What I've Been Up To....

It's almost been a month since my last post so I figured, why not do a little update? I've been sewing non stop (well at least it seems that way!)! I haven't gotten a whole lot accomplished, but I've managed to get some deadlines met, and have 2 more projects with deadlines next week!!! (I'll be showing you those projects very soon!)
I've had a rough month with a lot of things going on....some really personal that I'd rather not delve into quite yet...but I'm really trying to hold my head up and keep a smile on my face. Sewing helps me do that. It's my escape from reality, my addiction, my drug....whatever you want to call it. I figure as long as it's an outlet, and not illegal it's okay, right? :-)

Let's see....what to show you first???? Hmmmm....

Here are the block I made for my "Hive mates" for the 3x6 Sampler Bee. I was in Hive E (Excellent Paper Piecing)!!! I chose to make a star from the Lucky Stars BOM by Elizabeth Dackson of Don't Call Me Betsy. And if you want to join the BOM you still can!!!! You end up getting 26 (I think) paper pieced patterns for only $15!!!! Just sayin.....

That bottom one was my "practice block" which just so happened to be in my chosen color scheme (a scrappy rainbow), so ya know...it's a nice addition to all of the other blocks I've received! *note to self: TAKE A PICTURE OF ALL THE BLOCKS YOU'VE GOTTEN!!!!*  I love the block, it's sooo easy to make, and comes together really fast!

Here is what I made for my Partner for the Modernista Swap. We just finished round 3 "Spicing Up the Bedroom". I had a really rough time deciding what to make for my Partner, but I hope she likes what I did make! (She should be getting it in the mail any day now)

I made her a couple patchwork buckets (You can find the tutorial for those here on Ayumi's blog!) and a cute little mug rug to top it all off. (I threw in some extra goodies too but forgot to take a pic before packing it all up! Sorry!)

Here's all her handmade goodies! I really hope she likes it!

Let's see....what else have I been up to?

I got all my charms cut for the Low Volume Charm Swap that I'm in!!! I love me some low volume, and have a quilt planned as soon as I gather enough fabrics.....

Who doesn't love a pretty stack of fabrics?

*Be still my heart*

This shot I was just messing around...I'm trying to learn how to take manual pics....I think this one turned out okay....maybe?!?

But that about wraps it up for now.....
OH WAIT!!! I have to tell you, this week coming up my baby (Jordyn) is starting Kindergarten!!!! *tear* I swear it doesn't seem like she should be starting school yet!?!?! Where has the time gone? She is soooo excited though, we got to meet her teacher yesterday. She seems really nice, I'm hoping for a great school year!

See what I mean? She's still just a baby!!!!! (yeah right, I know she's getting big but I don't have to admit it, do I?)

~Hope y'all are having a GREAT DAY!!!!~

The End of a Great 6 Months

It's July already!?!?! Wow! This year is FLYING by (or I'm just too dang busy to sit back and enjoy it!) I really can't believe what a success my first Bee was! Make It Modern was the absolute BEST! The girls (a.k.a. my bee mates) are just plain AMAZING! I'm wowed by their creativity and skillz! I'm so happy to have made some new friends too!

(My block)

I want to say one thing though, I could NOT have done this without one amazing person helping me out. We did not know each other before this bee, but I am now proud to call her a great friend! Thank you SO SO SO SO SO SOOOOOO MUCH Jamie! If it wasn't for you, I don't think I would've made it through these past 6 months! I really appreciate all the hard work and all your effort that you've put into making this Bee a reality!

(Block for Licet)

I also want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to the WONDERFUL sponsors we have had for this Bee!!!!! And with that being said, I've tried and tried to make this last giveaway really special! I tried to have 12 prizes so each person could win at least once, but it didn't quite happen. That's okay though, at least EVERYONE in the Bee will win or have won at least ONE prize! (YAY!!!!)
So, who are our final sponsors and what is it they are giving away????? Very good question. Let's get this started out right!

