Just a Bunch of Fun Stuff

I tried to blog yesterday, but my internet was giving me a bit of grief.

I'm sharing a few updates on

some projects and a swap I participated in.

First up is the tabletop I finished.

I used Melissa's tutorial found

HERE

This is now sitting on our conference table at work.

This way I get to see a little bit of quilty love during the day.

Of course, in the center of it sits a candy dish.

What office isn't complete without a candy dish?

Next is the goodie I received in the mail from the Sew Sew Modern swap.

I had a sewing machine cover on my list,

and that's what I got!

And I REALLY needed one.

And I also received some awesome gnome fabric

(Love Happy Zombie!)

a a pin cushion, zipper and more pretty fabric.

Did I make out or what?

Thank you again, Krista!

For this same swap a call came out for angels.

So I volunteered.

This partner needed grocery bags

as their local market was going to start banning 

plastic bags

(good for them!)

She had the Jane Market Bag

in her mosaic,

so I made her one.

I love this bag and think I just may make a couple for myself.

And of course you can never go wrong using Flea Market Fancy in any of your projects!

For this Sew Modern swap your project was to be pretty amazing

(we originally had 3 months to create something)

but since I had to rush to get mine done so my angel partner didn't have to wait long,

I thought I better make her two bags,

just so she would know she was being taken care of properly.

So I made her my favorite grocery bag from Michelle Patterns.

I used Seed Catalog fabric purchased from sewmeasong on Esty.

You can find it

HERE

(by the way...if you want great, fun fabric, I highly recommend this shop!)

I received a very nice email when she received her package,

so that made my day!

Here's to more creative days!

xoxo

Cindy

Friday Night Sew In is Tonight!

I hope you can join in for the fun tonight!

To sign up for the sew in, 

just click the 

Friday Night Sew In

button on my side bar,

or click

HERE

Tonight I will be working on something just for me.

You know how I adore my blogger buddy,

Melissa,

from 100 Billion Stars.

Well lucky for me

(and now YOU!)

she posted a freebie pattern today

that is so cute and simple,

I was chomping at the bit to get out of work early to make it!

Just click this link

HERE

if you would like to try your hand at it.

It's the Fresh & Easy Table Topper.

Here's the fabric I have cut and ready to put together.

Another fun event I'm participating in is the Triple Zip Along

hosted by Deb of A Quilter's Table.

I've been wanting to give these pouches a try,

so this is the perfect opportunity.

If you are interesting joining,

just click 

HERE 

for details.  There are some great prizes!

I think the fabrics & zippers I have picked out here will

make a cute pouch.

(I'm all over cute, you know!)

One more thing you might be interested in

is my friend, Stephanie,

from Peas in a Pod

is participating in a blog hop

and having a giveaway on the neatest quilt pattern.

I am so in love with it that if I don't win it,

I am purchasing it for sure.

You can read about Stephanie's adventure with the pattern testing

of the Peace Quilt, the giveaway, and blog hop

HERE.

Enjoy!!

xoxo

Cindy

Snappy Wallet

Hey!

How are you?

I'm still busy sewing away,

but you won't get any complaining from me on that subject.

I will tell all my blogger buddies who are getting ready for Market,

"this too shall pass!".

I'm sure right now for you sewing might feel like a bit of a pain.

For me, it's all fun and games,

but for those getting ready for Market,

it's now a mad rush to the finish.

My latest project was a Snappy Wallet.

I found it in the Summer 2012 issue of Stitch magazine.

If you're interested, you can purchase it here.

I am on the auto ship program for Stitch.

It's always nice to get a surprise in your mailbox that sparks creativity,

rather than a, "What the heck?? I thought I paid that bill!" reaction.

Don't you think?

I'm so going to make the bag on the front of this cover too.

So here's the cute little Snappy Wallet.

I used some of my Sis Boom stash to create this little beauty.

(Thanks, Melissa, for getting me hooked on Jennifer's gorgeous creations!)

The instructions were good, however, I am a visual person 

and much prefer diagrams over verbiage

when working on patterns.

(A big THANK YOU to my sister, for helping me in my frustration to understand what the heck they were saying!)

OK

You guessed it.

Yes, I love a book with pictures rather than words.

I love looking at the photography in a magazine

rather than reading how Brad & Angie,

or Jennifer & Justin are in secret meetings with each other.

The inside of the wallet has a place to hold your coins.

And, of course, a place to hold your big bills.

(Some day I hope I have big bills to put in a wallet!)

I'm also working on more swap items, 

which I'll be posting about later in the week.

By the way,

this is my first time using my Photoshop Elements 

for my photo editing.

I have SO much to learn with that

(I'll be in line for the Photoshop Elements for Dummies class)

but overall I like these photo's a lot better.

