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I know… it’s Thursday. But tomorrow is the big day for the pillow giveaway, so I thought I’d move Fabric Friday up a day.

As some of y’all know, I began working at the LQS, Quilt In Joy, earlier this year.

It’s a great quilt store specializing in Batiks and Brights. They carry a lot of novelty prints as well as a good color wall.

I asked Kathi, the store owner, if I could feature some of our new lines on the blog, and she thought that was a great idea!

The line I’m working with this week for the store sample is Beetle Boy. Cute little “buggas” all over it….that’s what my son used to call them when he was “bitty”.

This pattern is called Beetle Boy and is available here as a freebie from Clothworks. The store also has several kits for these if anyone is interested. I made this in 1 day!

Love those giant appliqued bugs! My son would have loved this quilt when he was little. He had a giant tub of bugs and snakes. He used to arrange them in rows and play with them.

We even had a bugga birthday party!

I decided to tackle the overflowing scrap bin and it has taken me longer than I anticipated. I swear, every time I’d grab a handful of fabric from it, it would get bigger. I guess it was so compacted that i didn’t realize how much was actually in it.

This is what I’m working with….

What a mess, huh? So, I’m going to give myself a couple of more days to work on this. I’m almost there.

I would like to share something I’ve been working on with you. I began working at the LQS and was asked to make a sample for an applique class I might be teaching in April. I came up with a cute little design for a wall hanging. I used “It’s a Hoot” charm pack for this and a linen looking background. I seem to have a thing for turquoise lately.

I’ve never had to do something like this before and I didn’t want to disappoint and I think that’s when things start to go wrong. I didn’t trust my instincts that I’m good at this and was forcing my process.

It’s definitely not my best work and had many “issues”.  I’m not a quitter though. I know that my next project will be better and I’ll find my confidence.  I’m working on a cute bug quilt for a store sample that I hope to show ya’ll later this week.

I’m very excited to be a part of a team again!

It’s our 1st giveaway! This is so exciting!

I decided to turn the turquoise Birdie Stitches Block 1 that I’m not using into a giveaway for the blog.

The giveaway runs from Thursday, January 20th through Thursday, January 27th. I’ll announce the winner on Friday the 28th. All you need to do is leave a comment on this post and please make sure your email address is also attached to the comment so we can notify you.

I also decided to include a skein of embroidery thread that I purchased from the crochet4u2dye4 Etsy shop. I used these threads to make his earmuffs and scarf. I hope you love them as much as I do!

Be sure and tell all your friends and check back next Friday for the winner!

I finished block 1 of the Birdie Stitches BOM. These fabrics are sooo cute!

Originally, I had done this in the turquoise background, but the longer I looked at it, I knew it was too overpowering.

This time I used Moda’s Grunge in white. I like this version much better. I do wish I’d done the snowman in a darker pink and when all is said and done, I’m sure this block will be on its 3rd version. I’m just that way. I want it perfect!

I did a cluster of french knots in his earmuff and a fringed scarf.  I used a hand dyed variegated floss for the scarf and earmuff. I found an awesome store on Etsy that dyes all their threads and flosses. Its crochet4u2dye4. They sell embroidery and crochet threads. Check it out! You won’t be disappointed in the variety they have.


As some of you know, I use my loft space as my sewing room. Sure, it’s small but I’ve grown accustomed to the spot and I’m not sure I would be happy sewing anywhere else in my house. In order to keep my sanity though, I’ve got to be organized and I can’t keep too much of a stash on hand, so I try to use what I buy.

What little fabric I have, I organize by color, unless I’m not ready to break up the line just yet. I wish I had a “before” pic of this closet. Every time I’d open it, stuff fell at my feet. Embarrassing…yes! Paige suggested organizing by color and folding flatter than the fat quarters to optimize my space and be able to find things faster. I gotta tell ya…I’m loving it!

I bought a big binder and added these clear pocket liners to keep track of all my loose papers and patterns.

I built an ironing table with the help of the Container Store. It has a heavy board about 2 yards long as the top. I covered it with batting and then decorator weight fabric for the ironing surface. I bought a June Tailor Quilting Square from Joann’s and glued a cutting mat on the back of it to use as my cutting surface on top of the ironing table.

The bottom has container storage which houses a giant, annoying, unbearable to look in, overflowing, and I don’t dare open scrap bin, precuts, trims, supplies, to-do and current projects.

This used to be a batting covered board propped up against the wall. I would bump into it, the dogs would knock it over and it was just plain ugly. I had a neighbor frame it and we hung it on the wall. One of the best things I did for this tiny space.

