Why it's been quiet...

...We're in the process of moving!  We're very excited but the last two weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind.  I was offered a job on the 12th, accepted it on the 15th, tried to pack as much as possible and drove to southern North Carolina from central Pennsylvania so I could start my new job on the 18th.  Unfortunately there wasn't room to take the sewing machine (or much of anything, to be honest) on the trip down, especially considering that we didn't know how long we'd be staying in a hotel before we found a place to live.

We found a place to live, but even if we'd had room for the machine no sewing would have gotten done.  Being a teacher is hard work, add in extra paperwork to fill out because you're new and need an alternative entry licence and I haven't been doing much except work since we got down here.  Right now I should be lesson planning, but I wanted to give anyone who was interested an update on what was going on. ;)

I'm hoping that sewing will occur in September as we get into our new routines (and I get my machine moved!)

Until later!

Going to be Quiet...

...There's a lot of life change stuff going on around here, so I probably won't be posting much until after Labor Day.  Sorry about being secretive, but when things are a bit more settled I'll let you know what's been happening.  I promise! :)

Until later!

Summer Fair - Pumpkin Pie Pancakes!

AnneMarie at Gen X Quilters is hosting Summer Fair: A Quilt and Recipe Show.  I haven't finished a quilt yet, so I don't have an entry for that category.  However, I do have a recipe to share with you!

You know that can of pumpkin pie mix that gets bought by mistake, then sits in cupboard until it gets donated or tossed?  (That's what usually happens here.)  That darn can of pie mix sat in the cupboard, taunting us, daring us to find a use for it.  So we did.  We had a pumpkin muffin recipe that we liked, but wanted something that was quicker, so we decided to throw some pumpkin in the pancake batter.  We love the results and only rarely make pancakes without pumpkin now.  Puppy Boy, who's a picky eater, devours these!  


Many of you may be familiar with buckwheat, but not sorghum flour.  Puppy Boy and I are gluten free for health reasons, this means we don't eat anything with wheat, rye, or barley.  Sorghum flour can be difficult to find, so feel free to substitute a different flour of your choice if you can't find it, or if you choose not to use it.

Pumpkin Pie Pancakes


Dry Ingredients
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup sorghum flour
4 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt


Wet Ingredients
2/3 cup canned pumpkin pie mix or 2/3c canned pumpkin and 1/2t pumpkin pie spice mix
2 cup milk (use less or add more according to preference)
4 Teaspoon melted butter
2 eggs, slightly beaten

Measure the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.  Mix until combined. 
Cook on griddle. 
Makes about 24 4 inch pancakes.




Until later!

Fat Quarter Bags

I made a pile of fat quarter bags in May to give away as gifts in June.  Despite the fact that they were given away I'm just now finishing the blog post for them.  I'm not always timely...so don't be too surprised when I put up a post of the sewing I did for Christmas!

I had some lovely fat quarters left over from the sewing I did at Christmas and wanted to make something that would be appropriate for a wide age range (the youngest recipient was 3, the oldest recipient was older ;-)).  

After thinking on it and looking through the blogs I subscribe to I saw this tutorial for Fat Quarter Bags from Amy Smart on her blog, Diary of a Quilter. And I thought, "That's it!"  But I can't leave well enough alone and I made a few changes. :-)

So, here's what I did:

1. Added sew in interfacing to give the bags more body.  I imagine iron on interfacing, fusible fleece, quilt batting, re-purposed jeans or another hefty material would work as well.

2. Added a pocket, because you always need a pocket, right?  The pocket was sewn on to the fabric and interfacing for a bit more stability.

3. The bags are totally reversible.  I boxed the corners (both the outside fabric and the lining) prior to turning it right side out.

4. I left the opening to turn the bag right-side out at the top (between the handles) instead of along a side, then top stitched it closed. I thought this worked out better since the bags are reversible.

The directions for the tutorial worked really well, but I think if I make these again I'm going to construct them a bit differently. I'll probably sew the inner and outer bags separately, then sew the bags together while adding the handles. I'm thinking that with the alterations to the tutorial I made it'll be a bit easier to put it together that way. I learn something new with each project, even if it's that I prefer to do things using a different method!

Until later!

WiP Wednesdy #7

We really enjoyed the break in the hot weather that we had over the weekend, especially since it was Arts Fest and People's Choice weekend.  We had a great time walking through the festivals and seeing all the artists.  But now I feel like I'm melting again!