Happy Creating!!

xoxo

Cindy

Kindle Case

A quick post today!

I have lots of sewing to do

and I have no doubt you do too!

Either getting ready for the holiday's,

or I know a lot of you are working on things form Market,

it's all a bunch of sewing goodness!

I recently made a kindle case for my mom to use for her Kindle Fire.

I used Melissa's pattern, which you can find here.

And the lining:

I used a fabric line from Free Spirit,

and for the life of me,

I don't remember the name!

I will update you in my next post with that information.

This pattern went together so easily. 

(as with all of Melissa's patterns)

I hope you all have wonderful day!

I'm hoping to have lots of finished projects to share with you this week!!

xoxo

Cindy

GIVEAWAY TIME!

As promised!

I was so excited when Jake,

the co-creator of Generation Q

contacted me to 'thank' me for doing a post on the magazine.

Trust me...

that was TOTALLY random.

If you've followed my blog,

you know that I am all about giving a

"shout out" to those I believe in.

So imagine my surprise when I received an email

from Jake, saying she saw my blog and offered

a couple magazines for a giveaway!

I had been waiting for the day this delivered to my mail box.

I was SOO excited for my blogger pal,

Melissa, of 100 Billion Stars

as she was going to be featured in this most amazing

little packet of goodness.

I am such an admirer of hers

(she may be getting tired of hearing this little Iowa gal sing her praises),

but if anyone deserves a star a little higher,

it's Melissa.

And can I just mention this little magazine

is a pocket full of little surprises

after my own heart!

Check this out!

Oh yeah.....

There's a recipe for this luscious happy juice.

Anyone who has quilted with my sister and me,

(aka...The Spinster Sisters)

know we LOVE a little happy juice

to keep the needle working!

There are all kinds of great patterns,

little tidbits,

helpful information...

I promise you this magazine will become your next

'go to' item.

And it really is a nice size magazine,

measuring 7"x9" and would fit perfectly in this bag

(which the pattern, by Pat Bravo, is included in the magazine...imagine that!)

So....how do you get a chance to win?

All you have to do is follow my blog.

Leave a comment on this post letting me know that you started following,

or if you already follow,

just leave a comment stating that little fact.

And I LOVE my international pals,

so I'm hoping your participate too!!

You have until 11:59 PM July 21st to enter.

The winner will be announced on Sunday, July 22nd.

Good luck!!

xoxo

Cindy

GenerationQ

I have been waiting a while for this magazine to come out.

Here it is.

The first issue of GenerationQ,
a modern quilt magazine.

I don't know that it's available yet.

To get the issue early you had to

donate a pledge,

and of course,

I wasn't going to pass that up!

You can keep checking back to this site

(click here)

to see when it becomes available.

So I know you're wondering why I REALLY wanted to get this

new magazine ASAP.

Well,

do you remember how many times I've

bragged about my blogger buddy, Melissa,

from

100 Billion Stars?

Check this out:

I was doing the happy dance for her

when I found out she was going to be published in this magazine.

I told her yesterday I received my magazine,

but she hadn't received hers

What the???

But I heard from her today

and her copies are safely in her hands.

I can't even begin to imagine

the feeling she gets when she looks at her name on the

front cover.

Her quilt that's in the magazine

is

G.O.R.G.E.O.U.S

Here's a sneak peak

You can check out Melissa's blog post here

to get a closer look at the quilt.

I absolutely LOVE it!!

Congrats, Melissa!!!

There's also another one of my favorites in this magazine.

Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts.

This is her project in the magazine.

You can click here to view her blog.

She is full of great information.

I adore her patterns.

As a matter of fact, her Carnival pattern is next on my list to make.

If you're interested in purchasing this pattern,

or checking out her other one's

you can click here

for a list of shops.

You won't be disappointed.

Her patterns are easy to follow

and fun to make.

I hope you all enjoyed your day!

xoxo

Cindy

Fabulous Thursday

Hey!

How the heck are you?

I'm doing pretty well, thank you.

I took the afternoon off work yesterday

and had lunch with my

"sister from another mister".

(Don't freak out...that's just a saying

when two gals are so much alike

they really should have been sisters)

LOL

I've posted about my friend, Julie, before.

We seriously are two peas in a pod.

Except she likes dark, primitive fabrics

and I like cheery, modern fabrics.

Other than that,

we are identical.

And I forgive her for this

one, slight difference.

:o)

So here we are right after I picked her up

at work for lunch.

(Julie on the left and me on the right)

I thought I better tell you that

because you might not be able to tell us apart.

***wink***

We're just crazy.

I made her the cute little

Catch All Cutey

from Melissa

at 100 Billion Stars.

