Fun Times Together

I noticed that the smaller town East of mine has a quilt shop. It's been there for sometime, but I have never stopped and visited. There are several reasons why I have never stopped. One of the main reasons I know for sure is.... the parking lot is very small and its always full when I drive by.  I keep thinking every time I drive by, I should stop and shop. Sister in law and I had just visited JoAnn's in Ta Town. We were driving by the little fabric shop and I told her " I keep driving by and think to myself I should stop... but for some reason I never do". Of course she said we're here we should stop. 

Everyone that follows me on my blog knows about my bad luck.... I pulled in the almost empty lot void of one other car. SIL and I got out and started to go in, only to find the shop was closed. Of course I was disappointed. I didn't realize that the shop was closed on Tuesday.  We were talking about the shop being closed.... When we heard the driver to the other car say.... I'm going in because I am getting a UPS delivery. Your more than welcome to come inside and look around. It was the owner to the shop (She was awesome). We looked around and found some great fabrics. Yes we purchased 6 fat qts to make bags for the SIL's up coming trip to the beach.  I really liked the little shop... The shop was in an older home... Each room was mapped out into sections for her fabrics... There was a room for Christmas and Halloween, Civil War, Modern, batiks, Color matching ... etc..... The owner even told me if I developed my own patterns or sewed items I wanted to sell she would audition them and put them up in her shop for sale. She called this a sewing co-op.  She had a lot of nice handcrafted items for sale. I know I will be visiting this little shop again.. its about 5 miles from my house. (Side note to Nadine C... this little shop is almost as nice as Charlotte's.. Sew Natural)

A few days later SIL and I got together and made 3 of the 5 drawstring bags that we were making for her trip. We had a lot of fun sewing, pinning, and pressing. I really enjoyed the time we spent together making the bags.. but oh my I paid in pain for it later.  SIL was not at her best when we were sewing the bags... I was sewing and she was doing the other stuff like.. pressing and putting in the drawstrings. LOL I handed her the ribbon and got her a safety pin and off she started... LOL she handed me the bag after putting in the ribbons and all the ends were on one side... she could not understand why the bag would not chinch up.... The ribbons were pulled out and reinserted... again the bag would not chinch up...  ) Once I saw the problem.. I told her how to fix it.. she once again put the ribbons in to find that it still would not chinch up. I smiled at her and told her .. oopsie... you did it wrong again... by now she was flabbergasted at her mistake. I showed her how to do it.. her third try she got it right... NOW I should not just point out her mistake.. I should tell you I also made a mistake... it was on the third bag and I was starting to get tired and my neck and back was really starting hurt. I sewed the front section on and was going to put back to front and realized that I put the front section on upside down... so I ripped it out.. sewed it back on. After all the pieces were sewn together .. .. I discover that the front section was sewn on right the first time.. I then ripped out the bag to put the front section on correctly.... I HATE RIPPIN!! 

Here are photos of the three finished bags... Aren't they cute?

I was trying to take photos of the linings... 

Sorry about the bad background on these photos.. my deck needs to be refinished this summer.

Talk about my wavy quilt edges...

My mom called me and asked me how to fix my sisters wavy border on her quilt edges... This is what I shared with her...

The sister either cut the fabric on the bias..... and didn't pin her fabric enough.

She didn't use a walking foot...

Or she started her border strip at one end of the quilt and just went for it.... 

All of the above can be wrong....

What you have to do is measure your quilt at the following points...

Top

Middle

Bottom

Add those measurements and divide that by three.

The final result will be the length of your border strip.

Next fold your quilt into 4ths and fold your border into 4ths and pin your border on to the quilt at 4ths. You might have to ease and stretch your quilt just a bit.. 

You have to PIN PIN PIN your border to your quilt... 

Having done this your quilt border should now be straight. 

Also don't forget to remove your pins as you go...

Sewing over pins could cause your needle to break and put your eye out or throw your machine out of time...

You will find two really good and well written tutorials on how to attach your borders... from 

Thread Bear Quilting. 

