Pattern Sale at Michelle Patterns (formerly Keyka Lou)

A few times a year Michelle at Michelle Patterns (formerly Keyka Lou, which I'll be honest, I miss the old name!) has a great sale on her patterns.  Now through Monday, September 3, use code laborday to receive a 20% discount.  You just can't go wrong with Michelle's patterns!

Click here to visit michellepatterns.com.

Michelle has fantastic instructions & photos with her patterns, but she's also started providing just pattern pieces with a few basic instructions for some of her new patterns.  These are especially great if you're already familiar with Michelle's patterns, or are comfortable with basic clutches.  As an added bonus, getting just the pattern pieces is cheaper than her full patterns (which, let's face it, are already easy on the wallet!).

I picked up the pattern pieces for Michelle's new clutches (similar to the Curvy Clutch, which I still need to try out!) and the Basic Phone Pouch.  I'm sure I could come up with a similar phone pouch, but it's so much easier when she's already done the hard work for me!  :)

Head on over to Michelle Patterns & stock up on any patterns you might not have yet.  Oh, and for those of you who are going to Sewing Summit in October, be sure to tell Michelle "hi" from me.  I'm so jealous you'll get to meet her!

Until next time...

WIP Wednesday #35

Just a quick check-in today, not a lot to report, but I feel like I've been pretty productive.  

I got the first block done for my watermelon quilt & it came together just as quickly as I hoped!  I really love how it turned out & have started sewing more strips together.  I've got all the strips cut for the block except the dark green for the border.

Only 34 more blocks to go!  :)

I also started quilting on the vintage print quilt.  I decided to do it by hand, even though I really did want to try doing this one on my machine.  But I really enjoyed doing the hand work on Coop's quilt so I decide to go with that.  I'll have to try to get a picture of the quilting, but it's really hard to see since I'm using a cream thread, and it pretty much blends in with all the fabrics.  

Right now I'm working on the tutorial for this bag.  I love the clear pocket on it, but it's hard to explain & vinyl doesn't photograph well!

I think that's pretty much all I've been up to, but it's enough!  Hopefully you're all having a wonderful week!

Make sure you head over to Freshly Pieced to see what everybody else has been up to this week.

Until next time...

Traveling Stash Winner!

I'm going to keep this short & sweet, the winner of the giant box of Traveling Stash:

Congrats Marci!  

I'll be sending you an e-mail shortly, or you can drop me an e-mail with your address so I can get the box headed in your direction!

Until next time...

WIP Wednesday #34

Today's Wednesday, right?  I'm so messed up lately, I can't keep track of what day it is!  We had all our family in town a couple week's ago for Coop's birthday party, and I've been sick ever since, so they days have started to run together.  

Speaking of Coop's birthday, I can hardly believe he's one already!  Where has the last year gone?!  Here he is in the same outfit at 1 month, 3 months, and 12 months.

But anyways, here's everything else I've been up to the last few weeks!

I got the back finished up for the wonky 9-patch top, and it's all basted & ready to quilt.  I was amazed it only took me about 30 minutes to get it basted when it seemed to take hours when I did Coop's quilt!  I guess it helps not being 9 months pregnant. :)

I got the first few strips cut from my Timeless Treasures Sketch for the new quilt.  I'm really excited to get started on this one & hope to have the first block done soon.

Don't forget to check out the Traveling Stash Giveaway, entries close tomorrow!  I'm still having a hard time parting with these Heather Ross goldfish, but the box is all taped up & ready to go so I can't sneak them back out again.  Not many people have commented, so you've got a good chance of winning!

Make sure you head over to Freshly Pieced to see what everybody else has been up to this week.

Until next time...

Everything Wristlet: Inspiration

Have you started working on your Everything Wristlet yet, or are you still trying to decide on fabrics?  Since I won't be making these last few bags, I'm living vicariously through you, so I'm so excited to see what you make!  Here's a little inspiration to get you going.

Here are two gorgeous, fancy wristlets from arents.  It's nice to see the difference in size between the two.  I don't know about you, but I always have troubles visualizing the different sizes when I'm just reading patterns, so it's nice to see them side-by-side.

Here's a great view of the inside of furicious' wristlet.  Lots of little pockets & the divider is so handy!

Soul_sister made a great diaper clutch version of her wristlet (head over to Flickr to see it!).

The brooches are beautiful, but I love the giant button on this wristlet from Fried Okra.

Freaknoodles shows that simple & unadorned is just as beautiful!

As you can see, there's so much potential & room for customization for this month's pattern!  What are you plans?

Until next time...

Traveling Stash Giveaway - including Heather Ross scraps!

Giveaway is now closed.  Congrats, Marci!

Did I get your attention?!  :)  That's right, I'm giving away a few of my beloved Heather Ross scraps!  I actually had to tape up the box after I put them in, I was worried I'd pull them back out.

I was lucky enough to win one of the Traveling Stash boxes from The Sunflower Patch.  If you don't know about the Traveling Stash, Cherise at Sewingly Along does a fantastic job keeping track of all the boxes & giveaways.  Basically it's exactly what the name says - a box of fabric & other goodies that's traveling around the US.  When you receive it, you can take out anything you would like, as long as you replace what you take out.

