Friday, October 30, 2015

WHOOMP There IT Is! #5

I'm glad you could make it to this week's WHOOMP There IT Is! Welcome. 

I've got news to share.
In case you missed it...I sell on Etsy! ;) What's even more exciting is I got my 1st custom quilt order 2 days after taking the shop off vacation status! Yay Me! I've already started on the order, but I won't show pics until it's received by my customer. Though I will tell you...it's going to be fabulous!

There is something else I've been working on that I can't show yet either. I've been learning to paper piece. The paper piecing process is quite fascinating and my sweetheart of an instructor says I'm doing a bonny job.

Have you heard of Quilt Art Designs?  If you haven't, you should check it out. Janeen, the owner, is a real gem. She has a ton of paper pieced block patterns in her Craftsy Store Pattern Shop. Several of them are even FREE! She also does custom orders. I sent her a few pics and she magically turned them into awesome paper pieced patterns!

Anyway,  I'm working on one of the patterns she made for me, which will be a Christmas gift for a friend, that's why I can't show it yet.  But this is extremely difficult for me because it is AMAZING and I verra much want to share my progress w/the entire world! Well, to be honest, I have shown it to a few friends I know I can trust and even leaked a diddy or two on instagram...but there's no way the intended recipient would ever know what it is. I'm extremely pleased w/how it's coming out and I'm verra much looking forward to sharing the finished piece w/all of you.

I'm sorry I can't show pics of what I'm currently working on.  I'm hoping some of y'all have projects that aren't as secret as mine because it's time to link up and share!
A Quilted Passion

A Thread for Life

Friday, October 23, 2015

WHOOMP There IT Is! #4

I went batting shopping last Saturday. I was glad I brought along my grandson & nephew.  I don't think I could've managed this giant roll of batting by myself. Together they carried it to the car. Neither could've carried it alone, but they each had to show the other and myself, just how strong they are.  If getting it to the car was challenging, getting it in the car was even more so! But we did it...and I'm happy to say I now have batting! Lots of it! I got this giant 30yd x 96" roll of Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 batting for $122 + tax at Mulqueen in Glendale, AZ.
Even though I now have batting, I still spent the week working on smaller projects.  I finished a project for the gift exchange at our annual Quilters Anonymous Christmas Party which will be on December 3rd.  If I remember, I'll show a picture after the party.

 I also made something that's been on my list for a long while...a quilters-helper apron. I had the idea to turn the butt-side of a pair of jeans into a half apron. I wish I could say it was an original idea...but after making mine, I looked on Pinterest and found that a bunch of peeps had already beat me to it! hahaha.

The 1st thing I did was cut out the entire front side of a pair shorts, salvaging the waistband...as this is what I'll use to fasten/tie the apron.
One could use the original pockets if they are big enough for one's needs. Mine weren't so I removed them and made plans to add larger ones. But first, I had to figure out what do do w/the butt-seam thingie.
I decided to lay it flat to one side and stitch it down.  I think I've seen it done like this on some denim skirts made from jeans.
Originally I thought about hemming the edges but quickly changed my mind and left them raw to fray instead.  I added trim to the bottom but didn't like how it would look on the sides, so I just did some straight stitching in red to add some color.  Like I said earlier, I wanted bigger pockets...though I've discovered a wider pocket is better than a deeper one. Anyway, I made generous pockets and decorated them before I sewed them on...again leaving the edges raw to fray.
I liked it so much I made a 2nd one. They will definitely come in handy when I work at kids camp next year!
And then I made simple Trick-or-Treat bags for the grands.
Oh, I almost forgot one more thing! I finally made something w/minky! I used it to back this simple strip quilt. I did not use batting and I did a very simple pull/roll over binding.
 I'm certain the little boy who gets it will love the cuddly softness of it.
That's about all I have for you this week.  Now it's your turn. Show me something good! =)
A Quilted Passion





I'm linking up at:

Let's Bee Social
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?

A Thread for Life  (This is something I'm totally struggling with, so please pray for me.)
Wherever God has placed you, live that ordinary life faithfully for God. - Pastor James MacDonald

Friday, October 16, 2015

WHOOMP There IT Is! #3

I recently ran out of batting so I've spent the last week or so working on small projects.  