I was hoping to finish the placemats, sew a robe for Puppy Boy using the pattern by Dana from MADE and work on the Challenge block for the Skill Builder Sampler hosted by Leila at her blog Sewn.  Here's where things stand with those:
-I got the binding pinned to the placemats, but not sewn down yet (did I mention there's 8...and that sewing binding is my least favorite part?  It's just so tedious!)  So a little progress, but not done yet.
-Still in the gathering/planning stage on the robe.  The pattern is printed out, but it's not assembled yet, and I'm going to need to make some alterations since Puppy Boy is a pretty tall dude for a 3 year old.  The towels are bought, but still need bias tape though.
-I got the Challenge Block done, and I love it!  I also finished Block #4, and I'm really happy with how well my points line up in the pinwheels.  You can read all the nitty gritty details here if you want.

I'm not sure that I'm going to be doing a lot of sewing this next week.  I really want to get my Teacher Work Sample done this week.  It's going to be a bit of a pain, I have to reconstruct some stuff due to a computer hard drive crash. :S So, we'll see how it goes.  Maybe some sewing will be study break time, but it's more likely I'll be doing something to try to keep cool and play with the kiddo.

On Hold:
-My mom's jewelry keeper (Christmas gift) I'll pick this up when I'm done with the placemats
-stacked coin throw quilt

WiP Recap:
Last week's total: 5
Finished this week: 2
New this week: (1...maybe...hopefully)
This week's total: 3, maybe 4

Until later!

Skill Builder Sampler - Bonus Block & Block 4

A week ago Friday Leila challenged us to design a block on our own as a Challenge Block for the Skill Builder Sampler.  The challenge was to design our own 12" finished block using squares, rectangles and triangles.  How this is different from the previous blocks we've sewn for the sampler is that the block should be designed using a 4 x 4 grid pattern instead of the 3 x 3 that the previous blocks have been based on.

So I started sketching and after some time, came up with a block I wanted to try.  I started playing with fabric choices and decided that I liked the block better upside-down.

Then I figured out the best way to cut and sew the fabric and made a cut list for myself.  I thought about doing an inset seam for the gray along the bottom, but didn't feel like going through the trouble right now of figuring it out.  I'm really happy with how this turned out, and may do a different quilt later expanding on the idea.  The sewing looks better in person than it does in the photo, I think it needs another good press!

For Block #4 for the skill for the Skill Builder Sampler is more half square triangles.  To practice half square triangles (HST) the block for the week is a pinwheel block.  We used a tutorial for a block called Pinwheel Parade by Vanessa of V & Co.  I did this pretty much according to the tutorial, but used 5 colors for the 5 pinwheels instead of one (well, I am making a rainbow quilt!)  The biggest decision was which fabrics to use and where to put them in the block.  Once I figured that out it was all about the sewing.  This is one of those blocks where it pays to pin and go slooooow where the points intersect (I was hand cranking that needle at the intersections!)  I am super happy about how the points line up!

I think that's all I've got for this week.

Until later!

WiP Wednesdy #6

Well, let's try this again.  Some of you may have noticed that I posted late Monday night/early Tuesday morning...Then I realized what day it was and took the post down, thinking that it might change, but it didn't so here it is again!

Is everyone out there staying cool?  It is HOT here!  I wish we were back in Oregon enjoying the weather we had there last month when we were visiting.  Below is a picture I took while on a day trip to the Oregon coast.

So, what sewing have I gotten done this week?  Not a darn thing.  In between dealing with the heat (no AC), a kiddo who needed Momma snuggles while sick with a stomach bug and working on my Teacher Work Sample (the last thing I need to get done to finish my teacher licensure program), I did not do any sewing.  None.  That means that the I still haven't finished up the wedding gift placemats.  Sigh.  I really need to get those done.  Good thing the newlyweds are really understanding!

What do I want to do this next week?  This next week (If I get enough homework done) I'm hoping to get the placemats done, sew a robe for Puppy Boy using the pattern by Dana from MADE and work on the June bonus block for the Skill Builder Sampler (hosted by Leila on her blog Sewn).  That's what I would like to do, what I'm hoping to do, but we'll see what actually gets done!

On Hold:
-My mom's jewelry keeper (Christmas gift) I'll pick this up when I'm done with the placemats
-stacked coin throw quilt

WiP Recap:
Last week's total: 3
Finished this week: 0
New this week: (2...maybe...hopefully)
This week's total: 3 (although, maybe, hopefully, 5)

Until later!

WiP #5

I hope that everyone had a great 4th of July, we really enjoyed our local fireworks, hanging out in the pool and eating summer treats.

