NEW FABRICS!

Went on a shopping trip again last week! I just love to buy all this fabric! It really makes me feel good...HA!HA! :)  Anyway I thought I would show you some of the fabrics I bought. Beings 4th of July is coming soon I also stocked up on Americana fabrics. You can see all my new fabrics here from my Etsy shop. :)

I loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeee this fabric!! Of course you know it has to do with SEWING!! I use to have an old treadle machine that had an old machine like these. And I do love all antiques. :)

These vintage bicycles are so neat. Takes you back to the "olden" days. :)

Country is great for decorating. I wonder if there are very many people that still decorate with a country decor....hmmmmmmmmmmm? Anyway....I really liked this country sign fabric with all the animals on it. I thought this fabric would be great for placemats. I may actually take some of that fabric and make some. :)

And like I said......4th of July is coming so I stocked up on Americana fabrics. Here are two of the one's that I picked out. Get busy with those patriotic sewing projects. :)

Thanks for visiting and happy sewing! 

Colleen :)

Spring Sewing

I know there is quite a bit of winter left especially for us in the northern world, but I always like to think Spring. I have about three months left until I have Spring, but there are some of you that it is right around the corner. If you are one of those and getting ready to do some "Spring sewing" or if you are like me and do "Spring sewing" to lift your spirits, I have just added some new Spring fabrics to my Etsy shop that I wanted to show you. :)

I love Susan Winget fabric! She designs such beautiful fabric. This is one of her Easter fabrics.

These beautiful springs birds are another one of her fabrics. 

This is more summertime, but look at the design on this fabric! I love the lemonade pitchers. I thought this fabric would make great placemats for a picnic table. :)

Butterflies are always a sure sign of spring! Look at all of them here!

I really like this fabric. Look at all the cute bugs all over this one. This one if from Hi-Fashion fabrics. I think it is just so cute. :)

As you can tell I LOVE fabrics of all kinds. I enjoy shopping for them and sewing with them. Yes...I am addicted to fabrics. LOL!  So come on over to the shop and check out all the new fabrics I have for you. Thanks for letting me show you all my new "goodies". :)

Happy sewing!

Colleen :)

New Fabrics

Well I have been busy adding new fabrics to the shop and I thought I would show you some of what I have found. I just love looking for fabics with all the wonderful colors they have now. I have been on the hunt for different Fall and Christmas fabrics. I think I have a good selection of pumpkins and fall themed fabric and of course Halloween. Also, some beautiful Christmas fabrics with of course..snowmen! Just love those snowmen!

So if you have a chance come on over and look when you have a chance. You can find me right here.

I just love all the pumpkins on this one. It makes it so whimsical. 

Definitely have to have scarecrows in the fall!

I have this cute Halloween fabric in fat quarters. Several people have bought these to make trick or treat bags. :)

This fabric makes me think of an old fashioned Christmas. I have several fabrics that look old fashioned and Victorian. 

Then of course what is Christmas without snowmen! I just love snowmen. I have a couple of snowmen fabrics.

So if you need some holiday fabric please come visit My Store and see what I have. Thanks!

Have fun sewing!

Colleen :)

New Fabrics

I have lots of fabrics and I love to buy fabrics! Yep.....just like most quilters and sewers. Well I was thinking the other day....I really love to buy fabrics and I know I will never have the time to make everything that I want to so, I thought why not start selling some of these fabrics to all of you. So.........I added another section to my Etsy store and I am now offering fabrics for sale. 

If you are like me you visit your local fabric store many times a month and then the fabric gets to be the same things you see all the time. If the owner doesn't get new fabrics you have the same fabrics to choose from. This happens to me so I start to look elsewhere for fabrics. Recently I spent a week with my daughter in Minnesota and we visited some quilt shops and you want to talk about a kid in a candy store!! There were new fabrics everywhere!!!! I couldn't believe it!! So needless to say I was a shopping fool. LOL! :)  

I have fabrics listed in my shop now and I am always on the search for new and exciting fabrics to bring to you that you may be able to use on those projects you are working on. :)

Here are a few I have listed and here is the link to my section in my Etsy store so you can see what I have. I have by the yards and fat quarters. :) My Fabrics in my shop. 

I love these blue birds. They are so colorful!

Beautiful silhouette of a cabin and trees. I think this would be really neat for a small quilt. 

