Quick Project: Grocery Bag Holder

Happy Friday!!

Today after I got home from the grocery store I decided that enough was enough and I needed a grocery bag holder.  I used a tutorial that I found here and it worked out great!  I sewed this together in just a couple of hours.

The fabrics here are: Monaluna for Birch Fabrics, Gypsy Caravan, The Woodlands by Khristian Howell, Laurie Wisburn, and Habitat by Jay McCarroll.  Some of these fabrics I have been hoarding for a long time and I finally decided to cut into them because it was a project for me!

The biggest difference between this and the tutorial is that I didn't have any ribbon handy to hang it with (that is already packed up!!).  Instead, I took the ends of the fabric that I cut off to make the fabric even and braided them together and sewed them on!  I like it.  It adds just a touch of scrappy-ness.

I had to place my other projects - the curved log cabin quilt and the Apples in the Orchard quilt - on hold for a day or so.  It's the worst when I feel obligated to work on a project.  So even though I had set goals to have the Apples in the Orchard quilt completely quilted and the curved log cabin quilt top done by the end of September, it just doesn't look like it's going to happen... Good thing that when I set goals for my self, they are extra, extra early so that I have time to fail... just in case that happens.  However, I will meet the other two goals that I set for myself!  I wanted to have the spare room all packed up and I wanted to contemplate cutting the fabric for my dad's quilt... The spare room is 95% done and we'll be able to get the other 5% done this weekend!  Also, I considered cutting that fabric... and then I laughed!  There's no way I'm cutting into that before I have the curved log cabin quilt top done... too many little pieces floating around!

Anyways, off to a busy Friday!

I hope y'all have a great day!

xoxMegan

Currently Listening to: Guns Out by Young the Giant

Curved Log Cabin Quilt Progress

Good Afternoon, Friends!

Yesterday I finished 10 more blocks on my curved log cabin quilt for my biological father!  It is looking amazing!  What do you think?

10 more blocks make such a difference!  Hopefully I can get a few more blocks done today to add to it.  It's a busy day, though!

I hope y'all have a great Wednesday!

xxoMegan

Currently Listening to: Block After Block by Matt & Kim

Curved Log Cabin Quilt

Happy Tuesday!

Yesterday I put together 10 blocks for the curved log cabin quilt that I am making for my biological father.  It is going to be a stunning quilt!  It took me longer than I would like to admit to piece together just these 10 blocks, but this quilt is going to be well worth it!  Here's a peek!

Despite all the work that getting to this point has been, it's also been very rewarding.

Today I'm going to finish piecing together another 10 blocks and quilt another quadrant on my Apples in the Orchard quilt!

xoxMegan

Currently Listening to: Hospital Beds by Cold War Kids

Apples in the Orchard: Quilting

Happy Monday!

This morning I have been busy quilting my sister's quilt.  I decided to do a meandering quilt stitch.  I've never used that pattern for a quilt so large so it's definitely been a challenge!  I divided the quilt into four quadrants in order to make it easier to quilt and it took me about four hours to quilt the first quadrant... I'm such a slow quilter!!

But I am really enjoying how it's turning out.

And my loyal little Omi stayed right by my side during the whole four hours!! She is so sweet!

Since I'm all quilted out for today, I am going to piece together some blocks for my biological father's quilt!  I'll post pictures tomorrow!

xxoMegan

Currently Listening to: Slow and Steady by Of Monsters and Men

Apples in the Orchard Quilt: Basted

Happy Friday!

Yesterday I put the backing together and basted my sister's quilt!

I went out today and bought some thread.  I'm going to test it out on some scraps before I starting quilting the quilt with it.  I want it to flow, but not be distracting, you know?

The rest of yesterday and this morning I have spent cutting my mother's fabric... While I would have liked to have spent all that time on my own projects, it's fun to have some scraps that I didn't have to pay for!

But I still have lots to do!

xxoMegan

Currently Listening to: Dirty Paws by Of Monsters and Men

Busy, Busy, Busy

Good morning my friends!

It has been super busy lately.  My mom has been having some health issues, so I've been helping her out.  I didn't factor in any surprises when I was making my plan for completing three (really four, let's be honest) quilts before Christmas!

Good news:

All the fabric for my biological father's quilt is CUT!!!  Hallelujah.  Of course, the pieces are all in their baggies and nicely labeled.  I could not be more thrilled that ALL the cutting for that quilt top is done.

