September, here you are...

the start of my favorite season, the feeling of coziness starting to drift in, the beginning of fresh starts (back-to-school season) and the shifting of the weather. This fall is going to be full of changes, new routines, new memories, and hopefully lots of happiness through tons of hard work.

Towards the end of summer, my crafty/sewing mojo has made a striking comeback. I am ready to create, make, paint, decorate, and bake. One of the first projects I tackled was a table runner for my boyfriend. One I was looking to surprise him and two I knew he would appreciate me taking the time to make something just for him.

I used a mini charm pack and fabric that has been in my stash for what seems like forever. It only took me a day to work on it in between working on some handbags for my grandmother that are almost finished. I really loved how it turned out and is still very manly while adding a little bit of fall color to his house. Now that most of the hot days are behind us, my studio will be a little cooler in the afternoons, so I am going to be cranking out a whole bunch of projects!

Here's to the changing of the seasons!

A finished table topper...

finally, that is!

Fabric used: Moda Jovial, Moda Panache I want to say for the binding (I could be wrong about that it has been hidden in my stash for quite sometime..) and the flannel is from Jo-anns

This little gem has been on my design wall (seriously, I might be slightly mortified by that fact). I used a charm pack and made some simple HST's. The backing is a chocolate flannel. For the quilting I kept it pretty simple by mostly following the seams. Overall, I am happy with the project and a little sad that I waited so long to finish it up since it was a pretty quick project!

Modern Designs for Classic Quilts Blog Tour

**giveaway is now closed, thanks for entering**

I am so excited to share a wonderful new modern quilting book with you. Not only does it contain beautiful quilts and fun projects for all levels of sewers, but I was lucky enough to be able to draw the technical illustrations for the book! At the end of 2011, I was contacted to see if I would be interested in doing the technical illustrations for a sewing/quilting book. For me this was a dream come true! (Seriously, I love to illustrate and technical illustrations are like mini puzzles, those quilting diagrams are a blast to put together) Luckily, I managed to get the chance to work on the project and am so excited with the outcome.

The book is so well-thought out, it contains great instructions, amazing photos and well-written instructions. It definitely deserves a spot in any quilter's book collection.

For fun, I thought I would share a few of my favorite illustrations from the book:

and my absolute favorite is this one (I am just in love with that pencil and ruler, what can I say, it's awesome!):

I am so honored to have been part of such an amazing project. Not only that but, Kelly and Andie, F+W Media, and the publisher, generously gave me an extra copy of the book to giveaway here on the blog!

Just leave a comment on this post and make sure to have a way for me to contact you by email. Good ol' Random Number Generator will pick the lucky winner out on November 23 (yepp, a Black Friday bonus) Good Luck everyone!

And here is the schedule for the blog tour!

  11/5 -  Andie & Kelly, AndieJohnsonSews & Stitchy Quilt Stuff
  11/6 -  Lindsay of CraftBuds
  11/7 -  Jill of Darling Jill Quilts
  11/8 -  Faith of Fresh Lemons
  11/9 -  Tracy of Generation Q
  11/10 - Angela of Quilting is my Therapy
  11/11 - Shannon of Stitch Craft Create
  11/12 - Laurie of Scarlet Fig
  11/13 - Kaysie of kzjo’s studio {that's me!!}
  11/14 - Jessica of A Little Gray
  11/15 - Mary of The Tulip Patch
  11/16 - Deborah of Whipstitch
  11/17 - Lindsay of  The Cottage Mama
  11/18 - Jenny of Sew Kind of Wonderful
  11/19 - Carla of LollyQuiltz
  11/20 - Thomas of Thomas Knauer Sews
  11/21 - Brenda of Pink Castle Fabrics
  11/22 - Lindsay + Liz Rea of CraftBuds + Inspire Me Grey
  11/23 - Sarah of The Last Piece
  11/24 - Andie, Kelly, and Cara of AndieJohnsonSews, Stitchy Quilt Stuff , and Cara Quilts

Sewing Summit-- the rest of the adventure...

***warning--- I think I may have typed as much as I usual talk all the time with this blog post! :)***

Saturday morning started with an amazing breakfast buffet, which is always a great way to start the day! Plus, I got to talk with lots of fun people that I met on Friday!

Alright onto the class recap:
•Improv Piecing: How to Think Outside of the Box taught by Jessica of Urban Patchwork: Here i am with my finished block. I have to say I love how it turned out, I plan on making it a mini quilt to hang in my office!

•Quilting at Home: Free Motion Quilting for the Modern Quilter taught by Allison of Cluck, Cluck Sew: I loved this class! I picked up a some great tips and conquered my fear of pebbles, which I may be addicted to now. I can already see myself attempting more free motion quilting.

