Monday, July 9, 2012

New Look, New Studio.


Houston, we have lift-off! Check it out! The blog look is new.  Thanks to Lisa Baldwin of Untitled for redoing my blog headers and background.  Didn’t she do a nice job? I thought the old look was getting a bit tired and I was never really thrilled with it anyway.  So usher in the new look with a new feel.  Thank-you Lisa! I love the new do!  If you want to contact Lisa, just click on the logo above or go here!

Along those lines, I have recently ushered in a new look in our home.  I have never had my own sewing room, I have always just been camped out here and there.  But now, thanks to hubby for letting me convert our in-home office into a sewing room, I now have my own studio. I am so thrilled about this  - having my own space has been a dream-come-true and it much improves the look of the room, because it looks like I’m supposed to be sewing in there.  Since I am no longer camped out throughout the house, it makes every room look better.  Yes I have retreated from the rest of the house.  All my mess will now be contained in this room.  Well, theoretically, but we all know how that goes!  Knowing how much I like to look at other peoples sewing spaces, I figured you might be interested as well.  So here it is.  
One side
New Studio


Other side 
Untitled
This room has held our library of books for years, so it already had the shelving in place – Lucky for me, they hold fabric just as well. Untitled  
I had to jettison some of the existing furniture, but it’s been happily relocated elsewhere.  The cutting table is an antique that’s been in my hubby’s family forever and my sewing machines still sit atop an old armoire that hubby converted into a sewing area years ago.

Check out the cool ruler racks hubby made. They just blend into the shelving.  He is the best!    












Since I rearranged all the furniture this chair has suddenly seen a new life – my kids like to camp here while I’m sewing.
Untitled
 Go figure! They never really visited me before.   I guess they like the new room to!  Plus the missing chair went into the living room which Hubby has now claimed as his own – everyone is happier! It’s a win win!  Of course, now I’m thinking the room might need a new coat of paint and some new pillows, maybe a bunting .... but that will have to wait for another day.

One thing's for sure, there’s nothing like moving and reorganizing all your stash to make you realize how much more fabric (trims, thread....) you don't need!   

Stay organized! Happy Sewing!

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

4th July Flag Map Mug Rug Pattern


Now there's a tongue twister for you:  Flag Map Mug Rug.  Whoo! :)  I just finished up this fun 4th of July Mug Rug as part of the Scrappy Mug Rug swap with a Red/White and Blue theme.  This one is going to Cherry in Louisiana.   It's a foundation pieced 5x7" block that can be turned into a mug rug or used for something else.

Want to make one of your own?  You can download it here and the piecing guide can be found here.

There are a couple of glitches still with the software I use to make these patterns,  so you'll have to glue/tape pieces G1 to H1 together before you sew,  same goes to C/D, P/O and also sections A1/A2 can be attached to B1/B2 before sewing.  For some reason I can't get the program to leave those attached.  I'm sure it's user error, but you can still use the pattern as is.  

The piecing guide is shown here:


Sewing sections:
Sew AB, to  CD
Sew E
Sew F to,G/H to I to J-to K
Sew FGHIJK --to ABCD

Sew M to  N to L  
MNL to AB...K  Set aside

Sew OP to Q to R to S.  Set aside
Sew Xto W to V to U to T
Attach TUVWX to PQRS then attach Y
Attach the top and bottom halves of the map and you are done!

Now go whip one up and when you're done you can put your tall frosty glass of lemonade (or other beverage) on it!  I hope you have a Happy 4th with friends or family and lots of good BBQ!  Happy Sewing!


Saturday, June 23, 2012

Kitchen Fun

How about this little guy keeping the pots cozy?

This fun little gnome pattern is from  BubbleStitch on Etsy.  I thought he would make a nice potholder and he's a fun addition to the kitchen.

Happy Sewing!