The Graduate

Last weekend Mr. Pin.Sew.Press. graduated from our local university with an MBA in Accounting.

Needless to say, we're SO proud of him!

Now we'll see where the adventure of life takes us next!

I'll catch up with all of you after the holidays . . . I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas and New Year's!

Happy sewing,
Mary

Yesterday was my lucky day . . .

because this is what I received in the mail from my partner in the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap!!!

This awesome, modern mug rug was made for me by Jessica (a.k.a. Quilt Happie on Flickr.) I saw it in our group photo pool a few weeks ago and loved it, and I was so surprised to receive it in the mail yesterday! Jessica also made me a wonderful little hexie-shaped needle book and included two of her favorite recipes and some delish dark chocolate in the package. (There's a tutorial here for the needle book if you're interested.)

Thank you Jessica for making my day! Your mug rug makes me smile every time I see it :-)

Happy sewing,
Mary

Cyber . . . Tuesday?

Hello there! Well, it looks like I missed Cyber Monday. But never fear, I'm checking in with a little special deal for the shop. Now through mid-December all mug rugs ship FREE to the U.S. and Canada! So if you'd like a mug rug for yourself or to give as a gift, hop on over to my shop and snatch one up!

I've been sewing up a storm here like a Christmas elf . . . I'll check back in soon with some sneak peeks!

Happy sewing,
Mary

Holiday Favorites

Feast your eyes on these beauties!



1. a winter wonderland..., 2. Cherry & Linen - Bird Ornament, 3. stocking, 4. Holiday Mug Rug, 5. handmade ornaments, 6. Linen Turkey Tea Towel, 7. Feature in Fat Quarterly, 8. wrapped up, 9. Christmas trees - front, 10. Holiday House FINISHED!, 11. Christmas Tree, 12. First Batch Finished...

Happy sewing!
Mary

It's beginning to feel a lot like . . .

time to work on some holiday sewing!

I made this mug rug for the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap on Flickr. This group is entirely to blame for my mug rug addiction!

My mug rug was inspired by this awesome pincushion, and I used this free template for the design with Heat-n-Bond Lite. It was easier than I expected!

And here's a little sneak peek of a project I'm working on for someone on my Christmas list -

Fabric: Pure by Sweetwater
Block tutorial: found here in the Moda Bake Shop

How's your holiday sewing going? I'm way behind, as usual, because I'm a procrastinator! I like to think that I work better under pressure :-)

Happy sewing!
Mary

Favorites

Ah, Flickr. My endless source of inspiration! I love being a part of this community.



1. Custom Seafoam Pear Pillow, 2. my APQ quilt- December 2010 issue, 3. Process pillow 2, 4. Necklace, 5. 052, 6. Quilting Process Mini Quilt, 7. 2217-01, 8. christmas ornaments, 9. Scrappy Pincushion Swap--Round 2

Happy Sewing!
Mary

Fishy Mug Rugs

After hoarding my Heather Ross goldfish stash for a mere three months, I just had to cut into these guys and make something fun. No sense hoarding fabric and never using it, right? (But believe me, it was hard to make the first cut!)

I just love these fish combined with bright and cheery patchwork in aqua and tangerine. My inspiration for these came from here and here.

I like how Splashy is the star of the show on this first mug rug. Isn't he cute? He won the heart of one of my bloggy friends and is already off to his new home in New England!

This second mug rug stars Helen and Bjorn. They're great friends and I just couldn't bear to separate them. They're also up for "adoption" in my shop!

This final mug rug stars Splashy and his friend Spooky. These little guys are going to be participating in a giveaway for 100 Quilts for Christmas.

Haven't heard about 100 Quilts for Christmas? 'Tis the season for giving, and this wonderful event encourages us quilters to donate a small quilt or blanket to a local charity for a child in need. Click here for more details, and I'll keep you updated on where and when you can enter to win my fishy mug rug!

Happy Wednesday!
Mary

Join the Pin.Sew.Press. Flickr group! (and a sneak peek of my latest project)

Hello lovely sewing friends! How have you been? I spent last week taking care of a sick little one. I'm ready to get back to blogging, designing, and adding some new goodies to the shop!

First order of business today . . . I now have an official {Inspired by} Pin.Sew.Press. Flickr Group! If you've made one of my Stay-Put Kitchen Towels or a mug rug inspired by one of mine, please add your photo to the group! I'd love to see what you're making!