Here's a peek at what was in this box:

Lots of fabric, including some laminates (the cherries, black & white, and red with white polka dots at the front of the picture), a book, embroidery hoop, turning tool, & trim.  There are some other things as well that didn't make it into the picture: a bag pattern, magazine, thimble, thread, and probably a few other little things I can't remember now.  

Here are the fabrics I added to the box.  A couple fat quarters, and that green linen with the butterflies is probably a 1-2 yard cut.  I can't remember now how big it was!

And of course, what you really want to see, the Heather Ross scraps.  These are each 4 inches square, which I realize isn't huge, but it really was hard for me to add them to the box.  These little guys are my absolute favorite!

So what do you have to do to win?  Unfortunately there are a few rules you must follow in order to enter.

RULES:
*Be an active blogger. Post about receiving and the giveaway on your blog in a timely manner.
*There is a note in the box that logs where the box has been. Please add your info and place the note back in the box.
*There is a list of Rules and Guidelines in the box. Please read and follow these and return the list to the box.
*You may take anything you like from the box. Just replace every item with comparable quilt shop quality items equal to the amount taken. See guidelines.
*Ship the box to the next person in a reasonable amount of time.
*Due to the amount of postage shipping is only within the USA.

Head over to Sewingly Along to see the full list of guidelines.

Comment here for your chance to win, please only one comment per person.  To enter, tell me your favorite memory from this summer.  I don't know about you, but I can hardly believe the kids around here are already headed back to school!  Where has the summer gone?

Giveaway is open until August 23, and I will announce the winner (drawn by random.org) Friday, August 24.  Please be sure to leave your e-mail address if you are a No Reply Blogger.  If you are a No Reply Blogger, you will have until Monday, August 27 to contact me before I draw another winner.

I'll share what I chose to keep from the box in a couple days.  I definitely got some goodies!

Until next time...

August: Everything Wristlet

Let's get this party started (again)!  As promised, it's time to pick up the Style Stitches Sew Along where we left off last year.  Go dig out your book, dust it off, and get sewing!

This month is the Everything Wristlet.

I know I've shared it before, but check out this quick review over at Langes Fädchen, Faules Mädchen.  I still love her version!

So what are you plans for this month's bag?  Have you gotten your fabric all picked out?  Head over to the Flickr group to share your fabrics & progress!

Until next time...

I love our sewing community

I've got to say, when I started blogging a couple years ago, I had no idea I would meet some of my best friends through this blog.  The women (and few brave men!) in our online community are amazing - their talents, their lives, their charity.  I am truly blessed to consider myself to be part of this amazing group of people.

We are always here for one another, to lend an ear (or maybe it's eyes, in our virtual world?) during hard times, share joy in happy times, and in tangible ways such as sharing our last scrap of our very favorite fabrics just because our friends love it too.

One of these amazing women is Sara from Sew Sweetness.  Sometimes I feel like maybe I talk about Sara too much (crazy stalker lady much?!), but she truly is amazing!  I was so fortunate to have a chance to meet Sara when she was in town for Quilt Market, and my only regret was that we didn't get to spend more time together.  I hope we get a chance to meet up "in real life" again some day.

Sara is hoping to break into the clothing pattern business, and is asking for a little help from her friends.  You can find all the information on her Kickstarter page.  Please, please consider donating any amount you can.  Every dollar helps!  If each of us gave a dollar, or maybe the cost of a fat quarter, we can help Sara reach her goal.  I understand times are tough, but if you've got a buck to spare, please consider putting it towards Sara's goal.

If you do donate (deadline is August 19!), you can even have a chance to win some fantastic fabric over at Craft Buds (giveaway ends August 10).  Head over there after donating if you can.

And just incase you're wondering, Sara's not giving me anything to share this with you.  I just fully believe in what she's trying to do & want nothing more than for her to succeed!

Good luck Sara!

Until next time...

WIP Wednesday #33

Holy cow, where did August come from?  It totally snuck on me!  After not having a whole lot going on for the past few months, I feel like all of a sudden I've got projects coming out my ears.  It's probably not as bad as it seems right now, but after a fairly lazy summer as far as sewing goes, it seems like a lot.

I'm still working on the back for this quilt.  It's kind of funny that it's taking me so much longer to make the back than it did to make the front!

I don't have a specific plan for the back, I'm just kind of laying it out as I go, trying to use up as many scraps as I can from the front.  I was doing pretty good on it yesterday until I went & did this:

Oops!

Over the weekend I finished up a fun little tote bag.  I'm working on the pattern for it for Pellon, so I'm looking forward to sharing it with you!  Luckily I didn't have any of the same issues when I made the first few totes. :)

Side note:  do you have any idea how hard it is to photograph clear vinyl?!  It either has a terrible glare or is totally invisible.  Ugh.

And finally (Really, only three projects?  Why does it feel like so much more?!), I got some new fabric last night that I absolutely love!  

It's Sketch by Timeless Treasures in White & Black, Lipstick, Spring, & Grass.  They're such pretty, bright colors!  I have plans for a quilt pattern for Pellon & can't wait to get started.  Can you guess what my inspiration is?  I do still need to get the white fabric to add in, if that helps you out any.

I guess that's all for now, but it's enough!  

Remember, we're starting up the Style Stitches Sew Along again this month, so dust off your book & get sewing!  I'll get the first post for that up later this week or early next week.

Make sure you head over to Freshly Pieced to see what everybody else has been up to this week.

Until next time...