Friday Finishes

I only had one finish this week.  A small zipper pouch.  I am working on a couple long term projects and I just needed the satisfaction that comes with a finished project.  Does that every happen to you?

It's about 9"x5" and is great to hold pencils or quilting tools.  This is probably about the 5th or 6th one I have made.  It's great because they only take about an hour to do.  Maybe less.  I don't have anything in mind for this bag so I might put it up on my Etsy store a bit later today.  (I just put it up for sale here.)

I did finish my June block of the A Year to Crow About BOM but I forgot to take a picture.  Ooops!  This one was much easier than the last.  

And here is a cute picture of my kitty keeping me company while I made the bag just because this is a short post for me.  Besides, what quilting blog wouldn't be complete without a cute cat picture.  She's such a sweet kitty.  

Voting for the Blogger's Quilt festival has started so head over to vote for your favorites.  I have one is the applique category.  It's number 5.  Its a snowman applique quilt.  (hint hint)  I obviously wouldn't mind if you voted for mine but there are so many cute quilts in every category.  Today is going to be fun to go through and vote!  Good luck everyone!

Today I am linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts.  I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Product Review: SteamFast Mini Iron

SteamFast SF-717 Home-and-Away Mini Steam Iron

• 420-watt mini steam iron removes wrinkles from almost any fabric
• 1-2/5-ounce water tank; heats up in 15 seconds; variable temperature settings
• Non-stick soleplate; 1-touch steam control; dual voltage for travel convenience
• Heat-resistant travel bag and plastic measuring cup included
• Measures approximately 5-2/7 by 3 by 3 inches; 1-year limited warranty

I was searching for a small iron to take with me to quilting classes when I came across this iron on Amazon a few weeks ago. It was inexpensive at 19.99.  I also have Amazon Prime so shipping was free for me.  So I figured I would give it a try.  I was going to a Bonnie Hunter workshop and would try it out there.  

I loved it!  I could not believe how hot it got.  It was the perfect size.  It wasn't too small yet perfect to fit in my bag to go to class.  It came with a travel bag as well.  It also has a switch on it to change the voltage if you are traveling overseas.  The cord was long enough to reach from the outlet and then some.  

My neighbor also shared this iron with me all day and she loved it too.  I have a huge heavy iron at home but now when I am just ironing small pieces when piecing I use this one.  Its lighter and very ergonomic.  I have carpal tunnel and its so much easier on me.  I still break out the big iron for larger yardage.  

I'll be honest I never tried the steam function on it.  I don't use steam when I am quilting.  However, the reviews on Amazon raved about it.  I have only used this lightly over the past month so I am not sure if it will hold up long term but for such an inexpensive price I am willing to take my chances.  

If you are looking for a decent travel iron for classes this is a great one to try out.  

SteamFast SF-717 Home-and-Away Mini Steam Iron

WIP Wednesday 5/22

I am not sure why I haven't blogged about this WIP yet but here we go.  I am working on a block of the month through my local quilt shop.  It's called A Year to Crow About.  It is designed by a couple of local quilters Sue Harvey and Sandy Boobar of Pine Tree Quilts.  They are located in the next town over from me.  The fabric line is from Red Rooster Fabrics and is designed by Jacqueline Paton. 

All the blocks have a small panel with a crow and they all have something to do with the month that it is released.  This one is for May.  See the cute little baby birds.  I have all the blocks done so far except June's and I am getting two more this Saturday so I plan on getting June's done this week as well.  They are released two at a time so I should be done this quilt in just a few months.  I think the aim is to get it done before fall because of all the pretty fall colors.  

I had a hard time with this block and I am not sure why.  Those star blocks are small, 5 1/2".  I had a lot of difficulty with keeping the small parts lined up and sewing over the bulky seams.  My seam ripper got a work out last night.  Everytime I sewed the flying geese to the middle squares and had to go over the point my sewing machine would move the seam over so my fabrics weren't straight any more.  It really didn't like them.  I had to resort to using an elmer's glue stick to glue the seams together.  Which worked like a charm.  Despite all of my problems I am really happy with how this block came out. They all line up and my points are pointy.  I was worried that the finished size would be off.  The block measures 15 1/2" x 15 1/2" and my block came out just a hair larger.  At least its not smaller.  :)  

Today I am linking up to Freshly Pieced.  (Lee actually isn't hosting a link up today after all.  She was at quilt market all last week and has been too busy to get a post ready.)

Want to try Craftsy for free?

On May 18th, Craftsy is hosting Free Class Day to benefit DonorsChoose. For one day only, new members can choose one free course from a selection of favorite Craftsy classes, up to a $39.99 value! If you haven't taken a Craftsy class yet, Saturday is your chance to sign up for your first by choosing from classes in quilting, sewing, knitting, cake decorating, and more.  All you have to do is click the banner above.

If they meet their goal of giving away 10,000 classes, Craftsy will donate $5,000 to DonorsChoose to fund arts education in public schools across the US. Existing members are not eligible for the free course offer, but will still receive a special treat. 