•Tailoring by Hand 101 by Burda taught by Gertie of Gertie's New Blog for Better Sewing: This class had amazing tips and let's face it, this was the class I was most excited for. Since I studied fashion design, but not a whole lot of tailoring (we only covered a portion in school) this was great and really made me want to break out all my garment fabrics that are stored in my closet.

•Marvelous Minis: Packing Lots of Punch into a Mini Quilt taught by Amanda of mrsmcporkchopquilts: This class was fabulous, and since i love mini quilts it was perfect for me! I also thought Amanda was an excellent speaker and so dang funny! Her class gave me a load of ideas for future projects.

On Sunday:
•Aspiring Authors: A Panel Discussion with Published Authors: This class was really insightful for how the whole publishing process works. It was really interesting!

•Documenting Your Creativity: Blogging and Social Media taught by Dana of Old Red Barn Co.: This class was a mecca of info for me and is really going to help me be a better blogger. I already have some blog changes in the works.

Here I am with some of my favorite bloggers and wonderful people I met (yes, I went the whole crazy starstruck thing and had to get my photo with these wonderful ladies).

clockwise from top: Gertie, Jana from Izzy and Ivy Designs (I met her at spring's quilt market, so it was great seeing her again), Melissa (I was so excited to meet her, she is one of my favorite bloggers!), and Bari J (I won a copy of her book, which was awesome since it has been on my "want" list, plus she was just the nicest lady!)

One of my best pals, Tara, me and Cindy (from Spin the Bobbin):

and I met a lovely lady Kendra (who I totally forgot to get a photo with!) but she is amazing and writes amazing knitting patterns. I met so many neat people that it really made the trip worth it!

I can't wait until next year's Sewing Summit (seriously, this is going to be a yearly tradition!). I loved meeting a bunch of new people, all the fun sewing talk, learning lots of new things and mostly just having a wonderful adventure!

Finally finished up a few projects...

that have been on my to-do list for what seems like a century. Both projects are for my mom to hang in her classroom (she's a math-science teacher). First, I thought I would make a quilt that she could hang in her room to brighten things up! Here is the finished Unwind pattern from Jaybird quilts in Little Apples fabric. (which seems like an entirely school related fabric choice;) ):

I love how it turned out and I must say the pattern was easy to follow and was a ton of fun to make. For  the backing I used a vintage sheet that I got from my grandmother when she cleaned out her craft room.

The other project I decided to make was a mini-quilt that my mom could hang outside by her door with her name on it. It turned out like this:

I found the test tube and beaker paper piecing patterns online. They were really simple and I think that they turned out well. Plus as an added bonus this project was made completely with scraps from my fabric stash!! Hopefully, I will be able to cross off a few more projects this week since I am on vacation for a few days! Happy sewing :)

So, I am already planning...

for the holiday season. I know super early but it will be here before you know it. My usual routine is to make some sort of game plan with projects and gifts that need to be made along with all the cookies for the cookie boxes that are mailed out in December. One of the new additions to the cookie box is a handmade Christmas ornament, here are the beginning stages:

mostly just the organized beginnings. Somehow I managed to also get the quilt for my mom's classroom, all pieced together and quilted yesterday (big shout out to Kristen for helping by keeping me company and sorting out my fabric stash!).

Now all that is left is the binding which I am hoping to get on there after I squeeze in a workout. Have you already been making a holiday game plan?

Finally some sewing...

I am serious, I think it has been about 2 weeks since I had time to really sew anything. (I was starting to go through withdrawals) The project that I spent the most time on was the quilt for my mom. This is where I am with it:

The pattern is the unwind quilt by Jaybird quilts. So far, this has been one of the easiest quilts I have put together. The goal is to have this finished up by Monday since it is going to be hanging up in my mom's classroom.

Working on two quilts at the same time...

in an attempt to get a few things crossed off my list. So I really have project ADD and just sort of jump all over the place (that's probably why my to-do list is enormous), but I am working on that. Yesterday, I set up a small sewing area in the living room-- the studio is just a little hot in the afternoon plus it is insanely hard to watch a 3.5 year old and get anything done. The results tons of progress on two major projects. The first is the youth sized version of the Unwind quilt by Jaybird Quilts using the Little Apples Fat Eighths Bundle I picked up at quilt market, here is the close up of the blocks:

Here is the whole thing laid out on the design wall:

Overall, I love this pattern and this version is a little bit on the bright side of things, I think. The blocks came together sew quickly and now all I really need to finish up is sewing them together and making the backing. The quilt is actually for my mom (it was sort of surprise until I told her yesterday--- I am horrible at keeping surprises!) It is going to go in her classroom as a way to jazz it up which means I need to have it finished up in the next few weeks since school starts up again soon. 

