sew & tell v3.23 a bee block and another {not a tutorial}

Hey friends!  I had a lot of fun feeling like a normal blogger this week and got some great feedback from my last two posts.  Thanks so much! It's so fun to read your comments and get new ideas.  I really do plan on emailing you back.  I'll get to it.  :)

I just have a quick finish for this week.  This lovely bee block for Leigh.  I am in love with every single fabric she sent.  Especially the pearl bracelets!

{not a tutorial} photo tip - how I take pictures, sometimes.
I don't pretend to be an excellent photographer, but I am trying to get better.  And learn how to use the little bit of light I do have to my advantage.  I wanted to show you something I learned about taking pictures during Vanessa's class at the Sewing Summit.

White foam board and poster board can really reflect your natural light well so that you can get a nice bright picture before you process it. So here's a zoom out of that picture up there.

The block is clothes pinned to the foam board, poster board on the table and light coming from the window to the left.  I took this picture in the late afternoon yesterday.  Zoom out again...

The room was actually kind of dark, but with that light reflecting on the white and getting up close and personal I was able to get a relatively bright picture. I didn't edit these at all post photo-taking. And didn't use a flash.  In retrospect, I probably would have lightened them up a bit more, but I wanted to just show you how a some cheap white poster board can help you take advantage of some natural light. I haven't gotten around to making an actual light box yet...


Your turn to share ~ Show us what you've got finished!
Linky Rules.  Please follow along for a fun party!

1. Please write the post for sew & tell - or add a blurb mentioning sew & tell to a post written since the last sew & tell.  If you are linking to a post with your own tutorial, please make sure it was a finish from this week and that the completed project is shown first.

2. One linky per person. (please put multiple projects in one post.)

3. Link to your specific post.  (See here for permalink instructions - or email me.)

4. Link back here with a link or a button (HTML on my sidebar).

5. Be sure to visit and leave comments on other's posts!

Please put your (blog)name instead of your project name, it helps us get to know each other better!

instagram much?

I'm kind of in love with instagram.  I like it better than Facebook.  Liking things better than FB isn't that hard these days though, is it? 

I wish I had a better camera on my iPod Touch, but it's fun taking pictures while I'm out and about, kind of like notes in a notebook.

And sometimes when I can't grab my other camera I can take a quick picture to send to my friends.

Date night last weekend consisted of a visit to the bookstore.  I love the smell of Barnes and Noble.  I worked there as a second job during one of the years I was teaching school.  I loved it!

And look at the crafty books I spotted, that now I think I have to have.

Are you on instagram? What's your user name? Mine is amylouwhosews. Happy Instagram-ing! I'll be looking for you!

getting there, but not completely

Guess what?  I think I may be getting back to normal.  Do you need some evidence?

1.  I've ordered some fabric and have a plan.
How about this lovely stack I got in the mail the other day?

Yes, some LOVE-ly Amy Butler, and NICE-y Jane by Heather Bailey.  I'm working on bedding for Magpie and another dress for Miss Alison.  I'm using that same Simplicity pattern that I made the other dress out of.  But using several different prints.  I'm excited to show it to you!

2.  I actually finished the LOVE quilt!  YAY!! It's so cute, but I'm going to wait to show it to you.  I have a surprise!

3. I went kayaking last night with a bunch of ladies from church.  It was awesome.  North Carolina beaches rock!  I didn't actually get a picture of the water though, didn't want to risk dropping the camera in the water!

4.  I'm writing a post that isn't for sew & tell.  PLUS, I'm actually visitng AND commenting on blogs!  It's still hard sometimes when I'm on the computer and nursing or holding the baby.  It's hard to type one-handed, but I'm getting pretty good at it!

Now if I could just get my house put together so it looks like some organized grown up people live here.  Oh wait. . . did I say organized? . . .

getting the quilt top put together - yay!

Wow!!! You guys are awesome!  That's the biggest group of sew & tellers that we've had since we started last fall!  Thanks to all of you who come each week and for those newbies among you, we are so glad to have you!  I love seeing what everyone is up to! (even though I can't always leave comments as my time is limited these days. boooo.)

I also wanted to clarify one thing about all the bags I make.  Only about half of them are gifts (mostly for family).  I do sell a lot of them (mostly to people I do know).  Some of the comments made me feel like maybe you all thought I was way more generous than I really am - and that made me feel funny.  As well as writing this last paragraph....anywhooooo....
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So I've been working away on the baby quilt! I finished sewing the top together on Saturday!