Last week I finished up three more Bliss Cross mug rugs. I think this may be my last one is this particular design and fabric combo . . . it's time for me to design something new!

Here's a sneak peek of what I've been working on for the past few days. Yes, it's true, I finally cut into my goldfish stash! I came up with three new mug rugs starring these fantastic fishies, and I hope to finish the bindings soon so I can show you the set!

Next I really need to tackle some holiday sewing. I've been procrastinating, but Christmas is quickly approaching! Time to get to work!

Happy sewing,
Mary

Sew & Tell Friday: Mom and Daughter Handbag Set

I was thrilled when one of my previous co-workers asked me to make this adorable set of mom and daughter-sized handbags. I mean seriously, how cute is that?!

I used this pattern by I Think Sew and copied the pattern at 70% for the mini bag. I think the mini bag is my favorite . . . it's just so darn cute! And I love the Amy Butler combo my customer chose. You just can't go wrong with Amy Butler!

I'm linking up to Amylouwho's Sew & Tell Friday. Be sure to check out all the other finishes!

Happy Friday!
Mary

I heart artsy-crafty babe (and she's having a sale!)

Surely you know Beki of artsy-crafty babe, right?

I just love her patterns! Here are some bags I've made from her patterns. They're from my pre-blog sewing days, so I haven't showed these here before.

This one is called the Ava Rose Tote:



And this one is called the Short & Sassy Pleated Handbag:



(Can you tell these pictures are from my earlier days of photography? I think they were both taken with a flash (ahhhh!). . . there's definitely a reason I've switched to all natural-light photography!!!)

And here are the bags I've made from Beki's free patterns- the Pleated Tote and the Phoebe Bag.



Right now Beki is running a big sale over at her shop. All bags are 50% off and all patterns are only $5.

Seriously, how do you resist cuteness like this?

Happy sewing,
Mary

Modern Meadow Mug Rug Madness!

Prepare your eyes for a feast of Modern Meadow + Linen! I finally sat down and finished handsewing all of the binding. Phew, that takes a while! But you just can't beat the end result.

On this one I went a little crazy . . . those finished squares are only 1/2"!!! I love the look though.

These mug rugs are in my shop, and now I'm back to work finishing up some custom orders!

I hope you had a great weekend! Did you eat tons of candy? I'm trying to pace myself (and my daughter!)

Mary

Blogger's Quilt Festival

Blogger's Quilt Festival is here! Hooray! (And welcome new visitors!)

Here's a quilt I just finished a few weeks ago (sorry regular readers!) but I'm so proud of it and couldn't help but to bring it out again for the festival. Without further ado, here's my Modern Meadow {x2} boy quilt!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

What do you do when you can't decide on just ONE quilt pattern to use?

Make two quilt tops and forget about having a back!

This side was inspired by this mini quilt by Ashley at Film in the Fridge.

And this side was made using Elizabeth Hartman's Mixtape Quilts II Pattern, which I LOVE. The directions were so clear, the cutting was super easy, and she even provides a guide for block placement so I didn't have to stress and rearrange my blocks 100 times. Thank goodness!

I used simple straight-line quilting on either side of the sashing.

I absolutely love how the quilting looks on this side!

The fabric I used is from Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow line, which I'm completely in love with. I mixed it with Kona solids in white, navy, avocado, stone, and aqua.

This special quilt was made for my good friend Shannon who just gave birth to her sweet baby boy on Wednesday. Shannon and I met way back when we were 21 and working together and became fast friends. I will be forever indebted to her for introducing me to the wonderful world of modern fabric and modern sewing. Last August she posted about an Amy Butler giveaway on her blog. At that point I didn't even know who Amy Butler WAS! *gasp!* But once I clicked through a few links and started browsing modern fabric and patterns I was absolutely hooked. My very generous mom set me up with a sewing machine and all sorts of sewing supplies and the rest is history!

I had a blast making this quilt for Shannon since she's my only "real life" friend with an appreciation for modern fabric and modern quilt design. I mean, what other friend of mine will ever send me inspiration links from Crazy Mom Quilts and Flickr?! When I sew for my non-sewing friends I'm always a little afraid that they won't "get it" or might not necessarily love handmade gifts, so it was such a pleasure to sew for a friend with similar interests!

Now I just can't wait to see pictures of the new little man on his quilt!

Happy sewing,
Mary

I heart bugs

So in the real world, I pretty much hate bugs.

