Sunday Stash :: Crushing

It's not a secret anymore.... Quilters all over are crushing hard for Anna Marie Horner's new line "Innocent Crush" Her eclectic Bohemian style never disappoints. This line was due out in November, but to my surprise Hawthorne Threads had it arrive early, and lots of it. See why they are my favorite. After receiving my package I am seriously in love and am pondering covering my sewing room walls with this gorgeous fabric.

For those of you who have been waiting to see if the board idea worked for smaller cuts, here is the info I figured out. I cut the boards along the 10.5 longer side of the board. Making two pieces measuring 5.25 x 6.75.

For Fat Quarters:: I folded the short side 18" in half, then in half again. Then I wrapped the FQ around the board and pinned. This left a  view of the board on the top an bottom of the fabric.

For Half yards :: I folded the seam to the middle then met the selvage to the middle make it folded in thirds. Then I wrapped it the same way as the yard cuts with a little hanging over the top of the board. This makes it easy to know what cuts are half yards, and what are FQ's.

Sorry about the messiness, I did try to hurry and plan on re-folding these a little better, but I think you can see the idea.

Have you tried this yet?

HAPPY SEWING!

Organizing your Stash on a Budget

Friday afternoon I picked this up from the mailbox. After I began my new organization routine it dawned on me that maybe I should share this all with you. Like most people I am always looking for the next best thing. That new tool that will make my life just a little easier. When I heard about Polar notions fabric boards, I wanted them badly.

However though, realistically I buy way to much fabric to afford those things. I would have to stop buying fabric for a bit just to catch up (there is not way I could handle that) I felt the insanity coming thinking about how many fabric buys I would miss out on just to buy those boards.

So I tried this.........

These are comic book boards, available at most comic book shops in your area, or you can get them here where I did on amazon.com They were about 15 dollars for 100 boards (maybe a little cheaper in the comic book store but we don't have one here) If you spend 25 dollars or more you get free shipping to.

Now as much as I would love to take credit for this idea, I did not invent the idea by any means. It was brought up in a fabric group discussion a few months back, and I must admit I was sceptical. I thought there was no way this would work.

To my surprise, not only did it work.... but I could wrap 5 or 6 yards of fabric on them maybe even more. They looked neat, organized and I could see each and every print I had available.

Here is how I did it.

I folded the longest part of the fabric seam to selvage making the fabric about 10 inches by the length (whatever yardage you have of the print)

Put the board on the edge of the fabric with a little extra to start the wrap around the board, You do not need to pin this but if you would like to you can.

Wrap up the yardage until you get about 12 inches from the end. Then fold over the top edge towards the bottom selvage to make an angle seam. After you have the angle finish wrapping the fabric around the board and pin the edge in place.

See the angle there right on top of the pin??

Now all those new fabrics are organized and ready for when I need them. I also cut them from the mini bolts when I do projects. There is no more unfolding the entire piece every time I need to use a print. Plus this is a good way to keep my eye on what is running out.

Another tip I did was fabric that had more then one piece I overlapped and continued on the roll so it was all kept together nicely.

Now I have cute little fabric mini bolts well at least I have 100 for now. It works so I will definitely be getting more :) Try it you might like it.


Do you have a great organization tip??

HAPPY SEWING !


EDITED:: People are asking what the cut increment is that I put on the mini bolts. I did a yard or bigger on these. For the smaller cuts I am thinking about cutting the boards in half, I will let you know if it works :)

New Tips:: 
You can double up your boards for larger cuts of fabric to make the board stiffer.

If you cannot find comic book coards, head to the craft store for syrofoam board used for craft projects. And cut to the desired size, much like cardboard but usually in white. 

Go on and read posts added after this one to get tips on your smaller cuts.

Reading Chair Quilt

Can you believe it... I am actually working on another quilt. I feel like quilting has taken the back burner for far to long. Something I miss most and my favorite part about quilting is the piecing and construction of the quilt. It amazes me how so many small pieces can turn out to be so beautiful.

We had a trip to Target the other day after Grandma Harlan gave Sophie this cool set of Bunk beds. It was a piece of furniture that had already been in the family for years.

Sophie picked out Purple and Aqua for her room, which totally does not go with what I had planned, but it's ok it's her room.

(I apologize for the photo's the sun was crazy bright today there was no getting around it)

I decided to make her a quilt for her little reading chair to compliment her new love for purple and Aqua. After finding an unused charm pack I had laying around, I mixed in some Kona; added some sashing; and viola a quilt. I am still piecing the back but I promise to show it off when it's all finished. I finally just stopped by the Hancock's sale with 53% off warm and white batting (booyah!)

I am also working on a lil something for Christmas that I cannot share yet, but stay tuned....

Simply Annie Kate:: Winner

Thank you to everyone who stopped by Kate's beautiful etsy shop. Also thank you to Kate for offering up this beautiful piece of handmade goodness.

Make sure that you contact her for that special outfit for a seasonal event or pictures, she is more then happy to take custom orders.

The winner picked by random .org was lucky number 7

Dreaming Monet

Congrats to you, you lucky duck!

please email me at sewfantasticblog@yahoo.com and I will forward it on to miss Kate.

It's not to late email Kate for your very own custom made pretty for that special little one in your life.

Simply Annie Kate on etsy

Sponsor Giveaway :: Simply Annie Kate

I am completely honored to introduce a fantastic seamstress, and sponsor of Sew-Fantastic to you all. Kate, of simply Annie Kate .

Kate says :: Simply Annie Kate was born when I moved across the map and found myself with extra time on my hands. When I'm not sewing, I'm a mommy to my two beautiful babies, Noah and Annie. I'm passionate about my family, coffee, and making Simply Annie Kate a success.

