A Bit O' Shine Giveaway Sponsored by Lovie and Boo

Check out Molly at A Bit' O Shine today for a chance to win earrings from my Etsy store Lovie and Boo!

A few weeks ago, I shipped these beauties off to Molly:

To go with this outfit Molly refashioned from thrifty finds:

I love the way she combined the slate, mushroom, and cream together in this outfit with little feminine touches. Those sleeves look great on the hanger but I am sure they look even better on, and I love those rosettes!



Molly was kind enough to let me sponsor a giveaway on her blog so go check it out for all the details! You will have a chance to win:

Bethany's Fashionista Cover Button Earrings in Cherry and Sky Blue

Or you might win:

Bethany's Fashionista Cover Button Earrings in Cherry Saffron and Oat

They both go perfectly with this bracelet you can find in my shop:

Bethany's Fashionista Cover Button Bracelet

While you're over there checking out the giveaway, check out her blog and become a follower if you like what you see. I love her recent post about cheering up her house with flowers! What a nice way to make the house smell nice and feel more homey. I also really enjoyed her Unbirthday Mad Tea Party post! She's so creative!

Molly also has an awesome Etsy shop called Molly the Pirate's Bit O' Shine where she sells all sorts of vintage, steampunk, and contemporary jewelry.

I love these earrings by Molly:

Black Diamond crystal rivoli earrings

And these by Molly:

Underwater Petroglyphs glass earrings with a watery glow

Thanks for reading, go check Molly out, and good luck!

How would your life be better with a serger?

Sew, Mama, Sew is currently hosting a giveaway for a Husqvarna Viking Serger s21 ($1199 retail value)! So cool!!!

How would my life be better with a serger?....


This post started out very differently. I started to tell you how much fun I have had making clothing with my serger for friends and family and the projects I had in store. I started to tell you about me returning my MIL Ann's serger to her after borrowing it for almost a year. But when it comes down to it, the items I can make with a serger are merely a means to an end. What I really love about owning a serger is what I love about owning a sewing machine: I LOVE seeing the look on the faces of my friends and family when I give them something meaningful and personal that I have made with my own hands. I love seeing their eyes light up with joy and happiness. It makes me very happy and I feel very proud of myself. So how would my life be better? Well, I'd be able to expand what I am able to do with a serger (because the model I have been using is pretty basic - plus I have to give it back this weekend), which will lead to me using it more and more to make gifts for people, which will lead to eyes lighting up with joy and happiness, which will lead to me be even happier and even more proud of myself!

I know, I know...pretty sappy. But so true for me!

If you're still interested in seeing some of the projects I made with Ann's serger keep reading. If not, know that I am crossing my fingers and hoping that I'll be the winner!

Happy Quilting!

This pillowcase made from Joel Dewberry Orange Damask and Almond and Orange Sparrow prints from the Aviary collection modeled by baby Gabby:

This pillowcase dress made from Sandi Henderson Spring Playful Paisley and Turquoise Henna Garden prints from t he Farmer's Market collection:

This garden dress made from Alexander Henry Blakely print from the Fashionista collection and a blue and white polka dot fabric I haven't been able to identify (it was a kit from Oh So Sassy):

This pillowcase dress I made for Gracyn from Amy Butler Lotus fabrics:

My brother's girlfriend Samantha asked if I could make her nieces matching outfits with a butterfly theme. One of my purchases during the big Westminster sale at Fabric.com I posted about  was several yards of these Del Hi prints by Valori Wells:

This will be my first project on my new serger! They are going to be so cute!

Thanks for stopping by so I could share with you!

Happy Quilting!

Batting Scrap Challenge - Project 1

Hello everyone!

If you haven't already checked out this post about the Batting Scrap Challenge, go check it out!

Ok, now that you're back I'll show you what I've been up to tonight.

First, some background info: I love to read and prefer hardcovers because I DESTROY paperbacks. I learned this the hard way when I borrowed The Da Vinci Code from my friend Nick. By the time I was done with his book it was scratched, worn away, water marked, and bent to the point that I was embarrassed to return it to him. And I was being careful!