Bad news:

That's the quilt top, backing, and binding for my sister's quilt.  Notice how the quilt top and the backing aren't attached yet?  Terrible.  That was supposed to be quilted last week!  Seriously, I think I have a problem.

Neutral news:

My mom ordered this adorable half yard bundle from Fabricworm for a baby quilt that she wants to make by the time the baby is due... in November. She had them ship it to me.  Why? So I can cut it for her.  By Saturday. Serrriously.

Also on my to-do list, but non-fabric related, is packing!  We are 60 days from the close date and while it still seems so far away, I just know it's going to sneak up on me while I'm all wrapped in fabric and then it's going to be zero sleep, zero sewing, rush to the finish line.  That is what I am trying to avoid.

Yesterday after I got home from helping my mom I spent a couple hours packing what I could in what boxes we have.  I figure that if I can get our guest room/painting studio all packed up by the end of September, I'll at least have one thing that I won't have to worry about.  In addition to that goal, I need to quilt my sister's quilt, have my biological father's quilt top completed, and at least contemplating cutting the pieces for my (adoptive) dad's quilt.  Lofty.

Well, I have a lot to do!  I hope y'all have a great day!

xooMegan

Currently Listening to Anna Sun by Walk the Moon [My current favorite!!]

Cut, Cut, Cut...

Hello Friends!

Since Friday, I have been doing one main thing: cutting.  The quilt that I am making for my biological father is a curvy log cabin quilt.  Each block is made up of 15 strips of fabric.  There are 80 blocks. So I've been cutting a. ton. of. fabric.

And I'm not even done.  The gray is Kona Steel and the beige is Kona Bone.  It is going to be a gorgeous quilt when it's done, but 5 days of cutting fabric is enough to keep me away from making this quilt again for a long time!

Well, it's time to get back to the cutting table - I am determined to finish cutting today!!

xxoMegan

Currently Listening to:  Balaclava by the Arctic Monkeys

Design Boards!

Happy Sunday friends!

I started working on these design boards before my fabric came in the mail, so I thought I would finish them before I got working on something else.  It always feels so good to check something off the list!

To make these design boards I used a tutorial by Lori Holt of Bee In My Bonnet.  The tutorial begins here, it is in two parts, and Lori provides a link to the second part.  In her tutorial I think she does a smaller size, but I chose to do bigger design boards for my needs.  I'm going to give two of them to my mom for Christmas!

The fabric on the top is Domestic Bliss by Liz Scott and the mint green is Willow by My Mind's Eye.  I'm not sure which two I'm going to keep yet, they're both so cute!  I had a lot going on the latter end of last week, so it took me a couple of days to get these finished, but if you have a free day, you could probably whip these up real fast!

Well, more tomorrow about what I've been up to!

xxoMegan

Currently Listening to: Plans - Terrible vs. Nonhorse by Grizzly Bear

Quilt Shop Review: Pine Needles

Good Morning, friends!

Today is my first post for my Quilt Shop Review Series!  To kick off the series, I thought I would start with my favorite quilt shop, Pine Needles!

Pine Needles is probably my favorite quilt shop for two reasons.  The first reason is that it was the first place where I felt really welcomed and encouraged by the staff to pick a quilt pattern that I liked and just start quilting.  They assured me that if I ran into any difficulties, they would be there to help me work through it.  It is also the first place that I ever bought fabric, so due to my sentimental attachments, it is usually the first place I return to when I am looking for more fabric!  The second reason it is my favorite quilt shop is the location.  Pine Needles is nestled into Gardner Village, which is an eclectic collection of non-franchised shops and restaurants.  Complete with cute pathways and a duck pond, the area is simply inviting and inspiring.

Pine Needles has other great attributes other than the location and my sentiments.  One of my other favorite aspects of the shop is its organization.  Once you visit the shop a couple of times you know exactly where to expect the new fabric, where the holiday fabric will be located, where the pre-cuts are piled high, and where to look for more of a fabric that you bought months ago (if it's still in stock!).  I love the predictability of the organization of the fabric!  It means I can cut to the chase when I'm looking for pre-cuts or something new!  Speaking of the organization, each bolt is almost always accompanied by ready-to-grab fat quarters.  While most shops aspire to have waiting fat quarters, Pine Needles does a fantastic job of keeping those little morsels ready to go!  That is something I truly appreciate because I always feel like if I have to bother someone to cut fabric, I might as well get more than a fat quarter!

