Heather Ross’ 2012 Studio Sale

A couple years ago, two of my friends brought their Heather Ross packages to one of the SLMQG monthly meetings. I didn’t know about Heather’s annual studio sale at the time and thought it was such a fun idea.

This year, when Heather announced that she’d be doing the sale again, I ordered a package right away. After reading about some people’s disappointment with their packages in the Flickr group, I started getting nervous. But, I was determined to have a good attitude about it, convinced that I’d be happy with anything Heather chose to send me.

I neglected to check the correct email address when watching for my shipping notification. So, I was really excited to just find my package sitting in my mailbox a couple weeks ago.

Here’s what I got:



When ordering each package, Heather asked us to tell her about ourselves, our families, and our interests. I told her about my kids and my hobbies. I think she did a great job pulling items together to send me.



This ADORABLE Munki Munki sock monkey dress fits my baby perfectly.



And she looks so stinkin' cute in it! (I'll post a picture of her soon - promise.)

There is also this Walden Surfboards tank that doesn’t fit my middle daughter yet, but she’ll grow into it.


Also included in my package were fat quarters of a Crafty Chloe print, which I already have, but was happy to receive more of; and three prints from Heather’s Nursery Versery line. I had the little pigs in gray already (my two older kids take it off my shelf all the time to sing the song with their toes) and was excited to get more piggies and the other two prints.



I think this next item was meant specifically for my son. Heather included this adorable sketch of Bert, the dog from the Crafty Chloe book, which she signed. I’ve since framed it and have it hanging in my son’s room.



We had a Crafty Chloe-themed birthday for my older daughter this year so she was excited to get her very own Crafty Chloe retractable measuring tape. There were two in the package, so I’m claiming the other one.



The last item in my package was this Crafty Chloe promotional poster addressed to my kids and signed by Heather.



The back has some fun little worksheet games that my son wanted to do right away, but I wouldn’t let him. (I'm so mean!) A friend suggested I make copies of it so he can do the games and puzzles that way instead.



Overall, I was really pleased with the package I received. I feel bad that others were less than thrilled about theirs, but I feel like I got a great package and definitely want to participate again.

4x5 Bee Blocks and October Sew Beautiful Bee Block

Last year, Sukie talked me into participating in the 4x5 bee that she was heading up on Flickr. I participated in the first round, but had so many other things going on that I didn’t join in on any other rounds (quarters). I’ve had my five blocks sitting in a drawer since then and decided it was time to do it once more so I could collect a few more blocks and put a quilt together.


For the girls in my hive, I made these broken herringbone blocks. (Check out the pouch I made using a modified version of this block here.) I’ve loved my group. Everyone picked great color combos, which I was lucky enough to have on-hand already, and everyone’s been really active in our discussion thread on Flickr.

Here are the blocks:











Friday nights seem to be when I get the most sewing done so last week I also managed to make this feather bed block (free block tutorial by Anna Maria Honer) for Katie for her month in the Sew Beautiful Bee.



The Field Study, Indie, and Quilter’s linen work so well together in this block.

Now that I’ve finished all my bee blocks for now, I need to get cracking on finishing up my Pillow Talk Swap pillow. I made a list of all the projects I’d like to finish by Christmas. It’s a bit overwhelming so I need to work hard at being as efficient as possible.

Some Sewing Summit Pouches

During the last minute hubbub of scrambling to get ready for Sewing Summit, I decided I needed to add to my to-do list and make some pouches for my roommates, Kati and Colleen.

I modified this broken herringbone block from Play Crafts, which I used as my 4x5 bee blocks (I’ll post about those soon), for the pouch front for Colleen. She told me her favorite colors are aqua, orange, and gray, so I used those colors for the block and added a lighter aqua for the background and reverse side of her pouch.

This style of pouch has been my go-to for the last several pouches I’ve made. I typically cut fabric pieces anywhere from 9 to 12 inches square. Then I add a gusset to the bottom of the pouch – small if I want a taller pouch, large if I want a shorter/wider pouch. I used double fusible interfacing for this pouch and I think it made it a bit too stiff. After taking Sara’s (from Sew Sweetness) advanced bag construction class at Sewing Summit, I’m excited to experiment some more with different types of interfacing.



For Kati’s pouch, I modified the Which Way Is North compass star block that Elizabeth (from Don’t Call Me Betsy) used in her A Light in the Dark mini quilt. Kati’s favorite color combo is orange, lime green, and aqua, so I paired those with Essex linen in natural for the background and reverse side of her pouch.







Colleen made me this beautiful metal frame Pine Burr pouch. I love rainbow/color wheel arrangements of just about anything, so this pouch is right up my alley.



For the background and reverse side of the pouch, Colleen used this awesome French architecture print. I’m not sure what it’s called, but I absolutely love it.



I had hopes of writing a Sewing Summit recap post, but I doubt it's going to happen. Just know that it was awesome. I loved it! The classes were great, the socializing was fun, and the friendships I made and strengthened were priceless! If you're on the fence about going next year, I highly recommend that you do. And make sure to set your alarms for when tickets go on sale so you don't miss out on this amazing opportunity.

Autumn Fire and Rain Pillow

I'm guest posting over at Moose Quilts today about my autumn Fire and Rain pillow. The pattern is from Konda's new Simply Charming Minis book. Head on over and check it out.

Gearing up for Pillow Talk Swap #9

The mister thinks I'm crazy (since I have SO many projects in the works right now), but I couldn't resist signing up for round 9 of the Pillow Talk Swap. It is probably my most favorite swap on Flickr. The talent pool is amazing and I've been so so happy with the two pillows I received in previous rounds.

In stalking my partner, I came up with a design that I think she'll like: repeating kaleidoscope blocks.



I drafted a paper piecing pattern so I don't have to use templates. Each quadrant finishes at four inches, so I'm planning on making 25 blocks for a 5x5 layout (20 inches tall by 20 inches wide).



I've only made four blocks so far, but I wanted to give my partner a better idea of what the pillow top will look like. I photoshopped the above image to get this one:



The color placement will obviously be different with the actual blocks, but they'll each consist of red, yellow, green/aqua, dark gray, with a light gray (Kona ash) background.



This isn't one of my familiar, typical, comfortable color schemes (and part of me keeps thinking about the German flag), but I'm really liking how it's coming together so far. I'm becoming more and more comfortable with paper piecing, and this project will provide a lot more practice!

Fabrics include:
Denyse Schmidt's Chickopee
Rashida Coleman Hale's Washi
Kona Ash, Charcoal, and a few other greens that I can't remember the names of
Robert Kaufman's Metro Living
Annela Hoey's Little Apples
Lucy Summers' Summersville
Bonnie and Camille's Vintage Modern
Riley Blake (I can't find the name of that other yellow print, but I'll look for it)