April challenge sponsor, spring flowers and a special gift

4 / 15 / 19

I almost forgot to announce this month’s sponsor for the 2019 UFO & WIP Challenge. Fat Quarter Shop is generously providing a $30 gift certificate to this month’s winner. Whenever I shop online, one of the first places I’ll search is Fat Quarter Shop. And I love checking out their daily flash sale, and their weekly precut specials. To enter the giveaway, all you need to do is add a photo of your finished project(s) to the link up which will open on the last Sunday of April (28th).

It’s Tax Day! I’m acutely aware of this date as Mr. Crafty Quilter is a tax accountant, so I’m about to get my husband back! Life will finally get back to normal, so to speak. As the weather warms, the spring flowers are blooming everywhere in our northern California yard. I dug out my camera and took some photos on a sunny morning recently. I’m a little rusty at outdoor photography, but the flowers were ready to show off their color nonetheless. We have gorgeous Azaleas, Rhododendrons, and daisies in the front yard. The orange blossoms and lilacs are filling the air with their sweet scent in the backyard.

I was the happy recipient of an unexpected gift last week. A quilting friend, Polly, who I hadn’t seen in years stopped by to visit, and she made me the sweetest mug rug! I was tickled to receive it – mug rugs are one of my favorite things. She used one of the blocks designed by Jen Kingwell for the first Splendid Sampler Series and added my initial to the vase. She also did some amazing free motion quilting and hand embroidery around the flowers. I just love it!

I am making progress on my sewing room. It’s slow but steady. I just want to wave my magic wand and make everything neat and organized. I always think of the three little fairies in Sleeping Beauty as they cleaned up her cottage with their colorful magic wands. How handy would that be!

I’ve been researching Frixion Pens and doing some experiments of my own as I prepare a blog post on the topic. I’m excited to share my results with you later this week.

That’s all for today. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Quilting!

March UFO & WIP challenge winner & my project for April

4 / 10 / 19

Hey everyone! I’m happy to announce the March UFO & WIP challenge winner…. #56, the maker of this beautiful FLOWER pillow. I have emailed the winner, and I need a response by this Saturday, April 13. Otherwise, I will have to choose another number. The winner will be receiving a fat quarter bundle of Sewing with Singer from Robert Kaufman and two patterns: Franklin Star by The Crafty Quilter Designs and Pot Luck by A Quilting Life Designs.

There were a total of 59 entries for March – very impressive! It’s nice to know that many of you are being motivated to get those old projects finished. My intention has been to email every entry to the link up and thank you for your participation. I think I got to the twelfth entry, and then couldn’t keep up. I apologize for the lack of confirmation and cheering you on. I do SO love seeing the entries pop up and I’m glad you’re getting things done! Every time I finish a UFO, I feel like I’ve earned the right to start something new.

Which leads me to my project for April. This is a crazy month for me. Do I say that every month? It sure seems like it! Now that the construction phase of the remodeling is done, we’re furnishing bedrooms and reconstructing some backyard landscaping as we get ready for out-of-town guests at the end of the month.

And all I really want to do is focus on getting my sewing room up and running. It’s functioning at the moment, but I have lots more organizing and decorating to do. I’m also waiting on an Ikea shelf unit that will become my ironing board station and extra storage. Once everything is set up, I’ll be able to better prioritize my UFO’s and WIP’s. So, my project for April is my sewing room. If that gets done quickly, maybe I’ll have time to finish something else, too.

Yesterday, I decided to move my quilt ladder into my sewing room (for now). I love this ladder so much – it was made for me by a friend’s husband. It’s such a great way to display seasonal or favorite quilts. That quilt on top is both seasonal and a favorite – it’s my Patchwork Peter Rabbit Wall Hanging. You can find the free tutorial and pdf here.

Thanks for stopping by today. Congratulations, again, to the March UFO & WIP challenge winner. I hope everyone is having a wonderful day!

Sew Thankful Sunday, April 2019

4 / 7 / 19

{I love the idea of “paying it forward”. I think the world would be a better place if we could spread some joy and acknowledgement of good deeds done by others. I try to do that once a month for my Sew Thankful Sunday posts. I highlight some great content that I’ve found on other people’s blogs that I hope will inspire you and reward the originator by bringing traffic to their site. If your blog has been mentioned without your consent, please let me know and I will take you off the current list of featured bloggers.}

It’s April already! Spring is here and so are these amazing new tutorials that I’ve discovered in Blogland. It really is a rabbit hole of goodness that you’ll be entering, and I hope you feel as thankful as I do for all of these talented designers!