Quiltville Custom Quilting

Here are some video links from Youtube that you can watch.
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx8jijuxhQg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1CuzT9nMCw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1CuzT9nMCw

At a stand still

Oh my goodness for days my mind has been in a writers block. I don't have a clue what to write on my blog. If anyone has anything they want to learn about or share please leave a comment........ Since my mind has been so blocked... maybe I should share some of the free patterns I have been finding on Pinterest.... The following are a few patterns I have made and some I want to make.. please enjoy :)

Its going to be summer soon.. why not an adorable back pack?

This cute little back pack was found at All about you.

I just love these little drawstring backpacks made from up-cycled Tee shirts.. I have made a couple of these myself.. Love Love Love them!!! This was a Pattern I found at the blog Top10 Inspired. 

A fantastic idea is a seat belt pillow for your wee ones.. here is a good tutorial for one... at Meagan Makes. 

One of the things I like to have around when its travel time... since we all do more traveling in the warmer weather is a Travel Pillow for the car... here is a nice tutorial at Moda Lissa.  Pillow cases are very easy to make.. they make great gifts for family and friends....

Next you will need something to keep all your goodies in...... like a Round Trip Car Caddy @ Fabric Central. 

Lastly what would any car be without your trusty little trash bin.. here is a great one at A Spoon Full of Sugar. I love how the pattern calls for a Margarine tub. The tub is used to hold the fabric sides out so the bag doesn't collapse. 

One final fun thing is a nice cup cozy to keep all those tasty drinks nice and cold... 

I found a fun tutorial for this cozy at Positively Splendid. 

Ok... one last thing....

 I forgot to share with you....

a fabric insulated cooler that I found.... 

Here is a great tutorial from at Sew4Home.

After all of this.. 

I guess I did find something to write about after all...  

*Smiles*

Sewing tips links

Speaking of The Great British Sewing Bee..... I thought I would provide my sewing friends 

with a link for some great sewing tips.

40 sewing hack, tips, & tricks that you should know from: Andrea's Notebook

There you will find:

How to iron a hem

Installing zippers (regular and invisible)

Lengthening or shortening a pattern

Making bias tape

Pre-washing fabric tips

Sewing elasticated fabrics

How to sew a perfect circle

Etc etc etc etc.......

I would like to share with you some ...... 

Wonderful and fun free patterns I found out there in cyber world...

I have noticed recently that there is a huge interest in making your own travel cases. 

The patterns come in all shapes and sizes..... from cosmetic bags to coach bags. 

Speaking of sewing your own travel bags...

 I found this fantastic free Duffle Bag Pattern at: Robert Kaufman

An Urban travel bag at: Bag'n-telle

It would be great for your commute to work. Fantastic for holding your tablet or notebooks. 

It could substitute for a great bag for your weekend staycations....

or over-niters at a friends house.

My last adorable duffle I found is a very cute and versatile duffle back pack for children. 

I found the free tutorial at Thread Riding Hood, from Made by Me Monday. 

Speaking of sewing....... here is a very functional and cute quilted take along tote for your sewing needs. This great take along tote pattern was found at JoAnn's web site. 

Lastly for my sweet sewing friends I found this very different and adorable thread catcher.  Please click HERE to see the tutorial and pattern on how to make this cute and functional catcher.

The Great British Sewing Bee

I have spent the last week or so catching up on the BBC show The Great British Sewing Bee. I love it and am so glad it was suggested for watching through one of my sewing groups. Its everything I love about sewing. The creativity, use of fabrics, comradery, and just the plain love of sewing. If you don't have BBC you can watch most of the episodes on Youtube. Run over take a look see and tell me what you think. I know I am anxiously waiting for the next season to start :)

Chocolate Goodness!

So every once in a while I come across a recipe. A recipe that I love, love and go to all the time. Let’s just say, I stick with what I know!

