The coolest quilting project I've ever seen

I was flipping through Quilter's Home Magazine today and came across this gem.

I've never seen anything like it.  Coolest.Project.Ever.


This fantastic VW Bug cover was made by Janice Jones, Maureen Orr Eldred and Carol Gier Becker of the Northwest Quilters' Guild in Portland, Oregon.  They crafted it for their annual quilt show.  Can you even imagine trying to tackle a project like this?!  I can't!

Check out their whole Flickr set here:  Making a VW Bug Quilt Cover
Just amazing!

Happy sewing,
Mary

Buzz buzz buzz . . . it's Bee time!

So I joined a fabulous online quilting bee a couple months ago - Bee Splendid!

We're only on the second month of our bee and it's my turn already.  I really agonized over what block I wanted everyone to make.  There are really too many options!  But I wanted something that wouldn't require me to buy too much fabric - trust me, I have a stash that needs to be USED already!  I also wanted to pick something that would allow each member of my bee to use her creativity and show her personality in each block.

About a month ago I ordered this Kona Cotton Starter Pack from Pink Chalk Fabrics and it got my creative wheels turning . . .

I used each solid as an inspiration piece to pull different bits of coordinating fabric from my stash. It was a really great exercise for me, as some of the solids are colors out of my normal "comfort zone" and I had to make them work with what I already had.

I'm asking the ladies in my bee to use these stacks to make scrappy "Drunk Love" inspired blocks like the ones pictured below.

I whipped up a couple blocks last night.  These are SO much fun to make!  I love that you don't have to worry about precision or matching points.  You can just be creative and come up with something fun as you go along.

This next one is my favorite -

I really can't wait to see what everyone makes with the fabric I'm sending - and maybe they'll add a little from their own stashes too!  Fun stuff!

Happy Sewing!
Mary

Things I'm loving . . .

. . . Kona Color Card from Pink Chalk Fabrics

. . . the quilt-hanging wire my husband hung in my sewing room.

. . . my fabric for Bee Splendid!  

August is my month, and I'll be asking the lovely ladies in my group to make scrappy Drunk Love blocks like this.

. . . my little helper.  I love her the most.  Even if she makes huge messes in my sewing room :-)

Happy sewing!

Mary

Organize your rulers

I love all my Omnigrid rulers, but they can be kind of awkward to store.

I came up with this solution and it has worked SO well for me!

I got this simple plastic mail sorter at Target for $5.99.

It holds everything perfectly, from the smallest ruler (4"x8") to the biggest (12.5"x12.5").

Do you have any great organization tips for the sewing room?  Please share!

Happy Sewing!

Mary

Pin.Sew.Press. is on Quilt Story today!

I'm sure that by now you've heard of the fabulous blog Quilt Story, right?
I'm honored to be featured on their blog today!  Hop on over and check out all the fabulous quilts they've featured!
Happy sewing,Mary

A new handbag!

So I kind of love this purse . . . 

This is the No. 10 Charming Tote Bag by I Think Sew.  I just love the asymmetrical handle and the way it attaches with a button.  After I saw this version on Flickr I knew I had to make one.

I bought this pattern along with the No. 22 Pleats Shoulder Bag for a whopping $5.50.  Score!  (You can find the combo deal here.)  Why so cheap?  The designer calls these "sewer friendly" patterns, which basically means there are very few instructions included and you need to be very comfortable putting the bag together on your own.  If you're comfortable with making pleats and installing magnetic snaps and other general aspects of bag making, then you'll probably find these patterns to be a pretty good deal.  If not, I think you can find the full version of each pattern on her website, but you'll pay about $7.00 per pattern instead of $3.50 apiece.

I always seem to forget how tedious bag making is!  So many pieces to cut out, interfacing to deal with, and so on and so on.  But this one is so cute, it was totally worth it.  I made it for a friend and I'm happy to report that she loves it too!  

Happy sewing!

Mary

For the love of goldfish (and aqua and tangerine!)

I really love these little guys . . . 


1. goldfish to go, 2. Heather Ross goldfish, 3. 5 little coasters, 4. goldfish squared twin quilts, 5. Heather Ross Baby Quilt, 6. Heather Ross Baby Quilt, 7. Passport Cover, 8. Goldfish & Tangerine Dot Car Seat Strap Covers, 9. goldfish

Aqua and tangerine has to be one of my favorite color combos. (Did you know there's a whole Flickr group dedicated to aqua and tangerine?!) And these little goldfish just make me smile. They have names for pete's sake! Adorable.


All you fabric addicts out there know just how rare these out-of-print Heather Ross prints are. You can't find them anywhere! They were certainly long gone by the time I started sewing. 

Except that I did find them on Etsy today. And I was pretty excited until I saw the price. $45 per yard. Per yard! Seriously? 

If you're looking for a real bargain, I just checked back on the link and the price is down to $42.50. You can find the goldfish in bags here and the swimming goldfish here. Still out of my price range (by about $30 a yard!), but if you snatch it up will you please just cut out one teeny tiny fish in a bag and send it to me? Just one? I'll feed it and take it for walks and everything, promise.

Thanks :-)

Mary