Studio New: Thrifted Basket!

I spent all day yesterday at my studio rearranging the work side of my space and I finally unpacked everything in the second room. You guys, I have way too much stuff! I shared the display side of my new studio earlier this month and later this week I plan to blog about the work side. It's so wonderful having so much space to work in now, but organization is the key to keeping it all looking nice and I'm so excited to share my recent thrift store find with you all today!



As part of my contract, Art Gallery Fabrics sends me a roll with fifteen yards of each print that I design -- that's all twenty quilting cottons plus a roll of each of the knits, rayon and canvas. When these boxes of fabric arrive it's better than Christmas, I can't even describe it! The last thing I want to do is put them in a closet, hidden somewhere. I've always had them out where I can enjoy them and easily cut from the rolls what I need for my daily sewing. But just like dominos, several times now either a studio visitor or I have bumped into one of them and down they all go! So, when on a recent trip to our local thrift store I spotted this giant hamper style basket for just $20, I had to have it! It's the best thing I've found in a long time and completely worthy a blog post!



I was hoping it would keep contained a collection or two, so you can imaged how thrilled I was when it fit nearly sixty rolls of my fabrics!!



When I share photos of the rest of my work side later this week, you'll see how the rest of my prints are scattered in smaller round baskets throughout the studio. It's a great solution since I reach for these rolls pretty much daily!

Along with new studio pictures & our first Community Sampler sew-along block pattern, this week I have a new set of zipper pouch bags to share. Here's a pretty, little peek! These are right up there with some of my most favorite makes EVER!



For my next set I'm using AGF's brand new, adorable camping themed collection, Campsite! Have you seen this new line of Capsules? With designs that include deer, fox, fireflies in jars, feathers and marshmallows on sticks, just to name a few, it's perfect for both boys & girls and is so fun for fussy cutting. I love these prints and I can't wait to finish these bags up to share soon!



I wish you all a happy Monday & a wonderful new week of sewing! xo Maureen

Love Story Delivery!

Today is my first full day back at the new studio since returning home from my trip to Houston Quilt Market! Just a few days before I left I received an exciting delivery from Art Gallery Fabrics, my Love Story advanced yardage! That's fifteen yards of each of my twenty quilting cottons, five knits, one roll of canvas and one roll of rayon. It's always such a treat when a new collection arrives!



Shown below are the ten prints that make up the Love Story Enamored colorway -- teal, red, minty aqua and peachy pinks may just be my ALL TIME favorite color combination. I can't even begin to tell you how much I LOVE this group of fabrics! This is also my first collection with a little black, which I wear pretty much every day, so I'm thrilled to have this tribal print to use for wearable accessories and home décor projects!



Next we have the ten rolls that make up the Love Story Enchanted colorway! This group includes more pretty reds, peach and coral paired with my favorite Cornflower blue and navy, with a little touch of green. When I designed Love Story I knew it would be a Fall 2017 release, but it wasn't until these fabrics arrived that I realized just how perfect this collection will be for holiday sewing! Today, for my first Love Story sewing day I plan to make a few of my quilt as you go patchwork stockings to share, so you can see for yourself!



You may have seen in my Instagram stories that I had an adorable helper when I unpacked my Love Story rolls! This is Dharma, she's a Shih Poo puppy (a shih Tzu/toy poodle), she's the sweetest little girl and new addition to our family. She belongs to my sister and I hope she visits me here at the studio often!



See how little! She's sleeping on two of the Love Story zipper pouches I made a few weeks back and still I think the scale read at about 2lbs. So teeny tiny!



October was such a busy month with moving into the new studio, finishing up my Summer 2018 collection, with all of the secret sewing I had to do for my Flower Child Quilt Market booth and from traveling to Houston. It feels so good to be back in the studio this morning with these pretty Love Story rolls, endless possibilities and the freedom to sew whatever I want! I'll be back Monday to show you what I stitched up!

xx Maureen

Sewing Room Snapshots : :

Whenever I take a day off from blogging it's almost always because I'm sewing sooo much! That's been the case this week as I play catch-up after a weekend away and I work on meeting fast approaching deadlines. Since we returned home Sunday night I've been a sewing machine! I'm preparing to close my etsy shop beginning this Sunday for a little more than one week, to give me the time to finish up all orders before our Virginia Beach Thanksgiving vacation.