(Block made for Karen)

The wonderful people over at Craftsy have joined in our sponsor pool and are offering 2 FREE CLASSES! YAY! That means 2 people will win a class of their choice! (and if you haven't heard me RAVE on and on about how much I love Craftsy you can go here or here to "hear" me rave!!!)
But on a short note, Craftsy offers a variety of online quilting classes as well as sewing and other craft related classes! Once you enroll in one of those classes you will have access to it FOREVER! They have an amazing platform set up that you can interact with your class mates and course instructor! They also offer a place to buy and sell your patterns! (Trust me, if you haven't already checked them out it is an ABSOLUTE MUST!)

(Block made for Kelleigh)

The wonderful people over at Pink Chalk Fabrics are giving away a $25 gift certificate so the winner can go pick out some amazing fabric! The gift certificate is good for ANYTHING in the shop! Pink Chalk offers a wide variety of modern fabrics for any crafting need, they offer some great patterns and notions too!!! Pink Chalk always has a great selection of sale items! Also, I recommend signing up for the Chalk Talk newsletter, you'll get awesome tutorials and inspiration delivered to your inbox on a regular basis!

(Block made for Jamie)

The Fat Quarter Shop is offering a $25 gift certificate too! The "FQS" is one of the most popular online quilting shops out there! They carry just about any style of fabric you can think of! I really do get lost browsing around in there sometimes. Not only do they have a HUGE selection of pre-cuts and yardage, they work with some of your FAVORITE bloggers to create custom fabric bundles! They offer a variety of clubs and programs so you can have layer cakes, jelly rolls, FQ bundles, charm packs, and so much more arriving at your door every month! They have a HUGE sale section too!

(Block made for Jenniffier)

Brenda and Jason of Pink Castle Fabrics are offering one lucky winner 3 Fat Eighth bundles! (which are perfect for Bees!) Pink Castle just recently opened the doors on their very first brick and mortar shop!!! (Congrats!!!!!) I love shopping with Pink Castle, their prices are amazing, they are at the top of their game when it comes to customer service, and their shipping is really fast! If you sign up for their newsletter you get amazing drool worthy fabric bundles in your inbox weekly! (and a little secret, they usually have some kind of special going on the weekends!) They've got some really cool "clubs" you can join too! Perfectly named "The Stash Stack" once a month you can get a variety of fabrics in one color arriving in your mailbox, every month is a new color! And if you want to build your solid stash, they have a club for that too!!!!

(Block made for Audrey)

The lovely Nichole of 1 Choice 4 Quilting is offering a $20 gift certificate for the winner to choose whatever they want from her AMAZING SHOP! 1 Choice offers a wide variety on your choice of pre-cuts, scrap bags (which are always fun to get!), yardage, quilt kits, and that's just to name a few things! The site is extremely easy to navigate and her prices are great too!!!! Trust me, go check the site out, you will NOT be disappointed!!!

(Block for Karen)

Winter Creek Cloth is offering a $25 gift certificate to our winner. The winner will be able to choose from a huge variety of fabrics! Their site is set up so you can browse through their drool worthy fabrics easily. You can choose to brows by collections, designers, pre-cuts, colors, and so much more!!! Plus shipping is super cheap! Only $5 to ship anywhere in the U.S.!!!!! Who can beat that? I got lost for a bit while browsing through their large selection!!! (please tell me I'm not the only one who does that?!?!)

(Block for Samantha, sorry about the horrible photo!)

And last but definitely not least Caitlin who owns the wonderful I Don't Do Dishes is offering a 2wenty Thr3e charm pack to one lucky lady! Caitlin carries a variety of fabrics to meet any quilting need. Her prices are amazing, shipping is EXTREMELY fast, and she is top of the line when it comes to customer service! So, if you've never checked her shop out, I highly suggest you drop what you're doing and go do so! You will NOT regret it!

