Are You an Early Shopper?

I don't know if this turkey is saying "Hi" or waving goodbye........

Are You an Early Shopper??

It seems lots of stores, businesses, and online shopping places are in a hurry for your Christmas shopping dollars this year and offering early shopper sales.

Last week I started grumbling bah-hum-bug about it and then realized  ..."hey, wait a minute....I've got an online Etsy shop, I'll do the same thing".  Soooooooooooooo......

Starting today through Cyber Monday (11/26/12) at midnight, I am offering an early shopper discount for all my customers  - 12% off everything in My Etsy Shop.  Why 12% ??  well, it's 2012, isn't it?   Why not?   After you are finished shopping at SEWFUNQUILTS and ready to check out, just use ....

the Coupon Code  EARLYSHOPPER12    in the box provided.  Your order total before shipping will be adjusted to show the discount.   Be sure and tell your family and friends about my early shopper discount.....but Hurry!  It's only for one week! 


Want some more good news for early shoppers??

As most of you know, I have an AccuQuilt GO cutter and really love it!  It is so easy to use and such a time saver for me.   The jelly rolls I sell in My Etsy Shop are all cut on my GO!  with precision,  accuracy, and are straight perfect fabric strips ready for your quilt projects.



Click on the new AccuQuilt badge box on the RH sidebar of this page to see some more great early shopper deals.   You know you want an Accuquilt GO cutter and some cute applique dies, so give yourself an early Christmas present!   AND ...you can get it in time to make a few Christmas presents for friends and family! 

Now, how sweet is that?  Have fun!



Thanks for visiting!

It's All About Time......

Seems like I do real well on a few blog posts in a row.....then wham!   My "work life" gets in the way of playing!  Can't believe it's May 1st already. 

My fabric strip jelly rolls inventory was running low and I had to quit sewing and playing and do some work for my Etsy Shop.  I did accomplish a lot.......really I did.

See..........  here's proof!



Here's another view........just to make my point a  little stronger.....I've been just a bit busy cutting with my AccuQuilt GO cutter. 

In my last post I showed you a batik quilt top I finished and is waiting to be quilted.  I sure had a lot of batik strips leftover from that quilt    What do I like to do with the leftovers from my projects?  Make another quilt, naturally.

Well.......that entailed more cutting, and I consider the sewing part being my reward.  Sometimes I just want to sit and sew, sew, sew.   I really had no idea what I was going to do.  I just knew I wanted to use up some of the leftovers......cut and sew!  mmmmh?  off set the rows, like laying bricks??

And it ended up looking like this, so I named it

Butterflies In My Garden

I embroidered the antennae by hand with some black embroidery floss, and did some free motion meander quilting and loopy loops on it, and bound it in black kona cotton.  

It's soooooo much fun to play with leftover fabrics from a previous project. I just never know what it's GOing to look like.  I'm happy with this one. 


What about you and your leftovers?  Do you make an entirely different looking quilt project from them? 



Thanks for visiting.

Is it a Hobby, Obsession, Work or a Waste of Time?

When I sat down at the desk to start writing this post, I wondered about the title. ............ maybe you can help me decide.  

I love what I do during the day (and some nights).   Some people call it a hobby, or obsession, and some think it's work and still others think it's a waste of time. 

You might be asking yourself...."what is she talking about this time"?    Why sewing and quilting, naturally.   Is there anything else better to talk about?  Not for me.   Let me explain.

I've been trying to sew up some of this cute flannel that I bought several years ago.  Yes, it was on sale........and I just had to get lots of it!  I think I bought too much....what do you think?  The boxes are overflowing.  Don't believe me?  Here......I'll show you one part of it that I can't even get in my fabric closets.  NO...I'm not showing you the rest of it.  I made good use of one of my AccuQuilt GO boxes too!

After a couple weeks......here's a look/see at what I accomplished with some of that flannel using my rag quilt GO die.

Raggedy Ann & Andy raggy quilt.

Pink Paisley & Butterfly raggy quilt.

Brown and Gold Peace Symbol raggy lap quilt.

