Sew Mama Sew Give-A-Way Day

The first snow of the year...

and I'm already complaining!

Not that it snowed, but that it's our quilt club day 

and we had to cancel. That always makes me crabby!

I knew those 80 degree days were not going to last forever, but...

one can dream!

It's a Mickey Mouse kind of day...

only made better by the fact that it's 

"Sew Mama Sew" Give-A-Way Day.

Being an Island Batik Ambassador, 

I just can't say enough, about how much I love these fabrics.

My give-a-way is a Stamp Set (5" squares) of 

Tide Pools.

These fabrics are just gorgeous aren't they?

If you follow my blog, you likely saw my 

project for our summer blog hop made with "Tide Pools".

You can see much more on this 

HERE

I have been working of a fun little project.

Since I didn't get to make my yearly trip to visit the mouse 

this year, I thought I would get ready for 

when our schedules do line up.

I've got a brand new bag to take along.

Kind of cute isn't it.

Dare I share, that the fabric for this came from 

Wal-Mart???  I don't usually shop for fabric there...

but this caught my eye and I couldn't pass it up.

It's heavier than a standard cotton fabric, so it was perfect.

Having never make a backpack before, I was

delighted that this pattern was so easy to put together.

This is the "Edelweiss Bag" from SewSweetness.com

You can check it out right 

HERE

 There are many other patterns she offers too.

They are "sew" much fun!

I think I have to go shopping!

LOL!! 

Now about that give-a-way...

Visit Island Batik 

HERE

and leave me a comment telling me your favorite line of fabrics.

It's a tough one I know!

LOL!!

Just a heads up, we have another big blog hop next month,

sharing the newest released lines. You won't want to miss it!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The give-a-way is open until midnight Dec 11.

I'll pick my winner Monday morning.

Now, on a completely different note...

For those of you who use Blogger, have you noticed the new changes?

Everything accessible from one page now.

They have even got our blog reading list back up and working again.

That made me jump for joy!

Today I see, that we have Emoji's that we can add into our post.

   👅😂💏👵

 Thanks Google for working on Blogger.

It's been long overdue!

Guess I'm heading to my sewing cave,

 to stitch by myself today.

Darn snow!

Happy Give-A-Way day!

Winter Wonderland with Island Batik

November brought out the best in the Island Batik Ambassadors.

These fabulous new fabrics make those winter "blues" disappear!

You can read about each and every one of these fabulous projects

by visiting my fellow

Purrfect Spots

Pamela Quilts

Ark Angel Creations

FreeMotion by the River

Quilting Affection

Stone Cottage Quilts

BejeweledQuilts by Barb

For Quilts Sake

Sallys Quilting Corner

InchWorm Fabrics

Kauffman Designs

BeaQuilter

Adele Mogavero

Patchwork Breeze

Kissed Quilts

Knitbug 2

MooseStashQuilting

Maria Michaels Designs

Adventures in Applique and Quilting

Toolon Tilkkupaja

Mary Mack 

Archipelago Quilting

Happy Holidays to all!

Keep on Stitchin'

The Party is Over...

...the dishes are done and the floors are clean.  Leftovers are all put away and the turkey bones have been turned into soup. All the down side, of a wonderful holiday with family and friends. Am I right?  It's always just a little bit sad to see it all come to an end. Unless of course, you have that one family member!  Just kidding. LOL!!!

There is one quick way for me to beat those after holiday blues, and it's getting back into my sewing cave. That's just what I did.

"Scrap Happy" sums it all up.

If your a Bonnie Hunter fan, then you know what this is.

Yes in-deedy...I got right on the new mystery "En Provence".

241 sets of neutrals.

Ok, so I can't read. I really only needed 221.

What can I say?

:-)

My fabrics are all pulled and ready for step 2 next week.

I love Bonnie's yearly mystery. 

It's a time when I can really do some extreme scrap-busting. 

Nothing better than a quilt from scraps, for this girl.

If your interested, you can find the information right

HERE

Join in on the fun!

Oh and I wasn't slacking before the holiday either.

Remember me saying I had found this,

 stashed in my cabinet, long forgotten.

I worked and I worked...

and worked a little more.

Whew, I have to say, putting these rows together was a challenge.

Now I'm off to see what trouble I can get into with the next part.

:-)

Oh that note...

Keep on Stitchin'

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving... 

From our home to yours...

Wishing you a day of great family, friends and food.

While I was cleaning... A little lesson on re-purposing

In all that mess, that I cleaned up last week, I did find a couple of projects that were started or almost to the completed stage...

Let me start by telling you just how much I love my old worn out Weber potholders. They were the thickest most functional potholder in the world.

I've had this one for years, but it's time it takes its final bow!

In my closet of horrors, this was waiting for me

to just put the binding on.

Hummmm.... wonder just how many years it's been hiding in there?

I've found that by cutting up towels and layering them, 

they make for pretty darn good pot holders. 

The edges on this towel came apart in the wash and it started fraying.

It's a great way to re-purpose it, and use up some extra binding scraps.

You can always put batting or insul-brite

in between the layers. Or just extra layers of the towel. 

I let the thickness of the towel dictate what I do.

It's also a great way to use those "bullet-proof" embroidery designs!

  I always seem to be drawn to those high stitch count designs.

Here is another one that I did, with a pocket on the front.

"Sew" many fun ways you can put them together.

Towels in colors that really don't make the mark anymore???

Try cutting off the edges, quartering, and binding them.

They make the best kitchen towels you'll ever use.

Way better, than those thin cheap ones you buy at the stores.

On that note...

You will want to either serge the edges or zig-zag them,

 before binding to keep the fraying down.

I'll be honest here...

I've washed my towels so many times, that the binding is wearing out.

I've always got a basket of leftover bindings though, so I just 

replace it from time to time.

Til next time...

Keep on Stitchin'