Sewing Buddy Challenge #2 - COLOR

I have a sewing buddy. Her name is Nicole. She is an amazing seamstress. Need proof? Check out this dress. Or this blouse. Do you remember the amazing messenger bag she made for our last challenge? After I saw that bag, I knew I had to really step up on this challenge. We came in third for the last challenge and I'd like us to move up this time around.

The assignment was simply "color." Each buddy pair could do what they wanted with color. One person could make a skirt and their partner could make a coordinating blouse. Nicole and I chose a color scheme that suited us (yellow and aqua/turquoise). Originally, we were both going to make aprons and kitchen accessories. But I needed a sewing machine cover more, so I switched. We both feathered our nests where we needed it most.

Here is a picture of the cover that came with my sewing machine.

Yes. Awful, isn't it? It's like a hospital gown for a sewing machine. Yes, I definitely needed a new cover.

And here is the replacement. Compared to the "hospital gown," this baby is an A-lister Emmy dress.

I purchased this pattern a while back and put this project on my 3Q FAL list. I just didn't know I was going to love it so much. The pattern was well written, with lots of pictures online as reference. (And I know I should have cleared out all my "stuff" in my windowsill, but I'm trying to keep it real. I have bizarre clay creations from my daughter and pictures of my family and a Hoops and Yoyo audio birthday card up there. What of it?)

I special ordered the measuring tape twill ribbon from this shop on etsy. The buttons were also a special order from this shop. I love that they have a flower in the center. Great customer service from both shops, by the way.

I used Robert Kaufman Essex Linen in Flax and I'm so happy with how easy it was to work with. I'm not a grey girl. Or a gray girl. I have lived in Seattle. I like bright colors. But the grey really makes the yellows and aquas stand out. Which is true in Seattle as well. When the sun shines there, it REALLY shines.

The part of the mat that sits under the machine was free motion quilted in random loops - shocker - and I did some straight line quilting on the patchwork blocks. The bag has two magnetic clasps so I can detatch it. It's supposed to be a thread catcher, but I use it for my basting pins instead.

I got to decide on the pocket sizes. I've got one for my screwdrivers, one for a seam ripper, one for my phone. They are pretty handy, those pockets.

There was just enough hand sewing to provide some nice details without being overwhelming. I do appreciate that sort of thing.

And because we got an extension, I thought I might make a little wall hanging:

And I made a project bag, using Ayumi's tutorial:

Oh, and here is the pincushion that goes with everything else. The ribbon isn't sewn down, so you can slip your embroidery scissors under it and they will stay put. Clever, no? I've got a pair of Eiffel Tower scissors (could these be any cuter?) on my Christmas wish list.

My buddy Nicole put together an amazing ensemble for her kitchen. She made herself some potholders and oven mitts (and can I say I envy her yellow Le Creuset just a tad more than I should?). I love those birds and the quilting on the mitts:

And she designed, yes, DESIGNED, this apron. With a matching turquoise spatula. Adorable!

Because she has better computer/photo editing skills, she put together our composite picture for our entry into the contest:

Head over to the flickr pool to see the rest of the Color Challenge entries. I'd join you, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we win the top prize this time around.

Friday Finish: last quilt of the 3Q FAL

Finish it up Friday is back at crazymomquilts and I'm excited to have this quilt finished. The last of my 3QFAL quilts (link up will be next week - hooray!). I'm also going to link up with Sarah, who is back in the saddle and quilting again!

I mentioned earlier that there was a mistake and I was determined to fix it. Armed with a seam ripper and my father's choicest curse words (don't worry, they are PG ones, and funny too!), I took out the offending block and turned it the right way. Phew. Now I can look at it and not go bonkers. Well, until I tie a big red bow around it and ship it to its new home. I'm liking this business of gifting quilts. Kinda fun, don't ya think?


All in all, I finished 9 of my 20 projects for the FAL. Two others would have been done (the R2D2 quilt and the other Christmas quilt), but we had a Minky SNAFU for poor R2 and then a backing hiccup for the Christmas quilt. So those go to the top o' the heap for next quarter. Along with the other projects. I'm working on getting organized for that FAL post. Need some new pictures so you don't get bored looking at the same ones every time.

