A New Crochet Case and the Monday Link Up

One of the first sewing projects I ever made was a case for my crochet hooks.  I must have used some type of tutorial but I don't remember - all I know is that I "splurged" by ordering 2 fat quarters of pretty  fabric from Etsy and used premade bias tape since I didn't know how to make my own!

This past summer when I was having all sorts of sewing machine issues, I was crocheting A LOT.  (Remember this, this, and this?)  And everytime I would take out my crochet case, I would think to myself - Beth, you really need to make a new one!!!  Yep, I had no nostalgia for it being my first project (you'll notice I'm not even showing a photo.)

Needless to say, I have now made myself a new case.  And as you can see I used more than a couple fat quarters of pretty fabric and I made the bias tape (well, straight grain but you know what I mean . . .)

Of course, now with my sewing machine, my new found love of english paper piecing, and the 5 million hats I made this summer, I'm not sure I when I'm actually going to get out the crochet hooks but when I do, I'll love using the new case!

Now it is your turn - what have you been up to?  Link up a sewing/quilting post, visit each other (at the very least, please visit the two people on the list before you), promote the link up with a text link or the button on my sidebar, and when the link tool asks for your name, write the name of your favorite comfort food.

A Reversible Table Runner and the Monday Link Up continues

I was happily surprised last week at the response to this project after I posted a peek of the WIP.   This is one of the few projects I have made with a specific recipient in mind - well, if you don't count the things I make for my kids!

I really do find it way more stressful to make gifts when I know they are gifts.  I seriously think I unpicked ten times the seams I usually do!

It is a table runner.

And it is reversible!

Well, kind of - I had decided to have my two older girls personalize the back of the runner with an acrostic poem - something we thought the recipient would appreciate.  We used stamps to stamp the name they call her and then they each wrote their poems and signed their names.  I still think it was a good idea in theory but in reality, I'm not happy with the result.  But my husband and kids disagree - they think it looks great - so I kept it and just hope that the recipient agrees with them (which considering her relation to them, she probably will!)

I'm linking to Tuesdays at the Table.

And even though the blog hop is over, the Monday link up continues (at least for now!)  Just link up a sewing/quilting post, visit each other, promote the link up with a text link or the button on my sidebar and when the link tool asks for your name, write your favorite slow cooker dish?

A Little Modern Rainbow Quilt

One of my end of the year goals was to make some small gifts to have around for my daughters to give as birthday presents.  

I usually prefer to make these gifts with no certain recipient in mind.  I find it more fun to just make what I want to make and then have my daughters pick what they want to give.  I also make a lot less mistakes this way because I'm not stressing over perfection - I guess because I know that if it doesn't work out, I have 3 daughters who love to own anything I've made!

However, this little quilt was made with a very specific recipient in mind - a little girl who is very special to my daughters was turning 5 and getting a special doll for her birthday so a doll quilt seemed like the perfect gift.  I have been wanting to try this design ever since I added a little rainbow stripe corner to this quilt.   And I used this opportunity to again practice some FMQ.   I washed it to get it all crinkly and then immediately put it in the mail before my middle daughter had the chance to sneak it to her room!

And here is a sneak of another gift I am making for a specific recipient (who is turning an age much older than 5!)  My middle daughter is helping me with this one and we have a very special thing planned for the back.  We actually are already late with this so I'm hoping she can find some time between gymnastics and ballet to work on this over the weekend!

And on the subject of gifts, the lovely Deborah of Simply Miss Luella sent me a beautiful stack of low volume fabrics.  This photo shows just a few of the fabrics - she sent so many great ones plus a large piece of Denyse Schmidt flea market fancy!  I think she sent them in response to this post which talks about my first attempt at a low volume quilt that ended up not being very low volume!  Regardless of whether that was the reason, it was so thoughtful of Deborah to think of me and I am so excited to make an actual low volume quilt!

Calendar reminder:  Sorta Summit is this weekend!  You can find all of the information including the class schedule and sign up here.

Linking to Crazy Mom Quilts and Thursday Think Tank at Canadian Abroad.

The Final Blog Hop News of 2012 (and giveaway!)

This week is the GRAND FINALE of the Let's Get Acquainted Summer and Fall 2012 Blog Hop.  Click here to see the list of bloggers sharing their posts this week.  

Thank you again to everyone who participated -  it was great meeting all of you!  I really enjoyed meeting and learning more about so many fun quilting bloggers - those new to me and friends I've known since I started my blog back in February.  And thanks again for all of your wonderful tutorials and inspiration!

Stay tuned for Blog Hop 2.0!

GIVEAWAY

The Fat Quarter Shop is again sponsoring this week's giveaway and giving yet another lucky reader a $25 gift certificate to their shop.  