Because of the work week I'll be missing and how late Thanksgiving seems to fall this year, I decided to start my annual Crown Sale early!! If you've been wanting to order one, now is the best time! Coupon Code: HOLIDAY20 give's you an extra 20% off and makes these crowns a wonderful handmade, under $25, personalized/custom, special gift/stocking stuffer! My New Year's is made so much more special by all the adorable photos my customers send me after the holidays, I can't wait!!



This is a new favorite of mine -- A Camping themed crown, newly listed in my shop!



A few of yesterday's crown makings!



Besides crowns, here's a look at what's being made or is just hanging around my sewing room these days!



I made this embroidery hoop dreamcatcher one night last week, I especially loved making the stitched, felt feathers! After a little pattern tweaking I think it will make a fun tutorial to share sometime in the Winter weeks ahead of us!

There's always a fox pillow or two being made each week!



I've been very busy sorting lots of fabric scraps to include with the felt orders that come through the shop!







I started a new quilt using a block idea I dreamed up specifically for all my AMH strings leftover from my Herringbone Quilt & tutorial!



I can't wait to find the time to cut into this lovely stack of Minimalista -- a new collection by AGF In-House Studio! I have a good plan for these!!



And, I can't stop thinking about how to finish this thrifted quilt top. At close inspection it has a few holes and the hand-piecing is quite loose. A project probably best to leave for after the holidays, if I can wait that long! Isn't it beautiful?



I have Kaiden's Making Rows quilt left to finish and two more quilts yet to start & finish before Christmas, but I believe these should some together quickly. I also have so many little project ideas swirling around. These days sure are busy, but they're also fun! I'm hoping to be back tomorrow with something new to share! See you then!!  ♥  Maureen 

Welcome, to my Sewing Room : :

Today I'm ready to share a little tour of my new space, well our space actually -- we decided to fit as much of the kids craft supplies in here, as well. And, we're all loving that so far! I can't say that it's 'finished', just that it's all unpacked and we're using it!

Come on in!



This room is attached to the dining room, which I LOVE! Having the large table for big projects, craft days, and even just to dream of hosting a "sewing club," is a beautiful thing! I thought I would really want some doors to close it off from the other rooms, but so far I don't and the kids have already decided this is their favorite room in the house. Yes!

Going around the room, I have lots of pieces of furniture! Most of which I stole from other rooms in our last house, with just a few pieces you'll find familiar. It's an eclectic mix of things, that's for sure, which I love! Old furniture just suits us better, it feels more warm and homey to me than anything I could ever buy new. The first piece to my left, and most favorite, is our first, old bedroom dresser -- used now for felt and fabric scrap storage (until I can finish the rest of my color totes). We bought this from a local antique dealer, I love the color and style of it, and am excited I found a reason to use it in here!



On top of the dresser sits my packaging supplies, boxes of floss, and some of the kids craft supplies.



My flower hooks (from here or here) hold all my hoops. And, these wool felt boxes keep my business cards and stickers nicely organized.



Next up is a little desk, the one I made my Innocent Crush/linen desk mat for, that's in major need of knobs!





Then we have my Monster Fabric Shelf -- overflowing with fabric LOVE and handmade goodness!







For the kids, company, afternoon naps for Lily, and a place to put all my pillow makings -- we decided to put our extra sofa in here. In front of that is the kids very used and loved craft/activity table, and a place to hold my cutting mats.



The other side of the room holds a little less -- a shelf for my wips and the kids projects, my sewing table, and one last shelf of fabric and more supplies.





After Martha's suggestion the other day (thank you!), I decided the perfect thing for this empty space would be an inspiration board. It's on my wishlist!!

I'm so excited and so very grateful to have a permanent room like this! I have MANY more pictures here! Even though there is still so much I want & need to do, it feels really good already. I know that this work & play space of ours IS going to get cluttered with all the making that's certain to happen, but I'm up for the challenge of making it work.

And now after a very busy long weekend of orders, I do believe it's time for me to get to work in here!! ♥,  Maureen

And Finally, I Sewed Something : :

Yesterday, by late morning, I reached that point where I couldn't possibly unpack another box. Thanksgiving planning was taking over, but first I had to try out my new sewing space, finally! And I loved it!! I made this bright and fun King Fox Pillow, a customer order that came through my etsy.



Sewing in this space felt really, REALLY good! Actually, every little thing and moment just seems a little more special now. It is truly wonderful!



