Coffee Cozies on a Blustery Day

Happy October everyone!

Normally I would be doing a Month in Review/Goal Setting post about now but I seem to be at least another month away from such a feat. I just can't figure out 1) where the time is going and 2) why it is so hard to get into a sewing habit again. Since I'm going to be gone for 12 days visiting the kids this month I'm not even going to bother with goals. Hmmph! But a big YEAH! to seeing my kids and getting to stay with family & a college roommate I haven't seen in years along the way.

I am actually doing some sewing today because our forecast is for a high of 40 degrees with wind, rain and maybe a little snow. Ugh to that, but a good reason for a sew day. I had seen these adorable coffee cozies on several blogs a while ago and thought they would be perfect for my daughter and her fiance. The apartment complex they live in has a free Starbucks machine in the lobby which is quite the yummy perk!

Image from The Fat Quarter Shop

So I downloaded the free pattern and watched the video HERE before ordering some new mini charm packs. Because we all know there is nothing more motivating than sewing with new fabrics right? Even though we have a few plenty on hand.

I had planned to use Elementary but when I flipped through the stack of Figures it won me over. It's a different color palette for me and I am loving the coral fabrics especially. So much so I decided I need one for myself too with some of the leftover charms.

I'll have another post before I head east on Sunday to show you the finished cozies. I can't tell you how much I am going to miss this furry girl while I'm on the road.

Elsa was watching over my extra papers this morning while I was drinking my coffee and making lists for the trip. Doesn't she have a look of reproach on her face? Or maybe it's just my guilty conscience.

I Sewed Something!

In mid July my Mom and I met her Minnesota siblings for lunch in a nearby town to celebrate my aunt's birthday. Afterwards we decided to shop our favorite places there - a perennial nursery and a quilt shop. This morning I decided I HAD to get into my quilting room and came across the package of goodies I snagged that day.

The Stash Baskets pattern was in the 50% section and caught my eye right away. Just imagine having some of those to use instead of boring plastic bins! The shop had the Bareroots pattern stitched up and also had some of the cute little bags sitting around. I thought they would be a great way to use up those mini charm packs that seem to find their way into my shopping cart often.

I have some precuts of both of these holiday fabric lines so was happy to add these from the clearance section and as I was drooling over a gorgeous table runner sample one of the sales women steered me to the kit for an easy sale. There is something to be said for REAL shopping vs. online shipping.

So, about 2 months later I have a few four patches...

and some soon to be four patches laying on my ironing board.

Perhaps this little kit of charms is just what I needed to awaken my Quilty MoJo. I'll be gone until Monday celebrating a cousin's wedding in Dallas so I'll share more next week.

Stash Additions & Quilty Stitches

I actually can't remember the last time I added fabric to an online shopping cart before last week - talk about CRAZY! I was browsing my over stuffed blog feed and just had to have this collection of Paris FQs from The Intrepid Thread. I have been lucky enough to visit Paris twice and I have a small "starter set" of Paris prints in my stash closet

I was especially drawn to the low volume prints in the mix... now I'm going to have to decide what to make with them. The bottom fabrics were from the clearance section - I'll use the Sunnyside & Simply Style prints for binding as I have some charm packs from these lines. The 3rd fabric is a panel from Winter's Lane.

I won some Winter's Lane charm packs from a give-away last December so I thought the panels would be fun to work into either a wall hanging or some seasonal pillows. I love the pops of red against the muted colors in this line.

Block 11 for Little Miss Shabby's Quilty Stitches came out yesterday and I couldn't wait to get started on the Japanese x + y block. When I posted this pic on Instagram last night I was called an over achiever! It was the perfect way to spend a coolish afternoon and finish up my latest audio book. You can find the patterns for all of the blocks HERE. They are so much fun to stitch up.

I'm a novice on Instagram but I do love following along with the other stitchers - I'm deb_asimplelifequilts over there. Baby steps!

Sunday Agenda

I love the NFL playoffs so my weekend sewing is pretty non existent this time of year.  But, it is the perfect time to page through books/magazines, do some sorting, some cutting and of course some hand sewing. Oh, and I need to give a big whoop whoop to the alma mater of all 3 college graduates in our household - North Dakota State University - for their 3 peat FCS National Championship in football yesterday. Hail the Mighty Bison!

Today my quilting goals look like this:

1. Clear off my cutting table. I've been putting off a tidy up in my quilting room for days and I'm starting to feel a bit grumpy about it.

2.  Trim and attach the binding to Minnesota Hot Dish for some Slow Sunday Stitching during the 2nd game.

3. Pull out my scrap bins and do some sorting. I love the ease of having these large bins right under my cutting surface for quick cleanup. I used to cut all my scraps down into sizes I use often ala Bonnie Hunter's Scrap User's System, but this year I decided to try stashing them, sorting them by color and see how that works for RSC14.

