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

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

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

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

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

Plan B

If at first you don't succeed . . .

make coasters!!!

These little blocks were originally going to be part of my DQS9 quilt, but once I made them I just wasn't in love with the quilt idea. I tossed them aside and made this quilt instead.

But after making my last set of coasters, I got the idea to make these into coasters too. They finished at about 5" square, which is a really nice size. I was so pleased to find a new (and better!) use for these tiny blocks! I gave the coasters to my parents when they came for a recent visit.

And speaking of my parents . . . happy *early* birthday Mom!

Happy sewing,
Mary

{Aqua & Tangerine} Tiny Log Cabins

I decided I wanted to play around with tiny log cabin blocks the other day. I had so much fun I made five. Four became coasters -

I'm disappointed with the skipped stitches in my quilting, but I was using a size 9 needle and maybe it just wasn't up to the task. I later switched to a size 14 and didn't seem to have any more trouble.

I love the backs of these coasters too!

The fifth log cabin became an easy pincushion. I experimented with the triple stitch on my machine for the quilting on this one.

I just love these colors!

AND, I just have to share that I used basting spray for the first time ever on these little log cabins and I'm IN LOVE. Sooo nice to not mess with pin basting on such a tiny "quilt sandwich." I used 505 Basting Spray from my LQS, but I'd like to find something cheaper. The 505 spray was $13 - yikes! Not sure I'd be willing to use it on a larger quilt at that price.

I definitely see more tiny log cabins in my future . . . too much fun, and perfect for scraps!

Happy sewing!
Mary

At last . . . a finished "Man Quilt!"

Last January, I set out to make my husband a quilt.  A manly quilt.

He said it couldn't be done.  (The manly part, that is.)  But if there's one thing you can say about this quilt, it's definitely not girly!  I fear I may have gone overboard with all that Kona Black, buy hey, it's manly!  The rest of the fabric is Authentic by Sweetwater, which is such a great, unique line!

The back is mostly the "Dictionary" word print with a strip of patchwork at the top to make it a little more interesting.

I especially love the Authentic number print for my number-crunching husband who's getting his MBA in Accounting.

I really like this green stripe for the binding.  At first I was bummed that I didn't cut the stripes horizontally, but now I kind of like them running vertically.  (And yes, I machine stitched the binding to the back of the quilt.  Don't judge - this is a BIG quilt!  For me, at least.)

Here it is resting on our couch, where it will spend most of it's time!  I'm not crazy about my quilting (concentric diamonds) or thread choice (off-white.)  I wish I was comfortable with free-motion quilting, because I've heard that's easier to do on large quilts.  I was also really stumped on what thread color to choose.  Maybe I should have used a variegated thread?  Oh well, my husband likes it and that's what matters most!

The Man Quilt measures 70" x 80" and is by far my largest yet!  It took over my entire breakfast nook while I was basting it.  In this picture I'm standing where the kitchen table should be.  We squished it into the family room so that we could have dinner with my parents.  Yep, this is what it's like to live with a quilter!

 

All in all, this my least favorite quilt so far.  It's a little too bold and geometic and it was big and heavy and awkward to work with.  However, it's DONE and that is a very good feeling indeed.  And now Mr. PinSewPress doesn't have to steal my quilt that's way too small for him anyway :-)

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

Happy sewing!
Mary

DQS9 - Finished and in the mail!

After dragging my feet for at least a week, I forced myself to mail this doll quilt to its new owner today.  I think it's probably a good sign when you pour enough of yourself into a swap item that you don't want to let it go!  

If you're not familiar with the Doll Quilt Swap, all partners are secretly assigned so none of us knows who is sewing for us.  I'm anxious for my partner to receive her quilt because I think she'll like it!

When I gave you guys a sneak peek of this project, I was stressing about hiding my starting/stopping threads for the quilting.  You all had some AMAZING advice (thank you!) but in the end I decided to not stress about the backstitching showing and just go for it.  If you look closely you can probably see it in the picture, but I just decided it wasn't the end of the world.

My design was inspired by this gorgeous quilt on Flickr and I used solids because I know that my partner likes them.  I have to say that now I'm kind of hooked on solids too!  I used Kona Stone, Kona White, and 14 colors from my Kona Starter Pack.

I'm really happy with the way this quilt turned out.  Mr. PinSewPress likes it so much he asked me to make another one for us to keep.  When I can work up the motivation, I just might do that!  Someone on Flickr mentioned that this would make a great table topper with a vase in the middle, and I completely agree!  I think we just might "need" one of these for our kitchen table.

