Inspiration At The NJ Quilt & Sewing Fest 2016

A couple of weeks ago a group of us from the NYC Metro MOD Quilt Guild headed out to the Mancuso Quilt & Sewing Fest of New Jersey in Somerset, NJ.

How To Repair Broken Quilting Stitches

Help, I've got a problem with one of my finished quilts!!! Have you ever had an issue with your quilting stitches breaking too?  Fixing it isn't that big a task, but often it's one we put off, well I know I do!

Guest Hosting @Blossom Heart Quilts

Today you'll find me over at Blossom Heart Quilts guest hosting Sew Cute Tuesday for Alyce.  I hope you'll pop over, read what I'm sharing and give me some of that quilty support we're so great at!

Beginner's Guide To Sewing Y-Seams

Earlier this month at our March NYC Metro MOD Quilt Guild meeting we introduced quick demos - 20-minute sessions with members teaching members techniques, tips, and tricks.  An email requesting volunteers was sent out and our VP, Bernadette, requested someone demo Y-Seams, more specifically me!

Midnight Snacking

There's two things my daughter Flicky loves, really loves - red Solo cups and Skittles.  

My friend Karen Moore Haynes knows she loves the solo cups and text me as soon as she saw this flannel for sale in Joannes.  I text straight back "oh yes please, get me 3 yards".

7 Day Quilt Challenge

A 7 Day Quilt Challenge has been doing the rounds on Facebook the idea being that each day for seven days you post details of a different quilt you've made.  I was nominated for the challenge by my friend Karen Moore Haynes.

The seven quilts I chose don't showcase my work per se but they hold the most meaning for me and I've been sharing them daily on my made by ChrissieD Facebook page.

 I've decided to share them here with you too, in one post rather than seven!  If you'd like to know more about each quilt you can click the images to go to the original posts

QUILT 1

My Very First Ever Quilt - October 2011

February 2016 Progress Update

The weather has continued to be very uncooperative when it comes to photographing my work and I'm never happy with my indoor photos of large quilts so for now some projects are still nothing more than a sneak peek tease.  There have been a few January finishes I've been able to fully share though so you can now click the pics below to read more about these finishes:

Brand New Free E-zine - Modern by the Yard Volume 1, Issue 1

I've been keeping a secret for months and today the cat's out of the bag.

Modern by the Yard is a brand new FREE e-zine showcasing modern fabrics and projects and the first issue focus is stash blenders.

Covering A Button - Step By Step Pics

This is my On The Bright Side quilt.

Hot Off The Press: New Classes Scheduled!

I have some hot off the press news to share, it's about Gotham Quilts, the new quilt/fabric studio in Manhattan.

Regular readers will remember I've mentioned the studio before and here again is a bit of background info.

Pincushion Organiser and Thread Catcher

When you're an avid sewist it goes without saying that you, your family, pets and home are always covered in thread.  As I take the lift down from my apartment I'm often embarrassed to discover there's even thread scattered on the corridor carpet outside my front door - how did it get there?!!! And I feel bad for my husband who regularly removes thread from his suit trousers when he's at work.

Her Mother's Daughter

Flicky, my daughter, was home for Chrismas - she's in her third year at the University of St Andrews, Scotland.  She had a plan to make two quilts during her two-week stay as well as celebrating Christmas and New Year and she succeeded.  When it comes to hard work and sheer determination she is indeed her mother's daughter.

Nordic Wind Shawl

Hard to believe but it's almost ten months since my trip to Vancouver, BC, and what a busy trip it was - you can read all my posts here.   While there I visited the yarn store, Three Bags Full, and one of my purchases was five balls of  Istex Lettlopi from Iceland - it's an Aran/10 ply 100% wool.  

Plug And Play PJ/Boxer Shorts

One of January's finishes is a pair of boxer shorts, well actually I've made this pair with a faux fly and the recipient will be using them as Summer PJ Shorts.

Mini Butterfly Pillow Cushion

Working through my UFO/WIPs for January and it seemed like time to finish this project I started back in December 2012!  Way back then I pattern tested an FPP butterfly 6" block for Juliet @The Tartankiwi and said I'd make it into a cushion to sell alongside a matching baby quilt in my soon-to-be Etsy shop.  The quilt was already made but the cushion and the Etsy shop have never materialised, until now!!!

Tute: No More Empty Corners (aka Bunny Ears)

Bunny ears - you know those floppy bits when your pillow cushion insert just doesn't reach into the corners.  

Do you just live with them or do you grab some polyester fibre fill and stuff them to make them look full and plump?

I'm going to show you how to get rid of them altogether.

January 2016 Progress Update

Sharing my UFO/WIP list with you two weeks ago was quite shocking  - the shock for me, as I said, was the length of the list.  It's unclear what spurred me on most, the length of the list; accountability to my readers or the snow that kept me deep inside my warm apartment but whatever it was this has been my most productive 14 days in a very, very long time.

On The Bright Side Quilt

Benartex sent me some Burlap Brights to work with and I knew just what I wanted to do with them...

My 5 Step Plan To Clear My UFOs/WIP

In a bid to clear my workspace of UFOs/WIP I've come up with a 5 Step Plan.

Exploring The Garment District - Gotham Quilts, Midtown Manhattan

What's happening in New York City?  Well, there's a new fabric studio in town, and that's something we all love to know about.