Keeping It Real: My Sewing Space

I do have to say that I am pretty lucky to have a room of my own to create and play. I house lots of fabrics, art supplies and other creative toys. I am constantly changing things around to suit my needs.

Here's a clockwise view:

A portion of my fabric stash and books.

More fabric, art supplies and other toys.

My craft table: where the magic happens.

My design wall. So happy to have one!

Sewing machine, Accuquilt and
other supplies.

I also have stuff tucked under the table and in another closet in the house. I plan to sort through it all this year and purge what I know will never be used. Since my resolution was to not buy any fabric, I hope to use up a lot of my stash and make room for new things in 2016.

I have plans to change a few things around in the next few weeks that will allow me to display more art work so stay tuned. I can't wait to post pictures when it's done.


Since my last blog, I made more bags including this one for my brother-in-law:

Tuxedo print boxed bag

Mustaches inside the bag!

 And I missed posting last week as I was busy celebrating my birthday!

Delicious Red Velvet Cupcake

My love splurged on lots of fabric for me. So much nerdy goodness with
Cotton+Steel and Tula Pink as a cherry on top!
How lucky can I be?

My friend Debbe had her fiance make this awesome ruler storage
for my craft desk. I saw hers and remarked that I would love one.
I was able to get two and they are almost filled.
Can you really have too many rulers?

My friend Leandra made this Tula Pink clock.
It brightens my design wall perfectly.

I also had great weekends before and after my birthday with my sister and friends that made me feel so special. I love my life and all those who are in it.

I feel ready to tackle a new year!

November's End

So much has happened since my last post.  I'll do my best to sum up the fun parts.


The second annual Orlando MQG retreat took place the first weekend and that was such a blast. It was nice to get away for a few days and just hang out with some wonderful people. I didn't take many photos while I was there but did put a dent in my budget allotted for shopping.

Here are some highlights:

Our view for breakfast each day in Cocoa, FL

Couldn't resist more Cotton+Steel.

Periodic Table Symbols: I'll be making something
nerdy and fun.

Fantasy Forrest:
No plans yet but am so in love!

My continued addiction to Whites with Black prints.
(Love those mustaches the most!)

Coffee...yum!

Crazy great prices so I had to get both!

Some yellows and orange since I have so little in my stash.

Something intriguing in this retro design.

I've had my eye on this Effervescence print from Michael Miller
 for a while and took the plunge.
Those purple polka dots are fun, too.

Safety pins and a fun black on black print.
(I'm going to make a few projects that needed zippers this
Christmas so I bought one to practice.)

A gift from a fellow guildmate!
(She finished a project and gave me her leftovers!)

My absolute favorite!!!

 Finished some blocks:

Last set of StashBee Hive blocks were sent to their new home.

Worked on a few block from T.Pink's 100 Modern Quilt Blocks.
(Still have a long way to go!)

BOM for OMQG Block Lotto this week!
(They need to get trimmed but I was chain piecing
a bunch to better my odds of winning.)

I've just realized that I had many other good times but didn't take any pictures to share. I'll need to do better next month.

How was your November?

City Sampler Blocks 9-24

Happy Sunday!

It's been a while since I've been able to post but I wanted to share more blocks that have been completed.

Tula Pink's City Sampler: 100 Modern Quilt Blocks

In my quest to make all 100 blocks, this book has kept me sane over the last few weeks. Since work and new responsibilities with the Orlando Modern Quilt Guild have taken up a lot of my waking hours, I cherish the times I've been able to take breaks to sew these 6.5 inch blocks.

I'm not giving titles to these blocks so I'll just list them by number.

#9

#10

#11

#12

#13

#14

#15

#16

#17

#18

#19

#20

#21

#22

#23

#24

As I add these blocks to my complete pile, I'm pretty excited about how they will look together. You'll have to check back in December to see the finished set.

Hope you are well. Best wishes for the week ahead.

City Sampler Blocks 1-8

One of my goals this year is to finish all 100 blocks from:

Her blocks are untitled and she asks you to name them when you make them. I decided to keep them as numbers similar to Shakespeare's sonnets: beautiful in their own way, no titles necessary. They have been so soothing to create. I've enjoyed taking my time to meditate while finding colors that work well together. It will be my Rainbow City Sampler when all is said and done. 

Since they are so small, I hope to finish 2 per week and have them all done by the end of Dec. It's a perfect way to use my Tula Pink fabrics that I've hoarded for a while now. I've also added scrap jelly roll strips, polka dots, and Kona solids to give some contrast to her bright Acacia line.

Here's what I have so far:

(Love this raccoon peeking out here!)

Blocks 1-8

[Please forgive the bad lighting in these photos. There has been no sun here for days!] 

The challenge has been to work with such tiny pieces and to make those seams accurate. I've made a few short cuts with strips when possible so they are a little easier to manage. I'm pretty smitten with these 6.5 in unfinished blocks and look forward to building this collection. I'll post them at the end of each month so please stop by to check their progress. 

What projects are keeping you busy this year?

She shops, she scores!

I am never one to brave the crowd on Black Friday for any sale. I am just not a fan of the traffic and potential rudeness that occurs because something is half off. So I shop online when I see an email or an online sale that is too good to pass up.

This year, Craftsy won! Their fabric sale last weekend was Ah-mazing! (I went a little nutty but I blame it on the cold I was getting.)

It all arrived in the mail on Tuesday and this was my first chance to share my goodies with you.

More Shot Cottons - Yes, please and thank you!

Can't resist more Kona!
This Silent Film set will work well
for my black and white quilt I'm designing.

The only pearls I want are "Pearl Bracelet" fabric from Andover.
Lizzy House makes me happy.

Riley Blake's Small Dots in Rainbow colors.
Couldn't resist!

Tula Pink!!!!!
I love this Acacia line and can't wait to play with those charms.

 So this is part of my stash. I'm waiting for the rest to arrive later this weekend. I look forward to a new year of great quilting projects. I certainly have lots of fun things to play with now.

Perhaps Santa will bring the camera that I've asked for so I can post better pictures next year?