Modern Tennessee Block Tutorial

Hello friends! December is my month to design a quilt for the do.Good Stitches group I am a part of on flickr. With the holidays and all sorts of craziness coming up, I decided to whip up a tutorial for the Modern Tennessee Block. It's super easy and takes no time to put together - leaving you with plenty of time to make some holiday cookies.

Anyway, here's the tutorial:

Materials:

(4) 5-inch colored squares
(8) 3-inch light gray squares

Step 1: Cut all your pieces

Step 2: Draw a diagonal line with a pencil on the back of the 3-inch squares

Step 3: Pin a 3-inch square right side down on top of a 5-inch square in the upper left corner, and another 3" square on the bottom right corner.

Step 4: Sew on the lines and trim, leaving a quarter inch seam

Step 5: Press and arrange blocks into an x.

Step 6: Sew block together and square up to 9 inches.

Voila! Thanks ladies for making these blocks for me - you are awesome. =)

Finishing up on some bee blocks

It is almost December and I've been itching to do some holiday sewing, but I needed to finish some of my other sewing commitments first. So I sat down yesterday and whipped up a few bee blocks.

These blocks are for the cancer bee I am a part of on Flickr. It is a really friendly and talented group of ladies who each month work together to create a quilt for someone afflicted with cancer. This month, Deb of Trio Stitch Studios, asked us to make some improv blocks for a quilt for her brother-in-law. I really enjoyed making these blocks...and can't wait to see what the quilt looks like all put together.

Finally, Aprel requested these lovely blocks for her month of do.good stitches in rich golds and grays. At first I was a bit apprehensive of making them because they looked a bit complicated -- the texture is just so gorgeous. Luckily for me though these blocks were super easy to make. Here is the tutorial, should you decide to whip up a few for yourself.

I'm glad to finally finish these blocks and get a little closer to some holiday sewing. =)

Post Sewing Summit Swap

Now that the lovely Shelly has received my package, I can share what I made her as part of the Post Sewing Summit Swap hosted on flickr.

I combined my new skills of embroidery and hexagons to make a hoop pouch in her current favorite color combo of tangerine and teal.

I then filled it with some fun goodies - including a few fat quarters of Joel Dewberry's new fabric line, since he was, after all, the keynote speaker at the summit.

I really enjoyed putting this package together for Shelly and hope that whenever she uses it she remembers the awesomeness that was the Sewing Summit.

DS Chicopee Giveaway Winner!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway Yay Anna G!! An email has been sent and soon the fabric will be on it's way to you.

Thanks again to LiMaSews for their generosity!

Gratitude

I really enjoy this time of year because it is a time that is set aside for us to take a moment and be thankful for all the blessings we each have in our lives. Some years we might have to look harder for the blessings than others, but they are always there.

I for one am incredibly grateful for a loving husband who supports me in whatever it is I decide to do - quilting, blogging, design, and my more recent decision to begin graduate school this January.

Family really is the best.

I am also grateful for the friends I have - both near and far - in person and online - that have helped to guide me, support me, and really be there for me no matter what. You guys are the best.

Anyway, I could go on forever about what I am thankful for this year, but the kitchen calls.

Instead of my usual tamales, I have been conned into making a traditional thanksgiving spread complete with an actual turkey this year. Yikes. Although armed with Alton Browns "simple" recipe, I've been ensured that this can only be a success.

If all else fails, we can eat pie. Lots and lots of pie.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A few finishes...and a WIP

**friendly reminder -- today is the last day to enter the chicopee giveaway! Don't miss out and enter here**

I have been a busy little bee this week -- catching up on all sorts of projects. I managed to finish quilting one of 2 quilts I need to finish for do.good.stitches (a charity quilting group on flickr). I will take better photos when the weather decides to cooperate, but for now this sneak peek will have to do.

Not going to lie, I was a bit nervous about washing it -- although with some suggestions from my lovely instagram friends, I loaded it up in the washing machine with a few color catchers and voila, no bleeding! Thank goodness for online friends!

