What's New : :

Did this week go by fast for you, too? Holy smokes, it's Thursday already! I spent most of this short week's sewing time working on my Reverie Quilt tutorial and etsy orders, so today I thought I'd share a few of my favorite photos from the week -- just little happy things, new fabrics & thrifted goodness!

I started this Chalk & Paint fabric and Joie de Vivre alphabet panel patchwork banner for my Goddaughter Sylvia over the Summer, hoping to have it finished to display at her birthday party. Sadly, my little fat quarter of Bari's Joyeux Alphabet was missing the "V" I needed to make it happen. All these weeks later I finally have more of this gorgeous fabric and am finishing it up to pop in the mail! I'll share more in detail once it's complete and I'll definitely be making more of these Quick Quilt As You Go personalized banners, I may even add them in my Etsy as a custom order item. So cute!







Aren't these roses beautiful?! They smell amazing! Haila and I are both obsessed with having fresh flowers around. Most of the time we'll just pick them from the yard and nearby park, but occasionally we'll treat ourselves to a few grocery store bouquets to divide up for our rooms. I adore that we share a common love for pretty things & flowers!



I recently discovered a new ribbon at Jo-Ann Fabrics that is my new favorite for drawstring bag making! It's a medium weight natural cotton with denim blue dots and I love it! I tried it out on a quick, new, little Nightfall pouch and it's the perfect size, weight, and color!





New to the sewing room is a glorious, thrifted, old yellow metal ironing board! For just a $1.50 I couldn't pass it by. Of course I have no actual need for another ironing board, since I have two others and always just the one in use. But the color of this one... LOVE!



This pretty bundle of fabrics is Pat Bravo's brand new Heartland collection! The soothing colors and delicate prints are so dreamy, I can't wait to combine them with Nightfall for my next quilt! Hopefully I'll decide on a plan soon to have the start of something to share early next week!



Along with the new ironing board, I brought home several other goodies recently that I plan to blog more about soon! I wonder how many of you, like myself, love to go searching for treasures and will just decide that a little stoneware creamer dish is the perfect thing for holding those favorite pencils! Hehe!



I'm guessing many of us share a love for these kind of things, too!

Be sure to stop back tomorrow for a new Giveaway!  ♡ Maureen  

Something Pretty : :

Yesterday I set out to make a new drawstring bag for Haila. We have a shared love for floral fabrics, lace, and thrifting, so for her bag I knew I could really go crazy with all the sweet, special details!



This bag started with a bundle of pretty Fleet & Flourish and Tapestry prints, a pile of narrow strips cut for a herringbone quick quilt as you go patchwork for one side of the bag and a simple qayg stacked stripe for the reverse side.





As I pieced the front, I added in little bits from vintage tablecloths we found together at our local consignment shop and lace she helped me pick out at our recent trip to JoAnn Fabrics.





As I sewed she'd pop in and out of the sewing room, not knowing this bag was for her! The added embellishments are my favorite part of making these otherwise simple backpacks, the added extra details are so pretty, perfect for my girl!



I love using AGF denim for the backpack casing and tabs, and for the lining of this one I tried something new -- my Fleet & Flourish Swifting Flora knit!





To finish, I used more of my stash of vintage bias tape stitched closed for the drawstrings and added two, fun tassels Haila & I bought a year ago at a local yard sale!





These bags have quickly become my new favorite quick-sew project, perfect for these busy & HOT Summer days that don't leave much time for sewing!



You can find Fleet & Flourish and Tapestry available at Fat Quarter Shop, Llama Fabrics, and Lady Belle Fabrics!

XO, Maureen

What's New : :

Isn't it pretty?! This was a very lucky pick for just $10 at a lawn sale we stumbled upon this past Sunday. I love the old wood and plan to use it as a shelf, like this. I think it's beautiful!





Have you noticed? I have a goal. I do! My goal is to finish up at least one quilt every two weeks. A goal made back while I was making Haila's Nordika Quilt, to keep me focused and happy for when the kids were back in school. If I'm being completely honest here, I have to mention that I'm not the best at keeping goals, but this is one I feel has promise!!

