Don't fear the Curve!

A couple weeks ago, I attended a KCMQG retreat in Brunswick Missouri.  This was such a nice facility!  The main sewing area was generously spacious.  The kitchen was completely modern with ample appliances, dishes and cutlery.  We even had a separate dining area so we could step away from our sewing machines and eat as a group.  The sleeping arrangements were very nice with a private full bathroom for each 2 bedroom unit!  The Brunswick Lodging and Event Center is attached to the Sew Sweet Quilt Store.  I believe there were a total of 37 members that weekend.  Needless to say, it was a fantastic weekend - full of sewing and inspiration!
 

Personally, one of the best take-away was the quick lesson we had for the Quick Curve Ruler Mini.  Throughout the weekend, I mentioned that I had a fear of sewing curves.  I thought they looked difficult and was frankly intimidated by sewing curves.  Kelly Lautenbach was generous to give us a very nice impromptu tutorial.  She provided a small sampling of fabric and the QCR-mini for us to practice the technique.  I was so surprised that the technique was as simple (check out this demo on the full size template)!  I forgot all about my math lessons from school (concave and convex).  Why hadn't I tried this template earlier?  Kelly was so generous and offered the remaining fabric squares to keep.  I took these home and practiced.  I ended up making a table topper!  What do you think?

I do believe the creator of the Quick Curve Ruler was a genius!  I have not tried the full size template yet, but my friend purchased one.  There are so many wonderful things being made by using these templates.  There is even a book with patterns!  I can see this making an appearance on my Amazon wish list very soon.

After that weekend, I can honestly say I am not afraid of sewing curves!

#i70Swap

For the past year, I have been a member of the Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild (KCMQG).  This group is packed full of super talented individuals!  The KCMQG is one of the first Modern Guilds to organize since the inception of the Modern Quilt Guild.  The membership of the guild is rather large with a majority of the members taking an active role.

Last year, when I signed up to join the Guild, I was given a choice of which committee I would like to serve.  There were several choices, and I felt I was best suited for the Challenges and Swaps Committee.  Our committee chair gathered us all together last spring to discuss our upcoming committee activity.  During this meeting, I volunteered to lead a swap with the St Louis Modern Quilt Guild (STLMQG).

My sub-committee was very small, but we were excited!  We wanted to have participants swap block's of their choice and their secret partners would make them into something and return to the guild for a reveal.  Our first step was to make contact with the STLMQG and see if they were interested in this idea.  I was put into contact with Casey York (can you believe it!!!) and we both hit the ground running with ideas.  An online Google form was created to obtain participant's entry data and hard copies will be given to those who are not able to signup online.  We will reveal this swap at our upcoming February Guild meeting(s)!

I think I will call this the #i70Swap! 

 

Here are the basics of the upcoming swap:

Signup to participate in the #i70Swap.  This can be done either online or by turning in a manual info form at the February and March meetings.  You obviously must be a member of either Guild to participate.  Create one (1) quilt block and turn your block in at your March guild meeting.  The quilt block size range is 8" - 12" and should contain some of your favorite fabrics and style.  Your supplied block (with your info form) will be shipped to our sister guild and you will receive your partner's block (with their info form) during your April Guild Meeting.  In June and July, your finished projects will be collected and shipped to the appropriate destination Guild.  Project and partner reveals will occur in August.  Your secret partner will make you one of the following from your supplied block:

- Tote
- Pillow Cover
- Table Topper / Table Runner
- Tablet Cover / Book Cover (dimensions required)
- Surprise Me

I plan to create a Pinterest board to help with tutorials and inspirations for the various project choices.  I still have more work to do for preparation, so I better get on it!

School is in session! 

Today is the first day of school for Ty (Freshman) and JD (4th grader).  I guess you can also say it is the first day of school for me as well (Lunch Monitor at the Middle School).  They boys were easy to get out of bed this morning and the cat is already napping away in silent bliss!

Since my job doesn't start until around 10:30am, this gives me a few moments to get updated on the past couple weeks.  Let me give you a quick peek at what has kept me busy!

As some of you know, I am very involved in Instagram swaps.  I was feeling a little overwhelmed with most of the deadlines looming, so I made myself a digital note to help me keep things sorted.  Here are my swaps, with their prospective deadlines:

#nerdymugrugswap
Ships August 8th
Host +So Charming

#finishedblockswap
Ships August 28th
Host @tessaraewilliams

#makesomeonehappyswap
Ships Sept 1st
Host +So Charming

#trickortreatminiquiltswap
Ships Oct 1st
Host @jesse_artschooldropout

I was blessed to be a "swap angel" for the #nerdymugrugswap for @kgdcraftermath.  Her originally assigned secret partner was not able to ship, so I was glad to step in and create something just for her.  She said she liked several "nerdy" things, including Dr. Who.  I must confess that the only thing I knew about Dr. Who was the bit about time travel and that one of the characters in an espisode had inspired my favorite author, Diana Gabaldon.  Here is a picture of the package I sent on Monday:

This was a super quick, but fun package to send.  I even met a new friend in the process!

