one shabby chick

This little chick is going to Market!

OK so first of all - a winner!

And the winner is.....#27 - Veronica! Congrats!!

And yep, I'm heading to Quilt Market. It was a very last minute decision - I'm staying with Heather and had some extra miles and I'm SO excited about going!

I have always wanted to go to a Quilt Market so I'm so excited one of my dreams is coming true (and all you quilters/fabric lovers can relate to me - even if everyone else thinks I'm crazy about being excited to go to a quilt convention.) Ha ha!

And to celebrate (and maybe earn a little spending money) I'm having a sale in the shop. It was only 15% but I decided to up it to 20% instead.

So use coupon code Market20 in the shop - if you purchase anything before Wed., I'll mail it out before I leave, but otherwise it will ship out next Tuesday!

I just added a few new items too:

OK hope everyone is off to a great week!!

Shop Update

So the craft fair was a bit of a bomb this time around.

But that just means the shop is nice and full now!

So many fun goodies - and I can't wait to make some more!

A set of winners

OK so here are the winners for the re-giveaway prizes.

First winner is #65 - Allysha - guess it was your lucky day!! You get the book and fabric set!

#112 - KHohns - you win the set of Lunden Designs quilt patterns!

And #177 and #161 - Erica (B) C. and Elaine T - you both win the cute luggage tag pattern + fat quarters!

I've sent you all emails!

The microMod giveaway is still going on and you can also enter to win a sewing machine (contiguous US only - that means I'm out too) at Alexia's blog!

I've been sewing up a storm this week as I have a craft fair this weekend.

And I've made some fun items that I can't wait to stock in my Etsy shop too.

 

These clutches are from  lbg studio's amazing pattern and I just changed the dimensions a bit - I love them.

And I made some fun tote bags with a faux leather trim too.

OK I'm off to sew, sew, sew!

His and Hers microMod Sew Along

Hi there - welcome to the second to last stop on the microMod Sew Along!

I have loved seeing everyone's ideas for this gorgeous fabric line.

And getting to know a little bit more about Alexia and Rob.

I loved how Kelly asked them a question ala  The Newlywed Game so I did the same thing.

Question: 

What would you say is your spouse's favorite tv show and what actually is your favorite show?

Answers:

Alexia: I think Rob's favorite TV show would have to be Seinfeld! It's even where we got the name for our dog Soda. 

My favorite show is Mad Men, I have a couple of other longtime favorites (like the X-files) but Mad Men has definitely moved into favorite status!

Rob: Alexia's all time favorite has to be the X-files. 

My favorite show is Seinfeld.

Looks like they both got that one right!

I had been trying to decide what to make with microMod and then my dad asked me to make him some more knife pouches for a recent knife show. What could be more manly than that, right?!

So I made a bunch. The fabrics were so fun to mix and match (there are a couple Tula Pink prints in there as well).

These fabrics are such a fun pop of color and can make an ordinary item, like a knife pouch, really stand out.

I hope you have been sewing along on this fun blog hop and adding your pictures to the microMod Flickr group , the Cloud9 FB page or the Green Bee Patterns FB page.

Here's a list of all the stops so far (and the big grand prize stop tomorrow):

 

April 2 - Alexia & Rob Green Bee

April 3 - Kelly at Kelbysews

April 5 - Amanda at the Craft Junky

April 6 - Rachael at Imagine Gnats

April 8 - Heather at alamode

April 10 - Holly at Bijou lovely

April 13 - Alexia, Michelle & Rob Green Bee  

April 17 - Faith at Fresh Lemons

April 18 - Katie at Swim Bike Quilt

April 19 - Deborah at Whipstitch

April 20 - Jacey at Jaceycraft

April 24 - Jenny at the Southern Institute

April 25 - Amy from sukie don't ya know

April 26 - Jen from Betty Crocker Ass

April 27 - Sara from Sew Sweetness

April 28 - Krista at Krista Withers Quilting

April 29 - Katy from I'm a Ginger Monkey

April 30 - Me :-)

May 1 - Alexia & Rob Green Bee GRAND PRIZE

 

I also have a bundle of microMod and a fun Green Bee Pattern to giveaway:

Leave a comment telling me your favorite tv show at the moment and I'll pick a winner next Tuesday, May 7th.

Winner will be picked shortly!

Choices

Lately it seems like life has been about choices.

Do I choose to sew or go to the beach with my family (I know, hard choice)?

Do I spend time reading my Bible or do I blog and browse the internet?

So as you can see, I have been choosing my family and Bible over sewing and blogging.

Not that I'm done with blogging....and I also thought -  as soon as I write this, I'll probably have a ton of things to blog about - lol!

Boy how I wish there were more hours in the day! But there aren't and it's all about balance. And right now my family is taking up the majority of time and I'm totally fine with that.

As soon as I finish this post though, I plan on spending some quality time with my sewing machine. I have a design idea that's been brewing in my head for a while and I'm itching to get it on fabric.

All the family time hasn't stopped me from accumulating fabric.

How beautiful are these bundles from Westwood Acres?

Love those feathers!

And aren't these fun? - Riley Blake blenders.

I also got some pretty bundles from Fresh Squeezed Fabrics.

That yellow Essex linen is so pretty!

And I have bought a few things on Instagram.

Who can pass up a great bundle of Chocolate Lollipop? Not me!

And some oop AH charms and fat quarters from Katie!

I'm slowly working on my stars - most of the fabrics are from Indian Summer by Sarah Watson.

Fabricworm, Westwood Acres and Sew Fresh Fabrics all have it in stock - go get some! It's really cute!

