Cooking up some quilting

Last week i asked for a few links of patterns and tutorials....there are enough to spread throughout the week---as we are waiting for Christmas to hit us!
To start of this week of links......
Did you see this link on the side here? to the right

It is for the Quilting Bloggers Cookbook!!!

Need something fun and new and a little different for someone for christmas?

Go get one! I did, and it is full of goodies!  You can search and print it whenever you would like + I am a sponsor!!! yay- well, actually Patchwork Posse is.

Go take a look and maybe get one for yourself.  AND:

I've got some great tutorials of my own and links to others of quick little gift ideas coming up this week!  Don't miss out on them..... so come back will ya?

oh, did ya notice the big poll to the right also? Well, that is for something i am starting this next year....fun, big changes are coming!! are you ready? So, go do it and tell me what you want to focus on for the month....i'll let all you girls know what is going on shortly- how about the week after christmas....

Starting the 26th of December I will have a

10 Day/10 Winners

for Patchwork Posse.

A lot will be going on and changing around here----

You don't want to miss out on the fun,

updates and all the new stuff!!!

Round 2 & Making a List

Last night was the second Christmas dinner party for Quilt Group!! We did a teatowell exchange also-round 2----i don't mind, my home has lots of areas that need a towell.  i tell you! Here is the one i sent:
oh man, no photo. It was cute too! it was pink with a cupcake on it and a cute fabric strip in it. sorry about that. But here is the one i left with:

I have some wonderful show and tell too!! How about a finished cranky quilt!!! i love these. This group was so fun to go along with me and actually finish them. All of them have turned out so cute!

Do you want to make your own? Click here

There was also 2 of these chocolate quilts:

.

oh my heck isn't that just cute?! and yummy?!

Want to make your own? Click here.

We got some goodies ....they were all decked out on the tables cute like.

a wooden snowman, a little bowl with candies {can make a pin cushion inside it} and a bag with a neat story and a bell and come candy! they made the tables look all festive and stuff. Very nicely done!

Julie also gave me an extra little goodie for doing the Cranky Quilt. some gloves -just in time too! i put a pair on and the thumb had a hole...and some yummy lotion. i love that stuff don't you?!

I have some more Show and Tell. Not my stuff, but wish it was...

Kaeffe prints. isn't that just super cool?!

old maids puzzle. There are two blocks of each pattern and then one of the one pattern. Tricky...we might be doing this as a block of the month in the local quilt group next year! i would love to!!

Simple and wonderful all together.

The gal that we had the dinner at had some great decorations and little things i just really liked.

 So i am sharing them!

These stocking looked needle turned. I don't do that....but there are other methods-

She had random doll beds with mini quilts on them, of course! i might have to steal that one and do it myself. I love it!

And of course i had to sneak a pic of her sewing shelf by the chair.

Sometimes i feel like i am snooping through the bathroom cupboards, but come on we are all girls here and it is nice to see it out and i am sure that it gets used- alot.

Speaking of some great patterns---

I am compiling a list of the best patterns so everyone can have a 

"Make it yourself"

homemade Christmas!!

I have my own, but want to share what else is out there.....so

Do you have a

pattern/tutorial to share?

Is there a pattern/tutorial

that you found in the web world that you love?

 Want to pass it along?

These can be either

patterns to buy,

or free tutorials.

Send me the link of the pattern and a link for you.

You can also write a quick summary of the pattern.

Feedback -don't we all love that?!

I would love to include them

and give you credit.

bekntab4{at}yahoo{dot}com

go on do it now! i want it all. 

{i can be greedy like that} hee hee

Stuffing the Bags

Tomorrow is 'the other quilt group' Christmas Party!! Lunch, chatting, fun and a little project to take home.
The bags are stuffed with their very own kit to make ...i can't reveal, there are watchers among us!  oh, i am sooo excited! This will require a bit of hand sewing and i am hoping to get mine done for show off---sometimes you need to see it to love it, don't ya?  You will see it and love it....but later. Can't let the kit out of the bag. hee hee

hey now--

Don't forget the

Giveaway

 + I added a few patterns from the shop too!

Plenty of time to make a comment here.....but don't wait too long- it makes me nervous. :)

AND

---Make it yourself ----

Sale at the SHOP!!

