Sew out loud

I know I have mentioned that I joined this Sew out Loud quilt along but who knew that the blocks were going to be so fabulous? I figured when I heard the talented bloggers involved that it would be good. Add to that the fact that it was going to a sewing themed set of blocks, use text fabrics and paper piecing? - what's not to love? I needed some practice on the paper-pieced blocks anyway, so this was perfect for me. Check out block one: Is this not the coolest? It was so fun to do also. This one is designed by Julianna of the Sewing under rainbow blog. I can't wait for block 2.... I predict this will be the most talked about QAL of the year. Happy Sewing!

Ready for the sun!

Darn that groundhog for predicting more winter! Why is that always the way? I'm ready for some sun. Since I live in Oregon where I'm likely to see a few more months of rain before the sun really pokes out reliably, I've made myself a little piece of sunshine to keep in the house. We repainted the master bedroom before Christmas and I have been redecorating a bit in the there ever since. This lap quilt will be the perfect addition. Plus it makes me feel all sunshine-y and happy. All done and ready for the crinkle-induction wash and dry. This is Christina’s (the Sometimes Crafter) retro flowers quilt pattern for the most part except that I cheated a bit and used my accuquilt go baby drunkards path dye to cut out the pieces. So my blocks are really a tad smaller than called for in the pattern, but overall it doesn’t make much difference. Backyard baby fabric for the backing. I love that birch tree print and the colors are perfect. Now I just need to find me a good book….. Happy Sewing!

Presenting some bright cheery stars for the kitchen ~

I made these for the potholder pass. My partner likes bright and cheery so I think they will like these. I am very reluctant to give them up, I love them so much myself. Certainly they are much nicer than any potholder that currently resides in our kitchen. Even my husband made a comment to that effect. Hmm, I think he may have been hinting around ~ I guess I will have to do something about that.

I used the Sparkle Punch design from Elizabeth Hartman and just reduced the size of the squares. The squares were all cut to 1.5" so in the final pieced design, the squares are 1". I wanted it small so I could pack more stars into my 8" potholder.

In the other potholder I used the Ribbon Star block that Faith (Fresh lemons quilts) posted on her blog as part of her Solstice Stars Series quilt-along. I wanted the star to be patchy, so I broke up the half-square triangles, into small 1" squares and then pieced them accordingly. I love the effect.

I used a mix of different prints in bright hues paired with linen. I used Elizabeth Hartman's potholder tutorial for the overall design of the potholders including the pouch at the back. Now they are off to the post office for their little journey.

Also, I am joining the Sew Out Loud Quilt-along. This quilt along is being organized by Kirie (Shapemoth) and Julianna (Sewing under rainbow) and involves a score of quilt bloggers who will each be designing a sewing themed inspired block using text fabric. I'm so excited to see what these talented ladies come up with. I really love seeing the creative ways that quilters incorporate text into their blocks, so I'm looking forward to joining in on this QAL. I have been quietly building my text based fabric stash for quite a while now and this will be the perfect opportunity to use some of it up. Won't you join us? Just click on the box



There are even some fabulous prizes to be had.

~Happy Sewing!