Next, on the swap to-do list, is the #finishedblockswap.  This is a known partner swap.  I am making a "Wonky Star" 18" finished block for @raeshadrz.  This is the second time I have been assigned to Raesha.  My first time was my first ever swap, the StarBucksMugRugSwap.  Raesha is such a special gal and so talented and creative.  She is also making a finished block for me.  Here is my progress on Raesha's block:

For this block, I used Tula Pink Bumble (from my stash) and used Kona solids for the star.  Each square is 5", which makes this a perfect 18" finished size.  I have already pieced this and will be selecting the backing and quilting next.  This block is so fun and easy - I can see myself doing more of these.

Well, I better get myself around - School lunch is in an hour and I am excited for the first day as well!

~N~

It has been 6 months since my last post!  That was not intentional, but I finally figured out how to update my BLOG since I started using the Chrome Browser.  Whew!

Lots of sewing adventures have happened over the past half year.
I have joined the Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild, participated in a half dozen Instagram swaps and even started my own Etsy Store!

So, I have a project list and am checking it twice.  Right now, I am the in process of making another Queen Sized T-shirt Quilt for a local Scouting family.  It is really fun to make the blocks for this quilt since my own sons have these same shirts.  This past Christmas, I made my father a Tshirt quilt and used the QAYG (quilt as you go) process.  The tutorial I used online was extremely helpful and am using this same technique in this current commission piece.  The size they requested required a total of 25 Tshirts, but they did not have enough.  I was able to use some of the scouting uniform neckerchiefs to fill the block gap.  These turned out pretty good - Check it out!  I am in the quilting stage and soon the parents will get to come over and help me decide on placement.  I am so excited for them!

The next few things on my project list are swaps on Instagram, which will all be due to ship soon.  The first upcoming shipment deadline is for the #FinishedBlockSwap.  If all goes well with this swap, I should be able to assemble an entire quilt in the next year!  The quilt blocks would be made by virtual friends around the country.  I even made an inspirational mosaic to help my partner understand what I have in mind for the block pattern.  I even let my partner know what types of fabrics I was hoping for with a different mosaic.  I need to get started on this next week since August is going to be a very busy month!

Speaking of busy....  I should probably stop signing up to volunteer on committees!  Currently, I am the Director of Merchandise for our Youth Football League (we just launched a new merchandise online store and I now know WAY too much about Wordpress).  I volunteered to be the Popcorn Kernel for my youngest son's Cub Scout Pack.  That should be interesting!  My eldest son will be in High School this year and involved in the Marching Band.  I am the new Co-Chair of the Uniform Committee.  I am still the Service Project Coordinator for the Cub Scouts Pack and also take the lead role in planning a monthly Bunco Group and a Bi-Yearly Sew'N'Sew group.

Well, I better get back to the oven and get our late dinner on the table.  We usually eat pretty late in Football Season, since the practices usually don't end until 8:00pm.

Thanks for taking a peek at my little blog.  I am excited to be back!

~N~

Christmas Table Runners!

At my last sew n' sew, we learned how to make these wonderful Christmas Table Runners with a Half Hexagon template.  These came together so simply and I find myself looking forward to making more.

Since my last post, I mentioned opening an Etsy store to showcase the remaining pillowcases from a recent Craft Fair.  I decided to add a couple of the Christmas Table Runners and these seemed to go over pretty well with the Etsy shoppers!

It is supposed to snow tomorrow so I have stocked up on all the notions and fabrics needed for a sewing day on Saturday.  I finished this one on the top left this evening and listed in my shop.  The other two have been shipped to their new owners!

Let me know what you think and check my store to see what new things I add!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SewMuchMooreInStore

~N~

   

First Craft Show and New Business (no, I'm not quitting my day job)...

A New Adventure Begins!

This weekend, I had a booth at the local Holiday Craft Fair.  I showcased hand-made pillowcases, table runners and MugRugs.  I learned right away that I needed business cards!  I sold pillowcases, took a few custom orders and was inspired (by my neighbor crafters) to open an Etsy shop!  

After toying with a few different names (and trying to find something that wasn't already taken), I decided upon the following: SewMuchMooreInStore.  On Etsy, you have to omit spacing between words.

Come and check out my new store - I have one item featured and will be posting more in the future!  

Here is a custom Pillowcase I did today - I'm really excited about this new adventure!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SewMuchMooreInStore

Follow me on Instagram as well!

Hexies, Hexies and more Hexies!

My Mom inspired me to start creating hexies, in my spare time.  I usually put these together when I am waiting in the car-rider line to pick up the kids from school.  Since I have (2) kids with completely different pick-up times, I can usually get a dozen or so done each day.  The fabric I used in this picture are some scraps that I had left over from my first Chevron quilt.  Again, thank you Mom for the fabric!

I have a feeling that this fabric is quite dated so I will need to just start pulling all sorts of scraps into this and making flowers from various pieces...

So far, so good!

Stay tuned and I will post additional progress pics as this gets going!