12.30.2010

Happy New Year!!

I truly have been Missing In Action (MIA) lately. Thanks for sticking with me through a
very busy holiday season.

Today was the first day I made an appearance in the sewing room in weeks. I managed to squeeze in a few minutes of sorting & cutting for charity. If anyone is interested in sending in 5" teen friendly charms, please let me know. They are going toward quilts for foster kids aging out of the system.

I have no plans to start Jane back up again but it shouldn't be too long now.



Wishing you & yours a Very Happy & Healthy New Year!

Best Wishes,
Heather
=)

12.22.2010

Sew, Mama, Sew! ROCKS!!


I love the Sew, Mama, Sew! site.
*L-O-V-E*

What could possibly be better than an amazing site, blog, tutorial list of awesomeness AND an online shop?

A giveaway of fabulous swag in addition to everything else!

Lucky me...



arrived in my mailbox today.

Thank you, Kristin!!

I can't wait to pour over the eye candy some more and choose a project (or five!!).

Heather

=)








12.15.2010

Monday's Sew-In











 Red and White fabric ROCKS! 

Mug Rug #2 is almost too cute to part with...

 In my spare time I played with mini blocks and made a few ornaments.




My plan is to use the ornaments as gift tags this year. 

 
Mark another 5 dozen cookies, another pan of granola, and 2 French loaves off the list, too! The apron I gifted myself sure came in handy today. lol


Ahh. Home, Sweet Home.

Happy Stitching,
Heather
=)

12.13.2010

Mug Rug #1





Have you heard of the mug rug? Back in November I remember seeing them on Sew I Quilt and thought at the time what a quick little whip up that would make for Christmas gifts.

Flash forward a month and I hear the tick tock of the countdown going on....and made my first mug rug today thanks to the admittedly obsessed Madame Samm who has since made some that will surely inspire you to give it a go.

Now I need to finish baking all the cookies that will accompany my mug rug gifts. 

That's a lot of space for just a coffee or tea, right? 

Healthy banana is fine for the pic, but really---isn't it crying out for a nice sampler of Russian Tea Cakes, chocolate chip cookies, my special sugar cookies, a Rob Roy Oatmeal Raisin or two...? 

Happy Baking!

Heather

12.07.2010

Feeling Festive

The cookies are baking, decorations are up & the shopping is almost done. Handmade goodies bring out the procrastinator in me, so we'll see how the plans go this year.

Christmas favorites are playing on the computer, thanks to the fantastic free site, GROOVESHARK...love it! But if you're new to the site, be sure you check your play list before blaring it for company...

Mr. Fabulous and I were putting the tree up and a not so sweet seasonal song popped up. We were both caught off guard and glad the kids were too busy playing to notice.

A search for the word Christmas will bring up a whole list of options to pick from. 

If you'd like to limit the wackiness, be specific about the artist(s).

Choose play all and eliminate songs afterwards by clicking on the x on each album cover...it's much easier than choosing individual songs and adding them in one at a time.

I had no idea the Beach Boys did a double holiday album but do remember jamming out to Little Saint Nick as a young girl. Now that I've previewed their collection, I'll be able to save it and play for company without having to fuss with CDs or commercials on the radio.

The ornaments in the pictures (with the exception of Snow White) are Shiny Brites. I adore vintage ornaments, SO Retro & Fabulous! Snow White was a fantastic summer find...all 7 of her dwarfs joined her on the gold & cranberry tree this year.


11.24.2010

Celebrating a LONG Weekend at Home

Nothing says home like a warm fire on a cold day, good food and great company....unless of course you also make time for a little sewing room break or some handwork to busy yourself while you catch up with everyone.


Time to prep your handwork so you can get everything done, fabulous multi-tasking hostesses!


I'll be getting around to the triangle that has been on hold since last week and thinking of another project, thanks to Beth of Love Laugh Quilt.  Isn't her home at the top of the post adorable?

I'm planning a house or two, adding them to her bloggy neighborhood giveaway. Be sure to stop by and say hello and check out the details while you're there.

Happy Thanksgiving and Best Wishes,
Heather




11.17.2010

Needle Case Tutorial

 

Start with a 9 x 5.5 inch piece of solid fabric or strings/selvages foundation pieced. You can find more information about foundation piecing selvages on the Selvage Squares tutorial.



You'll also need a 9 x 5.5 inch piece of felt for the cover lining.
 