(Block for Sarah)

I had a hard time deciding how to draw names, at first I was going to go the random number way but once I thought about it there was really no easy way to do it that way. So I did it the old fashioned way!!!!

I put all the names in my husband's hat and all the prizes in a "bucket" and drew. I figured that was the fairest way! Since there have been 5 winners already, I did hold their names for the very last drawing. That way I knew EVERY ONE in the bee would win SOMETHING!

(Block for Renae)

So without further ado the winners are: *drum roll*
Craftsy Class- Becky
Craftsy Class- Renae
$25 for Pink Chalk- Kelleigh
$25 for The Fat Quarter Shop- Jamie
3 Fat Eighth Bundles from Pink Castle- Kelie
$20 for 1 Choice 4 Quilting- Sarah
$25 for Winter Creek Cloth- Jen
2wenty Thr3e Charm Pack from I Don't Do Dishes- Samantha

Like I said earlier, this group was FULL of extremely talented ladies! I'm going to put a link here to each of their Flickr streams so you can check out some of their work!
Jamie Lee
Sarah
Karen
Jenniffier
Samantha
Becky
Jen
Licet
Audrey
Renea
Kelleigh
Me


(and if you are counting, yes, I'm a slacker and have not made one of the blocks. It intimidates me, and I think that is why I have put it off for so long. Thankfully my Bee Mate is understanding and knows that I'm in the process of making it! I'll update this post with a pic as soon as I get it done!)

Thank you to my Bee Mates again for a wonderful 6 months of block making fun!!!!
And a THANK YOU to all of our wonderful sponsors! We appreciate everything you all do for us!


~Hope y'all are having a great day!~

Make It Modern: May's Sponsor

Wow! Is it just me or is time just FLYING by? I mean really, FLYING by? Gah, I keep meaning to post like a ton of things and never seem to get the chance. I guess that's what I get for choosing to sew instead, huh? Y'all will forgive me right? I'll have lots of pretties to show you very soon! (at least I hope!)
So, May has come and gone already! Wow!!!! So I'm going to pretend it's still May, (I'm only a day late!)
This month's sponsor for the Make It Modern Bee is the fantabulous online shop called Pink Chalk Fabrics!
Pink Chalk Fabrics is owned by the ever so sweet Kathy Mack! I'm going to let her about page do most of the introduction here....
In 2008, Pink Chalk Fabrics launched with the mission to provide the best cloth, pattern, and tools available for modern sewists. Our motto here is Do What You Like, Like What You Do. The entire Pink Chalk Fabrics team is dedicated to making your sewing journey a happy one. We appreciate the opportunity to provide you with an experience that will exceed your expectations.



Kathy carries a great choice of Modern quilting fabrics to meet most any sewing or quilting need! I love drooling over her selection! (Please tell me I"m not the only weirdo that does that?!?!?!)
And not only does she carry great fabrics she has an amazing selection of patterns and notions too! I find her site very easy to navigate and her customer service is TOP NOTCH!
So, y'all ready to see some droolworthy fabrics? I know I am!!!

I love me some Pearl Bracelets!

And who doesn't love Lotta Jansdotter's line Glimma?
That's just a few of my favs from her shop...I could really go on forever!!!!
If you guys like getting some great mail on a monthly basis I STRONGLY suggest you check out Kathy's Monthly Clubs there are quite a few of them!

Anywho....Kathy is offering a $25 gift certificate to her shop for one of the Make It Modern members!!!! Y'all know the drill by now, huh? I can't believe we are going into our last month of this Bee!!! It has been a great experience for me and I'm so happy to have made some great new friends! I feel very honored to have been in this Bee with such an AMAZINGLY TALENTED group of women! I can't wait to see what June brings us!!!!!

~Hope y'all are having a great day!!!~

Make It Modern's April Sponsor: The Intrepid Thread

Hey there strangers! Long time no see!!!!! It's been a LOOOOOONG month! And a very busy one too! I'll tell you guys more about that soon though. I dropped in today to let you all know about Make It Modern's sponsor for April!!!!!!