Note: If you use Pinterest, please pin from the original source and not this blog post. Remember, you can click on any of the images in this post and it will open up a new tab to the associated link.

These Easter Mini Quilts from We All Sew are a perfect way to add some fun to your Easter and Spring decor. These mini quilts feature Gathered fabric from Art Gallery Fabrics. I love that bunny silhouette myself!

2. A wonderful way to use up scraps of rectangles is with this Diamond Quilt Block Tutorial by Kristy at Bonjour Quilts. I love the uniqueness of this one, and the instructions are really well done.

3. Mother’s Day will be here before you know it, so check out Jacquelynne Steves’ round up of 25 FREE Spring & Mother’s Day Projects to Sew. I want to make them all!

4. Lea Anne at Podunk Pretties has a great tutorial to make Scrap Placemats. She has used hers as a dog placemat which I think is a great idea!

Scrap Placemat Tutorial @ Podunk Pretties; featured on Sew Thankful Sunday @ The Crafty Quilter — Scrap Placemat Tutorial @ Podunk Pretties

5. A Sewing Machine Cover that is cute, doubles as a sewing mat and is easy peasy? Count me In! You can find this awesome tutorial by Crafty Staci at Sew Can She.

6. Carrots are good for you body and these Scrappy Carrots by Leila Gardunia for Diary of A Quilter are good for your scrap bin! You’ll get the free paper pieced pattern plus tips for successful foundation paper piecing to go along with it.

7. If you like handwork, you’ll enjoy this Welcome Spring Embroidery Pattern by Amy at Ameroonie Designs for the Polkadot Chair. I love the blossoms made from felt flowers and buttons!

8. Another pattern by Amy at Ameroonie Designs (that I couldn’t pass up) is this adorable Springtime Mini Quilt Pattern. I want to stop everything and make it right now!

9. I’m in awe of Amira at The Little Mushroom Cap as she shares 52 Weeks of Quilted Hot Pads this year. This week is Hot Plusses where you’ll find the free tutorial and links to all of the previous tutorials as well.

10. I love this free Vintage Doily Keepsakes Quilt pattern by Beverly at Flamingo Toes. It’s made with her Vintage Keepsakes fabric line, and I think it’s a beautiful design with or without the doilies.

Vintage Doily Keepsakes Quilt Pattern by Beverly at Flamingo Toes; featured on Sew Thankful Sunday @ The Crafty Quilter — Vintage Doily Keepsakes Quilt Pattern @ Flamingo Toes

11. How sweet is this Easter Bunny Mini Quilt by Cherry Blossoms for We All Sew. I love that little cotton tail!

Easter Bunny Mini Quilt by Cherry Blossoms Quilting @ We All Sew; featured on Sew Thankful Sunday @ The Crafty Quilter — Easter Bunny Mini Quilt by Cherry Blossoms Quilting @ We All Sew

12. Even though you probably do this every year, you’ll find some great ideas for How to Dye Easter Eggs at Hoosier Homemade. The colorful photos alone are worth the visit!

Thank you for stopping by on this first Sunday of the month. I hope you’ve been inspired to make something beautiful of your own! Many thanks to everyone featured today.

A new mug rug, a new sewing room and baby Clara

4 / 5 / 19

Happy Friday! I have so many things to show you today – there’s a little bit of everything here. A new mug rug that I made for someone special, a new sewing room that is keeping me very busy, a quick little tip, and my baby granddaughter, Clara, turned one!

The designer that I worked with for our remodel was wonderful and I wanted to make her something special as a thank you. Since she loves to drink tea, I thought a new mug rug would be perfect. I designed this one to resemble the tile floor in our bathroom (which she helped bring to life). I used scraps of black and white prints to create the simple blocks and I found the perfect backing fabric in my stash. Don’t ask me what it is – I won’t be able to find it for a while!

The quilting was done using a free motion ruler foot and circle ruler from Westalee. I wanted to make an orange peel design, so I only used a small section of the circle, but it was just the right size. I’m still new to this technique, so I really don’t have any advice for you (other than just go for it).

I have a brand new sewing room and I’m moving in! I had custom cabinets from the Closet Factory installed along two walls. The shorter wall will hold most of my stash and finished quilts along with project/class containers.

I just found (as in yesterday) a clear plastic storage container from the Container Store for my fabric. It’s called a sweater box, and it holds two rows of folded fabric perfectly. I have mostly half yards and fat quarters. You can see the new container next to the old ones in the second photo, for comparison. My old containers are Sterilite 15 qt. and they have served me well for 10 years, but it’s time to upgrade (plus I’ll have more space for more fabric – don’t tell Mr. Crafty Quilter).

