Destashing at a Yard Sale?

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Good morning....  I have lost my voice today.  And not it's not too surprising that my kids are having some fun with that so far today.  So, seeing as I'm struggling to get out the things I need to say this morning (mainly "eat your breakfast" and "don't tease your brother"), it is so refreshing right now to sit and write.  My inner voice, at least, cannot be silenced.  Not that I have any deep and profound mantra to share with you right now, instead just a little ditty about enjoying summer.

Last week, my dentist emailed me to let me know about a Yard Sale that was happening at a cute little shop in her town.  See, it pays off when everyone you know is aware of your fabric-addiction.  :)  Cute as a Button is an adorable little baby item shop in the historic downtown of Powell, Ohio.  Specialty shops, charming antique shops, etc.  A delightful place to spend an afternoon.

I packed up the stroller and took the boys over to the Yard Sale.  Make a mental note!!  When crafty shops have a Yard Sale, there are bound to be some goodies involved.  There were lots of sewing and quilting supplies, books, fabric and scrapbooking supplies.  A mother-daughter team own the shop, and I think one of them were destashing.  Fat quarters were 25 cents!

Here are the few items I picked up.  There was also a neat little basket of vintage linens mixed in with the fabrics.  I found this little embroidered table runner also for 25 cents.  Crazy!  Now it's sitting on my dining room table charming visitors to my home.

Of course, I wasn't able to leave without a few little toys and books for the boys, but it was a beautiful summer day to be out and about shopping the town with my little men.  We ended the trip with some chocolate ice cream.  :)

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Stitch with Style's Modern Alphabet Bag with Leather

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A new bag!  I purchased this AMH Field Study linen while I was in Portland for Market - and immediately I knew I wanted to make a new bag.  But what pattern would I use??  That is always my biggest debate.  I was fortunate enough to meet Jessica while I was in town, and she was carrying her Modern Alphabet Bag that she designed for 2013's Stitch with Style magazine.  I complimented her on it and she said it was easy if you didn't mind working with leather.

Leather?!??!   Say wha?  As a quilter, I am rarely game for working with daring fabrics such as leather.  After all, mentioning the word knit sends me cowering into the corner of the room.  Should I dare try leather?  For some reason, I became obsessed.  Of course, I would make this bag with leather.  I couldn't let anything stop me.

I made my first visit ever to a leather factory store.  Talk about intimidating.  They asked me what animal I wanted, talked about tanning, dyeing, and what seemed like a whole host of other questions I didn't know the answers to.  I found something as quickly as I could, from the sale table.  A success considering I had two of three kids with me.

Then I got home and laid out the "hide".  Although I have never had any strong feelings on animal issues, I felt strangely guilty.  I felt as if I had killed Bambi myself.  Well, Bambi the sheep.  Because what I ended up purchasing was sheepskin.  I kept telling myself that this animal was already dead regardless of whether I purchased this leather or not.  I wasn't prepared for this mental game.  I have lots of leather.... shoes, bags, belts, etc.  I never really thought about it until I saw the skin laid out on my basement floor.

Once I got my pieces cut out, I was a little less weirded out by the hide and began to assemble the bag.  Sewing with the leather was surprisingly easy, provided you have a walking foot.  It was supple, and although I am historically terrible at sewing curves, I managed these curves just fine!  Leather is a one shot material though, once you pierce it, the needle holes remain, so I sewed very slowly when working with it.


The bag was easy to put together.  The sides are basically an outside fabric and a lining with interfacing in between.  Then the leather gusset forms the short sides and the bottom of the bag.  The pattern called for pockets only on one side of the bag.  But I love me some pockets!

So I added this zippered pocket after having tried these on my messenger bag.

Now that it's all said and done with, I am loving this bag.  It's very large and roomy for all of the 18 mommy supplies I have to carry.  I love the Field Study Linen that I was able to fussy cut for the panels to get a rainbow effect for the feathers.  AND I am liking the leather - truely.  It smells good and it feels so soft, yet strong.  I don't know if I will make another trek to the leather shop though.

What do you think?  Have you worked with leather? Pin It

Lagoon Appearing on Quilting Arts TV on PBS

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I have been waiting forever to show this quilt to you.  I am calling it Lagoon for it's watery palette of color and the large pinwheels that make me think of gently flowing water.
At the beginning of this 2012, Penny McMorris (co-founder and vice-president of Electric Quilt) contacted me about guesting along with her on a segment for Quilting Arts TV with host Pokey Bolton.  She proposed a design challenge that we present on the segment of the show.  [For behind the scenes shots and an account of my first TV appearance, go here.]


The challenge: both of us started with the same basic block.  Then independently, we used EQ7 to create a new block design based upon the original. Also, we created several quilt top designs.  The segment demonstrates some of the interesting ways that quilts can be designed on the computer - before you cut up your fabric.  Both Penny and I chose one quilt design to make into a sample.  Lagoon is the product of this fun experiment!

Look closely!  Although there was no reason, I was particularly nervous about making everything perfect on this quilt.  Hey, if the camera adds 10 pounds, who knows how it makes a quilt look? You have never seen such a fine example of squareness and precise binding from this woman.   


I am excited that this episode of Quilting Arts TV is airing!  If you are local to Columbus, Ohio, you can watch Quilting Arts TV Episode 1107 on PBS on  WPTDDT3 tomorrow, Thursday, June 13, 2013 at 7:30am and 1:30pm.  If you'd like to find when it airs in your area, go here.  Below I have the little teaser video clip that introduces this episode.

Quilt Stats.

Name: Lagoon

Size: 65" x 65"

Design: pixelated block design and layout by me

Fabric:  Robert Kaufman Konas in greens, blues, and purples on Kona White.

Piecing:  Me

Quilting: Beany of Quilty Pleasures

(Thank you so much to Robert Kaufman for providing the Kona Cottons for this project.  And also a huge Thank You to Penny McMorris for asking me to join her - it was such a fun experience!)

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