August do. Good Stitches Quilt Finished

Way back in August it was my turn in my do. Good Stitches circle to be the quilter. That meant that I got to pick the blocks and the color scheme for the blocks we all did and in return it was my job to make sure that the blocks turned into an actual finished quilted quilt (for the post I wrote about what blocks I wanted see here).

I was supposed to finish quilting the quilt by the end of October but with the Sewing Summit in there and finding out about the baby I was a little distracted and so it didn't get finished in October.  And even though I wasn't feeling good for the majority of November I did manage to get the quilt finished up before the deadline for Rachel of Stitched in Color's Celebrate Good Stitches celebration.

August do. Good Stitches Quilt -- Quilted by Stephanie of Sewing by Stephanie

The quilting ended up being much simpler than I had wanted it to be, but at the time I was actually sitting at the machine quilting this was the absolute best I could do.  Even though I wasn't impressed with my quilting job, I'm still happy to know that the recipient of the quilt will love and cherish it (all of the quilts my circle makes are donated to "My Very Own Blanket" an organization that gives blankets to children in the foster care system)

August do. Good Stitches Quilt -- Quilted by Stephanie of Sewing by Stephanie

These photos were taken on a rare rainy day in southern California.  I managed to sneak outside before the rain started coming down to take these shots, but as you can see in the little bit of sky pictures in the photos the sky does not look very happy.

But let's rewind a little bit.  Remember a little bit ago when I mentioned Rachel of Stitched in Color's Celebrate Good Stitches celebration?  Well, my circle didn't choose the quilt I quilted as our one quilt to submit for the contest, instead we chose this beautiful quilt quilted by Jenn of Knotted-Thread.  And guess what? We're currently in 2nd place!  So if you have a moment and haven't already voted please go over and consider voting for our quilt (or consider going over and voting for whatever quilt you think should win!).  Click here to vote!

October do. Good Stitches Quilt -- Quilted by Jenn of Knotted-Thread

 Thanks!

I'm Making Something Extra Special!

Hi everyone!

Sorry I've been gone so long from the blogging world.  I have a good excuse though--  I've been busy making something extra special!  A baby!!!

That's right! My husband and I are happy to say that we're expecting our first baby this summer.  My first trimester has been full of sickness and I've been dog tired, but I'm just now coming out if it and I'm happy to say that I've been feeling a lot better and am finally able to spend some time in my sewing room again.

Hopefully I'll be back to having quilty photos for you soon, but in the mean time here's a different kind of photo to enjoy!

This pic is from my ultrasound 3 weeks ago

Custom Bunting Quilt on Etsy

Hi Everyone!

I've been busy here the last few days working on a custom bunting quilt commission that I got on Etsy.  I finished it up yesterday and sent it off this morning.

Instead of the green/ blue/ yellow color scheme that I normally make these in I did this one in blues and yellows.  I personalized it for it's lucky new little owner-- a little boy named Thomas Henry who was just born last week.  I hope he loves it and gets lots of snuggles in it.

PT{S}9

The Pillow Talk {Swap} Round 9 is finishing up this week and this time around I was able to take part.

My secret partner says she loves the look of linen and text, with a splash of color.  She also hinted that something in reds would look nice in her house, and that a rectangular pillow for her bed would be appreciated.  I changed the plan for this pillow over and over again in my mind, and this is what I ended up with.

Do you think she'll like it?  This was my first time working with the neutrals/ text/ linen combo and I think it comes off very "clean".  The pillow measures 12"x20" and takes a pillow form of the same size.  I didn't have a pillow form of that size to test it out on so instead I took these pictures after stuffing the pillow with fiberfill.  I used Kona solids that I got in the I <3 Kona charm swap at Pile O' Fabric I participated in a while ago for the applique.  It was nice to have so many color options in small sizes so I didn't have to run out and buy fabric.  It was especially nice to not have to buy Kona since I had to go out and but all the neutrals, the text prints, and the linen specifically for this pillow.

I don't know if you can see it very well but I used tiny buttons for the door knobs on the houses.  Three "door knobs" are red and the fourth one is green.  I thought it added a nice little bit of color in there.

I had had plans to add a beautiful thick Ruby Kona piping around the edge of the pillow but when it came down to it my sewing machine wouldn't cooperate so it didn't work out.  I just couldn't get my presser foot close enough to the piping to get a tight fit, and it looked pretty dreadful loose, so I took it out.  This was also my first time doing "quilt as you go" and I have to say I really liked it. 

BTW, if anyone is looking for a good source for text prints I bought mine from Sew Me a Song on Etsy.  Her prices were very reasonable and she had quite a few FQ bundles all made up already that you can choose from, and she was kind enough to let me swap out some of the prints in the bundle for prints from a different bundle.

