Thursday, October 28, 2010

Blogger's Quilt Fesival: Happy Blocks

Amy's Creative Side - Blogger's Quilt Festival
Yay!  It's that time again.  I had so much fun participating in the Spring Blogger's Quilt Festival.  Well Amy, is at it again!! Uniting quilty bloggers everywhere!  Click on the button to see many many more quilts.  Wait!  Don't go anywhere yet.  Check out mine first...  : )



This quilt was finished just in time for the festival.  It started as a stack of fabric in May, and quickly grew to blocks and then I got stuck and set it aside.  Sashing was a word that used to make me uncomfortable.  I loved the look, but I wasn't very good at it.  I decided enough of that and I got my sash on and finished up this quilt.


This quilt was made for someone in my family (who hasn't seen it yet!) who is always smiling and a joy to be around.  These colors remind me of her so much.  She very sweetly asked earlier this year if she could have one of my quilts someday.  Heck yeah!  Any quilter would jump at those words right??


I love polka dot bindings!  This one is Ta Dot in Ocean by Michael Miller.


Fresh from the dryer and ready for a nap.  ; )  

Ok now you can go check out the other quilters, but please come back soon!!  -A

Houston Shops

As the vendors get ready in the exhibit hall for Quilt Market, I went shopping!  I was so excited to see some all time favorites!



And now it's time for homework.  Me and maps are like a mouse in a maze.  I think I need some cheese!

-A

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Hi Houston. Glad to Meet You!

Hello from Houston, Tx!!  What a beautiful city.  I kept smiling, thinking to myself... so *this* is Cherri House's city.  I have been reading and so inspired by Cherri's book.  I love her use of color, solids and repetitive shapes. She has been sewing up something very special for Market and I can't wait to see!!

Here are a few snaps I took of downtown Houston today.  The buildings are so reflective and sparkly in the warm sun.  They build them tall here in Texas.  : )


Tall in Texas

Room with a View

Metro through the Fountain

Tomorrow is the Ocean Waves Tour.  I'm getting my Houston feet wet by touring local quilt shops.

See you soon!
-A

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Trust Amy Butler


With hours to spare I finished my bag for Quilt Market.  I used the Birdie Sling pattern by Amy Butler.  All of the fabric is Innocent Crush by Anna Maria Horner.  Sewing this bag was a challenge!  I'm glad I didn't try this bag first.  A few times, I found myself grumbling, "Oh NO!"  quickly followed by, "It's ok!  Everything is ok.  Trust Amy!  Trust Amy." The pattern is very very well written.  The fact that I came out with a recognizable Birdie Sling is a testament to Amy Butler.  Trust her.  She knows what she's talking about.


I mean look.  Even the lines inside my bag match.  That is no accident, it's all Amy Butler's instructions.  I didn't even know I was doing it until it was done.


I have a little sneak peek for you too.  I've been working away on my Happy Blocks quilt.  Look!  Polka dot binding.  : )  The full reveal will be this Friday as part of Blogger's Quilt Festival.  I can't wait to participate again this year.  Anyone can join.  I hope to see a bunch of you there!!


Psst, eye spy a new header.  I pre-wound 4 bobbins of thread for this quilt and as you can see it was *just* enough!  Phew!  

Thank you for all the sweet comments about DH!  You guys make me smile!!!  He is a keeper.  ; )  He used to roll his eyes when I got fabric in the mail too.  Now he's active on the forum and he's well versed in the language of Denyse Schmidt, Heather Ross, Amy Butler, Anna Maria Horner and Joel Dewberry.  For those of you who have signed up, I'm sure you've seen posts by Tom the DH.  Well that's him!  *cheers*  Hi Honey!  He is the one who helped me pick out Innocent Crush by Anna Maria Horner for my bag.  He also recognized the Love dots in the quilt above.   Maybe we need more husbands signing up.  We'll give them their own corner and they can talk amongst themselves.  I think you could all benefit.  Hee hee.