This month's sponsor is none other than the AMAZING Julie Duek, owner of The Intrepid Thread!!!!!
I know you guys have heard me rave about her and her shop, and I honestly can't say enough good things about her! I'm going to let her about page do the talking for a moment:
"Owner, Julie Dueck, started the Intrepid Thread out of a desire to feature her own favorite fabric lines and designers, as well as offer the best possible customer care available! Not only is Julie passionate about fabric, she possesses a knowledge of fabric that only comes from years of researching it, blogging about it and buying it!
When you purchase fabric from The Intrepid Thread, you’ll benefit from Julie’s expertise! Julie keeps her finger on the pulse of the modern quilter, carefully purchasing each bolt of fabric herself. In fact, if she wouldn’t want to sew with it…then it’s not good enough for her customers either!
Julie’s impeccable taste in fabric, as well as her knowledge and ability to stock the most sought-after designer fabrics, sets her apart from other fabric dealers. Her hand wrapped packages, tied with a bow and a personal note, let customers know just how important they are." 

That really says it all! I absolutely L-O-V-E getting a package from Julie! They always make my day! Her handwritten notes lets you know that she really cares about her customers! I recommend her shop to everyone I know!
Julie just recently opened up a brick and mortar shop! (Congrats, Julie!) The only downside to that is that I don't live close enough to go see it for myself! The pictures on her home page show a really gorgeous shop!
You can visit her blog to see what is going on in her shop and what all she's into....ya never know, you may find a giveaway to go enter! :) I'm just sayin.....

Julie keeps her shop stocked with the latest modern fabrics! And with her FANTASTIC prices....it's hard to say no.... Let me just show you some of my favorites......

My favorite line!!! Comma!

Tsuru.....

Color Me Retro (I LOOOOOVE the colors in this line!!!!!!)

I'm inlove with this one! 2wenty Thr3e! I wish I could get the WHOLE COLLECTION!!!!!

So you see, you really really really really REALLY need to go and check out The Intrepid Thread because it is just an all around AMAZING shop! I promise you will NOT be disappointed!

So, what is Julie offering to one lucky Make It Modern member?

This gorgeous, and I do mean GORGEOUS fat quarter bundle of Luxe In Bloom!!!!!
You girls know the drill! Have your blocks in the mail already (since it's the very last day of the month) and have a pic of each of your finished blocks in the group pool to be in the drawing! Jamie and I will be announcing the winner tomorrow! Good luck!



~Hope y'all are having a great day!!!~

Bee Sew Modern

This is going to be short and to the point! I hope you guys are interested!




I have decided that I'm going to start another Bee!!! I'm having sooo much fun with Make It Modern I just can't wait to start another one! Sew, the details of this one are pretty similar to Make It Modern.
It's going to be a 6 month bee with 12 members, which means (if you decide to join) you will be making and mailing 2 blocks per month. I'm hoping to get this started by the first of April!
If you are interested in joining up you can click here to go to the Flickr group and read the rules and all that good stuff. The link to sign up is there too!
Just to let it out there, I will not be accepting everyone just because they signed up first! I've made a few requirements, so I will be reviewing everyone's submissions to make sure they meet those requirements. Of course, as long as you meet the requirements I will take people on a first come basis until I reach 12 members.
Once you are accepted into the Bee you will receive a welcome email from me with the details of when we start etc. I'm hoping that it will fill up as fast as Make It Modern did. That way I can get assignments out by the middle of March!

I hope you will consider joining me! A quilting bee is SEW MUCH FUN! I can't wait to see who all will join me!
~Hope y'all are having a GREAT day!~

An Uh-Oh and an announcement

Yep, big Uh-Oh!! I have a new addiction! And that's bad! Once I become addicted to something, that's it, I'm done for! So, what is my new addiction you ask?    ONE WORD:
                          SWAPS!!!!!
Yep, I love 'em! I've recently just finished up the Doll Quilt Swap! Wanna see what I made for my Partner?