But in the fabric world? I just love these Tula Pink bugs! I was up late browsing Flickr one night and happened upon a picture of these adorable thumbtacks and I just had to have them! I started clicking around and quickly discovered that Meredith sells these in her shop. After a quick, overly-excited message to Meredith I managed to score them before she listed them in her shop. Woohoo!

I've had these for a couple weeks now and I can't bring myself to take them out of their adorable little container. Here there are posing with my newly acquired fat quarter of adorable ladybugs, scored in a little swap with a Flickr friend. I think I'm just going to stare at these little guys for a while!

Happy Friday!
Mary

WIP Wednesday

Happy Wednesday sewing friends!

I had planned to show you some more completed mug rugs today, but I got a little distracted yesterday by a sick little one and some lovely custom orders that I should be able to show you in the next week or so. One of them is for matching mommy/daughter purses. How fun is that?!

Anyway, I just finished making my scrappy bindings and attaching them to the front of my mug rugs.

Looks like I'll be spending my evening hand-sewing binding in front of the TV. I hope there's something good on!

Happy sewing,
Mary

P.S. - If you own a sewing machine in the under $1000 range and love it, please share about it in the comments! A friend of mine is looking for a machine and I'd love to send her some suggestions. I use a BabyLock Decorator's Choice (which I love!) but I'd like to give her some other suggestions too.

Another mug rug and tips for sewing with linen

I've been having so much fun making mug rugs! This one is a mix of Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane with linen. I'm officially in L-O-V-E with linen! I just love the color and texture.

Here are a few tips if you'd like to sew with linen yourself. First, prewash! I never prewash my cottons, but linen shrinks quite a bit so I recommend prewashing in hot (yes, hot!) water and tumble dry low if your finished product is going to be washable. So if you're making a zip pouch you don't really need to prewash, but for something like mug rugs or placemats or a quilt I'd say prewashing is a really good idea.

Second, spray starch is your friend! When linen comes straight off the bolt it will have a slight stiffness to it since the manufacturer applies sizing to the fabric. But once you wash it, linen becomes very soft and wrinkly. It also tends to be pretty shifty when you're sewing with it, so I use lots of Magic Sizing (which is only a couple bucks at WalMart) and a hot, hot iron and basically starch my linen into good behavior. It makes a huge difference!

I've added my lastest mug rug to the shop, as well as a made-to-order option for both of my Bliss mug rugs in case you wanted one but missed out the first time.

I've been working on three more mug rugs with Modern Meadow. They just need binding and then hopefully I can show them to you tomorrow! I'm having way too much fun making these teeny, tiny quilts!!!

Happy sewing,
Mary

Sew & Tell Friday - The Nigella Bag

Hello and happy Friday! Amy at Amylouwho is featuring me today for Sew & Tell Friday, so if you haven't visited be sure to hop on over and check it out! (Oh, and if you finished something this week and blogged about it, be sure to join in the fun and link up!)

My finish this week is a birthday gift for a good friend of mine. She L-O-V-E-S bags so I knew just what to make for her! It was fun talking with her about features she wanted and styles she likes and having her go through my stash to pick the perfect fabric. She asked for a bag with one strap, preferably more wide than tall, with exterior pockets. Here's what I came up with -

I started with the Mabel Messenger Bag pattern and made several modifications to meet my friend's needs. First I added two exterior pockets on the front and a "fancy" (ha ha) faux leather bottom. The bottom was totally inspired by this awesome bag. I found the faux leather at a local shop that sells home decorator fabrics and it was surprisingly easy to sew with. The only major difference is that you can't pin it, but I sewed using my regular 1/4" foot as well as my walking foot and it worked just fine. Oh, and I did use a size 16 needle for this bag since some parts of it where really thick. I love that the faux leather bottom will help this bag stand up to everyday wear and tear!

I'm not a huge fan of traditional metal snaps. I have tons of the 18mm variety, but the magnet is so strong that I often find it difficult to unsnap them. They can also be a bit unsightly sometimes. Enter the hidden sew-in magnetic snap closure. LOVE it! Although it was a little tricky working with the magnet sewn into the bag since it wants to stick to EVERYTHING - my scissors, my iron, the metal plate and feed dogs on my sewing machine. It wasn't a huge pain, but it was amusing!

My next addition was a metal swivel clasp just inside the bag so that my friend can just clip in her keys and not lose them in the bottom of her bag. The fabric I used for the interior is from Kate Spain's Verna collection.

