I am very lucky

I woke up yesterday to a latte from our local pastry and coffee shop and a present from my 13 year old (the coffee cup sleeve). I also had a apricot scone but that disappeared before the photo shoot. I love the bright pink against the snow. I am very lucky!

Valentine Swap with a Friend

A Valentine's Mini Quilt Swap with a friend. What could be better?? I love hearts and wanted to try my hand again at some paper-piecing so I went out and found two paper pieced heart patterns here and here and shrank one 50% on my scanner. Then I added a freeform pieced block into the mix. For colors I stuck with traditional reds and deep pinks, pulling liberally from my scraps and stash and framed them all in a bright Kona green solid. (I think they would have looked just as nice framed in white or even grey, but I really like the green against the pinks and reds). I framed the mini quilt with several sashed borders of differing widths, some even with sparkles, and backed it up with an off beat Jane Sassaman print from my stash, offset cut to include the quirky pink and green scalloped border (and the bugs!). I then waited and waited for a free-motion quilting book I ordered to arrive. (I've been stuck in FMQ 101- the Meandering Stitch) and needed to brach out in 2012. I'm going with Concentric (sort-of) circles. It's a small enough piece to give a new stitch a try and do it justice at the same time.

pieced top

clips awaiting hand stitching on the binding, front

Back

Close-up of quilting. This photo shows the actual color of the apple green best

Out door shot of quilting and paper pieced heart

Voila!!

Finished front

Finished back

Stats: Valentine's Mini Quilt Swap among Friends- 22" x 18",  Feb. 2012
Materials: Scraps and stash including:
                 Pieced Hearts: Various quilting cottons from my scraps
                 Robert Kaufman Kona Solid Background in Grass Green
                 Sparkle sashing: Michael Miller Damask sparkle
                 Outer sashing: Free Spirit Fabrics Kumari Gardens- Holiday
                 Backing: Jane Sassaman Prairie Gothic
FMQ: Concentric circles from 365 days of FMQ project
Thread: variegated dark pink/red by Auriful

Hope you have some lovely things coming your way this February- don't forget the February DeStash- Give away right here on my blog! You could be the winner!!

The February De-stash Giveaway is now open…..

I can't believe it's February already. Another month- another De-stash Giveaway up for grabs. This month- winning will be open to US residents only. However- anyone can comment!

Here is a peek at some of the things in the February package that could be yours.

The February challenge question up for your comments: If you could invite anyone, living or not, to lunch, who would it be and why???

Details for the 2012 Monthly Giveaway:

I will post a photo of the give-away each month during the first week of the month- so check back often, so you don't miss out.

You will have until the 21st of each month to leave a comment.

Leave only one comment per person.

I will pick a winner and get your package in the mail by the 25th of each month (postal holidays and weekends excepted). (Make sure you don't fall in to the no-reply blogger category- if I can't get you I'll pick someone else).

I know some of my followers are outside the USA. Because international postal rates abroad are much more expensive I will be doing international mailings only a few times during the year (these are big packages and costly to send). Please know- I haven't forgotten you and appreciate your following me- I really do. So, I will specifically post whether the monthly destash-give-away is open to international entries on any given month.

Thanks for all your support and good luck in 2012! Remember 11 chances remaining to win this year- Go for it!!!

January give-away winner

The winner of the January 2012 give away is:

Miranda! who said……..

What a great giveaway. Before Christmas I saw a recipe for a Rice Krispie roll on MADE, and I made them for Christmas and they were soooo yummy. I'm going to make them but cut them smaller and into heart shapes. I also like to make my own cards (because cards are getting really expensive) so I'll make a few of those. Here's the link to the Krispies.
http://www.dana-made-it.com/2011/12/day-1-chocolate-peanut-butter-rice.html
The next time I made them I'm going to leave out the peanut butter in the Krispie part.

 I will send you an email asking you for your mailing information and I'll get this package out to you ASAP.  I hope you like your goodies.  Please let me know when they arrive.

Don't forget to check back in early February for that month's give-away!!!

Denim Skirt

I have wanted a simple denim skirt for some time. I had a lovely pair of organic Mavi jeans that became too short once I washed them, and they were the perfect opportunity to give the "skirt-from-jeans" redux a try. There  are all kinds of helpful tutorials out there for you to look at, each with a slightly different take on how to make your skirt. Since I wanted something I could actually wear more places than not, I opted to try and finish all seam lines and inserts and hems. In the end I ended up with a skirt that fits well and looks good too.
This is what I did:
Take one pair of jeans

Figure out how long you wan your new skirt to be and cut off the pant legs, adding an additional inch (for finishing the hem).
Open the inner leg seams, both sides to the crotch and then back and front to the base of the zipper and to where the back no longer curves for your derrière.

Turn your jeans/almost skirt inside out and fold in the open edges and press into a "V", front and back.

Turn right sides out again and lay on a flat surface. Place pins to hold pressed seams.

