Christmas Sewing and other things

now that Christmas has been here and gone i can share some of things i sewed for gifts.  starting with a Super Tote which is a pattern from Noodlehead.  i went to a camp in October and had everything cut and ready to sew together.  i have made another one of these Super Tote bags and i blogged about it here.

i also decided to make a wristlet that coordinated with the bag.  wristlets have become one of my favorite things to make.  they are quick to sew up and so handy to have around.

for both of these projects i dug into my Make Life fabric from Sweetwater.  

i also made gift card holders for some of my friends this year.  they are a fun and quick gift to make up.  it took me a couple times to get the location of the snaps right but once i did they went together quick.

i put a Starbucks gift card in each one.

a couple years back i did a Mystery BOM from the Fat Quarter Shop.  i love the quilt and all of the blocks in it.  i ended up having enough fabric scraps leftover from the quilt to make some additional blocks that i turned into pillows for my niece's.

doesn't every little girl need a special Christmas pillow?

i think so.

at the camp in October i got the Halloween quilt on the right quilted and then bound both of these quilts.

i love the quilt on the left.  its from a pattern that is from the Missouri Quilt Company and its called Double Slice Layer Cake.  You can find the You Tube video here.  Its made with a layer cake.  

lastly, i worked on a super old WIP that i have had for years.  i had been collecting Bliss fabric for awhile and had no pattern that would use most of the fabric.  i had a few fat quarters, a Moda Candy Bar and some yardage. 

so.......

i made up my own pattern and i am very happy with how it turned out.

originally it had another row in it but it was to long so i will put that row on in the backing of the quilt.  not to shabby for making up a pattern.  at least i think its made up.  i didn't search for a pattern online i just sketched one out.

i have more to share with you all including some more City Sampler blocks that i have been working on.  now that the Holidays are over and my house is sold i am hoping that life will slow down a bit.

fingers crossed.

happy sewing

WIP Wednesday

right now i am mad at Blogger or myself for not being able to figure it out.  i have the pictures going the right direction in the file but when they upload they are all going the wrong direction.  so, use your imagination.  i am sure that i am the problem given the day that i have had.

no sewing in this post.  too much Christmas stuff that i can't share.

however, i can share a cute little project i did for gift bags.

i took scrap fabric in a shade of green & put some steam a seam stuff on it & then cut out triangle shapes.  it did the same with some brown fabric & cut out trunk shapes.

peeled off the backing & positioned them into trees.

then i ironed them down & added a button to the top of the tree.

there you have it.  some simple.  affordable. cute gift bags.  these are headed to Spokane tomorrow with gifts for my friends up there.  i hope they enjoy them.

maybe next week i can show some sewing on my WIP Wednesday post.

happy sewing

a few Christmas gifts

i got a few Christmas gifts that i wanted to share with you all.

if you have been reading my blog for awhile then you know that i have a group of friends & we call ourselves the Renegade Quilters. it all started a couple of years ago on a trip to Sister's & it has evolved from there. there are just 4 of us & we are always together at the various quilt camps, quilt shows & whatever else may strike our fancy.

this year for Christmas Lynette made us all these AWESOME notebook covers.

she personalized them with our initial of our 1st name. i totally love the embroidery on the A. below is some additional initials that have meaning to the 4 of us which she embroidered the full words on the back of the cover. next our year we were established & then on mine she put 'founder' because i named our group.
here is a shot of the inside of mine. Lynette personalized them for each of us based on our favorite colors as well as the additional initials that are specific to each of us.
we all acted like little girls on Christmas morning when we opened these.
thanks Lynette - great idea!
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the next gift i want to share with you came from my friend Debbie. Debbie told me that when she saw this she thought of me right away.

it is going to be hung in the quilting cave.
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last but not least comes the gift i got from Steph. i knew that she was making aprons this year for Christmas presents but i had no idea what mine would look like.
here it is....

sorry about the pic - hard to take one when you have no model.
i LOVE the fabric. all retro & fun.

my favorite is the girl reading in the chair which must have been Steph's as well because that is what she used for the pocket on the apron.

now for the funny part.
i called Steph to thank her for it & to tell her how much i LOVE the fabric & that i want to get some of it. Steph says to me, "you should love it because you picked it out." i was confused, no big surprise there. Steph explained that when we were in Sister's this year i found said fabric & Steph told me that she would make my apron out of it for me. i still don't remember that convo but i believe her & i am so happy because i really do LOVE this fabric & she even has some left over to share with me.
my apron arrived in this simple brown bag with the following tag on it.

its the same bag that i gave Steph her gift in last year. if you look close enough you can see where she whited out the 'to' & 'from' & swapped the names. so i guess we have a new tradition going on now. i will have to make sure that her gift next Christmas fits in this bag & get out my white out.

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check back tomorrow because i am FINALLY posting the giveaway - it involves 'jelly' and a 'roll'. & yes i know i am a total dork.