Here's hoping my package makes it to it's secret location safe and sound.  It's always a little nerve-wracking when your hard work is in-transit!

Next up . . . I finally finished the "man quilt!"  Pictures and a blog post coming soon!

Happy sewing,
Mary

Procrastination Sewing

Does anyone else out there engage in procrastination sewing?

I have a bunch of other things I should be working on . . . the man quilt, my DQS9 quilt, a tissue box cover . . . but last night I just HAD to make this little case for my iPod.

I recently signed up for the The Biggest Loser 5k, and this is my motivation to take my iPod to the gym and go running.  Running is definitely NOT one of my favorite fitness activities.  If only sewing burned more calories . . .   :-)

I just love this adorable Kokka cheater print.

Oh, and that buttonhole?  My first ever!  And it was nowhere near as hard as I expected.

For the binding and lining I used this fun green polka dot print from the adorable Rainy Days and Mondays line.

EDITED: I somehow completely forgot to mention that I made this with the Pink Penguin Super Simple Camera Case tutorial.  Be sure to check out Ayumi's great tutorial!

I'm linking up to Amylouwho's Sew & Tell Friday.  Have a great weekend!

Mary

WIP - Doll Quilt Swap

After much agonizing, I finally came up with a design I like for my first round of the Doll Quilt Swap.  I can't even tell you how much time I've spent scouring my partner's Flickr favorites and blog, but I think my "research" has paid off.  I'm pretty sure this is right up her ally.

Here's sneak peek of the progress I'm making.  I've had so much fun making my first all-solids quilt.  I used Kona Stone and Kona White as well as 14 colors from my Kona Starter Pack.  This little quilt is about 22" square, but I'd love to make a larger version of this someday, maybe as a baby quilt or a throw.

I still have to quilt the center, but one thing that's holding me back is that I need to learn how to hide my starting/stopping threads.  I usually just backstitch at the start and finish of my quilting lines, but on this project that doesn't look too good with the white thread showing against the stone colored fabric.  Any advice or links to a tutorial would be greatly appreciated!  I frequently hear bloggers talking about "pulling their threads through" or "hiding their threads" but I have no idea how to do this.  I still have so much to learn!


Happy sewing!
Mary

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

Tiny quilts for tiny babies

My husband and I know a couple whose twins were recently delivered prematurely at 28 weeks gestation.  These amazing, tiny babies are fighters and they're growing stronger every day!

Since these babies will be staying in the NICU for a while, I decided they might need some colorful quilts to brighten their surroundings.

This one's for the baby boy, Tuller -

Front 

and back-

Tuller's quilt is made mostly with Moda's Make Life fabric.  I added Michael Miller's Groovy Guitars to the back because Tuller's daddy is a musician.

And this quilt is for Ada, the baby girl -

Front

and back

Ada's quilt is made with Tula Pink's Plume fabric, and a tiny piece of Groovy Guitars on the back for fun.

Both quilts measure approximately 28" x 31".  My hope is that they will bring a bit of cheer to this new family of four!

Please lift up a prayer for these tiny babies, that they will grow big and strong, and for their parents, that they will have strength and peace and hope during this trying time.  If you would like to follow their story, they're blogging about their journey here.

I heart potholders!

Try not to be too jealous . . . but look what I got in the mail last weekend!

Amy of During Quiet Time made me these awesome potholders for the Potholder Pass Round 2, and she also sent some adorable mini potholders for Lauren to use!

Lauren loves her new potholders -

but I love mine more :-)

You can read more about these awesome potholders and my sad tale of lost mail here.

Next, here's what I've been working on the Potholder Pass Round 3:

These were inspired by the amazing Winter Rainbow quilt by Faith at Fresh Lemons.  If you haven't seen this quilt yet, you have to check it out!

I've admired this quilt for a while, and when I discovered that this quilt was also a "fave" of my secret partner on Flickr, I was instantly inspired!  I made the potholder on the right first, pulling out stacks and stacks of fabric and sewing together little strips to make the blocks.  I love how it turned out, but it took a LOT of work, so I made the potholder on the left a bit simpler.  I think they make a great pair!

I wanted to keep up with all the other cool ladies in the Potholder Pass and try my hand at adding grommets.  (Everyone else is doing it!!!)  Unfortunately the actual installation has been a little harder than expected.  I've been hammering away on my grommet tool and can't seem to get the darn thing to bend and play nice!

Here's the back, and as you can see my sad, sad grommets aren't fully installed yet.

I think it's time to swallow my pride and ask the husband for help!

Am I just a huge wimp, or has anyone else out there had trouble with their grommets?

Happy sewing!
Mary