Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!!

It's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!!   Let's have some fun!!!

First,  we need to announce the winner from last weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway!!   The winner of the $25.00 Gift Certificate from  Lou Lou's Fabric Shop  is . . .   Number #65. . . Congrats  Patsy Cash!! I have emailed you :)    

 


    
And on to today's


Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is being sponsored by The Intrepid Thread.  Julie carries an amazing variety of fabrics in her shop!!!  She always has amazing bundles that will blow you away.  And to really be blown away, be sure and check out her fabulous Sale Section for some great deals, Julie has added over 900 items to make room for new fabrics, and you are going to love what you find on a huge discount!!! 
   


Today's  Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is a special treat as Julie has made up one of her adorable custom bundles just for this giveaway!!!  The Intrepid Thread is offering one lucky reader a custom Sweet Rose Fat Quarter Bundle.  Isn't it just beautiful!!!




You have two entry chances, the second being optional, and please leave a separate comment for each.  All Entries are welcome, including International Entries.  Please just be sure to leave an email address if you are a no-reply blogger ;)  

ENTRY 1 - Simply leave a comment telling me your favorite color of roses.  

 ENTRY 2 - Show your The Intrepid Thread love. You can follow them on FacebookBloglovin,  or Instagram.  You can Sign up for The Intrepid Thread Newsletter (right side bar) ,  Follow Their Blog, or you can Visit the Shop and then share a favorite item ;)   Just be sure to leave a comment of how you showed your The Intrepid Thread love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday, October 25th when I will announce a winner at the beginning of next weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Post :)

Good Luck and Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!!!!
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Monday, October 17, 2016

Finished Charming Totes

So those Charming Totes that I shared the start of on Friday morning, well, I finished them up on late Friday Afternoon ;)    Sometimes you just really need to happy dance for a quick finish and these little totes did the job perfectly :)  And they turned out oh so cute!!! 

First up, was the Desert Bloom tote.  The fabrics are by Sherri and Chelsi for Moda and they are just  perfect for this cool fall weather that we are getting.  I finished up with this tote and almost wanted to go rake up some leaves to jump in.  But I resisted and finished up the second tote instead ;)


I was lucky enough to have a bit of Desert Bloom yardage on hand that was left from some secret sewing, so I lined it in the happy yellow and then added some navy handles.  I just love how the yellow makes me smile, it is like a pocket of sunshine hidden in your tote ;)


And the second tote is the Manderley Tote.  The Fabrics are by Franny and Jane, and this was a special little tote for me because Jane gave me this Charm Pack at Spring Market to make something beautiful with, I think this tote totally fit in that request :)    So pretty!!!


I didn't have any Manderley Yardage though and didn't want to wait for some to ship, so I used some fun prints that went along with the beautiful charm squares for the handles and lining.  I love this gorgeous grey flower from Riley Blake that I had in my stash and it made the perfect lining and then added a pop of color with this gumdrop print from Dear Stella.  So fun!!


And while I was putting pictures on Instagram and Facebook of the process I got several questions on which pattern I was using.   The short answer is I used the Charming Handbag Tutorial by Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts.  She made it up for the Moda Bake Shop several years ago ;)

However, I do a few adjustments when I make mine - I don't cut the charms down to 4 1/2" square, I just leave them at the 5" square that they come as.   I have since made a full step by step tutorial on how to make these totes here, with Amanda's permission, that includes my alterations.   Just for your reference ;)


So because of that, when it is time to cut the lining, I cut mine at 18 1/2" x 18 1/2" square.   I also like to do my gusset corners a little differently then Amanda does.   I showed in this bag tutorial (a reversible take on this patchwork one ) how I like to do my gussets, which is what makes the bag square on the bottom ;)


They finish up at 16" high and 17" in length on the top of the bag  and 13" in length at the bottom of the bag (because of the gusset :)  and are 5" wide.  It is a perfect side tote for Library Bags, Piano Bags, and the list can go on and on :)

And those are the main alterations that I am doing that are a little different than Amanda's tutorial ;)  I should probably just make a tutorial of this tote with the alterations the next time I whip one up.  Would that help???  

Hope you are having a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Linking up to Quilt Story ;)
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Friday, October 14, 2016

Starting some Charming Totes

Tomorrow we are having a little auction to help raise funds for the Youth in our Church.  I am planning on donating a quilt, but I got up this morning and just felt like I needed a happy, fun, and fast project and maybe a little something extra that I can add to the auction.  And then it hit me, Charming Totes!!!!   The perfect, fun, fast, and wonderful gift project.   I have made lots and lots of these, and I always love them.   The only hard part of the process is deciding what Charm Pack to use!! 


In the end, I decided to go with the Manderley Charm Pack from Franny and Jane.  This collection is just hitting stores now and it is so beautiful with its rich colors and gorgeous prints!! It is just going to make up the prettiest tote ;)


And then, as I was trying to decide on a second charm pack, I remembered I had a stack of leftover 5" squares from a secret sewing project in Desert Bloom by Sherri and Chelsi and knew it would be just perfect!!!   And even though they were already cut  into 5" charms it still fills like I am busting some scraps, and that is always fun!!!


