sewtakeahike

It's a beautiful day

 

It really is a beauty of day out there today.  A little chilly, but so pretty.  So to stick with the theme of pretty, here are a few things that I think are super pretty.

First, some new business cards, ordered from vistaprint.

 

 

I checked out a few places to order cards from and Vistaprint seemed to have the best value for what I was looking for.  I'm also super excited that they have several other products (t-shirts, coffee mugs, magnets) that they can put my logo onto.

And I received one of my label orders from spoonflower, these tags.  They turned out perfect! 

 

 

I designed them to cut along the solid line, fold them in half and then sew into a seam.

 

And lastly, have you checked out Superbuzzy's sale section lately??

 

 

Kelly has some really great fabrics in there!  I found several Suzuko and Yoshiko fabrics for 12-13$/ yard!!  And then of course, I had to fit a few of Suzuko's newer fabrics in there as well. :)

 

Happy Saturday to you!

xo,

Penny

Ringing it in with a grateful heart

Happy Happy New Year!

 

 

I always thought my parents were so fuddy duddy when they would say this, but where has the time gone?  It really does seem to move quicker now than when I was 10. 

 

 

2012 was full of many things; joy, sadness, inspiration, brokenheartedness, and elation.  Just when I was feeling drab, something or someone would inspire me.  When I was feeling down in the dumps, someone would encourage me.  And when I was heartbroken, friends came along side me and cried with me and hugged me. 

Through it all, I am so thankful for 2012.  After all, it brought

• the most wonderful dream of a partnership with Kerry in Sew-Ichigo.
• a renewed sense of where I fit in the quilting world when I was asked to teach at QuiltCon (which is coming up in a few short weeks!)
• reminders of what's really important in life
• time with L-man doing the things we love
• closer bonds of friendship
• Instagram! :)
• a deepening desire to improve and make a difference

 

 

And then, just a few days ago, I received a note from Lisa at the Moda Bakeshop telling me that my Isosceles Picnic quilt was one of the top 10 viewed projects at the Moda Bakeshop in 2012!  Get.out!!!

 

So to each and every one of you that take your precious time to visit sewtakeahike, leave comments and touch my heart, thank you.  Thank you for a wonderful 2012!

And to thank you from the bottom of my heart, Ben at Saral Paper and Kimberly and the gang at the Fat Quarter Shop for being long time sponsors. 

Here's to a super 2013!

 

xo,

Penny

odds and ends

The month of December has been a month of playing catch up with a few things and finishing up a few odds and ends. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed making some of Jeni's drawstring bags, and this stack of fabric recently became one.

 

I found the retro burger stand fabric here in case you were wondering :)

 

 

A while back, one of the ladies in our FCMQG signed us up to receive some of the QuiltCon Block Challenge blocks.  We are making a quilt that will be sent back to the QuiltCon officials to be donated to The Children's Shelter in Austin.  I am in complete awe of the blocks we received.  The construction, design, the fabrics are all so good.  Here's a sneak peek of the blocks I matted and framed.

 

 

Our goal is to showcase each block as a piece of artwork in the quilt top.

I don't know how many hundreds of entries there were, but something fun  happened after I posted that pic to Instagram.  Someone commented telling me who made the top block!  Her name is Janet and she's from Vancouver. 

Lastly, I made this potholder for someone who has inspired me with her kindness and willingness to make a positive impact in other people's lives.  Her work is inspiring too and I hope she uses the heck out of this little guy!

 

xo,

Penny

Blitzen

A few days before L-man and I went on our Thanksgiving trip, I came across Amy's reindeer pattern and I decided right then I wanted to make it first thing when I got home. 

At first, I wanted to make a Christmas pillow with it, but after being inspired again and again by all the Christmas quilt action going on out there, I settled on a quilt instead. 

 

 

So this last weekend I took a time out from all I have to and need to do and finished my Blitzen quilt top.

 

 

And now that I've watch Angela Walters craftsy class on free motion quilting (while I basted Blitzen),

 

 

I think I know how I'll quilt him.  I'm just waiting for my Supreme Slider Teflon mat to arrive and then I'll get started.

 

Hope your week is going as smoothly as I'm anticipating quilting Blitzen will go!

xo,

Penny

project proud

It truly blesses my heart when I get the chance to see a project someone has made with a tutorial or pattern I've created.

And recently, I received two emails, one from the lovely Caitlin and the other from lovely Julia.

Caitlin made my green wool + brown plaid handbag.  This pattern is in my waaaaay back files and I have to say, the pattern itself is evident of my early pattern writing skills.  Anytime someone makes this bag, I am always impressed they were able to follow my directions! 

Very nice job Caitlin!  I love that wooly looking plaid you used for the outside and the leather straps give it such a professional touch.  I really heart it a lot!

 

And then there's Julia's Juice and sprouts quilt.

Wow.  So many tiny blocks in this quilt!  It's adorable Julia!  I love the flavor stamping you did under each sprout!

 

Well, I'm off to work on a few projects today.  And heads up, keep a look out for a new Sew-Ichigo pattern release in the next week or so!  This will be a Christmas/holiday pattern set and here is one of the patterns that will be in it, my Christmas dress:

Last but not least, have you seen this?

 

 

FaveQuilts.com compiled this free ebook a few months ago and that's my "a little help from my friends" quilt there in the upper left corner!  The download is fantastic!

 

Happy happy Monday to you!

xo,

Penny