trying to coordinate! Also, you can get an early start instead of waiting to find out the sex of the baby and the subsequent color scheme. All this talk of nursery colors is reminding me of that scene in Juno where Jason Bateman is talking about yellow being a "gender neutral" color...lol!

4. Looking for some cute business card designs for your online shop (or other purposes)? Well here are some adorable ones for FREE. I heart Jessica Jones' designs so much.

5. Here are some cute DIY ideas for Father's Day:

• I love these little bowtie cards. I'm gonna pick up a cheap bowtie at a thrift store/TJ Maxx and make my own version. They look like they want to be all grown up and serious, but I can't help but wanna squeeze their little cheeks :)
• Have one of those "already has everything he needs" kinda Dads that are impossible to buy for? Yeah, me too. So I always get him food...and honestly, that's what he prefers. He loves when I drive up to Kentucky to visit, because I always bring a cake sampler box from Haydel's plus a giant a box of Napoleons and other French pastries from La Boulangerie. Whenever I can't be there in person, I send packaged specialty foods he can't get in podunk London, KY. These labels will be perfect for personalizing things a bit :)
• How about a manly (and hilarious) apron for the BBQ King? But seriously, here is a link to two free manly-looking apron patterns.

Courtesy of tipnut.com

• For the Techie (my father-in-law), here are about a zillion different iPad and Kindle case patterns. That tutorial list is bound to give you some good ideas.

6. I recently found out about Heartsy from some friends on Flickr. In a nutshell, it's like Groupon for Etsy. They have daily deals and coupons that you can purchase. I recently paid $13 for a $40 credit at one of my favorite Etsy shops, This and That from Japan. If you sign up using this link, both of us will receive a $5 credit. Or you can sign up the old school way using this link. Whatever floats your boat :) I waffled back and forth over whether or not I should even put that link...because I didn't want you all to think I was using you for my own evil capitalist purposes, but on the flip side I wanted to give you all a way to get $5 off. So if you're weirded out by the $5 credit thing, just sign up the normal way. It's all good :)

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Scottie Watch: NOLA Edition

A lot of you have emailed me over the course of the past year, asking about good places to eat and sight-see in the New Orleans area. I could write a book on that topic, and since I'm once of the city's biggest cheerleaders, I thought I would write a Scottie Watch City Guide to encourage all you readers to visit! 


I've been planning this for quite a while, but it's taken me some time to sit down and write it out. The guide is kind of rough right now, but I plan on going back and adding to it as I find new places or think of ones I forgot to add!  I'm also going to add a quilt shop section at the bottom when I have some extra time. 


I'm adding a link on the sidebar to this post, so you'll be able to find it easily when you decide to come down and visit this fabulous city (and fabric shop with me, hehe!)


FRENCH QUARTER

• LUKE (333 St. Charles Ave.)
  Right behind EAT, this restaurant is next in line as my go-to restaurant for out-of-town visitors. It’s my favorite John Besh restaurant, because it’s a little more casual and the food is fantastic. It’s also nice if you have a picky eater, because they have sandwiches and exceptionally tasty french fries. I also think anyone who enters that restaurant shouldn’t be allowed to leave without trying the Bacon, Avocado & Oyster Salad. Now now. I know what you’re thinking ‘but Kaelin, oysters are disgusting’…and you’d be right…if we weren’t talking about the most delicious fried oysters in the world! Trust me. I hate oysters too, but this salad is the one exception. It will blow your mind.

• Recommendations: Bacon, Avocado & Oyster Salad, Pressed Pork Sandwich (Cochon de Lait), Poulan Grand Mere

• DOMENICA (123 Baronne St.)
  You can’t go wrong with John Besh. If you’re not used to tapas-style a la carte ordering, the menu might look a little crazy. The regular menu is worth ordering from because everything is good, but it can add up quickly. If you’re watching your wallet or don’t want to order a bunch of small dishes, I recommend the Lasagna or their pizzas. Their pizzas are incredible, and can easily feed 2-3 (depending on how hungry you are).