Now, GO back and look at that first picture again.........that's 'AFTER' I made these 3 raggy quilts too!   Jeez!  I'd better get to sewing faster, or sleep less.

As most of you know, I have an ETSY Shop...and you can visit it here.   

Keeping it stocked is almost a full time job and keeps me very busy.   But, like I said at the beginning of this post.......I love what I do.

Today I used my GO cutter & cut 3 different fabric colorways into quilt strips for Jelly Rolls; browns, pinks, purples.  That's 180 strips just for today. 

And that doesn't count the 660 fabric charm squares I cut earlier this week. (I didn't take pictures of them at the time 'cause I was on a roll and a cutting frenzy.....but I can show you one of my storage drawers.)

So.....now I ask you.  Is it a hobby, obsession, work, or waste of time?

Thanks for visiting.

Did Ya Hear the News?

Did ya hear the latest news from AccuQuilt?

They are having a Countdown to their BIG Black Friday SALE event.  Starting today, and everyday for 8 days,  you can have a chance to win $200 worth of reward points by registering your email address with them.  

These reward points are like cash and you can buy lots of things with them at Accuquilt    - maybe even a GO!

Just GO here to register.


I've already entered, so hope I win......hope I win.........hope I win.  They have some new dies for my GO cutter I'd love to have.....hope I win, hope I win, hope I win.   Ok..what are you waiting for?



Thanks for visiting.

Sewing Room Explosion

The other day on Facebook I mentioned it looked like a bomb had gone off in my sewing room.  

Well......I think there's been more than one!

When I'm on a cutting frenzy with my GO cutter, that's exactly what happens, and I ignore the messes while working until the job is done.   Have you ever watched the famous Eleanor Burns and her demos or attended one of her Quilt In a Day Classes?   She's hilarious and doesn't pay any attention to the messes, and actually just throws the scraps on the floor and over her shoulder.   I actually do clean it up in between explosions, but there were several bombs in a row.  That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.   (besides......it's the only excuse that I have.)

Thought I'd give ya'll a partial visual tour of what I'm talking about.  Now you didn't think I'd show the whole sewing room, did you?  No Way!


I use the pages from the many throw-away catalogs I get in the mail to cover my fabrics on the die before rolling through the GO cutter.  It works well, and I end up with perfect quilt squares for my Etsy Shop.

Trash can area.



And with all that cutting, here's my scrap basket that's overflowing; selveges, edges, trimmings, slivers,  etc.  Looks like it's time to make a couple more kitty pillows again and use the scraps for the stuffing.   You can wash & dry them, but last time the pillows got yucky, I just threw them away.

This is just one end of my cutting table with the useable leftovers I need to cut into 2" and 2 1/2" squares.  Ok...I know what you're thinking.  What do the zippers have to do with cutting squares?  I've also been making more zipper bags and just shoved the bin of zippers to the side of the table while I used the GO cutter.

Well......there you have it.  That's what I did over the weekend.


Thanks for visiting.

Wonder Why?

Last week I shared with you the progress on my tumbler quilt and I have to tell you.....everything got in the way of my finishing this quilt.  Yikes!  Quilting delays, binding delays, picture delays and even listing it for sale delays.  (Yes, I know...that's not a properly constructed sentence and my HS English teacher would be appalled, but this is "my blog, my keyboard, my post and I'll do it the way I want to do it, so there!".........she says, secretly smiling :) to herself). 


Wonder why life happens that way sometimes when all I want to do is sew/quilt??  My sewing room is called Judy's Sandbox and sometimes I refer to it as the Sewing Cave....but I  really love being in there.  Maybe too much.  

Okay....enough of my yakking about stuff no one wants to hear about.  It's time for the pictures of the tumbler quilt from Alex Anderson's fabric line called Elizabeth Ann by PandB Textiles.


This is made using the small tumbler GO die, and have to say......it was a lot of fun sorting the different fabrics, re-arranging the rows, etc.  I enjoyed it every step of the way.  Do you think that's why I spent so much time completing this one??   mmmmh??

Full view......and the wind was blowing this morning, and the colors look a bit washed out. 

