Introducing... My Favorite Things

Hello Everyone!  

I have some exciting news to share with you today.  I'm launching my first real-live grown-up quilt pattern!  It's called "My Favorite Things" and you can find it here. :)

This pattern has been a L-O-N-G time coming, just ask my very patient friend Cristina over at Pretty Little Quilts. :)  You see, about a year ago, I asked her if she would pretty-please be interested in testing out my pattern, and I was sooooo beyond excited when she said "Yes"!  She created a beautiful version, after which I should have been ready to publish.  But then, uncertainty set in... thoughts like "What if no one likes this?" and "What if my first pattern is a big flop?"  Then, as I was working through all these negative thoughts, trying to find the courage to just be brave and put myself out there, my offline life got really busy, I mean no-time-to-even-think-about-the-possiblity-of-sewing-one-single-stitch busy...  I guess I was subtly being told that it was just not the right time yet.  And so I waited...

But now, things have settled back down in my life.  I have no more excuses.  I need to just give it a try and move forward. :)  So here I am, putting myself out there.  I sincerely hope you like my little long-time-coming design.  And if not, I hope there will be future designs that will appeal to you.  After all, as I keep reminding myself, I can't get to the next step without taking this first giant leap. :)

In case you're wondering, the center square is hand embroidered, with an applique scalloped frame, and a pieced 9-patch border.  The pattern includes full instructions for completion, including a diagram for the hand quilting.  (The quilting can be done by hand or machine, of course.  I chose to hand quilt mine - you know, to give me more time to procrastinate and avoid moving forward. :)  The pattern is available in PDF format.  You can find it here.

So here's to being brave and trying something new!  Hope this is the first of many fun patterns to come. :)


Thanks for stopping by!

(holding my breath and pushing publish now... eek!!!)

Free Embroidery Pattern

Hello Everyone!  Happy Valentine's weekend!

Hope you're enjoying time with friends and loved ones this weekend.  With some chocolates and flowers, gifted or given, perhaps??  My gift to you is this springtime embroidery design.  The free pattern can be found here.

Can you tell I'm ready for Spring?  We've been having such a mild winter here in the Pacific Northwest.  The flowers are starting to grow and the trees are already budding - in the middle of February!  Can you believe it?!? No complaints from this girl. :)

I hope you enjoy making this as much as I did. :)  Have a fabulous rest of the weekend.

Thanks for stopping by!

Strawberry Swap Mini

Hi Everyone!  Happy weekend :)  I'm back to share the other projects I made for the Instagram Strawberry Swap.  (see previous post for part 1 :)

This mini was so much fun to make.  I used a 45 degree ruler to make the octagon center of each block, then added the corner triangles.  My swap partner likes Heather Ross fabric, so I used the Briar Rose collection (which has strawberries of course!).

This was a quilt/sewing project swap, but I also wanted to include something a bit unconventional, so I made up some fun watercolor recipe cards for my favorite strawberry treats.  (In case all this strawberry talk is making you hungry, give this recipe a try, it's a definite winner...)

   

I hope my partner likes her swap package - I sure had fun making everything!

Thanks for stopping by!

The Strawberry Swap

Hello out there!  Ok, confession time...  So there's this thing I've been totally hooked on lately.  It has lots of pretty photos, that are posted in real time, and provides endless amounts of inspiration.  It's called Instagram... :)  Have you tried it??  (I'm audreyann33 if you're so inclined to come on over and find me...)

After much browsing, I found some quilty friends, and I'm now participating in my first Instagram swap (!!).  The theme is strawberries (how perfect, right?!?).  Here's how it works - every participant is assigned a swap partner, and you are then provided with basic information about your partner's fabric and quilt-y project likes. Everyone makes small projects for their partner and then mails them at a specific time, along with other small fun goodies that fit the theme (think strawberry lip gloss, strawberry lemonade mix, etc...).

My partner likes Heather Ross fabric, and I have a few fun projects in the works :)

First up is a little gathered pouch using this fantastic (free!) tutorial from Noodlehead.