Here's what I did, once I decided on a layout I liked.  I know, I'm nutty.  I did end up changing a few things around to anchor those dark prints a bit better.  Thanks for all of your input!!

First, I stacked up each row and labeled them so I could just pick them up and start sewing.

Then, once I had the rows sewn up I pressed the seam allowances as I sewed each row together.  When doing a squares quilt, I like to press the seam allowances to the side, alternating the direction with each row.

That way, when you sew the rows together, the corners 'lock' into place.

And you end up with some pretty straight corners that match up!

 I can't take credit for this technique.  My mom taught me how to do this.  Thanks, Mom! (How's that New York Beauty coming along?)

I'm really going to try and get this quilted this week.  We'll see how that goes.  I'll show you the whole thing once it's finished.  Oooooooh!  The suspense!!
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In other news:
I took this picture in San Diego while we were there in January.  (I kind of feel like that big fat seal sea lion there on the right.)

It was picked up (from Flickr) for inclusion in an online tourist guide!  I'm totally flattered! It's not a huge picture - but it's up there in the right hand corner with my name on it!

labeling, good or bad?

When labeling people, probably bad.  Unless the label is AWESOME!  What about projects?  Do you label yours?

I didn't start labeling things until I started selling them.  And now I like to put labels on everything I make.  But I don't like them to be totally obvious.  So on my bags, I used Penny's tutorial to make the labels and then I attach them on the inside pocket.  I never get a good picture once they've been sewn up, so I thought I'd show you these on some WIPs.

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Someone told me A friend's facebook status said the other day it was important to put seed out for the birds.  With all this snow covering the ground, it's harder for them to find the food they need.  So I threw some of my seed out on the back deck yesterday (I can't get to my feeder) and I successfully lured some birds out there.

The cardinals are a little elusive and don't like seeing me behind the window, but I caught this one in the tree.  I'm in love.

Not a bad view from my sewing table.
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You'll have to excuse the blog - I'm in the middle of making a few layout changes, but I'm stuck on something.  I'll have it fixed soon.  I hope!

motivation!

nothing like a lot of this:

keeping you snowbound, to feel extra productive!  We've been getting a lot of snow this year.  It's nice when I don't feel like I have to go anywhere!  I put dinner in the crockpot and had the rest of the day to do whatever I wanted!

So I got a little cutting done:

a long lost project finished up (this had been languishing in my UFO pile for years):

Really, why do I wait so long, it took me less than 30 minutes to iron this up again and stitch up.  I forget how tricky rayon is to work with, though.

and this little guy turned 2 on Sunday!

That cake was delicious! Duncan Hines Lemon (made with milk instead of water), lemon curd filling, homemade cream cheese icing. Mmmmmm.

At the moment he's really into trucks, Elmo, Veggie Tales, cake, smarties, and well, food in general.  He's also talking up a storm, having an opinion, and has learned to crawl out of his crib.  Uh oh!   He's such a happy guy, he's always excited to start the day. Makes it easier for me to want to get up too!  He is our sweet little guy and a true snuggle bug.  We are so lucky to have him in our family!

What do you do all day when you are forced to stay at home?

i've been a little busy . . .

I've been pretty busy vacationing and all.  It's been rough.

Feet in the sand.

Seal watching.

Pelican gazing.

Soaking up the salt water spray.

and that was just last Saturday at La Jolla cove!

Now that I'm in cold and gray Utah it's time to brighten up the days with some fabric shopping!!

My daughter spied a sample bag at the shop and wouldn't let it go.  I finally convinced her that it wasn't for sale and I bought the pattern:

it's interfacing printed with the pattern and instructions on it - I'll let you know how it goes!

and she picked out these fabrics! 

Are you surprised?  I'm in love with LOVE.

I bought enough to back and bind the baby quilt I'm going to make with the LOVE fat quarters I won from the very shop we visited today!  Material Girls is one of my favorite stops when I come to Utah.

I also picked up this darling skirt pattern!  I can't wait to make one!

I have more to share about my visit today - but that will have to wait until Sew & Tell!

autumn colors and pumpkin bread turned muffins

This is my favorite tree in the fall.  I drive by it every day on the way out of my neighborhood.  I had to stop today and get a picture.

There are so many different colors in there - I just love it!

I bought this mum last spring.  After it bloomed and died I kind of neglected it for a while.  Then my mom suggested I put it in my flower bed.  It kind of just sat there all summer and early fall.  A couple of weeks ago the buds started coming out on it.

They really are pretty, unassuming little flowers.

