The votes are in...

Thanks again to all of you who entered my Sew Mama Sew give away.

My inner bean counter decided to do a little tally of everybody's favorite new fabric lines for 2012. I sifted through all 418 comments to come up a top 15 list. Ready for the results? Here we go:

15. Winterkist by Monica Solorio-Snow - 9 votes

14. Riley Blake Chevrons (coming very soon to my Etsy shop!) - 10 votes

13. Tula Pink's The Birds & the Bees - 11 votes

12. Heather Ross' Nursey Versey - 13 votes

11. Lucy's Crab Shack by Sweetwater - 15 votes

10. Mama Said Sew also by Sweetwater - 15 votes

9. Kona solids from Robert Kaufman - 17 votes

8. Nightshade by Tula Pink - 17 votes

7. Denyse Schmidt's Flea Market Fancy Legacy Collection - 18 votes

6. Field Study by Anna-Maria Horner - 19 votes

From left, Betz White, Anna-Maria Horner, and Denyse Schmidt chillin' in Anna-Maria's Quilt Market booth

5. Summersville by Lu Summers - 23 votes

4. Bonnie & Camille's Vintage Modern - 30 votes

3-1. We had a three way tie for first place. Lotta Jansdotter's Bella line received 31 votes.

Yes, I scored a fat quarter bundle of Bella at Sample Spree. I was planning to sell it but I don't think I can part with it!

Simply Color by Vanessa Christenson was also very popular with 31 votes (and her line was the buzz of Quilt Market if you ask me).

Bonnie & Camille's Marmalade line also received 31 votes.

Moda clearly dominates the list with 6 out of the 15 fabric lines on the list. And speaking of Moda, they rolled out a new product at Quilt Market called Candy. They're packs of 42 - 2.5" squares. I think they would be fabulous for granny square blocks, postage stamp quilts, and patchwork all around. They retail at $4 each. I'm thinking about ordering Candy packs of Marmalade and Simply Color for my Etsy shop. What do you think? Would you buy these little squares?

Announcements

What a busy and exciting week! Here are the highlights:

1. Have you seen the blog Flax & Twine? You really should because it's gorgeous and the projects are so inspiring. Anne, the brainchild behind the blog, approached me recently about doing a guest post for her sew, you've always wanted to quilt series.

I'm honored and delighted to present my modern pin cushion tutorial, the second installment in the series. An enormous thanks to Anne for the invitation and opportunity to be guest on her fabulous blog!

I hope you'll check it out and make one of your own. And send me a photo if you do because I'd love to see it.

2. In my last post I hinted that I'm thinking about starting a new venture. This week I've been going through my fabric stash with the intent to sell some goodies to raise funds for said venture. I'll keep you posted as I get these fabrics and ribbons on my Etsy shop. Rare, hard to find Heather Ross and Amy Butler. Woohoo!

3. The penultimate post in the Four's a Charm series is almost done. How to make binding and sew it on your quilt instructions will be up this weekend. It's starting to look like a quilt, folks!

4. And last, but absolutely not least, my oldest child turned nine on Thursday. Where or where did nine years go? How did this happen? How did my little baby turn into this sports-loving, poetry-writing, math test acing, cooking show-watching young man?

Happy birthday to my sweet Alex.

Thanks for stopping :)

-Annik

The Sewing To-Do Pile Gets Smaller

This weekend I started to climbed Mount UFO and finished up (or started) some projects that have been on my sewing to-do list for a long time.

First I made a pair of flannel pajama pants using this gorgeous Anna Maria Horner Folksy print. I used New Look pattern #6321, omitted the pockets and skipped the drawstring in favor of a basic elastic waistband. I took 1.5" off the top at the waist because commercial patterns always seem to be designed for people who wear their pants in their armpits. The front could still be an inch or so shorter in the rise. I also took an inch or so off the length of the pants. Despite taking my measurements and matching them up to the pattern chart, the pants are ENORMOUS (there's a reason why you're not getting a full body shot). I look a bit like Charlie Chaplin but at least I'm comfy!

Next up, a new ironing board cover!!

The old cover was so gross. Despite the millions of water stains I didn't dare wash it because it would shrink like crazy.

The ironing board makeover started last fall. I love this ironing board - it's an antique which means it's heavy and super sturdy. But it was also dusty and the paint was crumbling. Would you believe there were five different covers layered up on this thing?

 

Here's what it looked like before:

Before

 And this is after a coat of plum spray paint:

To make the new cover I used the fabulous twill "Mad Hatter" cheater print from the original Wonderland line by MoMo from Moda. I remember walking into my local fabric store and just freaking out when I saw this fabric (and the others from the line). I had no plans for the fabric, but I knew I had to have it. It's just perfect for an ironing board cover since it's covered in sewing notions - scissors, pin cushions, and yes, irons! I had just enough fabric to make the cover. Destiny, I tell you.

Now I'm planning to finish sewing a top I started (ahem) two years ago.

When that's done I'm going to tackle a UFO a friend gave me. She started making this dress for her daughter but never finished it (and now it definitely wouldn't fit). Look closely. Do you see a problem?

Yes, the print is upside down. So the question is this. Do I go ahead and finish the dress and not worry about the direction of the flowers, or do I rip out the seams and use the fabric for another project? Keep in mind that the dress is made from old Heather Ross Lightning Bugs prints. What would you do???