I had a grand time planning out and sewing my blocks for the Skill Builder Sampler (hosted by Leila on her blog Sewn. Yes, we only had one block, but Churn Dash is probably my favorite traditional block, so I had to make more than one! And, of course, one of them had to be a variation. You can read more about the blocks and the process of sewing them here. 

Unfortunately I still haven't finished up the wedding gift placemats.  Since we won't be making a block for the Skill Builder Sampler this week I'm going to get the placemats done this next week...but don't hold me to it!

Coming Up: If I get the placemats done and I have time (I've got to spend time working on my Teacher Work Sample, I'm working on my teaching license and need to get this done!) I think I'm going to make a robe for Puppy Boy using the pattern by Dana from MADE.  We've got a backyard pool (15 feet diameter, 30 inches deep) and while he loves the water, he gets really cold so I think it would be really useful!

On Hold:
My mom's jewelry keeper (Christmas gift) I'll pick this up when I'm done with the placemats
stacked coin throw quilt

WiP Recap:
Last week's total: 4
Finished this week: 1
New this week: 1 (maybe)
This week's total: 3, maybe 4

Until later!

Skill Builder - Block #3

For Block #3 for the skill for the Skill Builder Sampler is half square triangles.  To practice half square triangles (HST) the block for the week is the Churn Dash.  I was really excited to see this block, in fact I think it's my favorite traditional block.  Every time I visit my parents I admire the Churn Dash square in the Civil War sampler quilt my mom made for the bedroom we stay in. (Mom's been quilting since 1995, I'll always remember the year because the first quilt she made was to celebrate graduation from high school!) Anyway, back to the block of the week: Churn Dash, love it!  I think it's amazing the way the look of the black can totally change based on the colors of the fabric used, I suppose that's true for a lot of blocks though. ;-)

Despite loving this block as it is I wanted to explore variations too.  So I broke out the graph paper and started sketching and coloring.  All variations started with the same basic bones.  Some of the variations are just different color values (light vs. dark) in different locations.  In others more HST were added to various locations in different orientations.  I also played with the location of the background material, switching the orientation of the sub-units.  I spent an evening coloring different configurations for the block before stopped.

I knew that I wanted to do one according to the directions and one variation.  As I was sketching and coloring I asked Puppy Boy (my three year old) what his favorite was.  And he had a definite favorite, no question.  Decision made, that was the variation.

A sample of the variations I sketched.

It was fairly easy to pick the fabrics for the first block.  I knew that I was going to use white for the background, so I just need to decide what to use for the other fabrics.  For the blocks each week I'm trying to use fabrics in that haven't been used in previous blocks (obviously, this won't work for vary much longer!)  So, looking at what I had left, with the addition of the dark purple Kona I picked up earlier that day, I was really drawn to the purples.  I also pulled the purple I used for the Log Cabin (Block #1) for a medium value and played around with the fabrics.  I thought that I wanted a color fabric in the center, but it just wasn't working for me.  So I figured I go for contrast and kept my dark and light purples.  I continued to fold and rearrange until I decided which fabric I wanted in which location.  I'm really happy with how it turned out:

For the variation block I wanted to use colors very similar to how I sketched it for two different reasons: 1. I wanted to make it look as close to the sketch as possible for Puppy Boy; 2. It reminded me of the poppies the Veterans of Foreign Wars sell.  This tradition started after the Flanders and World War I.  It didn't turn out quite the way I envisioned, but I'm still very pleased with it:

I can see myself making a quilt with nothing but variations of Churn Dash...with a star, floating, log cabin in the center, another churn dash on the inside, Grecian (scroll down), or all the other variations I dreamed up.

Until later!

WiP #4

Only got a little bit of sewing done this week, despite my best intentions.  That's OK though, because we got to have some fun doing other things (touch a truck and strawberry picking!) and necessary housework was done (not so much fun, but way overdue!)

So, what did I manage to sew?  I completed blocks #1 and #2 for the Skill Builder Sampler hosted by Leila on her blog Sewn.  

More details about the blocks here, although not as many details as there will be in the future for that type of post.  If you're visiting my blog to read this then you'll notice the Process Pledge button I've added to the blog.  What that means is that I'll be writing about how I come to make the decisions I do about what I sew.  Hopefully I won't bore you all to tears!

Back on topic: What I've gotten done, or rather not gotten done.  I'm still working on the wedding gift placemats (Gift Project #3).  I think my least favorite part of the placemats I've been sewing up is putting the binding on.  Hubby, Iron Man, has been doing the hand sewing portion, so that's not a problem.  Honestly, I think it would be less work to bind a large quilt than a pile of placemats (less corners for one thing!)  Iron Man really wants to get these done, so they're going to be a priority for my sewing this week.