I have yet to get my sewing area back in order.  I have a project I can do by hand for sew & tell tomorrow, but I'll keep it a secret.  Instead of sewing I've been baking today.  I used my SIL's (Laura) recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip bread and turned them into muffins (Go bug her to post her recipe and to finish her Amy Butler yoga bag for sew & tell this week!)

But let's be serious.  They aren't muffins - they're cupcakes.

Especially when you make pumpkin cream cheese icing to put on top.

And I'm perfectly okay with that.

You can pretty much use any pumpkin bread recipe.  Mine made 12 regular sized muffins (20 minutes @ 350), 1 mini muffin pan full (13 minutes @ 350), and two smaller loaves (probably should have been 3.... still trying to bake through the middle, it's been 45 min.  Final time: 50 min.)

I had some pumpkin cream cheese from the deli and added a little butter and powdered sugar to make the icing.  Delish.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Icing
1/3 C pumpkin cream cheese (whipped or softened)
2 Tbsp melted butter (makes for easy hand blending, no hand mixer required)
1/3 C powdered sugar
dash or more cinnamon
Blend together with a fork and dip mini cupcakes directly into bowl and eat immediately spread on cooled cupcakes.

it's a good sign giveaway

I met Amy, who blogs at It's A Good Sign, about 5 years ago when her husband, Justin Hackworth, photographed my wedding. (you may have seen his work here. And check out pics from his latest trip to Haiti and the D.R.)

Amy and I have since become better friends through our blogs and email. She's a sewer and creative person who also happens to be one of the NICEST people I've had the pleasure of knowing. I was really impressed when I saw this image on Design Mom last spring! I didn't know Amy was a photographer too - it only made sense though. (By the by, that's a great post on teaching your kids to sew.)

So I snatched one up from her Etsy shop. And put it in a frame and hung it on the wall in my cramped little sewing corner, er, um, I mean studio. I ♥ it so much!

To my surprise, Amy had included several sets of notecards.

featuring each of these images. I just love the old wooden spools.

A company that distributes to quilt stores just placed a large order for them! (That's a good sign!)

and she sent me enough to share.

Her cards and prints are printed on nice heavy paper and will certainly look great in your studio too! And for just this week, Amy has put everything on sale 20% off! Thanks, Amy! What an affordable way to have some original art!

I have two sets of notecards (4 cards each) up for grabs!

To enter:
1. Go visit Amy's shop and come back here and leave a comment about what you like about her shop. 1 entry
2. Leave me another comment letting me know you are a follower/subscriber. 1 entry
3. Blog about the giveaway linking back to this post and yes, leave one more comment. 1 entry

I'll leave the giveaway open until Sunday 4:00 PM EDT, 26 July. 2 winners will be chosen via Random.org. I'll post the winners Monday morning, 27 July.

good luck!

i heart spring!

The peonies.

and the berries.

Just to name a couple reasons. The peonies I cut from my in-laws yard. They are out of town and missed their bloom. I couldn't bear the thought of them blooming over there with no one around to admire them and take in their intoxicating smell. I've decided I will have peonies every spring!

We went to a local pick-ur-own berry farm today. This is what approximately 13 and half pounds of berries look like! In true kid fashion my crumbsnatchers came home with happy strawberry stained smiles and empty buckets. It's okay though - I picked more than enough and we had a great time! Jam making to follow. And probably some crepe and waffle eating too! Oh and maybe this all-in-one Strawberry Shortcake.

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The lovely and talented Dana asked me if I would be interested in doing a little swap with her - a bag for some of her delicious handmade goatsmilk soap and sugar scrubs. I love handmade soaps and was flattered that she would like one of my bags!

I did a rescaling of the Paisley Garden Signature bag - this is the Paisley Garden Mini-Sig! It's basically cut in the same shape as the larger carry-the-kitchen-sink sized bag and hangs from the shoulder so you can hug it under your arm.

It has a cute little zipper pocket on the inside, (I used this tutorial from Sew, Mama, Sew.)

which features another surprise fabric! Oh how I love Sandi Henderson's Farmers Market. I told you that you would see it on here again! Remember my procrastination problem? I stalled on the zipper pocket - apprehensive to try it since it was my first one, but that tutorial made it a breeze!

I'm happy to report that it arrived at Dana's safely and she loves it! Whew!

Speaking of Dana, you have heard about this haven't you?

I'm getting ready to cut my fabric for week 2!

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Are you still with me? Gee, you're nice! I've also been working on the sashing for my A Notion or Two quilt.

If it turns out like I'm envisioning it, I think I'm really going to like it!

Which reminds me, I've got to get this month's block finished! (or started, whatever....)