The fabric selection at Pine Needles tends to be more modern, but they do have a small selection of more traditional prints.  There are a lot of Moda, Riley Blake, Michael Miller, and Free Spirit fabrics.  Those manufacturers tend to carry fabrics that appeal to me, so it's another great reason for me to visit the shop.  I'm not really into batiks, so I enjoy not having to sift through them!  However, Pine Needles does not carry a lot of solids.  I believe most of the solids are Moda Bella (I'm more of a Kona girl!) and there just aren't that many in stock.  They are, however, always in the same place!

Pine Needles also carries a great book selection.  They have books placed around the store and then they have a specific staggered book case that doesn't have more than 3 or 4 copies of anything, so that there is more room for a bunch of different books!  They also carry a good variety of quilting and sewing magazines, too!

Pine Needles also has a lot of embroidery patterns and supplies.  I don't feel very qualified to evaluate them on their embroidery selection because I don't know how to embroider (yet! I plan on it being a 2013 new years resolution!), but I know they have a bunch of stuff because I've seen it!

While other quilt shops often have a block of the month program, Pine Needles has monthly wall hangings.  These wall hangings are usually a mix of quilting, applique, and/or embroidery and they are SO cute!  I've never bought a set, but I love to look at them while I am walking around or at the register.  Once I move and have more wall space, I'll probably be way tempted!

The biggest downside to Pine Needles is that they don't have a classroom.  I think they had one once, but the choice was made to sacrifice the classroom in order to stock more fabric.  While I totally understand the decision and love the selection of fabric, I would LOVE for them to have a classroom.  The people that work there are SO NICE and I would feel completely comfortable going there for classes.

Well, that is all for the first quilt shop review!  If you have any questions about the shop, feel free to leave them in the comments and I will answer them!

I hope you have a great day!

xoxMegan

Currently Listening to: As Long As You Love Me by Justin Bieber

Quilt Shop Review: The Introduction

Happy Friday, Friends!

When I first started quilting, I relied on Google searches to find quality quilt shops.  I don't know about you, but I much rather go to quilt shops than shop online because I love to feel the fabric and carry little fat quarters around to pair with fabrics in other collections.  In the beginning it took a lot of driving around to find the shops that carried the types of fabrics that I was looking for and that excited me.  Each of the shops I've ever visited has a different selection, or even a style, of fabrics they offer.  I thought that a quilt shop review would not only be fun, but it may help others classify the shops in their area so that when they're looking for something specific, they can have a better chance of quickly finding what they're looking for!

I will primarily be reviewing quilt shops in Utah, since that's where I live and it's easy to travel around.  However, I do have plans to travel to Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Puerto Rico in the next year and I fully intend on making some quilt shop stops!

I plan on posting a quilt shop review on the 15th of each month for as long as I can!  Hopefully I won't ever stop traveling, so I'll always have a new shop to share about!

I hope y'all enjoy the series of posts and tell me about your favorite quilt shop (online or on land!)

I will be back tomorrow with the first quilt shop review!

xxoMegan

Currently Listening to: Million Dollar Man by Lana Del Ray

Mail Day!

YAY for getting fabric in the mail!! It's the most exciting day!!

I got fabric for THREE quilts!

These are the fabrics for the quilt for my biological father.  He's not really a person that would enjoy prints.  Here I have Kona Bone and Kona Steel.  (I have enough Kona Bone for my surprise fourth quilt too!)

These jelly rolls are Spa by Deb Strain.  This is for a quilt for my adoptive dad.  The whole collection is made up of blues.  It's going to be so soothing and nice!

And FINALLY! The backing for my sister's quilt!! This is Nightshade by Tula Pink!  I am so in love with this fabric!!

I am so thrilled that my fabrics have arrived!  I can't quite decide what I want to do first!

I hope you're having an excellent day, too!

xoxMegan

Currently Listening to: Missing by the xx

Pondering Halloween

Good afternoon my friends!

I have been thinking about Halloween lately.  I would like to sew something up to decorate my home, but everything I've seen just doesn't appeal to me.  I thought I had thought of a fun project that I would like to try, but when I went out to look at fabric, Halloween-fitting fabric just didn't appeal to me and then I lost all my desire for the project.

