Giveaway Photo and My Big Panel Quilts

Here's the promised photo for you of the giveaway prize. ONE of these wool rotary cutter ornaments - the other one is for me!

You still have time to comment on yesterday's post to enter.

So far it looks like quilters have a 'thing' for specialty rulers. Not surprising I guess as how you cut your fabric is one of the first steps in making a quilt.

I must admit I own very few rulers - on purpose! I have always had a small quilting space and wondered about how I would store rulers and still have access to them. Out of sight, out of mind for me:)

The ruler in the photo above is called Speedy Strips and copyrighted to Jackie Black. I inherited it from my husband's granny and really love how long it is - 22.5 inches. In this photo I'm using it to cut the angled lines of a liberated churn dash.

I keep this one and my Omnigrid 18 inch long ruler on my cutting table above my cutting mat.

I'll share more rulers in another post, but wanted to show you what happens for me when I don't have the specialty rulers. . .

 I design blocks without them! This is my attempt at a dresden with no rulers. The blades are 2.5 inch strips. It's a large block - 18 inches square. This is going to be my next panel quilt - and maybe a tutorial for those who want to play along!

But not next week! I'm still binding away on Maeve, my latest panel quilt.

Latest is relative as this quilt is a 12 year long UFO. My plan is to have it finished for the Super Bowl!

 

This is a peek of what she will look like when I finish the binding. She's a smaller queen than my Liberated Churn Dash quilt which you can see hanging out below.

Back to binding,

Sarah Vee

p.s. Remember to check out my poll too - where do you find quilting inspiration online?

Read more...

January Poll and a Giveaway

I've been getting lots of visitors lately checking out my Liberated Churn Dash tutorial.
Welcome! 
I want to publicly thank Kathy Mack of Pink Chalk Fabrics who linked to my tutorial on her Facebook Wall. {and in her newsletter! - sign up at her blog}

Do you use Facebook?
I've put up a little poll in the sidebar for you to share where you go online for quilting inspiration.
I haven't jumped on the Facebook bandwagon yet, {I guess it's more like a virtual wave} and am wondering if I'm missing something.
I hope you'll share and get something out of the results of the poll too.


New Tools for 2012

I did a little after Christmas shopping and got some new supplies to try out this year:

• an iron shoe (suggested by Vickie for use when fusing applique)
• basting safety pins - bigger is better! LOL! I used these when finishing up my latest big quilt
• D rings - which I almost tried out already when I found Ariane's link to t-shirt belts
• machine quilting needles - which kept hopping out of my machine until one finally broke. These ones have since been replaced with Schmetz ones - so far so good.
• A Sullivan's Edge ruler - that Pat Sloan helped to develop. It definitely does sharpen your blade!
• embroidery scissors - too cute to resist! A cash register impulse buy - and very pointy.

My Tool Giveaway

No it's not going to be one of the above - in fact it's not going to be a REAL tool at all!

I finally took some time to make another block from Kay Mackenzie's book, Easy Applique Blocks. I actually used some wool charm squares that I got {for myself} last Christmas!

I modified the design a little bit - leaving the ribbon off and well, not putting the rotary cutter ON a block. Instead my plan is to make it into a tree ornament. You can hang it on your Christmas tree or somewhere else in your sewing space.

Yes, You!
I made one to keep and one to give away- and haven't taken a photo of either!

Leave me a comment telling my your favourite new tool you received/bought lately - or something you would like to get soon!

I'll pick a random winner from comments on this post on Friday, January 27th.
Maybe I'll even post a photo before then!


With Joy,
Sarah Vee

Read more...

Clean up and Create!

Santa may have had a little help in picking out this toy box for my studio.

It fits perfectly under my cutting table. Right now I have my finished quilts in it. And it is firm enough to use the top as a 'holding zone' for my current projects.


I've also used a little bit of time this month to tidy up around my sewing space. It's a never ending process as the size and type of projects I work on change from year to year. This year I want to to work on quilting some of my UFOs and making small quilts.

I also want to make space to create - new designs and dreamboards. Part of what I have made room for in my space is more paper stuff - without it all ending up in one pile at the end of my cutting table! This long file folder hanging pockets contraption should do the trick;)

The first step in organizing stuff is knowing what you've got!

I decided to move the dark green tote that holds leftover batting scraps and fabrics collected for future projects out of my sewing room closet. It's not something I use every week - or even every month. Definitely more of a long term storage container. It's in my son's ginormous closet now.

As you can see, sorting my stuff with my new priorities in mind gave me lots of room to store what I need to keep close. I was able to move my rolling cart into the closet to open up my floor space - which is important working in a small area. You can click on the photo above to get a better look.

I don't buy a lot of storage containers. Actually, I've found some of my most useful ones for free. These stacking boxes, that originally carried cucumbers, make great storage for my strawberry containers of smaller fabrics. I label them and store them on the top shelf of my closet.

I even managed to clear out the top shelf in my cupboard that sits right beside my cutting table. It's already started to fill up with fabrics for current ideas, but I did get it sorted and cleaned up first!

On top of my cupboard I've stacked some of my new storage containers. I'm trying to get an assortment of smaller containers for handwork projects {yeah, that's the reason!}
This tends to be a dump zone for me and I'm trying really hard to make it a useful, pretty spot. I've already added a few angels from my collection that I've found since tidying here {after I started attacking the boxes in my bedroom closet!}

The beginning of the year is always a useful time for me to focus on what I want to accomplish in a year.

Knowing WHAT you want to do in your space,

HOW you are going to do it, 

WHEN you are going to do it,

makes the WHY of  

arranging your space and storage an easier process. 

Clear up, Clean out and Create!

Sarah Vee

Read more...

Starting with White

My January Dreamboard. I'm linking up at Jamie Ridler's studio to share my January dreams.This month's full moon prompt is "What do you hunger for?"

White Space  is what I first thought when I saw this board completed.
Then my second thought was SNOW!
It has been a very different winter for us in Northern Ontario. We have had very little snow. It has surprised me how much I enjoy the changed landscape of winter with its refreshing, clean white promises of the coming spring's renewal. It has been difficult to focus on moving forward without the seasonal reminder to breathe in and surrender to the elements.

 I also see a hunger for 

travel, 

sleep, 

adventure, 

money{financial security/spending money!},

and for light to shine on my inner life brighter

{foreshadow of my February birthday approaching}

No snow has also meant less time shovelling and more time inside! Instead we have been clearing out and cleaning up inside our home. My sewing space feels fresh and new with most everything tidied up and cleaned off.

This repurposed hanging file folder pocket sleeve is my latest attempt at organizing the paper clutter that piles up on the end of my cutting table. So far so good.

We won't mention the fact that I have lost a ruler this morning in all this blank space.
It's see through and apparently enjoying a new outlook on life as well:)



With Joy,
Sarah Vee

Read more...

Start with a Finish!

Happy New Year! I spent my New Year's Eve weekend online with my quilting friends at Pat Sloan's Quilt Mashup Forum. Pat hosts an awesome - and awe inspiring - weekend of UFO busting on New Year's and this year - I busted!

My string quilt from 2010 is now a QUILT! I finished quilting the seams and the binding over the weekend. I attached the binding by machine on both sides of the quilt. I also added the label that I had printed and ready. 

 

It's pretty detailed! I typed it up when I was first putting the strings together. I used a fabric designed to be printed on and is it ever hard to hand quilt through! But it's on;)

I finished another small wallhanging Monday {no photo yet!} and have made progress on my Lady of the Lake quilt. YES this one! I just might get it done as a birthday present for me!

Hope your New Quilting Year is off to a great start.

With Joy,

Sarah Vee

Read more...