one shabby chick

Good Neighbors Pincushion Party

Amanda (aka Crazy Mom Quilts) was one of the first blogs I ever followed way back when. She makes the most amazing quilts and her love of scraps is well-known. I love her use of color and just her fun style.

So I knew her fabric line would be just that - colorful and fun! And it is!

I decided to do some scrappy pin cushions to help celebrate the launch of her new line, Good Neighbors by Connecting Threads.

These are 1.5" squares that I pieced together, quilted, backed with some faux burlap from Connecting Threads and then stuffed with some wool scraps and batting. Scrappy fun!

I don't think you can ever have too many pin cushions!

So if you would like to win one of these pin cushions and a charm square set of Amanda's new line, just leave a comment below (sorry my international friends, but this giveaway is limited to US and Canadian addresses only).

And there are so many cute pin cushions in our party! I LOVE Vanessa's (she has an awesome tutorial for it too). Go check them out:

9/1/2015 Amanda Jean – Crazy Mom Quilts
9/2/2015 Anna – Noodlehead
9/3/2015 Mary – Mary on Lake Pulaski
9/4/2015 Svetlana – Sotak Handmade
9/5/2015 Debbie – Esch House Quilts
9/6/2015 Holly – Bijou Lovely
9/7/2015 Carla – Grace and Favour
9/8/2015 Faith – Fresh Lemons Quilts
9/9/2015 Vanessa –  V and Co.
9/10/2015 Anna –  Thimbleanna
9/11/2015 Krista –  Poppy Print Creates
9/12/2015 Erin –  Why Not Sew
9/13/2015 Lee –  May Chappell
9/14/2015 Alex –  Tea Ginny Designs
9/15/2015 Cheryl –  Nap Time Quilter
9/16/2015 Penny –  Sew Take a Hike
9/17/2015 Amy –  During Quilt Time
9/18/2015 Debbie –  A Quilter’s Table
9/19/2015 Anne –  Spring Leaf Studios
9/20/2015 Melissa Corry –  Happy Quilting
9/21/2015 Amber –  One Shabby Chick
9/22/2015 Nettie –  A Quilt is Nice
9/23/2015 Adrianne – Little Bluebell
9/24/2015 Cindy –  Live a Colorful Life
9/25/2015 Amy –  Diary of a Quilter
9/26/2015 Chase –  Quarter Inch Mark
9/27/2015 Rene –  Rene Creates
9/28/2015 Erin –  House on Hill Road
9/29/2015 Nicole –  Modern Handcraft
9/30/2015 Teri –  Connecting Threads

Thanks for letting me play along Amanda! I know this is the first of many awesome fabric lines :-)

Thanks

Wow - I guess you guys are still here! Thanks for that! I loved reading all your comments!

And the winner of the pouch is....

Janine who said....

Glad to see you back! I don't blame you about instagram taking over blogging desires. It's SO easy to find instant visual representation and I love that I can peek into the worlds of my friends who aren't close by. And your projects look fabulous as always! Wish I could sew but after many failed attempts I'll stick with my knitting and just enjoy your bags to put it in ^_^

{Janine, will you send me an email with your address?}

Yesterday was my birthday and for the past two birthdays I've done a little challenge on Instagram. A lip sync challenge. I'm doing it again this year so if any of you feel inclined to join you can find the details here on my Instagram account.

It's pretty fun to get over your self-consciousness and do something a little wacky and fun. Go try it! I'm even bribing you all with a tote :-)

I've been sewing up lots of knife pouches...

and I still have a few more to make!

And then it's on to dresses and skirts for a local children's boutique.

Hope you all have a great weekend. I'm starting mine off with a birthday dinner with my family (and this cutie).

Finding my voice again

So yeah, it's been awhile. AGAIN.

Instagram has taken over any blogging desires I've had. But I'm realizing that as much as we can connect with people on Instagram, our voices don't really come through like they can on a blog.

So I'm back here....I love looking through my blog and seeing all the years gone by. And I want that to keep going. So I'm going to try and post at least once a week - that's a goal for now :-)

We had a pretty packed summer. Our family went on a mission trip to Mexico.

Actually Kevin and I were the leaders of the team (along with two young guys). I gotta say - it was one of the hardest things I've done...be a leader with my family there too. Cause I had to be mom to my kids but also mom/leader to 13 other kids too.

But it was an amazing time and I'm so glad we all got to go. I know we want to go back soon.

It was so fun being able to speak Spanish too.

We had some pretty rough living conditions but the kids (all of them) never complained and just went along with whatever we had planned. We had a great team.

I loved being able to spend time with this guy too - he was the hardest worker. I honestly didn't realize how neat it would be to go as a family.

Only problem was this little person developed a huge fear of flying which made airports the WORST!

She was ok after she got on the plane - just the anticipation was horrible. And a nightmare for her parents who were supposed to be in charge of the rest of the team too.