I've also been trying to piece together a back for my other do.good.stitches quilt, so I spent the afternoon yesterday playing with a few kona charm packs. I am liking how this is turning out - I have a fun idea, but we'll see if I have the time to execute it...and of course it involves a visit to the fabric shop. =)

Finally, I finished my swap item for the Sewing Summit 12 Swap that is hosted on Flickr. I had so much fun coming up with something I think my partner will enjoy...but since she hasn't got it yet I'll only show a sneak peek.

I'll link up to Lee's WIP post...and hope that you ya'all have an excellent holiday!

The only pie recipe you'll ever need

My lovely friend Tammie is hosting a series on her blog this week called sew full of thanks in honor of this time of year.  She has organized a lot of giveaways and guest posts -- you should go check it out!

As part of the event, today I am sharing with ya'all how to make the best pie ever - tollhouse pie. It is so yummy and super easy to make...click here for the recipe.

Enjoy! And do let me know if you end up making some -- I'd love to know how you like it.

PS - if you're looking for the fat quarter giveaway -- enter here

Chicopee Giveaway: A sponsored post!

Awhile back I was in search of some gorgeous chicopee fabric for my fall table runner tutorial. I came across this awesome etsy shop - LiMaSews and I fell in love.

I ordered a fat quarter bundle of chicopee and the service was excellent. Linh worked with me to get my fabric shipped as soon as possible (I was a bit of a procrastinator in my ordering) and when it arrived it was beautifully packaged.

Here are a few of my favorite things in her shop:

Chicopee by Denyse Schmidt 

Designer Cotton Solids by Riley Blake

Tone on Tone chevrons from Riley Blake

Serenade Moonlight from Poetica by Art Gallery

Linh also blogs over at Elvy Crafts where you can find up to the minute information about the goings on in her shop. You can also see some examples of her excellent quilting!

Linh has so generously offered to give away this fat quarter bundle of chicopee fabrics in push pop to one of my readers! It includes 12 different fat quarters.

Enter using the Rafflecopter below and good luck! I will leave the giveaway open until Thursday November 22 at 12:01 AM.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tutorial: Fantastic Fall Table Runner

Today I am excited to share with you a tutorial for this fantastic fall table runner. I used chicopee by Denyse Schmidt with some Essex Linnen.

Materials:

2" wide strips in various lengths of 11 different prints (I used a fat quarter stack of DS prints - there is still plenty leftover)
2 2" x 33.5" fabric pieces for border
2 2" x 20" fabric pieces for border
38" x 21" piece of fabric for backing
2" wide strips in various lengths for negative space
1 fat quarter for binding fabric
58" x 21" piece of batting
Thread
Rotary Cutter

**note: I used a yard of fabric for the backing, negative space, and borders with a little bit left over**

Instructions:

1. Choose an order for your fabrics.

2. Cut and iron all the pieces. See the diagram below for the measurements I used - or you can feel free to turn this into an improv project and sew strips of various lengths together to create a similar effect.

3. Make rows by sewing A to B, D to E and then AB to C and DE to C.

4. Repeat for each row. I found it helpful to stack the pieces of each row on top of each other and pin. I also numbered each row.

5. Sew the rows together.

6. Press and add borders. First, add the longer sides and then add the shorter sides.

7. Make a quilt sandwich by layering the backing (right side down), batting, and table runner top (right side up)

8. Pin baste.

9. Quilt as desired. I used a metallic gold thread and quilted in horizontal rows .75" apart. I really love the shine the thread gives to the finished project.

10. Bind - I bind by machine. Katie has an excellent tutorial if you need help.

11. Voila! Now you are finished and you can enjoy your new fantastic fall table runner!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial -- and if you'd like to make one just like mine, check back tomorrow --  I will be giving away a fat quarter stack of chicopee.

Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop!

I am so excited that it is finally my turn on the Let's get Acquainted Blog Hop put on by one of my favorite blogs Plum & June.

So if you are new to my blog - welcome! Thanks for taking a few moments to check out my corner of the blogosphere. I hope you will make a cup of hot chocolate (or tea or coffee...or whatever is your poison) and take a look around.

