I work hard for no money, dun-dun, dun-dun...

Well, I know it's been awhile since I've blogged about what I am up to, so here goes. And, as a coincidence it's WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced, and tomorrow is Link it up Thursday at These Peas Taste Funny, so I will link up at both.

First off, I finally finished my May block of the months for Quilt Story and for Craftsy:

I know, it's July. I'm behind. The top 2 are the hourglass blocks for Quilt Story and the bottom two are the Wonky Log Cabins for Craftsy. The hourglasses are so much like HSTs that I don't know if I care to distinguish them. Easy to make though. The Craftsy blocks were fun! No rules just cutting and sewing without any measurments. Loved it! Great Scrapbuster!

My mom, brother and sister-in-law were visiting from Kansas. I talked my Mom and Sis-in-law into making a block. I think I will try to talk other members of my family into doing so when they visit so that I can make a family quilt out of them.

 I'm still in hexie land, although I finished all the hexagon flowers and I have sewn them all on the the background fabric.

 I was spraying them on the back with my trusty 505 spray and then using a free motion stitch to straight stitch them on around the edge. At first I was just placing them on, but I realized it was getting wonky and bubbly, so the spray really made a difference. I was also using Isachord gold colored thread and it was not looking right. It was loose and there were loops on the back in places. I tried everything: new needle, different size needle, different thread/same thread in the boobin, tension, speed, cleaning out the bobbin. Nothing worked. Finally, I tried standing up the thread spool. I usually leave it down using Gutermann on a regular spool because the thread tension gets to be too much when standing up, but this Isachord was a large spool (green plastic) and when I stood it up, it worked perfectly! Note to self next time I am having issues.

 Hexies all sewn on...

I back piece, and this is one of the many backing fabrics I am using. I just loved it so much I had to take a picture. I got it at Joann's. They had a great 4th of July sale where not only were the fabrics etc. on sale, but they had a coupon for an additional 15% off the whole order! I stocked up :)

I also got a little something-something fat quarter bundles for my next giveaway. I will do it when I reach 200 followers (hint, hint follow me on the right through Google Friend Connect if you don't already).  I also started a facebook page ("like" my page by clicking on the Facebook button top right or the hyperlink I just put in). The only "like" I have right now is my own :(

I am linking up at Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesdays and Link it Up Thursdays at These Peas Taste Funny.





Until next time,

Mike.

Color My World: 100 Followers Giveaway! + a question...

There's a lovely giveaway at Color My World, go there and follow her blog, then comment on your favorite summer activity.

Click here to enter: Color My World: 100 Followers Giveaway!: "The highlights of summer--bike rides, lazy weekends on a lake, wading pools and backyard barbecues keep pulling me away from my sewing and ..."

Here's the prize:

It ends July 6th at 5pm (not sure of time zone).

While I have you here, what kind of thread do you use for Free Motion Quilting???? I changed threads the other day and I am having tiny loopy issues on the back. If I change back to the old thread, it's fine. The thread works for piecing, but not FMQ.... just wondering about the weight, brand, etc. FYI: the weights are the same and I use matching thread in the bobbin. One is Gutermann, the other is Isachord (not saying which is the one that does not work). Both are polyester.

Until next time,

Mike.

Farm Girl Transplanted: Giveaway! and Stash Report Week 26

There's a nice giveaway of a fat eighth bundle :) Click here:Farm Girl Transplanted: Giveaway! and Stash Report Week 26: "Last week's stash report passed me by while I was back in Indiana.  In anticipation of the task of going through yet more of Grandma's thi..."

All you have to do is leave a comment about your latest project you are working on. Also, if you could comment on this post (not part of the contest on her blog) I would like to know if you have any ideas on how to quilt over a hexagon flower (see my last post).

Here's what you could win:

The giveaway will end on 6/29/2012 at midnight (Friday) Central time. Good luck!

Make me happy and become a follower (of me and the giveaway sponsor).

Remember this is not my giveaway so you don't have to leave a comment here. But, it is fun to read them :)

Mike.

I'm Too Hexy for This Quilt, Too Hexy for This Quilt, So Hexy IT HURTS!!!

It's been awhile since I've posted (other than sharing some giveaways), but I want you all to know that I have been busy! I am still working on the flowery hexagon quilt. I have posted many previous times about this, but I thought I should share some progress:

Background fabric is on the design wall, and it doesn't fit a queen size so part of it is on the floor.

 The flower shapes are just pinned on temporarily. I'm trying to decide how close together they will be (and where).

 Right now, this is what I am still doing: taking out the basting threads and paper then ironing and starching those puppies!

 I just finished my last flower today, sewing the hexies together, that is (on the commuter train to work).