Coming Up: On Friday we find out what the next block is for the Skill Builder Sampler.   I really want to keep up with these, so I'm hoping that'll be done by next Wednesday.

On Hold:
My mom's jewelry keeper (Christmas gift) I'll pick this up when I'm done with the placemats
stacked coin throw quilt

WiP Recap:
Last week's total: 5
Finished this week: 2
New this week: 1
This week's total: 4

Until later!

Skill Builder - Blocks #1 & #2

For our first block we were to work on the accuracy of our cutting and seam allowances.  To practice these skills we sewed a Log Cabin block.  After doing some thinking about it I decided to do a variation that would give me a square in a square. For the most part I followed Leila's instructions for the cutting and construction of the block. I varied it by only using four fabrics.

I'm really happy with how it came out, both in terms of how the fabric layout looks and the accuracy of my piecing.  Looking at all the variations in the Flickr group makes me want to makes lots more though!


Block #2 is a nine patch where we played with value (light vs. dark). Again, although I used the instructions Leila provided for the cutting and piecing I varied the layout of the fabrics within the block.

Some of my corners don't meet up as well as I'd like (I tend to be a perfectionist) but really they're not that bad, so I'm not going to let it bother me. Besides, I'm giving myself permission to enjoy the process and have less than perfect results. :)

Here are both blocks together.

Looking forward to the next block!

Until later!

Skill Builder - Fabric

I know I'm running a bit late on posting about my fabric for this quilt along, but here it is!

My family went out to Portland, Oregon for a wedding last week.  Knowing that I was going out there I held off from buying fabric so I could visit a couple shops out there.  My mom (a quilter for 16 years now) and I went to Bolt and Fabric Depot.  We got lucky at Fabric Depot, the day we were there everything was 25% off!

There was so much lovely fabric at Bolt, I really wanted to buy more than I did, but so much of what I wanted wasn't part of the vision that I had for the quilt that it stayed on the shelves...sigh.  Here's what I did come home with though:

I'm not sure the red/orange/coal looking print will be used in the quilt, no matter, I'll find a use for it eventually. :-)

Fabric Depot was fun to wander around in.  It took me a bit of strolling through to get my bearings and figure out where the fabrics I was looking for were likely to be, it was that big!  And again, so many fabrics that were calling out my name but needed be left behind.  After much deliberation, this is the fabric I bought for the quilt there:

Right now the plan is to use the Anne Kelle rainbow zigzag for the binding.  I just love it!

I also have some fabric from my stash to add in, so here's the whole lot:

 

Not sure I've got enough darks, and I really wanted a lighter yellow, but couldn't find the shade I wanted.  So other fabrics may or may not make an appearance as we work our way through the quilt blocks.  (Shhh...don't tell my husband! ;-) )

Until later!

WiP #3

Sorry for not posting last week.  My family and I were across the country attending a wedding and even though I thought I'd be able to get a post put together it just didn't happen.  

Completed Projects:
The practice items and some of the gifts I've been working on were place-mats.  Hubby, kiddo and I stayed with an incredibly kind and generous friend that we knew from the internet, but this was our first time meeting her and her family in real life.  To thank her for opening her home to us we (because it wouldn't have gotten done without hubby) made a set of eight place-mats for her and her family.  Ignore the wrinkles, they were folded on the trip across country. :)

We also made fat quarter totes using this tutorial (with some alterations, I'll post about that later).  The totes were for her little girls, the baby sitter (the daughter of another friend I'd met via the internet) with the leftovers going to other people who had traveled for the wedding. (A previous week's completion, I can show photos now though!) 

I got my mending done.  No pictures, not really exciting, but it needed to be done!


I also got shopping done for fabric!  
The first thing is the fabric for a rainbow charm square swap hosted by Jennifer of Ellison Lane Quilts.  My assigned color was red.  Hopefully my swap partners will be happy with the fabric.

Other fabric shopping was for the Skill Builder quilt-a-long.  So excited to be starting this!

In Progress: 

Gift Project #3
Still working on Gift Project #3, another set of place-mats.  These are going to the newly weds from the wedding we attended last week.  Good thing they're understanding!


I'm also working on the first block for the Skill Builder quilt-a-long...trying to narrow down which fabrics I'm going to use!


Coming Soon:

Block 2 of the Skill Builder QAL. 