October Bee Blocks

I've been pretty absent from the sewing scene recently.  I don't know how October ended up being so busy for me, but I found that I just had no time to sit down and sew almost all month.

As a result, I was a little late getting by bee blocks done, but here they are.

My October Stash Bee blocks:

My October do. Good Stitches blocks:

After uploading my do. Good Stitches blocks to the group I realized that I made a mistake in my construction of the blocks, so now I'm waiting to hear if the bee mama Jenn wants the blocks as is or if I need to pull them apart and re-assemble them correctly.  I guess it's just a lesson for me in the importance of actually looking at the tutorial while making the blocks. 

On a side note these do. Good Stitches blocks will be flying off to Hawaii with some friends.  The October do. Good Stitches mama for my circle is Jenn of Knotted-Thread and she's doing a few charity quilts for Sandy victims and I signed up to make a few blocks for one of her quilts. She's planning on hand delivering the quilts in December when she goes to visit family and friends in New Jersey.  If you're interested in donating a few charity blocks the sign ups are still open.

The Long Weekend

I'm doing it.  I just bought the pattern and I'm going to make one.  My first one will be a scrappy one for my sister for Christmas.  I hope it turns out well, and I hope she likes it.

Mouthy Stitches 2 Tote

A couple of months ago I signed up for the Mouthy Stitches 2 swap and today I mailed off the tote I made for my secret partner.

Her inspiration mosaic had a lot of brightly-colored hexagons laid out in interesting combinations, so I decided it was time for me to do some hexies.  The layout for my hexies was inspired by the colors in the hexagons themselves.  I really enjoyed playing around with the different colors and seeing which ones looked good together.  I'm quite happy with how it came out, and I hope my secret partner loves it.

On the reverse side I played around with the quilting a bit.  Another thing I noticed about my secret partner's inspiration mosaic was that all the things she had pictured had some fun geometric-looking quilting, so I did my take on "geometric quilting" while trying to make sure it didn't get too busy.

In addition to the tote, we were allowed to go crazy and make whatever kind of key fob we wanted for our partners.  I stuck with the hexie theme and made my partner a reversible hexie keyfob with  lobster clasp.  Each side of the fob is made out of 6 half-inch hexies, and each side has a rainbow of colors.

I also added one of my new tags I had made recently to the bag.  Now my partner will never be able to forget who she got the tote from.

Linking up this post with:

Giveaway Winner!

 Winner Winner!!!!!

And the winner of my 100th post giveaway was comment #

Which is:

Congratulations Elizabeth!  I've sent you an email!

Thanks to everyone who entered and who gave me some amazing ideas for my classes.  I look forward to using some of them when I start teaching at The Makery next month!

More Stuff to Give Away!

If you haven't yet entered my 100th post giveaway you should go and do so now!

Here's the link: 100th Giveaway Post

And there's more!

The box I had to ship to myself from Sewing Summit because I didn't have any more room in my suitcase arrived yesterday and in it were the rest of the items I'm giving away.

So in addition to all the stuff listed in this post, I'll also be giving away:

One copy of the book Ruby Star Wrapping (which isn't even released yet!), one Spring 2012 Eclectic Modern design catalog for Joel Dewberry, one Pack 'n' Pillow pattern by It's Sew Emma Patterns, one Gabby's Sleepover Jammies pattern by Izzy & Ivy Designs, and one free month subscription to Creativebug.

(I'm turning comments off for this post because I don't want anyone to get confused and try to enter the giveaway here  To win all the things pictures in this post and on the giveaway post hop on over and enter on the original post.)

Good luck + thanks for commenting!

WIP Wednesday 10/17/12

Happy WIP Wednesday everyone!

If you haven't entered my big 100th post giveaway go here to do so now!

So, I have no idea how it happened but October seems to be a crazy hectic month for me in terms of the number of projects I have to do. When I actually sat down and wrote the list out I was amazed.  And this is all post-Sewing Summit stuff.  I did a ton of projects to get ready for Sewing Summit that I still have to photograph and share.

Here's my list (organized by when they have to be done by):
Before 10/20:
-Finish Mouthy Stitches 2 tote and send
-Finish class samples and photograph
-Halloween costumes

Before 10/27:
-Issachar's baptismal gown
-Plan baptism reception
-Plan Halloween party
-Jen's costume?/ presents and send

Before 10/31:
-Stash Bee blocks and send
-Believe at do. Good Stitches blocks and send
-Quilt August Believe at do. Good Stitches quilt

Ongoing WIPs (no deadline):
-"Be Creative" dresden wallhanging
-Mario blocks
-Christmas tablerunners
-12 Days of Christmas quilt
-Harriet's Christmas quilt

And to prove that I'm at least making some progress on my long list, here are some pictures:

Mouthy Stitches 2 Progress

Intro to Quilting: Applique Class Sample

"Be Creative" Dresden Wallhanging Progress

Believe at do. Good Stitches August Quilt Progress

What projects do you have going on that need to be done before the end of the month?

