Shall we Swap?

While the organization and planning wheels keep turning on the quilt along that will hopefully launch in a couple months, I thought it would be fun to host a swap! However, I would first like to get some opinions. I know there are a million ways to run a swap, so I figured reader input would be a great way to gauge interest on this one!

The main thing I need help deciding on is the amount of fabric to swap. I know most often people host charm swaps, but it is not always my favorite kind. Feel free to take the poll below as well as comment on the kind of swap that would most interest you! I love to hear ideas!

So lets talk options.

Option 1: Basic Charm Swap - participants would be responsible for buying a yard of fabric, cutting it into 5 inch squares (I think there are 56 in a yard) and in return they would get back 56 five inch squares

Option 2: Layer Cake Swap - similar to the charm swap, only with 10 inch squares. You would send 12 if it is a 1 yard requirement and get 12 in return.

Option 3: Fat Quarter Swap - participants would be responsible for sending 2 yards, cut into 8 fat quarters, and would get 8 fat quarters in return

I personally am drawn towards option 3 because I use a ton of fat quarters in my stash. However, I am just hosting, so let me know what YOU would like to participate in!


Once I get all your feedback, the full details of the swap and sign up form will be available. Stay tuned!

Win free Fabric!!

****Ah sigh, a little too late I suppose. I didn't realize the deadline had changed! Anyway, keep a look out for awesome promotions like these! When I find them, I will post about them (on time!)****

Everyone! If you have not heard, there is a promotion going on over at Fresh Squeezed Fabrics. All you have to do is pin a bundle of fabric from the store on Pintrest, have it repinned as many times as the fabric is worth (so 25 dollar bundle needs 25 pins) and you win that fabric, for free!

Here is the bundle I so hope to win. Please follow this link to my original pin and repin for me.

If you have entered as well, leave me a comment and I will repin yours! Let's all help each other out!

The full contest details can be found here. If you haven't entered already, do so!

I have to admit, I don't find a lot of time to play on Pintrest, but this contest has reminded me how fun it is! There is so much beautiful stuff out there. If you aren't a member of Pintrest and would like to be, send me a message or comment and I will send you a Pintrest invite!

Again, please please repin me and I will repin you! Thanks!!!!

Fall has arrived :)

It is fall. How do I know? Because of this:

This might look like any old muffin, but this is a pumpkin muffin. This muffin is the epitome of fall. Only during fall, are these delectable baked goods available for me to gorge upon. There are some other signs, cooler temps, less sunlight, but nothing is as definitive as this muffin.

Now that I have professed my love to this pumpkin muffin....

I also received this wonderful treat in the mail a couple weeks ago.

This is my camper prize for finishing at least one project from each week in Handstitched camp. It is a handmade journal cover and journal made by Rachel of Stitched in Color herself. And it's in my house. 

And she wrote me a note!! It was such a wonderful present to receive. Not going to lie, pretty surreal.

And do you not just love this pattern? I get so inspired looking at it everyday. I definitely want to make a whole quilt using this technique. I haven't decided if I would choose to do it in solid fabric or patterned fabric. The final products would be so different and so beautiful. 

Quilts using solids really highlight the geometry of the pattern and the structure of the piecing. Whereas quilts using just patterned fabrics often highlight the beauty of the fabric. Both of these end results are so appealing that I often have a hard time deciding what kind of fabric to use for each quilt I make. 

As soon as my WIPs are done, I have a very exciting solids quilt coming up as a present for my best friend for her wedding in November. Stay tuned and enjoy these first signs of fall!

an Unexpected blogging vacation

Blog? What blog? That's how I have felt lately. With no free time to sew, I certainly have not had any time to blog. Luckily, my life has calmed down. In a nutshell, I got a big opportunity at work that was rather consuming and required me to be in the field a ton. I also unexpectedly switched apartments, so I have completely packed an unpacked everything I own. My best friend is getting married in November, and somehow her wedding is consuming parts of my life. My boyfriend is on a very inflexible schedule as a probationary firefighter, so I take any time I can get to go see him. Hmm and that's really it. It doesn't sound as hectic and consuming as it has been, but I promise it was. This is the first weekend I have had to myself in over 2 months.

I woke up today with the intention to sew, and I have done just that. Everything is finally put away in the new apartment, and I have been sewing merrily. I haven't even gotten out of my pajamas yet. I have what feels like a MILLION wips so I have set myself a goal (as everyone does) of finishing them all before I start something new. How long should we bet this will last? Haha.

First thing's first. Here is my quilt for the Believe circle of do. Good Stitches.

