Boxed Strings: a made-up quilt block

May is my month in the Joy Do Good Stitches charity bee.  And because I have three little girls, I have a LOT of girly scraps laying around - so I decided on a totally scrappy quilt for this month.  So here is the made-up quilt block I decided on:

First, I dug out some of my girly scraps.

Then I cut out 13" strips in various widths (mine are anywhere from 1.25" to 3"), and laid them out in groups of 7 or 8 (I was making 8 blocks in total).

Then I sewed up all the strips and pressed them.

Then I squared up each block to 12.5".

Then I laid them all out on the floor and admired how pretty my scraps looked all together.

Then I cut my pretty squares in half (2 in one direction, 2 in the opposite direction).

Then I laid out my cut up squares to create my Boxed Strings squares.

Now once everyone in my quilt bee makes all theirs, I can sew all the blocks into a twin-size quilt! I can't wait to see little bits of everyone's girly stash :)

KINDER®’s ‘A Joy to Share’ campaign

For Easter this year, we had a special guest of honour visiting from out of town, my grandmother.  And while she was here she also celebrated her 82nd birthday!  We had some extended family get-togethers with her, but my daughters and I wanted to have some special time with her - so we came up with the idea to have a 'High Tea' party - no boys allowed!  

We had lots of yummy food, four choices in tea, china teacups, and even dressed up in fancy dresses and did up our hair.  My Mom, sister, and sister-in law joined us too and we had such a fun time!  It is a very special memory for my girls now, and thanks to my talented photographer sister we even have some beautiful pictures to remember it by.

I am so very thankful to have opportunities like this to spend quality time with my girls, and that so far my children have been blessed with good health.  Not everyone is as fortunate because of illness or a separation that it can cause and that is why KINDER® is taking action in the ‘A Joy to Share’ campaign.  It is the KINDER® way of bringing joy to families in need by partnering with the Children’s Miracle network. As families coming together, especially around special holidays, it’s a chance to reflect and teach your loved ones about what it means to help others. This is a call to action for Canadian moms and children to help us support those less fortunate.  Find out more on the KINDER® Facebook page and website.

Disclosure: I’m part of the Kinder® Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Pattern Review: Oliver+S Badminton Dress

Pattern description (taken from pattern):
Who's ready for a match? This girl’s skort, top, and dress pattern features matching shorts hiding underneath the scalloped hem of the skort. The coordinating top includes a curved yoke, ruffles at the shoulder, and a ribbon drawstring detail at the front. The top can also be made as a dress with a scalloped hem.  Available in two sizes: 6months-4 and 5-12.

Sewing difficulty:
ADVANCED BEGINNER: Suitable for someone who has sewn from a pattern before or has taken a few classes and completed several projects.

Fabric recommendations:
Light- to medium-weight woven fabrics like quilting cotton, broadcloth, shirting, poplin, twill, chambray, and linen.  I chose two coordinating cottons from Riley Blake's Sunny Happy Skies.

Overall design and fit:
This dress just slips over the head and the sizing was right on.  My daughter finds it very comfortable and has worn it the past three days in a row :)

Written instructions:
Are easy to follow, just read the instructions carefully.  Everything made perfect sense, and is in 'beginner' language.

Tips + Modifications:
I wanted an extra bit of length and a contrasting piece of fabric at the hem, so I chose to cut the scalloped bottom edge from a contrasting fabric and attach it to the existing hem instead of cutting the existing hem with the scallop template.

Time spent:
It took me one morning to go over all the directions and cutout the pieces, and about 3 hours to sew it all together.   So it's a quick pattern, great for an anxious little girl asking to wear it every 10 minutes.

Conclusion:
This makes a beautiful and quick finished dress, and has some unique details like the ruffled sleeves and scalloped hem.  Oliver+S impresses me once again - modern patterns with easy-to-follow instructions and professional results.  I'll have to try out the skorts next, perfect for my girls' Spring/Summer wardrobes!

Winner and pulling fabric for a QAL . . .

First off, here's the winners of the Quilter's Candy:

Congratulations to Kathie and Anna - I'm emailing you right now . . .

And have you heard about the Patchwork Prism Quilt-A-Long?  

Not that I really should be starting a new quilt right now, but I had two sick kids today and a tonne of work to do for our school fundraiser - so playing with fabric for an hour was a great break in my day . . .

Quilter's Candy Giveaway

I'm so excited to share some quilter's candy with you today!  These bright colours and fun prints are perfect for some Spring and Summer sewing.  Maybe you'll make a picnic quilt with it?  Or a quilt for your favourite charity?  Or a pile of pretty pouches?

Just leave me a comment telling me what you'd make.  I'll pick 2 winners and each will win a bundle of 16 fat quarters!

If you're a follower - new or old - leave a second comment.  Winner will be picked by random.org on April 23rd and I'll ship internationally.  Good luck!

Cutting out my quilt . . .