And again, If you haven't entered my big 100th post giveaway you should really go here to do so now!

100th Post Giveaway + The Makery!

I'm back from Utah!!!

I had an absolute blast these past few days attending the 2012 Sewing Summit in Salt Lake City but now I'm home again and it's time to get back to business.

As promised I have a giveaway today to celebrate my 100th post on this blog, and it's an awesome giveaway if I can say so myself.  I have a surprise for everyone though!  The giveaway isn't just to celebrate my 100th post, it's also to celebrate the fact that beginning in November I'm going to be teaching modern quilting and sewing at The Makery in Anaheim, CA.  Yay!

The Makery is a combination craft studio/ co-working space/ creative classroom/ supply shop located in Anaheim California that offers quality instruction in a variety of mediums to crafters of all levels.  In the words of The Makery "We believe in community. We believe in creative expression. We believe in Accessibility."

Starting in November I'm going to be teaching beginning classes in applique and piecing, as well as pouch making and papercrafting.  I'm super excited for this opportunity to work with tha amazing owners and all the other great instructors at The Makery and to be able to share my love of quilting with others.

For the full schedule of classes offered at The Makery, please go here.

Now onto the giveaway!

I had the idea for this giveaway a few months ago and when I realized that the giveaway would end up being right around the same time as Sewing Summit I knew that I would have add some Sewing Summit swag to the pile of loot.

 

So here it is! The giveaway pile o' loot includes: 5 coordinating fat quarters of Reflections by Gudrun Erla for Red Rooster fabrics, one Kate Spain fat quarter with a tag signed by the designer, one seam ripper from Babylock, one measuring tape from Craftsy, a set of "handmade with love" tags, one "Sew Blog Love" sticker, one 4" square template from Tabslot, one set of buttons by Basic Grey, and since I wanted everyone to benefit from all the swaps going on at Sewing Summit I included one I-Spy charm set (with 112 charms!) and one handmade zipper pouch.

And there's more!  I had so much stuff coming back from the Sewing Summit that I couldn't get it all in my suitcase, so I had to ship some stuff home in the mail, including some magazines and books that I'm also planning on including in the giveaway bundle!

So here are the details for the giveaway:

For one entry, tell me what kind of small project you would want to complete in a beginning quilting class.  A mugrug? Some coasters? Something else? And what would be a good design? Basic squares? Half square triangles? log cabin? It would have to be something that could be completed in 3 hours by beginner sewists.

For a second entry, follow my blog (or already be a follower) and tell me so.

For a third entry, "like" Sewing By Stephanie on Facebook and tell me so.

For a fourth entry "like" The Makery on Facebook and tell me so.

The giveaway closes at 11:59 PM PST on Sunday, October 21st, with the winner announced Monday morning.

 Happy Commenting + Good Luck!!!!!

Sewing Summit Bound + 99th Post!

And I'm off!  Sewing Summit 2012 here I come!!!

Before I leave though I want to take the opportunity to share a photo of all the stuff I made for the swaps and for Travel Handmade this year.

If you look hard at the photo you'll see both a camera bag and an organizer made with Pat Bravo's Rock 'n' Romance.  I did it!  I managed to make the two things I really wanted to make before Sewing Summit.  They took me all of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday but they are well worth it!

Be on the lookout for my 100th post and big celebratory giveaway Monday morning when I get back.  In the meantime, for everyone going to the summit I'll see you there, and for everyone staying home I hope you have a great weekend!

Finished Tree Skirt

I thought I'd take a quick break from feverishly finishing up stuff for Sewing Summit to show you a finish from a few weeks ago.

Some regular followers of mine might remember the Christmas tree skirt and tablerunners that I had on my WIP list a few weeks ago.  Well, I haven't made much progress on the tablerunners but I quilted and bound the skirt!

Laid out and ready to be basted

Why you never turn your back on a quilt when you're basting on the floor

I free motion quilted the skirt in a pebble design and bound it with a Santa's Workshop by Riley Blake Designs print in red and white.  I love it so much, I can't wait until after Thanksgiving when I can pull out the Christmas tree (we use a fake tree, not a real one) and see how the skirt looks on the tree.  For now though I just have to admire the way it looks by itself.

Pebble quilted and bound!

I'll try to get some better pictures of the skirt once I get the tablerunners finished, but for now I have to get back to sewing for Sewing Summit!  Only two days left!