Post-Summit Swap

I know, I know. I have a hard time resisting a swap. I've been good lately, but when Liz decided to organize a Post-Summit swap for Sewing Summit attendees, I jumped in. I knew there was a good chance I'd be paired up with someone I met there.

As luck would have it, I got Liz's name!

After looking through her favorites, I decided to make her a mini-quilt with some flying geese.

I used some lime and aqua scraps (some of which were picked up at the Sewing Summit), along with Kona Caribbean, and quilted around the geese.

I especially like the parallelograms in between the geese.

I backed the mini with a piece of Tula Pink's Prince Charming. Love it!

You can see the whole package I sent to Liz here in her photostream.

I haven't received my package yet, but the swap ends next week, so I should see a package soon!

I hope you are all having a fabulous Saturday. I'm actually enjoying a few days off of work at the moment, and have lots of crafty things to show you soon!

Autographs

Have you ever gotten someone's autograph?
Honestly, besides Gordon from Sesame Street (who I oh so excitedly met when I was three or four; hmmm. I wonder where that picture is!), and a few Disney World employees, I don't have any autographs.

But Saturday, I got a fun one!

Ysolda's class was very informative, and she is just as cute in person as she seems online.

I'm eager to use her tips to make another sweater, and hopefully, one that fits much better this time!

I'm especially enamored with Laika!

Speaking of knitting books, I'm destashing a few titles, in case anyone is interested. If you are, let me know!

So yeah, back to my question, do you have any autographs?

Bottled Rainbows and October blocks

After months of marination, I finally finished another Bottled Rainbows block. To refresh you, here's a picture of the ones I previously completed:

. And my newest block:

. I started a blue one right after completing this, but as usual, it will probably be awhile before it's completed.
That's just how I roll.

I also finished up my do.Good Stitches blocks for October, in the Comfort group.

These are made using Quiltville's String X block tutorial. It's a fun way to use up scraps, for sure.

As of next month, I'll be joining the Love circle of do.Good Stitches.

Return of Sunday Stash

Some lovely Kumiko Fujita prints have been added to the stash.

Check out this awesome chair that Badskirt Amy recovered with the calendar print!

FO: 1001 Peeps Mini

So, Deirdre, sister of Yarndude, and I have been blog friends for years. Like, I found a comment from her on this 2008 post, which in blog years, is forever
(side note: I love looking at older posts and seeing such improvement in my knitting and photography skills!).

So Deirdre and her husband moved a few months back, just across town. But she had some serious issues moving into her new place. Her great sense of humor made light of the situation.
My favorite tidbit she shared was the doorbell. Hilarious. So, as she was sharing her moving woes, I started thinking about some sort of housewarming gift.

Enter the 1001 Peeps mini.
Deirdre is learning to sew, and she's always so encouraging to me about my finished sewing projects (btw, she's an amazing knitter! AMAZING.). I knew she'd enjoy a little mini quilt to hang in her new place.

I started with some Lizzy House 1001 Peeps. By the way, I seriously love Lizzy House. She's awesome, and I may have nabbed one of her destash boxes last week.
I'm eagerly awaiting Outfoxed!

So, back to the mini. I pieced my little hexagons, and instead of piecing them together (mostly because I was still not feeling very confident on doing so), I decided to try something a little different.

I really liked how the hexagons looked with the quilter's linen, and decided to just randomly sew them onto squares.

I backed the quilt with a favorite Joel Dewberry print, the herringbone from Modern Meadow, and it's bound with a Tina Givens print (part of a giveaway from Erin last year!). I hand-stitched the back of the binding (I think I'm getting better at that!).

Deirdre emailed me that she received the mini last night, and I think she really likes it! So, yay!!

I'm entering this into Celebrate Color, in hopes of winning some Outfoxed!

Have a great weekend!!

Winner(s)!

Olias is not relevant to this entry, but he is cute, which is reason enough to use the picture!

It was hard deciding how to pick a winner for my pillow giveaway.
I originally intended to pick based on the pillow descriptions in the comments, but I am biased because I know a lot of you, whether virtually, or in real life! I couldn't pick a favorite description, so, I relied on the ever-famous random number generator instead.

So, the winner is commenter #17, VeeBee, who said:

"My couches are red, so I"m thinking reds, off-white, black, greys. Love stripes, and wonky stripes. I value solids and simplicity. Modern, chic! Can't wait to see who wins and what you come up with."

I couldn't resist picking a second winner, though, so the second random winner is, someone I know! It's #31, Kate, of Needle and Spatula! Kate said:

"Oo, what a fun giveaway! I am not super helpful in describing my preferences since whenever I see a modern quilty pillow I pretty much usually think, fun, I like that! Improv piecing or traditional blocks, linen and prints or lots of solids, echino or AMH or amy butler, understated or bright colors... I am sure I would love it! The pillows in your mosaic are all great. If I actually win I can try to do a better job actually giving you ideas if you want, but if you wanted to just make what you felt like I bet I would love it! "

So, congratulations to both of you!

The only bad part about a giveaway is disappointing the non-winners.

I plan to do another giveaway like this eventually. It's fun to make you gifts!