Nordika Zig Zag Quilt -- Finished : : July 8th
You & Me Quilt -- Finished : : July 29th
Applique Art Quilt -- Finished : : August 8th
Ant Farm QAYG Quilt -- Finished : : August 19th 
Indie Symmetry Quilt -- Finished : : August 27th
Butterfly Quilt -- Finished : : September 3rd

And, I'm almost finished with my newest Rock 'n Romance quilt who's pattern definitely deserves a name! I'm still deciding on that one?

In between all that work, I'm also keeping up with an etsy shop that's pretty busy these days! Birthday crowns, Fox Pillows, & felt orders -- here's a few pics of some recent orders.











Without a doubt, it's your sweetness and encouragement for those finished quilts listed above that has truly helped me keep this goal. I really can't tell you how much I appreciate it. Thank you!  ♥  Maureen

Next Up : :

Thanks for sharing in my excitement yesterday over my new thrifted cabinet, now I just need to fill it! The only problem there is that I truly do enjoy having all the old mason jars of art supplies, buttons, and knitting needles scattered everywhere! I think the best place for me to start will be to label a drawer for all the screwdrivers, or a similar type of object, that I don't like seeing laying around and can never find when it's needed!

While I'm still thinking about thirfting I thought I'd share this amazing star burst mirror I found recently at the same shop. Isn't it cool?! I wasn't sure if I should touch it up or paint it when I first brought it home, but now I love it just as it is!

This Summer I'm going to be on the look out for cool frames and artwork to arrange on this wall in our family room. I'll be sure to share my thrifting finds here a bit more, I knew we probably shared in that hobby, as well!



Today I'm dedicating the bulk of my sewing time to finishing up my Patchwork Please! project for Monday! Are any of you joining in the Sew-Along? You can find all the details here, I hope you enjoy following along!



I've  also been wanting to share a Show & Tell here soon, and hopefully regularly, of all the things being made and shared in my new Flickr group page. There's nothing like seeing the things you've all made with my project tutorials, I can't wait to show them off!! So, please be sure to add them right here if you're on Flickr. If you're not, you can email me or share on my Facebook page anytime! Feel free to add any of the things you've made from my tutorials, that was inspired by my projects, made from the wool blend felt I sell, and even any of the things made from those giveaway fabrics, if you've been one of the lucky winners!

Here's a new quilt-as-you-go quilt that was just added by the lovely Jess, who blogs at Stitched in Thyme. I adore this quilt -- the scrappiness and low volume fabrics, combined with a little black is a stunner! You can see her full post here!



I think I'll wrap up a little bundle of fabrics to send Jess as a thank you!

Be sure to stop back tomorrow for a new Fabric Giveaway!!  ♥,  Maureen

New Storage : :

One afternoon during the long Memorial Day weekend, we spent some time together moving things around in my sewing room and did some major organizing of all our art supplies. Since we moved here in November,  my sewing room has worked great as a shared craft space for the kids, but soon with the the four of us together each day, it was time to do some shuffling around. I have a few more things yet to figure out and then I plan to share what we've done!

The amount of colored pencils we've acquired alone since we moved is pretty astounding, but I don't worry -- with my crew, they'll be useful!



I had things looking pretty tidy, and then as usual, just as soon as everything was nice and neat the kids got everything out again! This happens in your house too, I assume?

Later that day I stopped in at our local thrift shop to pick up these beautiful, large wooden spools I had left behind on my last visit. Perfect for quilt binding, right?!



While I was there I spotted this piece right away! It had just come into the shop and was something I was looking for, for years!! It had a great price and my friend who owns the shop was willing to give me an even better deal. But still, it was a lot of money to spend on a random Sunday, after telling Kevin that I was running to the store and then the thrift shop to pick up a few $3 spools.

I'm excited to share, that with the encouragement of my Instagram friends and a husband who understands that I would be kicking myself, and him, forever if I had passed on it -- I brought it home! And, I love it!!

