The New Hexagon Millefiore Quilt-Along

It's been quite awhile since I've blogged, mainly because I've been busy sewing things for my shop.  Now that the holidays are over, I'm taking a break to work on some projects for myself.  I use Instagram on a daily basis, for ideas and inspiration.  I've been admiring some pics of Millefiori-style quilts for months.  These quilts are meant to represent Italian glasswork that has a kaleidoscope effect.  They are also sewn ENTIRELY by hand.  Yikes.  If you know me, you've probably heard me say how much I dread hand-sewing.  If you follow me on Instagram, you've probably also noticed my obsession with the gorgeous, modern prints from new fabric company Cotton + Steel.  I just want to buy it all up and use it for everything.  I've probably become one of Hawthorne Threads' best customers.

Thanks to Instagram, I stumbled upon The New Hexagon Millefiore Quilt-Along.  Created by Katja Marek, author of The New Hexagon, it's a Millefiore-style quilt composed of English paper pieced hexagons.  I thought this might be my only chance to actually complete a quilt like this, one portion a month.  And since I am using only fabrics that I absolutely love from Cotton + Steel, I have a great motivation to work on it.

Just a small portion of my fabric selections!

PaperPieces.com is putting together packs of the correct shapes for each rosette (what they are calling each monthly section of the quilt).  You can also copy them out of The New Hexagon  and then cut them all out yourself, but it's SO worth it to have someone do that all for me.

Here are some pics of my progress this month. January has the largest rosette of all the months, and it was a bit overwhelming at first to think that I might not finish before February!  But it's now looking like I will be done within the next few days.  Katja suggests the glue-basting method, which is a huge time-saver.

I have been loving this portable project more than I thought possible.  I sew every evening while watching TV, bring it to my son's wrestling practice, and even to my daughter's piano lessons.  There is a fabulous group on Facebook (with over 1000 participants!) where others are showing their progress.  It's an open group--stop on by and browse through the amazing photos, and remember that most people are doing this entirely by hand.  Wow.

Giveaway Day: Foxy Pleated Pouch

Welcome to Giveaway Day (week!) via Sew, Mama, Sew!

I recently changed my shop name from a.Amelia handmade to accesSEWrize handmade, and to celebrate I'm giving away this cute foxy pleated pouch.  It is sized to hold business cards, credit cards, coffee punch cards, etc.  It has a magnetic snap closure and a D-ring that can be attached to your key ring.

Just use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter.  Thanks for stopping by!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway Day: Fabric de-stash

Welcome to Giveaway Day (well, week) via Sew, Mama, Sew!

I have had this great fabric by Lizzie House in my stash for far too long without finding just the right project for it, so I'm offering it up to you instead.  It includes a half yard each of the top two, and about a quarter yard of the bottom print.

Just use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter.  Thanks for stopping by!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

a.Amelia handmade is now accesSEWrize handmade

Big news around here!  In an effort to make my shop name more descriptive of what I love to create, I am changing the name to...

I absolutely love my new logo.  My very creative cousin over at Harvest Joy Designs made it for me.  She took my ideas and used her graphic design genius to give them life.  Thanks so much, Amy!

So, what will this change mean for you?  Well, not a whole lot, since you are probably already familiar with the fun accessories that I like to stitch up.  But since I'm entering a new market with my products (hello, Sitka, Alaska!), it's a good time to make the switch.  I originally named my business after my daughter, who loves fun fabric prints probably even more than I do. Now it's time to take my shop to the next level, and that starts with a snappy new name!

Keep an eye out on my Facebook page.  Facebook has approved my business name change effective April 15, so I will be hosting a giveaway to celebrate!  You can already find my new name in my Etsy shop, and I will be stocking it with all new items for sale soon.

If you're in Sitka, come on down and see me on April 12 at the Rainy Day Bazaar, from 10-4 at the Harrigan Centennial Hall.

Meridian Cardigan: pattern tour and giveaway!

You haven't heard much from me lately.  Not at all in the past three months, really.  Well...remember how our family just moved over the summer.  Surprise! We're moving again.  Back to Alaska. In two weeks.  Thank you, US Coast Guard.  We are very excited to go back so soon.  But it was really unexpected, so we have been scurrying around trying to get all the details figured out.  Before all of this came about, I signed on as a stop on the imagine gnats pattern tour.  I'm so glad I did, as it gave me a good reason to get out my much-neglected sewing supplies and make up something cute.

In honor of my girlie's 8th birthday, I chose to make the girls' Meridian Cardigan.  Today is her birthday, in fact.  And she has all the sass that an 8-year-old should.

This pattern was really simple to sew up, and it came out just fine using an easy zigzag stitch.  Getting a serger is at the top of my to-do list!

I got these adorable knits from Girl Charlee.  I have been looking for an excuse to place an order from her, and am so glad I finally found one.

My favorite part about the cardi?  It's reversible!  Because sometimes you feel like a bunny, and sometimes you don't.  Can you tell we have a *tiny* obsession with purple?

This pattern is rock-jumping approved.  And that's important when you're eight.

All patterns in the imagine gnats pattern shop are 20% off for the month of January with the code "januarytour"so be sure to stop by and take a look at the selections for kids and adults.

Even better, you can enter to win a copy for yourself.  Just use the Rafflecopter widget below.  Winner will be chosen on January 31, after the movers have left my house with all of my stuff!  Leave a comment on my blog with your best moving tip for an extra entry.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Quick and Easy Halloween School Treat

This isn't sewing-related, but you have probably figured out by now, especially if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, that I love to bake, too.  Last year, I made some awesome pretzel and white chocolate spider web treats for my son's pre-k class.  I planned to make the same this year for kindergarten.  But then I realized that he has 150% more kids in his class this year (25!!).  And the spider webs take quite awhile to get just right.  Not to mention that we walk to school every day, and I am afraid of what would happen to them if they got ostled around.  So I simplified the treat into spiders.

Eight legs.
White chocolate chips melted to make a dollop in the middle for the body.
Two raisin eyes.
Done!
And easy enough for my kindergartener to help with.  We love the combination of the salty pretzels and sweet white chocolate.  Just enough for a treat, but not so much sugar that the kids go batty!

Simple Cork Board Makeover

With school in full swing, my refrigerator is getting cluttered up with drawings and spelling tests.  And they always fly off when the dog passes by with his big tail wagging.  I seem to have found my crafty mojo again (finally!!), so we did a quick project today to help the kids organize their own favorite pieces of school work (and get them out of the kitchen).

We bought simple cork bulletin boards at Ikea.

Everything else came from my stash.  I let the kids choose a fabric.  Good thing, too, because they both chose something that I wouldn't have expected them to like.  I cut each fabric into a rectangle about an inch and a half wider on each side than the framed bulletin board.  I didn't worry about exact measurements.

Then I went through my glue selection and found this!  I sprayed each board very well with glue, centered the fabric over it, and then just smoothed it on.  Then I turned the boards around, sprayed the frame edges, and wrapped the fabric toward the back.

Voila!  They came out better than I expected for the little time they took.

I always go to fabric first when trying to pretty something up.  And this time it didn't even involve the sewing machine.  I love easy projects!