Full Moon Lagoon

I had been seeing sneak peeks of Mo Beddell's new line, Full Moon Lagoon, for a while now so I was thrilled when she emailed me and asked if I'd like to create something with it.

I LOVE Mo's cheater prints - she has a great one in each of her lines and this one is SO cute.

I needed a baby quilt for a shower on Sunday so I whipped up this cute little quilt - perfect for Hawaii!

I love all the different size panels and cute sea creatures.

The colors in this line are just beautiful! You can see more fabrics in Faith's post here.

I also made a couple of cute notepad covers (I mixed in some Out To Sea with Full Moon Lagoon) using JCasa's great pattern but the pics are on my iphone which is sadly in rice right now.

I dropped it in my coffee cup this morning so I'm hoping for a full recovery but we'll see...

Full Moon Lagoon is hitting stores now - You can find it at Fabricworm and Westwood Acres

Yesterday I finally set-up my Singer 201 and thanks to some helpful tips on Instagram (I had the needle in wrong), finally got it working.

So a new sewing machine calls for a new project right?!

I am going to make a star quilt using this tutorial.

I LOVE Jolene's star quilt (I love everything she makes!) and have been wanting to make one for a while so I cut out all my squares last night (I'm using 3.5" squares).

Most of the squares are from this adorable line - I'm seriously in love with this line - SOOOO cute!

Sew days

We had a great Sew Day for the Oahu Modern Quilt Guild on Saturday.

If any of you are local and are interested, please send me an email or check out the FB page here.

I didn't take any pictures of us actually sewing but I did snap one of Melanie, Mai, Sarah and I at the very end of the day.

 

I've finished a few bee blocks.

These two Paris themed blocks are for Charise for the Ringo Pie Bee.

And this guitar is for Melinda (also for Ringo Pie).

I'm slowly crossing off that big bee block to-do list!

I sewed this simple patchwork top up (as soon as these fabrics came I had to cut them out and play with them).

Now it needs a backing and then I'll throw it in the to-quilt pile.

I'm working on some more knife cases for my dad for his knife show this weekend. Can't wait to show them to you!

I whipped up some key fobs today too.

These are so fun to make and great for using up scraps.

I ordered a fun new toy which came today - a new lens!

I'm pretty excited to learn how to use my camera more too!

I also made a laptop case for a custom order - it has an adjustable/removable strap too.

Think that's about it for things on this side of the world right now...hoping to get a bit more sewing in this week but my cousin is visiting from TN so I may be forced to take her to the beach instead - life is so hard :-)

Friday

These last three weeks have been SO busy!  But I have gotten in a little sewing time - yay!

I just updated the shop with a few camera straps:

and passport wallets:

I have a bunch of bee blocks to work on too so I need to get those done before I work on "fun" stuff!

Tomorrow is a Sew Day for the Oahu Modern Quilt Guild! Can't wait! And Sarah just moved here so she'll be joining us too!

I already met her this week as she and her husband came to Hubby's soccer game in town and then we all went out for Thai food. So excited she's here!

I'll be spending today at a home school conference (and spending money on books instead of fabric - bummer!).

I did see this great sale in my email - Michelle Patterns has all her sewing patterns for only $5 this weekend!

I love her patterns and this is such a good deal!! Go get a few!

Hope you all have a great weekend!!

Family first

I know my posts have been a lot more sparse here this year.

I'm trying to put family first and concentrate on them more than anything else.

Which has resulted in lots of bread baking :-)

And here are the links to those amazing breads I keep making:

Bretzel bread

Bagels

Dinner Rolls

I do love blogging and being here so I am really going to try and make it more than once a week or every couple weeks!

Plus I have been sewing so I have lots to share.

But first, let's have a winner on that last giveaway, shall we?

#59 - Samantha!! Congrats! I'll be sending you an email shortly!

OK, now on to sewing.

I just finished this quilt up today and the binding tonight so tomorrow I can sew it on and finish it up!

I love this quilt.

I used all my white and blue Heather Ross fabrics and a Kona grey (can't remember which one off the top of my head - a dark grey).

I wish I had made it bigger since I have no idea what to do with it (and there is no way I am giving this away unless my sister has a baby).

Binding fabric:

And I finished this top:

As soon as I got this FQ bundle of Carnaby Street and saw it next to the Michael Miller Mirror Dots, I knew I wanted to combine them in a quilt.

And this is the result.

I also sewed a little zip pouch for a friend:

and practiced my paper piecing on a Sew Ichigo strawberry.

 

And I got a wonderful surprise this week!

I was listed in Honolulu Magazine's Best of Honolulu Issue!

Been a pretty amazing week!!

Birthday Gifts

There are quite a few birthdays right now.

3 more coming up soon and I already have an idea on what to make. Plus Hubby's birthday (and my brother's) is at the end of the month but I don't think either of them will want a tote bag.

These were for a friend that makes amazing cakes and cupcakes. I had made her some potholders a while back and noticed she needed a new set.

So I used Sew Ichigo's cupcake button pattern and enlarged it to make the cupcake.

The latte block was made using their latte pattern.

I used a layer of insul-brite and 2 layers of batting so they are nice and thick.

The girls also went to a birthday party for a little friend of theirs and so I made her this mermaid bag:

and a little skirt.

They all wore their mermaid tails in the pool too (her grandmother is the one that made the mermaid tails for my daughters - she sells them on Etsy).

We have another birthday party this Friday so looks like another skirt and tote bag are on the schedule.

I'm slowly working on the camera zip pouches. Hoping to have them done tomorrow!

I've also been using our bread maker! Made a loaf yesterday:

and these rolls (both are from the same recipe):

So good and easy! Can't wait to try some other recipes and expand into bagels and cinnamon rolls :-)