We did lots of work on the place we were staying and a few local projects too.

I mostly cooked. and cooked. and cooked. Lol! But I had so much help from the local missionaries and another family that came down there to help us (they were the biggest help ever).

We are back now (well, we have been for a while) and I'm back to sewing all the orders that piled up while I was gone.

And some fun stuff too!

Some baby items for Mai.

And some pouches are in the works for my shop.

And if you've read this far...and are still following me here - you deserve a prize!!

So leave a comment and I'll pick one of you to get a zip pouch filled with treats! Just say hi!

 

Winners and the latest around here....

OK so we have two winners from the Paper Pieced Home Giveaway:

Winner of the book:

Patti McGarry from Pennsylvania

and winner of the pouch:

Bodil from Norway

I'm emailing you both - congrats!

I've been busy sewing and doing life here.

We had two kids go to prom a week ago (ahhhhh!!):

They all went as a big group and had a blast.

We were leaders at our annual spring break youth camp - we always have a blast and come home exhausted (it's two weekends in a row - senior high and then junior high).

(that's our elusive 3rd child - he's not a big fan of pictures)

And I've been sewing. A lot.

Our family is going on a mission trip with our church this summer to Mexico. Actually Kevin and I are two of the leaders on the team.

I'm planning on hosting a little fundraiser on Instagram to sell my handmade goods and all money will go to the trip. I'll post here when I get it up and going.

Anyway - back to the sewing.

I'm obsessed with this feather pattern by Christina - it's so cute! I'm going to have to put it to the side right now though - lots of dresses are in my future for this local shop.

And I whipped up a cute little basket from Kelly's tutorial - they really are fast and fun to make. I added in a few details - like leather handles and side seams.

I have two quilts over at Sarah's (aka Crinklelove) right now - can't wait to get them back - one is a very old WIP! She has a great special going on through the month of April! So I'll have some binding in my future too!

OK I'm off to SEW.....

The Paper Pieced Home (and a giveaway)

I absolutely love paper piecing (but it wasn't always that way).

I remember when I first started out, I was so nervous about it - probably because I was in an amazing bee with a bunch of paper piecing geniuses!

And I'm still pretty bad at translating my ideas to actual patterns but that's ok - because I have friends who are amazing at it and have patterns and books to help us all!

The Paper-Pieced Home: Quilting a Household One Block at a Time

By Penny Layman

Interweave/F+W

Penny is one of those friends and I can't wait to meet her in real life one day too. She has a pattern company with Kerry called Sew Ichigo and she just wrote the most fabulous book - The Paper Pieced Home : Quilting a Household One Block at a Time by Interweave.

I was thrilled when F + W asked me to review her book - it was an instant YES!

She has the BEST tips and techniques at the beginning of the book to help you even if you are new to this technique.

And my favorite part about the book? This great cd that you can put in your hard drive and print out pages as you need them!

This book is packed full of patterns and project ideas - there are so many, it's amazing!

I chose to do the Stack of Books block - it reminded me of the first block I ever made for the Ringo Pie bee (which Penny and I were in together).

I used the block as the front panel for a tote bag - isn't it so cute?!

This would be adorable as a library bag. The leather and sparkle canvas handles were a fun touch.

I also used the little mason jar block in the book and made two little zip pouches.

I used a stamp I have and made them little "aloha" jars. There are so many ways to use the projects and blocks in this book!

And the best part of this post - I have a copy for one of you to win too!! The book giveaway is for US addresses only (sorry international peeps). Leave a comment and tell me where in the US you live and you will be entered to win!

But I do have a giveaway for you international peeps!  I'll send one of you an aloha zip pouch! Just leave a comment telling where you live and you will be entered to win as well!

I'm one of the last stops on this book tour but here's a list of the entire tour if you want to check out everyone's amazing projects:

The Paper-Pieced Home

Blog Tour Schedule 

3/16       McCall’s Quilting / Sewing Machine Block

3/17       Love of Quilting / Review

3/17       Sandi Sawa Hazlewood  of Crafty Planner / Watering Can Block

3/18       Quilty Pleasure (Quiltmaker blog) / Review

3/18       Imagine Gnats / Rotary Phone Block

3/20       Verykerryberry / Lion Block

3/21       Artisania / Cast-Iron Skillet Block

3/23       Where the Orchids Grow / Lamp Block

3/24       Katie Blakesley of Swim Bike Quilt / Layer Cake Block

3/24       House on Hill Road / Oven Mitt Block

3/24       Lee Heinrich of Freshly Pieced / BBQ Grill Block

3/26       Pink Penguin / Allie-Gator Block

3/26       A Happy Stitch / Giraffe Block

3/27       Bijou Lovely / Jar Block

3/27       Two Little Banshees / Saucepan Block

3/27       Charise Creates / Espresso Mug Block

3/30       Karen Lewis Textiles / Couch Block

3/31       Poppyprint / Clawfoot Tub Block

3/31       One Shabby Chick / Stack of Books Block

3/31       During Quiet Time / Sleeveless Dress Block

4/06       Pat Sloan The Voice of Quilting / Author Podcast Interview

Good luck everyone!