After a fun Easter long-weekend, and some gorgeous weather we've been having that's kept the kids and I outside a lot, I used my little guy's naptime yesterday to get back in my craft room.  I've been wanting to make a king-size quilt for my bed for quite awhile, and finally settled on the Sweet Starlet quilt pattern from Basic Grey and started cutting yesterday.  I have all the diamonds cut out now, and decided to make one change to the pattern - and that's just to use the Half Moon Modern leaves for the outside border instead of making a scrappy one. I'm hoping to get the rest cut out today, except one more fabric that should be arriving this week for the inside border.  So far I'm loving how easy this pattern is to follow, and can't wait to start piecing my star!

Linking up to Work-in-Progress Wednesday.

Signature Quilt for a very special woman . . .

A woman in my church, who I have a lot of respect and admiration for, has been going through a courageous battle with breast cancer.  What she is going through is awful and painful, and yet she continues to have a smile and a great sense of humour through it all.  Two years ago, another woman in our church was also fighting this disease, and the women in our church made her a quilt filled with signatures, Bible texts, and words of encouragement.  So we decided to do this again, and this time, I took on the task of organizing.

Over 60 women contributed their personal messages, myself and two other women pieced the top together, and I quilted and bound it.  In just two weeks we had this quilt from planned to finished.  And it is definitely the most beautiful quilt I have ever seen - reading these personal messages and seeing the love poured out for this amazing woman is just so touching.

We had a special surprise tea party today and presented her with her new quilt.  She was totally surprised (even her teenage daughters managed to keep it a secret) and loves her new quilt.  We hope that it will be well used and help to encourage her during the tough days.

Quilt Stats:  The finished quilt is approx 60" x 90".  The pattern is a modified version of a Rail Fence (the signature strips were made wider).  The quilt was straight line quilted on either side of the ditch, following the zig-zag design.  The fabrics are from Return to the Wild by Windham Fabrics, the white signature strips are Kona white, and the backing is a black minky.  All the fabrics were pre-washed, and permanent fabric pens were used for the writing.

Linking up to Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Finish it Up Friday, and Sew & Tell.

Just Three for April

Traceyjay Quilts set up a linky called 'Just Three' and I thought this would be a great way to set three sewing goals for myself for April.

Goal #1
Quilt my oldest daughter's double quilt.  She picked out a fleece blanket for the backing the other night and has been bugging me non-stop to finish it for her.  So I just finished pin basting it this evening, and I'm hoping to get started on the quilting tomorrow.

Goal #2
Cut out my bed quilt and get the top pieced!  After sketching a couple patterns, I came across the Sweet Starlet Quilt pattern from BasicGrey and knew it would be perfect - and I could stop hurting my head figuring out quilting math.  And the generous folks over at BasicGrey sent me some extra patterns to give away that I'll be posting about with my finished quilt top.

Goal #3
Get started on Summer dresses for my girls.  Dress #1 is going to be the new Badminton Dress pattern from Oliver+S, isn't it sweet?!  Now to figure out which patterns to use for the other two dresses . . .

And aside from my sewing goals, I also realized that I haven't hosted a giveaway for awhile, so I'll need to fix that with a big stack of fabric that I've ordered for some of my lovely readers.  Hopefully it will be here on time for me to post the giveaway next week!

fabric show & tell . . .

I just finished quilting a beautiful twin-size quilt, with a soft minky backing and I have sore shoulders to prove it.  But I can't show it to you, because it still needs to be bound and given before I can share it.  So instead, I'll just show you the fabrics that are taunting me right now and waiting for me to finish this last quilt before I can start something new.

This is a stack of Dimples fat quarters from the Andover Schoolhouse Sweepstakes, and I haven't decided what to do with them yet . . .

And these gorgeous prints are called Sunshine Bouquet and I won them over at the Pigtails and Quilts blog.  I definitely want to make them into a quilt, just need to decide on the pattern.  Any suggestions for a lap-size with 13 fat quarters?  Maybe I can mix in some of the Dimples fat quarters too . . .

And one more generous win, this time it's a honeybun of Fairy Tale Friends which came from the wonderful Pat Sloan herself.  I've got the pattern all figured out for a baby quilt I want to make, I'm just waiting for a pregnancy announcement from someone so I can start on it . . .

And here's a stack of Riley Blake prints waiting to be made into Spring/Summer dresses for my girls.  I got them for a great deal through a fabric co-op and just need to figure out patterns for my two older girls.  Any suggestions for modest but modern styles for 7 & 9 year olds?

Now back to my task of binding . . . can't wait to show the finished quilt to you!

Linking up to Fabric Tuesday.

Lysol Healthy Families

As a Mom of four little kids, germs and messes are a daily part of our home.  So having disinfecting wipes around for messes and spills, and their new hands free soap dispenser when I'm preparing dinner - make my job easier.  And by teaching my kids the importance of washing hands and helping me with cleaning the house, I'm hoping that less flu's and colds come into our home.  Because a healthy home = a happier home.

Have you heard of Lysol's Mission for Health?  It was started because Lysol understands health matters to us all; especially to mothers.  Lysol's Mission for Health is not just about making better products to help moms protect her family, but also about contributing to the health of the communities we live in. That's why Lysol started the new moms program, healthy habits initiatives in schools, the cold & flu prevention program and disaster relief efforts. Lysol is dedicated to doing more for health.  Learn more at Lysol.ca: http://www.lysol.ca/en/mission-for-health

Disclosure: I am part of the Lysol Healthy Families Ambassador Program by Mom Central. I received compensation as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

April Bee Blocks . . .