Another view.........this time showing the backing fabric that matches the borders.

I always feel happy and relieved when I finish a quilt, but now I just want to GO to my Sandbox and start working on another one.  Wonder why most people think quilters are so obsessive??  mmmmh??

How about you?  Are you an obsessive quilter like me? 


Thanks for visiting.

I'm in Love!

A while back I shared with you the start of a new projct. 

Keep on turning that handle.......and look what you can do.

My small tumbler block GO die is getting a work out; and one and two and three.....keep counting.  I'm in Love with this die.

The fabrics are the ones I won here last year from P and B Textiles, Alex Anderson's Elizabeth Ann fabric line.  Soooooooooooo pretty!

Row, after row of small tumbler blocks; fast, easy and fun.  I love this GO die.

If you follow my blog, you know I love the "scrappy" look and using so many different colors/fabrics in my quilts.  It was fun to arrange and re-arrange the different colors and fabrics in the rows.

Naturally, I cut too many and have some leftover tumblers too.  Ahhhh! another project in the making. 

The lighting wasn't the best for this shot, but here it is before the borders were added.

Sandwiched and ready for the quilting.  I had to piece the backing using the fabrics from the two borders.

Quilting is next and I'll share the pictures with you when it's finished.   What?  You expected to see the finished quilt already?? 

Thanks for visiting.

I'm All About Having Fun!

Business trips are just that......for business.  AND.........  when you can arrange to have some pleasure with some of that business, it becomes fun!  That's what I'm all about....having fun with fabrics, quilting, my GO cutter and my ETSY Shop.    

(Maybe I better clarify something first for my new followers.   I love my AccuQuilt GO cutter, and always use a larger font whenever I type the word GO.  There......does that answer your question?) 

With having to GO out of state recently on some business I was able to visit AccuQuilt headquarters in Fremont, Nebraska and even take a tour.  It's a fun business.....for sure. 

I'm telling you that company is nothing but FUN;   quilts on the outside, quilts on the inside, quilts in offices, quilts in the warehouse, fun people, fun colors,  everyone smiling, especially the employees.  It's a Happy Place and a Magical Place. 

Wait a minute......was I visiting Disneyland?  Sure felt like it to me!

Here's what you see driving up to their building.

 
A closer look showing the winning quilt design for their 2011 Barn Quilt Block design contest.

There's even fun on the back of the building with the 2nd place winner's design above the receiving dock.  

Lots of quilts everywhere.....here's a few of them.  (Some of the pictures are blurry....sorry.)

I loved this tree, with the dimensional leaves. 




Wish I had a close up of this one..... the Arabesque Die.



Simple block; circle in a square with corner
triangles.  Fun fabrics! 




Carolyn Robinson from Accuquilt talking about  a custom display.



Do you know which die was used for this butterfly?  Look at
the next picture & caption for your answer.



Close up of the feathers die being used as small birds!  Yes, lots of fun things you can create with some of the designs.  You just have to 'think outside the box'!   Just look at those tiny triangles......all using a GO cutter.


I'll share some more with you next time.....now GO 'like' the
AccuQuilt facebook page  and then GO to the LH sidebar and enter the Camp Quilt Along contest.

You can also get some great quilt ideas by clicking on the Free Patterns picture at the top RH side of this page.


Do I have fun with my GO? and do I like AccuQuilt??  You betcha!  Can't you tell?  I think every quilter should own one!


Thanks for visiting.

 






It's Like Magic!

My mind works kinda weird sometimes and here lately it's been bonkers!  I've been cutting a lot of fabrics! 

How many of you remember Joan Rivers and her famous comedy line....."Can we talk?"  

Well, let's talk a bit about the progression of the quilting and sewing industry. 

When I stop to think and reflect on how many years I've been sewing it rattles my poor little pea-sized brain.  (yes...I think my brain has been shrinking a size or two.  Remember, I'm still on my new eating plan for losing weight).

Let's talk!   What that's you say??   you want pictures??   

