Sewing Room Update

 Happy Sunday! I finished my Mini Swoon Quilt this week--it is now hanging in my reorganized sewing room.

I also finished my Christmas Patchwork Swoon top today! I used Kate Spain's Northwoods fabrics along with some Bonnie and Camille fabrics. It does not scream Christmas, but it looks so pretty.

 The light aqua is a Kona called Iced Frappe that I found at Joann's. I still need to figure out my borders, but I want to put minky on the back to make it extra cozy for Christmas cuddling 2017.

 My sewing room reorganization is pretty much done, so here are some pictures. Behind my door, I have this antique and very rustic ladder I have some quilts displayed on.

 Next is my comfy chair. I would like to replace this eventually with a different colored chair maybe aqua/black/gray, but this is a good size and I stole it from my guest room years ago, so it was a freebie. I do need to make a new lap quilt eventually with some of my B&C stash. I use my vintage sewing box as a side table and my Journey of a Quilter is on the wall.

 My scraps are organized by color in rolling carts underneath my sewing table. My OCD hubby thinks I should replace these with cube storage and bins that would hide the mess better, but I would rather spend the money on new fabric!

Here is the top of my cutting table with a huge cutting mat, my rulers, a vintage sewing machine cabinet drawer,  a three-tiered galvanized server, cracker jars, and some mini quilts. The cabinet above is recycled from my kitchen--I want to paint it the same aqua as my ironing station, but my hubby thinks it is a bad idea...I will have to keep working on him!

Here are some of my mini quilts displayed near my cutting table. Many of them were blocks from B&C's Snapshots quilt along from 2015.

Of course, here is the ironing station that started everything. The Wal had four more galvanized tubs when I went grocery shopping this morning. They are huge and have rubber pads on the bottoms to prevent scraping up my pretty cabinet.

Do you see my flying pig? My mom and dad gave him to me for Christmas and he was lime, but my hubby painted him to match everything--I need to add some wings!

 On this side of the room, I rearranged my thread in the corner and have another recycled kitchen cabinet above.

Here is my new Mini Swoon and inspiration board.

On my sewing machine table, I have this galvanized organizer with my pins in half pint jars and my ironing sprays. Underneath is my rolling cart that holds my Singer Featherweight and my traveling sewing supplies.

To the left of my sewing machine table, I have this old computer armoire full of UFOs and WIPs. I thought about getting rid of this, but then I would have to figure out what to do with my TV and it is great storage!

 This is the small walk in closet. Fabric is stored in tubs on each side of my bookshelf.

Here is the last bit of my 12x12' room with my new Moda Sampler Block Shuffle, my heater/fake wood stove, and my vintage picnic basket. I would like to recover my office chair to coordinate and get a new trashcan, but I am pretty satisfied with my updated sewing room.

I am going to spend the evening quilting the border on the Salt Box Houses Quilt for Slow Sunday Stitching

https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2017/01/slow-beaders.html

Now that I am super organized in my sewing room, I should be getting more done!

UFO Battle

Having an extra day off this week helped with my UFO battle. I dug these blocks out of a tub and sewed the top together.  I consider this quilt a freebie because it was entirely made from my stash. I embraced the 30's reproduction fabrics I used with the borders. I also pulled a peach reproduction for the backing.

Daisy like flowers need to be embroidered in the cornerstones, so it is not quite ready for quilting. This gorgeous embroidery design is from the book, S is for Stitch by Kristyne Czepuryk, and was part of a quilt along in 2015. Since I had an empty bin that meant I could start something else right?

As I have been organizing my sewing room, I have wanted to add some more mini quilts in there. I made this little strawberry mini quilt in an afternoon.

This is a Mini Swoon Quilt. I made it this week as part of the Instagram #swoonalong. This will also stay in my sewing room and features some of my favorite Bonnie and Camille fabrics. I will bind it during the NFL Division Championship games for Slow Sunday Stitching:

https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com

 As part of my sewing room reorganization, I ditched my cracked and hand me down bulletin board for this farmhouse looking board. I love the black with rustic chicken wire and the tiny aqua clothespins--totally goes with my feminine farmhouse look I am going for. It is 20x20" and the Mini Swoon Quilt will fit on its right hand side.

I found two galvanized bins at Walmart the other day. I love them for storage in my ironing station! I plan on buying more when they have more in--hopefully soon.

Carole who blogs at 

https://frommycarolinahome.wordpress.com/2017/01/20/scrap-dance-two-step-mystery-quilt-begins/

is hosting another amazing quilt along. It is a mystery and I usually skip mysteries, but the one I did skip, I really regretted it! I am not making that mistake again. I spent Friday night cutting all of my scraps for a twin sized version. 

My gorgeous daughter left to go back to Colgate University yesterday morning. It was a bittersweet goodbye as we had a very nice visit and I miss her terribly, but she is doing fantastic there and will even stay there this summer working in the admissions office. Her trip back to school went smoothly and her classes start tomorrow.

