Happy as a hipster llama...

I just completed my first swaps, and couldn't be more happy with what I got in return! Firstly, I had my mini swap with Rebecca...She made me a mini-quilt, and holy cow llama did she out-do herself!! When she first posted that she had gotten this llama fabric, I told her how much I LOVED it and she decided to incorporate it into my mini, and she did such an awesome job. I am in awe of not only her sewing skills, but her design skills as well! (Prepare for picture overload, because I am that much in love with this mini)

I've decided to name him Ferdinand...I had a few names in mind and this one was recommended by Rebecca as well, after sitting with him for a little while, I definitely think it fits. 

Um...so I apologize for the terribly out of focus picture...but here's Ferdinand in his new home

 

Hipster Ferdinand and his hipster hats....

The backing is very pretty also, I love the design the quilting made on the back.  

To top off this already awesome package, she also sent me some pretty fabric to make something for my soon-to-be-born baby girl, how sweet was that?  Can't wait to come up with something for her :-) If you want to read about her design process, check out her blog about it here. 

I also received my gift from the Modern She Made Swap, my first "official" swap.  I received this amazing bag from Karen at Sew Well Maide, how lucky am I?! She totally nailed my tastes and did such a great job on the bag. It seriously looks so professionally made, and she designed the pattern herself!! I had expressed that I wanted a tote bag to carry my embroidery stuff, and this bag totally fits the bill.

I LOVE the fabric choices she made for this, totally me!! 

And check out all these great extras she threw in...a cute little matching needle book, some embroidery thread and an Amy Butler charm pack...can I just tell you how I've always wanted to get my hands on some Amy Butler fabric because I think it's so pretty, but have never been able to bring myself to do it?  It's like she read my mind!

Here it is already loaded with some stuff...check out all the room in there! That's a 12 inch hoop and it looks small in there compared to how roomy the bag is.  There are lots of great pockets and dividers also, it's very well thought out.  

Once Rebecca has received her pouch I will share that (I'm a slacker and got it out a little late...), I had my doubts in the process of making it, but really like how it turned out.

Now, a question for all you wise quilty-types....do you pre-wash pre-cuts like you would normal yardage?? I have this charm pack now, and also a jelly roll I bought a while back, and I'm afraid to wash them and ruin them! So any advice would be much appreciated :-)

Christmas In July Event!

It's time to break out your holiday fabrics, Christmas Carol CDs and (iced) hot cocoa guys...Rebecca at Sew Festive Handmade is holding a really fun event this summer called Christmas In July, and she's asked me to be one of her guest bloggers! Every Monday through the month of July, she will have two holiday tutorials, one being home decor, and the other will be a gift idea. At the end, she will have a linky party where everyone can link up to show what they've come up with in early preparation for the holidays! The best part is there will be prizes at the end! Who doesn't love prizes?? I am so excited for this, hopefully it will inspire me to actually start some holiday sewing early, unlike last year where I waited until the last minute and hardly got anything I wanted to do finished.  Click on over to her blog to read more about it and check back soon to see the great schedule she's got lined up. 

Tropical Storms = Sewing Time

This weekend was perfect sewing time...not only did I have a three day weekend, with hubby being gone one of those days, but it rained pretty much the ENTIRE day Monday thanks to Tropical Storm Beryl...it was fantastic.  We desperately need the rain around here, and it was a great excuse to sit around in my yoga pants all day sewing my lil fingers off.

Thanks to this marathon sewing, I was able to check a few things off of my list (oh, and rainy days + mailing deadlines = bad pictures, I apologize in advance...):

My package for my partner for Modern She Made Swap is all ready to go! (I even had a small box that I received a few books in from Amazon today that was JUST the right size...score!)

    

In addition to the bag, I also made a little key fob and zippered pouch. I am working on putting together a tutorial for the pouch as well! 

I also completed my blocks for do.Good Stitches. I really liked how these turned out and they were really easy to put together.  The block is called Radiant Ring, and we used the tutorial at Don't Call Me Betsy to make them.

I also got some progress made on a few other items, but having these two things ready to put in the mail tomorrow is a HUGE relief...I was starting to feel the pressure of getting it all done! So big shout out to Beryl for helping make it happen. 

In other exciting news, I just read about the Purse Palooza (I keep wanting to call it "Pursealooza"...doesn't quite have the same ring to it, does it?) that is being held through June at Sew Sweetness.  Now, as you might already know, I'm pretty obsessed with making bags, so this is right up my alley.  I have a baby bag that I'm just getting started on cutting pieces out for, and plans for The Chelsea Bag by Vanessa Christenson, totally perfect timing! I realized while planning these bags that I've never actually made a bag for my self, though I've made plenty of bags as gifts! I think it's high time I make some for myself, don't you??  

I hope you all had a fun, relaxing, productive holiday weekend! 

Swappy time!

