If You Give a Quilter a Studio.....{Studio Makeover}

 If you give a quilter a studio....

Before photo

She'll ask you for new floors to go with it.

Maple Country by Home Legend

If you give her new floors,

She'll ask for the walls to be painted.

Paint:  Behr Bon Voyage

If you paint the walls,

She'll ask you for new window treatment fabric.

When you hang the new window treatments,

She will notice the fan blades don't match the floor, so you'll flip the blades around.

Since you are standing on it, she will probably ask you to move the island back towards the windows.

When you move the island, she'll notice she has more floor space to take pictures of quilts and blocks.

When she notices how clean the room looks with more floor space, 
she'll decide to she'll need some closet organization.

When she has more room in the closet, 

Cart from Country Door (vintage shopping cart)

She'll realize she has more space and store her rolling iron cart in it.  

She'll like the wire closet drawers from the closet so much, that she adds a unit with pre-cuts, 

When she realizes she likes to see her fabric, 

She will decide to rearrange her fabric and add her fat quarters with her mini bolts. 

She'll like the rainbow order so much, 

She'll organize her thread and buttons. 

But then she'll say she needs rainbow storage for her fabric scraps.

When she makes the storage bins, she'll say she needs to use up the fabric scraps.

You suggest she makes some more quilts.
She spies some empty areas above her cabinets.

When she thinks about minis, she'll want to go in the studio...

But if you give a quilter a studio.....

She'll want a longarm studio to go with it......

(To be continued)

Quilted Leaf Potholders {Tutorial}

I was undecided about writing up a tutorial for these, but I received a ton of emails asking me if I would after posting my original leaf potholders two weeks ago.  I had made three for myself, but really wasn't up to making any more.  However, when someone asked me to make them a pair?  I finally had a reason to make some and take some pictures for you!

**********UPDATE*********

 I have finally been able to create a .pdf on Craftsy for this tutorial.

PATTERN HERE

Supplies

Fabric scraps (preferably strips with lengths approx. 14"long)

2 Batting pieces (10"x12")

2 Insul-Bright pieces (10"x12")

1 Fat Quarter (backing fabric)

1/2 yd fabric (binding fabric)

Ruler/Rotary cutter

Thread

Sewing Machine

Leaf Potholder.pdf pattern 

I had some quilter friends that said "Thanksgiving Host gift idea!".  And I totally agree!  Too bad I am the hostess this year?  I also think they would be great as a housewarming party gift if the family was moving in at this time of the year, and there is always the newly married couple!

Please, please, PLEASE do the right thing and tag or link back to me, my blog, or Craftsy site if you post pictures/blog/sell the potholders.

I'm @buttonsandbutterflies on Instagram 

CLICK HERE!

or use #buttonsandbutterflies #leafpotholders #quiltedleafpotholders hashtags

Enjoy!

Virtual Sew In

Ever done one?

I tried to find a definition or some cute image, and I couldn't find one...so I made my own!

Photo via Instagram

An online friend did a shout out a few weeks ago on Facebook.  I had a ton to do and needed some dedicated time to do it all in. How could I not say "Me! Me! Me!"

Admittedly....Mr. Boss laughed at me when I told him my plans.  He finds these online interactions odd, but I explained to him that all I was basically asking for was 6 hours of uninterrupted sewing time. The gals and I would just be posting our progress, questions, and encouraging each other!  Baby and kid duty would be his.  

He being the wonderful man he is?  He agreed!

 I thought I would share with you how the day went...so here goes!

Saturday, 9:42 am

Slept in.  I was up late Friday night getting things planned. I popped onto Facebook and said "Hello".  A few of the ladies were just getting started. 

However, I needed my coffee and my shower ASAP!

Saturday, 11:30 am

  Mr. Boss left with Button to go grocery shopping.  I turned on my iron and pulled out my first projects (scrap fabric, tools, etc) for the day.

Saturday, 11:42 am

Showed off my plans to the group.  Then commenced cutting fabric.