After dropping her off at the airport, I needed retail therapy--I went straight to my favorite fabric store! I got a couple of half yards of B&C along with a yard of Kate Spain North Woods green to make a Patchwork Swoon--a modern looking Christmas quilt for the couch. I also picked up the neutral background for the Scrap Dance Two-Step. Then, I came back home and cut it up and completed the first step for our mystery. I plan on spending the day getting started on the Patchwork Swoon. Have a great week!

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Sewing Room Organization Continues

My Moda Sample Block Shuffle was finished last weekend, but I was not able to get outdoor photos until this morning. It measures 39.5 x 47 inches. I had thought about using it for a baby gift, but it fits into my new color scheme in my sewing room--I am keeping it.

 Here is an up close view of the crosshatch quilting. I quilted on the diagonals at 1.5 inches apart.

Here is the backing with a strip of Bonnie and Camille fabric to make it wide enough.

I am trying to be better about labeling!

 My daughter and I trekked to Hobby Lobby yesterday. I had been looking at some things online and wanted to check them out in person and save on shipping. I picked up this 20 x 20 inch frame with chicken wire to replace my bulky bulletin board (it was a hand me down) and I got tiny aqua clothespins to hang things on it. It was half price, so down to $17.50. I just have to get the other one unscrewed and this one up. It goes well with the aqua and black color scheme.

They also had this three-tiered galvanized serving tray. I have been trying to find one at a thrift store for several years and have had no luck--finding this half priced at Hobby Lobby for $20 seemed reasonable. I am using it on my cutting table to be more organized. I love the little chicken pin cushion peaking out the top.

 This was also a half priced buy at Hobby Lobby--$15. I am not sure where it is going to live. I was not sure about this piece, but my daughter reminded me that it would fit on a windowsill in my sewing room--we have 10 inch thick walls and very wide windowsills. Sold! I still have some things that need to be done in my sewing room--my thread racks relocated, the bulletin board removed and replaced, storage containers for my ironing station, and a portable design board. It will all get done eventually, but I am already thrilled with the changes.

In the meantime, I made some Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks. This month's color is purple and I have a few more purple blocks all ready to sew together.

For Slow Sunday Stitching, I need to add the rest of the details to my snowman and get this ready for hand quilting and buttons. Cozy hand quilting on the couch with the family and football is the perfect way to spend the afternoon and evening. Check out everyone else's slow stitching here:

https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2017/01/slow-sunday-stitching-1-year-of-stitches.html

First Finishes of 2017 & FNwF

 My first finish of 2017 came from the UFO pile! My sister sent my mom and I blocks using the Moda Sampler Block Shuffle patterns and Bonnie and Camille's Hello Darling fabrics starting in January of 2016. The blocks were fun to make and finished at six inches--I have had the blocks done for a long time. In the fall, I had picked up the aqua dot fabric from Joann's on the clearance for $3.50 a yard. I came across everything when I was reorganizing my sewing room this last week, so I decided to put my extra day off on Friday--an unexpected snow day--to work on finishing this up.

 I got it all pieced on Friday and then spent Friday Night with Friends (FNwF) marking it for quilting.  My cross hatch quilting is at a 45 degree angle and about 1.5 inches apart on both diagonals. This is pretty easy to quilt this design with the help of a walking foot and pencil. I used a number 2 mechanical pencil and my big ruler to mark the quilt.

You can find out what everyone else worked on Friday night here:

https://stitchingcubbyhole.blogspot.com/2017/01/all-starts-again.html

I got it pinned and all quilted up yesterday. I trimmed it and attached the binding last night.

Here is the backing--the red and pink--it was also a Joann clearance fabric for $3.50 a yard. I added a B&C strip of fabric to make it wide enough. I spent most of today stitching the binding down for Slow Sunday Stitching:

https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2017/01/slow-sunday-stitching.html

I will get better pictures, but it was already dark when I got it out of the dryer a little while ago. My sister wanted to know what I am going to do with it--it has shrank enough to fit in a space in my sewing room and coordinates with my new color scheme-- it will be MINE!

Speaking of my color scheme, my handy hubby finished painting my ironing station cabinet (this was an old cabinet from the garage that was here when we moved in) and delivered it to my sewing room today. The aqua is the cabinet--he used Behr paint from Home Depot called "Rainwater" and the black and white is 100% cotton canvas from Joann's.

He had originally cut the plywood for the top at 30x72 inches, but I decided it was too big for my tiny space. My sewing room is 12x12 feet with a small walk in closet. He took it back and trimmed it down to 24x60 inches and then covered it with four layers of cotton batting and the canvas. I picked up some black fabric cubes for the underneath storage, but I am rethinking that. My daughter saw some wooden crates with chalkboards at Walmart that I will be checking out after work tomorrow. They are a little more expensive than I planned, but just may be worth it.

I love my ironing station! Now, my ironing board is not in the middle of my room and I gained some storage. Previously, I had my hope chest in this spot and of course it was loaded up with completed quilts and UFOs. They were all moved to the guest room--see I gained more storage. Plus, the table that left the guest room to make room for my hope chest is a vintage Duncan and Phyfe drop leaf that will be going to the consignment store to be sold for more decorating money!