 

Comments are now closed!

A few winners and other news

Ok first of all I need to announce the winners of the Patchwork 318 books!

And the winners are:

Jess said...

Adorable blocks! I'm a fan of paper piecing as it's much more accurate for me. Thanks for the giveaway!

and

Pauline said...

I have been wanting to try paper piecing for a very long time but somehow I have not found the courage. I guess I am afraid to fail - although I have always managed to do whatever I set my mind to - so far. I know I should try a simple thing first and that is my 2015 resolution - I will start paper piecing in 2015.

Congrats! I'm sending you both an email!

I had my only craft fair of the season this past Saturday - it went well but I do have goodies left.

I added them to the shop yesterday in case anyone wants to hop over and take a peek.

I'm also working on a Sewtopia blog post for tomorrow with a fun giveaway for you all. Stay tuned for that!

Hope everyone is enjoying this time of year.

 

The news is pretty crazy these days and I'm trying to remember to be extra thankful for all the Lord has blessed us with and to keep sharing that hope and love with others.

318 Patchwork Patterns

I am so excited to be on the blog hop for 318 Patchwork Patterns.

I remember the first time I heard about this book. It was the first year of our Ringo Pie Bee and everyone was talking about it. I tried to get my hands on the book but never could.

I am so glad World Book Media decided to reprint it (and in English!).

This book is packed full of amazing paper pieced patterns - they can be hand sewn and are also adaptable for paper piecing/freezer paper piecing.

I chose the Christmas blocks and at first was thinking I'd just choose a couple blocks to add to my Ringo Pie Christmas blocks.

But then I saw the reindeer and Santa blocks and decided I would make a few reindeer and have Santa in the back guiding them all.

I turned it into a cute Christmas table runner.

I chose a Constellation print I found on Ebay as the background to represent the night sky and I freezer paper pieced the blocks.

I enlarged all the pieces by 300% and printed them on freezer paper.

Kerry has a terrific tutorial on her blog about paper piecing.

I have to admit - my blocks are not perfect. I do not claim to be a perfect piecer. But I think they look good and I had fun bringing it all together. And that's the most important thing.

I quilted it using very "organic" lines and bound it with a cute star fabric and some of the red Suzuko Koseki fabric I used in Santa's suit.

Want to know the best part?

I have 2 copies to giveaway!! Why 2?

Well, I had pre-ordered the book before I found out about the blog hop so Zakka Workshop has a copy to give away and so do I!

Leave a comment letting me know your experience (or lack thereof) with paper piecing and you'll be entered to win!!

Thanks to Zakka Workshop for sponsoring this blog hop!!

Check out the full blog hop and more chances to win:

·      October 20- Kerry from http://verykerryberry.blogspot.com/

·      October 22- Penny Layman from http://sewtakeahike.typepad.com

·      October 24- Angela Pingel from http://cuttopieces.blogspot.com

·      October 27- Amy Sinibaldi from http://nanacompany.typepad.com

·      October 29- Amber Carrillo from http://oneshabbychick.typepad.com

·      October 31- Latifah Saafir from www.thequiltengineer.com

·      November 3- Charise Randell from http://charisecreates.blogspot.com

·      November 5- Leila from http://wheretheorchidsgrow.blogspot.com

·      November 7- Amy Friend from http://duringquiettime.com

·      November 10- Faith Jones from www.freshlemonquilts.com

·      November 12- Caroline from www.sewcanshe.com

·      November 14- Rashida Coleman-Hale from http://iheartlinen.typepad.com

 

Comments are now closed! I'll announce the winners tomorrow! Thanks!!

A winner

I'm always a little behind in picking winners for giveaways. The winner for Melissa's book is:

Ashton McClelland said...

This would be perfect for my home. I consider myself a modern seamstress and I am currently looking for home projects I can refresh my home with! Thank you for the chance at winning this awesome giveaway!

Congratulations! We should have the book emailed to you shortly!

School is in full swing now so I'm grabbing time to sew when I can in the afternoons.

Finished up a baby boy quilt for Tini Manini (a local children's boutique):

And started a new quilt using Katie's star technique:

I have WAY too many in-progress quilts right now - it's kinda ridiculous!

Ok I'm off to make a dent in my to-do list!

Sew a Modern Home Blog Tour

I have known Melissa for a long time - she was one of the first bloggers I ever met online.

 

We were in a bee together called Common Threads. We have even had the opportunity to meet up a few times here in Hawaii and at Quilt Market.