Do y'all have holidays you struggle getting excited about?  Better yet, do you have any great Halloween projects?  I'm game for sewing or not sewing!

Well, hopefully that fabric that I ordered last week will arrive tomorrow and I can share it with you!

Have a great Tuesday!

xoxMegan

Currently Listening to: I Feel Better by Hot Chip

Finished Mug Rug!

Happy Monday my friends!

My trip to St. George over the weekend was a success!  Jake and I got to spend lots of time with family and the wedding was beautiful.  We really enjoyed the little break.  I always forget how hot it is in St. George!  The wedding and reception were outside and I felt like my insides were going to boil over!  It is definitely nice to be back in Salt Lake where it is currently rainy and 79 degrees!

I was able to finish up the mug rug for my dad's wife's sister's birthday over the weekend!  Here it is!

I sent this picture to my dad's wife and asked her if she thinks here sister will enjoy it.  She said that she thinks her sister will love it!  Hopefully that's the case!  Now I just need to find an eclectic mug to go along with it.  Since I didn't have the binding attached for my last post, I just wanted to say that of course I used the Pezzy Print binding... Just like the Quilted Fish yellow chevrons, since I bought that Pezzy Print all I want to do is sew with it.  What can I say, I'm in love with the way it looks!  I am pretty happy with the way it turned out.

I am still waiting for the fabric that I ordered last week to arrive, so that is putting me a bit behind schedule as far as finishing each quilt in two weeks.  I am hoping it arrives soon, I am dying to begin quilting my sister's quilt!

Well, that is the big news for today.  I hope y'all have a great day!

xoxMegan

Currently Listening to: Star Machine by Bob Mould

Busy Thursday + Mug Rug

Happy Thursday quilty friends!

I have been ULTRA busy today cleaning, doing laundry, packing (for me, my husband, and two babies), and of course sewing!  While I probably could have made today not hectic by excluding the sewing, what fun would that have been?

Over the Christmas/New Years holiday the hubs and I will be traveling with my dad and his wife to Boise, ID to celebrate the birthday of my dad's wife's sister.  While Jake and I are traveling along mostly to spend time with Dad and his wife (they live in Dallas still), I recently realized that we are going for a birthday celebration... and we should probably bring some sort of gift.  When I asked my dad's wife what her sister might like, she said that her sister likes Starbucks.  And then she said not to worry about bringing a gift.  Well... I was taught to always bring a gift! Especially when they are welcoming Jake and I, randomly.  So I thought I would sew a mug rug, find an eclectic mug, and buy a Starbucks gift card.  Nice and easy.  Yesterday I cut all the fabric for the mug rug and this morning, bright and early, I got to work sewing them.

The block in the middle is Christmas Star II.  I'm not sure what all the fabrics are - some of them no longer had selvages.  The purple is leftover from my sister's quilt, the lime green and the pink towards the bottom are Summer House, the other green on the upper right hand side is Sugar Pop (some of the first fabric I ever bought!) and the pink in the upper left is Modern Domestic, as well as the two squares in the middle and the side pieces.  I don't know what the center piece is.  I fussy cut it from something.  And the yellow is, of course, the Quilted Fish. I LOVE that yellow fabric.  Ever since I bought it, I've been wanting to use it in EVERYTHING.  Don't worry, I bought more.  And I scouted a HUGE bolt of it at Pine Needles.  When that gets low, I'll buy them out!  

Anyways, I still need to attach the binding.  I intend on binding it while I'm away - which is one of the reasons I was in such a rush to get it done!  Just a mental note for me for future reference - take more time on Christmas Star II.  Choose something easier on a rush job.

Well, there is a lot more that needs to be done before take off time!  I hope y'all are having a great day!

xoxM

Currently Listening to: Up Against The Wall by Peter Bjorn and John

Scissor Pouch and House Update!

Yesterday I posted a to-do list and I just wanted to re-post what had not been done by the time I posted yesterday and let you know what I completed!

- Cut 5" squares for my surprise quilt -> Done!

- Organize fabric -> Done! (but how long will last?!)

- Pack a box or two in the spare room

- Clean kitchen -> Done!

- Work on a pouch for my scissors -> Done!

I almost finished the quilted pouch for my scissors yesterday and I was so excited to get it finished that it was the first thing I did this morning.  I love it!