• Recommendations: Lasagna Bolognese, Tutto Carne, Bolzano Pizza, Ricotta Frittole

• EAT (900 Dumaine St.  [intersection of Dauphine & Dumaine])
  This is my go-to restaurant when someone comes into town. It’s in the FQ (which most people want to see), it’s a tasty mixture of New Orleans cuisine and Southern comfort food, and it’s nice without being fancy and uber-expensive. The chef and waitstaff are incredibly nice (my favorites are Kenny and Nate), and the prices are more than reasonable considering they buy locally and make everything from scratch. I’m not kidding. Even the mayo is made in-house.

• Recommendations: Everything is good, but I dream about their BLT, and you should definitely check out their evening specials. It’s a rare event I don’t order the special, because that’s where the chef really shines. The most amazing one I remember was pulled pork served over bacon infused wilted greens and jalapeno cornbread, all served in a mini cast-iron skillet. To. Die. For.

• BAYONA (430 Dauphine St.)
  This is where you go to make a memory. If you want to get all gussied up and have a dining experience in New Orleans, then Bayona is the place to go. In my honest opinion, Bayona has the best food in the city. The owner & head chef Susan Spicer is a genius. If I could afford it, I would eat there once a month.

• Recommendations:  Niman Ranch Pork Chop (listen to their recommendation on cooking time - another person in our party ordered the same thing and wanted it cooked longer than suggested, and his ended up being tough as leather, while mine was like cutting butter!)

•  ELIZABETH’S (601 Gallier St.)

This restaurant is in the same vein as EAT. It’s southern comfort food with a local twist. It’s just outside the Quarter and isn’t much to look at from the outside... if a friend (who was born and raised in the area) hadn't invited me here, I never would have thought to walk in this place! When you pull up and realize you have to park in a gravel lot on the levee across the street, you might feel inclined to turn and run. Don’t be scared. It’s nice and clean inside, and a little bohemian. (which is always fun :) ) It’s definitely a "locals" place.

• Recommendations: Breakfast is my favorite. Try the Stuffed French Toast, Praline Bacon, or Grillades & Grits.

MAGAZINE STREET/GARDEN DISTRICT

Magazine Street is a really cool, kinda eclectic shopping district in the heart of the city. It consists mostly of independently owned shops with lots of handmade items by local artists and crafters - shopping there is a great way to support the community :) I'd recommend parking somewhere along Magazine and spending an entire day walking down the street browsing and eating.  It's located in the middle of the Garden District a few streets down from St. Charles,  so it's a beautifully landscaped and historic area. For me, a perfect afternoon in New Orleans would involve friends, lunch at Gott Gourmet, and afterwards some gelato across the street at La Divina :)

•  Sucre (3025 Magazine St.)
  Super cute gelato and chocolate shop on Magazine Street. Their gelato is really good and the atmosphere is lovely (especially for an afternoon with the ladies), but personally I think the gelateria a few doors down, La Divina, is better. 
• Recommendation:  Strawberry Shortcake Gelato, 

• La Divina (3005 Magazine St.)Like I said above, I think their gelato is the best. They have some really creative and delicious flavors!
• Recommendations: Honey Sesame Goat's Milk, Sour Cherry, Dulce de Leche, Blackberry Creole Cream Cheese
  

• Gott Gourmet Cafe (3100 Magazine St.)
  There are so many inexpensive restaurants that serve amazing food in New Orleans. I don't understand why anyone here would go to a sit-down, chain restaurant when they could get a delicious & fresh lunch at someplace like Gott's for the same price.  Gott's is a very casual cafe that has a little something for everyone. Your kids can have a hot dog and fries, while you enjoy a nice adult/artisan sandwich or salad with a little bit of local flavor.
• Recommendations: Smothered Pearl Po Boy Panini, Mini Fresh Mozzarella Panini, Gott Salad

• Slim Goodies Diner (3322 Magazine St.)
  If you want a hearty, cheap, no-frills southern breakfast, this is your place. Good eggs and coffee.
  