Open the same seam (inside leg) on the pieces of pants leg that you cut off. Press open.

Place a cutting mat, or cutting board in the area of the "V" of the skirt and lay the (now) rectangle leg piece into the opening. Using the cutting mat as the pin stop, pin the skirt "V" opening to the pant leg material filling the opening. Pay special attention to the area around the zipper making sure the additional material is tucked neatly under.

Stitch a double row of stitches along each side of the "V".

Turn inside out and trim excess material leaving 1/2 of denim to the side of each seam.

Repeat on the back.

Trim hem line to an even edge and her you make a choice. You can either turn under the hem and again, double stitch, or you can leave the hem be and it will fray softly with repeated washings.

Enjoy your new skirt. {If you are totally confused, go check these tutorials here and here}.

You CAN teach an old dog new tricks

I got a iphone a month or so ago. I love it. I made it a soft iphone case, just in case,  (it gets cold here, where I live).

It does things I never knew I wanted "done".  I have lunch with friends and get all kinds of hints on how to "use" my phone and we share App's, (especially the free ones). We do this quietly so as not to scare away nearby diners. There are a few that have added to my "cyber" sewing experience. Allowing me to keep in touch with some of the wonderful new friends I have met this past year.
So, here are the ones I find useful in the sewing/quilting/swapping realm- I would love to know, if you have these, or if you get them, what you think…….. OR better yet, if you have ones I NEED to have too. Share!!!!
(These are all available for FREE via the App Store)
Flickr for the iphone:
Take a picture and post it to your Flickr page complete with comments, tags and other fun info. The one thing it doesn't do is let you post your photo to a group. Perhaps if enough of us complain they might add that in an update.
QuiltCalc by Robert Kaufmann:
You are just going to have to play around with this to see all the fun things it can do. Make sure you have enough time to check it out.
Jo-anns app:
Despite my love for my LQS, I do need to go here for buttons, notions, rotary blades etc, etc. Their app has mobile coupons- directly to your phone, within the app. You just show it to the check-out cashier and voila! No more forgotten coupons….. there are other features with this app but I primarily use it for the coupons.
USPS Mobile for the iphone:
I just discovered USPS Click-n-ship on my computer (right before Christmas) and couldn't believe that I could skip waiting endlessly in line at my post office and order the boxes, print the labels (with free delivery confirmation) and even have my mail man come get my packages right from my porch. And this handy iphone app lets you do the same right from your phone, including scanning bar codes and QR codes on packages. This last feature is beyond cool. First you print your labels from your computer/printer. They will have a bar code on them. The you open the USPS mobile app on your phone and scan the bar code. Then you can track your package right from your phone without having to type in all those numbers. ;-) to see if your package got to its intended destination.  You can order free boxes and schedule a pick up from your phone as well as look up zip codes, calculate shipping costs and find a post office near you (if you still want the whole "in-person" experience).

As you can see, I am easily impressed and eager to find more fun helpful things to do with my phone. I am certain there are more wonderful apps out there and as I get ones that have some connection to sewing/quilting/life I'll pass them along. Please do the same.

Resolution with added perks

I've got to clean out my little sewing space after a whirl wind end of the year sewing spree. So, for 2012, I have decided that while cleaning, I am also going to destash- big time . Once a month, on this blog, I am going to post a photo. My plan is to fill a Large, flat rate box with all kinds of sewing/knitting/crafting items (hopefully seasonal so that you can use them when you get them) and send it to the person who leaves me the best comment based on a theme for that month.
So, here goes…………

For January- (open to international and domestic (US) mailing this month- why not start out the year with a bang!

To win, please tell me: What will you be making (food/craft/sewn/knit item) as your hand-made/home-made Valentine's day treat. If you have a recipe or a link to a sewing/knitting tutorial, please include it. (It will help your chances). I will pick my favorite comment based on all entries.

Here is a photo of just some of the things you will get in the January give away.

Details for the 2012 Monthly Giveaway:

I will post a photo of the give-away each month during the first week of the month- so check back often, so you don't miss out.

You will have until the 21st of each month to leave a comment.

Leave only one comment per person.

I will pick a winner and get your package in the mail by the 25th of each month (postal holidays and weekends excepted). (Make sure you don't fall in to the no-reply blogger category- if I can't get you I'll pick someone else).

I know some of my followers are outside the USA. Because international postal rates abroad are much more expensive I will be doing international mailings only a few times during the year (these are big packages and costly to send). Please know- I haven't forgotten you and appreciate your following me- I really do. So, I will specifically post whether the monthly destash-give-away is open to international entries on any given month.

 (We're starting the year big- January is open to everyone).

Thanks for all your support and good luck in 2012! Remember 12 chances to win this year- Go for it!!!

It's a neighborly thing….

Stop on over at Lily's quilts and see what's up with your blogging and sewing neighbors. It's a nice way to begin the new year and a nice way to see what everyone is up to in 2012!