The only not-so-wonderful thing is the empty wall I see while I sew. It needs some artwork or something? Once I got everything unpacked, I was worried about the layout of things a little. I had originally envisioned my table floating in the center of the room, or positioned outward against the wall, but I like to have the center floor space more than I want my table out, so I think a little inpsiration on this wall in front of me, will make it feel just right. I already started my wishlist!



When my pillow was finished it was fun to take pictures in different spots throughout the room. It's a nice, bright space for picture taking, so that's good news, too!!







I think the one with my pom pom garland is my favorite!

I'm off to make desserts, some sides, and prep for tomorrow! I'm really excited to seriously break-in this kitchen and there's no better meal to do that with than Thanksgiving, right?! I think I'll listen to some holiday tunes (my fav is Indie Holiday Radio on Pandora) and start by making something easy, fragrant, and one of my personal favorites, Cranberry -Orange Sauce!  

How about you, what's your favorite dish to make?? I'm always looking for new recipes!!

Studio Snapshots : :

Yesterday I didn't find as much sewing room time as I had hoped to after being gone for several days.  Honestly, the only things I kept thinking about really wanting to make back here at home, were more of those wonderful Scrappy Improv Chevron Blocks and more birds!

I did find all of about 45 minutes, with a little helper by my side, to be in my room. I walked in, immediately putting on Pandora, noticing the mess I had left everywhere, sat on the floor with my camera and I started taking photos. Want to see?

It's safe to assume that this is where Lily spent most of the time while we were away. I had left my large order of  AMH's Loulouthi Coreopsis sitting on my sewing desk, waiting there to remind me they needed to become curtains when I got home. I think she's going to be upset with me when I do start sewing with them!



I had left a small pile of Art Gallery Birds to remind me, just in case I were to forget, that I wanted to put a bird on everything last week. This week, I still do!



I'm excited to add them to these lovely new Robert Kaufman Linens and Timeless Treasures Texture prints from JAQS Studio, in the form of pillows, tea towels, and possible a new bag!



I whipped up this block on a whim a week or so ago, after getting an idea while thinking of this pillow, and I'm still not sure what it should be? Ideas appreciated! I was planning to add it to a back of a bag that I want to make in the very near future, perhaps I should just stick with that?



I snapped a quick photo of my huge stack of Urban Cowgirl that I had won a few weeks back from the Fat Quarter Shop! I still can't believe it and still don't have a plan for them just yet. I think I'll continue to admire them all bundled up so nicely the way Moda always does!



After spending a very special stretch of days with my family, it was extra sweet to finally turn my calendar to April and to find this image. My husband and I will be celebrating our TEN year wedding anniversary later this month, so it felt pretty perfect! Isn't it sweet?



When my 45 minutes of sewing room time was up, I felt as though I had accomplished a lot in a short amount of time, even though I didn't actually have anything to show for it. It was a great reminder of all the things happening and waiting to happen, but mostly that some days the best thing to do is just to sit and notice and just be.

Today, however, I feel like sewing! How about you? Have you made anything new lately? I'd love to see!

Weekend Sewing : :

This weekend was really nice. It finally feels like the middle of Winter and with that comes lots of indoor time and projects for all of us. Of course for me that just means even more sewing time! :) Here's a little bit of what my "weekend sewing" looked like...

I finally cut into my Echo, add in there some Half Moon Modern Chevron, too. This will be a quilted pillow, but I can imagine a quilt made up of these blocks and am tempted to keep going!



I took some new photos to have and share. The first photos of my Scrappy Quilter Improv block were pretty bad, but I was just too excited to share to wait for good lighting. I snapped a few new pics on Saturday, just before I attached it to my other quilt blocks. I'm very close to having that quilt top completely finished -- I'm very excited!!



I took a new photo of my Quilted Heart pillow, too. I'm working on a tutorial and expect to be sharing that on Wednesday!



Lots of birthday crowns were and are always being made!



A little Pink Castle Fabrics mail came on Saturday! Aren't they pretty? I'm collecting every color of one of my very favorite prints, Lizzy House's Jewels. I LOVE these colors! And on top is a zig zag stripe for my mini quilt binding.



On Sunday, just before bedtime and as I was about to begin cleaning the huge mess that was my "weekend sewing" room, Jacob brought my very first Valentine gift of the year.



I love it!



And now, a giveaway winner!

Thank You to all of you who entered this past weekends giveaway! From the 1029 entries that came in before 10pm, Mr. Random says our lucky winner is comment # 471, Rhonda D in southeast Missouri!! I hope you enjoy your winnings, I will be in touch shortly!

Wishing you all a lovely new week!