If you don't know me, here are a few things you should know:

I love pandas. Seriously, I am obsessed. I have a PandaCam app where I can watch a live feed of the San Diego Zoo Pandas 24/7. I own multiple panda things such as stuffed animals, usb drives, frames, figurines, etc. Heck, my car is even named panda - so what if it is red?

I am a self-taught quilter and have been quilting for about 4 years now. I've always admired quilting and woke up one day after I was newly married and decided I wanted to learn how to sew. I figured it couldn't be that hard. Clearly I was delusional. But I adopted Nina (my sewing machine) and haven't looked back.

My husband is in medical school which leaves me alone to quilt for hours on end. Yes he really is gone ALL THE TIME.

I love to read and will fangirl with you about a variety of books at a moment's notice. And if I haven't read it, I'll go read it and then fangirl with you about it.

Here are a few of my most recent/favorite projects:

If you are looking for a place to start, might I suggest...

Stockings for Kids -- Last year I ran a charity stocking drive for foster and kids and this page will link you to tons of stocking tutorials from some of your favorite bloggers -- perfect in time for the holidays!

Citrus Sails Quilt -- This was the first quilt I completed as a member of the Do.Good Stitches Charity Bee...being a member of this group is one of the highlights of my sewing time -- I really enjoy using my quilting abilities to help those in need.

Just Read! Kindle Case Tutorial -- A super easy and fast way to make a zipped, padded case for your kindle. Perfect gift idea =)

and of course there is always the quilts page to see some of my finished quilts.

ANYWAY.

I had an awesome fall table runner tutorial planned using some of this gorgeous fabric:

Yup, that's chicopee from Denyse Schmidt. At first I was on the fence about buying it, but I am so glad I did - it is so gorgeous in person, the photos really don't do it justice...in fact I am wishing I bought more than fat quarters.

But you're probably wondering my tutorial is.

I am almost finished with it but apparently all of the drains decided to no longer work in the house and I have spent my time trying to not flood the house, take photos for my tutorial, bake a pie (shameless plug: I am guest posting over at craftytammie for her Sew Full of Thanks blog series) and celebrate my husband's birthday (Surprise! You get new sewage pipes for your birthday!! Yay, just what you wanted!!).

Needless to say I didn't finish my tutorial. But don't cry. It will be available tomorrow. I promise. So come check it out. You won't regret it (aka there just *might* be something in it for you if you stop by...hint hint)

Edit to add: Tutorial is finished! Yay! Click here to go to the tutorial. And if you'd like to win a fat quarter bundle of the fabrics I used click here to enter my giveaway!

--

And don't forget to visit the following blogs this week as part of this awesome blog hop

Cynthia from A Quilter by Night
Stephanie from Smalltown Dreamz
Cynthia from Quilt Doodle Doodles
Diane from From Blank Pages
Laura from Waffle Kisses
Mary Ann from Rocknquilts
Angela from Angela B
Jaime from Stitches to Sprinkles
Allegory from {sew} Allegorical
Alyce from Blossom Heart Quilts
Lynne from Bouts Choisis
Nat from Made in Home
Francine from Mocha Wild Child
Stacey from The Tilted Quilt

100 Day Hustle: Halfway

Well this will be the post in which you discover that I haven't accomplished many things that were on my original list *hangs head*

On my gigantic list, I've managed to finish:

A noodlehead clutch:

My 3x6 Bee blocks:

My kitchen rug:

And that's it. Although I have made significant progress on my quilts (they just need binding). I have been rather distracted as of late by my new cross stitch project and spending time with my dashing husband (who has been on family medicine rotation recently and all of a sudden has a somewhat normal schedule)

Perhaps I will amend my list to make it more manageable...(are you allowed to do that? Whatever, I'm doing it anyway.)

I will complete:

DGS Star Quilt
DGS Gray Quilt
Cancer Strip Quilt
Mosaic Quilt
Dessert of the Month
Kawaii Winter Wonderland Countdown to Xmas

I really want to complete:

Amy Butler Weekender Bag

Everything else I want to get done will be icing on the cake. Suggestions on how to stay focused on my list and not get distracted by other ideas are much appreciated.