From that point forward I swore off paperbacks and stuck to buying hardcovers. One day I found this book (hardcover), Dark Celebration, in a bargain bin at Borders for $3 and got totally hooked. The story is about a race of people (Carpathians) similar to humans but with super strength, speed, ability to shape shift, and other supernatural powers who become vampires if they don't find their soul mates, and have to hunt their brethren who succumb to the temptation of power and lust for killing. I had no clue the book I picked up was #14 of a 20+ book series still being written and that most of the books are only available as mass market paperbacks. That's how they get you with those bargain books! They hook you into a series!

I liked the first book so much I decided to buy a couple more from the beginning of the series. When they arrived from Amazon I decided to make a quilted book cover to keep myself from destroying them. My first attempt was pretty lame. I took some Amy Butler Midwest Modern fat quarters in my stash and some Amy Butler Midwest Modern scraps from a blue and green quilted nursing cover I made my sister and (without a pattern) made myself a cover that would work for a mass market paperback. I found out first hand why it's better to use a mitered binding rather than sewing the strips together in a straight line (very bulky). I also made the mistake of using minky fabric for the binding on the book sleeves (I don't really know why I thought this would be a good idea) so they ended up more bulky than I would have liked but the book cover worked for my purpose so I was pretty happy.

Since that first book cover I have tried to perfect the process. I think the quickest method so far was to just buy fabric already quilted from my local JoAnn Fabrics! JoAnn.com seems to be down right now but check out this link at Fabric.com to see what I am talking about. The only problem with that method is you have to bind the edges of the sleeves, bind the cover, and hand sew the bindings to the back which adds more time to the process.

Tonight I tried something a little different. I wanted to avoid hand sewing if at all possible so as I constructed my book cover I kept in mind how it needed to be sewn together to ensure no hand sewing was necessary. I used scraps from Maura's Strata Square quilt made from Bali Pop in Kiwiberry. The scraps were teeeeeeeny tinnnnnny leftovers:

Which I sorted and combined to form a piece I could use for the outside of my book cover:

I ironed as I pieced:

And kept adding and adding:

Until I had a rectangle big enough for the cover:

I found another scrap of a purple and blue fabric (from the batik bundle Ginny gave me for Christmas--thanks again Ginny!) that was the perfect size for the inside and the sleeves:

I pulled out some batting scraps from the wedding attendant quilts (I think this was from Maura's too):

Cut some for the sleeves and the cover and started sewing keeping in mind that I wanted all my unfinished edges to end up inside the cover:

Once I had the sleeves done I arranged them, the inside fabric, batting, and outside fabric and pinned them with safety pins:

I sewed around the edges leaving myself about 2 inches to turn it right side out, pressed it, sewed about 1/8 of an inch all the way around to close the hole I left myself, and then quilted down the middle to fix some of the odd fitting scraps I used (totally quilted it out lol):

And presto change-o, a book cover:

I am still perfecting this process so until I do I am not going to do an official tutorial but I hope this project has inspired you to go get your binding scraps and make something totally awesome! I'm signing off for the evening to go do some reading using my new book cover. Thanks for letting me share with you!

Happy Quilting!

Why I'm Trying to Go Modern

Let me preface this post by first saying that I think traditional quilts and art quilts are absolutely gorgeous. I love going to quilt shows, reading quilt books, and surfing the web to see the beautiful work people have done in both categories and I definitely want to try my hand at both! Nothing in this post is intended to diminish or in any way criticize those quilting styles. That being said...

A few weeks ago I decided Northern Virginia needed a Modern Quilt Guild option. Why? I hope I don't offend anyone by saying this, but I just didn't think I would fit in with the quilt guilds in my area. My concern is that my lifestyle, availability, interests, age, fabric selections, and design style would be so different from others in more traditional guilds that I wouldn't feel as rich of a connection as I would with people who are like me and therefore not enjoy my experience as much.

