"Boxed In" Quilt in Blogger's Quilt Festival

I completed this quilt for my friend of 20 years that got married this year on March 6th. I found this pattern in the April/May 13 Edition of Quilt Magazine, the name of the quilt is "Boxed In" by Bev Getschel. My friends favorite color is red, so this seemed like the perfect quilt for her and her husband. I love all of the different sized boxes and patterns, it's so random that it all goes perfectly together. This was my second completed quilt and I was very happy with the result!

This quilt is 68" x 80". I pieced the top and backing by machine, and also quilted by machine using the "stitch in the ditch" technique.

I'm entering this quilt in the Blogger's Quilt Festival held on the blog, Amy's Creative Side. It will be entered into the "Favorite home machine quilted quilt" category. Be sure to check out my second quilt in the ROYGBIV category :). Voting will begin on November 1st and end on November 7th. Thank you for your votes, and thank you for this opportunity to share my love of quilting :).

"Kaleidoscopic Kites" Quilt in Blogger's Quilt Festival

I have finally completed a quilt for myself :). I started quilting in February of this year and so far I have completed a quilt for my boyfriend, my recently married friend, and my parents....and finally I'm keeping one for myself! :P I started this quilt after finishing the quilt for my boyfriend, but then other more pressing projects came up that needed finished first. But, my back burner quilt is finally complete and I am so excited! The feeling of putting a quilt on your bed that you have worked months to complete and getting to snuggle under it is a fantastic feeling. A lot of hard work goes into piecing and sewing a quilt, and the feeling of accomplishment is awesome. I've always been a crafter, making jewelry and scarves, but there's just something about completing a quilt that is different. I'm guessing it has to do with the months it takes to complete one ;).

When searching for a quilt pattern for myself, I was looking for something not too complicated (since it was only my second quilt at the time) and modern. What I found on this search was the Kaleidoscopic Kites quilt pattern from the blog Modern Quilts by Fresh Lemons designed by Faith Jones. I fell in love with this quilt instantly and also everything else on the Fresh Lemons blog!

Below is my finished quilt!

Instead of the white background that the pattern suggests, I decided to use black. White does not last long with me, and after putting the time into this quilt I didn't want to risk any mishaps. Another color I changed was instead of using brown blocks as one of the colors I used purple. Since I was using black as my background I didn't want to have the black and brown up against each other; I thought it would make the quilt too dark. I also decided to add two borders to the quilt to make it a bit larger for my full size bed (one of the borders is white, but I figured I'd test my luck since it looked nice and was a smaller area). When I went to do my backing, I realized that the gray fabric I picked out wasn't going to be wide enough. So I decided to use fabrics from the quilt top to add the stripe of black and colored blocks down the center. I think overall it makes the backing more interesting. My finished quilt size is 80" x 90", which is the largest quilt I have done so far. The quilt top and back were pieced together by machine. I also did the quilting myself by machine using the "stitch in the ditch" technique. For the binding I used left over scraps from the colored fabric throughout the quilt and pieced them together. I am absolutely in love with this quilt :)

I am entering this quilt into the Blogger's Quilt Festival held on the blog, Amy's Creative Side. This quilt will be entered into the "Favorite ROYGBIV (color wheel) quilt" category. Also, be sure to check out my second quilt in the "Favorite home machine quilted quilt" category once I get it posted! Voting will begin on November 1st and end on November 7th. I appreciate any of your votes and the opportunity to share my new love of quilting with fellow quilters :). Thank you for stopping by my blog!

Wire-Wrapped Bead Rings!

I'm so excited! I tried my hand at a wire ring a couple weeks back....and let's just say it didn't quite go as well as I wanted it to. Shocking, you didn't see a post about that ;)...But! I did some research, figured out the gauge of wire suggested for ring making, and found an awesome tutorial on Pinterest that made it look so easy! This Simple Wire-Wrapped Ring Tutorial is from the blog Lytha Studios.

So here's what I went to buy today from old faithful Joann Fabrics:

 

I purchased myself a ring mandrel, and some 18 guage tarnish resistant wire! And I pulled up the wire ring tutorial on Pinterest and got to crafting!

 

I made three different rings with this tutorial using a large round stone bead, a smaller round bead with gold detailing, and a smaller square bead. I am soooo excited about how these turned out, and can't wait to wear them!!

Cute Free Skirt Patterns

I thought I would try something a little new for this post. The internet is a vast world with so many amazing free tutorials out there. This is a list of some awesome free skirt tutorials that I have come across:

1. High-Wasted Sash Skirt
This beautiful skirt is from the blog This Big Oak Tree. I love the fabric pattern used in this tutorial, and love love the big sash bow!

2. Easy Elastic Waistband Skirt
This skirt is from the blog Sewbon. This tutorial looks simple and easy and oh so beautiful! Again I love the fabric chosen! I also love the belt seen in the pictures....

3. The Socialite Skirt
This skirt is from the blog Leanne Barlow: Elle Apparel. This tutorial looks very detailed and easy to follow. This blogger gives you many step by step details to follow, and it ends in another gorgeous skirt.

4. So-Sew-Easy Skirt
This skirt tutorial is from So-Sew-Easy. This was a sew along that is complete now. From this page you can follow all of the links to each step to complete this beautiful skirt. This is a beginners step by step tutorial that teaches you everything you'll need to know to complete your very own handmade skirt that will fit you well.

5. Paris Skirt
This skirt tutorial is from the blog Nothing Too Fancy. This tutorial starts out giving instructions of how to determine the measurements for your skirt to make it fit you perfectly. Make sure to read the few notes at the bottom of the page before starting your skirt.

I absolutely love all five of these skirts, and think that the tutorials make them all look so simple. I can't wait to have a shot at one of these, though it'll have to be on the back burner for a while for me with all my other projects going on! I hope you find one you love and want to try :) Happy sewing :)

New Etsy Shop! SeamsStraight

If you haven't heard of the website Etsy, you need to check it out pronto! It is an awesome site with all handmade or vintage items. Pretty much anything you could think of is on this website, and handmade ;). It's a great website for crafters to start selling their items, and that is exactly what I have done! I opened my own shop, called SeamsStraight, on Etsy! In my shop you'll find handmade jewelry and sewn treasures. I only have a few items in my shop so far, but plan to keep on building and expanding as interest grows :). I'm so excited to have my own little shop and be able to share my crafting joy with a wider audience.

These are the items that you can find in my SeamsStraight shop right now:

If you have any suggestions, or items that you would like to see in my shop, leave me a message or send me an email!

The Wedding Present Quilt

On March 6, 2013 one of my best friends of 20 years got married! We've known each other since we were 6 years old, so have gone through all of the awkard stages of life together. We're now to the responsible adult stage, which isn't as fun as you believed it to be once you get here ;). Though, marriage is definitely the big perk of the adult stage; finding that person to spend the rest of your life with. I believe my friend has certainly found this in her husband, and hope that they have a wonderful life together.

As their wedding present I decided to make them a quilt. I got the pattern from the April/May 13 Edition of Quilt Magazine, the name of the quilt is "Boxed In" by Bev Getschel. My friends favorite color is red, so this seemed like the perfect quilt for her. I love all of the different sized boxes and patterns, it's so random that it all goes perfectly together. This is my second completed quilt and I couldn't be happier! And I couldn't be happier to gift this to my friend and her husband :)