sewtakeahike

moving on...

 

 

In a couple of ways!  First, with another project using 12 weight egyptian cotton Aurifil.  It's a kitchen rug (measuring 33"X45"). 

Secondly, we are literally moving!  In June, L-man and I decided to start looking for a home, thinking that we would probably find something by January or February.  We've been piddling around, looking at a few homes here and there and last weekend we found "the one".  I'm still in a bit of shock because things are moving faster than I anticipated.  We first looked at it 2 weeks ago and have since signed a contract and had the inspection done.  What a whirlwind!  I can't wait to share more pics with you guys, but for now, here's the kitchen, and where my new rug will eventually live, right there in front of the sink.

 

Now for the Aurifil giveaway! 

Thank you to everyone who commented to enter and told me the type of thread you normally use.  There were a few threads I have never heard of that you mentioned!  And for those of you who said your machine is picky on thread, so is mine!  One thread I know for sure will cause me headaches with my machine is Coats & Clark.  I've been super impressed with Aurifil and want to get more of the 12 weight egyptian cotton in more colors for sure.  I just love the way it looks for quilting.

The winners are:

#61-  Cathi Harry, who said, "I use 100% cotton thread when I can. I would love to try this."

#202-  Sharon, who said, "I use cotton or polyester thread for machine quilting
and perle cotton for hand quilting
I have not seen aurifil at my local shops
and I am too impatient to plan
when I start a project, I start it on a spur of the moment and use what I have"

#184-  Kira, who said, "I use Coats and Clark. I have a spool of Sulky, but it breaks all over the place."

#197-  Jill, who said, "Whatever is on sale!!!"

Go ahead and email me ladies, with your mailing address and I'll get the thread packs out to you this week!

~Penny

 

aurifil: love! and giveaway

 

A while back, Lynne asked if I might be interested in trying out some Aurifil thread and maybe doing a little giveaway.  I accepted her offer and was thrilled when I received the thread and sample color/weight cards.  I had no idea that there was so much variety to thread content, weight and so many beautiful colors!

Now you all know how I love a bold look when I quilt by hand, and if you don't know what I mean, check out this and this.  So I was anxious to try the heavier weight threads to see how they turned out.  I started out playing with the 12/2 weight, 50% acrylic/50%wool thread and absolutely love it.  I'm not including any pictures here, because I'd like to do a little quilt sandwich with it and wash it to make sure it will hold up to my rigorous use and washing of a quilt.  I wash all my quilts like they are a pair of jeans, basically, so I'm hoping the wool won't shrink in the project.  So that will have to wait for another day.

For now, I picked some lovely 100% egyptian cotton 12/2 weight and used it to quilt the Unity quilt (which by the way, I was able to cut, sew, quilt and bind in 5 days, mostly after work!  I'm so excited to have been able to get it done so quickly since our friend's wedding is coming up in a little over a week) and it quilted like a dream.

 

 

 

I really love the simple and bold look this heavier weight thread gives to the quilt.  Thank-you Lynne, and thank you Alex for the opportunity to use this thread.  Now I need to get more because I am absolutely addicted!

So now, you have a chance to win a sample packs of Aurifil thread to try yourself!  All you need to do is leave one comment on this post and tell me what kind of thread you normally use to sew and quilt with and I'll choose 4 winners on Saturday, Sept 24th.  For this giveaway, winners must live in the US to win.  (so sorry lovely international friends, I'm trying to keep postage costs to a minimum)

~Penny

Giveaway now closed!

Unity and a Go! Baby winner

First, really quick, this is a quilt top I cut and sewed in two nights this week after work.  It's based on a photo I have pinned in Pinterest that looks like a photo that was taken of a quilt in a Japanese magazine?  It looks like their blocks were 3-4", but I made these 6.5".  I just love the colors they used.  It's called "Unity", and is for some friends who will be married next month.

Thank you to everyone for playing the vacation game!  You have all given me some great ideas and it was so uplifting to read what you are all excited about.  Your comments made me smile over and over and melted my heart!

And now for the Go! Baby winner!

Congratulations to #260, Bonnie Ledet!   Come on down, you're the winner on sew-take-a-hike!  I'll be in touch you with via email later today to get all the details worked out!

~Penny 

 

 

did you know coffee is a laxative?

(Looking for the Go! baby giveaway?  Click here!)

(The Neighborhood quilt top that I finished yesterday.  Blocks made by the bee members of A Notion or Two, round 2)

Yesterday and today have been lazy days for me.  Not that I don't have things I should be doing, but I just get a kind of mental constipation when the pile is too high (pun not intended), and need to take a step back and just have a latte, take a nap, waste some time, and things will usually become a little clearer and I feel rejuvenated.  And besides, I've been told that coffee is a laxative, (as well as my favorite soda, Dr Pepper!) so if I'm feeling a little mentally constipated, a latte or Dr Pepper is the first thing I reach for.   I'm sure I'm not the only one that does this?  I hope I'm not the only one who does this?  And I hope this isn't TMI?

I hope you all know how much it fills me up to share projects with you.  Lately though, I'm working on so many things that I can't show to you quite yet and it's so hard for me to not just take a zillion photos of what I'm working on and vomit them all on you guys. 

So today, I'm going to vomit just a little bit.  Just a little.  And show you an in progress project that I'll be posting a tutorial for in October.

 

 

There.  Now I feel better. 

~Penny  

Trip report and a GO! baby giveaway!

 

It was a remarkable weekend for L-man and I here in Colorado. 

We packed up our tent and gear into a friends truck and headed down near Gunnison for the weekend.  We camped out and on Saturday morning, shuttled our gear to the Gunny Gorge trailhead and hiked it all a little over a mile, down to the river.

 

Here is the raft roll, which L-Man, Curt, Matt, and I carried.

 

Down at the river, it was a sight to behold:

 

This trip is definitely my favorite one we took this summer!

The canyon was amazing (although I wasn't able to get any pics until the rapids were done),

 

 

and spending time with friends was priceless.  I'm so regretful that I didn't get a group shot of all 12 of us together though.....  I AM however, so very thankful that L-man took the time to put the trip together, that Curt allowed us to carpool with him and his daughter Arwen, that Lance and Heather graced us with their presence and allowed us to use their raft, that I finally got to meet John and Alex (two of L-man's kayaking friends) and for the donuts that Lance and Heather brought (boy did they taste good after a long day on the river!)  And last but not least, I'm thankful that Arwen took an interest in sewing and sewed several yoyo's for me while we were in the car (the drive was about 6-7 hours one way!!).

So enough about my weekend, lets get on with the giveaway!

 

As you have probably guessed, the fine people at Accuquilt are offering up a go! Baby and your choice of 3 dies to one sewtakeahike reader!

All you have to do to enter is leave one comment on this post telling me what your favorite thing was that you did this summer.  And if you didn't have a chance to do much this summer, tell me what your dream summer trip would be.

I'll leave the comments open until the afternoon of this Thursday, Sept. 15.

Good luck to you!

~Penny

 

 The giveaway is now closed!!