Out of Season...

I'm a bit out of season with this post.  And while I'd like to think I'm just really ahead of the game, in fact these little guys have been in the works for a couple of Christmases now...and all it proves is I'm horrible about starting projects I don't finish.

Santas!

More Santas!, a photo by gnomemade quilts on Flickr.

My summer is significantly lighter at work than any other season, so I'm trying my best to get some projects done while I have the time.  With that in mind...this past week or so, I finished up these four Santas!  Aren't they adorable?

I had made a few before for Christmas presents over the past several years for families and friends, but I still had some felt left over to make four more!  I must have cut these guys out over a year ago and had the best of intentions to get them finished.  But without anyone in mind to  give them to, they took a back seat to all the other shiny items that distracted me.

But, with my Quilt Guild's craft show coming up, it motivated me to finish these guys up.  We're keeping one, and at least one will be heading to the quilt guild.  Not 100% certain where the others will find homes, but I'm thinking I might have some more family or friends who wouldn't mind a seasonal addition to their family!

More Bags!

In an effort to get through some of my stash, get ahead of the game (which never happens) and help out my quilt guild, I continued making Drawstring Bags for my guild's bi-annual quilt show boutique.  

I've got a bunch of fabric floating around my apartment that I can't seem to part with, but I'm never certain what to do with.  This is mainly in the form of fat quarters and scraps, so I figured I'd bust into them for this project.

I had already made several bags which I posted last week, but really got on the bandwagon and got nine more done!

Three more bags - I made two of the one in the middle

Not sure how I feel about the color/pattern combo.

Made two of each of these for a total of four!

So, those - along with one more item, which I'll post soon, will be heading off to the Quilt Guild boutique!

I love these bags and Jeni's In Color Order tutorial (and pattern you can buy) is so great!  There will definitely be more in the future.

London Fabric

On my shopping trip, I happened to come across this super cute fabric at another store near the LQS. 

I spent several weeks in London when I was in college as part of a summer project and absolutely loved the city, so I was immediately drawn to it - with all the landmarks and whatnot.  

Add to it my cousin is finishing up a semester in London and I just had to pick it up!  I'm going to attempt to make a pillow out of it with some jumbo ric rac and buttons and then send it a long to her.  Not quite sure how that's going to go...but we'll see!  Thankfully, I think I purchased enough to try again if I mess up!

Drawstring Bags!

My local quilt guild holds a bi-annual Quilt Show.  The next one is scheduled for the end of October - so just a couple months away.  The call has gone out to the guild to provide some items for a boutique we'll be holding as part of the show.

Now, with my work schedule, if I don't get anything done before August - it's just not going to happen.  So, I figured while I had the time and motivation, I'd work on some items for the boutique.

I wanted a fairly simple, but still fun project.  I was immediately drawn to Jeni of In Color Order's tutorial for her lined drawstring bag.  I had made two of them before for Valentine's day and knew they came together really cute!

Now, I know how hard designers work to make a pattern - so I wanted to make sure this was all on the up and up.  Since my guild will be selling these items, I purchased her pattern which provides instructions for a bunch of different sizes!

I went through my fabric scraps and put together some fun color combinations.  I stuck mainly with the original size in her tutorial - but made one larger bag as well.

Here are the first four bags I made.  The one with the trees is a bit larger in size.  The red and black ones have sheep knitting as the top fabric!  I wish I had enough scraps of that left over to make it the body of the bag, but just the top panels were a tight cut!

Here are some close-up shots.

Sheep and red bag!

I figured the fall one was appropriate for an October boutique!


All in all, I think I ended up making 13 bags.  I just need to take some photos of the others!

I Have a Crush...

When I first started quilting in 2005, I had no idea the difference between high quality quilt fabric and the stuff that came from Joann's/Hancock's on the clearance table.  I also had no idea that there was a world of quilt designers out there who not only made patterns, but also designed fabric.

Rather, my first quilts were just thrown together with fabrics I liked and were my own very basic designs put together on graph paper.  I don't think they came out too bad, but nothing compared to all the wonderful things I've seen on blogs, in books and magazines and in quilt shops!

