Happy Owloween!

Well....temptation struck again and I temporarily abandoned my current projects (Hooterville and the Living Room Quilt and A Girl In Paris) to attack a new one. Fortunately, it was a quick and easy project and I can now return to my regularly scheduled projects. Anyway.....here's what happened....

I've mentioned the Hooterville quilt that I'm working on about a million times before. And one of my readers commented that she wanted to use the owl applique from the pattern and put it on a skirt for her daughter. What an incredibly cute idea! So, that got me thinking of all the other things I could do with that adorable owl applique design.....and at that time I had just been thinking about vintage Halloween decor (I LOVE vintage Halloween stuff!). So my mind jumped to a Halloween Owl Tote.

I grabbed some appropriate black and orange fabrics and threw in a little green for fun.....
I built up my applique owl in the corner of my bag....

I attempted to see if you can do a hand blanket stitch on the edge of a fusible applique using one strand of thread and I've gotta say.....it looked absolutely awful! So I ripped those stitches out and did machine satin stitch around the edges like a sane person. Then I threw some ruffles on at the top.....
And voila! Here I am "modeling" my new Happy Owloween Tote Bag! It would also make a cute Trick or Treat bag for kids.
It's a very simple bag. Just some rectangles, some ruffles, a handle and an applique. I must confess - I'm sometimes intimidated by those bag patterns that have fancy pockets and structured bodies and all sorts of perfect details. So, I just created a very simple, lightweight bag with a simple lining. But you could add a layer of fusible fleece if you wanted a bag with more structure and body. You could also add a snap or a button at the top. And you could also add some little black beads or French Knots for eyes. I went with a "blank stare" kind of look for my owl!

I was so happy with how my bag turned out that I decided to make kits of my Happy Owloween bag.

And now that this little distraction is complete I'm heading back to Hooterville.....

Happy Sewing,
Jenny

P.S. Did you know that all Amy Butler Collections (Midwest Modern, Love and Soul Blossoms) and all Fig Tree Quilts Fabrics (Gypsy Rose, Patisserie and Mill House Inn) are now 50% OFF???!!! We're making room for the fabrics in our Love It or Leave It post. So hurry....quick like a bunny....grab some before they're all gone!

Memory Lane

Preppy Plaids by Moda have arrived and they are sending me on a long trip down memory lane.....and making me long for a "real" autumn and winter that we just don't get in Florida!
Whenever I look at these they make me think of college days in Ohio and falling leaves and caramel apples and bonfires and snuggling up by fires on chilly winter nights and sipping hot cocoa....basically I'm completely warm, cozy and nostalgic when I look at them.
The first time I saw them I was immediately reminded of a pair of plaid, flannel pajama pants from J. Crew that I LIVED in during my freshman year of college. They had a different plaid on the front and back of each leg and they looked sort of like this....
Do you know the pants that I'm talking about? Did you have a pair too? I think I might need to re-create those pajama pants as a Christmas present to myself! And maybe I should make a pair for John too so we can look like matching fools!

Then I was reminded of a Christmas dress that I made for myself in the 6th grade using a fabric that looked just like this Navy Plaid......
It had a drop waist, a knee length pleated skirt, poofy long sleeves and a cream, bib style collar. It was the height of fashion at the time and I was the envy of all the girls at school!

Do these plaids bring back any happy memories for you? What are you thinking about making with them? And are you loving the fall weather as much as I am???!!!

Happy Sewing,
Jenny

P.S. These fabrics are brushed cotton. They feel like a cross between quilting cotton and flannel. You could think of them as being like a lightweight flannel. Soft and slightly fuzzy but not too heavy.

The Best Laid Plans....

With my tail between my legs I must confess that I missed ALL of my quilting deadlines last week! Remember how I said I wanted to have this done by October 1......
Well.....it's obviously not done....but I did get all the blocks finished! And why didn't I get my quilt done by my self imposed deadline? That's because this little one (Daisy Daffodil) needed oral surgery for a tooth root abscess.....
So, as you can imagine my mind was on other things. And I took this picture a few hours after she returned home. Aren't loopy, confused kitties absolutely adorable???!!! Oh, and if you were wondering, she's doing great and seems to feel better than ever now!

And do you remember my goal of having Hooterville done and dropping it off at the quilters last week? Well, that obviously didn't happen either. I accidentally left my tree blocks for the center of the quilt on the floor one night.....and I woke up to find that this little one (Cassi, a.k.a. Pooh Bear, a.k.a. Cassandra Sunflower).....
Had "gotten sick" all over my tree blocks! Ugh! But don't worry - I didn't take a picture of that! After much fretting and woe-is-me-ing I gently hand washed the blocks and was able to save them! But as you can imagine that caused some major delays in Hooterville.

Now, it's time to set some new deadlines and get these quilts DONE! Wish me luck!

Happy Sewing,
Jenny

October Giveaway - Love It Or Leave It

We Have A Winner!

November 2, 2011 Update: The winner is Free Indeed who said "Loved several of these lines. Esp. Good Fortune, Modernology and Fly A Kite. Did not care for the two clickable link ones.....aren't we all so over red and aqua yet????? No one hit me o.k.?" Congratulations Free Indeed and thanks for your hilarious comment!

Happy October! This month you'll be entered to win a $50 Gift Certificate if you do a little favor for me! Lots of new fabric collections are being released in the next few months and I would love to have your help in deciding which ones to get! I've put together samplings of a few of the prints and colors from each collection that I'm considering so you can get a feel for each one. Please tell me what you think. Which ones do you love? Which ones would you buy? Which ones would you pass on? Please be honest. I won't be offended if you don't like them! And don't feel obligated to talk about every single collection. You can if you want to.....or you can just talk about the ones that you have strong feelings about. Just leave a comment and you'll be entered to win. Oh, and only vote for or comment on the fabric collections shown BELOW. The images in the sidebar on the right are all the new stuff that's already in the shop! I'll quit rambling now so you can start looking at fabric!

This is Millie's Closet by Bee In My Bonnet for Riley Blake Designs
This is Good Fortune by Kate Spain for Moda Fabrics
This is Stars and Stripes by My Mind's Eye for Riley Blake Designs
This is Fly A Kite by October Afternoon for Riley Blake Designs
This is Modernology by Art Gallery Fabrics
This is Verona by Emily Taylor for Riley Blake Designs
This is Woodland Tails by Sheri Berry for Riley Blake Designs. I divided it into the girly colorway and the boyish colorway

This is Sunny Happy Skies by Bella Blvd for Riley Blake Designs
This is Freshcut by Heather Bailey. The original Freshcut came out a few years ago. Free Spirit is re-releasing this collection in slightly different colors
This is Flea Market Fancy by Denyse Schmidt for Free Spirit Fabrics. Again, this is a re-release of a collection that came out a few years ago in some new colors. Sorry for the less than perfect image. They haven't released other images of this collection yet.
And finally....I'll have to ask you to click on a link to The Happy Zombie's photos to see the last two collections. The images for these collections haven't been released yet but since The Happy Zombie (Monica Solorio-Snow) is a designer for Lecien she got some yardage early and posted pictures. Lucky girl! And FYI - Monica is the talented designer of the new Happy Mochi Yum Yum Collection that's in the shop now. Anyway, you won't want to miss these last two so please check them out! Pretty, pretty please with a cherry on top!

Folk Heart by Rosalie Quinlan for Lecien Fabrics

and

Flower Sugar for Lecien Fabrics

I can't wait to hear what you think about these collections! Every time I do one of these fabric vote blog posts I'm constantly checking my blog comments and tallying the "score" and anxiously waiting for the next comment to come in. I have so much fun doing these and I hope you like it too. Instead of shopping alone it's like I get to take a few hundred friends fabric shopping with me! Thanks friends!

Happy Sewing,
Jenny

Another Bright Idea...

I'm not quite done with Hooterville yet (you can read about that here).....and I've already picked my next quilt I want to work on (you can read about that here).....but I'm already starting to pull fabrics for the quilt that will come after that. I've been eyeing the Easter Wishes pattern for quite some time now......
What's not to love about this??? Flowers, pastels, bunnies, chicks and lambs - I LOVE it all! If I ever get this one done I might just leave it up year round. I've been raiding my stash and the Lakehouse section of the shop to find all the perfect fabrics. And this is the mess that is currently sitting in the middle of my sewing room/office floor.....
And of course this happened shortly after I made that pile. What self respecting kitty would miss the opportunity to "photo bomb" a photo shoot involving a pile of fabric....
And then lay down for a nice long nap on that pile of fabric.....
Because the pile of fabric for the "Girl In Paris" quilt is already occupied.....
And as I was writing this blog post I just turned around to see this.....
Seriously! Are you kidding me? Have you figured out yet that I'm not the one in charge around here? Anyway.....I'm still trying to decide if I should stick with my current plan of doing "A Girl In Paris" next....
Or if I should go with "Easter Wishes" instead. What do you think? Which one should I dive into next?

