Pottery Barn Quilt pt. 2 and OttLite winner

Congratulations to our OttLite giveaway winner, Dana, from Country Heart and Home. Random.org picked comment number 68 and it was her!!

I'm continuing to work on the "pottery barn" quilt I'm designing for my friend. Our inspiration started with this bumper pad that was purchased off of ebay:

 She wanted these flower/trees to be used in the quilt design along with lots of hand embroidery, minky, and a piece of pottery barn sheet fabric she loved. 

Here are my paper tree patterns, numbered so I could remember the placement once I got them cut out of the fabrics!

 Next are my tree appliques cut out and ready to be ironed onto the fabric and machine appliqued around the edges.  Since these pictures I've gotten all the quilt top pieces sewn together and I've been working on the embroidery on the trees.  I'll definitely be showing more pictures as I finish it up!

August has been a super busy month for me, with sewing several quilts, wedding and baby shower gifts.  I'm trying not to get overwhelmed, but to enjoy the rush of deadlines and savor being in my sewing room again.  

More bound-edged tea towels...these were a wedding present for a sweet bride who is doing her kitchen in pink and green! 

Earlier in the month I finished off 4 new baby quilts for my etsy shop...haven't gotten them up yet, but hopefully soon!  I'm getting ready for the Dustbowl Arts Market  again in 2 weeks, so I'm hoping they will sell before I have a chance to get them on etsy. =)

Marie wanted to be in the photo shoot...she's so silly!

~Blessings, Jessica

OttLite Review and GIVEAWAY!

Raise your hand if you've heard about OttLite. Anyone?  If you are like me, you've heard lots of amazing things about these "natural sun lamps", but just haven't taken the jump to buy yourself one. So...you keep on sewing and crafting with poor lighting, not realizing what a huge difference having good quality light actually makes to your work and comfort.

 

OttLite lighting is expertly engineered with 508 technology to bring the quality of High Definition Natural Lighting™ indoors, providing the ideal balance of brightness and contrast. 

The result is reduced glare, less eyestrain, and low heat. OttLite understands that color, detail and comfort are critical to doing the stuff you love. 

OttLite helps you do what you love longer and offers a 100% delighted guarantee!

(The Tulip comes in different colors and combines elegance and designer style with incredible light!)

OttLite generously sent me the Tulip lamp to review and offer as a giveaway here.  They have an entire line of craft lamps that are available on their website.  

Here's photos of my workspace before and after.  

(Note the little IKEA desk lamp I normally use. It always create such harsh shadows.)

(Here the Tulip OttLite functions as a mini torchiere lamp, providing great ambient light for the whole area.)

(I love how the lamp pulls up and out of the base to angle directly where I need the most light.)

I personally didn't realize how much I was straining my eyes until I turned on my OttLite!  I keep my laptop in my sewing room, and when I turn on the Tulip, I'm more comfortable and am able to work longer with less eye strain. I love how this particular lamp give ambiant light to the whole room, yet has a flexible neck for direct task lighting...this week it came in really handy as I was doing some machine quilting, and then hand sewing the binding on.  

To enter to win your own Tulip OttLite, simply leave a comment telling me why or how you could use it.  

Additional entries:  

Become a fan on OttLite on Facebook and leave a comment to let me know!

Share this giveaway on your blog (or on facebook) and leave a comment with the link!

The winner will be drawn and notified next week on Tuesday the 9th!

Jessica

quilt designing...

I'm working on a custom quilt right now for a friend.  She wants a pottery barn-esq baby quilt with flower appliques, white chenille squares, and colored thread stitching and embroidery.  This is the design we've come up with so far.

The solid white areas are for a floral print that is still to be finalized.  We were excited to find pottery barn fabrics on etsy...hopefully one of them will be perfect! 

Marie has been raiding my closet again!  This time my thrift-store red heels (yes, an impulse purchase that I have nothing to wear them with!) with her blue Easter dress. 

She reminds me of Dorthey from the Wizard of Oz!

Be sure and check back here early next week...we're going to be hosting a review and giveaway with OttLite.  I'm sure you'll want the chance to win your own natural sunlight lamp!

Blessings,

Jessica

Summer Snapshot Update

(Elliot was so excited when he discovered he could cut a piece of construction paper into the shape of our state! Most mornings he eats his toast into the Oklahoma shape.)

(A cuddly quilt for a good friend's new baby.  Fabrics are "It's a Hoot" by MoMo, combined with pink minky and vintage hobnail chenille.)

(My lil' sister, Katie got engaged this month!  Aren't they cutie-pies??  And no, we're not making the wedding dress...she found an absolutely gorgeous one already!  Can't wait to see her in it!)

(Cowboy burp cloths for my sister-in-law's baby boy...this has been a summer of babies!)

