Strawberry Fields Table Topper and Charm Pack Winner

I just had to cut into the sweet Strawberry Fields charm packs to make this adorable table topper from the book Simplify by Camille Roskelley. What can I say? The fabric was calling to me. I'm sure that never happens to you, right? :-)

The pattern is called Coming Home and makes a 36-1/2" x 36-1/2" finished piece. Once the middle section is complete, the topper gets a small solid border (in the same Bella Bleached White used for the blocks) and then a larger print border. I'm thinking about these two prints as possibilities.

Strawberry Blooms in Daisy

Summer Bouquet in Pond

The smaller scale of the Daisy print may be better suited for the border. Perhaps the Summer Bouquet in Pond should be saved for the backing. Choices, choices!

Now, we have a winner to get to for the Strawberry Fields Charm Pack give away. 

Thank you to all who entered! From comments, it sounds like Google Reader did not publish my post until late this weekend after the deadline had passed. So, I included all comments in the give away. That seemed the most fair thing to do. 

The lucky winner, determined by the Random Number Generator, is #3! AnneMarie who said:

Thanks so much for linking to my Tea Caddy! I'm glad you like it! I'm a follower of course!

Congrats AnneMarie! I'll reach out to you in an email to arrange shipping your prize!

Hope you all enjoy your holiday weekend (4th of July here in the States). Wishing you many hours of stitching. ;-)

episode 32: unnamed

I just realized the irony that I recorded episode 32 at 32 weeks pregnant! :-) Here are the show notes corresponding to what I talked about in this week's podcast. Enjoy!

Life Update


Making it Lovely's downloadable print

Little Miss Shabby's embroidery block of the month

Modern Cross Stitch patterns from The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery

I want to make this

and this

Daisychain ABCs by Rosie Little Things

Project Update
Strip Quilt Tutorial by Film in the Fridge
Margaret's Hope Chest
Heather Bailey's binding tutorial


Bad Stitches Happen to Good People: Why I'll never cable without a cable needle again.

Topic: Whole Cloth Quilting
Anna Maria Horner's Needleworks
The DIY Dish's interview with Anna Maria Horner

After doing more research, I ran across this post from Cinderberry Stitches, which recommends Perle Cotton No. 8 for this technique.

This post by Anna Maria Horner recommends either No. 5, 7, or 8 and warns the smaller the number the thicker the thread. She also has great tips on what type of hoop to use, how to hide your knot, and where to start quilting.

Book Review: Simplify by Camille Roskelley

Episodes of Stash Resolution are found on iTunes. Download for free. Thanks for listening!

Give Away! Strawberry Fields Charm Pack

I have every quilter/sewer's dream problem - I'm drowning in fabric! This week, shipments from Moda and Free Spirit arrived. Next week, I'm expecting more Japanese bolts to hit my porch. Yeah!

To celebrate the arrival of Moda's Strawberry Fields, let's do a give away!

Who doesn't love a charm pack? Not only are they a less expensive way to get a taste for all the prints in a line, but there are TONs of great pattern support available for inspiration. Here are just a few of my favorites.

Moda Bake Shop's Stripy Charm Pouch 

 

Moda Bake Shop's Tea Caddy 

Moda Bake Shop's A Ritzy Cracker Quilt

Moda Bake Shop's A Sweet Baby Quilt

Moda Bake Shop's Stacked Coins Baby Quilt Tutorial

Moda Bake Shop's Ruffle Banner and Pillow

There are THREE ways to enter to win the charm pack:

1. Leave a comment with your favorite print in the Strawberry Fields line.
2. Link to the give-away from your blog, Tweet the give-away, or post on your Facebook account, and leave a comment letting me know you did.
3.  Follow my blog and leave a comment letting me know you did (or that you already do).

Deadline: Sunday, June 26, 2011 midnight EST

A winner will be selected by Random Number Generator. International entrants welcome!

Hope you're having a great Father's Day weekend!

Pins and Needles

Last week, I posted my weekend goals. I'm proud to say that I checked every single one off the list. A new podcast was posted, the binding was attached to my strip quilt, the ornaments were completed, and my swap pin cushion made from start to finish.

I used the pincushion pattern from Scandinavian Stitches but changed a few things up.

Using Ruby's Rising Star, which is a cotton/linen blend, I fussy cut the Retro Collage print. This fabric has so many possibilities with all of the different sections of patterns and colors. From tea cups to retro women to stars, it was actually hard to choose which to include!

