WIP- EPP table runner

This is a shameful confession... last year at the Houston Quilt Festival I bought some diamond shapes to use for English Paper Piecing from Paper Pieces.  I was going to make myself a Christmas table runner for my dining room table for this Christmas.  I started working on it last fall and then once it was January I totally stopped working on it for the entire year.  Now it is only a little over 2 months until my deadline and I am nowhere near done!

Here is one of the star units:

And here is what I have done already:

  

I think that I have a couple more stars cut out and then I need to get the whole thing put together.  I have decided that I am going to have to applique the whole thing onto a bigger piece of fabric because my dining room table is very wide and it needs to have a little bit more "presence".  

 Hopefully this week I will be able to get back into hand sewing!

Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

Halloween is for the dogs

Often times, I need to put my sewing skills to use for something other than quilting.  This week, it was altering a Halloween costume for my dog :)

We got a turtle costume from Petsmart for our dog for Halloween this year.  Our dog, Pluto the beagle, hates costumes that cover his legs, however, he will tolerate the costumes that velcro around his stomach and neck.  The one problem was that this specific costume only came in a "Small/Medium" or "Large/X-Large" size.  The S/M looked like it was made for a tiny dog, so we had to get the L/XL for our 20-lb Beagle.  Needless to say, it was kind of big on him!

So, I took in a couple inches at the waist velcro and the neck velcro, I shortened the turtle's neck, and I took in the head at a couple seams too.  Pluto seemed to enjoy the fittings... he patiently waited by the sewing machine every time I took in a seam and then he would try it on again so I could figure out what else needed to be altered.  This backfires on me sometimes when he likes to think that everything I sew on the sewing machine should be for him, but I do enjoy having his company while I am sewing :)

Here is the final result:

Now Pluto is all ready for Halloween!

WIP- Open Wide Pouches

I already posted about my new zipper collection... now it's time to choose the fabric for my pouches!  I am making the Open Wide Zippered Pouch from Noodlehead.

I am going to try and work my way through 4 pouches... these are going to be for other people, I already have 3 pouches that I made for myself :)

I love the periodic table fabric and it took me so long to find it somewhere in stock!  This is going to make a fun pouch with the red interior and yellow zipper.

The exterior of this one is the flower and the orange/peach fabric, with the blueish on the inside.

This exterior has the zig-zag on the top and purple cross-hatch on the bottom, with a gray interior.

 

Last but not least, a fun space themed pouch.  I bought that patch fabric last year at the Houston Quilt Festival and have been waiting for something fun to use it for.

Time to get sewing!

Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

Zippers!

I have decided to make some more "open wide zippered pouches" using the tutorial from Noodlehead.  The tutorial is great, the pouches are cute, and I have made several already!

Last week I ordered some more zippers from Zipit on Etsy.  This shop has a huge selection, is inexpensive, and has cheap shipping.  I bought a selection of 10 zippers.  I wish that I could buy the variety of like 100 zippers, but I am afraid of what my husband would say when he would see the package!

Now it's time to choose my fabrics!

10 Quilty Secrets

I recently started reading the blog 13 Spools.  Amy has a really fun thing going right now where everyone lists out their "10 Quilty Little Secrets" and then links up to her blog.  It is really fun to read everyone's secrets, so make sure that you check out some of the other pages in the link-up!

Here are my "10 Quilty Little Secrets"

1.  I prewash EVERYTHING as soon as I buy it.  I can’t stand the smell of the sizing and chemicals that are used in the fabric.

2.  I freely mix “designer” fabrics and (less expensive) fabrics from Joann’s, Hobby Lobby, and Hancock Fabrics.

3.  I don’t like “low volume fabrics”.  I prefer a classic “white on white” print or plain white.

4.  I want to join a modern quilting bee group but am afraid that my fabrics won’t fit their rules and aesthetics (see #2 & #3)

5.  I like making baby quilts the best because they are so much easier to quilt with my machine (I hate the bulk that comes with the big quilts!)

6.  I size almost all of my baby quilts to be 40”-42” wide so that I don’t have to piece the backing.

7.  I use the giant spools of 100% cotton Gutermann thread (from Joann’s) for almost all my quilting.

8.  I HATE ironing seams open.  I will ignore almost all instructions that say to do that!

9.  I don’t bury my thread ends, I cut them!

10.  I love hand sewing my binding.  I consider it to be the end of a long process and the last time that I get to spend with my quilt before it gets sent off into the world.  Also, it is a good excuse to watch Hallmark movies or chick flicks J
What are your quilty little secrets?

Exciting news!

I have some very exciting news to share!  One of my quilts has been accepted to show at the Houston Internation Quilt Festival this October- it is in the exhibit "What's for Dinner?"!!!!

In this exhibit, the quilts must be the size of a placemat (15" x 24") and they must show "what's for dinner".  From the Quilts, Inc website,

"We’ll “set the table” for this Special Exhibit on the show floor with enlarged “place settings”, complete with a placemat/tablecloth, napkin, fork, knife, spoon, and a plate full of “what you are eating for dinner.” This could be your favorite dinner at home, in a restaurant, or what you have for Sunday dinner. We are excited about this theme and hope that it will show a variety of interpretations, fabric choices, and views into different cultures, rituals, and lifestyles. Think colorful, fun, outside the box, and visually appealing! "

This website has a good look at the exhibit last year and some examples of what people made.

I'm not going to show you what I made yet, you'll have to wait 5 weeks along with everyone else and then I will post lots of pictures!  I'm also excited because my sister is coming down from Connecticut to attend the quilt show with me again, I had so much fun attending with her last year!

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