Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day

 Hap-hap-HAPPY Giveaway Day! It's the most fun week of the year as far as giveaways go (ok well one of the two most fun weeks) - the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day. I have the sweetest little winter bag to share with someone! This was made by me with Jeni Baker's Nordika line and the SouthPark bag pattern by Ellison Lane.

 Jennifer came up with a very clever little way to add some contrast to the pocket which I love.

I think these cool colors and that pop of red just say winter to me!

Detail of the contrasting stitching on the strap.

Like it? Want to win it? Follow me here or through Blog Lovin (button on the side) and leave me a comment with your favorite bag pattern or one you want to try (I'm *always* looking for another fun bag pattern).

If you're a no-reply blogger please leave your email address in your comment so I can contact you if you win. I'm happy to ship anywhere so that everyone can play along :-) Good luck!

Giveaway will be open until 8pm Friday night EST (12/13). Winner will be chosen by random and will be notified over the weekend.

Thanks to Sew Mama Sew for hosting such a fun event!

WIP Wednesday :: More Holiday Plans

More holiday planning and plotting and hopefully SEWING! So I'm toying with the idea of a couple new stockings - I love traditional red and green for the holidays but I couldn't resist adding a few sweet fabrics in as well. Ali over at A Squared W is doing a new version of her Stash Match game and the theme this month is "Winter". I have more wintery fabrics but in December it's all about the holidays for me!

This pile (which while gorgeous aren't necessarily ME) are going to be a set of coasters and a mini quilt like the one I showed yesterday for my Mom. I'm not sure about the 3 on the right but she gifted me some of the gold metallic fabric in my stocking last year so I know she loves those. I found a TON of gorgeous holiday metallic fabrics at A Scarlet Thread if you're local and looking.

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.

Also putting a picture up for Ali's new Stash Flash - have you seen it yet? Looks fun, I mean we can all pull fun fabric stacks to share even if we have no time to sew. Or is that just me ;-)

Welcome December!

The cupboard is kind of a hodge-podge of holiday things this year - due mostly to a vast collection of decorations and one rather opinionated four-year-old.

I bought the bird ornaments at Target last year but I think they may have them again this year. The teeny tiny house ornaments I bought on etsy several years ago from a seller who doesn't appear to be active any longer.

Each one is about 3 1/2" tall and crazy detailed. I keep thinking I'll try and make some more that are similar but it hasn't happened yet. Maybe when Harper goes to college ;-)

My favorite new mini quilt, made from Hip Holiday by Blend fabrics and this pattern from Quilts by Emily - a super quick holiday sew if you're looking for one. Also I think Stash Modern Fabrics still has more Hip Holiday in stock :-)

We put up a mini tree for now since the mini-destroyer (my 15-month old niece) is bent on dismantling EVERYTHING we figured this would just be safer. We let Harper decorate the whole thing and I have to say it's messy and crazy and colorful and I LOVE it. I keep being tempted to move an ornament here or there but so far I've resisted. It seems perfect in it's imperfection (just like us).

Hope your holiday season is off to a calm and happy start!

A Holiday Gift

So about 4 1/2 years ago while I was pregnant we drove to New York so help clean out my great aunt's house as she moved to a nursing home. She spent her entire life in her parent's home so this was also where my great-grandparents lived and where my grandmother was raised. I have many childhood memories of holiday meals and summer picnics there. So fast forward to a very hot summer where we're helping move boxes and furniture from NY to GA. It was a lot of work and honestly we weren't even the one doing the bulk or the hardest of the work, but we were happy to think we were helping out in some small way.

So the boxes came to GA where they sat through the somewhat tumultuous end of my pregnancy and the move to a new house. Then the box was moved from the garage to the storage room and it sat for a few more years.

My 81 year old grandmother is joining us for Thanksgiving this year and even though she's still willing to travel I know that won't be the case forever, so I thought this is the year. The year to unpack my great-grandmother's china and actually use it. Keep in mind I had never seen this china. But no matter what it looked like I thought it would be a lovely reminder of family and a special detail for my grandmother.