*******

A visit to Paige’s sewing room….

Paige has an amazing workspace in her basement. Lots of natural light and open spaces. A large wall space that will soon be her design wall. and a double closet for all her fabric. Let’s take a tour…

This is her new work table. A huge table top with lots of cabinet storage underneath.

She keeps a lot of her supplies stored in these blue boxes, like buttons and marking tools.

She organizes her to-do projects in basket cubbies.

Her fabric closets are also organized by color.

Hanging your  “waiting to be quilted” projects or these hand dyed fabrics  from hangers is a great idea.

And I gotta say, her scrap bins are way more organized than mine.

I think I’ll go organize my scrap bin now…ugh:(

Happy Monday!

I can already hear the moans out there:) But if you’re one of the lucky ones who get the day off, it’s the perfect opportunity to get something done. I’m a big believer in any task, small or large, that you can accomplish in the day is rewarding. It makes us feel good. It’s satisfying and always makes me geared up to take on the next task.

Our SewMod group had 1 year to make 7 rows, each of them different, for each member in the group. Each of us provided a fat quarter for focus and we took off from there.  For example, I made stars for Andrea from her fabric, dresdens for Shelley from hers…etc. In the end we will each have a completed quilt. I know, it’s a little confusing. It took me forever to figure it out.

We do our row swap in just 2 short weeks at our monthly meeting.

So, I’m using today’s post to encourage any of the group who haven’t finished to git”r”done!

Here’s a few of the girls’ rows completed so far.

Aren’t they awesome! Their creativity amazes me and I’m ever so honored that I was invited into this group. It’s literally changed my life….but more on that subject at a later date:)…. I know, the suspense will kill you, won’t it?:))

I can’t wait to show you my completed rows in a couple of weeks. My focus fabric is Halloween!

You know, laminated fabric is not just for tablecloths anymore…

Riley Blake is coming out with several laminate prints in May. They are supposed to be “soft and supple..like butter.” Really?…I hope I will be able to get my hands on a few yards of this. My fabric Diet will be over by then and I’d  love something that’s new and exciting to work with.

I decided to do a little searching to see what I could make with the laminated fabric and here’s what I came across on Flickr……

Niesz Vintage Fabric's

Lil.B.Designs'

cerise422

searching through Google….

sewing wall organizer from SewCanDo.blogspot

and on Etsy…

uhreusable's Etsy shop

I love that lunch box and now that I’m working, it might be added to my to-do list:)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Beware…you will leave navigate away from this post with organizational envy.

So, you’ve heard me mention SuperCool Kelly before…I like to call her that…Well, she’s sent me the pics to her new organized sewing room, and I gotta say… WOW!

Her fabric is so organized, she doesn’t even have to hide it. Look at this wall display. The fabrics are wrapped around mini bolts from Polar Notions. It’s like a tiny fabric store.

She calls it her fabric library.

She has a closet outfitted with the Elfa system from The Container Store.  It can be designed for any closet and is easily rearranged if needed. I have an Elfa system in my bedroom closet and I love mine too. I wish I had one for my sewing closet….see, the envy is already starting:)

The black boxes are from Ikea and have labels on them using a P-Touch label maker. This is where she keeps all her projects.

I get to see this fabulous sewing room in person next month. I’m not sure I can wait!

I hope you enjoyed looking at Kelly’s sewing room as much as I did.  Thanks for sharing your pics with us Kelly!

A couple of the girls in our SewMod group are doing a free embroidered BOM from Little Miss Shabby called Birdie Stitches.

I’m going to be using Moda’s new line from Lauren and Jessie Jung called Hideaway.

The background fabric is an really pretty turquoise, and we’re using a very cute yellow and white polka dot for borders. I say we because this is not my fabric even though I really, really want it. I’m on a fabric diet…ugh.

Vicki has a fat quarter stack and layer cake of this line and I told her I would stitch it up for her cause I really wanted to make it and I can do this stitching pretty fast….plus all the scraps will be  mine:)

I should have my first block done soon and I can’t wait to show y’all. But until then here’s a the Flickr group page if you wanna see everyone’s progress.

Happy sewing this weekend!

I finally finished my Snowbound quilt and only a day behind schedule. I decided against the chain blocks because they competed too much with the snowmen. I thought a simple scrappy nine patch worked best. The only image I see when I look at this quilt is a swirly, yummy lollipop. It has all the colors…pretty fun, huh?

Maybe I have a thing for candy…..  I’ve also made a quilt and all I kept seeing was saltwater taffy:)

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