ALL PATTERNS ARE $4.00

Vinyl Notebook Cover Tutorial

I have been working on some extra little presents here and there and thought i would tell you all about the vinyl notebook cover!  They turn out cute and are sort of cheap and really don't take much time to make. Perfect for a quick and useful/reusable present all year long.

First lets talk vinyl. I got mine at Joannes.  They were around $6.00/yard. That is a bit much, but you only need a 12" cut. They come in 50-60" wide too so you get a lot for a little bit of purchase.  After sewing a few different kinds of vinyl I will say that the semi-thick ones are the best.  They have just a bit of padding on the backside making them a bit stiffer. They hold their stiffness better and won't bunch when sewing as much as the thin ones do.

So now we have the background, let's sew shall we?!

Materials needed for 1 book cover {these measurements are for composition books}:
* 10 1/2" X 16 1/2"  background for the cover
* 10 1/2" X 6"   inside sleeves
* misc. colored pieces for the picture you are putting on the front cover
* pinking shears or rotary cutter with pinking edge

* I would recommend using a larger stitch with these. Around a 3-4 or so. It feeds it a lot easier.

1) Cut all the materials needed for the book cover background and inside sleeves {in this pic below it shows all the edges are pink sheared. I did this for the first one, but it was too hard to keep lined up. I recommend waiting until the cover is sewn together and then pink shear them. Cut cut them straight with a rotary. Works perfect.
----you do need to pink shear one long edge of the inside sleeves as you won't beable to after it is sewn to the cover.

This is the pinking rotary cutter. Love it. Use it on the edge of fleece fabric for blankets and such. quick easy, wonderful!

2)  Find your pattern and copy/trace or make your own.  I used the discovery cards from the shape game--you know-- have a bunch of hard foam shapes, but them inside the card shapes and make what is on the card. They are very simple and straight forward. You can tell what they are. Perfect patterns.

3) Cut the shapes out of the vinyl.

4)  Place the larges piece on the front cover away from all edges and sew into place.

I sewed 1/8th inch from the edge. Now if they are thinner vinyl then they do have a tendancy to shift/pucker a bit...see the moon? and the smoke? Makes things interesting. live and learn.

5) Lay one inside panel on the backside of the front cover piece. Wrong sides should be together. Sew all the way around the edge- lining up the outside edge.  Continue around slipping the other inside panel in when you get to that point.  no pic on this, but it is easy. No turning out, trimming or anything! the outside raw egde is finished. You can trim this edge with the pinking shears and rotary at this point so they are cute.

6) Slip book inside the cover. You will need to bend it back a bit to get it in. Will fit just perfectly snug.

I made a total of 4. Here are the covers i did:

They are so not perfect! see the crooked cupcake, the lumpy moon and the sort of puckered truck? Well, that stuff is shifty and a bit sticky to the feet. So it does take some getting used to.

I homeschool and the kids use composition books for their handwriting, spelling and anything written. They can go through them so it will be nice to have a re-usable cover that they can just put onto their new book!

GIVEAWAY!!!

FREE Membership to

Patchwork Posse

anystitch, anytime, anywhere
+ 2 patterns from the shop--you choose.

Leave a comment on this here post and i will choose a winner on Monday!!!

Don't forget:

 ---Make it yourself ----

Sale at the SHOP!!

ALL PATTERNS ARE $4.00

Random

Bunch of randomness today :

A quick peek at the doll refashion swap i just did....I love her....I will show all of her when she arrives at her new home.

See how she smiles now?

I'll show her before and after later.

Went to Joannes and found---buttonhole elastic

wooohoo!!!!  Now i can fix all the pants {already did a few for the winter coming for the kids}

and have them adjustable. yes.   click here for the end bum crack tutorial. Great stuff girls.

Speaking of tutorials. How about one tomorrow!

Vinyl Composition Book Covers

They are cute and e a s y    p e a s y

pudd'n pie.

+ how about another give away!

you're coming back now aren't you? that's what i thought.

Quilt Group

Last night was quilt group. Love it. Love going, good friends.....lovely evening with prizes, food and of course show and tell and a little tea-towel Christmas swap!

These are the goodies i left with......little baggie of choc dipped pretzels and caremels, quilt note cards {that is definitly planned for another day-i will share it----so cute} and chocolate.