But first on my list for next week is basting my monster of a string quilt. I think I'm going to enter it in the Blogger's Quilt Festival next month, so I've got to get going on it. The fun part will be the basting. It's so huge, my living room floor isn't going to cut it. Might be using the gym floor at my church next Tuesday night while my daughter has her activity.

Have a lovely weekend. I'm finishing up a dress and waiting for my cushion pattern to arrive so I can whip that one out. With any luck, I'll get it done by Sunday afternoon for the big Sewing Buddy reveal. Here's hoping!

And next week, I'll share my cutting plans for next weekend. It's like prepping 20 meals on one Saturday, only in this case, it's prepping 20 quilts. Okay, not 20. But a lot. More to come!

WIP Wednesday: focus

I've mentioned more than once that I have quilting ADD. I think a lot of us do. Really, we should have a support group.

But this week I'm doing okay. I posted my two lists on Monday - my goals for this week and my goals for the last 100 days of the year.

As of today, I've got one of those Christmas quilts quilted and ready to bind.

The other one has caused a little hiccup for me. As I was pressing it, I decided that it needed another border. Which meant that the backing that I'd already pieced is now too small. I'm digging through my stash for a solution, but that quilt has returned to the back burner for now. Grrr.

I had to take out a seam on one of the dresses for my daughter. Did that and back on track.

I've got the fabric set aside for my seat cushion, pressed and ready to cut as soon as the pattern arrives. I've made my covered buttons too.

And when I'm snuggling my baby girl, who is the sick one, I get to do some work on my Halloween embroidery project. So progress is being made at all times. Well, most of the time. Sometimes I play on Pinterest and figure out our family photo outfits. I'm going to have some fun with those, let me tell you!

Found out why my Minkee isn't here yet. Yeah, it never got shipped. Now I'm being told it won't get here until next Tuesday, same shipping speed as it would have gone if it had shipped on the 13th. I've asked for my shipping refunded, given the circumstances. Asking too much? The mistake wasn't mine, and I was told on the 13th that it shipped (turned out the seller asked her daughter to ship it but daughter left it in her truck and left the country for a trip).

Linking up!

 

Make-A-List Monday: the no-fun sort of distractions

When I get ambitious, life sometimes sends me the message to slow down.

Fabric doesn't arrive. Babies get sick. Babies get better and three-year-olds get sick. Really sick. I spend my days cuddling, cleaning up sick messes and getting juice and crackers. And looking up symptoms online. Tell me I'm not the only one who worries that every tummy ache is appendicitis? Please? Help me out here. My husband thinks I'm nuts.

So, here's my list from last week:

• Finish dresses for my daughter

Nope. I got distracted by this:

I apologize if you saw this before, but I keep walking by my sewing room to look at it. Makes me happy. I'm still debating the row of tulips. Looking for the right paper piecing pattern for tulips. No luck so far. And I'm thinking of doing a lemonade one. It's going to be my paper piecing wall soon!

• Quilt and bind one of the Christmas quilts (basting it tonight after the kids go to bed)

I couldn't get a quilt basted to save my life this week. I finally, FINALLY, got it basted yesterday afternoon. I'll get started quilting it today. Sheesh.

• Piece the back and at least baste my son's R2D2 quilt (I ordered another batch o' minky and it should be here soon)

I think I live in a Minky free zone. Like, it's not allowed to come here. There's some sort of sanction going on, because I can't get Minky here for love or money. Still waiting for it to arrive.

On to this week's list:

• Quilt and bind TWO Christmas quilts
• Make chair cushion to go with my sewing machine cover - what do you think of this one:

Source: lotsofpinkhere.blogspot.com via Jennie on Pinterest

• Piece back for R2D2 quilt (please let that stuff arrive!)
• Finish at least one dress
• Work on paper pieced wall hangings (maybe, which means I'll probably do this first!)

Have a lovely week - the first week of fall!

