Spoonflower Love

Earlier this month Spoonflower ran an amazing special on Fat Quarters.  I took the plunge and bought six of them.  It was hard to pick which ones to get!  I wanted some fabrics that were quirky, colorful or different.  If I was going to go out of my way to get this special fabric, I wanted it to add some character to my projects.

When the fabrics arrived, the first thing I noticed was that they were as great as I imagined.  Also, Spoonflower's "business card" included in the order is made out of fabric.  That makes complete sense.  Since then, I have discovered that Julie of Jaybird Quilts uses Spoonflower to make her fabric quilt labels.  Brilliant!  Totally stealing that idea someday (when I miraculously learn to design a label).

Without further ado, here are the fabrics I chose:

Hope you enjoyed the fabric porn.  If you're like me, you're not even reading this anymore because you've already clicked over to Spoonflower...

Also, just a note that I don't have any relationship to Spoonflower nor am I receiving anything in exchange for a glowing review.  Besides my one order, they don't even know who I am. I just sincerely love the concept of fabriholics being able to design their own fabric and have it printed relatively affordably and in a jiffy!  Go check it out and let me know what you think.

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Mom's Quilt

I finished a quick Verna Charm Square quilt for my mother this Christmas.  She has been begging for a quilt and has even purchased fabric for me to make one for her.  The muse hasn't told me how to make a quilt with her particular fabric yet but I ALWAYS know how to make a Verna quilt and a Charm Square quilt!  So I patched these babies together and sewed my little heart out in order to give it to her on Christmas Day.

This is the first pieced back I've made.  I just had to use those pink owls out of my stash since they have been hooting at me for a year now from the shelf!  I tried to quilt it with light pink thread but the thread kept breaking.  Due to my rush, I switched to white to get it done.

My favorite part is the binding.  The fabric is an Alexander Henry stripe.  Delish!

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Scenes from Christmas

Many of you know that I lost my stepfather, Doug, three days before Christmas.  He had late stage cancer and severe COPD but it was still awful and "sudden".  We had to make some terrible decisions the week before Christmas and say goodbye to a gentle and loving soul.  He passed away on the 22nd and his service was on the 27th.  This brought all of us together for Christmas.  My two sisters and their husbands along with my two stepbrothers and their wives.  And all the kids. Doug would have loved it!

We gathered at my mom's house in Greenville, SC.  More shocking than anything was the heavy snow that arrived on Christmas day.  My sisters' families and I actually stayed at my dad's house since my mom's house was full of other family.  My dad's house is on a mountain which made for an even more gorgeous snowfall.

My three kids are in red and green pjs.  The other three boys are my sister's.  They live in Minnesota so they were not impressed with our "blizzard".  You can only imagine how magical Christmas morning was with six children between the ages of 3 and 8!
Chris

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Placemats and Potholders

Here is a better picture
For the potholders, I added a small hanging loop when I attached the binding.  Here is a close-up of how I had to figure that process out by trial and error:

Many of you commented that you like to see both the good and bad side of quilting.  So I decided to let this "bad" loop stand.  I wanted to show you that it's not that big of a deal.  It's a handmade item and it's ok for it to look like a handmade item.  Now I've learned a better way of doing the loop (the one on the right) so I'll know for the future.

Basically, the first loop I did, I tried to sew the binding behind the loop.  The second one, I sewed the binding onto the loop itself.  In both cases, I machine sewed the loop onto the raw corner of the quilt sandwich first.  I'm sorry I didn't take pics of this process at the time.  I was racing to get it done and sent out to the winner.

I have lots more pictures to share on the blog since I bought a new camera for Christmas!  Stay tuned for updates including the quick Verna quilt I made for my mom for Christmas, the completed Verna quilt I made for myself, and more progress pictures of the Michael Miller Christmas quilt I'm still working on for the Old Red Barn Co quilt-along.

Have a wonderful day!

Edited to add:
A post on Twitter helped me to realize that this placemat project is very similar to a Rachel Griffith Moda Bake Shop tutorial for a table runner.  This was completely unintentional and I have removed the placemat instructions in an effort not to offend anyone!  I am a huge fan of both the Moda Bake Shop and Rachel Griffith of ps I quilt.  I came up with these placemats when Sew, Mama, Sew announced their giveaway.  At the time I was working on my Michael Miller Christmas quilt and had some leftover jelly roll strips but not alot of time.  My sister had recommended giving away placemats as a tie-in with my first Moda Bake Shop placemat recipe that same week.  Great!  I'll just sew these strips together quick and easy.  It never occurred to me that someone had created and posted a design putting strips together as a placemat.  So if I stepped on anyone's toes, please accept my heartfelt apology!  As you can see from my blog archives, I try always to give credit to fabric, pattern, and tutorial designers whenever I make something with them.  Thanks!