Saturday, 11:54 am

An inquiry was made about where we were working. Photos of our spaces were requested...and they had to be current..messes and all.  

 

Question mark= secret project (taken with my iphone)

 I have to admit, it made me feel like we were sewing together on a retreat!

Saturday, 2:00 pm

All my coins (2.5 inch x 5 inch) were cut out.  88 rectangles cut from all my scrap bins.
 I also cut my 7 pieces for the sashing and borders (Kona Snow).

via Instagram

I have to admit. I was really wishing that I had bought a charm pack at this point.  I could have cut it in half!  Two hours is too long to cut fabric!

Saturday, 2:30 pm

 Coins and sashing completely laid out on my design wall.

(can't show you the picture...secret project...don't you hate that?!?!?)

Saturday, 3:05 pm

It was time to switch gears and not think about the quilt top.  I completed the cutting of 8 black and white pieced strips (4 jelly roll strips sewn into a rectangle) into 56 triangles for a second Spiders and Webs quilt.

via Instagram

Saturday, 3:17 pm

Finished getting the triangles on my design wall.

 By luck, I had the other quilt top laid out on the lighter side, and flipped it to the back (remember I made a black side for my portable wall design) just to get them up. 

As luck would have it?  I liked the black!  I have now made the decision to do black triangles instead white like I originally intended.

Saturday, 4:18 pm

I pulled out my Christmas top I had started here.

  I spent an hour cutting various sizes of my scraps to make the trees and trunks. 

via Instagram

However, it was at this point that I realized that I was really doing a "cut-in" day instead of a "sew-in"

day!!!!!

Saturday, 4:30pm

I immediately went to work piecing all the coins and sashing. Mr. Boss even commented that I REALLY meant business when I took the cover off my Symphony. He also could not believe how much I had accomplished since I started.  

 Of course, around this time is when there were a lot of  interruptions...baby up from his nap, which meant me sewing with him on my lap or making sure he wasn't turning the machine on when he started feeding fabric to the machine.  Not to mention dinner, clean-up, driving a teenager to the school dance...and so on!

Saturday, 10:57 pm

  And I had a finished top...44x54!  Just in time to pick up the teenager up from the dance!

I can't show you all of it, so it is just a sneak peek because it is a surprise quilt, and I don't want a certain someone to get the drift...even though she is pretty smart and will! 

Sunday, 12:02 am

I returned home and had a MAJOR second wind.  I have horrible insomnia and driving around and listening to the radio station playing club music had me pumped!

I decided to get to work on a paper piece project.

Sunday, 2:53 am

Called it a night!  

I had finished piecing three letters out of four.  I was very distracted at this point because a few of us were burning the midnight oil and getting pretty silly online chatting!

I was making friends with Jack the seam ripper again. Sometimes, you have to stop when you are just not making good decisions!

Sunday, 3:10 pm

Finished the last letter.  Had to squeeze it in during laundry, football fantasy draft (I am Team "Yo Momma"), school/sports calendar planning for the week, and homework round-up.

So...not too shabby, hunh?  I feel really satisfied today!

The bonus?  Because I knew that I was sewing on Saturday, I wanted to get some unfininished gifts out of the way Friday!  I can't share those yet, but I am so excited to have made significant progress this weekend!!!  I would just like the momentum to keep moving!

My point of this whole post?  

If you can't make it out of the house to go on a retreat far, far away.  Here is what you do:

• Do a shout out to your fellow online sewing friends
• Set up a private group on FB
• Pick a day on a weekend that everyone can do
• Plan specific projects for that day
•  Get sewing ladies!!!!

P.S.  I am actually going to do a GIVEAWAY. for you, my loyal followers.   

I will announce it on Tuesday, August 28, 2011

Stay tuned!

WIP: Not all sewing!

I have started feeling like one of "those" bloggers.  At least 3 posts a week?  So I apologize to those that are like "Give it a rest, Heidi!"  My excuse?  I have too many things I need to get out of my head!!  It physically throbs and aches if I don't get it out.  