 
Place the pieces right sides together and sew a quarter inch around the perimeter, saving about an inch and a half as your opening on a long side {avoiding corners}. Be sure to reinforce both sides of the opening since you'll be using this area to turn your fabrics.



Carefully turn, starting at the corner farthest from your opening. Use a point turner to keep your corners crisp once it's been completely turned (right sides of fabric should be showing at this point).


OPTIONAL: I like to clip the edges of the corners to minimize bulk. They'll look a bit rounded if you choose not to do this step.

Press both sides, taking care to tuck under the 1/4 inch felt fold at the opening. This will be your mark for closing by hand.


Blind stitch your opening closed.

 Next, you'll cut 2 pieces of felt 8.5 x 4.5 inches for the inner pages of your needle case. Fold in half and press the center line (this is your line of sewing). Do not worry about final edges out of alignment. You'll use your pinking shears to finish the edge soon. Center your pages along the pressed mark of both pieces of felt and the felt lining. Sew in place.


 
Fold the pages together and bring the sides of the cover up to check placement.


You'll be removing about a 1/4 inch from the ends of the pages with your pinking shears. If you do not have pinking shears, you can cut them with scissors but you may want to mark your cutting line.


 Next, find the center of the booklet and place a button near the edge of the cover opening.

 Choose a ribbon about 5" long that will work well with your cover button as your closure. Pin the ribbon checking the placement.
Sew the ribbon in place with a few quick stitches on your machine.


  Clip the ribbon ends and dab a bit of Fray Check to the raw edges. 








Seeing Scarecrows



There's nothing like fussy cut scarecrows and rows of corn to remind you of a midwestern autumn. Pieced triangle 8 came together smoothly.

Heather

11.14.2010

Triangle 7

Well, this was an interesting one...there were no paper piecing instructions for number 7. Hmm. I wonder how often that pops up. I drafted my own instructions and am pretty pleased with this one.



Happy Quilting,
Heather
=)

11.12.2010

Triangle 6

Triangle Six, done! Whew!! I had to redo the bottom portion and was happier with the applique on the first version but having pre-cut some background fabric without enough wiggle room, it was too short on the sides of the point. I think from here forward I'll be using a rectangle for the background...or at least, that's my plan.

Happy Quilting,
Heather

11.10.2010

Just one triangle done


I worked on this one at a quilt club meeting and was too busy chatting to watch my center line. Needless to say it's a little off. When I came home I attempted to finish a yellow one quickly and need to redo the bottom portion so I'm calling it a day. Maybe over the weekend things will go smoother.

A few more countries to add to our list:

Belgium
Luxembourg
Scotland * 
Singapore
Uruguay
Uzbekistan


 *The UK is generally in the top 5 number of readers but I'm not sure of the breakdown by country so for now we'll say England and Scotland since they have been confirmed. If you're in Ireland or Whales (or any other country not yet included), please feel free to comment or to email heatherl02 {at} yahoo {dot} com to be added to the list of readers countries.

As some of you are aware, we'll be having a holiday celebration of our "friends around the world" with a short presentation about each country on our list beginning at Thanksgiving. It's a wonderful learning experience for the kids and a fantastic discussion the adults can enjoy, too.

Best Wishes & Happy Quilting,
Heather

11.06.2010

A Lovely Week for JANE, SNOW?! & Reader Updates



Three more triangles added to the completed list. Life is good. I'd like to finish a few more this weekend, we'll see how that goes. 4 in my first couple days isn't bad, I imagine. I did not plan a schedule for these, but decided just to work on them in order for now. Does anyone have suggestions for keeping track of these? I created a cut and pasted diagram and am taping the completed ones to it. They cover the color coded portion below it. I could not print the wonderful chart included in the software and noticed the book diagram is for the blocks only. Suggestions are always appreciated.

after some melting


SNOW??!! Hard to believe, but it's true...we had snow over night with some accumulation already. Usually we're spared dealing with winter weather until we get closer to Thanksgiving. Not to worry, though (read with a hint of sarcasm). The shopping centers have been celebrating Christmas since mid-October {before Halloween}.



sheltered under the porch overhang...still not safe from the weather

I have a few more countries to add to the ever growing list.
Thank you for taking the time to stop by. If I still don't have your country listed, please let me know.

