TMQG pillow swap

Since everyone loved the string quilt that I made for my sister thing swap -- I decided to make a smaller pillow version for an upcoming swap at my guild. Here she is, my pillow for the guild pillow swap is all ready for the upcoming meeting.

I know there are at least 2 members that are jockeying for this one, but it's a blind swap so only time will tell who gets the pillow.

 i am also eager to know who's beautiful pillow that I will be getting in return -- we have some really awesome and talented people in our guild. 

As a bonus Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness is going to be our speaker that night so if your local (or willing to travel) come on out 9/23 @ 6:30 South Fork Community Center in Winston Salem. 

This is another project to cross off the 3rd qtr FAL

Around the world blog hop

I got nominated by Carissa the edgy perfectionist for the around the world blog hop tour -- she's a Canadian blogger that loves color which I'm sure comes in handy with all that snow they get. It looks like she has some really fun stuff going on so you all should definitely check her out. 

So I've seen this hop going on for a few weeks now and was super happy when I got nominated, so I'll play along and answer the basics and maybe you can learn a little more about me. 

1. What am I working on? 

Well, you all know that I am forever working on lots of little stuff at once. Right now I am trying to push through some orders that I can get back to the really fun stuff.  I have a Halloween quilt for a customer that I spent a great deal of this past weekend putting together. 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/karmawillow/15050398799/

I am also getting things lined up for the other 2 holiday quilts for this customer -- thanksgiving and Christmas.

there are another 2 throws ordered for Christmas that will look similar to this one, made from the customers Grandmother's clothes. 

I'm also gearing up for the 4 swaps that I have coming up -- mini's are so fun to make. (Harry Potter, Unicorn, IG mini swap and the Disney Swap) 

My Milky Way Medallion is also calling my name to be quilted.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre? 

I think Carissa put it best when she described me as having a egalitarian view of fabric -- pretty much anything goes. I love putting ideas together and creating something that draws from the collective rather than repeating what I've seen done before. I also love combining fabrics regardless of the names or types. When I take classes I find it hard to follow along of follow directions in many cases because I'm always looking for a way to make it better or maybe just a little differently -- and because I'm a creative that's OK.  

3. Why do I write/create what I do? 

my creations are a collaboration of fabrics that I love and inspirations that are all around me. I quilt for sanity's sake and to bring joy to others. 

4. How does my writing/creating process work?

It's very free form for me -- the beginning idea of the project and the end of the project aren't usually the same. 

So now it's time to let you know who I draw inspiration from 

-- Michelle @ Quilts from My Crayon Box -- she's pretty great both as a person and as a quilter. 

-- Elise @ love lea designs -- she's got some great stuff going on with fabric over there and is writing up some great patterns. 

-- Katy @ lethargic lass -- I met her through my friend Teri and have been following her blog for a while now,  she;s super thoughtful and super talented, plus her name is Katy. 

I hope you are able to make a post and keep this whole darned thing going!

Stripes -- trial run and not quite a fail

I completed another pattern test from Elise @ Lovelea Designs. 

She wanted to see how the star pattern works using a striped fabric. I was somewhat hesitant at first, not because I didn't think it would look good but because I don't really have that much striped fabric in my stash. I pulled out what i did have and I actually only had 3 real stripes -- SHOCK I know.  I had pulled out my Alice in Wonderland / Jim Shore fabrics for destashing but realized that this was a great opportunity to use this fun and patterned striped fabric. 

The pattern comes in many size variations which is really nice. 

Due to time constraints and the lack of cooperation by my fabric I only ended up making one block. I think that the solid I used was not a great quality and things shifted on me more than I expected. 

I still like the block and being that it's Alice in Wonderland themed it still works out nicely and really in a way better than if it had came out perfect. I'm going to be adding a boarder to this one and embroidering a quote on it to put up in my bedroom with the rest of my AiW collection. I am also doing a Disney themed swap starting soon till January so perhaps this mini may become a source of inspiration.

Elise writes great patterns and I am very happy to have been a part of this testing (even if my results were not what I expected). I am thinking that if I may be adding more stripes to my fabric vocabulary in the near future and perhaps I'll give it another go with this pattern. 