So there you have it, two finishes for 2017 a quilt one and a furniture one! But alas, I cannot take credit for the furniture finish that was all my hubby and I am already plotting my next idea--a design wall...Don't tell him! I will probably suggest it for my Valentine's Day, then how can he say no? 

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Snow Day = Bonus Sew Day

Winter Greetings! We got about 10 inches of snow yesterday and last night. Fortunately, my school district called a snow day for today because of all that snow and low temperatures it was -5 degrees at 8am. This is the third snow day in my 12 years living in Montrose, Colorado. I a thrilled because I really dislike driving in the snow--I need to go to town sometime this weekend to get the canvas to cover my new ironing station, other organization materials, and some produce, but they can wait. 

This handsome buck was in our pasture this morning. He was quite large, probably 150 pounds, and was digging out fallen apples and enjoying breakfast. I started my snow day by baking pumpkin bread. It is already almost gone! I am thinking chili, meatloaf, or taco salad for dinner--I will let me hubby decide since he has been working on snow removal most of the day.

My sewing room organization is going great. This is my ironing station with only primer, but my hubby has painted it (it is less green and more aqua now) and cut the ironing board. I am going to get black fabric bins for the inside because I am using a black with white design on the canvas ironing surface. My Iris scrapbook containers arrived via UPS last night and I already filled them up with UFOs and WIPs. I ran out of label maker tape, but I will label everything once I get some more. 

I really want to join the Instagram #Swoonalong and have all the patterns, but I hesitate to start something else with so many UFOs and WIPs. But, maybe I should make the Mini Swoon to help with my sewing room decoration...Plus, I really would like to get a 2017 finish out of the way!

 A UFO was what I spent my day working on! My sister sent me these block kits last year using the Moda Sample Block Shuffle patterns and Bonnie and Camille's Hello Darling Fabrics. Sorry the lighting is not great, but the snowy background is lovely.

I set them on on point and used a dotted aqua I got on sale at Joann's a few months ago for $3 a yard. I picked up a red and pink floral backing on the same sale. I am thinking of cross hatch quilting this one. It may end up hanging in my sewing room or could be a baby gift...Either way, it needs to become a finish!

This happy mail arrived today. I hit a great sale from a shop on Etsy https://www.etsy.com/shop/melodyoftheheart?ref=l2-shopheader-name

Melody had some Bonnie and Camille fabric for $6.04 a yard. I bought plenty to finish my Scrap Dance Waltz border and some pillow cases. Melody even refunded some of the shipping charges because she fit it into a Priority Mail envelope and sent me an extra B & C piece. That is excellent service!

Since I want my first finish of 2017, I am participating in Friday Night with Friends tonight

https://stitchingcubbyhole.blogspot.com

I will either work on adding borders to my Scrap Dance Waltz Quilt, pinning this Moda Sample Block Shuffle, or stitching my Saltbox Houses--so many projects and so little time, but this snow day sure was awesome!

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Happy 2017

 Happy New Year! I squeezed one more start and finish in yesterday for 2016. This sweet little pineapple mini quilt will be joining my mini quilt gallery in my sewing room. There were several block swaps for this on Instagram and I admired them all, so I dug into my yellow and green scrap bins to come up with this. I love to crosshatch quilt and this came out perfectly!

I received some quilty goodies for Christmas including this Frivols Strawberry Fields. I love these smaller quilt designs!

My mom and dad also got me Lori Holt's Scrappy Project Planner.

 I am not sure if I will actually use the planning portion, but I loved the stash organization tips and already bought some new bins to try to organize some fabrics using Lori's methods. I also can't wait to make some of these scrappy designs.

 My sister and her family gifted me two Olive's Flower Market Charm Packs and this sweet pattern. I see an adorable baby quilt in my future.

 My sister also gifted me these goodies for a table runner. 

All of these new goodies have inspired me to do some reorganization in my sewing room. I use the Iris Scrapbooking 12 inch bins for my WIPs/UFOs and I ordered a dozen more from Amazon last night which means I need to clean out my armoire to make room for them. I have my label maker ready, sheet protectors to put my patterns into the right binders, and some new glass cracker jars for leftover bindings and selvages.

This old cabinet has been in our garage since we moved in--it holds some old towels and sheets and light bulbs that can be easily relocated. It is 36 inches high, almost 17 inches deep, and 54 inches long. I think it will make a perfect ironing station. If I move my hope chest into the guest room, I think it will fit in that spot. My hubby has agreed to paint it for me and help me make the ironing board top. I just have to decide on the color. I am thinking aqua, but will I get sick of it? I want something cheerful and light white or gray? I am hoping this is the first of several of my sewing room furniture pieces he will be painting for me--I am tired of all the different wood...

I am going to spend the last day of the regular NFL season organizing my sewing room and hand stitching some more saltbox houses for Slow Sunday Stitching

https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2017/01/happy-new-year-at-slow-sunday-stitching.html

I actually have to work tomorrow, but it is just meetings without kids--I will be daydreaming about sewing room organization for sure!