 I can't say enough good things about Craftsy.  I loved them since I first found them.  I have taken 5 classes with them and have loved every single one.  This is a great chance to try them out.  And if you don't happen to see this post today and still want to give them a try they always have free mini classes that are just as great as the paid ones.  Craftsy isn't just for quilters.  They have so much to offer. 

As a disclaimer, I am a paid affiliate of Craftsy.  But only because I am so fond of them.  I would never promote anything on my blog that I wasn't a firm believer of. 

Blogger's Quilt Festival

As I was visiting some of my favorite blogs today I stumbled across a Blogger's Quilt festival that was just starting up!  You can enter a quilt for a chance to win prizes!  I decided that I want to enter my most favorite quilt that I have done so far  I just posted a pretty lengthy post about it awhile back so bare with me if you already read that one.

The quilt I am entering is my Hot Chocolate Snowman Applique Quilt.  It was designed by Pearl Louise.  Its 60 x 60 and is a great lap quilt.




I started this quilt about 8 years ago as a block of the month.  When I started it I was a beginning quilter.  I very quickly got overwhelmed and put it away after only doing about 4-5 of the blocks.  I took it back out last summer and decided to finish it up.  I had a blast doing it.  So different from when I started it.  It was such a fun quilt to make with lots of small cute details.  All the faces are hand embroidery.





It is all machine appliqued with a blanket stitch and it was quilted on my Husqvarna Viking Tribute 140c.  I used Isacord and Superior masterpiece thread depending on the color needed.




I love the igloo.  The blocks were all done free hand.








And a full shot!

You can see more pictures on my flickr feed .

You can visit the Quilt Festival here.  If you click on all the different posts you can vote on all your favorites in each category.


I am entering my quilt in the applique category.  So if you like it and want to vote head over! Voting is May 24-30th.  There is lots of pretty eye candy showing up today!

Finish it up Friday 5/17

I only have one finish this week.  I made this tote for my Aunt.  Its just like the one I made a few weeks ago for my daughter.  My Aunt saw it and thought it would be perfect for her to use for Sunday school.  The picture is a little blurry.  I am not sure why.  It looked ok on my camera screen after I took it.

Other than that I have still been busy on my Squirrel wall hanging.  I will spare you another picture of that for today.  I am up to section G.  I think it goes up to section T.  The good news is that the sections are not taking as long.  As I move out of the middle the pieces are getting bigger.  

The plan this weekend is to sew and organize scraps.  I finally ordered some plastic organizers that I blogged about a few days ago.  

Whitmor 6754-491-5 Plastic Document Boxes Set of 5 Assorted Colors and I ordered Whitmor 6754-491-5 Plastic Document Boxes Set of 5 Assorted Colors as well.

Small picture but you get the idea.  I was hesitant on ordering because the reviews were hit or miss.  I am supposed to get them tomorrow.  I will do a review and let you know what I think.  I am using them so that I can start using Bonnie Hunter's method of saving scraps.  

This week I am linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts and TGIFF over at Ms Midge today.

WIP Wednesday 5/14

I don't have a whole lot to show this week but I have been busy working on this Squirrel wall hanging.  It's a Cynthia England design.  I pulled out the center pieces so I could see what his head looked like so far.  I am not sure I like one of the fabrics near his nose so I plan on ordering some fabric markers to darken it up a bit.  And of course, it needs the hand embroidery in the face before it will really start to take shape.  But overall, I pretty happy with it so far.

I am still working on my Jamestown Landing quilt.  I am half way through the 840 HST's.  I am using them as leaders and enders for my wall hanging.  You can read more on leaders and enders on Bonnie Hunter's blog or in her book Adventures with Leaders & Enders: Make More Quilts in Less Time!  It's a great book.  

I also wanted to share a special bonus for my readers today!  If you follow my blog or visited during giveaway week I gave away a Quilt Halo.  So many readers loved it but didn't want to spend the money to try it out.  During the week I emailed Christy at Purple Daisies and asked her if she had a coupon I could give to you when I annouced my winner so those of you who wanted could try it out could at a reduced price.  Unfortunately she was super busy getting ready for Quilt Market so she just got back to me yesterday.  Understandable right?  

But she did give me a coupon!  For 15% off any order use the code, INSPIRING.  Pretty awesome!  She was super nice in her email and very apologetic about missing my giveaway.  I have shopped at her shop before and was very pleased with my purchase.  I buy applique foundation from them that I use for all my hand applique.  Its great for the glue stick method.  I am working up a tutorial on that as we speak.  They are not a sponsor of my blog and I am not getting compensated for this post I just really like them.  Christy's mom is Sharon Schamber who developed the quilt halo and many  more quilting techniques and tools.  You can find the Quilt Halo here.

I hope everyone else is having a great week.  I am off to see my son perform in a school play tonight!  He is very excited and so am I!  I am linking up to Freshly Pieced this week.   I can't wait to see what everyone else is working on.