• Byblos (3218 Magazine St.)
  There are a handful of locations throughout the area, but this is by far the nicest (their other locations are basically deli counters). Their food is delicious (I dream about their hummos) and if you're looking for a nice, quiet air-conditioned lunch, this is your place. 
• Recommendations:  Stuffed Kibbeh, Cheese Fingers, Hummos (appetizers), Kafta Kabob, Byblos Pasta, Vegetarian Platter (entrees), Baklava (dessert)

• Commander’s Palace (1403 Washington Ave.)
  I think the food is slightly better at Bayona, but the service and atmosphere at Commander's Palace is unsurpassed. It's another one of those amazing "experience" restaurants in New Orleans, so put on your heels, find someone to watch the kids, and make a memory (just don't expect that memory to cost under $100 for two people...I promise it's worth every penny!)
• Recommendations:  Soups 1-1-1, Shrimp & Tasso Henican (appetizers), Strawberry Shortcake, Creme Brulee (desserts)

• Cowbell (8801 Oak St.)
  You might wonder where the heck I'm leading you as you drive up, because it's an old train station located next to a railroad track just off Carrollton & St. Charles. But once you see the line of people waiting outside for dinner, you'll understand why. 
• Recommendations: Grilled Fish Tacos, Fresh Made Apple Pie

City Park

• Parkway Bakery & Tavern (538 Hagan Ave)
  Hands down, they have the best Fried Shrimp Poboy and Sweet Potato fries I've eaten in New Orleans. Yum yum!

• Angelo Brocato’s (214 N. Carrollton Ave.)
  If you're looking for a nice scenic afternoon, I'd recommend taking a trolley ride down Carrollton to City Park and stopping for ice cream along the way. This place has been around forever and their ice cream and canolis are to die for! I don't even like pistachio ice cream, but their pistachio flavor is the best ice cream I've ever tasted (and I've eaten a lot of ice cream...in a lot of different cities...trust me on this one ;) ) 

THE SITES

• Audubon Zoo (6500 Magazine St.)
  A very cute little zoo. It's not huge and impressive like the Brookfield Zoo, but it's clean, the employees are nice, and the landscaping is gorgeous...reminds me a little bit of the San Diego Zoo in that regard.

• Laura Plantation (2247 Highway 18, Vacherie, LA)
  Most people go to Vacherie to see Oak Alley Plantation (the one they always show in movies with the Live Oak-lined drive), but the Laura Plantation is the real gem. It's by far the most historically interesting and well-done tour I've been on. My parents were the "eduational vacation" kind, so I've been on lots and lots of historical tours.  If you don't want to rent a car and drive all the way out, at least read about the history on their website. Pretty cool stuff. It's small compared to Oak Alley, but it's more quaint and less commercial than it's counterpart down the road. You should definitely visit both, but spend more or your time and money here.

• New Orleans Museum of Art (One Collins Diboll Circle, City Park)
  It's fairly small, but has a surprisingly nice collection due to the age of the museum and history of the area. It's in the middle of City Park, so if you have kiddos, you can let them run around outside afterward :)  I'd also recommend making pit-stops at Parkway Bakery & Tavern and Angelo Brocato's while you're in the area (see above).
  

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Scottie Watch

I'm going to be taking a short break from blogging. We close on our house a week from today, and we haven't packed a single thing! Hopefully everything will go smoothly with the closing and frantic move (we'll only have 2 days to vacate our apartment before the lease expires - yikes!) I'll be back on June 1st with some things I've been working on and photos of our new house. Your prayers would be much appreciated :)

1. I've always wanted to make a coin purse with one of those fancy snap-closure metal frames, but it's always seemed so scary! I was paired with a really awesome partner for the Pretty Little Pouch swap, so I decided to go for it. I found a couple of really good tutorials here and here, so I think you all should try it with me! Here's the frame I ordered from Purl Soho - SO excited! I'm going to pair it with a navy blue stripe and line it with the yellow apple fabric. I also ordered a couple of cheap $2 frames on Etsy so I can practice before I attempt anything with my nice, expensive frame, lol! I'm really terrifyied of screwing that one up!

