Swap Item Received

It's Saturday!

Yesterday, I told you about the latest swap the Sewing Companion Swap.  I shared the project I had made and sent on to it's recipient.  Today, I am going to show you the Sewing Companion that I received!  I absolutely love it!!!!  It is a tri-fold and is held together with a lovely button closure.  I just love the fabric Tina used, because I love the ocean and sailboats!  It is absolutely perfect!!!

Sewing Companion front

Sewing Companion inside

Sewing Companion inside with goodies!

This sewing companion is just the right size to carry scissors, pins, thread and any other goodies needed to take on the road with me!  Thank you so much Tina!

Latest Swap Project

Happy Friday!

I hope you are having a great day!  Today, I would like to show you my latest swap project.  A good friend of mine started a swap on Facebook called Sew SwapIt and this is our second swap.  This swap was for a Sewing Companion...something to carry thread, needles, scissors, etc. with you if you are traveling or going to a class or sew-in.  This is the Sewing Companion I made for my partner.  I really wanted to keep this one, but I did have to send it on its way!

Outside of Sewing Companion

  Inside of Sewing Companion...pins, sewing compartment for thread,

scissors and a pin cushion.

Inside of Sewing Companion...goodies all tucked in.

I had lots of fun making this project.  This was my second attempt, as my first was was bigger and I made a few mistakes while I was trying to put it together.  That's OK though, we all learn from mistakes.  Tomorrow, I will show you the Sewing Companion that I received...I just love it!

Hope you have a great Friday!

Blocks in Progress

Happy Thursday! 

Hope you all had a wonderful and safe July 4th!  It was quiet around here, at least til all the fireworks started last night.  I stayed in and avoided the heat.  I didn't do a whole lot, but I did get a little sewing in.  I will reveal that project tomorrow.  :)

For today, I just want to show you something I have had in the works for a while.  I have some other projects to get finished first, but I am definitely excited to get back to work on this one.  I love pinwheels and this is going to be a lot of fun to work on again.

For now, have a great day!

Patriotic Quilting

Happy 4th of July!

One of our local fabric shops, Olde Time Fabric Shop, had a Patriotic Quilt wall hanging contest.  This is my entry.  I used a Moda Bake Shop pattern called American Glory for this wall hanging.  I had to reduce the block size just a little to come out with the dimensions I needed, in order to enter it in the contest.  It measures approximately 27" x 44". 

I used Moda's Kate Spain Terrain Fern in Stream(Blue) for the stars and backing.  I used Reunion Vanilla & Cherry Johnny Jacks and Cherry Johnny Jacks by Sweetwater for Moda for the stripes, backing stripe and for binding  I also used Robert Kaufman Kona in Bone for the background.

I had a great time putting together this wall hanging.  I took me a while to figure out what I was going to do and even longer to find just the right fabric.  I absolutely love this fabric!!!

This wall hanging was displayed in the fabric shop during the whole month of June, along with seven other entries.  Patrons of the shop were able to vote on the entries during the whole month.  As it turns out, I just found out on Monday, July 2, 2012, that my entry won 2nd place in the contest!!  I couldn't believe it...WooHoo!  I am so honored, as all of the entries were absolutely wonderful!  Thank you to the ones who voted and to our shop for hosting this contest! 

Also, thank you to all who have served and continue to serve our country!

God Bless, America!

Happy July 4th!

Sneek Peek of Tomorrow's Post

Happy Tuesday!

Today is a sneak peek of tomorrow's post. 

Just a quick picture of a little patriotic project I did recently.

Join me tomorrow for the full reveal!

Have a great day!



Swaps

Hey there everyone!

Hope your Monday is starting off well.  I want to talk quickly on Swaps.  I have done a number of swaps over the past few years and I will discuss a lot of them in the coming weeks.

Recently, I decided to participate in a swap that was run by a good friend.  It was a Doll Quilt Swap.  I decided to use a charm square pack that I had and did some improv piecing.  I took three charms squares in the same colorways, stacked them and cut them twice.  I switched up the pieces, sewed them together and then cut them in different shapes.  I then used Orange Kona for the background and pieced them to make blocks.  Below is what I came up with:

I also made a mug rug to go along with it!  I did straight line quilting on both.  I also took the charm squares I had left, cut them in half and them sewed them together to make an interesting binding for both.  I really enjoyed working on the project.  It was so much fun to do some improv piecing.  I named it "Big Orange Backcountry" since I live here in the heart of East TN and because we have many great backcountry trails to explore, in which you will find many beautiful flowers.  The recipient really like her doll quilt and mug rug and I had a blast making it!

This is just one of the most recent swaps I have done.  I will be talking about many others as we go along and will give you some resources to find out more. 

Join me as we dive into the fun of swaps!

Have a great day!

The Beginning of a New Adventure

Quilt Beginnings

My grandmother used to make quilts way back when.  I remember my summers growing up and going to her house in West Virginia, and it seemed that she always was sewing or quilting.  I think she made a lot of quilts and they were beautiful.  I never really thought a lot about it or really appreciated the fact that she made them...until a few years ago.  I will always have great memories of those days of visiting her house. 

Years ago, I used to work for a very well known cable tv network company whose focus is on home and garden.  I think you know the network as HGTV.  In the early beginnings of the network, there was a show called "Simply Quilts" with Alex Anderson.  One of my first jobs in the company was to watch show episodes as they came in to the library, before they aired, for any technical problems.  As one of the only girls in this department, I often had to watch all the craft shows, because the guys did not want to.  That was perfectly fine with me, because I didnt have to watch as many of the remodeling shows!  I used to watch this show and just be in total awe of all the quilts that were shown.  I thought to myself, "I would never be able to make a quilt myself!"  I never thought, all those years ago, that it would have such a profound affect on me.

  Well, that was back in about 1998.  In November of 2009, I bought a sewing machine.  My only purpose at the time was to sew on my handmade cards. LOL  Little did I know that I would soon start sewing and quilting.  I have come a long way since then and this is where you will hear all about my quilting adventures from the past few years and into the future!

Please join me on this adventure of doing something I truly love!