Austria
China
Latvia
Malaysia
Moldova
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland

The above countries join the following reader homelands:

Australia
Brazil
Canada
Costa Rica
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Israel
Italy
Japan
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
South Africa
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States

Happy Quilting,
Heather
=)

11.02.2010

BACK to Jane: First Triangle Done

Well, today I realized it's already November. I've been distracted by a household illness or two the past week and half and had a very busy day planned today but I thought I could get one triangle started at the very least. I ran off a few templates this afternoon and whipped up number one.



Whether you call it BR1 or Rosemary's Rainbows, I'll happily call it a quick finish and a great start to this new phase. Here's hoping I have the final layout figured out----I doodled a black and white copy during lunch today.

Happy Quilting,
Heather

10.31.2010

Happy Halloween!!


I have not been good about blogging this week, thanks to FireFox/google not letting me in....it's not that I haven't tried. Hang in there with me as we get this settled (or I remove all the FireFox stuff I just downloaded).

I hope each of you had a very HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

This week, I started some work on Christmas stuff, believe it or not. Those of you who know me well, will find this impossible, but it's true. Honest!

In my spare time, I whipped up some goodie bags for the neighborhood kids and managed to add a few finishing touches to a few costumes.

Yesterday, FUN MAIL arrived. Special thanks the senders!!!!!!


WOO HOO!!!! Who knew a little stash manicure article would bring such impossible to find fabric to the stash???? Thank you!

Happy Quilting and holiday crafting, too!!
Best Wishes,
Heather

10.21.2010

Guest Blogging about TRADING FABRIC


STASH MANICURE
 For my third post on Stash Manicure, I decided to discuss the joys of trading fabrics. Be sure to click on the above link to check out the details.


Would you like to host your own fabric exchange? It's quite simple, really. Decide who you'll be inviting to swap, first. Your local sewing club or guild is a great place to start but there are also informal groups meeting at the local church or library, online trading groups & quilty friends from near and far, too. Check your organization for suggestions and/or guidelines before you get really excited about trading. I'm a no rules kind of gal, but not everyone is and the more quilters involved in swaps, the merrier.

Next, you'll need to come up with an outline of suggested swap themes and poll to see what's most popular if you're able. Sometimes trades are slow to start but as members see how much fun you're having and what you're doing with the swapped fabrics, you will get more interest. Really, I promise. Stick with it.

It may be that your group has a pretty common theme or color fabric that everyone already owns. If your group tends to LOVE brights or can't live without batiks, start with those. If everyone gushes over red/white/blue combinations or reproduction fabrics, put those first on your list. It could be that holiday fabric appeals to the quilters in your circle AND that's timely, too. What could be better? You'll find more suggestions along the way as quilters become involved.


Be sure you are very specific in writing your guidelines and be willing to tweak them over time, if necessary. Include the most popular size/shape of your trades, even if it's not your favorite to work with. As you move along and gain additional interest, you'll be able to get the perfect precuts for your stash...hang in there.

I like to use layer cake sizes to trade, but I'm a charm quilter and many quilters prefer more fabric to work with. Fat quarter swaps have grown on me over the years. Some people prefer strips, others small charms, still others like to trade yardage, books, notions, etc.

Once you narrow down the fabric size options, be sure to take a larger size into account if there is a lot of interest. It may be that strip traders are willing to do a fat quarter swap, it's jus not their ideal. A FQ can still be cut down to multiple half length strips and you'll have a lot of happy traders. Plus, you could always offer 2 size options or make the following month strips. Whatever works best for your group. 
A little cooperation goes a long way.



Do your research. Check out the internet for some free patterns and cut and paste the links in handout form or check out a book in your local library and ask your wonderful librarian friend if it can be held for your group members. Get all the details for your potential project list together so people have a good reason to dig into their stashes and get cutting.

Imagine having a mess of a stash and giant list of to-do projects and someone says, hey lets swap green fabric! Wouldn't that be fun? UH, no.

On the other hand, if you showed the latest must have free quilt pattern and point out we could all have lovely quilts from a free block of the month program like THIS, cut from our very own stashes by trading 4 fat quarters each month for the next few months, adding in your choice of background fabric....you'll hear a resounding YES!! When can we start this awesome project?? Then you can review your organized details and say...How about next meeting?

Unsure of something? ASK. Get suggestions from members most likely to trade. Know that you can't please everyone all the time. Check with someone who has coordinated successful swaps for ideas or to help guide you through the process.

 Last, let the trading begin!!

Happy Quilting (and bartering!!),
Heather