New Skirts for Callie

Time only to post photos... I will return with some tutorial links later in the day...Had to share....

Mug Rug Swap..About to Head for Australia...BUT...

Before I finish my little surprise package... I wanted to add one last touch... 

I found this great tutorial...I am thinking this would be a great addition to my surprise package..

Shhhhh. Don't tell my Swap Buddy!!!!

I will be posting my creations from tutorials I have found and tried on my tutorial Page... 

Check it out....

Just Keeping Busy.....

Just wanted to share a few photos...

My camera is back in working condition.... I have been doing a bit of pattern testing for I Think Sew and here is a preview of patterns to come. Cute Mary Jane's for big people..Take a look....

Mug Rugs and More Mug Rugs....

Check out Mug Rug Madness at the Two More Seconds Blog
They are having tutorials starting Monday, March 21st. I have been having a a great time practicing old techniques and adding new challenges to these min quilts...

In Keeping with Mug Rug Madness I invite you to my "Little GiveAway" with a TWIST........

Just join my Pay It Forward Event Below......

Three Mug Rugs are packed and  waiting for a new home!!!!

Each Mug Rug, while using the same technique and color strips, is an individual and  comes surrounded by some special extras from the Walpole Woods.....(Perhaps a little  Seaclase or a sewing kit from PatriciaBstudio)..... You won't know unless you join up!!! Looking forward to hearing from you...

To join you will need to become a follower of my blog, do a post for Pay It Forward and make sure I have your snail mail address....

Needing a home...Join the Pay It Forward Challenge

Friday Night Sew Along: Update

What fun!!! I grabbed a cup of hot chocolate (because it is still very cold and the snow still blankets the ground in places), put a new needle on my sewing machine, patted Norton's(my furry sewing buddies) head, and began creating. The unfortunate part of this entry is that as I went to photograph my finished projects I found my camera battery low charge and no charger to be found. Off to get a new charger, or to find the one I have in the morning...I will post photo...Thanks for the inspiration everyone...

Friday Night...What better thing to do than to drop everything and sew for a bit....

I plan to join the group at Handmade by Heidi on Friday, March 18th to sew up a storm....If you would like to join us click on over to Heidi's blog....
What will I sew? Maybe I will take my Spider Web quilt out of its dust covered box under the middle cutting table and start to assemble it...
Or maybe I will work on the children's clothing from my sewing class with Whipstitch...
I might just spend time designing a new handbag, an idea that has been tossed around for awhile...

Let's see, I have one week.......

• search the internet and all the wonderful blogs I have found, 
• to chat with friends
• to decide which direction to take..

The Charming Girls Quilt Club

My search for new and exciting blogs led me to this interesting find:

http://cottoncharmquilts.typepad.com/

This months post encourages you to list your goals and to document your projects by posting and sharing. So here goes.....

• Goals for the remainder of the month of March 2011
• Mini placemats for my grandaughters Pottery Barn Kitchen...done V
• Placemats complete...awaiting the binding.......
• Binding done... (Callie loved them)
• Send at least 24 slippers to the Pink Slipper Project.....doneV
• 16 pair of slippers boxed and ready to mail
• 24 pair completed and sent
• Connect with my Sewing Buddy from The Whipstitch Blog challenge
• email off to connect, suggesting the spring challenge form Whipstitch 
• my email buddy has backed out of the challenge, to busy...good luck to her...
• Create 6 projects to be juried for entrance into our local art shop
• mini bags for treasures
• mug rug designs

Pink Slippers...Well maybe not all pink...

Pink Slipper update!  Click here to read more.........

Call Out for "Pay It Forward Participants"

Mug rugs awaiting homes.... Each rug has a unique touch, all using the same fabrics with slight variances. The base fabric of green with gradations of blue dots is from a past Jane Sassaman line. I have to say I miss that line of fabric. It came in several colorways and I am lucky enough to have partial bolts of yellow, blue, green and the pink. You are likely to find a bit of one in many of the projects I have completed. The front of each rug (measuring approx 6" X 10 ") has two sections, one for the cuppa and the other for the treat.

The sides are separated by a small strip (like the one in the photo on the right). One side for your cuppa' and the other for a treat.....Machine sewn blanket stitching using variegated threads can be found accenting some of the strips. Quilting follows the tiny blocks or creates diagonal interest. Some of the quilting follows through onto the reverse side. Great way to experiment with your machines stitches, fabric combinations and as always new quilt patterns and techniques..
I am thinking that I may continue with some of the strip quilting, but use the base fabric in other quilt blocks...Any suggestions for patterns that would lend themselves to this style???
Please leave me a post.....


Oh, almost forgot. Some of these mug rugs have a bit of a surprise. Several sport pockets,  one has a diagonal pocket sewn into the binding and creating just a hint of a change in fabric gradation. One has a embellished pocket sporting a floral yo-yo with a double button center. Each mug rug having  a tiny bit o' its own personality.... Great fun to create....

