Bee Blocks, Birthday Sewing and Winner

I finished Deborah's block for July for the Mid-Century Modern Bee.  She asked for a house block and we could be creative.  I chose to make one resembling our house using the tutorial Sewing By Stephanie.  I modified the doors and windows.

I am the queen bee for August and I chose the x & + block (tutorial here) since I had never made one and liked the look.  Here is my sample, although I asked my bee members for pink rather than fushia:



We have two granddaughters on the way this fall and these bee blocks may be part of one of the baby quilts.

I made an outfit for Alice for her second birthday:

The only photo I caught on the way out the door to the party and it was raining.

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And the winner of the fatquarter bundle of Snowfolks by Benartex is:

44.   teachpany said...

I follow Benartex on Facebook.

July 26, 2013 at 12:35 PM 

An email to you is on the way.  Congratulations and thanks to all my blog visitors for stopping by.

Celebrating Christmas In July Tutorial, Giveaway and Recipe!!

Today I have a Christmas in July tutorial for you on the Benartex blog Sew In Love With Fabric!  Using the cute Snowfolk fabric by Cheryl Haynes from Benartex I designed my Snow Folk Portrait Gallery Mantel Quilt.

Click HERE to find out how to make it!  I love the Snowfolk fabric.  The three different Snow Folk "portraits" are from the panel.  Check it out!!

I've added my favorite cookie recipe "Waffle Iron Cookies" to Benartex's Facebook Cookie Recipe Exchange.  This cookie looks great on your cookie tray and is delicious. Add your recipe to their Facebook page to win a fun fabric giveaway.

And now for my giveaway!!! Here is how you win a fat quarter bundle of Snowfolk;  One entry for completing each of these requirements and making a comment up to a maximum of three:

1. Sign up to follow Benartex's Sew In Love With Fabric blog via Bloglovin' or via email (right hand sidebar) and then leave a comment here, telling us that you have done so. If you're already signed up, great! Just let us know.
2. "Like" Benartex on Facebook and then leave a comment here, telling us that you have done so. If you already have, great! Just let us know.
3. Sign up to follow my blog via Bloglovin' or via email (right hand sidebar) and then leave a comment here telling me that you have done so.  If you're already signed up, great!  Just let me know.

 

The giveaway is open through the end of my day on Tuesday July 30th.

GeoCentric Two-Sided Super Tote

What to do with three 1\2 yard cuts of GeoCentric by Michelle Engel Benasko for Cloud 9 Fabrics? Well, a two-sided Super Tote by Noodlehead of course!

Side one:

Side two:

Recessed zipper:

Interior pockets:

Exterior pockets with magnetic closures:

This Sew Mama Sew Challenge was so fun. I had three colors, but decided to only use the turquoise and lime along with a natural linen. They worked great together. The only change from the pattern was adding an additional exterior pocket to the bag. My iPad fits perfectly in one side and I wanted to have another exterior pocket for other things.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Heading off to quilt retreat...

I've been doing lots of sewing since I last posted on my blog, some which I can't show yet.  But here is a peek of something I made for my retreat buddies:

I'll post a full photo when I return.  I leave tomorrow morning to retreat with seven blogging friends from around the country.  This is our fourth year and I am SO looking forward to it.

Here are two projects I have cut out to sew this weekend:

 This is an alphabet quilt from a American Quilting & Patchwork magazine.  I purchased the kit from Fat Quarter Shop and the fabric is by Holly Holderman for Lakehouse Dry Goods.  I know a little someone who is going to be learning the alphabet soon!

I love this Spin Cycle pattern by Cluck Cluck Sew and have owned it for a while.  I had a whole other group of fabric chosen for it and then I came across my Strawberry Fields fat quarter bundle I won from 1Choice4Quilting last year and decided I wanted this summery look.

I almost finished another project before my machine broke:

 I hope to pick up my machine on the way to the retreat and finish this Super Tote by Noodlehead.  Yes, my second one.

I'll be back with a post next week.  Have a great weekend.

Patchwork Please - Zakka 2.0 - placemat

I skipped a few weeks of Patchwork Please Zakka 2.0 stich along because there were items I wouldn't use or give.  Now I'm back on track with this placemat:

I fussy cut the cats from some Heather Ross Munki Munki , used yellow linen, pink ric-rac and Sweet Broderie by Rosalie Quinlan for the back/binding.
This was a very fun little project.

Steam Punk

I got bitten by the Steam Punk bug.  Steam Punk is a pattern by Jen Kingwell Designs and you have certainly seen it around blogdom, flickr and Instagram. 

Here is my practice block:

 I'm pretty happy with it - maybe it will show up in my quilt.  These blocks are so much fun.  I dug into my stash until I came up with a combo I liked.

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Hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July holiday if you celebrate.  We had a perfect day - swimming, pontooning and grilling with the kids.

Here is Grandpa helping Audrey blow bubbles:

 

What would you charge?

I know I showed this before but I need your help: What should I charge for this quilt?
 
I was just given a link to a picture of a printed quilt panel.  I drew the enlarged size to decide how it would best fit on a quilt, chose a font and then picked four different sizes for the different words.  I hand traced all the words on fusible web, ironed onto fabric and then cut out each letter.  I used a braided cord for all the orbit and sewed it to the quilt front.  Next chose color and fabric for each planet and moon and added fusible web and cut out each of the graduated size of circles.  I ironed both the planets and lettering to the quilt front and then zigzagged with invisible thread around each piece.  Next I sandwiched with Warm and Natural and quilted a star pattern throughout the quilt.  It was then bound with fabric that matched the fabric of the sun.  The finished size is 42" X 58".

Please leave a comment with what you would charge if you purchased all the materials and made this quilt for someone.  Thank you very much for your help.

Mary