The second wall of cabinets will hold notions, scrap booking supplies and paperwork. I’ll also have my Juki sewing machine set up in the middle and there is a slide out table to the left (not shown) to place a cutting board or ironing surface on to. I tested out this set up yesterday and it’s divine. I will do a full reveal once everything is pretty and sparkling.

Here’s a quick tip for today. I taught a class last weekend at The Granary Quilt Shop and one of my students, Brenda, was using an old fashioned tomato pin cushion – but in a new way. She had it sitting in an empty yogurt container. It fit perfectly and made it more transportable and pack-able. I thought this was such a great idea, that I had to take a picture. This is one of the many benefits of teaching classes; I get to learn from my students, too!

I received my last Sew Sampler subscription box from Fat Quarter Shop a few weeks ago. It has been a wonderful year of surprises each month. Last month’s box was probably my favorite of them all. Each month included a Barn Block recipe to make a 12″ quilt block. I hope to get these on my “to do” list this year. You can read about all of the Sew Sampler contents at The Jolly Jabber (Fat Quarter Shop’s blog).

Last, but certainly not least, is my “baby” granddaughter Clara’s first birthday. We were not able to be in Austin for this one, but they’re coming to visit in three weeks! I’ll get caught up on all of the snuggles and hugs then. And I’ll take lots of pictures.

That’s all for Friday! I hope you have a great weekend ahead of you. Don’t forget, there’s still time to add a photo of your finished UFO or WIP project to the link-up. So far there are 48 entries. Let’s make it an even 50!

March UFO & WIP Challenge Link Up

3 / 31 / 194 / 2 / 19

Today you get to share your March UFO & WIP Challenge project(s)! The link up will be active for one week, so you still have time to finish something! This month’s prize is sponsored by yours truly. One winner will received a fat quarter bundle of Sewing with Singer from Robert Kaufman and two patterns: Franklin Star by The Crafty Quilter Designs and Pot Luck by A Quilting Life Designs.

I achieved both of my goals this month. I added the binding to my block of the month quilt from 2013 (a Fat Quarter Shop Mystery BOM). I had more than enough red and white polka dot fabric to go around the entire quilt, but there were lots of seams. I used my favorite machine binding technique for a fast finish.

After being hidden in a drawer for five years, I was so glad to have this quilt finished. I’m definitely benefiting from my own challenge! I remembered to add one of my personalized labels (from Dutch Label Shop) to the back. I used the embroidery stitches on my sewing machine to add the year of completion. This took a little trial and error, but it was well worth it.

My second finish for this month makes me SO happy. I started this “J for Julie” monogram quilt a long time ago – I can’t even remember when. I had the top done and the layers basted whenever it was that I left off. Now it’s ready for my sewing room wall, even though my wall isn’t quite ready for it!

The background of this mini quilt is improv pieced with scraps of low volume prints. I found the J font on Microsoft Word software (I don’t remember the name of the font). The applique is done using fusible machine applique.

I really enjoy free motion quilting small quilts like this one. It’s easy and it gets done quickly. That seems to be the name of the game with me lately.

I found the perfect yellow striped fabric in my stash for the binding. More happiness! And another quilt label got used. I’m linking this finished project up with Cheryl at Meadow Mist Design’s Favorite Finish Link Up. Hop over there to see some more beautiful quilts.

March UFO & WIP Link Up

Now it’s your turn to show off your finished project. Remember, you don’t need to have a blog to participate.

Link-up instructions:

Click on the blue “add your link” button.
Enter the URL of your link. If you don’t have one, type in a dummy URL such as http://juliec Using your first name and last initial seems to be a good choice.
Enter the link title. This should describe your project and it can include your name if desired.
Enter your email address. No one will be able to see this but me.
Choose an image source and upload your image. If your photo size is too large, it won’t accept it. You’ll have to re-size it to a smaller file size.
If you have any trouble, just leave a comment or send me an email with your photo attached. I can add it for you.

Link-up Rules:

You may add up to 2 finished projects.
One image per finished project.
Project must be quilting, sewing or needlework related.
The link-up will be open until April 6, 2019, at midnight, PST.
This month’s giveaway is open to USA or Canada, however, anyone can join the link-up. If a winner is chosen that is international, then another number will be picked until it meets the criteria.
Winner will be drawn at random on April 7, 2019

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