4. I want to cut into these fabrics to restart this UFO I found. I've always admired this cover quilt (the pattern is called Road to Oklahoma) when I've used this book for other projects and had been setting 2.5 strips and 5" charms aside... turns out I'd started making a test block so I'm calling it a UFO and want to get cracking on it. This will be my 3rd quilt from this book.

Since January's RSC14 color is blue I've decided to work on the 24 blocks with the blue chains for the middle of the quilt and the 16 border blocks in shades of blue. I've hesitated to dig too far into my blues for other projects knowing that this one was on my radar so it will be good to get everything cut that I need.

Blue & yellow quilts are my all time favorites and I use these colors in our master bedroom so a few more quilts to decorate with are always welcome!

Hourglass Blocks & Stash

Warm 16 Patches is starting to take shape on my design wall. Last night I made up 8 hourglass blocks and had some fun email discussions after sharing a quick pic with a few of you who left early comments on yesterday's post. My next batch of 8 hourglass blocks are up on the wall now and I am really liking this.

I was a little worried that the hourglass blocks would overpower the 16 patches but I was totally wrong. In fact this project is moving quickly to the keeper pile because I am not only loving this layout but the color palette too!

While I was doing my online Christmas shopping a few weeks ago a couple of fat quarter bundles arrived to perk up my stash. The first bundle is "Ziggy" by Timeless Treasures and I am especially drawn to the variegated chevrons... aren't they fun?

Polka dots have become a stash staple for me and I didn't have any of these "Aspirin Dots" by Robert Kaufman. It's interesting how some of these read classic and the others read playful if that makes sense. The power of color is so intriguing.

I think my sew-jo is back!

NewFO Challenge in 2014

Barbara over at Cat Patches is starting another year of her NewFO Challenge. Last year I was a bench player for a few months due to not meeting my self imposed goals in the prior month but this year I am ready to join the A Team!

Yesterday I posted about my word for 2014 - Simplify - and my Sewing for the Seasons theme. As I started looking through my stash a few weeks back in giddy anticipation of "What to Make, What to Make?" I let my stash lead the way...

Two file boxes of Christmas/Winter fabrics! Some bought for projects that never got started and some just because. I also have several charm packs and one layer cake in new fabric lines to use (I did show a little restraint this year on seasonal buys!).

One file box of Fall/Halloween prints with some pre cuts on top.

My "Lincoln" Schnibble that never got started this year and a few patriotic prints.

Elsa showing me a few fabrics that I missed!

Easter stash - I have had these Debbie Mumm fat quarters for about 10 years. Time to cut into them don't you think?

Valentines Day - a large stash of prints

 and some precuts too.

I would really like to get these fabrics out of my stash closet during 2014. I think it's going to be fun to finally get to some of the "projects in mind" and go through my collection of books/patterns to get ideas for the rest. Here are a few patterns I've pulled for starters for my 1st theme of Winter/Valentine's Day for January sewing.

As for BoMs and QALs in 2014 I'm going to participate in RSC14, A Year of Schnibbles and the Pillow POP Sew Along over at Threadbias.

Plenty of fodder for NewFOs in 2014... I can hardly wait to get started!

Sunday Stash

My trip to Minneapolis/St. Paul last week allowed me to shop my way home Thursday after enjoying some fab music on Wednesday night. It's so much fun to fill my car up with goodies that I can't get around home! 2 of my stops were fabric related (I won't show you all of my yummy stuff from Trader Joes) and they weren't traditional quilt shops.

Amanda Jean from Crazy Mom Quilts had posted earlier in the fall HERE about her visit to SR Harris which is a HUGE fabric warehouse located in the northern suburb of Brooklyn Park. I hadn't been there for several years - had actually kind of forgotten about it - so was excited to make a return visit.

I showed admirable restraint considering all of the temptations.They have aisles upon aisles stacked with bolts of quilting fabric (and all kinds of other fabrics including minkee, laminates, fleece and decorator fabrics). You cut your own fabrics and everything is 50% off so we are talking $5 to $6 a yard for cottons. They had a large section of gorgeous batiks including wide backings but I just drooled looked and thought... next year!

I'm starting to run low on quilt backings for my Project Linus quilts so I grabbed some flannel remnants and a batik from a large bin I dug through. There was a small section of 60" wide fabrics so I got some yardage of the fish print and I couldn't resist the cute floral on black - what a fun color palette to work with that will be!

Then I added some blenders... a yard of each of these to add to my rainbow stash in colors that I'm loving right now.

The next fabric stop was an hour north in St. Cloud at Mill End which is more of a quilt shop with a bit of warehouse. Much smaller than SE Harris but another good place for bargain buying. I was still on the hunt for fleece which I like to use as one step batting/backing for my string quilts. I needed a Christmas print for my Christmas Strings UFO and just love this 4 yard length I found on their $3.99 per yard remnant table. At that price the other 2 were hard to resist for future Project Linus string quilts - one for each gender.

I see from an insert in my bag that they are closing which is a bummer. I shop the one in Fargo often when I visit our daughter. Their going out of business sale starts today... hmmm perhaps a road trip is in order once I find out what their markdowns are going to be. I do love a good bargain for my donation quilts!

