New Year's Eve

Remember this bag?

No? That's OK. Here's a reminder. Well it's time to vote over at The Sewing Summit's website. There are some great bags that people created from a simple blank canvas bag. So head on over and check them out. The polls are open until Friday, January 6th. And, of course, I'd love it if you voted for mine, but if you don't that's all right. In my mind I'm already a winner, because I love this bag!!! :D

Did you notice in the above picture that it's full?? That's not a staged photo. This bag is my FAVORITE that I've made and has become my knitting bag. It's been going everywhere with me. Never know when I'll have a few minutes to knit up a few more rows!

Currently the inside of the bag is a mess, but as you can see below, I'm working on a solution to that problem. Just a few more rows of stitching and my needles will be much more organized and have a happy new home.

Shawl Collared Cowl, in progress

Here is one of my WiPs that is in my bag. I cast on 2 night ago and am halfway finished. When I started I had no clue what short rows were, but the pattern is very well written and explains each step nicely. I even knit my first button holes with this pattern!

This was also the first time I'd had to check the gauge on a project before starting.

I'm using 2 skeins of Ella Rae Classic Superwash Chunky, which I received in a swap I recently participated in on SwapBot. The yarn in the picture is a little more yellow than the actual color. It's more of a rust color in real life.

Here's another cowl that I just finished:

It's only a teaser picture due to bad lighting.

I bought this Wyoming wool in Dubois & knitted up a chunky lace cowl on the way home. It just needs a couple buttons and it'll be ready to wear. I found this pattern on Ravelry too, but I can't seem to find it right now. I'll figure it out and post a link when I share the final product.

Well, it's New Year's Eve and Jake is playing his new Cabela's Big Game Hunter game on the Wii. I'm headed off to my sewing room for some end of the year sewing. My knitting needles need a new home, remember? I know it sounds like a boring way to ring in 2012, but after the blizzard, high winds, and power outage earlier today I'm glad that we decided to stay home tonight.

Happy New Year!

Sewing Summit Swag Bag

When we first checked in at the Sewing Summit we got this awesome blank canvas bag filled with tons of goodies. At first I was just super excited about being there and the amazing generosity of the sponsors, but as the weekend progressed I started to wonder what I was going to do with yet ANOTHER bag! When Erin announced in the Google group that there would be a contest for revamping our blank bag I knew exactly what I was going to do!

First I dyed it tangerine since orange is my go-to color. I haven't worked with dye since I did tie-dye at Girl Scout camp so this was my first step outside of my comfort zone. It turned out beautiful with lots of variations to give it a marbled look.

Bag body and straps

Then I took the bag completely apart to start with a fresh canvas. As you can see by the picture, I probably should have taken it apart first for a more uniform dye job, but it didn't really matter since all the undyed parts were later covered. The body of the bag was cut into 2 - 16"x18" pieces, which was basically the entire bag.

I cut each strap into 4 smaller strips and did a 4-plait round braid. I safety pinned the ends since they would eventually be sewn into the bag & at this point I wasn't sure how long they would need to be.

I knew what pattern I was going to use, but I wasn't sure how to decorate it yet so it sat for a few weeks after that.

In the meantime I participated in the Post Sewing Summit swap and made this fun mini for my partner, Becky. I really enjoyed this simple foundation piecing technique and thought it would be a fun way to highlight some of my favorite designer fabrics.

I started with some of my newly acquired Outfoxed and went from there. I was going to do a rainbow of colors again, but I changed my mind and decided to step further out of my comfort zone and work only with cool colors. I made a larger version of the Boxy Cosmetic Bag and added my braided handles to the side to make it easier to zip & unzip.

I used the same fabric to line the bag as I did on the back of Becky's mini & finished off the seams with a contrasting binding tape. I didn't do the prettiest job, but it looks better than the exposed seams would have.

Here is the final product...

Bottom

Inside

Side view

Top

I love this bag and I love that it will always remind me of Sewing Summit. And it will definitely be filled with hand work for next year's retreat! :D

{Sew} Modern Monday

Thanks to everyone who entered my first For the Love Of... linky party. The winner of my birthday giveaway will be announced tomorrow.

In the meantime I wanted to share some fun things for {Sew} Modern Monday with Megan at Canoe Ridge Creations. I was lucky enough to meet Megan at the Sewing Summit last month. And although I didn't get to talk with her long she is very sweet & I look forward to seeing her again next year. Yesterday was her birthday so get over there and wish her a happy birthday. Plus, she might just be having a giveaway right now. ;)

Friday I came home to a couple goodies in the mailbox...

What could they be???

The first package I opened was from Bree. I was expecting this one because I knew she was sending a bee block, but I didn't know there'd be more in there. A frame pouch made from the same fabric she used to make my very first swap purse.

I "met" Bree last fall (2010) when we both signed up for a bag swap at Sew Mama Sew. We have kept in touch with email and texting since. And we even spoke on the phone the other day, which is a big deal for me because I'm NOT a phone person! Someday we'll actually meet in person. :)

String Me Along bee block & frame pouch.

Isn't it great???

