Vintage Round Up

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I finished up my last few blocks for Bee Vintage! (July is my month, so happy mail in my future!)

Jodee wanted an antique tile block:

And Tammie asked for a super scrap-buster!

I made a cute butterfly block for Stephanie, but must have mailed it off before I took a pic. Pink vintage sheets butterfly on a gray background. Really nice combo that I'll try again some time.

I'm keeping my round super simple, asking for a wonky log cabin. The Baltimore MQG is doing a log cabin challenge in September, with all the quilts going to the South East Early Head Start program. I think some vintage sheets blocks will look great in a log cabin (and I get the easy job of just piecing the top ~ always thinking of short cuts here!)

I picked these vintage thread spools up at the GW for $.99 last week! I often see them at antique/flea markets, but they want a fortune. 

Another thrifty vintage pyrex find. But I can't identify the pattern. Hard to tell, but the design is gold. Any ideas?

Ughh, off to haul more stuff into the garage for a garage sale tomorrow. Really, I'll just pay people to take the stuff away. If you're in Baltimore County tomorrow....stop by!

Festival of Strings

Rachel over at Stitched in Color  is sponsoring a Festival of Strings to "celebrate the beauty and joy of scrap quilting." I do love a good scrap quilt. The blocks for this one have come from a few different virtual quilting bees (Lovely Linen mostly). I've had them for a year or so now. And while I've been knee deep in projects that I really needed to get done (as in some one was paying me to do them) I went ahead and procrastinated and finished this one up. And, lucky girl that I am, 2 weeks after finishing it, an invitation for a baby shower arrived in the mail. Cousins Scott and  Heather are having a girl!
Gift? Done. (If I were the kind of gal that said "boom", I'd say it now.)

Finished Size Approximately 36 x 48

Close up of Vintage Sheets

Pieced Backing

Gingham Binding

P B & J Sneak Peek

I have a little sneak for you. I did a pillow tutorial for BasicGrey using the super fun line P B & J.

As soon as it's up, I'll let you know!

My Ginormous Tote Bag

At the last meeting of the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild, we had the reveal of our tote bag swap. Sadly, I did not participate in the swap. (Trying to be realistic about what I can actually get done in the time that I have!) I still wanted a tote bag, though, dang it. And I wanted a really large one. On the lines of an artist's portfolio. One large enough to hold a cutting mat, pressing board, big rulers, etc. Large enough to take to guild meetings and to classes. Large enough to hold a couple of quilts. Or, even a cute toddler if we come across one. (Okay, forget that last one. Family joke.)

At the same time I was dreaming about a tote bag, this quilt top has been hanging around. It was from the guild's Row Robin that ended in December. I envisioned a sewing themed wall quilt, and made my starter row some colorful spools. My fellow "robiners" did a great job with my top. But when it was all done, I just wasn't feeling a quilt.

And then it occurred to me I could make the top into a tote bag. So I took it apart in places, did some rearranging, added some solid red to the bottom and came up with this really ginormous tote. I LOVE IT! It's about 35" wide, 25" tall and 8" deep. It holds everything I want and then some. I layered the outside with some thin batting, did some minimal horizontal line quilting, then fused a stiff interfacing to the outer layer and the lining as well. The lining is a favorite vintage sheet in an awesome red print (never seen before or since.) I already have it stuffed to take to our next guild meeting. I know this will get tons of use.

Filled with 2 quilts and a 20" pillow!

Winners!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and commented. So many great tips. I think a trip to Ikea is in my future, as many of you love their Alex's and Expedits.  I'll share one of my own tips. You know those giant tubs of salad mix you can get at Costco and BJs? After the salad is finished, I wash them out and use them for storage. Large enough for a quilting project, see through, stack-able and FREE!

Here are the winners:

nicolesender
SouthernGal
fabricdonkey
bethany
kathy@kayakquilter

Everyone has been emailed. Thanks all. I hope everyone won something!

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Sew Mama Sew! Giveaway Day!

I love the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day. I've entered hundreds of giveaways, and I think I've won 2. So, that's not so bad, right? Always fun to win something.

So here's what I'm offering up: some of my original Subway Art! You can choose from Black, Tangerine or Aqua. You'll be sent a digital file, with an 8x10  image that you can print at home, plus a 16x20 that you can send to your favorite lab (I like Costco!) to print. Or, if you're feeling fancy, you can even have it printed on canvas (Groupon always has deals for this.)

To enter, leave a comment telling me either how you manage to fit in quilting with a full time job (mothering counts as a full time job!) OR tell me a great storage/organization tip for your supplies (we're thinking of downsizing soon, so I want to know how to sew in a small space.) For an extra entry you can become a follower or let me know that you're a follower. I'll choose 5, that's right, FIVE winners! (If you don't win, the prints are available in my shop. Just sayin')

Good luck with the rest of the giveaways. I hope you win tons!