Using Texts Fabric Part # 2

Paper Pieced Blocks with Text   Block #2  - Continued 

After making the Rosebud paper pieced block, I wanted to find another block to make.  
I looked through all of my fabric stash to get inspired.  And then I saw some Riley Blake fabric with text (French words) .  One print involved ice cream cones!  All I had to do was find the perfect ice cream cone paper pieced pattern.   That is when I ran across this awesome blog called Annie's Musings !  Annie designed this cute ice cream cone block, and used it in many ways for her creations.  The pattern is found in a  post as a  guest tutorial on Sew We Quilt .com, where she teaches how to paper piece an ice cream cone pattern.   This explanation is so clear and helpful . I highly recommend it to anyone starting paper piecing!
I used Paris & Company by My Minds Eye, Riley Blake Designs, and some Wellesley Dots Gold, and some stash fabric to make my ice cream cone block with text~

                                          French Ice Cream Cone
Best of all,  it is calorie free!

My ice cream block sat on my table for a few weeks, until I saw the Quiet Play Practically Paper Piecing Blog Hop.   You can go on over to Quiet Play and see the list of blogs during August, where they show beautiful ways to use their orphan blocks ( single blocks not used in a quilt, for example) .
I decided how  to use this  ice cream cone block, and  to make a second block with slightly different flavored ice creams.  Then I got my  241 Bag  pattern out , designed by Anna Graham of www.noodle-head.com .  The blocks nearly fit the patterns for the front and back of the bag!  All I had to do was piece together  some of the trimmed-off  material (where there were curves) back to  the bottoms of the pattern  to make it a bit wider!  

           Voila!  My French Ice Cream Cone  241 Tote Bag!

I added a zipper inside pocket, and pieced the scraps together for 2 inside slip pockets, for plenty of organization inside.    

I find that the more things I paper piece, the more I love doing it!  It takes patience,  and a  thread ripper, but it sure 'grows on you!!'  

Welcome!  to visitors who are hopping in from the Quilting Gallery Blog Hop Party  with Giveaways!  You can enter a comment on my  previous post for  a chance to win my giveaway!     I love having a handy place to look for new blogs to follow! 
                                                 
                                                    

Note-  Part 1  of this blog post came out the same night, but is listed as an older post, .  More paper piecing on that post!

I'm off to my sewing room!

Using Texts Fabric Block 1

Blocks using  Text in the Fabric  Block #1

Today is the day to officially post my blocks for  During Quiet Times  Texting While Sewing Contest!  I am a beginner at paper piecing, but have fallen in love with all that you can make with it.  And I can't believe how imaginative people are with their paper pieced designs!  Go on over to look at all of the beautiful work!

The contest  guidelines were to make 12  inch blocks, incorporating text fabric in creative ways.
I knew what I wanted to make as soon as I saw this pretty fabric on Fabric.com.  
It was called French Post Cream  by Michael Miller.  I loved the romantic colors and style of it immediately.  Then I remembered seeing a rosebud paper pieced pattern online. It was a design by Cat Magraith, which I enlarged.                                                

                                              Rosebud on postcards

I want to make it a mini wall hanging someday soon.

I had so much fun making this block!    Part 2 to follow....

I'm off to my sewing room!

Blog Hop Party with Give-Aways

Blog Hop Party Time!                    

Welcome to Susie's Sunroom! 
Grab your mug of coffee or tea... or whatever!  and check out this fun blog hop!               Look what is happening, starting Aug. 25!

                                

You are invited  to hop along  with me to visit the blogs that are participating  in the Back to School  Blog Hop Party!  The Party is being hosted by Quilting Gallery. The full list of bloggers with giveaways is there!

I am happy to say that I am having my first Giveaway! Here are the details to enter my Susie's Sunroom  giveaway:

  Leave a  COMMENT on this post, 

telling me how many sewing machines you use !

(Details optional...  like nicknames for your machine, brand, etc...)

That's all you have to do!  One entry.

The contest starts Sat, Aug. 25 and ends Monday, Sept. 3 at 10:00 pm EST

If you are my winner, I will notify you by email 

and announce it on my blog in another post on Sept. 4

(If you are a no-reply blogger, please include your email in your comment, so I can reach you.)     International visitors can enter.   :)

And now for The Giveaway:

                  A   PDF Pattern -  The Rosie Patchwork Bag  
                     

           - Designed by  Handmade By Mrs H !  Her newest pattern!

I was lucky enough to be a pattern tester for Samantha, and so I know first- hand that the pattern has clear directions and instructions, and it  makes a beautiful bag!   I love how it mixes  linen, a modern shape  , and the  patchwork blocks together!

My Rosie Patchwork Handbag

Samantha is also generously giving a 15% discount code for any of  my  friends/family/blog readers who want to purchase the pattern---- just use NEWPATTERN15 in the coupon code box on checkout at her etsy shop Handmade by Mrs H  !   

Good luck to everyone!  See you around on the hop!

I'm off to my sewing room!