2. If you don't live near a Joann's and would like to participate in the DS Quilt frenzy, they now have online ordering available. The easiest way to pull the collection up is to do a Search using "Denyse Schmidt" or "DS Quilt" as your keywords. Either one will work :)

I will warn you that there are a couple cons to online ordering, because you can only purchase the prints in full yard increments, and you can only use one coupon per purchase. I ordered a few prints online, but there really aren't many prints from the line that I'll need more than 1/4 or 1/2 yard of, and our local Joann's only received 5 of the 21 prints (and that's all they're getting). To make things more cost effective, you might consider pairing up with a couple local/online quilting friends and splitting the yards into FQ bundles :)

Angela and I had a meeting of the minds last week, and what we decided to do is special order the prints we really wanted. We sat down, chose the prints from the collection that we really wanted, and this past Wed. we met up and special ordered 3 bolts and split the cost. If you have a Joann's within driving distance, that's what I'd recommend, because you can use your 50% off coupons! We ended up paying $65 each for 24 yards of fabric (we're splitting 3 bolts with 8 yards to each bolt). You can't beat $5/yard for premium quilting cotton! At first 4 yards of each print seemed like a lot, but it will be perfect for quilt backs, curtains and other large projects. And honestly, I always find myself trying to buy up yardage of Denyse's more basic prints months/years after the lines come out, which is difficult to do (and more expensive!). This time I'm biting the bullet and buying up yards of the tiles and dots.

3. Jessica Jones' newest fabric line Outside Oslo is now available! I love her past lines and ribbons, but feel they're underrated. She's really talented, so you should check out her website if you get a chance - I've found a TON of adorable free patterns and crafts on there. (...and I promise she didn't tell me to say that, because I've never spoken with her and she has no idea who I am!)

4. Suzie Q Quilts has a ton of older lines like Chocolate Lollipop, Garden Party, Bijoux, Fresh Cut, Pop Garden and Nicey Jane for $4-$5 per yard!

5. I've found a new obsession for collecting all of my quilting ideas! Instead of using Big Huge Labs mosaics or Flickr Galleries, I just signed up on Pinterest (thanks Sheila!) and I'm incredibly excited.You can create all kinds of different "pin boards" and easily add photos as you're browsing around on the internet. If you just go and sign up, I think there's a waitlist, but if you know someone that already has an account, they can send you a link to sign up immediately.

6. Cutest gift wrapping idea ever. I'm going to wrap my next swap package like this! Here are some easy instructions on how to make the yarn pom poms.

7. This quilt is seriously awesome. Here is the page for all the quilt-along posts.

photo by daintytime on Flickr

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Scottie Watch

1.  Here's a fun little tip. Whenever you go into a chain fabric store like Joann's or Hancock Fabrics, make a sweep by the fat quarter bundles and individually rolled fat quarters. I've found all kinds of designer fabrics from lines like like Wild Thyme by Carolyn Gavin, Red Letter Day by Lizzy House, and West Hill by Heather Ross mixed in there.

2. The online quilting world has been abuzz with this news all week, but Denyse Schmidt released a new fabric line this week through Fabric Traditions. Instead of being sold in independent quilt shops, it's being carried by JoAnn's! My local store only carried 5 of the 21 prints in the collection, but if you click here you can see swatches of all the prints and grab the item numbers in case you want to call and pay to have certain prints shipped to your local store :)

3. I know this isn't nearly as exciting to you as it is to me, but Ann Kelle's newest incarnation of the Urban Zoologie line will have SCOTTIE PRINTS!!! GAHHH!!!!! Sir Whiskers shall have such a lovely new red, white and black Scottie-themed bed to lounge on come Fall!

Photo by Ann Kelle

Photo by Ann Kelle

4. Did you know you can fill out customs forms for international shipping online? I hate filling out the ones at the post office and having to mash my pen on the carbon copies like the Hulk, so I complete the form online, print it on a full page-size label, cut, and stick it directly to my package. Easy as pie :) But make sure you bring in the other part of the form that prints out (the part you don't stick to your package), because the post office needs it for their "records".