I bought this thinking of some fall projects that could be done with it. 

I also have several fat quarter bundles of all designs. 

I just love all the colors and prints of fabrics! Wish I had the time to make something out of every fabric design there is. :)  Thanks for stopping by and letting me show you all the new fabrics I have for sale. Please visit when you can....My Fabrics.

Happy sewing! :)

Back From Vacation

Just got back from a weeks vacation visiting my daughter and her family. It was so great seeing the grandkids and her and...oh ya.....my son-in-law. LOL! Had a great time visiting them and getting to see the kids soccer, volleyball, and baseball games. Since we live so far away from them I don't get to see their games so I always enjoy getting to go to their games. 

A big highlight of my trip is always going to help my daughter deliver her papers. She is the publisher of The Country Register of Minnesota which is a shopping guide for the state of Minnesota. Some of you may be familiar with those nationwide papers. She delivers the paper to some of her advertisers closer to her town and when I come to visit we always time it so I can help her deliver the papers and see some of the shops! It is usually antique stores and of course..quilt shops! This time we went to see quilt shops and you want to talk about a kid in a candy store! What is really neat about doing this is that I get to see new fabrics. I am sure all you sewers have the same feeling, that I only get to see the fabrics my local shop has and then those get old so visiting these shops it was a whole new group of fabrics to see! I was doing the happy dance!!

Of course my hands were going crazy thru all the bolts and fat quarters. Here are a few of the fabrics I got. So many ideas of what to make with them and so little time to do them all. 

Another trip we always do when I go back since it is usually only one time a year (the plane flights are the flights from hell so I love to see the kids, but I hate the flights!!) is new tenny runner shoes. Here is my latest "fashion" purchase. Pretty snazzy huh.  :)

Well now that I have all that new fabric I need to get busy and get some new things made for my shop. Got to get my little fingers moving. :)

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

STASH BUSTING....

Ok.....so....is your sewing room getting out of control?? Do you have what Stashbuster.com calls WOMBAT...."waste of material, batting and time". :) If so....it is time to clean up the fabrics, get those UFO's out of the box they have been hiding, at get busy "stashbusting". 

Here are a few tips to help you get started:

Shop your own stash first:

One of my many cabinets and tubs of "stash". :)

Sell or swap with friends:

I have a group of ladies at the hospital where I volunteer that get together once a year and swap fabrics. We live in a small community so everyone shops at the same two fabric stores so that means everyone has the same fabrics. Well so many of us are now shopping online also that we are starting to get a variety of fabrics so this swap is really neat to see all the new fabrics.

Donate UFO's and/or fabric to charities:

If you have just so much fabric you don't know what to do with it all, consider donating it to a local charity. Many communities have quilt guilds that make quilts for community projects. Our hospital has a quilt for patient program that many ladies and gents in the area make quilts for this program. This is a great way to use up that stash of fabrics.


Make quilts for Quilts For Kids:

This is one of my favorite ways to use up my stash. The Quilt For Kids program is a group of volunteer quilters from everywhere that make quilts to be given to children for comfort in hospitals while they are sick and undergoing treatments.  This project was started by one women years ago and now has transformed into a huge effort that many companies have become involved with likes of Robert Kaufman Fabrics, Proctor & Gamble, Pellon and many, many more. I really enjoy making quilts for this cause. I just wish I had more time to make more. 

So all of you quilters and sewers out there I am sure you need to "re-organize" those sewing rooms. So get busy and "stash bust"! That way you can make more room for MORE FABRIC!! :)

Happy Sewing!  :)

YARDAGE INFORMATION

I found this information the other day and thought how interesting it was to see it put into charts. I think it is good information so I thought I would share it with you. I found it on Minnesota Charms. They had lots of information on fabric yardages and cutting...:)

Interesting to see it put out in a chart like this. 

I use fat quarters a lot so this chart was really interesting to me. 

And then those of you who use jelly rolls, here are some cutting instruction for you. I haven't used jelly rolls yet, but I saw a show on PBS the other day and thought I really need to try that some time. :)

Happy sewing and have a great day! :)

PRE-WASHING FABRICS: PROS AND CONS

A big debate in the world of quilting is whether or not fabric should be washed before it’s ever used in a quilt. There are many arguments for both. I personally do not pre-wash (was told by my local quilt shop I didn't need to with today's fabrics) unless it is red. Red ALWAYS bleeds regardless of the fabric so I do pre-wash red. Sooooo..........Prewash? Don’t prewash? That is the question! Most quilters seem to have a very definite opinion on the subject. There are many benefits to both options, so let’s take a look at them today.