Harper and I unpacked the dishes this morning and I was shocked to see that the colors matched my own taste and colors so exactly. The green is the perfect color of our dining room and what I would have chosen if could go buy any fancy china. It seems like such a gift. It makes me feel more connected to my great-grandmother gone so many years. I hope it helps my daughter connect to her history. I hope it makes this year a more memorable day.

So here's to family and the gifts they give across the years and miles - wishing you and yours a relaxing and enjoyable holiday!

Work In Progress Wednesday :: Holiday Beginnings

It's that time of year again when my thoughts start turning to...teacher gifts. We love ALL the teachers at our school and I want to do a little something for what turns into a lengthy list of them so I'm always looking for good ideas to make in quantity. This year I'm thinking mug rugs, along with a mug and some hot cocoa or coffee packets. Maybe some home made cookies too if I'm feeling really energetic.

So I'd love to hear your favorite teacher gifts ideas! Oh and if you have a mug rug tutorial you love I'd be thrilled to have a link to it in the comments. If there's any interest I can compile a list of good mug rug tutorials and post it next week - Happy Sewing everyone! (Cute mug from IKEA).

Linking up with Lee for WIP Wednesday.

Finish It Up Friday :: Massive Maples

 Happy Friday everyone! Is it me or are the weeks just flying by lately? Despite a truly crazy week I did manage to squeeze in another Massive Maples top - I just love this pattern so much. Plus it's really a testament to how fast it sews up that I was able to get it done it just a couple days. I almost went ahead and started quilting it last night but I knew I wouldn't get that part done in one evening and I wanted to share it, so I waited. But I have some more Chicopee for the back and the binding is made so I'm ready.

These four Chicopee prints were intended to be another Super Tote but then they just seemed so wintery and perfect for another one of these quilts that I just couldn't resist. The background fabric is Timeless Treasures Sketch in black and white - another GREAT stash fabric that seems to go with everything.

I posted my original quilt on Monday in this post, complete with measurements. I paid more attention this go round and can add that you need about 2/3 yard for each leaf fabric, 2 yards background and 4 yards for the backing fabric. I make my binding 2.5" wide and I cut 7 strips that size - I probably could have cut 6 but I'm always afraid of running short.

Many thanks to my design-astute husband who suggested this layout - I love it.

I think this makes such a great "mom" project, one you can complete relatively quickly and easily. Right now with two little people running around all week plus the other demands of life I want projects I can get done and feel good about, this fits the bill and looks awesome to boot. A win in my book!

Hope everyone has a good weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday.

Massive Maples

You guys! I am SO excited about this quilt! Did you ever get an idea that you just couldn't wait to see come to life? This was one of those ideas. I was looking at and admiring (envying) all the maple quilts being made seemingly everywhere (Instagram) when I got the idea to make them BIG. Surely if I super-sized them I could knock one out in almost no time I told myself. I didn't use any super precious fabric in case my math was off (a very likely scenario) and I got to work immediately. Ignoring all other WIP's and most housework of course...

and IT WORKED!!! Four massive blocks later and I had a quilt top! If you follow me on IG you may have already seen that I had a quilt (this quilt) that had to be un-picked and re-quilted after an unfortunate incident with a meddling teddy bear but I persevered. It is making me oh so happy.

Want the measurements so you can make one of your own? This pattern seems to be pretty easy to find, I know the Modern Maples pattern is in Pretty in Patchwork: Holidays and in 500 Quilt Blocks. You can also google "maple leaf quilt block Tutorial" and you can find many, many examples. If you know how to sew a half-square triangle (HST) you can probably even figure it out on your own!

So here are my measurements:

This will give you a 30 1/2" block - four of them will give you a nice sized lap quilt at 60" square. Am I still planning a maple quilt out of the smaller blocks? Absolutely. But now I can enjoy this one in the meantime. If you need one right away, like I did, this version might be for you too. Massive Maples: Immediate Gratification!

We did a field test with coffee and donuts right after the photo shoot and I'm happy to report it worked out very well ;-)