This time we had to make Star Weaving blocks with this colour palette and Kona Ash for the background.

Here's my two blocks.  It was fun picking through my scraps and it was also a nice break from a secret quilt project I'm working on (which I'm hoping to get quilted this weekend).

And next month is my turn to pick the design and host our charity bee.  I'm already planning my block - it's going to be girly and REALLY scrappy!

Linking up to TNT Thursday.

Mini Clutch Tutorial

These mini clutches  were a big hit at my daughter's birthday party, and my daughters have found lots of uses for theirs.  So I thought I'd do up a little tutorial in case anyone else wants to make some.

First, cut out your pieces:

From the outer fabric, lining, and batting - cut one main piece 8.5" x 10"

From the outer fabric, lining, and batting - cut one flap piece 8" x 3.5"

Prepare your flap piece:

First, find something round and use it to cut the bottom edges of the flap pieces in a curve.

If you'd like to use an elastic loop and button closure, center the elastic on the outer flap fabric and place between the outer fabric and lining, right sides together. Layer the batting on top.

Sew all three layers together with a 1/4" seam allowance.

Clip curves, turn right-side out and press.  Topstitch close to the edge.  Put aside for now.

Prepare your main pieces:

Layer the outer fabric on a piece of batting and fold in half, with outer fabric right-sides together.  Stitch on side edges with a 1/4" seam.

Fold lining piece in half and sew side edges with a 1/4" seam, but this time leave a 2" opening on one of the side edges (to turn the clutch right-side out through later).

Push out one of the corners and mark a 2" line across and sew on line.  Clip corner.  Repeat for both corners of outer and lining pieces.

Attach flap to outer piece:

Find the center of the flap and the main outer piece and pin together.  Sew a scant 1/4" from edge.

Assemble bag:

Place the outer main piece inside of lining, right-sides together.  Stitch top edge with a 3/8" seam.

Finish bag:

Turn right-side out through opening in lining.  Stitch opening closed by machine.  Put lining into main bag, push out corners, and press top-edge.  Topstitch close to top edge.

Now just put on a pretty button and you're done!  You can also use a button-hole and button closure, a snap, or even velcro.

This one is for myself, perfect for a couple things I want to keep together so they're easier to transfer between purses.  Please let me know if you have any suggestions or corrections to the steps above - THANKS!

Linking up to {Sew} Modern Monday and Fabric Tuesday.

on Spring break . . .

The past two weeks my kids have been off school for Spring break.  We have gone swimming, ice skating, to an indoor-playground, hosted a bunch of girls for my daughters 9-year old birthday party, walked to a friends for lunch, had friends over, hosted some cousins for sleepovers, hosted all my siblings and their kids for a coffee/dessert evening, walked to the park, and gone on lots of bike rides.  And it has all been SO FUN!  And I'm happy to say that I've had the energy for all of this, thanks to my doctor figuring out what's been causing my fatique and stomach problems for the past year and putting me on some medication to fix it.

And today we went for a bike ride to the library and duck pond, came home and everyone except my oldest daughter napped while I read a book, and then one daughter baked a batch of cookies while another daughter made dinner that's smelling wonderful cooking in the oven right now.  So I'm enjoying some freshly baked cookies with a rare afternoon coffee and making a pathetic attempt to catch up on my emails while the kids are all painting some masterpieces on our deck.

And there's only one day left of them all to myself because they're returning to school next week . . . how many days till Summer holidays start?!

Accuquilt's 3rd Annual Barn Quilt Design Contest

Enter by submitting original entry designs in .pdf, .jpg, .gif or .eps format.  Deadline is April 9, 2012 and there is no cost to register or enter.  Designs should be in the shape of a square, since they will be displayed as a 17’ x 17’ square on the AccuQuilt building.  Enter as many times as you like!

Prizes:

Grand prize winner will receive a prize package consisting of:

- One (1) $1,000 AccuQuilt Shopping Spree ($1,000 value)

- Round trip airfare for themselves and a friend from winner’s home and transportation to Omaha, NE, for an unveiling ceremony for their design on the AccuQuilt offices. 

- Two (2) tickets to the 2nd Annual Let’s GO! Quilt Retreat in Fremont on June 20-21, 2012 for themselves and a friend. 

- Three (3) night hotel stay (one room for three nights). 

- Includes breakfast, lunch and dinner for three days. 

One runner up prize winner will receive a prize package consisting of:

- One (1) $250 AccuQuilt Gift Certificate 

- One (1) ticket to the 2nd Annual Let’s GO! Quilt Retreat in Fremont on June 20-21, 2012.

The top one hundred (Top 100) quilt block designs will be selected by a panel of AccuQuilt’s management from among all eligible entries received. Each of the 100 winners will receive a prize package aggregate value of $25 consisting of:

- One (1) $25 AccuQuilt Rewards Points ($25 value)

So start working on some quilt blocks!  Good luck!