Pathetic Pin Cushion

Look at my sad pin cushion.
I have one of those tomato pin cushions but I hate it. So I don't use it. But pin cushions truly come in handy and in a fit of desperation I decided to improvise. This is a scrap of quilt batting that I rolled up and voila! It's time for something classier, though, don't you think?

Which brings me to the next photo.

 I've been working on some ideas for the Minneapolis Modern Quilt Guild black and white challenge. I whipped up these blocks to see what diamonds would look like made with a 3" square piece of fabric. Too small for my intended project, so diamonds are out. It occurred to me, though, that these two blocks would make a nice pin cushion. Anything would be better than that "thing" above. Photo of new pin cushion coming soon.







Here's another peek at what I'm working on for the challenge. These are a couple of test blocks to help me work out proportions.  I have something "mid-century modern" in mind. This is all I'm going to say until the unveiling in May! No more hints.  My lips are sealed. Ugh, I'm so bad at keeping secrets...

Check back in later this week. I'm cooking up a baby quilt tutorial using one jelly roll. I'm calling the pattern Log Mansion. Doesn't that sound intriguing?

-Annik

The Haul

Wanna see my new stash for the Treadle Yard Goods sale yesterday??? I was in an orange and brown state of mind I guess. See for yourself:

Chrysalis by Sanae for Moda and Houndstooth by Free Spirit

 Oh, how I love these two prints together. The new Houndstooth line by Free Spirit is so cool. I want every color in the collection!

Meadowsweet Splashy Rose by Sandi Henderson

Yummy corduroy for a dress for Gwen and maybe a skirt for me (if I dare!). I've had my eye on this for eons but never took the plunge. Couldn't pass it up yesterday at only $6 yard.

Finally, here's what I scored from the clearance rack at 70% off. Seriously, they were giving fabric away yesterday!

Robert Kaufman and Alexander Henry goodies

 I bought just shy of 9 yards of fabric for less than $38. That's $4.22 per yard. I love a good sale! Thanks, Treadle!

Fabric Sale at Treadle Yard Goods

Dear Local Readers (i.e. Twin Cities, MN, USA),

Treadle Yard Goods is having a sale on Saturday, February 26th. Treadle is the best fabric store in the world, in my humble opinion.  Tomorrow would be a great day to find that out for yourself :) Here are the details from their blog:

Join us this Saturday, February 26, for a day dedicated to the power of imagination.
We will be serving tropical punch and cookies, playing calypso and reggae music and dressing in our summer finery.

All fabric and patterns will be discounted 20% and you may take an additional 20% off all sale fabrics.

Join us dressed in your best tropical duds ( long underwear optional, but encouraged ) and we will enter your name in a drawing for a $50.00 gift certificate. There will also be a prize for the most outrageous getup (extra points for creative use of coconut shells).
Judging will be purely subjective and photos will be posted (with your permission) on our Treadle Flickr page.

We hope to see you for fabric fun and camaraderie as we thumb our noses at the weather. 

See you there!
-Annik

We have a winner!

Congratulations to Paula of Paula's Crafty Corner. She's the winner of the black and white fat quarters!

Thanks to all of you who participated in the giveaway and especially to my new followers. I so enjoyed reading your comments. 

Are you ready for a roundup of everyone's suggestions?

Red was the clear winner with 11 votes.

 Lime green came in second with 7 votes.

Yellow received 6 votes

Orange and Turquoise/aqua had 5 votes.

 

Dark pink and light blue had 2 votes a piece.

Deep blue and green received 1 vote each.

The quilt design I'm working on has a lot of negative space, so the solid color I choose must been soothing to the eye. Red is probably out, unless I have enough leftover scraps to do a second project. That's all I'm divulging for now.  Stay tuned and thanks again for playing!

-Annik

Finished

My two boys were having a tussle on Thursday night (after I got home from the Modern Quilt Guild meeting) and my oldest son, Alex, ended up with a scratched cornea. He spent the next several days crying, screaming, and refusing to leave his darkened bedroom. Poor guy. Between his bouts of pain I was able to get some hand sewing done, though. 

This is a wall hanging I pieced on New Year's Day. I used one Kona charm pack that is sadly no longer available. The binding is deep teal and 100% linen that I picked up years ago at Treadle Yard Goods. 

I still need to get a dowel rod and hardware to hang it, however, a trip to the hardware store is out of the question until we dig out from 14" of fresh snow. Once I get it up on the wall I'll share another (better!) photo.

And look what else I finished on Saturday - my Hello Betty Retro quilt that's been in progress for eons.

My original intention was to sell this quilt, but I've decided to keep it for my daughter for when she's older. I hope she likes it given the blood, sweat, and tears that went into it. I owe my friends Clemma and Karen a huge thanks for helping me with this baby. You two are the best quilting mentors ever!

Now I'm off to shovel. Happy crafting!

-Annik

Swap Results

First, have you entered my giveaway yet? Go to this post and leave a comment for a chance to win two black and white fat quarters.

