Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Stitch It and Gift It Blog Hop - Hotpads


https://createinthesticks.blogspot.com/2019/11/its-day-1-of-stitch-it-and-gift-it-blog.html

Hello and welcome to my stop on the Stitch It and Gift It Blog Hop!  I am so excited to see all the great ideas that everyone is sharing with us this week, and I hope you enjoy seeing my projects.  Thank you Carla for the opportunity to participate!  I encourage you all to visit Carla's website by clicking on the image above, and enter into the drawing for a gift certificate to Fat Quarter Shop and be sure to visit the others today too!

Wednesday, November 13th


I created/finished up a couple hotpads that will be gifted on Christmas Eve to an unknown recipient.  We do a form of White Elephant gift exchange in our family, the only rule for the item is the item can't cost more than $15.  So I am pairing my two potholders with a big bag of monster cookies and apparently my sister has already decided she will fight for these.  She actually tried to sneak one out of the room earlier this week, LOL!

This hotpad was actually a 6 year old UFO!  It is also the very first thing I ever quilted feathers on, and it was quilted on my Bernina.


This block was really fun to make, so much so that I actually made 2 blocks, but one is going into a future Christmas sampler.  (I like to make sample blocks with Christmas fabric when testing a block, eventually I will have a king size Christmas quilt!)  This is also the first time I have purchased a book and actually made a block out of it!  I had pre-ordered Lori Holt's Farm Girl Vintage 2 from Fat Quarter Shop earlier this year because I felt like I would definitely use it, and see, I was right.


The block in the book is the Evening Star, isn't just amazing how the colors make a block so different?  Also, look at how many other blocks I have marked in here, they will all make awesome potholders...



Isn't this little tag super cute?  One of our LQS (Stash of Walla Walla) has them and I just love the added little sentiment!  Also, I obviously was not going to hand stitch the binding down on this LOL.

You might notice how puffy my hotpad is, I like to use 2 layers of Insulbrite, or one layer of Insulbrite and a layer of cotton or 80/20, which ever is more available at the moment.  I also find that I prefer to use the couple of 12 inch hotpads that are in my kitchen drawer over the smaller ones since most of my pans are pretty large, so I figure the bakers in my family will also enjoy larger ones.  Or, you know, my sister will, since apparently she is willing to take on the family for these... (I am making extras for her Christmas stocking so she will have some no matter what).

 Thomas says to remind you how wonderful and comfy pillows are too. (Football block from Cluck Cluck Sew's Touchdown pattern.)

Belle learned the beauty of a tied fleece blanket this last weekend, so quick and cozy!

And finally I leave you with a little parcel that I am gifting to my longarm quilting clients this year.  I am so thankful for the people who are supporting my business (Blue Spool Sewing Room) and look forward to giving them their little gifts!  I will share later what I am gifting them, it's not a sewn item and it's a surprise.   But I am making the bags to put their gift into!  Selina shared some cute bag ideas on Monday, in case you missed them definitely go check her's out.

Thank you so much for visiting today, I hope you all have a wonderful time exploring all these great gift ideas and have fun making gifts for the holidays!

~Brandy

๐ŸŽStitch It & Gift It๐ŸŽ Blog Hop Schedule

Monday, November 11th



Tuesday, November 12th

Wednesday, November 13th



Thursday, November 14th


Friday, November 15th

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

๐ŸŒŸ My Favorite Quilt Block ๐ŸŒŸ Blog Hop

Hello everyone!  Welcome to my stop on the My Favorite Quilt Block Blog Hop hosted by Carla at Creatin' In the Sticks.  Thank you so much Carla for letting me participate in this hop!  I hope you all will be sure to visit Carla's blog to enter the drawing she has going after you have visited and commented on the blogs today!



I have had a lot of fun checking out everyone's favorite blocks the past couple days, and no surprise, there have been a lot of star blocks.  I am here to share even more with you!

I am highly attracted to all the star blocks, but really love Lonestar quilts.  I looked the block up in Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns (1993) and it says the name Lone Star first appeared in the Ladies Art Company catalog sometime between 1028 and 1934, as well as in patterns from Ruby McKim and Carlie Sexton in that same time period.  It's quite fun to look through this book and see that the Lone Star name was used for 8 blocks that all look very different from what I associate lonestar with!

It is no joke when I say I am very attracted to this block.  I even use it as part of my business logo!  (For those of you who are new to me, I am a longarm quilter in Walla Walla, WA.)