I'm slowly learning more about designer fabric and patterns, and definitely find myself drawn over and over again to the same designers.  But, in light of a recent order on the internet and cleaning of my sewing room, I realized I have a bit of a "fabric crush" on Heather Mulder Peterson of Anka's Treaures. 

Turns out...I really like her work...

Last summer, I ordered a set of fabric to make a quilt out of the "Stop, Drop and Roll" book, which is the next quilt in my queue to make!  I also apparently picked up her "Bella Bag" pattern around the same time.

When I saw on her blog that she just came out with a book of kids quilts, I knew I wanted to pick it up!  With the number of baby quilts I've been making, some new inspiration was due.  The "Little Quilts 4 Little Kids" books is just so adorable!  And while I was ordering that book, the "Living Large 2" book just happened to jump into my cart too!  Add this to her "Favorite Quilts from Anka's Treasures" book that's not pictured above...I might have a problem!

Her designs are just so fun and her blog is inspiring - love her design style!  My goal is to start working my way through some of these projects and instead of just creepily hoarding her stuff, actually use it to make something!  What a novel concept!

A Little Eye Candy

Last week, my "local" quilt shop sent an e-mail that they had been to Market and were clearing out some of their old fabric to make way for new.  All of their currently discounted fabric had been marked down to 50% off.  

Now, did I need anymore fabric?  Well - no...but it's a great deal!  Thankfully, Mr. Gnomemade was up for a trip to the shop (it's convenient that his favorite Italian restaurant is in the same shopping center).  So, we piled into the car on Saturday and went on a little shopping trip!

Below is my stack...no real rhyme or reason to what I have or why other than I  just thought they were fun!
 

Fabric Shopping, a photo by gnomemade quilts on Flickr.

I've already used the top yellow and pink fabric for the interior lining of a bag and I imagine the bottom fabric will be a backing for a Halloween quilt!

There's also some gnome fabric hiding in that stack too!

My New Arrival!

While everyone in our world is having babies...I have a new arrival of my own type! 

Meet my new Janome!  Isn't she a beaut?

Sadly, my trusty Kenmore workhorse that I've had for over seven years just started running out of steam.  I brought her in for service, which helped a little bit.  But, eventually she just started lagging and making some weird noises.  

This was in November/December.  I explored lots of different options and was pretty upset about it.  I had invested a lot of money into my Kenmore in terms of bobbins, feet, extension table, etc. and I had a hard time giving up on it.  Thought about just replacing it - but they don't make them much anymore.

With the love and support of my family - we researched the Kenmore and found that it was probably made by Janome.  Filed that one away.

Anyways, after Christmas, I spent a day researching new sewing machines.  If I couldn't replace my Kenmore, I thought about upgrading.  There are some features that could be really nice...like an adjustable needle position, a needle down option, some more throat space, etc.  So there was a day in December that I visited all the dealers - Pfaff, Bernina Husquavarna, etc.  They were all really nice machines, but just didn't feel so comfortable.  Cue Mr. Gnomemade who looked up the closest Janome dealership that closed in an hour.  I hightailed it to the shop and fell in love with the MC 6300P.

It was perhaps the biggest decision I made in the shortest amount of time.  But with the blessing over the phone of Mr. Gnomemade, I pulled the trigger and I...

 

...absolutely love her.

  

It was a bit scary to make a decision as big as this one, but I just felt so comfortable with the machine.  It's like my little Kenmore - only on steroids.  And what makes it even better is that all my Kenmore accessories (other than the extension table) fit!  So no rewinding bobbins and I have extra feet!  The machine came with an extension table and almost every accessory I'll need, and the shop I bought it from has been extremely helpful in negotiating learning how to use her!

I'm thrilled now when I'm sewing...and am really enjoying all the features it offers.  Besides being such a great machine, it really does hold a special place in my heart.  You see...my grandma passed away right around the time my Kenmore started acting up.  Grandma was an active sewer and crafter, and I hope she'd be happy that I used some of the money she left me to invest in this machine.  And I know I'm happy to have made that investment - as (corny as it sounds) every time I sit down at the machine now I think of her.