Ok, ok, don't nag me.......we'll get to that.   You can go ahead and skip all "this talk" if you want to and just look at pictures....it doesn't matter to me.  You might learn something if you read all of this.  I didn't just type to keep my fingers limber, ya know!  (Boy, I'm feeling a bit sassy today!)

1.  Fabrics - oh my how they've changed; the fiber content, the colors, the prints, the manufactures, artistic designers, fabrics made from recycled plastic, organic??    I remember sewing with cotton (organic)  fabrics that weren't color fast and they faded when you washed them.  Also used left over feed sack scraps for my dolls. 

2.  Patterns - did you know that tissue paper patterns were not always "printed" and there were little holes in them for your markings?  Clothing sizes....you had to really measure and adjust the patterns a lot.  Quilt patterns that were simple compared to what's available for today's busy sewers?  That was yesteryear....for sure! 

3.  Sewing machines - we all know about the treadle machines, right?  I loved sitting on the floor watching my Mom work that floor pedal with her feet.  Yes, I learned to sew on a treadle machine.  Now, we have machines that embroider, cut your threads, have built-in fancy stitches, thread your needles for you....just push a button. (I like my modern sewing machines!)

4.  Threads -  wooden spools, mercerized cotton, boilfast.  mmmmh! now we have every color, kind, fiber, size....even invisible and wash away thread, and we have to have special storage racks and thread bins to hold it all.  (When I used to shorten a store bought skirt or dress, I remember saving the thread from the hem seam to re-sew the shorter hemline....what?)


Do you ever stop and take a look at all your tools and gadgets we have today for our sewing and quilting?   How about your rulers? 

I've been on a "cutting frenzy" the last couple weeks.  I think there needs to be a number 5 on my list up there; rulers and templates.    I don't even use 90% of those rulers in that picture anymore, and forget templates.....yikes!   

Talk about progress in the quilting world?  How about this for Magic? 

Me and my AccuQuilt GO cutter......cranking out 6 fabric strips at a time.... magical progress at its finest!   And it doesn't even use any electricity.

Here's a peek into the Magic my GO cutter does for me.  It can turn yards and yards of fabrics ......

into this..................

Time Saver Kits for  my Etsy Shop.

or this.....

or this........

Or even this......

and this.......

Sorry, I can't "talk with you" anymore.   Gotta GO cut some more fabrics!

Thanks for visiting.

Small Quilting Means BIG FUN!

Bet you think this is GOing to be a post about Free Motion Quilting really small like tiny stitch stippling, huh?

Bzzzzzzzzzz!  Wrong Answer!    (that's supposed to sound like the buzzer from the old tv show Family Feud)

What?  You don't know about that TV Show??   Well, then, just read on.......


I love to play with the small 2 1/2" squares of 30's Reproduction Prints, and I keep a bin of them cut with my AccuQuilt GO cutter ready to sew.

Then when I get a few minutes,  I sew them into rows.  

"Awww....lookin' good.....this is a good assorted layout of colors & different prints."   (as she tells her Cat Quilting Supervisors).   Now,  I'll  have to sew the rows together, matching all those seams......."no, don't grab those pins".   

 My bin of the floral 2 1/2" squares are fun to play with too. I  ended up with 3 different pieced small  quilts.

It's kinda like eating Lays Potato Chips......you can't eat make just one.

and as she keeps sewing, she says....... "yes, you can sniff them & inspect the sewing, but they are NOT new quilts for your cat beds." One of them always talks back a bit...'meow...meow'.....'cause they are a bit sassy too.


You can always end up making  something fun from 2 1/2" squares cut with an  AccuQuilt GO cutter. 

Here's my latest finishes for a custom order from my Etsy Shop. 
My buyer asked for  a specific size (which is a little smaller than I usually make) and  matching square pillows.   

as she was saying...........("You Quilt Supervisors get outta here and go eat some catnip 'cause you  can't inspect these.")  ....where was I? 

Oh Yeah!  Now I remember.

AND.......just in case you're wondering.............   Yes, you can buy sets of these 2 1/2" squares in my Etsy shop.

Which one do you like the best......green or red?



Thanks for visiting.