Stash Fabrics, 303 Kona Colors and a Wibbly Wobbly Quilt Block…

Stash Fabrics, 303 Kona Colors and a Wibbly Wobbly Quilt Block... {an Art School Dropout's life}Last month Stash Fabric’s officially started carrying all 303 Kona Cotton Solids by Robert Kaufman. This is a big deal! Say you have a Kona Color Card and you use it to design a quilt. You then go to order your fabric and instead of buying a color from this shop, and another color from another and so on and so on, you just went to one shop and bought it all and paid for shipping once (or spend over $50 and get free shipping). From someone who has bought from numerous shops to finish one project, this is just amazing.

As part of the celebration Stash Fabrics contacted numerous bloggers and asked us to create our own special Kona Cotton Color Bundles and then make a project using those colors. They called it the Stash Fabrics Kona Blog Hop, and as it happens I am the last on the list. I chose a nice bundle of greenish blues, not to be confused with the tealish blues I use often in other projects. I mixed it up a bit this time. haha. There is also a nice light and dark gray added in for some contrast. This bundle is actually perfect for my Spinning Icosahedron Quilt btw!

Stash Fabrics, 303 Kona Colors and a Wibbly Wobbly Quilt Block... {an Art School Dropout's life}I chose this bundle to use when testing out my newest pattern, the Wibbly Wobbly Quilt, which will be released very very soon. Due to a little one with a stomach virus, me with food poisoning and the start of the school year, I wasn’t able to finish the entire quilt. I did however finish this one 24″ block!! Its massive.

Stash Fabrics, 303 Kona Colors and a Wibbly Wobbly Quilt Block... {an Art School Dropout's life}My plan is to finish three more blocks and piece them together like the picture above. I’ll end up with a nice 48″ quilt that will be perfect on my wall or as a play mat for CT. The Kona Bundle I picked out is a perfect amount of fabric for the rings too.

Stash Fabrics, 303 Kona Colors and a Wibbly Wobbly Quilt Block... {an Art School Dropout's life}As you can see, I’m most of the way there! All the inside rings are assembled, and the outside rings are just sitting by waiting. I’ll show off the finished quilt the same time I release the pattern. I pinky promise!

Stash Fabrics, 303 Kona Colors and a Wibbly Wobbly Quilt Block... {an Art School Dropout's life}

Due to the odd and large curved cuts, I ended up with a load of scrap pieces too. So I used them all and tried out one of the projects from The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters by Sherri Lynn Wood. It was my first time doing improv piecing, and I LOVED it! I’ll talk more about this subject at a later date, as I want to try out more first.

I just wanted to show how gorgeous the lighter tones in the bundle look together.

Stash Fabrics, 303 Kona Colors and a Wibbly Wobbly Quilt Block... {an Art School Dropout's life}If you would like to purchase this bundle, or any of the other blogger bundles then head on over to Stash Fabrics. While you are at it, you can take 10% off your entire order for being one of my blog readers! Just use the coupon code “WOW303”. It expires September 6th 11:59 EST and does not apply to pre-orders or clubs. Even though you can’t take off 10%, I still recommend checking out their Monthly Kona Club which is perfect for growing your solid fabric stash.

I also highly recommend checking out everyone else’s blog posts. There are so many inspiring quilts and blocks to look at from some very talented people!

July 17 – Darcy @ Modern Cozy
July 23 – Jacey  @ Jacey Craft
July 30 – Kelly @ Kelby Sews
August 3 – Nancy @ Owen’s Olivia
August 6 – Jodi @ Tales of Cloth
August 10 – Megan @ City Stitches
August 12 – Rita @ Red Pepper Quilts
August 17 – Elizabeth @ Andpins Handmade
August 19 – Tara @ Rad and Happy
August 21 – Sharon @ Color Girl Quilts
August 24 – Allison @ Allison Sews
August 27 – Kristi @ Schnitzel and Boo
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Pattern Testing: Comp Book Cover Sewing Pattern by Angela Bowman Design

*Disclosure: As a sponsored pattern tester for Angela Bowman Design, I was provided a PDF pattern to make the sewing project in this post.*

compcoverAs stated above in the required disclosure, I was a pattern tester for this awesome Comp Book Cover Sewing Pattern by Angela Bowman Design. I love pattern testing, so when I saw she was looking for testers, I jumped on it. It’s a pattern for a standard sized or mini composition book cover, with numerous options when it comes to pockets and what the cover is made from. You can make a quilted cover or a non quilted. You have a few options for the closure too. Basically you can make a cover to fit your exact needs!

