Sew the Library

No,I didn't fall off the earth,just blog land!  Sorry for the lack of posting lately but,in order to stay focused and stay productive it was necessary.

So,what has been keeping me busy…

quilt # 7 for this year!  This is my buzz saw quilt from The book Fabulously Fast Quilts by Amy Smart.  This is my second quilt from this book,although this one was not as fast as the butterfly effect quilt,it was still fairly fast to sew up.

For the back of this quilt I decided to pull out a few of the gothic windows blocks from w a y back in April 2012(my month in stash bee that year).  It felt great to be including these in a project finally!  You can see the quilt made from most of the blocks.

No photos outside today as it is a slushy/snowy mess,with more on the way.  I did not want to risk dragging or dropping this beauty in the slush.

Finished this quilt measures at 67 x 82,a little larger than the one in the book.  Simply because my borders are just a bit larger than the pattern called for.  Although there are more quilts in the book that I like,next month it is time to move on and sew from some other books/magazines in my sewing library.

Linking up with Weekend Doings this month for Sew the Library

*** Just a little note to my regular followers,you may or may not have noticed that my header is quite a bit different!  In the near future I will be changing my blog name and url.  The current header is temporary until I find someone to make me a professional one.  If you know anyone let me know!  More on this in a later post ***

Sew Worth It

January recap/February focus

Sewing progress for the first month of 2015..

left to right
# 1 Stick shift quilt front/back
# 2 little Red in the Woods quilt front/back
# 3 Fall Frolic quilt front/back
# 5 butterfly effect quilt front/back

Quilt  # 6

Todays finish,the first for Feb is my Mellow Yellow Stick Shift quilt.  The spot where I usually hang my quilts for photos at the Steam Plant (which used to actually be a steam plant back in the day,but is now a theater and art mecca) had a large pile of snow in front of it.  So the stairs were the photo spot today.

The back side,is a lot more pieced than planned,but then the quilt is two rows longer and three sticks longer than originally planned.

These are the fabrics I am hoping to use for my January BOM bag,if there is enough,if not it will be back to the stash to find something that will work.  There is still some hardware needed for this bag,so we shall see if it gets completed this month.  The fabric for this months bag has yet to be pulled…

Sew Worth It

Sew the Library (twofer)

Have you heard,or are you participating in Sew the Library?  It is a monthly link up hosted by Fabric Mutt and I think a few other bloggers will be hosting throughout the year too.  This is not one of my usual link up party's,but this is a New year and time for New things...

So I am participating.  For this month (the first link up)  my project is a quilt,from the book Fabulously Fast Quilts.  This book was a Christmas gift from a very special friend.  Jamie and I decided to have our own little sew along this month.  The pattern we chose this month is butterfly effect.

The prints in the quilt came from a Color Me Happy jelly roll,the solid is Kona Nightfall,which is actually a darker blue.  The binding strips are two grey prints from the jelly roll mixed with a green with white polka dot Dear Stella print.  The name of the book holds true,as this was pretty fast to sew up,and turned out fabulously!

You are probably thinking this is a crazy back side for a quilt called butterfly effect right?  well,having my own "style"is one of the things that makes my quilts unique,and this one is no exception.  As you know I love things that are reversible…

Finish #5 for January!
Sew Worth It

Productive Focus

Do you choose a word(s) at the beginning of each new year?  Some bloggers/quilters do some do not.  Until this year I was one of the do nots.  For some reason it just felt right,although I did not link up anywhere or anything like that.

It is just a personal thing having to do with my quilting/bag making goals for the year.  Speaking of that here is Fall Frolic all finished!

inside and closer up.

Again,inside since the sun was dipping by the time I finished!  This one was actually finished last weekend. Quilt finish #4 for January!

This past week has been a busy one,with two new quilt projects in the works.  Butterfly effect from a "Color Me Happy"jelly roll,and Kona Nightfall blue yardage.

and the second Stick Shift quilt,using "Mellow Yellow",a FQ bundle and strips from a "Silent Film" roll up/jelly roll.  Both tops are finished at this point,photos will come as soon as I can find daylight hours…

My words for this year…Productive Focus

Sew Worth It

my Tammy 4 all seasons

When I saw the post for the Tammy 4 all seasons post over at Sew We Quilt back in November I just Had to jump in…even though I had never so much as sewn one x stitch!

Before we get to my bag many thanks are in order though: Firstly Thank you to Mdm Samm for this wonderful hop,and for my new found skill (albeit the skill part is still questionable) the wonderful magnets,and my Tammy bag kit!
Thanks also to Mary for so graciously moving me to a later day in the hop,so I would have time to finish my cross stitch,and for being our head cheerleader!

Many thanks to All the wonderful sponsors including:
Brooke of Brooke's Books For all the Awesome cross stitch patterns
Cori of Chitter Chatter Designs For all the Sweet Pinny patterns
Apple Heart  Mdm Samm's shop for the Tammy Bag pattern
Beam N Read (LED light)
DMC (floss and Aida cloth)
H. A. KIDD (monaco fabric/cloth)
Readers  (reading glasses)
Snap Source (snaps and a gadget for attaching them)
Yarn Tree (Q snaps)
           
                     Thank You,Thank You,Thank You!

Since I was more than a bit nervous  about starting with the cross stitch,the Pinny came first.

 The box pleats (the first time for making these) gave me a few fits,but nothing major.

When Mdm Samm said that it took her two weeks to finish her cross stitch/tammy bag I figured it would take me at least twice that amount of time.  Wrong!  It took me F O R ever.  Okay it only took me around six weeks…  Apparently I can not count,or count correctly anyway!  The ending result…

well just don't look too closely or you will see stitches where they should not be,no stitches where they should be...

Finally the day the hop started I finished my cross stitch!  Let me just say I was (and still am) Ecstatic!

On to the rest of the Tammy bag.  The handle was my only problem child,even though I measured and marked the center…you guessed it,I sewed it on crooked.  Sigh,ahh the challenges of sewing new to me patterns!

Since my DD and her hubby installed software upgrades and more memory to my computer for Christmas,I have not yet re-learned how to edit my photos.  So you can not read the label I added to the back of the bag. The label says "This Took FOREVER"   That being said,I am sooo in Love with my newest Bag finish and,yes,I will be doing more cross stitch in the future!  However,the next one(s) will not be on a schedule but rather when the mood strikes!

Okay I have gone on long enough about my Sweet new Tammy,Off you go to check out all the Wonderful Stitchers I have the pleasure of Sharing the day with!


                                                                     January 19, 2015

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