After appliqueing the tea cup, I used the technique recommended in the pattern book for adding outline details, which is to use a darning foot and dark thread to "trace" the shape. (I dropped the feed dogs to do this.) Then, I looked online for inspiration for "tea cup steam." Gotta love Google Images - there were pages of ideas. I picked my favorite, free-hand drew it with a pencil, and then used my machine to follow the lines.

Different than the pattern, I added crochet trim around the parameter. This is a view of the back - aren't those elephants darling?

The pinning took some time with the added layer of trim. My pincushion looked more like a medieval weapon than a tool for a simple domestic skill. :-) With a little wrangling, I sewed right sides together, flipped the pincushion right side out, and was ready to stuff.

Luckily, I had a little helper... Here she is helping me finish the Christmas ornaments.

To help modivate me for this weekend, here are my 3 sewing goals:

1. Finish hand-binding strip quilt, wash, and prep for mailing to charity.
2. Make a flag banner (e.g. bunting) for Olivia's room using left-over Nicey Jane.
3. Make a coordinating pillow case for Olivia's room (again, using left-over Nicey Jane, which will match her quilt).

We're planning to re-arrange Liv's room this weekend. Since we are working so much on baby preparation, I don't want her to feel left out. Will do a post soon showing you both rooms once they're in better shape.

BTW, Liv turns 4 tomorrow. How did my baby get so old? One more year before she starts Kindergarten. *sniff*

Have a great rest of the week!

episode 31: three seasons

Life Update
Ladybug Knitting Shop
Green Mountain Spinnery
Pottery Bark Kids paint colors
Crazy8

Project Update
Knit Picks The Cora Cloche Hat
Fray Check
Bows 2 Cute
Spring Garden Tee by Never Not Knitting
Susan B. Anderson
Strip Quilt Tutorial by Film in the Fridge
Kate Spain Central Park
Margaret's Hope Chest
Craftsanity

Download episodes of Stash Resolution for free on iTunes.

Thanks for listening!

Getting a Plan

I realized today the problem with my lack of blogging, Tweeting, podcasting, and, most importantly, sewing is I don't have a plan. Okay, so I'm also slowing down a bit, heading into Week 30 of my pregnancy. But I'm managing to get plenty of other things done, so I should be able to squeeze in more of this wonderful hobby of mine than I have been.

So, that being said, Katie over at Katie's Quilting Corner inspired me to write a weekly goal list. She publishes a list on her blog regularly as a public declaration of what she'll accomplish. I decided to do the same. So, here goes nothing...

This weekend, I will:

1. Make the pincushion for the Cincinnati Modern Quilt Guild swap.
2. Stuff and finish the Christmas ornaments from the Scandinavian Stitches book.
3. Attach binding to my strip quilt.
4. Podcast!

While I'd like to add more, this seems doable given all the craziness going on in our schedule, which includes Olivia's dance recital on Sunday.

I still need to figure out what pincushion pattern to use for the swap. Here is a little inspiration I pulled tonight.

1. a "little bit funky" pincushions, 2. {Happy} Pincushions, 3. Scrappy Pincushion Swap received from Tasha!!!, 4. Pincushion - Yellow Aqua, 5. Pincushion Caddies from 'Seams to Me', 6. owl on a palette., 7. SPS 3 top view, 8. "Quilting Process" pincushion front for Scrappy Pincushion Swap, 9. Polkadot Hedgehogs

What are your weekend goals?

On Point

I started playing with my Paper Pieces 6-Point Diamond templates over vacation and got exactly 1-5/6 completed. I thought for sure my scrap bin would be gone by the end our trip. Hmmm... Best laid plans.

Anyway, using the English Paper Piecing method, these are fairly straightforward. The only tricky part is getting the points folded just right. Otherwise, they stitch together faster than hexagon since they have fewer sides.

These will make a cute scrappy pillow cover or table runner. I plan to applique them to a solid back but haven't decided the arrangement of the stars yet. Ideas?

My strip quilt is also basted and ready for quilting. I put a line and half in before vacation but haven't worked on it any since then. How motivating am I today? Such a lazy quilter I am!

I'm using Bella Solid in Lilac for the backing picking up where it was incorporated into the top, which is all from the Kate Spain Central Park line.

I'm going to a sew-in this weekend for the Cincinnati Modern Quilt Guild. Perhaps this is a good project to take along and knock out in a couple of hours...

In other news, did you see these great videos from Moda from Spring Quilt Market in Salt Lake City?

Hope you all are having a wonderful SHORT week! :-)