She is an amazing pattern designer - Lunden Designs is her pattern company and she is constantly coming up with fun, modern patterns.

I was not surprised at all when she told me she was writing a book - she's full of amazing ideas.

And of course her book, Sew A Modern Home,  is no exception!

 

Photo Credit: Martingale/Brent Kane

I love the Pinky Patch Quilt - it would be a great way to use up scraps (or use fussy cut squares for a fun eye-spy quilt).

Photo Credit: Martingale/Brent Kane

You could use blues, pinks or even yellows for a fun baby quilt. 

I love the way her designs are very modern and can be changed very easily with your fabric choices.

The Birds of a Feather Place Mats would make a super cute pillow design too - I think I want to make a few for my living room using Cotton and Steel prints paired with a darker solid or text print. 

 

Photo Credit: Martingale/Brent Kane

I really love how many masculine quilt designs she has  - the Sharp Turn Quilt is a great design.

 

Photo Credit: Martingale/Brent Kane

You could use solids like in the book or you could switch it up with some fun prints and still have a very modern design - I love it!

This book is full of ideas for your living room, dining room, nursery, bedroom, guest rooms, kids rooms and even a picnic quilt!

There are also super cute plushie patterns - an octopus that is calling my name - it's adorable!

I'm so happy for you, Melissa - it's a beautiful book - congratulations!

The best part is one of you gets to win a Sew a Modern Home E-book from Martingale! Just leave a comment below and I will pick a winner on Monday, August 25.

There are more stops on the blog tour and more chances to win! Good luck!

 8/13/2014    www.lundendesigns.com
8/14/2014    www.veryshannon.com
8/15/2014    http://westcoastcrafty.com/
8/16/2014    http://bostonsewer.blogspot.com/
8/17/2014    http://oneshabbychick.typepad.com/
8/18/2014    http://cactus-needle.blogspot.com/
8/19/2014    www.fabricworm.com
8/20/2014    http://generationqmagazine.com/
8/21/2014    http://blog.shopmartingale.com/
8/22/2014    prudentbaby.com
8/23/2014    http://www.stitcherydickorydock.com/
8/24/2014    http://www.favequilts.com/

Sewing Tales to Stitch and Love

I am so excited to be a part of the blog hop for Kerry's book, Sewing Tales to Stitch and Love.

This book is so sweet (just like the author) and it was so fun trying to decide which project to make first!

**I totally stole a couple pics off Kerry's website :-)

I have loved getting to know Kerry through this book hop - she is the sweetest!

And we got the BEST goodie box ever from all these amazing sponsors:

Fiskars, Dritz, Fairfield, Bosal and Free Spirit

Thanks so much to all the sponsors!

They sure came in handy too! I think I used every single item (except the fabric - which I saved to give away to one of you) while making my project.

OK so on to the project I chose.

I just HAD to choose Casco the Dolphin. I mean, I live in Hawaii...how could I not?!

Dolphin in Hawaiian is Nai'a - that sounds like such a pretty name for this mama and her baby.

And oh my goodness....they turned out so cute! I love them!!

We went down to the beach for a little photo shoot.....

Mama and baby on the rocks:

Sunning his tummy:

Nai'a looking out to the ocean, dreaming of swimming away:

and a few more:

The whole week is filled with fun stops and cute projects from the book. Check them out here:

MONDAY: Nov 4th
Mollie Johanson – Wild Olive
Jessica Fediw – Happy Together
Abby Glassenberg – While She Naps
Jennet Jones-Rau – Feathered Nest Studio

TUESDAY: Nov 5th
Sabra Gubler – Sew a Straight Line
Amber Carillo – One Shabby Chick
Caroline Hulse – Sew Caroline
Amy Friend – During Quiet Time

WEDNESDAY: Nov 6th
Miranda Anderson – One Little Minute
Andrea Taddicken – Knitty Bitties Sews
Kristi McDonough – Schnitzel & Boo
Terri Harlan – Sew Fantastic

THURSDAY: Nov 7th
Shari Butler – Doo Hikey Designs
Jodie Carleton – RicRac
Jen Goode – 100 Directions
Justine Henshaw – Sew Justine Sew

FRIDAY: Nov 8th
Emily Levey – Strawberry Patch Ramblings
Nicke Cutler – Kiss Kiss Quilt
Cathe Holden – Just Something I Made
Kate Henderson – Two Little Banshees

Kerry did such a great job with this book - my daughter has picked out a few projects she wants me to sew  for her. I love how much imagination went in to each project and how much kids will be able to use their imagination when they play with these lovely toys too.

Now...for your chance to win 4 FQ's of Heather Bailey's new Lottie Da fabric, go check out Kerry's book on Amazon or her blog and let me know your favorite project from the book.

I'll pick a winner on Friday! Good luck! Comments are now closed!