(Marie wearing my tennis shoes around the house...she's my baby doll!)

(Sew Chic boutique nursing covers are now available in my etsy shop!)

(It's been a hot, hot, dry summer here...we are praying for rain and surviving by staying indoors, only venturing out to go to the splash pad or library storytime.)

(Last month we went out to visit my Great-Aunt Helen. I love this this lady and am so blessed every time we get to go visit her.  She and her brothers and sisters are a precious picture of what it looks like to grow older in the Lord with grace, faith, and lots of laughter!)

 

 (My kids are such goons!)

(And I don't know what I'd do without them!!)

(That's all for now, folks!)

Jessica

Bound Edged Tea Towel Tutorial

Saturday I needed a quick gift for a wedding shower at church the next day. I just wanted to do something simple and had a pack of plain tea towels on hand.  hmmm....

Mom had made me a couple of simple bound edged tea towels for my birthday several years ago and I LOVE them.  She made them to match my kitchen curtains, but I use them to cover up my sewing machines...because... well if I used them in the kitchen, they'd get ruined, you know!

Here's quick tutorial in case you want to make some up for yourself!

I edged two sides of my towels.  Start by cutting two long stripes about 2 inches wide and several inches longer then the towel edge you wish to bind.  Fold over 1/4 inch and press one side of each long strip.

Next, line your raw edge of the long strip against the towel about 1/4 inches from the edge of the towel with the right side of your fabric facing the wrong side of the towel.  The folded edge you just ironed should be toward the left.  Stitch it in place about 1/4 inches from the raw edge of the fabric (about 1/2 inches from the edge of the towel).

Once that's sewn, press the fabric strip open...it's looking pretty!

After pressing, flip the towel over, turn down the top and bottom raw edges that hang over a couple inches and then fold the pre-pressed edge over onto your stitching line that was just sewn, creating a smooth corner.  Pin along the length if necessary.

Finally, use a medium zig-zag stitch and sew the folded edge down, backstitching at the top and bottom. 

That's it!  You're finished!

Blessings,

Jessica

Simplicity 2767

Congratulations to Sewing Sanity, the winner of the Signature Styles book giveaway!  Random.org picked comment number 37, and it was her! Thanks to everyone who commented...I hope you've enjoyed our recent book reviews and giveaways as much as I have. 

I'm sad that it's been a while since I've contributed regularly to this blog...sewing is becoming more and more of a luxury with two little ones, and blogging about the sewing I do get a chance to do is even more difficult...I'll share a couple pictures from Easter and then I've got to run!

Marie's Easter dress is Simplicity 2767  It was slightly more difficult then your average pattern with the curved yoke and bubble skirt, but I felt like the unique design elements made it worth it.  My only regret was that I used cheap material and the dress doesn't feel as nice as I was expecting...it wrinkles badly and has a slightly rough, cheap texture. Oh well, I guess that's what happens when you order from fabric.com and can't touch and feel before you buy.


I think this skirt is the only thing I've sewn for myself recently...random piece of fabric from Mom's stash...no pattern...just a simple gathered skirt attached to a curved waistband/yoke with an invisible zipper on the side. It sort of has a retro, vintage look to it that I like.  I love simple skirts in the summer!

Until next time...
Jessica

 

Signature Styles Book Review and Giveaway!

Since Mom and I started this blog (over 5 years ago!) there has been a huge online explosion of sewing blogs and crafty inspiration.  I've definitely made the rounds on the internet reading various sewing and craft blogs, and over the years I've cheered as some of my favorite craft bloggers have grown in their styles and made careers for themselves with published books, patterns, and fabric lines. The amount of inspiration and creativity out there is amazing....and sometimes dizzying!

 

Signature Styles by Jenny Doh takes 20 such amazingly talented women and gives the reader a glimpse into their creative stories as they've forged their own styles and created a handmade career for themselves.  Each chapter is basically a tour of her studio and life, and features lots of cool tibits about the essence of that crafter's personal style, techniques she's known for, and how she got to the place she is at now.  I especially love how this book blends fashion and crafting, showing how each artist creates her personal style with her crafts and by the way she dresses.

 

 There are lots of gorgeous photos to drool over...

At the end of each chapter is an exclusive project from that particular crafter....lots of fun accessory items, bags, clothing, and even an adorable pair of baby pants!

 If you've ever wanted a peek into a fellow crafter's life and find out what inspires and drives them to create, then this is the book for you!  Lark Crafts has graciously offered me a copy of Signature Styles to review and one to give away.  Leave a comment and share who or what inspires you to create and craft...this can be something personal from your own life or just a link to another craft blog that you love!

I'll draw a winner next Tuesday...one week from today.

Cheers!

Jessica