Sew Bee Blissful - October

Celynn, who blogs over at The Sunflower Patch, is one of my friends from the Sew Bee Blissful quilting bee that I am in. I love participating in this bee. For those of you who don't know, it is a group of 12 of us from all over the world who make 2 blocks for a quilts per month for a year. It's a load of fun.

Anyway this month, Celynn asked us to make these adorable owl blocks.

She sent us a bunch of excellent fabrics, including some of my favorites from DS Fairgrounds. I really enjoyed making these blocks and if you want to make them, I suggest checking out this blog for the instructions. The directions are really easy to understand and you can easily adjust the sizes for whatever size block you want.

Celynn asked everyone to include their favorite holiday recipe so I figured I'd share it all with you. Every year my mom bakes dozens and dozens of cookies of all different kinds for the holidays, and these oatmeal are some of my favorite. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cups of Shortening

1/2 cups sugar

1 egg

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup cinnamon chips (made by Hershey's...found in the baking aisle)

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups oatmeal 

1 cup flour

dash nutmeg + cloves

Beat sugars and shortening together in a mixer. Add egg, water, and vanilla. Beat until creamy. Combine dry ingredients in another bowl. Mix. Add to the egg mixture. Mix well. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto parchment papered cookie sheets. Bake in the oven at 350 F for 10 min (or until done). Store in an airtight container.

Also, don't forget to check back tomorrow for Stocking For Kids Tutorial Tuesday from none other than Cluck Cluck Sew!

My Non-Sewing Summit Weekend

So this weekend was the sewing summit in Salt Lake City. And I didn't go but oh I wish I had gone. I was this close to hopping on a plane with the intention of crashing the party (good thing I still have lots of family/friends that live in SLC) but alas the price of a plane ticket was an arm, a leg and my first born child. That's what I get for not planning ahead. Procrastination...it's a killer.

Anywho in order to ease my sadness, I decided to take things into my own hands. On Sat I did what any girl in my position would do...go shopping. Of course I hit up my local quilt shop and just had to buy the following fabrics because they were on sale.

Then I couldn't resist picking up this jewel.

A circle attachment is a must have for every Bernina owner. Just think of all the circles you can sew with so much ease...Bubbles, balloons and polka dots galore. Can't wait to start sewing with this.

But of course I didn't stop there and hit up my next destination...the mall. With my friends Nordstroms and Ann Taylor Loft, I soon managed to forget about all the fun I was missing out on in Utah...that is until I got home and talked to a good friend who happens to live in Salt Lake City.

Luckily, my dashing husband declared that he was ahead in his studies and had some unexpected free time to spend with me so went to dinner, visited our favorite chocolate store (oh how well he knows me) and watched a few movies at home...so relaxing!

Of course the weekend didn't end on Saturday, and this afternoon I finished the binding on one of my many (let me emphasize that for you MANY) quilts that needs to be completed by the end of the year. I can count on all my fingers and toes and my neighbors fingers and toes the number of people I know with babies due before the year is out....that plus Christmas presents means I have a lot of bindings to finish up.

Which brings me to my next thought. Has anyone ever heard of the Bernina Binding Foot? Apparently it does everything for you in one shot - wraps the fabric around the binding and sews it all at once for an even seam on the front and back. What an AMAZING idea! If only it wasn't 300 bucks...before I shell out that kind of cash (I am, after all married to a medical student) I need to do some research on the benefits of such a device.

Finally, today I was blown away by the response my Stockings from Kids Charity Drive has got! Wow! That alone makes not going to sewing summit worth it. Thanks guys, you rock! If you haven't signed up yet, no worries, there's still plenty of time. =)

Well now you must excuse me as I am going to go finish making a massive amount of chocolate chip cookies.

Stocking for Kids: Sponsors and Prizes!!

The Stocking for Kids charity drive is off to a great start. A giant thank you to all who have submitted stockings, told their friends and written blog posts about this service opportunity.

In case you needed another reason to make a stocking (besides the warm and fuzzy feeling you get knowing you helped bring cheer to a child's face), I am excited to finally announce the sponsors of this project and the following prizes.

$50 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop.