The other project was one I quite awhile ago, yet I am determined to get it finished up; my single girl quilt! These are the beginnings of the rings: 

Right now I have 3 of the 4 quarters of 4 rings sewn together. I am only doing 4 blocks and am going to add a large borders to increase the quilt size to a large lap quilt. The background fabric still has to be cut, which I am going to try and get cut out to today if I get a few of my farmer's wife quilt blocks finished up (I am soooo behind on that one). Anyways, for the rings I carefully cut up two plume charm packs so each ring has a few different pieces. I can't wait to see this one finished up! Finally, a little bit of sewing happening around here, have you been working on anything fun?

In the studio...

I broke down and started another quilt. This time I cut into my stack of little apples that I picked up at quilt market. So far this is going to be one really quick quilt if I can stick with it and not get sucked into any other projects. Of course this means I am still behind on my Farmer's Wife Quilt Along, but I am just going to work at my own rather slow pace on that one! 

Oh and my best pal found this awesome dress while thrifting:

I think I will dress it up with a wide leather belt and I can't decided but I might shorten the hem a bit! I simple love it and can't wait to wear it.

It's finally finished...

the innocent crush quilt (the pattern is the love letters on found here on Anna Maria Horner's make page). the front:

a close up of the front- the top is quilted with orange thread! 

the back of the quilt (this one is fairly simple back for me, usually I go all out on the back...):

and a close up of the back with yellow thread for the quilting!

I really love the way it turned out... and if you want to see it in person you can check it out at The Quilt Barn later this week!

Progress...

 
on the innocent crush quilt. It is obviously taking me longer than planned on getting this queen sized quilt put together, but I guess all good things take a little time. It's a little hard to tell in the photo but only the lower right hand corner hasn't been pieced into larger chunks or rows. I would love to say that I will have this finished up over the weekend, but realistically probably 1 to 2 weeks. At least I have the quilt back finished up so it will be ready to head to the quilter's as soon as I get it done.

So far I really love the way the quilt looks and it is an awesome workout putting it together since the design wall is on the other side of the room from my sewing machine. This quilt will end up in my room as the focal point. I am planning on making a mini quilt, pillow shams, and probably some decorative pillows since I have quite a bit of fabric leftover.

Wow, this week just seemed to fly by...

I have no idea where this week went, but between work, taking care of the little guy and squeezing in a little running, it seems there was little time for anything else. I haven't had a ton of sewing time, but i did manage to get my mini-quilt for the magic valley modern quilt guild swap on saturday night almost finished up. Here is a sneak peak:

I will get part 2 of the quilt market recap up tomorrow afternoon (once I recover from the 5k I am doing in the morning)!

A finished quilt...

This quilt was a wedding gift. I did have some help from one of my friends in creating it. (and I am glad to say tackling this project as team was well worth it!) Even though the quilt is fairly simple and is only made of solids, I think that it turned out really well. Here is the front:

and the back:

Details:

• Finished size around 60" x 60" 

• mostly kona solids and the light gray and cream are moda bella solids. 

• Scrappy binding and scrappy back featuring a little applique of the bride and grooms first initials. 

• Batting was all natural cotton  (1 layer) this was also my first time using spray basting, which has now become an obsession. 

• The quilting is just inside each square of each color, totally hard to see in the pictures, I know.

Overall, I love it and I think that it will be lovely to curl up in while watching a movie.  

Quilt Progress

Today, I managed to pin up a little more of my quilt. I am finally ready to start sewing this thing together. The large blocks are still not the right size since I still have to pick up some more fabric and recut them. I am going to work on making rows or little units so I can make some progress on it. The goal is to have this one finished up by the end of April. Here is what the whole thing looks like so far:

I really love how it is turning out, the only that is a little difficult is the pattern leaves a lot of room for interpretation of where the prints go. Which normally wouldn't seem like a problem but specific areas need the triangles on the corners and to create a nice balance with the prints is a little difficult without some guidelines. That is the why I am spending the time laying it out on my design wall instead of just digging in. (by the way the wall is 60" x 60" and the finished quilt size will be 80" x 80" so you are only see the upper left part of the quilt for now.) After I finish this quilt up I am going to make sure to label where all the prints go so it is a little easier if I ever want to make this one again.