Secret Sister Swap Revived

Michelle is a tricky lady -- she paired everyone up for this round of swapping. 

I made her these things and she made me the deliciousness that is below. 

look at this cool bag 

and these other awesome goodies

She also sent me a handmade trash bin for the car 
 
it's to nice to use in there so I have attached it to my sewing area and plan to use it for threads and things while i'm quilting. 

The mugs that I have been using are still in place but I have discovered that this is a much better place to put my scissors, clips and safety pins to keep them from falling in the floor (and not have them mixed in with the trash). 

Quilty Secrets

I'm sure many of you have seen these postings around but I do find them entertaining and thought provoking so I decided it was time to create my own.

1. my sewing room must be clean for me to be able to sew or I can't focus. I often get asked if my room is staged for photos and the honest answer is no, it really is that clean all the time. 
2. I machine bind everything 
3. I don't do handwork -- no hand quilting, cross stitch, or embroidery. I don't EPP or Applique either-- it's not happening. 
4. My quilting is done at one speed, full throttle -- or maybe one speed lower if I am free motion quilting 
5. I never buy fabric online that I haven't seen in person -- I've also never bought an entire fabric line (except for precuts).
6. My sewing machine has a favorite thread that works best and really doesn't like the expensive popular kid. 
7. I don't buy fabric based on designer, I like to support some of my favs but I don't feel obligated to buy based on the name attached. 
8. I don't Press -- I iron and I use lots of steam in the process. I also loath pressing seams open 
9. I hate pinning -- whether it's block pieces or in basting. When I do pin baste it's a minimum of 6 inches apart. 
10. I mix fabrics, like a big salad -- batik, modern, solids, vintage, cutsie, novelty, quilt shop, Walmart, Joanns  -- they are all free game for being in the same quilt.

Now I feel better -- 

mom's apron

A small project for me this quarter was putting together this apron kit for my Mother in Law and making some customization. I'm not a clothing maker and only dabble in bag making so I have been putting this one off for some time even though the fabric is all preprinted on one piece and its pretty much a fabric paper doll kit. 

she wanted some embroidery on it and she wanted the neck as a solid piece rather than a tie

She liked it and I think it turned out pretty good but it's defiantly not my style of sewing -- the project I have been putting off nearly a year took me all of 2 hours to complete (including the embroidery). 

This is another project to cross off the 3rd qtr FAL

Secret Sister Swap Sent

I love doing swaps to the point that maybe I become a little too obsessed about them. Back in June I signed up for the Sister Thing Swap and anxiously awaited to find out who my partner was going to be -- there isn't a flickr group or hash tag for this swap so it's an even bigger surprise when your item arrives. 

Michelle is a blogger that I have been following for a while and I have participated in both rounds of the Kate Spain charm swap as well as the 2013 round of the Sister Thing Swap. Someone's got to get the moderator and this time it was me, I was very excited and anxious about making something for her. After much consideration I drew my inspiration from her blog name and decided that it was time to pull out my string blocks and put them into a throw quilt to send her way. (that counts as a small item, right?)

I went with twirly paisleys for my quilting -- I wanted the star of this quilt to be the fabrics but I'm still quite happy with the results. 

And a couple of hidden messages in the stitches. 

She has 2 lovely children that I am sure she will enjoy reading to and snuggling with under this quilt. I threw in some extras for them (and mom) and what's a swap without some snackie goodies for everyone.

I used some of her (and my) favorite Kate Spain -- good fortune on the back and to bind it in, that I had been stashing for quite a while (man, I must really like her).  

Northern Winters can be rough so I know that this throw is going to a good home where it will be loved and that makes it all worth it. Now i need to get back to making more string blocks so that I can make another one for me. I'm already planning on using this idea for my guild pillow swap and I know at least one member that may be willing to fight someone if she doesn't end up with it. 

Here's a few more shots of the quilt that are mostly posted because I think they are funny. 

Photo bombed by a goat

Someone clearly does not agree with sending this quilt away. (I only hope that my secret sister likes it as much as this guy.)

 

Happy Quilting Everyone -- now i need to go get started on some of the other upcoming swap items that I have throughout the rest of the year. 

linking up @

This is another project to cross off the 3rd qtr FAL