The reason I wanted to make this little pouch for my scissors is because I cut the excess threads of my projects as I sew and I didn't want to set my scissors down on the table because I didn't want to scratch them.  So I thought of this little "mug rug" but with a pocket for my scissors when I'm not using them!  I had been saving that scissor fabric (wonderland by MoMo) for forever and I'm glad I saved some for this project!  The yellow is Apple of My Eye by The Quilted Fish and, of course, the Pezzy Print for the binding.

I didn't get any packing done yesterday, so that was the second thing I did this morning.  I realized this morning that I never posted an update about the house!  The sellers agreed to wait until November for the close date so we are good to go!  Our new date is November 19th.  While it's super exciting, it is going to be SO busy for the last weeks of November because we will be out of town for Thanksgiving.  We're planning on moving all our belongings the weekend after Thanksgiving - which means that our whole apartment needs to be packed by the time we leave! It's going to be crazy.  So I thought I would try to ease the craziness by packing bits here and there that I know won't be in use for awhile.  I don't plan on really ripping the place apart and stacking boxes in the living room until about October 19th-ish.

Well, I have quite a few chores to do today.  Until last night I forgot that we'll be traveling south for the wedding of the hub's brother!  So I'll be losing some more sewing days... But we'll have fun!

I hope y'all are having a great Wednesday!

xoxM

Currently Listening to: Me & You by Nero

Apples in the Orchard Update & Tuesday To-Do

I can't believe it's Tuesday!  The long weekend went by so fast.  But I'm glad to be getting back to sewing!

Yesterday I posted pictures of the quilt top all pieced together, but it did not have the border.  I sewed that on this morning!  I love it! I think my sister will love it too.  What do you think?

So, remember when I introduced all the fabric for this quilt and I didn't have the backing yet?  How unfortunate is it that the quilt top is done and I still don't have a backing!  I searched online to find something amazing for the back and it was a success!  I chose a fabric from the Nightshade collection by Tula Pink!  I ordered the yardage for the back of this quilt as well as fabric for the other quilts I have planned!  I am so excited for my fabric to come in the mail!

Well, since it's the day after such a long weekend I have quite a bit to do today.  Here's the list I had written up:

- Add border fabric -> Done!

- Order fabric -> Done!

- Make meatballs (in the crock pot for dinner!) -> Done!

- Cut 5" squares for my surprise quilt

- Organize fabric

- Pack a box or two in the spare room

- Clean kitchen

- Work on a patchwork pouch for my scissors

I am going to try to get as much as possible done today.  I will let you know of my success tomorrow!

Have a great day!

xxoM

Currently Listening to: Changed the Way You Kiss Me by Example

Happy Labor Day!

Hello again friends!

So far today has been labor-less and it's been amazing.  My trip to Moab was super fun!  It was so great to see my brother and his lovely wife.  Unfortunately, I was unable to go to It's Sew Moab because we got into town too late on Saturday and they were closed Sunday and today.  But we still had fun nonetheless.  On our way down we did stop at the Corn Wagon Quilts Company and spent a lot of time there!  They had the bolts for Oh Deer! by MoMo so I was able to buy backing and binding for my table runner!  I should be able to finish that soon.

In other news, before I even left on my trip I was able to sew the quilt top of my sister's quilt!  I stayed up super late Friday and then got up early on Saturday to finish it up.  It's looking great!  I LOVE the middle square of Modern Domestic.  There is just a touch of that collection in the quilt top... as you remember, I'm saving the majority of my layer cake for another surprise project...!!

On the top left there is Kio.  She was sad I didn't lay down the blanket for her!  Here's a good one of the girls inspecting the work and longing to lay down...

Kio and Omi longing to lay on the quilt top.

I sure love those tiny girls!

Now, all I need to do is add the border, buy some batting, and I'll be ready to quilt it!  Getting 3 quilts done by the middle of October doesn't seem so bad now, does it?

I do have to say that this is the simplest of the three, though.  One of them uses a jelly roll though, so cutting fabric on that one won't be so bad.  The third one is going to take a lot of time on cutting and piecing... but it will all be fun!  I loved my little vacation, but I am ready to get back to sewing!

Anyway, I'll be spending the rest of the holiday with my hubs!

xxoM

Currently Listening to: Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol