November 2011 Giveaway - Love It Or Leave It

We Have A Winner!

The winner is Melissa who said "I especially love Salt Air and Apple of my Eye. But I'd probably buy some of all of it- I have no self control!" Congratulations Melissa! Please send me an e-mail so I can give your Gift Certificate info.

Happy November! This may seem a little bit like deja vu but this month we're doing another Love It or Leave It and another giveaway for a $50 Gift Certificate. There were so many amazing new collections that were just shown at Quilt Market and I just had to show them to you and get your opinion. And yet again, I've put together little "samplings" of my favorite soon to be released collections that I'm considering adding to the shop.

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! Please leave your comment by November 30, 2011 to be entered to win.

Apple of My Eye by The Quilted Fish for Riley Blake Designs

California Girl by Fig Tree Quilts for Moda

Dress Up Days by Doohikey Designs for Riley Blake Designs

Hello Luscious by Basic Grey for Moda

Sweet Lush by Patty Young for Michael Miller Fabrics

Sunny Lush by Patty Young for Michael Miller Fabrics

Poetica by Art Gallery

Rhapsodia by Art Gallery

Salt Air by Cosmo Cricket for Moda

Seaside by October Afternoon for Riley Blake Designs

Summer Love by Art Gallery

Tradewinds by Lily Ashbury for Moda
Thanks for giving me your opinion on these fabrics! I can't wait to read your comments!

Happy Sewing,
Jenny

Long Time, No Talk

Hey there! I know, I know - long time, no talk. But I have a very good excuse! There hasn't been much to talk about because there hasn't been much sewing going on around here. And there hasn't been much sewing going on around here because there has been a lot of running going on around here. Which tends to cause a lot of running related injuries. I've been doing a lot of power walking lately.....which turned into jogging/running.....which turned into an over-ambitious, overzealous, insane decision to run 7 miles in one day. And do you know what happens to an in-experienced runner who runs 7 miles all at once? You will strain every muscle in your chest and abs. Who knew? You'd think I would have pulled a muscle in my leg or back or something normal like that. But nooooo......I just have to be different!

Anyway, as I've been running I've obviously been noticing the weather getting cooler and cooler. Which obviously makes me realize I have absolutely nothing to wear in cooler weather. Which obviously makes me go raid the shop and see what I could whip up for myself that has long sleeves. And I definitely think I need some more Funked Out Peasant Blouses since the first one I made turned out so great, if I do say so myself. And yes, I realize it's more of a 3/4 sleeve length.....but it's still longer sleeves than most of my Florida summertime shirts!
Here's one possible color combo that I came up with. I'd use the Wrenly Cerulean Rosette for the sleeves, the Wrenly Gypsy Wrenly for the top part, the Wrenly Cobalt Bloom for the bottom part and the Bella Solids Robin's Egg Blue for the empire waistband and the hemband.....
Or here's another possible combination I came up with using some warm, autumny browns. I'd use the Midwest Modern Brown Martini for the top, the Soul Blossoms Honeydew Buttercups for the sleeves, the waistband and the hemband and then I'd use the Midwest Modern Brown Park Fountains for the bottom part. And then I'd have to call this my Martini Shirt....
And my final finalist for my soon to be next Peasant Blouse would have Meadowsweet Celery Paper Snowflake for the sleeves, Farmer's Market Autumn Dahlia for the top, Bella Solids Goldenrod for the waistband and hemband and Meadowsweet Celery Grand Foliage for the bottom part.
What do you think? Do you have any big plans for creating some new autumn/winter clothes? Do you have any ridiculous sports injury stories to share with everyone? I'm gonna go stretch and drink lots of water now. See you soon!

Happy Sewing,
Jenny

P.S. Thanks for all your comments about the new Ruby Collection! I love all of your brilliant ideas. Someone even suggested a Peasant Blouse made out of Ruby - I obviously think that's a fabulous, genius, perfect idea!

P.P.S.S. Only a few more days to vote in the Love It Or Leave It blog post!

Hello Ruby!

Everyone.....I'd like you to meet Ruby. Ruby....this is everyone.....
This gorgeous collection by Bonnie & Camille for Moda Fabrics arrived last night. I was so excited that I dragged John into the fabric room to show him the fabrics and point out which ones were my favorites. And then I asked him which ones he liked the best.....and he actually gave me an answer! But shhhh.....don't tell the other fighter pilots that he did this. It might get him in trouble! Anyway, these are John's favorites....
He liked the Aqua Sublime and the Ruby Swoon because he thought they looked very Hawaiian. And he liked the Grey Dots because they're very classy.

And here are my favorites.....
I plan on using the Grey Sublime, Grey Quirky and Ruby Sundae to make this Short & Sassy Handbag (grey floral on the bottom, grey swirl will be the band at the top and the red scallop stripe will be the ruffle, button and straps).....
How cute will that be???!!! The pattern for that bag should be arriving in the shop very soon along with some of her pattern friends. I'll obviously let you know when she arrives.
Sooooo.....which ones are your favorites and what masterpieces are you planning on making with Ruby???

Happy Sewing,
Jenny

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