I'll be sure to share the pillows with you once they're finished and received!

Texas State Fair

First things first: I've now closed comments on the giveaway, and I'll be announcing a winner in the next few days!

I visited the Texas State Fair in Dallas this weekend with Elliott and his family, a first for me. It's a festival that pays homage to the deep-fried food, among other things.

I heard they would be serving fried butter, and I was definitely envisioning a whole stick of butter, which is repellant.

However, we discovered these lovely little bundles of dough, with a little pocket of butter inside. We opted for the honey, cinnamon and sugar variety, which tasted like Sopapillas. We also tried fried pizza (an actual slice of pizza, fried-we think there was some ricotta in it; tasty!) and the best dish of the day:

Fried Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. So tasty.

Luckily, I shared these calories with three other people, so I don't feel too guilty.

Beth and I also enjoyed the arts and crafts building. I snapped a few pictures of fun things.

I love these knitted monsters!
I also thought these quilts were nice!

The best part of the fair, though?

Seeing Oliver, of course!

Totally unrelated, but you have to check out the Sewing Summit photos Betty Crocker Ass just posted! So many good ones!!

FO: Floral Circles Skirt

Back in September, I received a fabric order from Pink Castle Fabrics. A beautiful floral Lecien print was included, and I immediately wanted to make a skirt with it.

I've long been a fan of the My Folklore prints. Some of the first fabric I ever purchased and used was from this line.

The new prints are just as fun, and I have a few other cuts in that box from Pink Castle!

So, the skirt!
I picked up Simplicity 0498 at a Joann's sale months ago, and felt the cut would be more flattering than my last skirt attempt.
Verdict?

I like it! I had the navy blue binding in the stash, and I think it adds just the right amount of contrast. I adore the pockets, and the length is very flattering.

I will enjoy wearing it this fall (maybe with the black boots I never seem to pull out of the closet!). The print is conservative enough that I can wear it to work, but fun enough that I can wear it elsewhere.

The pattern is pretty easy to follow, although it appears to be discontinued.

I'm entering my skirt into Celebrate Color, my first entry!

By the way, you've still got a little time to enter my pillow giveaway!

Giveaway: Pillow style

So, I've been wanting to do this kind of giveaway for awhile, and I've decided it's time.

I really like handmade giveaways, so I will pick a winner to receive a custom made 18" pillowcase!

To enter this contest:
talk to me about your favorite color or color combinations, and favorite styles of patchwork.
Do you love stripes?
Do you prefer only solids?
Are you crazy for Echino?

Tell me about your preferences in your comment.

The pictures above are pillows I've made before.

Please, only one entry per person!

International entries are welcome.

If you are a NO-REPLY blogger, please leave a way to contact you!

Comments can be submitted until Tuesday morning, around 10 am CST.

Good luck, and thanks for entering!

SS: Stash and Classes

One last sewing summit post! Becky wanted to hear about the classes I took and see the new stash. I will happily oblige. ;)

stash.

I participated in the Shop Hop, which was a bus full of 50 quilters, hitting three shops in the SLC area. We visited Pine Needles, Quilt, Etc. and Material Girls. It was really fun, and all three shops had something unique to offer. I only took a picture at two of the shops, but I encourage you to check them all out if you're ever in Salt Lake.

Pine Needles

Material Girls

Although I tried to show some restraint, I ended up with quite a nice stack of new stash enhancements.

Some of these were freebies (and some freebies are not pictured; I'm still trying to unpack and organize). Also, some of these were from the fat quarter swap that Kaelin organized. Very fun! I'm especially excited about that stack on the right. I am IN LOVE with Cosmo Cricket's Circa 1934 for Moda. Such a great line! I grouped it with some other fabrics I got that I think work well with it.

So, one of the new people I met is Sharon, of A Prarie Sunrise. While we were there, she offered to whip up a sketchbook for me.

It's so cute! I also may have enabled her into buying some yarn at a great shop we visited (I DID NOT buy any yarn!! Ahem.)

classes.

I took: Improv Piecing, Garment Making 101, Specialty Seams, Refashioning Garments, and Free Motion Quilting. I had an early flight on Sunday, so I didn't make the last session. I enjoyed all of the classes. I really wanted to take Jeni's and Amanda's classes, too, but there just wasn't a way!

Some of the classes were hands on, while others were seminars. I snapped a picture of two of the things I worked on to share with you.

Free Motion practice

I have a long way to go with Free Motion, but it was fun to just go with it! Luckily, I was sitting next to a guru, who was more than happy to share her wisdom. Thanks again, Angela!

The specialty seams class ended up to be a workshop for zippers, but it was okay, because I'd never tried oilcloth before.

I made this pouch in the class.

Thanks for letting me share about my experience at the conference. My sewing area is a complete mess right now; must get organized!

So much to say

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. I knew the Sewing Summit would be fun, but I didn't know I would come back feeling this.
I feel refreshed (even though I barely slept).
I feel more confident.
I feel inspired.
I feel that there are others in this world that truly get me.
I feel connected.