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Overheard

This morning I overheard my 3 yr old yelling at the Christmas tree:
"MAKE MORE PRESENTS.... NOW!"

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WINNER!

Random.org generated the winning number for the placemats and pot holders.  I have emailed the winner but wanted to share her comment here.  It looks like you guys love TUTORIALS and pictures!  So stay tuned for more of both.  I got a new fancy camera for Christmas and I can't wait to share some nice pictures with you.  Now, on to the winner...

Number 62 is BESS from james and bess!

james and bess said... :

these are so cute! in a sewing/quilting blog, i love tutorials and fresh sewing project ideas. :)

bess


Thank you to all 268 of you who stopped by to enter.  Thanks also to all of you who checked out my first Moda Bake Shop tutorial.  Stay tuned for more in the new year :-)

Chris

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Giveaway Update

I have closed the comments on the Giveaway post and will announce the winner this weekend. Thank you SO much to all who entered! Your feedback was tremendous and very much appreciated. Good luck on this and all of the other giveaways you participated in!

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MODA BAKE SHOP!!!!

What an honor to be selected to present a project over at Moda Bake Shop!  Today you can click on over there to see my first Moda Bake Shop Recipe which is a set of 6 personalized holiday placemats.  I used charm packs of Kate Spain's 12 Days of Christmas fabric but this project is adaptable to any fabrics or themes.  Um, just in case you didn't know it, I'm Kate Spain's dedicated stalker fan.  I LOVE her designs and can't get enough of them!  And as for charm packs, don't get me started.  They are so easy, it's a little bit like cheating don't you think?  I love Moda pre-cuts.  Every time I pick up my rotary cutter I feel a bit like I'm playing Russian Roulette.  Either a three-year-old pops up underneath my arm or a cat tail swipes nearby just as I'm releasing the safety switch.  I'm sweating just thinking about it.  Should we repeat?  I LOVE MODA PRE-CUTS.

If you like what you see, don't forget to become a follower of my blog here at Frecklemama, follow Frecklemama on Twitter, or subscribe to feeds.  I would love some feedback! 

Also, just a reminder that my Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway is open through Friday.  Please be sure to comment on the Giveaway post for a chance to win your very own Holiday Placemat set!

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My First GIVEAWAY!!

Welcome to Frecklemama!  Thanks for stopping by.  This week is Sew, Mama, Sew's Giveaway week.  In celebration of Giveaway week and an exciting announcement coming to my blog on Thursday,  I am giving away a set of four Michael Miller Christmas placemats with two matching pot holders.

Here is a photo of one of the placemats.  My camera is broken so I will update the post when I get some better pictures!

To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment about what you look for in a sewing or quilting blog.  What makes you follow one blog over another and what kinds of content do you like to find when you visit your favorite blogs?  I will select a winner using the Random Number Generator.  One entry per person please, and make sure there is a way for me to contact you if you're the winner!

Please be sure to visit Sew, Mama, Sew to find many more bloggers offering fantastic giveaways this week!  The comments will be open until the end of the day Friday.  Once I select a winner, I will try to ship the package out as quickly as I can.  This giveaway is open to both domestic and international participants.

Subscribe to feeds or follow me on Twitter for new blog post updates.  Thanks for visiting Frecklemama! 

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Sew,Mama,Sew Giveaway Day Coming Up!!!

Sew, Mama, Sew is hosting their fantastic Giveaway Day on Monday, December 13th!  I am thrilled to announce that I will be participating in the Giveaway. 

Stay tuned for more information and be sure to check out the master list of participants when it's published at Sew, Mama, Sew!

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Layout of Old Red Barn Co Quilt Along Quilt

Layout of Old Red Barn Co Quilt Along
Originally uploaded by Frecklemama

Yes, I know this is years in the making. It's a little tedious working on a seasonal quilt when it's not the right season. Now that it's Christmas again, I am happily working towards a finish. I am currently adding white sashing between blocks to make it a little crisper and larger.

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Cherry Delight Fig Tree Fresh Cottons

Cherry Delight Fig Tree Fresh Cottons
Originally uploaded by Frecklemama

Progress on Fig Tree Fresh Cottons Cherry Delight kit.

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