This is the front of it!

And that's the back. It's sooo hard to give up though! I love it! I see making another one similar to this for myself in the near future! I hope my Partner loves it as much as I do....and I think she will!!!! I can't wait to see her response once she receives it! I also made her a little mug rug that I hope she will like.

I've also recently joined 2 more Flickr swaps and 1 private swap. (I'm up for a private swap ANY TIME just incase any one wants to know!)
The first one is round 3 of Modernista Homemade and for this round we are doing the living room! What did I request? Well, of course A PILLOW! I have none, zero, zip!!!! And I'm in DIRE need of one, or two, or ten!!!!

Here is the mosaic I made for my Partner to find some inspiration! I love everything about each of these photos, the colors, the designs, the fabrics! I'm not hard to please so I think who ever my Partner is will do just fine!

I just finished signing up for round 2 (but my first round) of Sew Sew Modern !!! In this swap you can request one large item and your Partner has to make or buy something that coordinates with the large item. So like, a sewing machine cover and pin cushion, or table runner and napkin rings. (I'm using the examples from the rules) But I've requested either throw pillows (CUZ I NEED THEM!) lol or a sewing machine cover (because I haven't mustered up the courage to make on for myself yet!)

Yes, this is my mosaic for SSM, and it is very similar to the Modernista mosaic, but I LOVE these designs!!! My color request for this one is either a blue (aqua), orange, and gray or a rainbow. And I'd be happy with either/or!!!!
I also am doing a private pillow swap with a friend from IG!!! And yes, we are swapping PILLOWS! LOL!

This is my fabric pull for her, and she chose the Charcoal gray to go along with those pretty pinks and purples! (top right) I can't say I blame her! I can't wait to see what her choices for me are!!!!

I am inlove with IG (insta gram) and if any of you have IG and are not yet following me, you can find me under the name CraftNurseQuilt! I post lots and lots of pics on there! But, I just recently hit....

 

TWO HUNDRED followers!!!!

*Happy dance* So, for miss PrettyPenny7 I am very thankful! So much so that I'm going to send her a little goodie of some sort!!!! Thanks again!!!!



On another note, I've been having a few requests to join my quilting bee, so I've thought long and hard about this and I've decided that IF there is ENOUGH interest I'm happy to start another "hive" and it will consist of the same rules as the one I'm running now. So if you are interested in joining leave me a comment telling me so! 11 people is all I need and I can get the show on the road! If you need to find out about the rules go here to read a little more about it!
I hope to hear from you guys soon!!!
~Hope y'all are having a GREAT day!!~

Make It Modern: A block update

Just thought I'd give you guys a little update on the WONDERFUL blocks I've been receiving from Make It Modern (my quilting bee)!!! I'm not going to put who sent what (honestly I can't remember off the top of my head, but I will have an updated post in the near future with each member's name with their block!)

I love how unique she made the "center" of this one!!!!

 I adore the fabrics she used!!! You can't really see it that well in this pic, but the center is 2 little turtles!! SO CUTE!

 This one is just SUPER CUTE! Love the little hedgehogs!!!!

I love the way she used improv piecing!!!! It looks AMAZING!!!

 I love this block!!! The angle she used really sets it off!!!

 This is anoter block that I made, it looks so plain compared to all these other gorgeous blocks!

Tula Pink!!! That's all I need to say! LOVE THE FROG!!! This block is just GREAT!!!
There seems to be an animal thing among my bee mates! LOL! I wish I had some animal type fabrics and I'd remake my blocks, but oh well....I'll make it work some how! This is all that I've received so far but I'm LOVING them!! I can't wait to get them all and put them next to each other!! This is going to make one FANTASTIC quilt that I will LOVE FOREVER!!!!
Thank you girls!!! ;)

~Hope y'all are having a GREAT day!!!~