These brownies, are just that. Amazing. And like the title states, they have a secret ingredient that I am about to share with you. This isn’t just any ingredient either. This is what absolutely makes these. So make sure your printer is hooked up or that you have pen and paper nearby because you are going to want to jot this one down…

Step one:
Grab your favorite brownie mix. I prefer Ghirardelli. And while you are at the store picking one of those up, make sure you grab two {2} symphony bars.
{I realize only one is pictured here but I did use 1 and 1/2 bars for this particular recipe!}

Step 2: Make your brownies according to the box. Put only {HALF} of the batter into your 8×8 pan.

Step 3: Lay your symphony bar {the secret ingredient} onto the batter.
On the left is the whole bar, on the right is pieces of the second. {I may have eaten the rest!}

Step 4: Spread the rest of the batter onto the top of the chocolate bar. Mmmmmm.
{Just looking at this and knowing the delicious outcome makes my mouth water!}

Step 5: Bake as directed and ENJOY!

{It will be really hard to let them cool all the way but you probably should. Just to be safe!  }
If you are impatient, it might be a little too gooey to eat!
xoxo,
Brooke @ Allthingsthrifty.com

National Quilting Day Observed March 21st

National Quilting Day is being observed on March 21, 2015. It celebrates quilts and those that make them annually on the third Saturday of March. The National Quilting Association started National Quilting Day in  1991.

In 1989, the Kentucky Heritage Quilting Society organized a "Quilters' Day Out" on the third Saturday of March to celebrate the rich tradition of quilt making in Kentucky. In 1991, the NQA officers were so enthused with the concept and success of "Quilters' Day Out" that they voted to take it to a national level. 

The first National Quilting Day was observed in 1992 and since then it has grown into a global celebration for all quiltmakers and quilt lovers. 

There are countless ways to celebrate National Quilting Day. Check with your local quilt shop to see what special activities are planned.

The winner of the 20156 National Quilting Day Design Contest has been selected. 

Congratulations to Danniele Bohannon of Harrisonville, Missouri. Her design  (Crooked Path) was published in the winter issue of Quilting Quarterly and is posted on the NQA web site www.nqaquilts.org. Danniele has been a four-time exhibitor at the NQA Quilt Show, including participating in the SewBatik challenge. The pattern for her winning design can be downloaded from the National Quilting Associations website. 

Text from The Country Register.. a local Ks quilters news paper. 

Courthouse Steps Block

 I want to talk about another one of my favorite quilt blocks. This block is called the Courthouse steps.. it's a very fast and easy beginner quilt block.

The Courthouse Steps pattern is a variation on the Log Cabin quilt block. Like the Log Cabin it's all squares and rectangles, no bias edges, no special rulers or templates, no fancy tools needed to create these lovely quilt blocks. 

The difference between the log cabin and the Courthouse steps?

Instead of sewing strips around the center of the block in a circular motion, like the Log Cabin. The Courthouse steps has two strips added to opposite sides of the center square first. Then two strips are sewn along the remain two sides of the center. The same back and forth motion continues until the block has grown to desired size. 

When making your Courthouse steps blocks you should also be mindful of your lights and darks to show off your pattern when making your blocks. 

Here is a lovely example of a Courthouse steps block.. made into a mug rug/mini quilt from hurrayic:baking

Here is a pretty example made into a pillow from Val's Quilting

A pretty quilt using the Courthouse steps pattern.

I still have my first attempt at a quilt top ...

 I selected the Courthouse steps pattern..

Yep ... it is awful and cut every which away.... 

Rumply seams and not square at all.

Not a good example of a quilt for sure.

I saw a quilt in a book and sort of went for it..

 NO instructions and NO idea of what I was doing... 

 Thank goodness I have came a long way since then!!!

2nd post of Today ... a joke for you all

A man and his wife were awoken at 3:00 am by a 

loud pounding on the door. The man gets up and goes to the door where a drunken 

stranger, standing in the pouring rain, is asking for a push. 

"Not a chance," says the husband, "it's 3:00 in the morning!" 

He slams the door and returns to bed. 