It all started w/this snap bag.
Then I made a couple of zippered pouches. An open wide zippered pouch and a boxy bag.  I've only sewn zippers twice before so I was pretty proud of myself for getting the zippers right the 1st time on both of these bags.
I decided to use up some of my flannel stash and made a few baby blankets. I forgot to take pics of a couple of them.  I went retro w/the first one.  This Sylvester and Tweety fabric is from 1997!
There's another baby blanket rolled up in this next pic. The tote bags are a pattern I'm working on for my pattern store. I also made a set of Easy Reversible Microwave Cozies.
Then I remembered my granddaughter's 5th b-day is coming up next month, so I thought it would be a good idea to actually start the wall hanging that was to be her gift last year! In my defense I actually had ALL of the pieces cut out...but then I put them in a ziploc bag and tucked them safely away...and kinda forgot about them for a year.  Anyway, it only took me a couple of hours to get it sewn together.

It's the Tiny Tulips pattern by Jera at Quilting in the Rain.
The tulips are made w/fabric I actually won from one of Jera's Instagram giveaways awhile back. 
Yay Me!

It's still in the flimsy stage because I want to get her name embroidered on it before I quilt it.  Where you see "Mia" in black is where I want to get it embroidered in pink.
And of course I plan to finish it using the Faux Piped Binding technique.



Now it's that time...

What's been going on in your neck 'o the woods? I sure would like to hear about it!  Link up to my new WHOOMP There IT Is! Saturday Linky Party below.  
A Quilted Passion
Thank the Host
Everyone likes to hear "thank you" and know their effort is appreciated.
Spread the Love
The more love you give, the more you get. Pick a number (mine is 5) and commit to visiting and commenting on that many link-ups. Let them know where you're visiting from and ask them to visit you. (This works well for me!)
Direct Link
Use a direct link to a specific post, not your main blog.
Link Back
In your blog post, include a link back to my post/blog and/or grab the WHOOMP There IT Is! button above and put in your post or sidebar. Thanks for spreading the love.
Follow Me ;)
Of course I would love for all you linky-uppers to be followers, but it's NOT required.

And for those of you who haven't heard the song...

WHOOMP Here IT Is!
A Thread for Life
The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.-Zephaniah 3:17ESV

Friday, October 9, 2015

WHOOMP There IT Is! #2

I'd like to thank everyone who linked up to my 1st linky party last week. It was a huge success! It was so much fun, I'm doing it again! 

Today I'm sharing some of my recent sewing room improvements. For the longest time I've wanted a sewing table that would allow my sewing machine to be flush w/the table top . Anything to help make FMQ a little easier. I found a pic on Instagram, gave it to a friend along w/measurements I felt would work for me and he came up w/a building plan.  

Well...I was off on my measurements and the 1st draft of the table came up a little short...literally! Believe it or not, I didn't take into consideration that the machine would sit below the top of the table and I could barely fit my legs under it...which was no good considering I'm a big fan of the knee lift.  

 But have no fear, it was a quick fix w/a set of risers. They raised the table 1.25" which was all it needed.
After sewing on it for awhile I decided that I really needed something up front to rest my hands on. Modifications were definitely in order.
And a few months later, modifications were made. I did not add longer legs though, I'm still just using the risers.

I used my old sewing table as a return which works perfectly for quilting.  

It's also where I store Oh Susana (my serger), Penelope (my backup and sometimes traveler), and my thread case. I just realized if I turn it around, to where it faces out, I can have a guest sewer in my sewing room!
I got rid of the bookshelves in the closet and installed shelves for book and fabric storage.

I've heard I should protect my fabric stash from dust and sunlight, so I also put up curtains. One of these days I'd like to make cute patchwork curtains.

I raised my cutting table w/some high risers I found at Walmart. Now it's the perfect height. I've got some other storage going on under my cutting table too. 
My design wall is a piece of fleece tacked up on the wall.  It's been black since I started quilting 4 years ago, but I wanted the room to be brighter so I traded the black for a pretty mint green. 
Next on the list of sewing room improvements is a Quilters Ironing Board!

Now it's your turn to share. Link up to my new WHOOMP There IT Is! Saturday Linky Party below.
A Quilted Passion
Thank the Host
Everyone likes to hear "thank you" and know their effort is appreciated.
Spread the Love
The more love you give, the more you get. Pick a number (mine is 5) and commit to visiting and commenting on that many link-ups. Let them know where you're visiting from and ask them to visit you. (This works well for me!)
Direct Link
Use a direct link to a specific post, not your main blog.
Link Back
In your blog post, include a link back to my post/blog and/or grab the WHOOMP There IT Is! button above and put in your post or sidebar. Thanks for spreading the love.
Follow Me ;)
Of course I would love for all you linky-uppers to be followers, but it's NOT required.

A Thread for Life
David's Prayer - Now everything in the heavens and earth is yours Oh Lord this is Your kingdom.  We adore you as being in control of everything. Riches and honor come from You alone and You are the ruler of all mankind. Your hand controls power and might and it is at Your discretion that men are made great and given strength. 1 Chron 29:11