I remember saying Saturday morning that this whole conference was like the internet had come to life. And I guess that's the best description.
We all read blogs, comment on flickr pictures, favorite projects, etc. But knowing the person behind the blog or account makes the project come to life.

Before Sewing Summit, I had only met a handful of friends in real life that knit or sew. I didn't know what I was missing, I guess.

I don't mean to be mushy, but seriously, it was the most incredible experience. [Also, I recently realized that I say seriously a lot. A lot.]

So, I could go on for hours about the cool friends I made. But I won't, in order to keep this short. I'll just say I wasn't disappointed in any of my interactions. Everyone I met was nice. Lots of fun, silly girls!

I met Claudia! I've been following her blog for quite some time, and she is amazingly kind.

A few months back, she offered to bring me some Wollmeise, as she lives very close to the shop.
I hesitated for, approximately two seconds, since I had committed to buying no yarn this year. But then I came to my senses and said yes. We worked out a spending limit, and she was able to get me four skeins (one of which is a gift)! Ah, love.

She delivered it, and an adorable pouch in person!

How cool. Thank you again, Claudia!

Meeting Rachel was another big moment, especially after our duffel bag swap. She's just as sweet in person as she seems to be.

I also had a serious fan girl moment when I met both Splityarn and Stitchy McYarnpants! Awesome chicks, both of them.

And of course, I also HAVE to thank Erin and Amy for the amazing collaboration that led to this weekend. You are both genuine, and as other bloggers have said, you are my heroes. Thank you.

Unfortunately, I took way less pictures than I intended (the light was kind of poor in the hotel). If you'd like to see more, check the Sewing Summit flickr group, and Claudia's photostream!

P.S. Is there anything you'd like to hear more about from the conference? The classes? The local shops? Let me know if you have any questions. I'll be happy to share more if you're interested!

P.P.S. Of the projects I brought, I only worked on one. But I helped teach several fun ladies to knit!!

The dark side

Hi there!

So, I have loads to tell you about the Sewing Summit, but I'm still getting back into regular life today, so for now, I'll say, it was amazing. Seriously. I have a few pictures to share, but the lighting in the hotel was not great, so I didn't take as many as I wanted to.

I haven't taken pictures of the goodies yet, but I'll do that tonight, and be able to share later this week.

For now, I wanted to share that I've joined twitter, in case any of you would like to hook up there.
Some of my new SS friends lured me in, and I think I might already be hooked!

I hope you all had a great weekend.

I'll be back soon. Oh, and I haven't forgotten about that giveaway I promised you!

Overprepared

I'm curious, when you go on a trip, do you overpack projects? Do you bring more WIPs than you could possibly need?
I do. I like to be prepared for whatever crafting mood might strike me.

Case in point:

My pile of projects for the Sewing Summit.
And please keep in mind that I'm not checking any luggage. I travel pretty light, but I don't skimp on projects.

I'm actually sitting here, debating whether I should remove one (or, let's be honest, two) of these projects.

Pictured above, we have a new embroidery project, a Bottled Rainbows block (with a bag of scraps), some paper pieced hexagons in various green scraps, and the test knit-in-progress. I also may have cast on for a new knitting project which is not pictured.

So yes, I probably can safely remove at least one of these projects.

Dilemmas, dilemmas.

I will be sharing pictures over the weekend, and I hope you all have a great weekend, whatever your plans!
I promise to have a fun giveaway next week, okay?

Getting ready

I'm making a list of the things I need to bring with me to the Sewing Summit, and I'll definitely be bringing along my new laptop sleeve:

I love it, and I'm so glad I chose to match my favorite Jane Market Bag, which I'll also be bringing along. I used Oh Fransson's tutorial shared on Sew Mama Sew. It's a quick and easy tutorial, but I skipped the fusible fleece, just because I didn't have it on hand.
Sometimes, my impatience gets the best of me. Instead, I used a flannel fabric, and lightly quilted both exterior pieces.

Along with the amazing bag Rachel made for me, I should be set! Ah, I'm really getting excited about the trip.

Now, one thing that did not get finished (or even started), is the pajama pants I kept talking about. I kept putting it off, mostly because I knew there was going to be a great deal of improvisation necessary, and it just felt like too much work. Eventually, I will have a pair of foxy pajama pants, but not for the Summit.

Swoony Swoon

Well, my weekend was very productive, although I didn't accomplish everything on my list.
It's funny how you set out to accomplish certain things, and then distractions lead you in a new direction.
Or is that just me?

Swoon was the main distraction for me this weekend.

I finished two blocks this weekend.
And I may have even started cutting for a third late last night... Maybe.

The first one, above, was made from a great Anna Maria Horner Innocent Crush print and one from Josephine Kimberling's Just Dandy collection. And of course, I'm using Kona Medium Gray (or grey) for my background.

And the fourth block:

This block might possibly be my favorite (although my first might be, too).

I just love this fabric combination. I used a favorite Metro Living print, but I'm not sure what the second fabric is. I purchased it from Fabricworm sometime last year, and there is no selvage.

I will probably not finish block #5 before I leave for Salt Lake, but these two lovelies will tide me over until I can get back to Swooning.