• I work all the time. I often work late nights, early mornings, and on weekends too. I never really know what my schedule is going to look like
• I can't go to workshops or meetings in the middle of the day during the work week (because I'm working) 
• I am 27 (happy birthday to me!) so much younger than most of the quilters I know
• I'm drawn to fabric designers like Amy Butler, Joel Dewberry, Heather Bailey, Lizzy House, Anna Maria Horner, and Kona Solids 
• I'm drawn to patterns by Cherri House, Denyse Schmidt, Amy Butler, and I also like making my own up because I like figuring things out for myself and learn better from mistakes than instructions
• Quilting is something I love to do but it's not my only hobby. I also like to read, play xBox, wii, nintendo ds, and computer games, entertain friends and family (dinner, drinks, board games, etc), play with Lucy, take pictures, scrapbook, travel, decorate, draw, paint, and make jewelry (Lovie and Boo).
• I've only been sewing since December 2008

I really like the concept of quilting as a stool with 3 legs: traditional, art, and modern. Modern quilting encompass the basic materials and techniques of traditional quilt making with the bend-and-break the rules approach of art quilting. While many traditional quilt guilds in my area have members who's work falls into the modern category, there isn't a guild in my area that primarily embraces that aesthetic. So I started one!

Some cool things I've learned so far:

• you can create a free website on webs.com but if you pay extra you get more features
• you can create a cool web toolbar icon at favicon

You're here so you have probably seen some of my quilts here, here, here, here, other stuff here and here and like my style. While I wouldn't totally put me in the "modern" category looking at those examples, consider that my stash is filled with more modern fabrics I just haven't cut into yet because my life is crazy and because I haven't figured out what I want to do with them yet. I do love batiks which probably makes me a traitor to the modern movement but they are just sooooooo so pretty.

I recently updated the home page with lots of information about Modern quilting so if you are interested go check it out. If you find yourself agreeing with the comments and "buzz", live in the Northern Virginia area (or surrounding area), and want to join just apply through the web!

Happy Quilting!

p.s. - I'm working on a batting scrap project tonight!

Threaded Mess Challenge Project: Batting Scraps

Hi Readers and Followers!

One of the things I have wanted to do with my blog are challenge projects where all of us would work on something theme related together. Guess what?? I have a challenge project for you!

Nancy over at Patchwork Penguin, who might I add is the first official NOVA Modern Quilt Guild member besides myself (sweet!), recently posted about not knowing what to do with batting scraps and inspired this challenge project. This is what her batting scrap stash looks like:

picture taken from Nancy's blog

Here's my stash:

My problem is that I rarely follow a pattern or have one to begin with. I don't take the time to plan things out on paper often and I don't always stick to whatever planning I have done. The pinwheel quilt is a great example of that! I started making the pinwheels, I had some fat quarters so I decided to border the pinwheels, I liked them so much I wanted more so I made more pinwheels and strips for borders, I've changed my design several times and still haven't decided which one I like best, and I have to figure out how to make it big enough for my guest bedroom bed. It started out as a lap quilt and now it has more than doubled that size. When I ultimately finish my quilt top I will likely have to get a batting that doesn't fit my top perfectly which means I am going to have some scraps. So where does the challenge come in? Well...

I challenge YOU, Readers and Followers, to join me in creating something from batting scraps.

How this works:

1. Become a follower. There will be perks involved (hint, hint). If you already are, skip this step (and thanks for following!!). To follow, click the "follow" button on the right side of my blog.
2. Leave a comment on this post letting me know you're going to participate in the challenge.
3. Grab this button and put it on your website (if you have one)

 
Rules:

• You must use scraps of batting (no new batting) for this project. If you don't have any, ask a friend (and get your friend involved too!).
• You must create something you or someone else can use i.e. a finished product that can be hung, wrapped, pinned, stuffed, covered, snuggled, tossed, or otherwise used and loved. 
• You must take pictures as you make your batting scrap project.
• You must send me those pictures once you're done and tell us how you made it. 

I will be showing off my favorites on this blog (with your permission of course). If you want you can add them to the Threaded Mess flickr group or send them to me by email at threadedmess(at)gmail(dot)com.

I don't know about you but I work better with a deadline so let's say that all challenge projects must be submitted by October 3rd (that's 2 months!) which should give you plenty of time to participate even if you don't get to sew very often. 

1,2,3, go!

Happy Quilting!

p.s.- future challenge project hints: save your scraps! save your selvages! save your strips!