And I just adore Lee's  WIP Wednesdays!   It feels like it is my very own personal assistant letting me know what tasks I have left to do!  I am actually adding my "to do"s this week so I can have a visual reminder of what is on my agenda.

So just consider this blog and especially this post for my personal health, okay?

Quilting Projects

Christmas Quilt!  

If you recall HERE, I saw a tutorial about a week before Christmas.  I took the dare. I mean, seriously, someone TRIPLE dog dared me!!  Of course, reality set in that it would be quite rude to hide away in my Studio when my in-laws arrived for the holiday, so I started working on it right after the New Year!  I have successfully cut 95% (I have the appliques still to do) and pieced almost all of it. I just have one more step..sewing my pieced "snow and sky" to the squares below!

Three baby quilts 

One baby is already here, one is on it's way in March, and the third? It was supposed to be for Ana White's "Make Two".  I haven't really started on all three other than fabric choices. So sad, right?

Thank you quilt

When Baby Button arrived, I had to take maternity leave from my most favorite job as the school nurse.  One of the mom's at our school that is also an RN, was willing to substitute.  Right before his birth, I decided that I was not going to return after my maternity leave for the sanity of our family.  She agreed to finish out the full 4 months left.  Sweet, right?  I found this kit on clearance (even cheaper than the price tag mark) when my Joann's was moving to their new location.  I hope she likes it even though he is turning one next month!

Needlepoint Projects

I bought Button's Christmas Stocking Crosstitch Kit last month, but I need to finish at least one of the two following projects first. I don't like to have more than two going at a time!

Elsa Williams Vintage Cherries

  

I love small needlepoint projects for "on the go" or what I more commonly call my "Bus Driver" projects.  You know, the times you are sitting and waiting for your vehicle to be loaded up at carpool or waiting for the tennis lesson, baseball practice, or saxophone lesson to finish?  This one is great, but I started it sometime last year and have made no progress other than the portion you see.  MUST GET IT DONE!

Butterfly Throw

I bought this kit YEARS ago and it collected dust in my needlepoint basket.  When I was pregnant with Button, I was organizing my needlepoint/crosstitching stash and noticed that it was flowers and butterflies.  Of course, since Jamie Lynn is our "Butterfly", I just had to start it right there and then!  It was perfect for hanging out in my Master Room chair watching Tinkerbell with Bunny (shh...don't tell anyone that he likes Tinkerbell....we watch it because we like to think Jamie would love it ;)!)  I have it set up in the room, I cheekily call the "Library".  Really it is a formal living room and study combined.  I like to call it the Library and even put the family computer in there so that it is more welcoming to the boys than a "pretty room"!

ORGANIZATION

I cannot function if my house is not organized.  My left brain forces me...even though my right brain fights like the dickens!  My left brain reminds me that our house is happy and whole if everything has a place.  I have quite a few areas on my to do list, but I am only going to focus on these three this week...I don't want to push myself (tee hee!)

DVD Movies

It is time to get all of our new movies organized and the stack of movies my sons cannot manage to put back in their binders.  In order to make it happen, I stuck it all in my Studio.  My right brain will prod me to get it done faster I can get to work on all the other FUN things above.  Good strategy, no?

Scrapbooking

I am off on another retreat in about a week and a half.  I have part of my scrapbooking items organized.

 I want to start sorting my power layouts and getting all of my photos printed by the end of this week.  Usually I am picking them up at Walgreen's on my way to the retreat (oops).

Magazines/Catalogs

Look at this collection.  All from the end of November through December!  I like to cut out ideas and inspiration for my idea binder.  

I think Button is willing to help me.  However, if it just gets too overwhelming...it is getting TOSSED!

Now I just hope I get some of it done.  I don't want to be embarrassed next week!   Usually, however, when I go to WIP Wednesday.

I always get inspired to get going!!!