You have 3 chances to win.

1. Leave a comment on this post (any comment but if you would like a topic, how about what items you would put on a holiday list that have nothing to do with sewing?)

2. My followers - old and new - get a second entry (leave a comment indicating that you are a follower.)

3. For a third entry, visit the Fat Quarter Shop and leave a comment about which product(s) in their Coming Soon section look fun to you.

The giveaway will remain open until November 17, 2012 at 8pm EDT and one winner will be chosen at random and announced thereafter. And please, unless you are sure that you are NOT a no-reply commenter, include an email address. The winners of the recent giveaways will be announced soon.

The giveaway is now closed.  The winner is #207 Beth!  Congrats!

And for this week, again link up your recent sewing and quilting posts, visit each other, promote the link up with a text link or the button on my sidebar and when the link tool asks for your name, what about your favorite holiday dessert?

Sew Seasonal Blog Hop

Today is my turn to post for the Sew Seasonal Blog Hop organized by Kristy from Quiet Play and Alyce from Blossom Heart Quilts.  They each created several cute holiday block patterns (which are available free for the duration of the hop) and there are 25 of us - each showcasing one design for the hop.

This is the second of Kristy's patterns that I've used (you can see the first one here) and I've really enjoyed making both!  For this hop, I made a little mini wall hanging using her candy cane paper pieced pattern.

This block was fast and easy to put together.  I just added a wonky border and the little polar bear hexagon and then quilted it using what my daughter refers to as "freestyle" quilting.  And finished it off with some super skinny binding!

You should definitely check out the rest of the stops on the Sew Seasonal Hop - here is the schedule:

1st November: Kristy from Quiet Play & Alyce from Blossom Heart Quilts

2nd November: Marieka from Bespoke Bites & Jane from Where Jane Creates

3rd November: Susan from Patchwork N Play & Kelsey from Kelsey Sews

4th November: Janice from Better Off Thread & Erin from Missy Mac Creations

5th November: Lucy from Charm About You & Rebecca from Making Rebecca Lynn

6th November: Charlotte from Lawson and Lotti & Amy from Amy's Crafty Shenanigans

7th November: Jess from the Elven Garden & Cindy from Live a Colorful Life

8th November: Elaine from Dashasel Sews & Kelly from Jeliquilts

9th November: Beth from Plum and June & Fiona from Finding Fifth

10th November: Juliet from Tartan Kiwi & Fiona from Celtic Thistle Stitches

11th November: Taryn from Pixels to Patchwork & Anorina from Samelia's Mum

12th November: Megan from Jaffa Quilts & Jane from QuiltJane 

13th November: Gemma from Pretty Bobbins

And now it is your turn!  As I mentioned, Kristy and Alyce have made all 25 patterns available free during the blog hop.  You can find them here and here.  Just use one or more of the blocks and make a finished project - then join the link up at Kristy's blog starting November 30th.  There is also a Flickr group.  And there are fantastic prizes - all sorts of fabric goodness!  For a complete list, click here. 

Speaking of fabric, click here to enter the giveaway from the Fat Quarter Shop ($25 gift certificate) - giveaway ends Saturday, November 10, 2012 at 8pm EST.

More Little FMQ Quilts

I've said it before and I'll say it again:  I love making these little doll/stroller/play quilts!  It is such a fun way to try out new designs and practice free motion quilting.  And bonus - not only do my daughters (all 3 of them) love playing with the quilts (doll blankets, tablecloths for impromptu tea parties, forts) - they also make great gifts.

This week, I tried something new with this loopy FMQ design.  

And then I used this mini to try a spiral.  I've done this before with a walking foot but this is the first time I tried it with the free motion foot.

As you can see, I definitely need more practice!  

These little quilts were not specifically on my 100 Day Hustle list but I'm amending #4 on my list which was "pouches, journal covers, and other similar items for birthday party gifts" to include little quilts since I plan on making more (you know - for the practice!)

And since it is almost the halfway point for the 100 Day Hustle,  here is my update:

1.  Quilt for my middle daughter - completed (here it is.)

2.  Toy Buckets for my baby's room - done but I haven't blogged about it yet.

3.  Stroller Blanket that attaches to the stroller - done (here it is.)

4.  Birthday party gifts - no pouches or journal covers yet but I'm putting the little quilts above in this category.

5.  Table Runner - no progress.

6.  Sewing Machine - done!!!!!!!!  Just got it today actually - more about that later!

7.  Floor Pillows - I've bought some pillow inserts in various sizes but I haven't made any covers recently.

Linking to Kelsey Sews, Owen's Olivia, and Crazy Mom Quilts.

October Fresh Sewing

Linking up to Fresh Sewing Day at Lily's Quilts.