I was late to the testing pool, so I only had two days to try this pattern out. I finished it in 1.5 hours. It’s that awesome. I went the quilted route, but decided to use some of my cheater quilt fabric from Spoonflower to make the process go by even faster. I also only added one large pocket on each inside flap (I don’t have photos of that part yet because CT has already claimed this as her sketchbook journal cover) and I went with an elastic closure. I made it about a week and a half ago, and its already been dragged around by a very energetic five year old. It’s holding up perfectly!

The pattern was just released this week, and it’s a very reasonable $5 to download. So if you’d like to make one of your own, go check it out! You can also read Angela’s post that talks more in depth about it all here.

I myself am not done playing with this pattern, so keep an eye out for more variations…

 

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The Sewing Party: A Secret I Can Finally Tell…

A few months back I was contacted by the education department at SVP Worldwide, the company that owns Singer, Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff brand sewing machines. I was presented with an opportunity to take part in a new blog and website the company was putting together under the name The Sewing Party. In exchange I was sent a new Husqvarna Viking Topaz 50 Embroidery machine and software to play with. It was a good deal in my eyes.

The Sewing Party! {an Art School Dropout's life}I of course said yes! I am already the proud owner of TWO Viking sewing machines. One was a 10 year old embroidery machine, that could only embroider up to 3.85″ square, and the other was a newer quilting model that I had purchased a couple years ago. I was also raised sewing on Viking and Singer Machines, So I’ve been a fan since birth, and I wasn’t selling out. I would be promoting a company I trusted and rely on.

Also, I just really love new technology and gadgets. haha.

Now, let’s fast forward two months to today! Today the Sewing Party went live after weeks of work on their part and the small blogging group I am part of. The website has a blog that will feature tutorials, projects, and stories all about sewing. It also has a community based forum where you can ask fellow sewers whatever question you may have! It’s pretty awesome and I highly suggest a visit!!!

Selfiepouch_550px_jesseem

As part of the unveiling, a few blog post went live too! One of them was my first embroidered project on the new machine, something I am calling a Selfie Pouch! I used Viking’s 6D Premier Embroidery Software and the Topaz 50 they sent me to make this extremely photo realistic pouch featuring an IG friend of mine @_sarahsassypants_ . (I was given permission) If you would like to read the full post explaining the embroidery process AND how to easily make a zipper pouch, then click on over!

I am very happy with the way this project came out, the way the new website came together and the amazing reception it has had! I am looking forward to making more projects and sharing a few stories here and there as part of the collaboration. This is the type of stuff that I enjoy working on the most and I am so grateful for the opportunity.

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Half Moon Zipper Pouch Tutorial for Sizzix

halfmoonpouch_550Today on the Sizzix Blog, I share a super detailed and photo heavy tutorial on how to sew curved seams, install a zipper and assemble an entire pouch, This exact pouch! It’s chock full of skill building steps, so if you have ever been discouraged by any of those things, go check it out!

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Shop Update: Zipper Pouches and Hanging Swallows

Shop Update: Art School Dropout The shop has been updated and is open again! I’ll leave it open a bit longer this time, so everyone has a chance to snag something. This update included a few Quilted Pouches, Embroidered Vinyl Pouches, and some hand cast plastic Swallow Wall Hangings.

You see it all here

Shop Update: Art School Dropout Shop Update: Art School Dropout Shop Update: Art School DropoutI’ve been enjoying sewing pouches again, plus I found a bunch of almost finished embroidered pieces from way back when, so expect updates like these a little more often!

 

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