The next package I opened was from Liz. She decided to set up a Post Sewing Summit swap to keep the excitement going. Personally, I hope there's another one after this. There is some amazing talent out there, you really should check out the photo pool. Anyway, this is what was in the package...Oh my gosh!!!

Neptune amazing-ness!!!

Our options were to make either a mini quilt or zippy pouch for our partner. Liz made both! Plus she sent some leftover Neptune FQs. Thank you so much Liz!!!

I made a mini quilt for my partner too. I can't tell you too much about why I chose to make this design because my partner hasn't received her package yet, but I did want to show off some pictures.

I used this Spiderweb block tutorial. I had a hard time deciding which color thread to use to quilt this, and then I remembered I had recently picked up some glow-in-the-dark thread. Bingo! I used an overall stipple because that's all I really know how to free motion right now.

OK, I'm really proud of this mini so I had to share another shot of it. :)

I was having a heck of a time finding backing fabric. Until I found this! Isn't it beautiful?? And I decided to piece together a rainbow-y binding.

I added a couple other goodies in the package too.

Handmade graph paper sketchbook & gift card made by my mom.

There is also a drawstring bag in the package for my partner, but I think the fabric will give it away so I'll share once my partner receives her goodies.

Thanks for visiting!

Linking up to amylouwho's mini quilt linky party. Go check out the other gorgeous minis!

The Sewing Summit

Well, I made it to The Sewing Summit! I got a little worried when I hit snow outside of Rock Springs & it didn't let up until I came down out of the mountains into Salt Lake City, but I made it! The snow put me a little behind schedule for picking up my awesome roommate, Rachel, from the airport, but she didn't have to wait long.

View from our room. Most of the weekend the mountains were covered by the storm.

I had an amazing time & look forward to more Sewing Summits in the future. It's already becoming a dream in my memory especially since I didn't take nearly enough pictures. But I did get a few. Enjoy!!

Some of the first people I met in the lobby were Bari J & Suzy. They are the sweetest ladies & I had a great time hanging out with them throughout the weekend, especially Saturday night in the BabyLock sewing room. Sadly I didn't get a picture with Suzy, they had to leave before the goodbyes on Sunday, but hopefully I'll get to see her again soon. :)

With Bari

Friday was early check-in and then the shop hop. 50 of us climbed onto a chartered bus and visited 3 different quilt shops. I found some great stuff (more on that later)! After the shop hop we climbed into my Jeep & a few of us went to Blazing Needles yarn shop. My new friend, Jacey, taught Rachel & I about the different weights of yarn and helped me pick out a beautiful rose colored skein of malabrigo. That night at the open sewing session she taught me the knit & purl stitches.

Saturday was class day. I learned a lot of fun techniques from each of the classes. We also had 2 classes before goodbyes on Sunday.

Tailoring by Hand with Gertie

Marvelous Minis with Amanda

And I met some amazing women!!

Me & Chris. Such a sweetheart.

With Amanda.

I was super nervous to meet her, but she is just as sweet in person as she is on Twitter. Everyone was! It was so wonderful to be a part of this amazing experience.

Busty Larue. She's awesome!

With Jana. I think she was trying not to laugh.

She & Jen were a couple more who were at our crazy Saturday night sewing party.

Some of my favorite gals & more from the Saturday night crew. Jill, Rachel, Jacey, & Me

Amy & Erin, the fabulous TSS founders

All I can say is that there was lots of stitching, cracking jokes to the point of tears, & maybe a little rum involved in a wonderful weekend!!

And between swag & purchases I came home with a lot more than what I arrived with!

Beautiful weather Sunday for the drive home.

* Sorry about all the pictures of me. I had to prove to Jake that I actually met and befriended these women, not just snapped a random picture of them as they walked past. :)

{Sew} Modern Monday

It's October! Yay! That means I can start decorating for Halloween. :)

(1) My 10 minute table runner that took several weeks. Only because it sat half finished on my shelf while I worked on other projects.

A close-up of the fun fabrics.

I also put up a giant spider web in the window & I have a wall hanging that's ready to be quilted. When I'm at The Sewing Summit this weekend I will be on the lookout for glow-in-the-dark thread.

(2) Remember my Jelly Roll Race quilt top? Well, it too sat on my shelf for weeks (months really). I thought it was going to be a tablecloth, but when I rearranged the dining area & tried it out on the table it was just too busy for my taste. So I changed direction slightly & decided to cut it up and make placemats & oven mitts.

But now I need your help. I don't know how I want to quilt it. I know I don't want to stitch in the ditch. Besides that I have no idea. For an extra incentive to get lots of quilting suggestions I will send a little thank you gift to the person who's suggestion I choose to use. So post those ideas!!

Here are the placemat tops. Fun, huh?

I'm still debating on the backing because I'm not really a fan of yellow, but it goes so well with the top AND I already had it in my stash. 2 will be bound with strips from the black jelly roll & 2 with the off-white.

(3) I made a new camera bag for my point & shoot. It's such an awesome camera and needed a truly awesome pouch to live in. I used some of my Terrain charm pack for the fun and colorful bag.

Be sure to stop by Canoe Ridge Creations if you haven't already to see what everyone else has been up to.