Do you want to see the results of Thursday night's fabric swap at the Minneapolis Modern Quilt Guild meeting? Ta da! This is my new stash.

Here's a gratuitous close-up shot.

Now it's time to come up with a design and pick a solid color to add to the prints. I kinda sorta wish I had a few more prints to work with. I wonder if anyone would notice extra prints in my collection?

I've enjoyed reading your solid color recommendations in my giveaway post. Here's a collection of the black and white prints coupled with your suggestions. Lots of votes for red!

Turquoise!

Red!

Orange!

Magenta!

I was planning to use turquoise, but now I'm not so sure. I love the orange, but also subtle colors. Oh, it's so hard to limit oneself to one color! I'll reveal my finished product after the May MMQG meeting. Stay tuned and keep those comments coming. This coming Thursday is giveaway day.

Black and White Giveaway

Tomorrow night (2/17/2011) is the night! The Minneapolis Modern Quilt Guild will meet at 6:30 at Sewtropolis where the fabric swapping will begin. The details of our latest challenge are located in a previous post.


I headed to my sewing room to shop my stash right after the challenge was announced. Considering how much fabric I have, I was a bit surprised by the paucity of black, white, or gray print fabrics. Here's what I found:

Some prints were too large. Some where more cream than white. Some didn't have enough yardage. And others I just couldn't part with. So, drum roll please... Here are my choices for the swap:

Alexander Henry's "Diamond Eye" from 2006 (vintage!) is on the left and American Jane's Pindot by Moda is on the right. And guess what?? I'm giving away a fat quarter of each print to a lucky reader!

Leave a comment with your favorite solid color to use with black/white/gray prints. And leave a second comment if you follow my blog to get another chance to win. I'll announce the winner of the fat quarters on Thursday, February 24th.

Stay tuned to my blog for progress reports. And be sure to check out my fellow Quilt Guilders as they blog about the challenge.

Karen at Badlands Quilts

Marie at CraftyMSP

Nikol at Hubba Hubba Ding Dong

Good luck! I can't wait to hear about your color choices.

Buntings!

Here's another preview of some of the items I'll have for sale this Saturday at Barton Open School's Handmade Art from the Heart event. Bunting banners!

Owls

Rainbow hearts

Guitars

Pinky flowers

Sock monkeys

Sweets

Have you noticed that bunting banners are everywhere? I'm guessing this is the year of the bunting - especially on Etsy.  Does this mean the year of the cassette tape is over? And is it safe to assume that the year of the owl is long over? Those of you who spend any time in the crafting world will know what I'm talking about. I can only hope that a few people (like me) still like owls because I have lots of owl fabrics in my stash....

Are you ready for V-Day?

Hey friends, if you're a local I hope you'll come to my next sale on February 12th at my sons' school. It's a fundraiser for Barton's after school tutoring program. My 2nd grade son's teacher organized this event. She's a sewer (sewist?), too. Dawn makes cool yoga bags, snack bags, super hero capes and a million other things. But this is no two woman show! There are 37 crafty vendors at this sale, plus live music, dance, and food (including chocolate!). Come make a day of it. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

I've been sewing like a mad fool for the last month. I've made lots of bunting banners, zipper pouches, tote bags, handy dandy cloth napkins for kids, a handful of aprons, plus mini quilts and throw quilts. See, I really have been busy!

Here's one of the many zipper pouches I'll have for sale on Saturday.  I'll share more photos as the week progresses (assuming we ever get natural light around here again).

See you there!

What's black and white and fun all over?

Are you a quilter living in the Twin Cities (Minnesota) area? Have you heard about the Minneapolis Modern Quilt Guild?  We're an exciting bunch and we're always happy to get new members. Our group completed a polka dot project last year, we did some philanthropic sewing around the holidays, and now we've got a fresh challenge for Spring 2011. You can participate even if you can't make it to our next meeting!


Here are the details:

SWAP
Start with two (or more) fat quarters that "read" BLACK, WHITE or GRAY. Print should be in these colors, too. No solids, please.

Wash fabrics.

Cut into strips that are 3 inches wide/ 20 inches long. You should end up with 5-6 strips per fat quarter.

We are swapping 10 strips - 5 from two fabrics. If you submit more, you may duplicate fabrics. (Each swapper will use at least two different fat quarters!) - You will get the same number of strips that you swap.

The swap will happen at the February 17th meeting. 

CHALLENGE
Once you have received your swapped strips, add one additional SOLID fabric to finish the "top" of your project. (You may add others for your backing and binding!)


Bring your finished product to the May Minneapolis Modern Quilt Guild meeting.

Can't make it to our next meeting but still want to participate? Send an e-mail to Elise at elisepeters@mac.com and she will send you her mailing address. Send your fabrics strips and a return envelope with postage to her before Tuesday, February 15th (packages must be received by that date).


Now I'm off to raid my stash in search of black, white, or gray prints. I'll share my picks soon. In the meantime, check out the blogs of some of my fellow Minneapolis Modern Quilt Guild-ers, Badlands Quilts, Sewtropolis, and CraftyMSP.


Happy crafting!