One more thing.  There is still time to enter the Bliss Giveaway.  The winner will be chosen on November 3rd.

Ok, I'm off first thing in the morning to Quilt Market.  I will be posting lots of pictures on my blog and tweeting along the way.  If you are good, I will bring presents to share.

-A

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Sunday Stash 06


DH went a little nutty with the Moda Precuts this week.  I love that man!  : )  I was a little sad to giveaway my Momo the other day.  He proudly presented me with two more.  Now I just need some time alone with the new babies, I've got itchy sewing fingers.

Fandango by Kate Spain
City Weekend by Liesl Gibson for Oliver & S
Hello Betty by Chloe's Closet
Breakfast at Tiffany's by Fig Tree Quilts
Bella Solids in Snow
Wonderland by Momo

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Happy Blocks Revisited

** You can find the Bliss giveaway post here.  Good Luck! **


In between sewing bags, I've been working on finishing this top.  Each block is BIG, just under 12" each.  Do the colors feel spring/summer to you?  I started the blocks in May!!  Yikes.  The blocks actually came together quickly and they were fun to do.  I really love how the chunky pieces show off the larger scale prints.  


I used a mish mash of fabrics from my stash.  A little Love by Amy Butler, a little Farmers Market by Sandi Henderson, Bloom & Grow by Riley Blake and dots.  I love dots!  

I was putting off finishing it because of the sashing.  I don't always have the best luck with sashing.  I love the look though.  All those bright happy colors and white, glorious white.  I came across something that changed me forever!  Well at least my sashing.  : )  Do you want to know too?  Ok.

First finish piecing your rows.  Once they are done measure each one.  Calculate their average width.  Cut your sashing strips to that size.  Start pinning the sashing to the rows with a pin on each end.  Now add a third pin in the middle.  Now you can pin the rest.  This will distribute the width of the sashing and the rows evenly.  If you need to smidge the fabric a little here and there you can.  Now I know some of you are reading this saying... uh... yeah!  What the heck were you doing before?  You don't even want to know!  Let's just say this was a light bulb moment for me.

The rain has finally come to California.  It smells wonderful!  A perfect day to sew.  What are you up to this weekend??

-A

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Bliss Giveaway

See these two gorgeous stacks or Bliss?  The one on the left is mine.  The one on the right could be yours!


Our countdown to Quilt market is almost over.  It's time to reveal the BIG Grand Prize. We are giving away a Fat Quarter bundle of Bliss by Bonnie and Camille for Moda.  That's 40 fat quarters to one lucky winner.

A prize like this needs lots of chances to win don't you think??  Me too!  : )  You have 5 chances to enter plus 3 bonus entries if you have our button (see details below).

1) Leave a comment below
2) If you follow my blog, or become a follower, leave a 2nd comment.
3) Sign up and become a member of my fabric forum, Talk About Fabric, leave a 3rd comment
4) Blog about this giveaway or Talk About Fabric and leave a 4th comment
5) Tweet about giveaway and include @Little_Bluebell or @TalkAboutFabric and leave a 5th comment

International entries are welcome!  Winner will be chosen on November 3rd, when I get back from Quilt Market.

Click to get your button
*** Earn 3 entries FOREVER if you have our Talk About Fabric button ***
We really appreciate your help in getting the word out about the forum.  It's grown to over 150 members in just two short months!  It's an awesome place for all fabric lovers to talk about fabric.  We have discussions going about new fabric releases, fabric giveaways, tutorials we love, fabric sales codes and coupon listings, and of course the best part, meeting new friends that share the same passion... FABRIC!  As always, if you have our button and tell us on the forum you automatically have 3 entries for every giveaway we host... EVER!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Flea Market Bag


Ok, bag two is done.  Woo-hoo!  This is my "intermediate" bag.  I used the Flea Market Bag pattern by Grand Revival Designs.  Tanya gives you so many options with this pattern.  Small bag, large bag, shoulder strap, body strap, pockets, etc...  This bag is meant to be reversible so even though you can, I decided not to use a pocket or button closure.  I used County Fair by Denyse Schmidt which is a home decor weight fabric.  I am smitten with this print!  I didn't use interfacing this time and I kind of wish I did.  The fabric itself has enough body but the interfacing adds a nice clean finish to the bag.