So I've got my squares all laid out and ready to sew into bags ;)    They have to be done by tomorrow, so I guess it won't be to long to share the finishes ;)   

I hope you have a very Happy Quilting (or maybe some tote making ) Weekend :)  


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Thursday, October 13, 2016

This week is brought to you by the letter T

This week has been a little bit crazy for me and full of some wonderful and some not so wonderful Tidbits.  Let's do the wonderful first shall we ;)

Monday was Teaching!!!  Which is my favorite T and I love, love, love getting to teach!!!  I spent Monday in the outskirts of Las Vegas Nevada doing a Trunk Show and Class for the Sun City Quilt Club.  These ladies were so much fun to hang out with!!  The trunk show was so much fun to share, which of course, I didn't happen to get any pictures of because I was up front talking, ah well.  Immediately following I taught my Braided Irish Chain class and just loved working with these wonderful gals.  The class was so much fun and everyone did a great job!!  Here are a few of our block finishes ;)



Tuesday was Thirteen!!  Tuesday morning as I went to catch up on my email, I found I had a super fun email from Feedspot saying that Happy Quilting had been listed in their list of Top 100 Quilting Blogs.   How fun is that ;)     I went to check out the article and have to say I was quite blown away to find that not only had Happy Quilting been listed, but it had been listed as Lucky Number 13!!!  Wow, Thank You, that totally made my day!!!



Which was nice because Wednesday was Testing.   And this is where we get into the not so wonderful tidbits.   So a bit of backstory . . . basically, I have been having a lot of pain and numbness in my hands and wrists for about the last 3 months. I should state that I have had very mild carpal tunnel for about 10 years now, but it has always been manageable with a wrist brace and some ice when it got sore.   I saw a surgeon 6 weeks ago thinking that I must have just finally pushed my carpal tunnel past mild.  We talked about how Carpal Tunnel once pushed past mild can be fixed with a surgery. The surgery healed pretty quickly, and I would just have to stay away from  rotary cutting or long arm quilting for about 3 weeks but the surgery normally gives very good results and you are back to normal. So, the surgeon ordered a nerve conduction study, to see how severe things were and while I have been waiting for my appt. I have been working on clearing all of my "to do's" off of my list and not adding any more for a bit.  Well yesterday was my Testing. I told my husband to take some pictures of the testing so I could put them here but he forgot.  Let's just say, electrical shocks and needles, while not awful, certainly not all that pleasant.   (I borrowed these images from nervecare.com to give you an idea :)

NCS Test  

And just because I had made a plan on how I could fit a surgery in, The test decided to take me down a different path.   The test actually showed that the problem is not my mild Carpal Tunnel, but actually my Elbows, more specifically the Ulnar Nerve that has the same symptoms as carpal tunnel.   And  apparently the Elbow Nerve is a whole lot different than the Wrist Nerve :)  The good news is that sometimes it fixes itself  (Yippee!!!)  So that is the new plan.   And what does this plan entail . . .  bracing  and behavior changes.  Meaning thinking about not bending your arms when you don't need to, ie . . .not crossing your arms when you stand, sleeping with your arms straight, ect. for the behavioral changes and for the bracing, I get to sport these bad boys for the next month.  And hopefully my irradiated elbow nerves will fix themselves, if not, well I suppose we will cross that bridge when  it comes ;)    And just in case you are wondering, although a little slower, you can still use a long arm, rotary cutter, and sewing machine (and type for that matter)  while keeping your arms pretty much straight, I know, I have already tried ;)


So there you have it, my three T Tidbits of this week ;)   All in all, even the not so Wonderful Tidbit could possibly turn out pretty Wonderful, and I'll take that any day ;)

I hope you are having a Wonderfully Happy Quilting week thus far!!  Let me know what Wonderful Tidbits you have to share in the comments below ;)
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Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!!

It's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!!   Let's have some fun!!!

First,  we need to announce the winner from last weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway!!   The winner of Farm Fun Fat Quarter Bundle from  Green Fairy Quilts  is . . .   Number #347. . . Congrats  Alesha Klein!! I have emailed you :)    

 



    
And on to today's


Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is being sponsored by  Lou Lou's Fabric Shop .    There is so much wonderful fabric variety over at Lou Lou's and did you know she also has an amazing Daily Deal!!!  Along with hosting the giveaway, Jamie is having a Huge $6.50 A Yard Sale with over 200 bolts at this amazing price!!!  Oh, so much fun shopping!!!



Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is for Gift Certificate goodness!!!  Lou Lou's Fabric Shop is offering one lucky reader a $25.00 Gift Certificate to Lou Lou's Fabric Shop!!  Now you can get exactly what you want, so fun!!!!





You have two entry chances, the second being optional, and please leave a separate comment for each.  All Entries are welcome, including International Entries.  Please just be sure to leave an email address if you are a no-reply blogger ;)  

ENTRY 1 - Simply leave a comment that tells me your ultimate "bucket list" quilt - for me, it is a Dear Jane ;)  

 ENTRY 2 - Lets show Lou Lou's Fabric Shop some Love!!!!   You can follow them on   FacebookTwitterPinterest, or Instagram.  Or you can follow their blog or  visit The Shop and then share a favorite item ;)   Just be sure to leave a comment of how you showed your Lou Lou's Fabric Shop Love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday, October 18th when I will announce a winner at the beginning of next weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Post :)

Good Luck and Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!
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