April Lovely Year of Finishes

So I missed the sign ups for the March Lovely Year of finishes.

I had to make sure not to miss April!

One of my sewing goals for 2015 was to better myself in free motion quilting.

With that said, this month I am going to quilt this beauty and not use straight line quilting.

(straight line quilting is my 'go to')

This quilt was put together last spring and has been sitting in my UFO pile.

(along with a few other quilt tops)

It was put together using the Jelly Roll Race by Missouri Star Quilt Company.

You can find it HERE

You can put together this top in about 45 minutes,

so if you need something fast, this is for you!  Not only is it fun to put together,

but you don't know how it's going to turn out until you're done.

So if you're a planner, and want to be a rebel & throw caution to the wind,

grab your jelly roll and get started!

On another note, have you seen Lori Holt's new book, Farm Girl Vintage?

Lori is from Bee in my Bonnet and I have been a huge fan of hers for some time now.

I preordered my book, so when it came, I also received this free pattern, Canning Season.

For a country girl like myself, this is all right up my alley!

Here's a little close up of each block in the book.  I can't wait to get started!

Lori will also be doing a sew along as well.  Make sure to check out the details on her blog

HERE

This past Christmas I had made little zipper pouches for my brother and two nieces.

Well, I left my sister-in-law out of the mix.  It was one of those last minute 'quick' gifts, because I had to have something to put the gift cards in.  I didn't have a gift card for her, and I was only focused

on what I needed to do right at that moment.  

You know how it goes.

So I thought for Easter, I would find out what her favorite treat is and make her a drawstring pouch using this lovely material from my stash.

Using Kate Spain's Cuzco added with a beautiful aqua color from Bonnie & Camille (and I'm sorry I don't know which line!) you can't go wrong!

I used the 'cute as a button' twill for the drawstring, which I purchased from The Little Red Cottage

on Etsy.  You can find that HERE.

So....on to my 'out of comfort zone' quilting!

I wish you all a creative and sunny day!

xoxo

Cindy

February Finish for A Lovely Year of Finishes

I am finished.

My February finish for the group A Lovely Year of Finishes on Flickr.

I actually had all the pieces cut out quite a while ago as I mentioned in my earlier post.

I tried to make it for a couple different swaps, but the fabric choices weren't my partners 'thing',

which is absolutely fine.  This worked out great for me, because I dearly love it!

My scrap baskets in the background were gifted to me by Jackie (aka chloeandme on Flickr and IG) 

I've been such a fan of her work for quite some time now.  Not only is her work beautiful, so is her soul.  

Speaking of gifts, I received a very generous one from the lovely

Melissa of 100 billion stars.

I can't honestly remember who started following who first, 

but I do know Melissa was the very first blogger I became

'friends' with.  We've never met in real life,

but I feel as though we have.

She has been such an inspiration to me and has helped me grow

tremendously in the sewing world.  Because of Melissa,

I can now sew a little more freely, without solely relying on a pattern.

I can seriously go on and on about Melissa, but all you have to do

is check her blog out HERE and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.

In the meantime, you can enjoy my gift with me.

Look at all this loveliness of Tanya Whelan's Lulu Roses!

That with the buttons and hexies make for a great beginning of something beautiful, don't you think?

Another item I worked on was a small pillow using Heather Ross fabric and linen.

I love doing free motion thread art.

I also made an Open Wide pouch by Noodlehead using fabric by Anna Maria Horner and quilters linen.

I used a decorative stitch on the front of the pouch for a little extra 'love'.

And last, but not least, this little Penny Pincher Coin Purse found in the freebie section of Melissa's blog.

As you can see, I really am a little crazy over that thread art.  :)

I hope you have had lots of fun creativity taking place in your life!

Here's to next time!

xoxo

Cindy

2015 Lovely Year of Finishes

I'm baaaaaack!!

And I'm ready to get my 'sew on' for 2015!

This past year has been totally insane, 

but I'm finding my groove in my 

"new normal".

To start off, I'm linking up with 

A Lovely Year of Finishes.

You can find information on how to join

at either Sew Bitter Sweet Designs or

Fiber of All Sorts

My project to finish in February

is in this little basket

It's been in storage for a little over a year.

(and by 'storage', I mean in a big ol pile of UFO's)

I thought this would be a good project to start my 2015 finishes.

It's a Divided Basket by Noodlehead.

It's a great basket and I can't believe I haven't finished it.

What the?? 

:)

I even have the majority of the pattern cut out!

Just so you know I haven't been a total slacker.

Here are a couple things I've recently made.

The Perfect Quilted Tote by Elizabeth Hartman

and a free pattern for an embroidery hoop wall pocket

A grocery bag by Michelle Patterns.

This is THE best grocery bag EVER!

I'm actually giving this bag away on Instagram.

You can find me there under cindys0707.

The giveaway is open until February 8th, 8:00 PM CST.

Are you still reading this blog post?

STOP!  

Go enter the giveaway!

I'll stop for now.  

I'm still in 'shock and awe'

returning to the blog world.

I may need a glass of wine to get over it.

Y'all come back know,

ya hear!

xoxo

Cindy