The 100 Day Hustle

 

Technically, the 98 Day Hustle. Ack! I've lost two days already! Did you know there are only 98 days left in the year? Did you know I have one project for every 7 days? Yep. Fourteen projects I want to have done by the end of the year. In no particular order:

• The R2D2 quilt (if the Minky every shows it's face)

 

• My yellow and orange string quilt

• A Halloween HST zig zag quilt. Funny story. I had this one all laid out on the floor (no design wall for me) and my little 3 year old wanted to help, so he picked it all up. Super helpful of him and I haven't had the mental energy to lay it out again.
• Another Halloween quilt. This one, actually.
• Trick-or-Treat bags for my kids, based on Ayumi's bag tutorial.

• My Holiday Hostess quilt must be finished!
• The red Christmas string quilt that was supposed to be a wedding gift and will now be a wedding/Christmas gift for my friend.
• A red and aqua tree skirt for my Christmas tree

• New stockings for the whole family. Because the old ones don't match the tree skirt. And they HAVE to match. Because I said so.
• My Lucy's Crab Shack triangle quilt. Now that I officially have a toddler, this quilt has become impossible to lay out. Gonna need a gym floor (and a babysitter) to lay it out, stack up and label. Here's hoping my fairy godmother comes through for me.

• Sunkissed Granny squares quilt - hand quilting this one, so I need my mom's frame to get started. Or I could use my biggest hoop, but I've never hand quilted, and I think I want both my hands free so that if I need to rip my hair out, I can be more efficient about it.

• At least finish the borders on my Sew Cherry granny squares quilt

• My daughter's Gypsy Girl quilt

• And the cowgirl saltwater taffy quilt
• A mug rug for my mother-in-law
• A mug rug for my aunt
• My Hocuspocusville embroidered wall hanging - four done, eight to go, plus the patchwork and quilting. You know. No biggie.

Those who know me know that I always make big lists. I love lists. I love this list. I want to add more. There's plenty more to add, but I won't get greedy. Lists keep me accountable. I've been making them since middle school. In fact, I made a list in high school of all the things I wanted in a husband. And I got my list. So lists are magical too.

Make one. Link up. Get your hustle on!

And for the record, not only do I have the usual holidays to contend with like everyone else, I also have four birthdays in my little family. One in October (a first birthday!) and three in the first week of November. Good, crazy times around here. If it weren't for those, my list would most likely be longer, I assure you. But cakes take center stage at birthday time.

Pinteresting

Just a few of my current favorites that I've pinned.

Source: helenphilipps.blogspot.com via Jennie on Pinterest

Source: french-knot.tumblr.com via Jennie on Pinterest

Source: aboutabbie.blogspot.co.uk via Jennie on Pinterest

After going back and forth about the quilt for my daughter using my new Gypsy Girl FQ bundle, I think I'm going to simplify things. I'm going to make it with 6" squares, and throw in some Farmer's Wife blocks made with the scraps to keep things interesting. I've never actually made a patchwork square quilt before. Time to change that.

Source: sewtakeahike.typepad.com via Jennie on Pinterest

And some more aqua and yellow goodness. I like it! Hope you are having a great weekend. My quilting plans got completely derailed by sick little people.

Fabric Tuesday: I've gone off the yellow/aqua deep end

Is there an institution out there for those of who become obsessed with a color combination? It hasn't creeped out of the sewing room, but my husband is getting worried when I say I'm going to make some yellow and aqua pajamas for myself. They're for me, so why should he worry? I mean, we could always go in for an awkward family photo in coordinating yellow and aqua square dance outfits. But I haven't gone that far off the deep end. Not yet.

I didn't jump on the New York Beauty Bandwagon a while back, but I saw this wall hanging and thought it would be fun to use up the rest of my yellow and aqua scraps.

This just makes my happy place that much happier.

Now I'm thinking of doing a row of yellow tulips as well. Is that too crazy? Or maybe just one tulip? But I like rows and rows of tulips. No vote. A row of three it is!

And then I think I need one of these signs to go with it all:

Source: etsy.com via Jennie on Pinterest

Linking up my madness:

Make-A-List Monday: Ambitious, or crazy?

Hey! Hope your weekend was awesome. We got to go to our county fair, which is one of my favorites. Next year, I'm determined to enter at least two cakes and maybe a quilt. Why not, right? Oh, and my kids want some chickens and bunnies too. Hmmmm. We're struggling to keep our fish alive. I think we need to wait on bigger animals.