A Sweet Project Week

Sweets Completed

I have had a busy week. I imagine that a lot of us are busy helping our children, both young and nearly grown-up, get  organized and ready for Back- to -School.  Happily, I had time to fit in several small projects that had been on my "to do" list, while getting our son ready to head back to college.

My sister-in-law asked me for a sturdy case to hold her new sunglasses . She asked if I could make it wide, so she can slip the glasses in and out easily.  This was fast and easy.

( These busy bees are making honey...  honey is sweet... see the connection?)

The next project was a  Sweet Pea Hobo purse for my mother.  It came together fast, because she wanted the same fabrics that I had used in  an ensemble for my daughter .  (You can see the Sweet Pea Hobo,  Sweet Pea Zip & Go wristlet, and key fob on my Flickr page. This  Link is on left side of my blog page.)
The fabric is Secret Garden  by Sandi Henderson, of Michael Miller. I love to mix and match these!

I used  the Sweet Pea Hobo pattern  ( designed by Sweet Pea Totes), and made a few small changes:

• The handle is solid- and 32 inches long. (Not adjustable)
• There is a zipper pocket inside .  Can you see the keys in the fabric?  .... this is for unlocking the Gate to the Secret Garden, of course!   (on the outside fabric)

.
I added  a "J" on the band ,with my Topaz sewing machine, to personalize this  bag for my mother.  This pattern gets completed quickly!

The third project involved making  a Sweet Pea Zip & Go Wristlet for my daughter.    What fun I had doing these, some of my favorite smaller bags!  ( Pattern from Sweet Pea Totes.com )

She wanted a small wristlet to use for everyday use while going to grad school.  And she wanted it to match one of her Birdie Slings bags that I had made for her last fall.  This  fabric is from Robert Kaufman,  Imperial Collection. She loves the browns and blues.

In both of the  bags , I used  the Pellon SF101 interfacing on the outside, and Pellon 987 FF on the linings and handles.   ( I use a LOT of both of these fusible interfacings!) It is fun to see the curves and gathers emerge.

                                            Outsides got SF 101,  and the linings got 987 FF

                                             Pinning the tucks for the pleats on the front and back

 Everything went smoothly, until I realized that I had sewn the top band on upside down .  Her initial would backwards!!  Oops!   Out came the ripper.

                                      At least I noticed this before putting the zipper in ,and the sides together.

                                         Almost done... just sew up the lining bottom, and tuck the lining into the bag!

                                  The finished little Zip & Go Wristlet!   I'll be sending it to you soon, honey!

I have linked this post up to Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Friday's "Can I get a Whoop Whoop!"  Go over to take a look at what other people are working on!

I hope that all of your preparations go smoothly as you get your families off to the new school year!
And that you can find a few moments to fit in some "sewing therapy" and Sweet Times!

I'm off to my sewing room!

Where I Sew

Today, I thought I'd   show you where the sewing gets done... in Susie's Sunroom.  

DISCLAIMER:
Warning:     Please  discontinue viewing the pictures in this blog if you are a neatnick, exhibit  any  OCD  behaviors, hate clutter, ( and especially , if you) hate Country Clutter intermingled with fabric piles and patterns.
Fabric piles are technically  potential fabrics for consideration for a project , by the way.  I'm just sayin' that up front.

Welcome to Susie's Sunroom:
My mini quilt of "those classic" dishes greets me at the door.  
Once upon a time, this  room was "just a sunroom" , where the we looked out the windows at the birds at the  feeders, and enjoyed the southern exposure on winter days.   Then one day, 3 years ago,  I confiscated it and started filling it  up with notions,  threads, patterns, material and sewing machines.

I picked a room where I could set up not only one sewing machine, but eventually two!  (I admit I knew the computer was on its last leg and when gone, would free up this desk.  I  may be am cluttery, but I am not dumb. )

My BabyLock Creative Pro sits at this window. ( It overlooks the neighbor's beautiful pool area.)

Then, one day my little BabyLock was in for a broken reverse switch,  and she stayed for nearly a month ! I got very   ill   grouchy and my husband INSISTED   suggested that  I get another machine so I could sew even while one girl is down.   

That is when my Viking Topaz 30 came to live with us!  She sits at this table, and I can see our backyard and a lot of blossoms, butterflies and birds out of this window when I sew. Oh, and those  pesky squirrels, too.

Now we come to the problematic parts of my sunroom.... my storage systems.  They work in theory, but I keep way  too much in them,  and I shushily (I think that's a Pa Dutch word)  fold  ,  sloppily criss-cross or smush together....my fabrics.  ugh

I keep my notions, threads, books, zippers, magnetic snaps ,and more zippers in this area.  The small cupboard is actually a pantry shelf  from a real caboose.   

Well, I might as well get it over with and show you my bins in a bookcase , that hold my downstairs stash.  This ain't pretty.... I'm warning you.      But I think if I show you this BEFORE picture, someday soon I will be forced to clean it up and show you the AFTER picture! 

One shining note-  see the beautiful mini quilt hanging above the baskets.  That was created by my talented sister, Amy, of  AmyMadeThat! blog.  