Her drive for business and skill in sewing make this etsy contributor top notch. Please check out some of these beautiful designs that Kate has created .

The She's  Fancy Dress

Double Ruffle Knit Leggings

Beautiful Butterfly Dress

The Grace Dress

These are only a few of Kate's fantastic designs. Each one customized special for you little one. She can make matching sashes, hair bows, and much much more.

I am thinking picture day needs one of these fantastic pieces.

Another important part of Kate's shop is she can do seasonal wear as well. Think, Christmas dresses, Halloween outfits, baptisms, or that special day that's coming up. She even has Gift Certificates .

Kate is kindly offering one of her custom made pieces for one lucky winner, even if you do not have a little girl, you may know someone who does or a grandchild even. Wouldn't they just look adorable in this getup!

Lovely Daisy Lady Dress

This is the dress you will win.

Please note that you will win the dress only, not the sash around it. To win the sash see details below.

Here is how to WIN

(Domestic entries only please)

1 Entry (Required) Stop by Simply Annie Kate on Etsy and leave me a comment telling me what your favorite pieces is.

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES

1 Entry for following Simply Annie Kate behind the scenes at her blog

1 Entry for Following Sew-Fantastic (this blog)

2 Entries for Sharing this giveaway with your friends via facebook, blog, or twitter

1 Entry for Following Kate on Facebook :: If you are the chosen winner and are also a facebook fan at the time of the drawing Kate will add the matching sash to your win for FREE.

5 Entries for any purchase made at Simply Annie Kate. Sew-Fantastic Buyers can use the code SEWFREE in the notes to seller box for 10% OFF your Purchase as well as free shipping that she is offering for a limited time.

Please leave a separate comment for each entry.

I hope you find Kate as fantastic as I do, Christmas is right around the corner and Sophie needs some of those darling leggings :)

GOOD LUCK

WINNER WILL BE PICKED ON THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 16th


COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED

Quilt Along Anyone?

I have never done a quilt along.... ever! Can you believe it? I think it's time to join one. Maybe that will motivate me to get more quilting done. After all I do have a stack of patterns I would like to accomplish someday.

When I heard about the Fat Quarterly Quilt along over on Twitter I just couldn't resist. All you need is one, yes just ONE Jelly Roll for this quilt. I Chose my Kona Jelly Roll. Something about these solids makes me drool, and although I was going to mix in a print here and there using my scrap bin, I decided this quilt would just stay solid. There is still time to join if you have a jelly roll handy. (or need an excuse to buy one )

We also had the in laws over for dinner this last weekend. I made fresh salsa that only got yummier when I put it into my vintage Pyrex,  stuffed chicken with fresh green beans and rice. Although it didn't turn out perfect using a new gas stove and all,  it was pretty good. I think the cheesecake and pino nior made up for the chicken. :)

Maybe I will share the recipe someday, does anyone like to cook?

Happy Sewing

The Monaco Bag ( giveaway too )

For those of you who have been around awhile, you know that when I started in the handmade business I made tote bags and small purses. So you can imagine my excitement when Hawthorne Threads asked me to put together one of the new Art Gallery purse kits to see how I liked it.

This kit was beautifully packaged in it's own little tote, with ribbons, and instantly made me drool at the site of it. Everything I needed (minus the interfacing) was in the package ready for me to start working.

This was not only a time saver, but a money saver as well. There was no driving all around town looking for the specific items that the pattern requested.

The bag I assembled was the Monaco Bag in option kandesh. I loved the colors and the style, not to mention to be completely honest it looked hard to make, and I wanted a challenge.

Now I do not consider myself to be a novice bag maker by any means, in fact I believe amateur is the right word for my bag making skills. I can whip up a tote or something simple with a pattern, but when to much hardware is involved I cringe  a little.

After reading the directions 4 or 5 times, I began cutting into my beautiful included fabrics. The pattern book gave a step by step guide to each and every detail of the bag with diagrams included. Each piece wa individually assembled and put aside for bag completion and everything was clearly labeled and named to find my way around the pattern easily.

 I will be completely honest by letting you know that this bag took me awhileto make with other distractions going on around the house, and I would recommend that you go through the pattern once with fabric that you are ok living without (minus the hardware) I say this because I didn't do that! Now that I have made the bag, I love it but there are a few things I would have tackled a little differently to make the process a little smoother.

For instance:: when it says use a heavy interfacing, don't pick a medium weight cause you already have it close by. :)

The pattern though is very forgiving, and there is more then enough fabric to finish the project and have quite a bit left over, maybe even enough to do a second bag. The pattern also give you details on how to cut your pattern pieces so that you have very little waste.

The completion of the bag was like my own little victory. What seemed to be quite the challenge when I saw it at first glance, turned out to be just the thing I needed. I love switching up my projects and this one did not let me down at all.

For you sewers out there who are like me, worried about failure, turning away from what looks like a difficult project to avoid the stress. :) (yeah I do that ) Try one of these Art Gallery premade kits. You will be amazed how super easy it is, and it will give you the courage to try other projects that you may have put off before. Even if your not into bags, or not a sewer, but know someone who is. This kit is the perfect gift. I am so glad that this was easy and that the end result was perfection. Now I have a new courage in my sewing adventures, as well as a new trendy bag!

Here are some more photos of the finished bag (since I know you all love pictures)  :) Enjoy!

See GIVEAWAY details below......

Now you want to make one huh! Try it, you will love it. Not to mention there are so many styles of bags, that one is bound to fit your very own personality. Hawthorne Threads will even make the idea of making this bag just a little sweeter by giving away a kit to Three Lucky sewers.

Check out the GIVEAWAY details here

So what bag do you want to make?

Thank you Art Gallery, and thank you Hawthorne Threads.

I would love to see photos of your Art Gallery kit bags!