For right now, I think I should go and pick up all that fabric off of the floor. That may be the brightest idea I've had all day!

Happy Sewing,
Jenny

Progress In Hooterville....

My Hooterville quilt is almost done!!! I have an army of adorable owls all lined up in rows.....
And they're ready to receive they're beaks and feet.....
The squares for the X-blocks are all matched up and ready to go.....
And hopefully....with a little luck....and a lot of hard work....I'll have something that looks like this by the end of the week....except mine will be pink and green of course....
And if all goes well I'll be taking it to the quilter next week. It will actually be my first time taking a quilt to a professional quilter!!! In the past I've just always done really simple and basic quilting on my quilts. But I think Hooterville deserves something a little more special than that!

Gotta go finish cutting out the beaks and feet now....

Happy Sewing,
Jenny

Ruby Pre-Cuts Have Arrived!

Good news!!! The Ruby Pre-Cuts by Bonnie and Camille for Moda Fabrics just arrived! The colors and prints are absolutely gorgeous. I may need to re-decorate a room in my house just so I have a good excuse to use lots and lots of this fabric. And I must confess....I was NOT a big fan of the fact that grey is the hot new color this year. I usually think of grey as a somewhat cold and dreary color. But this collection has completely won me over. This grey is WARM. And soft. And snuggly. It has made me LOVE grey!

There are 36 different prints in the pre-cut bundles. We have Charm Packs, Jelly Rolls and Layer Cakes.
The moment I opened the box of pre-cuts my mind started racing with ideas of how to use this fabric. Of course you could make the In A Jiffy quilt or Sherbet Stars quilt that are shown in the Ruby Collection.....

Or they would look great in the brand new Garden Paths or Blossoms Quilts that I mentioned a few days ago....

And how cute would Ruby be in these applique quilts??? Wouldn't a whole bunch of Ruby owls in the Hooterville Quilt or Scotty Dogs in the Bitsy Button & Friends be too cute for words???

Or how about a sweet, little quilt from the Schnibbles Collection. Maybe the brand new Spot Pattern or the oldie but goodie State Fair Pattern.....

I still haven't decided which quilt I'm going to make with Ruby yet.....so maybe I should just make one of each! What are you planning on making with Ruby?

Happy Sewing,
Jenny

P.S. The Pre-Cuts arrive a few weeks before the yardage arrives, they tend to sell out fast and unfortunately they can't be re-ordered. If you have your heart set on getting a certain pre-cut you might not want to wait for the yardage to arrive.

Me And My Bright Ideas

A while back I decided that I just had to make a Girl In Paris Quilt by Fig Tree Quilts......

Using the Penelope fabrics by Holly Holderman of Lakehouse Dry Goods.  Isn't it the perfect combination for some major French Ooh La La-ness?

And earlier this week I couldn't fight the urge to start pulling fabrics for this quilt even though I have about 20 other projects that I'm working on right now! To make matters worse I was supposed to be doing business-y things at the time.....but I convinced myself that part of my job is providing sewing inspiration to my readers so this should be considered hard work....not having fun and playing with fabric!

 

My original plan had been to do the quilt in pink and black.  But when I saw how great the pinks from Penelope looked with the Currant colorway from Mill House Inn my plans changed just a little bit.  The Currant fabrics still gave me the contrast I was looking for but in a somewhat softer way than the black did.

 

And then I gathered up a bunch of soft greens from Patisserie and Mill House Inn....

 

And of course I raided my stash too!  And now I'm being taunted by this pile of gorgeous-ness!

And I will continue to be taunted by that pile until I get my Living Room Quilt and Hooterville done. My usual system is to abandon a work in progress the moment I get an idea for another project.  But, I'm realllllly trying to be good and I'm determined to finish two unfinished projects for every new project I want to start!

And if you're in the mood for more French applique Ooh La La adorable-ness you should take a peek at the Mon Ami pattern by the Vintage Spool.....

I'm off to go work on my unfinished quilts now!

Happy Sewing,

Jenny