The Fat Quarter Shop is one of my favorite places to buy fabric online - they have such a great collection of fabric and quilt kits. I highly recommend their bloggers choice series where different bloggers put together a fat quarter bundle of their favorite fabrics for you to purchase (so fun!). And the best part is you don't have to wait weeks for your newly purchased fabrics to arrive at your doorstep with their same day shipping policy.

Sweetwater fabrics have so generously donated a countdown to christmas charm pack.

This is sure to be a perfect addition to your holiday sewing. They produce such fun fabric - I love the way they incorporate typography into their designs.

One of my favorite quilting bloggers, Jacquie, who blogs at Tallgrass Prairie Studio has generously put together a fat quarter pack featuring 2 prints from Kate Spain's 12 days of Christmas line and 2 colors from the peas and carrots line.

Brenda at Pink Castle Fabrics has donated a "mystery" red and green fabric bundle. Her Etsy shop is full of beautiful fabrics - including to die for fabric bundles - and she is such a joy to work with.


To be entered to win one of these prizes you will need to donate a stocking - one entry per stocking you donate - and check back for the linky party which will be hosted here to enter on December 1. There also may or may not be a few surprise giveaways as well so keep checking back for more information!

Stocking for Kids Tutorial Tuesday: Super Simple Stocking Tutorial

I'm excited to officially kick off the Stocking for Kids Charity Drive with a super easy stocking tutorial. Please post any pictures of your stockings that you have made to the Stockings for Kids flickr group.

Also don't forget to check back next Tuesday for another stocking tutorial brought to you by Cluck Cluck Sew.  Also keep your eyes peeled for more information about our sponsors and the great prizes I have lined up for our drawing December 1.

Super Simple Stocking Tutorial

Materials:

- Stocking pattern (available for free HERE)
- 1/3 yd of fabric for outside of stocking, cut into 2 11x17 inch pieces
- 1/3 yd fabric for inside of stocking, cut into 2 11x17 inch pieces
- 1/3 yd low loft batting, cut into 2 11x17 inch pieces
- 1/4 yd fabric for cuff of stocking, cut into 2 5x7 inch pieces and a strip of fabric 1.75 x 5 for hanging tag

Instructions:

1. Cut all your pieces. If you use a different pattern than my stocking template, you might need to adjust measurements. Note: My template is designed for 11x17 paper (you can print it for .25 at Kinkos)

2. Make a quilt sandwich by layering 1 piece of outside fabric, 1 piece of batting and 1 piece of inside fabric right sides out. Make another fabric sandwich with remaining fabric pieces.

3.  Pin (or spray baste) and quilt as desired. I found that a walking foot is helpful if your plan on quilting using straight lines. Repeat with remaining fabric sandwich.

4. Cut out stocking pattern and lay it on top of the quilted piece with the toe of the boot pointing to the right, being sure that the quilted 11x17 inch piece is right side up. Pin in place and cut out. Repeat with other 11 x 17 inch piece, only this time flip the pattern so the toe of the boot faces left.

5. Cut out the 2 5x7 inch pieces of fabric for the cuff (if not using my template measure cuff by measuring across the stocking top for the width and adding .5 inches for seam allowance).  Since my cuff is a dark material, I cut out a piece of white fabric 2x5 inches to sew onto the cuff so I can write the name of the child.

6. Applique the white square and any other decorative pieces onto the cuff. (Tip: lightly glue down your pieces and then sew with a small zig zag stitch).  Sew the cuff to the top of the stocking with the right side of cuff facing the inside of the stocking using a quarter inch seam. Repeat for the other stocking piece.

7. Fold the bottom of your cuff 1.5 inches under (see picture) and iron flat.

8. Fold down the cuff so it lays nicely on the outside fabric. Iron. Sew along the fold using a decorative stitch. I used a blanket stitch. Repeat for the other stocking piece. 

9. Cut a strip of fabric 1.75 x 5 inches for the hanging tag. Fold in half and iron. Sew the raw sides together and one of the ends using a .25 inch seam. (see picture).  Pull fabric through the hole, turning inside out so the seams are on the inside. I found that a chopstick or pencil helps. 

10.  Place tag so raw edges face the outside seam of the stocking. Be sure to place at an upward angle as shown in the picture. Pin to the front of the stocking. 

11. Pin stocking right sides together and sew with a .25 inch seam around the stocking, leaving the top open.

12. Turn stocking inside out through the top hole. Voila! You have finished your stocking! Super simple, right?

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!