5. Aren't these sewing pins the cutest? I'm a sucker for anything strawberry related :)

6. Wondrous Woven Fabrics has all their Innocent Crush fabrics 30% off through April 18th. Enter the code 8great2 to receive the discount (and even better, they cut by the fat quarter!).

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The Return of Scottie Watch!

Sorry I've been MIA the past couple days, but Ray and I have had a long series of fantastic news this week, so we've been out celebrating with the family! And no, I'm not pregnant (I say that because it seems everyone I know is preggers right now!) We've had a bit of a roller coaster ride with the house, but all the paperwork has been settled (finally!), no one is asking us for more money (finally!), and we're going to close two weeks early on April 15th (next Friday!!!). We also both found out that we got promotions yesterday (one expected, one completely unexpected!). So all in all, it's pretty much been the best week ever! I have a bunch of projects right at the cusp of being finished though, so I'll post them sometime this weekend or early next week :)

Now on to Scottie Watch!!

1.  Penguin Books is coming out with a deluxe line of Classics to be released this Fall. They asked artist Jillian Tamaki to design embroidered covers for a few beloved classics. I'm amazed by the work she did! Obviously the copies being sold in stores won't be hand-embroidered, but to quote her website, they will be "printed with a sculptural-embossing technique that will emphasize the stitches. They will be tactile objects." Sweet! Needless to say, I'll be purchasing several of them!

2. I’ve been thinking a lot about coordinates lately. While I love polka dots, sometimes I feel like I’m being lazy creatively when I use them. Don’t get me wrong, I am NOT saying crafters who use polka dot prints are lazy or less creative. I myself love them and use them all the time! What I’m saying is that there are times when I know I could go for something outside the box, but I don’t because polka dots are my crutch and 99.9% of the time they’ll work with whatever it is I’m making. And instead of being safe like that, I need to start regularly choosing prints a little more funky and a little less conventional and take that gamble of “this could turn out really terrible…or really awesome!” My favorite projects are the ones where I took the ultimate “this could be so hideous when I’m done risk”, lol!

So in that spirit, I’ve dug up some coordinates that are not polka dots. They’re by no means bohemian, but slightly off center of “safe”. They’re dots or stripes with an intesting twist. Think of them as the slightly cooler older siblings of polk dots, stripes and gingham :)

Manzanita Basket in Red, Hope Valley Pie Basket in Fiesta, Modern Meadow Honeycomb in Sunglow, Modern Meadow Herringbone in Grass, Hope Valley Diamond Dandy in New Day, Aviary 2 Lodge Lattice in Lilac, Nicey Jane Welcome Road in Pink, Manzanita Basket in Brown, Monaluna Mingle in Black

3. If you're looking for storage solutions, you should take a peek at this storage table from IKEA. I saw some people talking about it in a Flickr forum and it's a perfect storage system for Fat Quarters or other small cuts, plus the counter surface on top is the ideal size for a big cutting mat/pressing board. *drools* I love that it has the potential to be 3 things in 1 to help save space.

 4. If you're a Henna Garden fan, I spotted these at my local Joann's. All their sewing baskets are 40% off this week, plus you can get an additional 10% off if you have a VIP card. Apparently there have also been sightings of zippered Henna Garden storage boxes in the Kids/Baby section of TJMaxx.

 Sorry the photo is grainy, but I took it with my camera phone!

5.  My friend Angela just posted a fantastic tutorial on how to set a circle into another piece of fabric (instead of appliqueing). She is probably the most meticulous seamstress I know, so you can't go wrong learning from her techniques :)

 

6. If you use the code "QHAJDF25" at checkout, you can get 25% off ALL Joel Dewberry fabrics at QuiltHome (including Aviary 2!!!)

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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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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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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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Scottie Watch

1. If you liked the Andrea Victoria line Riley Blake manufactured a couple years ago, then you should definitely check out Mark Cesarik's new line Calypso Swing from Free Spirit! I'm really loving these prints in particular...