You'll have to excuse the shadow.
I made this at 5:00 in the morning.
Just cause...
you know...
she's that special.
:o)
So special that I made the pouch
in 'her' colors.
I put my iTouch next to it
so you can get a feel of what the size it.
I know you're going to want to make one!
So hop on over to the tutorial
and get busy.
I PROMISE you won't be disappointed.
Swear.
Cross my heart.

I know y'all are just dying to know what we had for lunch.
We were good girls
(darn it!)
And had this luscious
oriental salad.

We ordered it with grilled chicken.
But I won't lie.
We really wanted that crispy
fried chicken.
Our hearts are thanking us right now
for staying away from the grease.
But my mouth is watering
thinking about that crunchy chicken.
No worries...
I'm not giving into the beast!

On a side note,
if you're not busy on April 20th,
that's the night for the
Friday Night Sew In.
They're doing something really special,
so click here  to sign up.
That's actually my 27th wedding anniversary,
(oh for the love...how did that happen when I'm only 29?? LOL)
but I'm pretty sure I'll be fitting some sewing in that night as well.
I hate to not help out with something like this.

I hope you all have a fabulous Friday!
xoxo
Cindy

Friday Night Sew In

Last night I took some much needed time

to lock myself in my sewing room.

I love Friday Night Sew-In's.

You can get the button for this monthly event

here

It was great therapy to shut the world out

and just be in my room creating all these yummy projects.

I got 2 quilt backs sewn together

and they'll be off to the quilter today

(thanks, Sarah!)

I have two more quilt backs to go

and then I will be caught up with those.

Melissa from 100 Billion Stars

designed this adorable tutorial.

I love her patterns.

They are so easy to follow

and the end result always makes me happy!

Plus, as you know, she's just one of my all around

favorite people.

If you aren't already following her blog,

you really should.

She has been a HUGE inspiration to me.

I used Good Fortune by Kate Spain

for everything but the strap.

For the strap I used Terrain,

also by Kate Spain.

(cause, you know, I think she's pretty awesome too)

Melissa & Kate go well together,

don't you think?

:o)

I also made this zipper pouch

using this pattern

This pattern has GREAT instructions for zippers.



I hope you all have a great weekend!

Mine is full of busy things,

so I'm glad I had last night to myself.

I gotta say,

I do like my own company.

LOL!

Make it a good one!

xoxo

Cindy



Easy Street Bag & My Friend Linda

Hello!

I just had to share this with you.

It's another pattern from 

Melissa of 100 Billion Stars

The pattern is called

Easy Street Bag.

You can find this PDF download

in Melissa's Etsy shop

here

And here is the beauty!

The bag is perfect for a 'quick something' to go to.

It's small enough that things don't get lost in it,

but large enough to make a statement.

I made this bag in just a couple hours.

I plan on making several more

with fabrics that match my wardrobe.

I also think these will be great Christmas presents

with a matching zipper pouch to go with it.

The fabric I used was Camelot by Jason Yenter.

You can find this at one of my favorite shops,

FabricFascination

here

This is a beautiful, quick bag

that was a  lot of fun to make.

You can never go wrong with one of Melissa's patterns.

I also had a sweet surprise in the mail this week!

My friend, Linda, from Scotland sent me these little goodies.

I am very proud to say I have a strong Scottish heritage on my mom's side of the family.

Linda was so sweet and sent me a package full of Scottish goodies

and a handmade ornament.

Thank you so much, Linda!

You'll never know how much this brightened my day!

You can check Linda's blog out

here.

Stop over and tell her hello.

She would love to hear from you!

So thank you to everyone involved with this post.

Melissa of 100 Billion Stars 

Etsy shop here

Kym of FabricFascination

Etsy shop here

And Linda of  Lawson Place

You all are so inspiring to me!

FYI - this was not a sponsored post.

I just believe in these gals.

However...on Saturday, November 12th,

I WILL be posting my first sponsored

blog post with an incredible giveaway,

so make sure to stay tuned!

Have a very blessed Sunday!

xoxo

Cindy

Anywhere Bag, Goodie Swap 2011 & More!

SURPRISE!!

How the heck have you been?

I have been crazy busy

putting in a lot of hours at the office.

Then....

Canning tomatoes.

Canning tomato juice.

Canning salsa.

And today, I'm canning spaghetti sauce.

It was a great year for tomatoes in the Smith house.

BUT... in between all of this,

I still found time to get some sewing in.

Like this amazing bag from my friend, Melissa.

If you are interested in purchasing the pattern for this,

you can find it here 

I can promise that you will love it just as much as I do.

This is the second time I've made this bag.

I think this one would be perfect for a teenage girl.