Coffee & Sundays

Ahh, sunday's are always the start to my week and my time to plan, divide up task, and get my game plan for making a great week. As for the coffee part- I have slowly started drinking 1-2 cups in the morning (I gave up my 8-12 cup a day habit about 2 months ago) and I have to say I really haven't missed it that much. I think now I want it to be a really great cup a coffee and make it a totally weekly splurge. (I think that this is another one of those rambling style posts coming your way!) March has been moving at an incredible rate which has led me with a new focus for April- the month of NO! I have so many things to work on and I am totally one of those say yes to everything kind of people, but not during the month of April. My goals are to get caught up on BLOGGING (right now I have about 10 posts either half-way written or planned), crossing of a ton of WIPs, spring cleaning, and starting the decorating process on my son's room, plus a billion other things!

Now for a little weekly recap (mainly because I can't seem to blog things as they actually happen)-
Mainly I worked during the week so the real exciting stuff didn't occur until Thursday:
-Spent a grand amount of time sewing and doing a little cleaning around the house & the studio.

 I finally managed to reorganize my bathroom counter-- I ended up using a bunch of glass things that were around the house.

- my quilt--- yes, apparently I have to much on my brain at the moment and will have to recut some more blocks. Somewhere, along the way I actually cut out 10- 10.5" blocks instead of 10- 12.5" blocks and I don't have enough fabric to cut them so now I will have to get some more. However, I came up with a game plan for the wrong-size blocks. They are going to be used in creating the pillow shams!

- On Thursday night, I spoke to one of our local quilt guilds (Desert Sage Quilt Guild) about modern quilting. I was fairly nervous (I think that there were about 50-60 people there!) which has been my biggest public speaking endeavor to date. Luckily, two members from the Magic Valley Modern Quilt Guild came (thanks, Trina & Susanna!) and really took away all of my nerves. Overall, I think that the presentation went really well!

- Friday was a non-sewing day but I did go to a movie (first one I have been to in months) and saw The Lincoln Lawyer. It was really great and I would totally see it again (but not at our stupid theater who doesn't take the coupons that they are on the list of participating theaters so freaking annoying!!!!) I am so glad that we are getting a new theater as I will probably not go back there again.

Today's biggest project is:

finishing up a prom dress. I think it is going to look amazing- I will totally share photos when its done and after the prom.

Quilt progress & another bag...

a little update on the quilt for my bed, I actually finished the backing already and only have a about 130 squares left to cut out before I can start piecing. Unfortunately, I probably won't get a ton of time to work on it for the next few weeks (but I am hoping to have it finished up by the end of April).

I also made another project from the style stitches by Amy Butler book. This time it was the teardrop bag in the large size.

Overall, this was a really simple bag to construct and had some fun details (like the side hip pieces). It also has a magnetic snap and a nice sized pocket on the inside.

I still have a few projects that have to get done this week (a prom dress, just the muslin and a circle skirt for a class that I am teaching next saturday). Plus, I have a tutorial coming up for the ipad case I made for the giveaway (click the giveaway tab for more info) and I will probably get a tutorial up for the circle skirt in the next couple of weeks as well!

The Quilt

The beginnings... I have finally started a quilt that is all for me! So far, I am totally excited and am hoping to have it finished up by the end of the month (a lofty goal, I know), but the goal is to work on it 15 to 30 mins a day. Today, I managed to finish cutting 150- 2.5" squares and only have about 150 or so larger squares to finish up before the sewing can begin. I am planning on the quilting to be done with orange thread and I know you can't tell by the picture, but there is a lot more pink in it. The fabric is Innocent Crush by Anna Maria Horner (she is my favorite fabric designer!) and I am hoping to redo my room to match the finished quilt as well. 

So this is my second big quilt in progress, plus the modern quilt guild is starting a mystery block of month which I am also working one (so if your counting that would be 3 quilts in progress-my wonky star one is the first it just needs some sort of border and backing).  How many quilts are you working on currently or am I the only one with too many works-in-progress?

A finish...

every year for Halloween I try and make a new Halloween decoration to add to my always growing stash. Here's this year's new addition: 

I used up a bunch of the Halloween fabric, I started accumulating this year and broke out the pom-pom maker to create the spider. I also used DMC Perle size 8 thread to hand quilt the web design. The binding was made from the leftovers from cutting. 

In other exciting news, my little man turned 3 on Monday and he ended up having a wonderful day. I also have one more almost finished up that I am going to share with you tomorrow! Plus I have to catch up on all of my magazine reading for the month...How is your week going?

Finally some sewing...

this mini-quilt is still in progress... but here are some pumpkins I finally sort of finished up (x took them to play with, so there are no stems or leaves, maybe next year):