I'm linking up with Sunday Stash@The Floral Suitcase.

Sunday Stash and Tools Too

These happy little packets of fun arrived in the mail this week. An email from Pink Chalk Fabrics got me clicking a while back... it's hard to resist a Scrap Bundle of fabrics (according to their website 3 to 3.5 yards) on sale for $9.95. Looking at their site today, I obviously wasn't the only buyer as their scrap bags are sold out!

I've been wanting to add some solids to my stash for my paper piecing BoM and to start mixing them in on my new projects. I'm still more into prints but my appreciation for solids is growing. Here are the contents of one scrap bag... a really nice mix of colors. Some are 1/4 yard cuts, some pieces are large rectangles just shy of FQ size and a few smaller lengths. Perfect for my intended use!

And a nice mix of prints in one of the other bags too. It will be fun to throw some new scraps into the mix when I start my next scrappy project. The other bags are just as yummy- I can recommend these without hesitation! Once they are back in stock of course.

I also had a large box arrive this week (I'm catching up on UFO Reward shopping) and I have to say my heart sank because I knew it wasn't large enough to ship the contents flat. Please excuse my crappy photo but I was in documenting shipping damage mode vs. pretty blog photo mode when taking it!

After about 36 hours of this treatment...

and another day of sitting on my cutting table underneath my old cutting mat it is thankfully flat, oh so pretty and I can't wait to cut some dark fabrics with ease on the yellow side of this Martelli mat. My eyes just aren't what they used to be!

I'm also going to give the Martelli rotary cutter a try. And since I was taking advantage of a sale I added a couple of my favorite Creative Grids rulers in sizes I don't have to the order. I have to say... I just LOVE the redesign since I last bought rulers! I've included an old one in the lower left for comparison. The new markings are so easy to read (do I sound like I'm getting older by the minute?). 

I just might have to replace a few of my most used rulers now too... kudos to a company for taking a product I already love using to a new level of WOW!

So that's what's new in my quilting room this week (lucky, lucky me!) and here is a peek at what I'm working on today. Scrappy Snowball is next on the UFO Finish list. As much as I'd rather be playing with my new tools it's time to quilt.

Happy Sunday sewing everyone! I'm linking up to Sunday Stash@Sew ET.

Scrappy Chevron and Cuzco

This week I finished the blocks for my Scrappy Chevron UFO and started sewing the rows together. So far the alternating bottom rows are done which is why my chevrons look wonky the further right you look. I think I have enough of the background fabric left for a skinny inner border and then I'll see what I find in my stash for the outer border... at any rate it should be a flimsy by the end of the week.

The Fat Quarter Shop had some Cuzco by Kate Spain yardage on sale recently so I thought it would be a good idea (ha!) to indulge since I have a jelly roll and some mini charm packs of Cuzco sitting on my shelf. The fabric on the left will be perfect for backing and the others will work in as binding or something else. I so love Kate's lines!

I think the green fabric from the Juggling Summer line will make an interesting binding for a future project using some charm packs on said shelf and I chose a few neutrals too.

With HOT & sticky weather in the forecast today (real feel of 100 degrees!) I might get some sewing time in later in the day after our daughter and her boyfriend head for home. Tomorrow our son and I head out for a day trip for college visit #1. I'm looking forward to seeing how my very logical son approaches his college decision over the next months!

I'm linking up to Scrap Basket Sunday@Kim's Big Quilting Adventure, Sunday Stash@Fabric Mutt and Design Wall Monday@Patchwork Times.

Sunday Scraps and Stash

I did a fair amount of scrappy sewing this week finishing up blocks for a WIP and a UFO.

I started this scrappy Strip Stacks (pattern by G.E. Designs) last winter after making one in blues and browns. I really like this pattern and can see using it often. There are a lot of "not so pretty" fabrics in these blocks - but the unique layout makes them look great (in my humble opinion).

This super scrappy quilt using 2" squares is called Arkansas Crossing from the book "Quilts from the Heart" by Karin Renaud. It will have a narrow inner border of the white fabric added and then I'll have to audition some outer border fabrics. I ended up with lots of extra 4 patch blocks so I'll be doing this one again someday.

A yummy chartreuse package of goodies arrived a few weeks ago that I haven't shared here yet... I just love seeing that color appear on my doorstep!

Hancocks of Paducah was having a big clearance on Moda so I took the opportunity to add some more Paris Flea Market fabrics to my stash - a fat quarter bundle and some background roses yardage.

I also jumped at the chance to add some Noteworthy by Sweetwater yardage to my stash at 50% off.

This print is so fun! I'm thinking pillows or a table runner with a piano key border.

And these pretties from various Moda lines too.

When the UFOs are under control I will have PLENTY of new projects to choose from!

I'm linking up to Scrap Basket Sunday@Kim's Big Quilting Adventure, Sunday Stash@What's The Bobbin and Design Wall Monday@Patchwork Times.