Kevin even cleaned it all up for me, he's the best!!

Can you tell how huge it is? It's really, really big!



Since, I swapped out the knobs with these pretty, white porcelain knobs from the 20's, and filled each of the label areas with a bright, fabric/washi tape tag.







I'm so happy with it, it's such a special piece! Each of the drawers is made with extra large dovetails and it's got such a great handmade look. I think it's a good fit here!





I'm curious, are you all interested in thrifting and collecting, as well? I bet that's another thing most of us have in common! If so, I might just have to share more of my finds here throughout the Summer! Feel free to share your own favorite pieces for storage, I love seeing creative uses for thrift finds! How about collections, do you have any??  I love chatting about this stuff just as much as I love chatting about sewing!!

And, if you would like to listen to me do that for a few minutes, I was a guest this past Monday on the American Patchwork & Quilting Radio Show with Pat Sloan. I was really nervous, but it was a lot of fun! I'd love for you to listen if you get the chance!   ♥,  Maureen

Scattered : :

I feel like I have sooo much catching up to do and I'm not at all sure where to start?! I didn't sew much since I announced my break back in late July. Just my Indie quilt and a few other little things and that's about it. I did however, SHOP! I took advantage of some very generous fabric sales and was waiting, like many of you, for a few 'must-have collections' to be released. I had planned to start today by sharing my late Summer stashings, and then this morning I thought -- "Do you all want to see?" I personally LOVE taking pictures of new fabric, and with that excitement think that all of you might love to see. Maybe I'll even introduce some of you to something new that you'll love, too. Is that true?? I really hope so!!

While I wait for your answer, I'll admit today that in light of this new routine, I am completely scatter-brained! I'm jumping all over the place with my projects and I'm not sure what I'm doing, because I'm not sure what I want to do?

Here's what's scattered on my sewing table now. I know I love the colors together, but have no idea what I'm making!



I made this block a while ago. It's already quilted and was going to become a tote bag. It's been taped on this wall for months!



I finally took it down yesterday, pulled a few of my favorite coordinating Oval and Pure Elements and started cutting and piecing. Still with no plan!

So, what do you think it should become -- the tote bag, a new floor pillow, the beginnings of a quilt-as-you-go quilt? I'd love some help!!



How about from this angle -- any ideas?? I know it's not much yet, but it's definitely something?



There is one thing I am certain of today -- I love my new vintage, sewing chair! Aqua blue with nail head trim.



Yes, I like it! The blue carpet...hmmm, not so much! ;)



I did finish up the owl pillow wip I shared on my facebook page, too! It's a little something for my Goddaughter Sylvia. I sent out a care package full of goodies to her and my sister Catherine in Hawaii, which they should be receiving today or tomorrow! I can't wait!! It's always fun to make something cute!!

Thanks for all the comments, support, and understanding yesterday! It meant SO much!!

Happy Wednesday, friends!! ♥,  Maureen 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

This Week : :

Did this week go by fast for you, too? Holy smokes, it's Thursday already! I spent most of my sewing time this week working on etsy orders, all new versions of items I've already shared here. So today I thought I'd share a few of my favorite photos from the week --

Stitching with Stitch!



Have you seen Betz White's new fabric line Stitch? It's GOTS certified organic and was completely inspired by her love of handwork. It's so lovely and is available in the shop of my sponsor Fat Quarter Shop. I'll be sharing more of this project, along with a Stitch giveaway, soon!



Playing with Lily!



She's either serious, silly, or sleeping. Look at those beautiful blue eyes!



Vintage finds! More Pyrex --



And, I love the color of this large enamel bowl. I found these two on Monday along with my new quilt.



Thank you all so much for the thrifted quilt help, and for having a good laugh with me on my poor husband's behalf. He thought it was hilarious and I even put together a few more just for him that I may just have to share here, too! Maybe we should all make one and have a linky party or something? A Handmade Husband (or partner) day! It would be so funny!

Be sure to stop back tomorrow for my Poetica giveaway! I wish you all a wonderful day!!