                 

Arguments FOR prewashing: It prevents vibrant dyes from spreading onto other fabric. Some bright colors, like reds and purples, can run and bleed when they are washed. This can be very devastating if it happens to a finished quilt. When fabrics are washed beforehand, the chance of this happening lessens. Fabric shrinks when it’s washed and dried. When woven together, the fibers of the fabrics are pulled nice and straight, so laundering causes them to either shrink or relax back into their normal shape. This can cause some distortion in a finished quilt if the items have not been previously washed before they were cut and sewn. Any sizing or chemicals that have been used on the fabric are removed before the fabric is used. This is especially beneficial to those who have sensitive skin. 

Arguments AGAINST prewashing: The amount of shrinkage really isn’t that bad. Yes, it’s still there, but it creates the cozy, crinkly effect many quilters desire. With today’s quality fabrics and dye, bleeding is not much of an issue. Most manufacturers realize that a vast amount of quilters do not prewash, so they ensure that the dyes are set completely. Brand new fabric has sizing, creating a nice crisp material. This creates ease when cutting and piecing. Once the sizing is washed out, the fabric loses that crispness. Prewashing takes too much time! Plenty of quilters prefer to spend their precious crafting time cutting and sewing, not prewashing. When creating quilts that aren’t often used, like wall hangings and heirloom quilts, prewashing is unnecessary. The fabrics remain sharp, vibrant, and smooth

So.......which are you??? Do you pre-wash or not????



Have a great day! :)

Colleen :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING and BLOG HOP WINNER!

For all of you that celebrate Thanksgiving I know everyone will be busy tomorrow either smelling that good turkey cooking(or whatever you make) or heading to family and friends so I wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!! I will be busy in the kitchen making that turkey. There is only my husband and myself anymore as the kiddos and grandkids live elsewhere, but I still enjoy making the dinner.

And to the next exciting business.......the winner of my blog hop fabric is Kathy H!!! I have sent her an email!!

 

Thanks to everyone who entered my giveaway and are now following my blog! I had a lot of fun meeting all of you and enjoyed talking to you. :) So a big THANK YOU! 

I hope each and everyone one of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy the day! If you are traveling...be safe! 



BLOG HOP PARTY...GIVEAWAY!!

It's time for the Giving Thanks-Quilter's Blog Hop Party!!

We are having a giveaway!! And who doesn't like giveaways!! I know I love them. :) 

 

 

The Quilting Gallery is having a blog hop party that I am taking part in. These are always so much fun so I hope you join us at the Blog Party. There are on average 120 blogs that join this party from all over the world so there will be lots of blogs to visit and giveaways to enter! I always have so much fun visiting with people from all corners of the world so please join in the fun and visiting blogs. :)



I thought I would offer on my giveaway some Christmas fabric. There are 5 fat quarters of Christmas fabric called the Winterfest Bundle from Fabric World. Cute little Santa's and mittens and red, green and white accent fabric can be used for your Christmas sewing. 

The rules are easy peasy for entering my giveaway........................

Be a follower of my blog and leave a comment on this post.

New followers are always welcome.

Leave a way for me to contact you if you are a no-reply blog or do not have a blog.

I would appreciate it if you would like to share this giveaway

Giveaway will run through November 26th with the winner

announced on November 27th.

 

 

So that is all it takes. Not much to it is there. So have fun with the blog hop and see you in....BLOGLAND! :)

 

 

 

AND THE WINNER IS......

 

We have a winner on my Americana fat quarters giveaway!! Congratulations goes out to Mary! I will be sending these to her right away. :)

 

Thanks to everyone that entered my giveaway. I do love to do these. Hopefully when the busy summer is over I can do more.

 

 

 

Which reminds me.........I have been meaning to ask all of you.....what kind of giveaways do you usually participate in?  Do you like fabric, supplies, items that are already made? I would be interested to know what you  like. I could do a survey on here and I did read once how to do an "official survey box", but I need time to figure out how to do this....hmmmm....need to put that on my "winter" project list. :)

 

 

Thanks again to everyone who participated in my giveaway. Have a great day!!