Here's a close up of the ribbon

And the fabulously lined inside with a pocket to boot!

Thank you for creating such an awesome bag

Melissa!

I am sending the items below to my partners in the Goodie Swap 2011

hosted by the one and only Cindy of Fluffy Sheep Quilting.

Here is the mug rug and goodies I'm sending Partner #1.  I can't show the

front of the rug yet until she receives the package.

This swap has all been a secret, so she doesn't know I'm her partner.

And I want to keep it that way until the package arrives!  :o)

The money pouch is by Terri Atkinson (LOVE her stuff!). 

The pattern by Terri is called Cash & Carry.

It's a pattern for 3 different zipper bags.

and the turtle pincushion (which I've posted before) is called Heneritta by Heather Bailey.

And here are all of her goodies wrapped up in a pretty fat quarter!

And for Partner #2

Technically we were to send a mug rug and one goodie (the goodie being something

made by you).  I wanted to give Partner #2 a needle case.

So, I found a tutorial for one and when I wanted to add a little extra on it

(being the decorative stitch around the edges), my needle was skipping some of the flower petals.

Hhhhmmfffttthhh

So, while shopping with my sister one day, I found this pattern by Terri Atkinson with these cute bags.

I thought they would be handy to have, as you can hold money in the zipped part and put your debit/credit 

cards in the pockets. 

(there's a pocket in the outside front and back)

So that makes me feel better shipping this along with everything else.

So here's Partner #2's 'wrapped in a fat quarter' goodies

I can't WAIT until my partners get their goodies.  I am crossing my fingers that they like them!

Tomorrow I will be posting links to two new swaps I signed up for.

Make sure to stop back and LOOK

Because there is still time for YOU

to join!

And they look to be just as much fun as the Goodie Swap.

And THAT swap was incredibly fun!

It was so much fun that I hope you sign up to the ones

I'm linking tomorrow.

Until tomorrow!

xoxo

Cindy

Thank you, Melissa!!

I have to say 

that I am pretty blessed.

Through blogging, I have met a great friend.

Melissa of 100 Billion Stars

She continually inspires me to think outside the box.

I'm such a rule follower that it's hard for me to

'color outside the lines' 

so to speak.

But reading Melissa's blog inspires me

to get a little crazy.

(Plus she is a huge animal lover like myself)

Though I 'm not ready to post any of my craziness yet,

I can show you what she sent me in the mail!

All these lovely Sis Boom scraps to welcome me to

Sis Boom Sisterhood!!

I just purchased

Girl's World by Jennifer Paganelli

(of Sis Boom).

Now, mind you, I don't have any little girls,

but this book was too cute to pass up!

And I do have little nieces I can sew for as well.

Hopefully, I will one day have granddaughters too.

But I had to take a picture of the book with all the luscious scraps

Melissa sent to me.

What a nice surprise!!  Melissa, you completely made my day!

Here's something I whipped up last night from some of the scraps.

I'm not quite sold on the button yet.  

I think because it's a bit off center.

We'll see if I keep it.

And I realized I needed something

trustworthy to guard all this precious fabric

when I'm not in my sewing room.

Lucky for me, the book had a pattern for this cute little gal.

And of course, she had to be pink

and made out of Sis Boom fabric that I recently purchased.

So what girl isn't complete without her bling?

That keeps her on her toes while she guards all the fabric.

She is stationed on the shelf to keep watch.

I think thieves will be afraid of her, should they come in and try and steal my fabric.

She is rough and tough.

What should I name her?

I took a picture of her on my phone and sent it to my sister and my cousin.

They both want a guard dog now.

I did make them each one, but since this post is dedicated to Sis Boom,

and the dogs are made out of other material from my stash,

they will be posted at a later date.

:o)

I will end this post with a picture of the opposite side of the pillow I made from

the fabric Melissa sent me along with my dog.

Now if you're interested in learning more about Sis Boom

you can click here.

Trust me, you will get hooked.

This is all so scrumptious

that you will have a  hard time saying, "NO".

Check out stores in Etsy

if you would like to purchase

the fabrics.  Just search either Sis Boom,

or Jennifer Paganelli and you'll get all kinds of stores

to lure you in.

I purchased Girl's World from Amazon, if you're interested.

It truly is a great book.  Beautifully designed,

great patterns and pages among pages of inspiration!

Melissa,

Thank you for just being you.

I think you are pretty darn awesome.

Until the next adventure!

xoxo

Cindy

PS  

This posting was not sponsored by anyone.

This is my own free will review.

I'm kind of like that.

When I believe in something,

I just share it with no expectation.

It's kind of one of those things that makes the world go round

in an old fashioned way.

:o)