 How productive was I? Hard to tell. Let's see the list:

• Finish threadcatcher, sewing mat and sewing machine cover

 Done. Big reveal for Thursday, but here are some of the teaser shots:

• Finish project bags

 One is done. Love this tutorial of Ayumi's. These bags are just too cute.

• Quilt and bind one of my finished Christmas quilts (might as well be doing something, right?)

 Um, not done. I got distracted. My sewing room was a disaster area. Seriously. If my mother had come by, she would have said it looked like a tornado touched down AFTER the wreck of the Hesperus. Yeah, that bad. With a new sewing machine cover and accessories, I had to bring the room up to standard.

So I cleaned. And filled trash bags. And sorted stuff. And organized. And filled a box for the recycling center. I put things away. I found lost things. And now I've banned my children from the room. Because it is gorgeously clean. I'd forgotten there was carpet down there. And the Perler beads are no longer everywhere. Hallelujah!

• Finish at least one of the dresses for my daughter

Halfway done with both, but like I said, I got distracted.

So, for this week, I'm going to:

• Finish dresses for my daughter
• Quilt and bind one of the Christmas quilts (basting it tonight after the kids go to bed)
• Piece the back and at least baste my son's R2D2 quilt (I ordered another batch o' minky and it should be here soon)

I might distract myself with a wall hanging that coordinates with my new sewing machine stuff, but I'm making no promises. That color combination just makes me happy though. It might be my new favorite.

Okay, it is. No contest.

Have a great week! We'll be enjoying our sunshine and clearer air.

Friday Finish: Almost a week early!

Happy Friday everyone! It would be a happier Friday for me if it weren't for all the smoke in the air. We're sort of surrounded by wildfires and controlled field burns right now - nothing close to cause much more than breathing problems for us. We keep the house closed up, which means it's stifling at the moment (curse the twats who didn't put in A/C). I'm a fresh air girl, and me no likey.

Poor kids are bored, so I've lifted the mid-week movie rule (after school lessons and piano practice). While they watch, I sew.

My Sewing Buddy and I fared pretty well the last go 'round and I'd like us to do even better this time around. This time, color is the assignment. We could coordinate things like skirts and blouses, or simply choose a color palette that suits us both and create our own projects. We chose yellow and turquoise, although I went with more aqua-tones, but they'll fit. Nicole, my buddy, has created some long overdue kitchen accessories (super cute potholders) and an apron is forthcoming, which I can't wait for.

I've been needing a sewing machine cover for oh so long, and when I saw this pattern, I knew it was perfect. Loved the sewing machine mat, and the thread catcher is going to be my basting pin catcher instead. I loved the patchwork, as well as the handstitching and buttons and twill measuring tape ribbon. Loved it all.

I'll save the big picture for the big reveal next week, but here are the close up teaser shots:

I won't link up today because I don't have the big finish picture up yet. And I've got a wall hanging that might get worked in, so there could be more to the mix. For once, I just want to sit and look at my covered up sewing machine.

Aw, heck, I'll link up to Sarah's blog anyway. I feel like whooping it up that this is finished!

I should be sewing . . .

But I have a new toy!

For those who don't know, this is where I went to school:

And this is what we wore when we graduated:

That's me. I trained as a pastry chef. I LOVE pastries. I love pastry cookbooks. And I love pastry gadgets. My husband and family love that they can get me a kitchen something as a gift and I'm truly excited about it.

My dad called me two weeks ago and told me that these awesome Breville Mini Pie Makers were on sale, with free shipping. Well color me happy! He ordered me one, because he's awesome, and it arrived on Friday. A crazy weekend, and an even crazier Monday, kept me from playing with it. But I got all the stuff yesterday and made lunch for my husband.

Yes, pecan pie for lunch is perfectly acceptable in these parts.

I texted my beloved (he was in class) and told him his pies were ready. He came home, inhaled two and took the other two back with him. He says he's going to share one of them. I'm skeptical, but I don't care.

Next up: pumpkin, apple and maybe plum frangipane. And I'll get to some sewing. But for now, feast your eyes. And buy a mini-pie maker. You won't be sorry!