A little bit more of 2010

i can finally show you the last projects that i did for 2010. i got this pattern from Fat Quarterly's holiday issue. its the lined boxed zipper bag however i made them larger. the finished size of mine are 11"x7 1/2"x3". i made a total of 4 of these green ones with the 'crafty' themed fabric for my Renegades for Christmas.

then, i made this one for Steph because we watched Project Runway together this past season & once i found this fabric i knew i needed to make something out of it for her.

another little hobby of mine is collecting quotes especially inspirational quotes. i have a whole sketch book full of them that i have cut out of magazines & i also have a file on my computer full of the ones i have found online. i wanted to do something with them this year for Christmas gifts for a few people. so.......

this is what i came up with. i made little books using thick foam, fabric, mod podge, card stock & some rings to hold it all together.

i put 40 quotes in each book & each book contains the same quotes just in different order. i made 9 of these books & it was surprisingly easy.
i love the different colors of card stock - bright & cheery.

and, of course the book would not have been complete without a quote from Dave.

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i also wanted to share with you a pattern i won on-line from Holly Hill Quilt Designs. i got to pick which one i wanted & so i picked this holiday themed one. not sure when i will get to it but i think it will be a fun one to make.

i also finished up the last block for my block swap box group. i am thinking that we will be doing it again however i don't think we will start until March or so.

i have a long week ahead of me at work so who knows how much sewing i will get done. but, i will give it one heck of a try.

also, with all of the great sales going on online i will have some fabric purchases to share with you soon as well.

crap

this evening i was down in my sewing cave working on some Christmas gifts & having a conversation with myself in my head. it went something like this -

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me - have i done a blog post for today?

my response - crap i can't remember

me - what did i blog about yesterday?

my response - crap i can't remember

me - i am pretty sure i haven't done one yet for today

my response - not a 100% sure but 85% sure that i haven't done one

me - what the heck am i going to post about

my response - crap i have no idea

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so, it was at that moment that i decided to post about what i am currently working on in the sewing cave. being Christmas gifts & all you get just a few pics of the gift in process.

amazing huh?????

i will show finished pics after Christmas of this gift. i think its so cool that i might just have to make me one as well.

oh, & with regards to me having conversations with myself..... that's just a normal thing around here.

this afternoon

this afternoon i decided to take a break from sewing to put up my Christmas tree. so i hauled everything upstairs & started un-boxing all of the Hallmark ornaments that i have. i have been collecting these since i was a baby so that means some of them are over 30 years old. most of them were given to me by my Grandmother who is no longer with us but Christmas was her favorite holiday so as i was putting them on the tree i was thinking of her - great memories.

so, in the middle of decorating my tree the power decides to go out & stay out. i call the power company who says it should be back on by 1am & its only 3:00 in the afternoon. so i pull out the flashlights & lite the candles & continue to decorate the tree. i found out that a book light clipped to the collar of my jacket worked real well. me being antsy called the power company again & they said 10pm now for getting power back. so i ate a pb&j sandwich & when i finished my dinner the power was back on so i could finish the tree with lights & do this blog post.

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another thing came to mind to share with you all while i was decorating the tree & that is my love of moose. yep, a little odd but i love moose. they are large animals that command respect & always beat to their own drum. pretty much nothing stands in their way except the occasional hunter but we won't go there. i have seen many in the wild & what amazing creatures they are. i have been collecting these from Lenox for 10 yrs now. not a good shot but i think i took it when the power was out.

another favorite of mine - i think my brother & sil gave me this one.
this one came from a friend in Spokane.
this was a package decoration one year.

this nativity set i keep out year round because i love it. my Dad found it in a gift shop one year in West Yellowstone, put it away for a Christmas gift & forgot about it. i got it for my birthday a couple of years later which is in July.

this one came from my Mom, she found it in an airport somewhere & hauled it home.

last but not least, remember i told you i had already gotten 1 Christmas gift. this calendar came from my good friend Barbara who every year gives me a moose calendar. it came in the mail earlier this week. Thanks Barbara!!!

i have a lot of other moose stuff that can be an entire post itself, however i do not collect just run of the mill moose stuff - it has to be unique & different.

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so, my tree is up & you now know that i love moose. sort of an odd post combo but hey that's me odd..........

p.s. - to those of you who helped support Modern Relief - THANK YOU!!!! they surpassed their goal.

2nd Gift & A Wish List

today is a 2 post day.

i got my 2nd Christmas present today. more on my 1st gift in another post. my cousin, Lynette a fellow RQ (renegade quilter) dropped these off to me at work. i normally don't open Christmas gifts until Christmas but she told me that i had to because she wanted me to enjoy them.

giant (5" across) lime green sparkly Christmas balls to use on my tree or hang in my front window at different lengths. you know me & my green thing. i LOVE them!!!!!

a HUGE THANK YOU LYNETTE!!!!!

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also, over at Above All Fabrics i have a wish list started. this is what i have on the list so far.

• Origins Fat Quarter set
• Parisville Fat Quarter Bundle - Pomegranate
• Parisville Fat Quarter Bundle - Mist
• Parisville Fat Quarter Bundle - Sprout
• Yardage of Mezzanine Tapestry - Lime

do you see a theme here with Parisville - its all i want for Christmas. i also love Origins as well as the Mezzanine line & i can always use some more lime green fabric.