Oh hey guys! So nice to see you again...have you been as distracted as me from doing anything BUT entering giveaways this week!? Kind of glad its over now so that I can get back to actual sewing, lol. (I can't only blame SewMamaSew Giveaway Day though...I also just discovered The One Stop Giveaway Shop, where Diane and Rachael find giveaways and post links to them, or if you are holding a giveaway you can fill out a form to be listed...I'm totally addicted...)

Anyway, I did manage to get some work done on my Modern She Made Swap item in between all the entering of giveaways and discovering LOTS of great new blogs, thankfully, cause this puppy's gotta get mailed out next week! I toiled for a while over what to make...the rules called for something with circles. Could be anywhere in the item, but had to include a circle somehow.  As this was my first big swap, I was feeling the pressure of trying to figure out something to make that my partner would enjoy, so it actually took me a few weeks until I felt comfortable enough to post anything to start with...

This is what I started with (without details as to why...because this hasn't been sent yet and my partner could be reading this!! ;-) )

Idea one involved an improv pieced circle supposed to be a tree...

Idea two was for some "port-hole" type things with some fun fussy cutting....

And I went with...

A combination of both!! I like the fussy cutting idea, but the port holes were too much within my comfort zone, and I really wanted to do this swap to push my boundaries a little bit.  I do not have much practice with improv piecing (to be honest the idea of it makes me mildly anxious...) so I decided to go that route.  At first I wasn't sure about it, I almost wound up scrapping the whole thing, but once it transformed more into the "tree" I really started to enjoy it. 

I appliqued it onto a tote bag (yes, I AM obsessed with making bags, so this part certainly wasn't out of my comfort zone...), made with a nice natural looking linen.  Turns out, linen is alot harder to work with that I had anticipated. I had the hardest time squaring it up and getting straight cuts, it kept getting all wonky on me! I love the look it has though so I will definitely be trying some other stuff with it (so ya know, if you have any tips on this stuff, help a sister out!!)

I ended up making the bag reversible, because I love items with multiple functions so it just had to be done...

I love the two sides...the outside is very fun and whimsical to me, while the reversible side is a little more classic and neutral. 

I also decided to add some hand stitching to the tree to add some interest. This was my first time hand stitching, and in true Jess fashion I started with absolutely no plan (ok...I had a plan to start with, but I totally did not stick to it what-so-ever)

I used some chain stitching to give the tree base some texture, and then just some straight lines around the tree in increasing size/distance...it reminds me of a radiating sun and makes me have warm happy feelings about this bag!  I don't think my hand stitching is very accurate, but for a first time I'm pretty satisfied with it. 

I really hope my partner enjoys this, I wound up having a lot of fun creating it! By the end of the weekend I also hope to be able to share my item for my mini-swap with Rebecca (or at least a sneak peak of it anyway...) and, if all goes according to plan, I am also hoping to have a tutorial! (There, I announced it, now I *have* to do it...right?) 

I'm linking up this week with Handmade Parade at There and Back...click the button below to check out some other great handstitching projects! 

Quick Update

Howdy strangers...feels like it's been a while since I've posted anything! It's been pretty busy around here, we've been cleaning out the house preparing for and having a yard sale, working on some projects around the house and all that fun stuff, but I have managed to squeeze a little sewing in here and there.  I have been a bad little blogger and not taken too many pictures of stuff as it's been in progress, so please forgive me, but here is what I do have to show for myself!!

Firstly, I finished the top to my first baby quilt (ok, I actually finished this about 2 or 3 weeks ago, but I'm just now getting around to sharing it...)

I figured out why I was having trouble with my layout...it's called "Jess can't add", lol. It ended up working out pretty much as I had planned thankfully. Now I've just got to decide how to quilt it...I want to make it fun, but also simple and something that will wind up nice and soft.  I'm thinking making some zig zags in the big strips, and maybe some fun little shapes in the little squares? Hm. We shall see...right now it's sitting patiently all folded up on my sewing table waiting for it's turn to be finished. 

Next I've been working on my Retro Flowers quilt...It's coming along nicely, I am a wee bit behind schedule on the QAL, but I think I'll be able to catch up. I've got 3 blocks done so far, 6 more to go. Then I have to decide on the sashing...

I've also been working on my project for my mini-swap with Rebecca, my Modern She Made swap, and my blocks for this months do.Good Stitches...these three are this week's priorities and will hopefully be if not finished then at least pretty far along by the end of the week.  It's been hard to devote a lot of time to sewing during the week...by the time I get home from work and get everything around the house down, my feet are starting to get pretty swollen and since I've yet to figure out a way to comfortably put my feet up while sewing, I've had to keep my sewing sessions pretty short lately which is REALLY slowing me down! Ugh! 

Anyway, back to work for me while I still have the energy.  Hope you all had a great weekend!!

Liebster Blog!!!