On Hold:

My mom's jewelry keeper (Christmas gift)

stacked coin throw quilt

WiP Recap:
Last week's total: 6

Finished this (2) week(s): 3

New this week: 2

This week's total: 5

Until later!

Busy week

Sorry about this, but I'm in the middle of a really busy week and there's no WiP post from me this week.  I'll definitely post next week and try to get another post in on Monday or Tuesday.

Until later!

WiP Wednesday #2

Still a teaser post this week.  Next week I'll show you the finished products.  Unfortunately it's been slow going because I spent a few days vegging on the couch, hoping I would feel better soon (I feel a lot better now!)  Fortunately my hubby, AKA Iron Man (guess what he does for me ;-)), has been a great help, not only with ironing, but with kid wrangling and hand sewing binding.  Even with his help it's going to be close getting everything done before the special occasions we're making the gifts for.

Finished:

Practice Project: So glad I took the time to do this.  It really helped me, and hubby, get a handle on what we are doing! I pulled the dot from my stash, it was leftovers from an outfit I made for the kiddo a while ago.

In Progress:

We're about 2/3 of the way done for Gift Project #2 and about 1/3 done with Gift Project #3

Coming Soon:

There's a little bit of mending/altering of clothing that I need to get done this week.

I also need to get ready for this -

On Hold

My mom's jewelry keeper (Christmas gift)

stacked coin throw quilt

WiP Recap:

Finished this week: 1

Last week's total: 5

New this week: 2

This week's total: 6

Until later!

WiP Wednesday

I'm very excited, this is my first Work in Progress Wednesday!  Unfortunately it's going to be a bit of a teaser post, as I'm making gifts and don't want the recipients to know what they are yet!

Finished:
Gift Project #1
I used the ribbon and fabric for the first set of gifts.  They were so cute that I made extra!

In Progress:
Practice project: I like to have some idea if something is going to work before I cut fabric for gifts.  So to get my method worked out I'm going to use some fat quarters from my stash and get any kinks worked out!  The good news is that I get to keep the practice pieces. :-)

Coming Soon:
Gift Project #2 is going to use this fabric combo:

Gift Project #3 is going to use this fabric combo:

On Hold
My mom's jewelry keeper (Christmas gift)
stacked coin throw quilt

WiP Recap:
Finished this week: 1
Last week's total: 2
New this week: 3
This week's total: 5

Until later!

Giveaways and Sales on the Web

Interested in winning some free fabric, sewing patterns, or a pouch?  The following sites are having giveaways right now!

   Fresh Squeezed Fabrics is 3 years old and Randi is celebrating by holding a daily giveaway on her blog, I Have to Say, starting on May 24 through May 27.  The drawings are on Sunday.
Prizes:
- Day 1 - a fat quarter bundle of Tula Pink's Prince Charming in the Olive colorway (8 fat quarters)
- Day 2 - a tote pattern by Heather Bailey along with fabric to make it.
- Day 3 - a fat quarter bundle (7 FQ's) of Mini Mike's by Michael Miller
- Day 4 - an Easy Bake quilt pattern by Cluck Cluck Sew
- Day 5 - a $35 gift certificate to Fresh Squeezed.

   Kaelin at the plaid scottie is having a reader appreciation giveaway with three prizes: A yard each of two DS Quilts fabrics, four Sherbert Pips fat quarters and the pencil she had published in 101 patchwork projects. Giveaway ends at midnight on Monday the 30th.

   Fabricworm is also giving away a fat quarter bundle of Tula Pink's Prince Charming.  Closes on May 30th at 8:30 PST.


Rather just buy fabric at a great price? 

   Z & S Fabrics has a huge amount of fabric on sale for $2.99/yard, after a 50% discount!

   The Fabric Quarter is going out of business and has fabrics for $4.50/yard and quilt patterns for $4.95!

Happy hunting!

Building Skills

So, I've decided that it's time to have a commitment to myself.  Something that I want to do, not that I have to do.  But at the same time I need a little accountability too.  I've thought about joining in on a quilt-a-long or a sew-a-long for a bag or dress, but it never seemed like the right time (not that now is the right time!) But yesterday I stumbled across Sewn by Leila and she's having a Skill Builder quilt-a-long where for twelve months the participants work on a different quilting/sewing technique/skill each month.  After thinking about I decided that I was going to give it a try.  I'm also going to try to keep a chronicle of my sewing exploits here, because hopefully, since the machine's out, I'll be getting more done than the quilt blocks!
Anyone want to join me on this adventure? Of course living vicariously and sending me lots of encouragement is fine too.  :)