Mayday Mayday

It's snowing. Again. On May 1st. 

Spring in Minnesota is a serious mind game. We've had loads of snow this April, but the last few days have been glorious - sunny and mid-70's. Yesterday, my daughter and I saw lovely purple and white crocuses on the walk home from preschool, then later a magnolia tree in full bloom while driving my son to baseball practice. A sight for sore eyes, indeed.

Now it's 34 degrees and the flakes are falling.

This kind of weather calls for some serious retail therapy, i.e. a trip to the local quilt shop.

Snow aside, it must be my lucky day because the fabric line I'm using for my quilt in progress, Jenn Ski's Ten Little Things by Moda, just happened to be on the 50% off shelf. Hello backing fabric!

 

I'm nearly finished with my first quilt pattern, called Bella Roma, which will soon be available in my Etsy shop. The pattern includes a toddler size (or wall hanging) quilt and a twin-sized companion design. Stay tuned for more details and a giveaway.

Happy May Day! I wish you sunshine and flowers,

Annik

P.S. Speaking of spring, check out this Dutch Door Press print from Kokka. The pink, orange, and lime colors are ideal for the season. This fabric would make fabulous table runners, napkins, or placemats. And did I mention it's on sale?

23 and Counting

This week the scrappy patchwork madness continues in my sewing room. I've finished 23 nine patch blocks and I've got another 3 sitting next to my sewing machine ready to sew.

My original plan was to piece together a completely spontaneous, unplanned, willy-nilly patchwork quilt top. I would use up some scraps and make a quilt the kids could wrap themselves up in while watching movies and eating buttered popcorn.Win, win.

Sadly, my poor little order-seeking brain just couldn't handle the chaos. Now I'm slowly piecing intentional nine patches with a solid square in the center of each. Of course the joke is on me because as soon as I put all the blocks together it looks like an explosive color mess! I may add some narrow sashing between the blocks so they aren't completely lost in a riot of pattern. We shall see.

Although I'm really enjoying this project, I'm going to put it down for now and start yet another quilt top.

Details to come...

Happy sewing!
-Annik

Scrap Happy

Today I'm finding solace and sanity in the form of scrappy 9 patches.

Rather than focusing on the snow outside that refuses to melt, the spring that refuses to arrive, the violence around the world that refuses to cease, I'm going to think about colors and patterns, favorite fabrics and the projects I made with them. I'm going to think about the amazing generosity of sewists and quilters who dedicate their time, skill, and resources to sew for others in need.

Fabric Memory Lane: these fabrics were used for bags, pillows, a baby carrier, a bonnet, napkins, and bunting banners

On this somber day, I wish you peace, health, safety, and a never-ending bobbin.

Annik

Catching Up

[Cue sheepish wave] Hi. Remember me? I used to blog here, but eek,  it's been months since my last post. I have no excuse other than writer's block and a growing online fabric shop.

What have I been up to? Not much sewing or quilting, although I did manage to make a little ruffle skirt for my daughter for her 4th birthday.

I used fabrics from Denyse Schmidt's first line for Joann's for the ruffle skirts. The bow is the world's best dot fabric from Lecien, which you can find here in my shop. The pattern is called Rimpsukka and it's from the Winter 6/2011 issue of Ottobre Design.

Here's my girl at preschool on Valentine's Day sporting her new skirt:

The other thing I've been working on lately, between cutting fabric orders, is writing quilt patterns. I have one pattern in the testing phase, plus several more in progress. I'm anxious to show them all to you, but they just aren't quite ready yet. 

This quilt has been getting a lot of love on Pinterest lately, so I'm writing it up, too. I'll have the pdf pattern for sale in my Etsy shop soon. It's easy peasy.

Finally, I'm working on a new tutorial for the blog all about how to work with Riley Blake chevron fabrics, so stay tuned.

Snow is in the forecast this weekend and I can't wait. Here's a photo from our last snow fall on Valentine's Day. It was beyond gorgeous. My little camera just couldn't capture the magic so you'll just have to take my word for it ;)

Happy sewing!
-Annik

Winter Has Arrived

Happy Winter Solstice

It's just after 4 p.m. and the sun is on its rapid descent. Our official sunset time today in Minnesota is 4:35 p.m. We've had a brilliant - and cold - sunny day. It definitely feels like winter and it definitely feels like the holidays. The children are all now officially on winter break. We're all desperately ready for a week of rest, some sledding, and lots of hot chocolate.

As you're finishing up your shopping and gift wrapping, please let me remind you of my Little Treasures Drawstring Pouch tutorial. Drawstring bags are a great alternative to plain old throw-it-away wrapping paper. They're ideal for small gifts and small kids. Here's a festive wintery version I whipped up this week for my daughter's preschool teachers' gifts.

Have a wonderful and safe holiday season. Hold your little ones close. Tell your family you love them. And last but not least, raise a toast to longer days in the Northern Hemisphere!

Best wishes,

 -Annik

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Winners

I'm pleased to announce the winners of my Sew, Mama, Sew giveaways. Drum roll please...

Number is 119 is Gill. She enjoys making quilts and bags, and she's getting the Kokka fat quarters.

Binks is my second winner, scoring the gorgeous Riley Blake Stacker and threads.

Hooray and congratulations to the winners!

An enormous thank you to everyone who participated in my giveaway, especially those of you who became new blog followers or liked my Mini Mushrooms Facebook page. And a huge thank you to Sew, Mama, Sew for sharing the blog love on Giveaway day :)

-Annik

P.S. Wow, lots of quilters and bag/pouch makers out there! I love sewing those things, too.

It's Giveaway Day!!

***winners have been contacted and announced here***

Hi and thanks for stopping by. It's Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day - one of my favorite days of the year! What a great way to discover new blogs, see what other people are making, and maybe score a little swag :)

This time around I've decided to give away two bundles of sewing happiness.

The first is two fat quarters (18" x 22") Dutch Door Press fabric from Kokka of Japan. It's available in my shop, Mini Mushrooms, but here's your chance to get some for free. It's absolutely lovely 85% cotton 15% linen lightweight canvas. Great for accessories, home decor projects, even quilting.

Here are more photos so you can see just how fabulous this print is:

The second little bundle of goodies includes a Riley Blake Designs Stacker (5" squares) of Lila Tueller's Bohemian Festival line. The colors are gorgeous - bright pink, sky blue, lovely green. I'm also throwing in two spools of Presencia 50 wt cotton thread in bright yellow and peach. Made in Spain, this is my favorite cotton thread!

To enter, simply leave a comment below and answer this question:

What is your favorite thing to sew?

I'll select two winners at random on December 7 at 5 p.m. PST. I'm happy to ship internationally (hooray!). The first winner will be allowed to choose which prize they prefer. the second winner will get the remaining bundle.

Thanks for participating and thanks for checking out my blog. Best wishes and good luck!

-Annik

P.S. "Like" the Mini Mushrooms Facebook page to get new blog post alerts and updates on what's new in my Etsy shop.