Then I added metal rectangle rings, just because. These were really great during the construction of the bag since I didn't have to sew on the straps until the very end. It was nice to not have to deal with the strap being awkwardly stuffed between the exterior and interior while I was sewing them together. Also I should note that I deviated from the pattern here and made a fixed strap instead of the adjustable shoulder-to-messenger-bag strap the instructions called for.

And for my next trick . . . an interior zipper pocket! This was my very first one, and wasn't hard AT ALL! The pattern includes directions for this zip pocket, and I'm thrilled to have finally learned how to do it.

The fabric I used for this bag is from Amy Butler's Nigella home dec weight collection. It's so pretty, and luckily I have just enough left over to make myself a new ironing board cover. I sure wouldn't mind looking at this fabric every time I have to iron, and it sure beats the ugly cover I have now!

Well, this bag is off to meet her new owner tomorrow. I hope she likes it!!!

Happy sewing,
Mary

More Bliss Love . . .

After my little weekend sewing project I just HAD to come up with some new sewing projects to use more Bliss! This time I paired it with linen, which is such a yummy combo!

I made two mug rugs, and I love how they turned out. Patchwork + linen + scrappy binding = GOOD STUFF!!!

What is a mug rug, you might ask? Well, it's like a coaster only bigger. Think of it like a tiny piece of art for your desk and a pretty place for your mug to rest. Or just a really, really tiny quilt. This one measures about 6 1/2" x 7 1/2".

I couldn't help making another tiny log cabin. They're just so much fun!

This one measures about 5 3/4" x 7 1/4".

You can find these little mug rugs in my shop. (P.S. - mention my blog in the comments section at checkout and I'll give you free U.S. shipping now through October 31st.)

These little mug rugs are addicting. I'm already dreaming up a few new designs using Modern Meadow and more linen. Stay tuned!

Happy sewing,
Mary

I heart patchwork

Just a little weekend sewing to share -

{Front and back of patchwork cosmetics pouch}





This cute pattern is from Rashida Coleman-Hale's book "I Love Patchwork."

I hope you're having a great weekend!

Happy sewing,
Mary

Modern Meadow {x 2} = Double the Fun!

What do you do when you can't decide on just ONE quilt pattern to use?

Make two quilt tops and forget about having a back!

This side was inspired by this mini quilt by Ashley at Film in the Fridge.

And this side was made using Elizabeth Hartman's Mixtape Quilts II Pattern, which I LOVE. The directions were so clear, the cutting was super easy, and she even provides a guide for block placement so I didn't have to stress and rearrange my blocks 100 times. Thank goodness!

I used simple straight-line quilting on either side of the sashing.

I absolutely love how the quilting looks on this side!

The fabric I used is from Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow line, which I'm completely in love with. I mixed it with Kona solids in white, navy, avocado, stone, and aqua. (Mr. PSP loves this fabric too, so I'll be using it to make something for us when I can finally get around to it!)

This special quilt was made for my good friend Shannon who's having a baby boy in less than two weeks. Shannon and I met way back when we were 21 and working together and became fast friends. I will be forever indebted to her for introducing me to the wonderful world of modern fabric and modern sewing. Last August she posted about an Amy Butler giveaway on her blog. At that point I didn't even know who Amy Butler WAS! *gasp!* But once I clicked through a few links and started browsing modern fabric and patterns I was absolutely hooked. My very generous mom set me up with a sewing machine and all sorts of sewing supplies and the rest is history!

I had a blast making this quilt for Shannon since she's my only "real life" friend with an appreciation for modern fabric and modern quilt design. I mean, what other friend of mine will ever send me inspiration links from Crazy Mom Quilts?! When I sew for my other non-sewing friends I'm always a little afraid that they won't "get it" or might not necessarily love handmade gifts, so it was such a pleasure to sew for a friend with similar interests!

Now I just can't wait to meet the new little man!

Happy sewing,
Mary

Purse Week - I made the Top 10!!!

I'm so excited to share that my Miss Maven Ruffled Handbag made the Top 10 in Purse Week over at A Lemon Squeezy Home!

You should definitely hop on over and check out the finalists and vote for your favorite. There's some serious talent over there!

I have a new quilt to show you guys but I'm waiting for it to be delivered in the mail. It's a baby boy quilt with lots and lots of Modern Meadow goodness . . . can't wait to show you!!! Hopefully it will arrive by the end of the week. Talk to you again soon!

Happy sewing,
Mary