I won!! Everyone brought their cranky and mystery quilt and they took a little note/vote and i won for the cranky quilt {i am not going to tell you that there were only 3 crankies there and 2 were mine.....} I still won though :)

We did a bit of a tea towell exchange. Everyone dropped theirs on the table and then we drew names and picked up a new one.

This is what i brought:

This is what i picked:

so cute huh?! yes.

 Chocolate Quilt.....Take a closer look at the blocks:

Embroidery yuminess

ruffled edging on the pie--So cute!

the cutest little crochet cherries.

and the back:

extra blocks.  so cute and wonderful!!!

Isn't this the best stitched quilt pattern ever? I have always loved this pattern and when i see it i just stand and stare.  Love it--

Take a closer look at the stitchery! wonderfully done.

And here is Angie---and her charm quilt with the scalloped edge. Hand quilted of course ;)

oh, and yes she is the designer of the Chocolate Bliss quilt Pattern and is also one of the designers for Patchwork Posse!

Lots of good stuff at quilt group. huh?! oh, yea.

Next week:  Sale at the Store.....+ another Membership Give away!

****pst.  on the right there is:  Get whosies in the mail---enter in your email address and the post will be sent directly to you! no wondering where i am again. :) Wouldn't want you to miss out on all the good stuff....and i have good stuff. hee hee

Don't worry about missing the Give Away. Still open till Monday Morning.......Scroll down or click here to go to the post. I don't want you to miss out on reading all of those presents everyone is buying themselves! I have had such a kick out of reading them.  There are some goodies in there...i saw a pattern---{no pun intended :)}  there was a lot of chocolate, fabric and a few sewing machines going on. We do love to help the honey's out don't we?! hee hee

Give Away Day

I love give away day...don't you? Sew mama Sew is having another one today for of course Christmas time...so why not? I love to play along don't i? I am always in. Of course i over acheive things too and so we have a few things to give away!
So let's get things started with just a bit of background to the items that are up for grabs, why don't we......
For the past few months i have been continplating the life....meanings, hobbies, money....and the whole perfect circle of life that each of these parts contributes too.  I have come up with something that fits me to a T.  Girls- i might have found my little 'niche'.  I have been feaverishly working late, early, weekly or whenever.  I have discovered and developed:

Patchwork Posse

AnyStitch, Anytime, Anwhere

{an online sewing group}

This group is availabe 24/7 and for anyone who has a computer and want to join.  I have 12 months of great stuff planned!!! Check out the project page to read about each month and who is joining in and contributing.  There will be over 14 patterns for the year that are exclusive to the group! Many are designed by some great quilters/sewers who designed them for Patchwork Posse and are sharing them months before they are released to the public! Lucky us!!  Yearly membership is $55.00 starting on January 1st.  Until then I wil be giving away memberships weekly!! So come back often to win, win, win!!  Included in the membership there is also be a forum for everyone to keep together and help each other out...and a flickr group for posting project pictures...and all of those exclusive projects!

So Give away #1: 

Free Membership

& Baby Quilt!!!!

size: 30"X31"

Kauffe Faucet fabrics...used up all those leftovers!! Made the perfect little snuggly for some little guy or gal.

A peek at the back--top left corner.

Give Away #2:

Free Membership to Patchwork Posse

& 2 Free Patterns from the shop!!!

So how about it?! Leave me a message --open till th 6th.  Why don't you say --hhmmmm  what are you buying yourself for christmas. Oh, come on. We all know we buy ourselves stuff- {wish the honeys would too}  maybe by sharing we will give each others some great ideas!! So spill it girls and win something fantastic--for yourselves-- too!!!

for more giveaways go to SewMamaSew.

**Leave an email so i can contact you**

****Wanna Cute Pin Cushion All for yourself?  Quilting Melodies has the perfect one up for grab!! Go Grab it!!****

3 Pixies and a Pea

I have finished!!! the 3 little pixies girls!

They are for 3 little girls who will be loving them with a bunch of matteresses and one green pea. -at Christmas time. Amy is the best customer EVER!!    {Isn't that the best idea ever?}

They each come with 2 little dresses and one skirt--for extra fluff if needed. They are girls, they need that kind of stuff. You know it!

Want your very own for the Christmas Season?  Check out the store--there are only 3...so don't put it off for too long. Plus, they need their dresses made. {pick the colors yourself}

Don't forget tomorrow----Give Away Day!!! + Reveal of something wonderful!!