Not much has been going on around here this week, chugging along on a few of my projects but hubby was actually home this week (yay!) so not a whole lot that is worthy of being shown has gotten done. However, my week was totally made when my friend Diane at from blank pages passed along the Liebster Blog award to me! She is one of my newer blog friends and I absolutely adore her and to top it off she is talented to boot, so I was shocked and honored that she chose me to be one of her recipients :-)

I've only been blogging for a few months now, and I'm still trying to find my niche in this great big blogging world, but I love the community and being able to share my stories as I go (albeit only with about 9 people right now...maybe I can get to 10 by the end of the month and we'll have a party??).  I am very thankful to my small following for bearing with me through my awkward ramblings...without you, I'd still be talking to me self!! lol

So, what is the Liebster award, you may be asking? Well let me tell you....

The Liebster award (German for favorite) is for bloggers with 200 followers or less. As a recipient of the award, you have the chance to thank and link back to the blogger who gave it to you as well as pass it along to five other deserving blogs.

Now here's the rules: 

Liebster Conventions:
1. Thank your award presenter on your blog and link back to him/her.
2. Copy and paste the award to your blog.
3. Present the Liebster Award to 5 blogs that you think deserve to be recognized.
4. Let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
5. Have faith that your followers will spread the love too! 

My 5 2 blogs that I am awarding this to are:

1)  Habibti at Home- Sarah was my first blogging friend. We both started our blogs right around the same time and are in similar stages in our lives, so it has been fun to chat with her. She's quite the talented quilter and also shares on her blog about the fun travels she takes, so I like to try to live vicariously through her ;-)

2)  Tickle and Hide- Jodi is simply amazing! She makes some truly beautiful quilts and children's clothing, not to mention she is super sweet.  

A few of the blogs I follow and love have already received the award, hence my breaking of the rules and only awarding it to 2, but in case you do not know them already, you should definitely still check them out- Sew Festive and as previously mentioned from blank pages. 

Again, many thanks Diane for spreading the love! :) 

W.I.P. Wednesday: A Week of Firsts

So this week I've put my daring pants on and have jumped into a few new things:

Firstly, Rebecca at Sew Festive Handmade has been trying to convince me of the fun-ness of swaps...I am a bit hesitant to join one, so I've been picking her brain on these, asking her all kinds of crazy questions to try to make up my mind.  Well, she is super, and not only answered all my questions, but also offered to do a mini swap with just to two of us so I could get a feel for swapping! With a bit of trepidation, I agreed, and made my first inspiration mosaic. I am going to make her a pouch, and she is going to make me a mini. I've already started playing with a few ideas, one is a new-to-me technique and I am really digging it so far but it needs some adjustments before I settle on it. I cannot preview it since I don't want to ruin the surprise for her, but I think it's going to turn out pretty fun!

I was going to see how our mini-swap went before joining a regular swap, but then I saw this: Modern She Made Swap.  I told my self I better not, since I have a few projects on the horizon that I'd actually like to get done, but then decided to just jump in...because by the time I finish all this other stuff, I probably will be about to pop and will not want to join one then.  So now's as good a time as any....right?! I'm still a little nervous, but hopefully it will be fun and I will not totally suck at it. If you are interested, I believe there is still space!

Ok, so on to the actual sewing...I've been talking about my Retro Flowers quilt for a while now (which is my FIRST quilt!), and wouldn't you know it, Bianca at Sweet Diesel Designs and Megan of City Stitches went and decided to start a Quilt-A-Long for Retro Flowers! This was obviously a sign, so I've joined in on that too...my first QAL!! I've gotten started with just my first block this week to see how I could manage the curves.  Turns out, not too shabby!

I did mess this one up a little...apparently I cut wrong when squaring so this did not line up. I do not know why I still pieced the two halves together, because now that's just even more seam ripping for me if I want to fix it...ugh.  Oh well, happy to say the rest went fairly well and I'm ready to move forward with the rest of them. I'm only doing 9 blocks, so hopefully it won't take me too long...

Check this out, I'm even chain piecing the curves like a pro!! Haha

I've also started on my FIRST baby quilt!! I bought a bunch of fabric with no real plan in mind to make just a small quilt that can be used to play with on the floor or cuddle with in the rocking chair...my friend Sarah at Habibti At Home has also just made her baby it's first quilt, and I was really inspired by it and knew I wanted to do something fun and simple like she did.  I almost flat out stole her design, but settled on something a little different.  I've got two layouts I need to choose from:

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Layout A

Layout B

Yeah I know, not much difference...Layout A would have sashing in between each of the 6 inch blocks, while Layout B would have sashing only at the ends of the rows of 6 inch blocks.  I was not planning on any sashing on those rows originally, but due to some measuring errors I'm having to adjust a bit (the long strip of the owls should have been cut to be 42" long, but I cut in the wrong direction and they wound be being about 34"...ugh). I think I'm leaning towards B just to keep it simple...thoughts or other ideas??? Another thought I had was to just add in the 6th 6 inch block on each row as originally planned, and it will just be cut off a bit...hm. 

Anyway, I'm really excited about all these firsts! I'm just hoping I can stick with it all and get everything done. So what have you all got going on this week? Anyone else joining this swap or QAL??

Today I'm linking up with W.I.P Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!