I got the top together this morning and will hopefully quilt it and send it off in the next few weeks. It's so wonderful to think that this quilt could be in the arms of some sweet little boy in the near future.

Stay tuned for some exciting things! This fall is going to be fun! Once my WIPs get completed, it looks like there could be a quilt along in my future and so much more. Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend as much as I am!

Back to Bees

Being so busy, I kinda put my Bees on the back burner. However, here is an update what's been going on in my world of bees!

These blocks are the ones I made for We Bee Modern and We Bee Modern Too during July. The first one is called To a Tee on page 188 and the second one is called Pebble Beach on page 132. 

July was my month to pick a block for the Believe Circle of do. Good Stitches. I picked a square within a square block using the colors red/blue-aqua/cream. I wanted it to be boyish but not too much like 4th of July colors. I think the women of this bee did a great job! I really left them a lot of room to be creative and they did beautiful things with it. Now, I have to figure out how to arrange the blocks and what kind of quilting design to use. I am sure you will see the finished product here in the coming month!

{handstitched}...Still going strong

One of our last projects for Handstitched class was a whole cloth baby quilt with the quilting done by hand. Rachel did a magnificent improve design using irregular triangles. I had a vision of straight lines at irregular spacing with the end product looking something like plaid. I know this wonderful little boy who has a first birthday coming up, and I decided that this would be a perfect present for him!

I went with Kona Dusty Blue for the front and Kona Ash for the back. I also found these awesome lizards to use as the binding and make it a little more playful! The mini herringbone...thats just for me....it was on sale :).

I have never put the binding on a quilt prior to quilting it, so this technique was new to me. I spray basted the sandwich, sewed the binding onto the front, whipped it by hand on the back, and then I got to quilting. I drew four vertical and four horizontal lines spaced pretty far apart and sewed them first to tack the sandwich together. Next I will fill in the large spaces between the existing lines with ones that are a little more closely spaced as you can begin to see in the picture below.

Since I was photographing at night, I had a really hard time getting the appropriate amount of exposure on the front side. These two pictures are of the back, but you get the idea. Its essentially the same on both sides...my stitches are just neater on the front!

I also considered ironing the quilt before I photographed it and then I didn't. This quilt traveled 28+ hours in a car with me, camped with me, was sat on by dogs, cats, and people alike, and I thought it would be a nice change of pace to see a quilt that looks like it is being worked on. Hopefully I will finish this week and have it beautiful and ready for photographs of the finished product. 

off the Grid

Back to technology! I have been off the grid for almost 10 days in upstate New York. It was so wonderful, but re-entry is overwhelming. I will cull through my email tomorrow, no energy today.

Being a beach girl, I have not been on tons of mountain trips. I lived in Clemson through school but those 'mountains' were really more of foothills than real mountains. I went on this trip with my boyfriend's family (he has 7 siblings!) and stayed with his grandparents. It was tight in the house to say the least, but we had so much fun. It was like being 10 at a slumber party again.

The first couple days were HOT. We probably brought the heat with us from the Carolinas, but since we are all beach people, the lack of air conditioning was brutal. As I turn mine way down for bed tonight, I appreciate it more than ever.

The best part of the trip was making it to the top of Whiteface mountain. It is not a hard climb, rather touristy, but the view from almost 4800 ft above sea level is soooo pretty.

We also spent two days 'camping' in a cabin in the woods. Let me tell you why this is definitely still considered camping. Although it is a structure rather than a tent, this structure did not have electricity, running water, a bathroom, and was home to some lovely outdoor friends. Megan is not a camper. I mean I would never jump at the chance to go camping since I love my mattress and my bathroom BUT, I actually had a lot of fun. I am not sure if it was the trip or the people or the climate or the fact that rain didn't come in from the bottom of my tent, but it was fun. 

There was an outhouse, but you better believe I ducked into the woods before going near that thing. 

We also had a short little hike to this serene stream. 

Adham's little brother did a lot of fishing. Unfortunately, no trout were caught, but we did catch a huge snapping turtle....twice! I mean huge. His shell was probably 15 inches from head to tail. 

The rest of the trip was spent eating, visiting family, and holding on for dear life on the back of 3 wheelers that go a little too fast for my taste. It was such a nice mental vacation since I had no cell phone service and there was no wireless internet. I have been told that I will be going back in the winter to experience 'real snow', which apparently is different from the silly little flurries we get down here. 

I did not get my Modern Medallion pieced prior to my trip (I was a little overwhelmed) but, I did spend what little free time I had quilting a whole cloth baby quilt. I really love how it is turning out! Progress will be posted tomorrow so stay tuned! Now it is time for bed since our drive began at 3 am this morning. Hope everyone else had wonderful weeks as well!