The Finish Line....Mug Rugs Complete...

One of my fabric scrap "clean ups" is to use the strip quilting technique. A basket full of scraps, my rotary cutter, a bit of muslin as a stabilizer and I am off to the sewing machine to create a piece of fabric. I joined a Pay It Forward Swap and decided to use up a bunch of scraps to create something unique to send to three individuals who dared to take a chance on my sewing skills...Alas, I think my blog had a few glitches and people were not able to join up... I think I have fixed the problem....Please sign up to receive one of this little pretties....MUG RUGS....my new found canvas!!! Check out the Pay It Forward post below and be one of the first three to post your own challenge on your blog, make sure I have your address and check out the mail for a "scrappy mug rug"( complete with a mystery package) from the coast of Maine.

The journey to the completed project:

The Scrap Bin

Cutting Strips 1/2", 1", 1 1/4"

Off to the Sewing Machine

Another Cut...Another Seam

Sneak peak.... Binding to go...Click for a great tutorial at VeryKerryBerry

The Infamous binding....

Mitre a Corner! How many pins?
The finished product????

Suggestions from Deborah at Whipstitch

I strolled over to Whipstitch and checked out Deborah's suggestions. Loved the icon above and thought it added a nice touch to this post. I have simply copied and pasted them below. This may help to quide the challenge when bumpy days arrive.....

Things to Do with Your Sewing Buddy

• Make a list of your own sewing priorities. Trade lists with your Buddy and put each others list in order based on which should be done first.  This allows each of you to detail what you’d like to accomplish, but allows someone with a little more objectivity to help you order your work.
• Set deadlines for one another and check each others “homework” when the deadline arrives.  Keeps you on task and accountable!
• Start your own Flickr pool just for the two of you to post images of your works in progress as you go.  This gives you some instant gratification as you work so you won’t get bogged down by the feeling that you “haven’t done anything yet.”
• Email one another a weekly pep talk, but don’t send them to one another on the same day–maybe one of you peps on Monday, and the other on Thursday.  Seems like most of the time the compliments we pass on to others are for things we’d like to have said about ourselves, so giving each other a little positive encouragement works for them and for us!
• Make a joint list of goals that both of you would like to achieve, and work through it one goal at a time, together.  This way, any snags you hit you’ll have someone in the same boat right there to support you.
• Decide on prizes to give one another when you each complete a particular task or project, or when you master a new skill.  Can be something small, like sending a gift of fabric, or something larger, like sewing your Buddy something they wouldn’t sew for themselves.
• Split a complicated project into stages and mail it back and forth, so that you each take turns on different phases of the construction.  Maybe one of you is really great at cutting out, but hates the stitching, and the other feels the opposite.  Or maybe one of you loves to embroider and hand quilt, and the other loves to do patchwork–why not make TWO embroidered quilts, with each of you contributing the skills you have to the project?
• Choose a skill that each of you really wants to master and work on the same project at the same time to perfect that skill.  You can share research and tips and discoveries as you go!
• Make a list of skills you’ve mastered and skills you want to master, and trade lists.  Odds are, at least one skill you want to master appears on your Buddy’s list, and vice versa.  Agree to a “skills exchange” and teach one another!
• Start a two-author blog a la Mason-Dixon Knitting and keep one another updated on your progress.  This keeps you from falling into the trap of believing you only have something to share when a project is completed, instead of recognizing that it’s the journey that helps us to grow.
• Use a universal Wish List function to “shop” together virtually for fabric & supplies.
• Choose a sewing charity and complete a project together for those in need.
• Sew for your Buddy’s family to give her the time to work on projects for herself, then let her return the favor down the road.  Like paying it forward with your needle!

...And A Response to our Challenge...

http://whipstitchfabrics.com/blog/

Pat--

I love this idea!  Later this week, I'm planning a post to welcome the new Sewing Buddies and offer them some ideas for ways to connect and activities to do together.  I would really like to include this there.  Will you and Shari give me some ideas of how the two of you are working on this together, and I'll brainstorm some ways we can open it to the other Buddies?

Thanks so much for thinking to open this to the rest of the group!
Deborah

---

Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2011 05:01:50 -0800

Morning Deborah, Thanks so much for organizing the Sewing Buddies. I have made several contacts with Shari and we have a project in the works. We will be starting our journey by making slippers for the Pink Slipper Project. (You can find a link from my blog http://www.patriciabstudio.blogspot.com/). Might we find a way to connect and open the challenge to other Sewing Buddies? I am new at blogging, new at sewing buddies and am looking to you for a bit of directions. Shari and I thought a project to bring smiles to faces of persons in need would be a great start for us!! Let me know what you think...Thanks... Pat