"Who was that?" asked his wife. 

"Just some drunk guy asking for a push," he answers.. 

"Did you help him?" she asks. 

"No, I did not, it is 3:00 in the morning and it is pouring rain out there!" 

"Well, you have a short memory," says his wife. "Can't you remember about three months ago when we broke down, and those two guys helped us? I think you should help him, and you should be ashamed of yourself!" 

The man does as he is told, gets dressed, and goes out into the pounding rain. 

He calls out into the dark, "Hello, are you still there?" 

"Yes," comes back the answer. 

"Do you still need a push?" calls out the husband. 

"Yes, please!" comes the reply from the dark. 

"Where are you?" asks the husband. 

"Over here on the swing," replies the drunk.

Blog comments and Log Cabin Block

Hello Everyone :) (WAVES)

I was just wanting to know are you happy that I have started posting on the blog again? 

If so can you please comment. 

Your comments and feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 That way I know.....you are loving what I am sharing :)

Any suggestions on things you would like to see or hear about on the blog.. 

or 

Has everyone stopped following?

Today .... I would like to talk about the Log Cabin Quilt block... 

This is probably..... out of all the quilt blocks out there ... this one is my favorite!

If you don't know what a Log Cabin Quilt block looks like,
 Here are some example photos of them.

You can either sew your blocks by using strips you have cut out using a rotary cutter.
Then sew directly at your machine using a 1/4 inch seem allowance, 

 or you can do a paper piece technique to sew them together. 

Usually the blocks colors..... radiate out from darker fabrics to lighter fabrics,

 like the two blocks in the above examples.

You can also do a wonky log cabin block like this one from quiltn queen.

Here is a very pretty block by mybearclaw.

A history from American Quilters Society:

Log Cabin Quilts – A Short History

Log Cabin Library Block by Karen Griska

The Log Cabin quilt pattern  is one of the most beloved and recognized of quilt designs. However, it may be both older and newer than you might think. While it’s natural to assume that this traditional block originated in the United States during the pioneer days, the origins of the block seem to go back much further in time and location. Similar designs have been found on ancient Egyptian mummies and in an English  quilt predating 1830.

Log Cabin quilts first made a wide-spread appearance in the United States in the 1860s during the time of the Civil War. The block name may very well have had a connection to the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. The Log Cabin quilt became wildly popular and was identified with the pioneer spirit and values of America.

Early Log Cabin blocks were hand-pieced using strips of fabrics around a central square. In traditional Log Cabin blocks, one half is made of dark fabrics and the other half light. A red center symbolized the hearth of home, and a yellow center represented a welcoming light in the window. Anecdotal evidence, based on oral folklore, suggests that during the Civil War, a Log Cabin quilt with a black center hanging on a clothesline was meant to signal a stop for the Underground Railroad.

In the latter part of the nineteenth century many Log Cabin quilts were made by the foundation method with a muslin base. Wools, velvets, satins, and other nontraditional fabrics were used. Log Cabins of this period often had strips that were folded and laid down, creating a three-dimensional effect. For this reason, many late-nineteenth-century Log Cabins do not have batting, but are backed and tied like Crazy Quilts.

Variations of settings appeared with names reflecting the themes of the times. The White House Steps, Court House Steps, eight-sided Pineapple, Barn Raising, and Sunshine and Shadows are just some of the hundreds of name and pattern variations.

As Victorian quilts of wool and silk fell out of style in the twentieth century, Log cabins were more often made of cotton prints and pieced with a running-stitch seam, either by hand or machine.

Today, Log Cabin quilts are natural candidates for strip-piecing and can be made in a fraction of the time it took our ancestors. Log Cabins are still a favorite choice for scrap quilts and there is even a resurgence of Crazy Quilts made using Log Cabin blocks.

It’s virtually impossible to run out of ways to make beautiful Log Cabin quilts. The Log Cabin is certainly a pattern not likely to go out of “style” any time soon.

Here is a tutorial on a quilt as you go Log Cabin Quilt.