And yes, I have a lot of Moda Fabric in my stash!  

I'll show you my Upstairs Stash some other time..

(My daughter made me this sign, after she lovingly folded all of my stash in the walk-in closet upstairs.)

 There.  I feel better not having to hide my problem from you .  Please don't judge me.  I used to be a super clean housekeeper. (Yes, you guessed it- before I took up sewing.) Now, my floors are pretty clean, my bathrooms do get cleaned regularly, I wash my outside windows every summer, and do laundry all the time.... but my sunroom and closet Stash do get messy and cluttered.   I just don't want to  lose that good idea that might slip away if the fabrics aren't "there in that pile" any longer....

Where do you sew?  Are you organized or relaxed?
Check out  Moda Bake Shop Stash Link Party !   I have joined up on it, and lots of other sewers and crafters have,too!  Get to peek into their stashes!

{Don't tell anyone this, but I asked my sister why their Link Party had a big mustache on it...  }

I'm off to my sewing room!

Joining my first Linky Party

A first for this new blogger...  I joined a Friday Linky Party!   And managed to add the gadget button onto my page!




Have some fun and hop on over to  Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  You can see what other talented folks have accomplished this week, under the Friday post,  "Can I get a Whoop ,Whoop?"

It took me a couple of months of reading blogs to figure out what the heck a Friday Linky Party was ,and even what a link was!  Did everyone else figure that out right away?

I think that Sarah of  Confessions of a Fabric Addict is such an artist with her work!  I have been so admiring the quilt that Sarah made as a tester for Angela of Cut to Pieces.  It is so pretty, and then you see how intricate the quilted feathers are!  

Have a nice weekend, and hope you get to do something fun!

~Susie

Stumbling into sewing

Ouch!
That's me yelping ,as I stumble in to my first blog entry.  Just like I stumbled into sewing, at the age of 51.

I don't like being  a tattle-tale, but my primary enablers are my Aunt Ellie, Aunt Sharon , and my sister, Amy. (Don't worry... I have forgiven them all.  They are just so darn  talented and generous and cute , and I know they can't stop.)  
 I guess I picked up sewing information  by some sort of osmosis , from my family .  I bought  a tiny portable Singer  sewing machine in 1986  , in case I wanted to hem my kids' pants.  One day, in 2009,  I innocently made my first placemat tote with  sweet little ribbon handles. ( My aunts showed me how to make them.  I should've known something was awry, because they were making hundreds of them by then.) 
Oh,  and my own mother actually re-taught me to thread my little sewing machine.  (You see, I was truly innocent... I had not sewn a stitch  by machine since ninth grade. That's when I was traumatized by sewing a pair of pants, using kettle cloth, in home ec class .  We HAD to use kettle cloth.   And I ended up sewing  both legs together, and  of course had to rip the whole thing apart. I dreaded patterns after that. And kettle cloth.  ) 
Do they make kettle cloth any more??

This is one of my Aunt Ellie's placemat totes (the "lure" ).

This is one of my first little totes that I made, from placemats. (You see, "No hems" was very seductive to me back then. I can't lie-  it still is.)

 (Another confession-  I haven't sewn a button hole yet....   but may be FORCED  to make them for a cute kitchen tea towel that hangs on the stove .  This is my sister's fault.  See Amy's Blog link below.)


And that is how my  stumbling into the wonderful world of sewing began. It is  their fault that I am sewing bags and totes, quilting blocks,  reading blogs and bookmarking tutorials and patterns, have a Flickr page, and worst of all,  have a HUGE fabric stash. ( Yes, I do pet my fabric, and take pictures of my cat, Whiskers, laying around on piles of fabric.)



In this blog,  I might reach out for some answers.
For instance:  My sister and those Naughty Aunts call me , from  all kinds of quilt shows and quilt shops, and tempt me with new patterns and fabrics and project ideas.  
I used to spend my time cleaning the house, cooking and baking, and just reading a few emails per day. Now,  All of that does get squeezed in completed (mostly). But then as my reward, I get to do my " Fun Sewing Stuff."  
That's normal.... right?


My sister started her own  blog recently.  It is called AmyMadeThat!  She makes it look so easy.... one day, she  just decide to create a blog, and she started it up the next day!  And she never runs out of things to write about and create. She amazes me with her talent and wit and style!  (Go check her blog out!)  So I figure, what can be so hard 'bout making a little old blog myself?! 
Am I  crazy right?

I hope my son can help me with the sizing of elements on this blog page. Maybe that'll pull me through!

By the way, this is my latest project, using 2 paper pieced blocks.   I'll give the pattern details on my flickr link  :  Susie's Sunroom Flickr page

Susie's Sunroom blog will simply be my online journal,  sharing my adventures and misadventures, successes and stumblings .  (And show you cute pictures of my kitty, Whiskers.)

I want to thank all of my family and friends for their help and encouragment as I learn to sew and quilt!  



Off to sew now.... in Susie's Sunroom, of course!

Susie

PS   I love comments.
I 'll try to reply back to you!