I added a little flower.  A posie for my posie bag.  It's loosely based on this tutorial at wisecraft.


It's great.  Compared to quilting you don't need many tools to make a bag.  I used this pile and a roll of freezer paper.  Do you do use freezer paper?  I use it to copy and cut out all my patterns and I really like it.  It keeps the original patterns in tact and it temporarily fuses to the fabric making it really easy to cut out your pieces.  Highly recommended!  I bought mine at the grocery store.  : )

Friday, October 15, 2010

519 and a WINNER

519?  Wow!  You guys sure like your Momo!!  : )


The winner is......




Congratulations!  : )  A fun and true fact... she was my 300th follower.  Cool 'eh?



If your still in a giveaway mood... we are giving away a Fat Quarter bundle of Meadowsweet 2 at Talk About Fabric.  That giveaway is open until next Thursday, October 21st.

Thanks everyone for playing along.  Fall into Fall has been so much fun!!  I've made some new friends and added lots of blogs to my reader.

That's all for now.  Goodnight!  : )
-A

Crash Course in Bag Making

With Quilt Market only two weeks away, I started thinking I wanted to take a great new bag with me.  Aside from a market tote or two... I haven't really made a bag before.  I would love to know what bag patterns you like.


I decided to sign up for a crash course in bag making.  Here is my self assigned course outline...

Beginner - Pleated Tote by Rebeka Lambert
Intermediate - The Flea Market Bag by Grand Revival Designs
Advanced - Birdie Sling by Amy Butler

Yesterday I took on the beginner bag.  This is a fantastic tutorial!!!  I am encouraged by the results.  I can see myself making many, many more of these.  Mom?  Gram?  What colors do you like?!?  : )


Look it stands up on it's own even though I used regular woven cotton.  That's because I used interfacing.  I picked SF101 Shape Flex interfacing by Pellon because it's what Amy Butler uses for the Birdie Sling.  That Amy sure knows her bag making.  This interfacing is really nice.


See this button?  I got it from my button jar and I *know* this button.  This button came from a sweater in 7th grade.  All the girls at my school had one.  It was from Express and mine was purple.  Cue music... "memories..."


I hope you're having a GREAT Friday!  I will announce the winner of Fall into Fall tonight.

-A

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Finished: Circa 50 Quilt

Another finish.  Hooray!!  Here in all it's glory, is my (drum roll please) Circa 50 quilt.

Front
Back

Can you spot the owl?

Ah, crinkly goodness.  I love this part.  ; )


Quilt Details
* Finished Size: 38"x55"
* Pattern/Directions here: Fat Quarterly Quilt Along
* Other versions and great inspiration here: Flickr Group
* Evolution of a quilt: 1, 2, 3, 4

Monday, October 11, 2010

Sunday Stash 05

Bloom & Grow by Riley Blake

I'm cooking up a little something for Fall.  I bought this cute little bundle from Wondrous Woven Fabrics.  And no you're not going crazy... it is Monday and not Sunday.  I hope you have a great one!!  : )

-A

Saturday, October 9, 2010

On the Design Wall: Stripes!





I need a back for my Circa 50 quilt for the Fat Quarterly Quilt Along.  I have a lot of white, but that seemed to plain for this quilt.  I had some extra Circa 50, but I kept leaning towards a patchwork pattern and that was too similar to the front.  I had extra Kona solids too.  Hmmm...  I opened up the solids and laid them out on the table.  Aha... Yes!  Stripes!  Stripes are going to be just right.  And so as I write this... I have stripes on the wall.  They make me smile.


They vary in height some are 2.5" and some are 6".  They are so crisp and cheery.  I love them.  : )  Now I'm off to the store for batting.  Joann's sent me a 50% coupon.  Yipeee.

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