There's even a little pocket inside - with a strawberry! :)

I haven't worked with zippers much, but the tutorial directions were really easy to follow and made this project very doable.  I'm having so much fun with this swap!  Next up is a mini quilt in the same fabric. I'll be back to share that one soon!  (or there's a sneak peak over on Instagram if you can't wait that long - hehe :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Vintage Camper Mini

Hi Everyone!  Hope you all are having a great weekend.  Mine included some sewing time, so life is good over here. :)

My friend Cristina over at Pretty Little Quilts (hi Cristina!) is having a really great Quilt Along this summer called the Texas Road Trip Quilt Along.  It's a lot of fun - you should definitely check it out if you haven't stopped by yet.

I made the sweet camper blog she designed as part of the QAL.

The block finishes at 6" x 6", the perfect size for a mini, so I made up some complimentary blocks to go along with it.

First up were some 4-pointed stars.

Then came an Ohio star.

And then some flying geese to round out the group. :)

Next up was figuring out how to set all of these random blocks together.

I landed on a setting with the camper block in the middle to highlight it.

I really enjoyed making this little quilt!  You can find the pattern for the camper block here if you want to make one of your own. :)  Now on to the quilting...


Thanks for stopping by!

Stash Building & Sketching

Hi Everyone, hope you're all enjoying the holiday weekend :)  I've been a bit under the weather since mid-week, so I haven't been doing much sewing, but I did recently pick up a few fun fabrics to add to my collection.  Can't wait to feel better so I can cut into these goodies!

 

I did manage to get outside today and do some sketching though.  Yup, that's a sure sign I'm definitely on the mend - whew!

These little sketches have given me an idea... stay tuned :)


Hope you all had a fun-filled weekend!


Thanks for stopping by!

So Much to Share

Hi Everyone!  Sorry to have been away so long...  There's lots to catch up on around here, so let's get started, shall we?!?  

The quilt guild I belong to recently had an X and + block exchange.  If you haven't tried making this block yet, I highly recommend it!  It goes together very quickly, and it's a great way to use up scraps (which, in my sewing room, tend to multiply during the night, I swear...).  

Everyone who made blocks was entered for a chance to win them all.  Unfortunately, I was not the lucky winner, but I am in love with this block and definitely want to make one of these quilts sometime soon!

I also recently snuck away for a relaxing beach vacation in sunny CA.  We had the best time exploring the coast north of LA. 

We were lucky enough to be in town during the Rose Bowl Flea Market, which is held on the second Sunday of every month at the Rose Bowl stadium.    

It was a good thing I had flying-imposed limitations on purchases; a girl could really go crazy in a place like this! :)  I did manage to find two items that were suitcase-compatible - a square wooden frame, just begging for a quilt block, and a small journal.  Here's the "befores", and hope to show you some "afters" sometime soon...

We also spent two days in Santa Barbara exploring the town, including State Street which has some great shopping and restaurants, and the fantastic beaches.

The beach right by our hotel was pretty spectacular too...

I was so inspired by all the colorful beach houses.  (Aren't they great?!?)  

That I just had to fit in some quick sketching time...

 

It was such a fun week, and a great distraction from all my regular responsibilities back home.  But now back to reality... which is actually just fine, because I've got something exciting in the works that's been a long time coming and will be ready to share with you very soon! :)

If you've made it this far, thanks for sticking with me through all these photos and updates... and hope your summer is off to a great start!

Thanks for stopping by!

Finish Dwell Mini - Check!

Happy weekend everyone!  Hope you're having a good one.

I wanted to share my FINISHED(!!!) Dwell Mini with you.  I just love how it turned out, and I'm even more excited that it didn't end up in my ever-growing UFO pile!  Apparently minis are more my style, in terms of time commitment that is... :)

This project was so much fun!  Let's just say now I understand what all the hype is about...  Have you made a mini yet?? 

Linking up to Quilt Story's Fabric Tuesday...

Thanks for stopping by!