 (it's kinda spidery and reminds me of the movie Coraline)

I think these prints would be gorgeous for home dec projects or fashion items. I'm picturing a purse with some edgy hardware like big ol' grommets and a mustard yellow print...kinda like this:

1. Calypso Swing print in Wine, 2. Laura Gunn's Painter's Canvas in Mustard, 3. Dritz grommets in Champagne

You can get more info on the line (and see some real-life projects....not just my imaginary ones!) on his website.

2. How did I not know about the book "i love patchwork" by Rashida Coleman-Hale until a month ago? A calendar Strawberrylicious made in the last round of the Modern Swappers (now Make Mine Modern) group is what alerted me to it's existence. I'm a sucker for linen. How precious is that calendar?

 picture from Strawberrylicious on Flickr

3. If you love pretzels + warm rolls, then you should try this recipe from Two Bites in Suburbia. I promise it will single-handedly make your family love you at least 3x more than they already do (not really...but maybe...). I've made it at least 10 times since October, because it's pretty much the most delicious bread ever. Plus it only takes a couple hours (the dough does most of the work while you sit on the sofa and wait)...which is perfect for me, because I like making bread, but am too impatient to do the whole "weeks-long bread proofing" experience. I want bread in my belly in as short a time as possible :)

 picture from Two Bites in Suburbia

4.  I'm a bias binding kinda gal, and this is the best continuous binding tutorial ever. I love that she goes through the math with you, because I've had to use the equation a couple times when I needed to make binding that was an odd width.

5. Check out the super cool embroidery designs at Urban Threads (they have both machine and hand embroidery patterns). I really want this, this, this and pretty much everything on this page.

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Scottie Watch

 

1.  Love cute paper templates? This website has some adorable ones that range all the way from owls to little girls to slices of birthday cake. I think my favorite is the little mice with the block of cheese. You can also join a free paper calendar of the month club here. As soon as I saw January's adorable Yeti, I immediately printed the template and made it for my cubicle. He sits happily below my monitor :)

2.  One of my favorite websites, How About Orange, has some of the best tutorials on the internet. Check out her origami fabric box tute! She even has another tutorial showing you how to make the fabric flower that's on top of the box. And to top it all off, she has a second fabric flower tutorial that I think would be adorable made out of the Modern Meadow Flower Fields print!

 3. You've probably already heard about this if you frequent the Flickr boards, but Aunt Bea's Fabric is closing :(  They've marked all their fabric 30% off.

4. Jeni over at In Color Order is doing a great series called the Art of Choosing. She's covering the best ways to fold and store fabric (complete with video clips), as well as lessons on how to identify and create different color palettes.

5. If you love to cook or bake, you seriously need to check out The Spice House. I've talked about them on here before, but their Chicago store was a few blocks from our apartment and I walked down there at least once a week. I can't say enough good things about them. It's a family run business, the employees are super nice, and their prices are incredibly reasonable because they cut out the middle man by importing their spices directly from the growers. They buy and sell with a lot of integrity, so you can also feel good about buying from them! 

Their meat rubs are fantastic and they have an equally amazing selection of baking spices. After years of paying $12 for one shriveled McCormick vanilla bean in a jar, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven when I saw you could buy 3 quality vanilla beans for a mere $6. They also make their own vanilla extract, which is equally delicious. I'm kind of a snob when it comes to vanilla extract, and theirs is awesome. I buy two 16 oz. jars at a time. When ordering, I recommend two things. 1) Forgo the glass jars and buy the spices loose in resealable bags because you get a lot more for your money. Also, shipping runs a little high (usually $8-$12), so I'd recommend placing one large order instead of a few small ones.

I swear they didn't pay me to write a small novel about the awesomeness of their products! It's just that when I find a good thing, I like to share it! If you see any spices you'd like to order but are unsure about, shoot me an email and I can give you my thoughts. I've tried a large number of their individual spices and blends, and I'll give you an honest opinion :) Some of my favorites are the Tomato Powder, Lake Shore Drive Seasoning, Tuscan Dipping Seasoning, Pumpkin Pie Spice, Apple Pie Spice, Ceylon Cinnamon, Green Cardamom Pods, and the Taylor Street Cheese Sprinkle (mmm...so delicious on buttered garlic bread!)

Have fun exploring!

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