The logo was inspired by the first lonestar I made, which was for the Picnic Blog Hop a number of years ago.  John (my husband) said he felt I had truely become a quilter after I finished that quilt, and thus felt it is a good representation of me and my business.  Isn't that sweet?  Here is my patriotic lonestar with a denim star backing:


I made a flannel baby quilt for a family friend a few years ago:

This is closer to a Lemoyne Star but it's so similar that I am including it; a tree skirt that I made for my Aunt Carolyn:

Just last year I made this beach quilt:

I recently finished this denim backing for my sister's quilt, only to realize I made the top entirely too small!  So, borders will be happening soon... lol!

The Christmas runner is one I began last year, it's a work in progress.  The tiny blue and white star will become the centernof a spool block for a spool quilt that I have in progress, it's so cute!  The diamonds are about 1/2" big.  And the pretty block behind them all is the barn quilt I painted this summer!  I hosted a class for my guild and we had a lot of fun painting our favorite blocks to hang on our houses.  I believe one even was hung on a barn!

In case anyone is wondering, yes, I y-seam all those corners.  It was one of the first techniques I mastered when I started quilting about 7 years ago, and I have since realized I prefer less seams if at all possible.  We will see how long that lasts!

Thank you so much for visiting today, I hope you will visit my fellow bloggers today and please be sure to leave some comment love!  I would like to know, have you made a lonestar quilt?  If so, what colors?  I am always on the lookout for more star goodness in my life!

Thursday, September 12th

Websterquilt
Cynthia's Creating Ark
Nutz 4 Redwork
Quiltsbyjoanne
Ms P Designs USA
Pampered Pettit
Hill Valley Quilter

Have a wonderful day!
~Brandy

Thomas helped me get our newest addition to the sewing machine family in place this last weekend.  This is my great-great-grandmother's machine, a White treadle that I was told was used to make my great-grandma's diapers.  Seems likely, as the patents listed on the machine range from 1877-1890 and Great-Grandma turned 95 this year... I feel quite fortunate that Grandma said I was welcome to have it as I was the only one to recognize what it was!

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

๐ŸŽ„12 Days of Christmas in July ๐ŸŽ with *2* Giveaways!



*giveaways are now closed*

Hello friends, Merry Christmas in July!

Since the last time I was on the blog the temperature has turned a 180 on us, it is blazing outside now!  Which makes it nice to sit and sew and think of cooler days to come.  ๐Ÿ˜  I was super excited when Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict invited me to participate in the blog hop again because I had some projects to get done.  Thank you Sarah for organizing all this goodness!  In addition to all the inspiration you will see on this hop there is a giveaway sponsored by FIGO Fabrics that you can enter to win on each participating blog, and I am also having a celebratory giveaway!  The giveaway links are near the end of my post.

First, I completed a couple pillowcases for my nieces.  I love the "burrito" method with French seams, it makes such a nice gift.

Secondly I completed this quilt!  A bit of back story on this:  I was picked by Henry Glass for the Desire to Inspire Challenge in May 2019, and got to work with this beautiful collection of fabric called Jolly Ole Soul by Barb Tourtillotte (visit here for pictures of my projects) and origionally planned to use this as the backing of the quilt I made.  I ended up liking it too much to part with, so instead made it even larger and quilted it up for John and I to snuggle under!
I made this quilt with the panel that is part of the line and then made some simple present blocks using flying geese for the bows.  I made my "presents" different sizes and alternated the background for added interest!  I also used a couple prints from last year's Challenge with the Just Beachy fabric.  And I decided to quilt an edge to edge pattern with the swirls as they mimic the swirls in the white around Santa, and it was relatively quick to stitch out.  Sometimes you just need your project to be finished!

I backed it with flannel, fyi
RED FLANNEL BLEEDS
and you should wash it before doing anything else with it.  I washed mine twice with 3 color catchers each time, and I think I will be comfortable sleeping under it now.

I had to get John to take a photo of how much taller the quilt is than I am, I'm so excited to have it cover my toes and nose at the same time!

I really appreciate you taking the time to visit my blog today, and guess what?  This is my 100th post and in celebration I am offering a giveaway in addition to the one from FIGO Fabrics (entry form below my drawing)! I am offering a pair of handmade beaded Christmas earrings!  Your choice of either snowmen or Santa earrings if you win.  My giveaway is open until July 27th and I will announce the winner shortly after.
(I have to limit this to US only due to ridiculous international postage rates, but I will figure out an alternate prize if you are overseas!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And here is the beautiful fabric from FIGO Fabrics (a fat quarter bundle!):


Make sure to click SUBMIT!

I hope you have lots of fun exploring the posts on this blog hop and get a ton of inspiration!

Brandy

Thomas and Belle say "hello" too!  They really love this rainbow quilt, I am guessing it's the wool batting.


I am also linking to

Monday, July 15, 2019

12DCIJ Schedule 2019

Yay, it's time for the 12 days of Christmas in July again!  Visit each of these blogs to get some great ideas and be sure to swing by here again on Wednesday for mynpost and a giveaway!