And, needless to say, my block of the months for Quilt Story and Craftsy have taken a backseat. I still haven't finished May for either one and it's almost July :(

I have a deadline for the flowery hexie quilt of August 1st (birthday), so this is basically all I have been working on.

I do have a question though. Can anyone suggest a good quilting design to go over the flower shapes? Also, something to go into the spaces between them? I'm pretty good at stippling, but I have not toyed too much with other designs. I would appreciate any suggestions in the comments.

Hope you are having a wonderful week! It's supposed to be a scorcher today and tomorrow here in the Northeast.

I'm linking up at WIP Wednesdays (Freshly Pieced).



Until next time,

Mike.

 

Color My World: The Big 5-0! and Giveaway

Ellie at Color My World hit 50 followers. She is having a giveaway of a Moda Charm Pack. The giveaway ends Sunday June 17th at 5pm Eastern.

Link here: Color My World: The Big 5-0! and Giveaway: Woo hoo! I hit the big 5-0! (No, not in age...I've got a few years yet!) Thanks to old friends and new, virtual and real-life, my blog now ...

MIA and an Appreciation Giveaway...

There's a giveaway for 2 fat quarter bundles and embroidery floss :P

Enter here:
http://acherishedlife.blogspot.com/2012/06/mia-and-appreciation-giveaway.html

It's actually a great blog so please follow her!

Later!

Mike.

Very Berry Handmade Giveaway

I saw this giveaway today and had to share, click below to enter:

http://veryberryhandmade.co.uk/2012/06/08/a-giveaway-with-stitch-me-lane

They are giving away a wonderful fat quarter bundle of Lecien fabrics:

The giveaway ends on June 14th and overseas winners must pay shipping.

Go for it!

Mike.

Shape Moth: Giveaway from Patchwork-Oase: 10 Prizes!!!!!!

The Shape Moth blog is giving away a ton of prizes from their sponsor Patchwork-Oase (in Germany). They are celebrating the opening of their new online store. Soon there will be the launch of their new shop with a new design, new features and completely new fabrics!

The blog post is here to enter the contest:

Shape Moth: Giveaway from Patchwork-Oase


The giveaway ends on July 7th at midnight (CEST) - not sure of that time zone! Probably Germany.

Until next time,

Mike.



One-Flower Wednesday and 200th Post Giveaway

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to share this giveaway. It is not my giveaway. Head over to Hilachas to enter. There are some fabulous fabric bundles! It ends June 6th at midnight! I'm still sewing Hexagons these days, so I haven't had much to blog about (that is new) ... ;) and... it doesn't help to have a broken foot!

Click here to enter!

Mike.

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Winner!

The winner of my giveaway was Tanya who said:

I just started following, but have been a lurker in past. I like pinks and blues and fun prints. Thanks for the giveaway. 


Her blogs are here (I think one is her husband's):

http://juliadawnhealey.blogspot.com/

http://richardquilts.blogspot.com/


She won a $20 gift certificate to fabric.com and a little something-something that I have yet to put together!


Thanks to everyone who participated!

Mike.

Nice little giveaway here: Having Fun Quilting!!!: AWKWARD

Having Fun Quilting!!!: AWKWARD

Give her some following love :) Her last giveaway did not go so well!

It's an entire kit!!!!



Mike.

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway! $20 Fabric.com Gift Certificate and Surprise!

OMG! I did not know about the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day! I don't even have time to enter all of them and read all the wonderful posts!!!

I have to participate! I'm doing this on the fly! Sorry I'm getting in so late!

I'm going to give away a $20 gift certificate to fabric.com. It's my favorite place to shop! I am also going to throw some stuff in from my stash :) The gift certificate will come by email, so make sure I have it if you are a no reply blogger. Before I get to how to enter, I just wanted to let you know I am still a Hexamaniac!

I've been trying to build up my twitter followers @AmateurQuilter so let's do this:

1. FOLLOW MY BLOG and leave a comment about it with likes and dislikes (colors, prints, traditional, modern, anything you can think of). This will help me choose something to "throw in" to a package. Remember, the gift certificate will be purchased by me on fabric.com and it will come to your email. The package will come snail mail.

2. Follow me on twitter and leave a comment stating that you do.

So far you get 2 entries.

For extra entries do not leave a comment: Copy and paste the following into a tweet:

#fabric #giveaway @AmateurQuilter @SewMamaSew @fabric2go Fabric.com $20 gift certificate http://goo.gl/6xYj3

You can do this once a day for extra entries. I will keep track of them and add them in with the comments.

I will ship internationally and it ends Friday, May 25th at 8 pm Eastern Time.

Hope you all are enjoying the giveaway week!

Until next time,

Mike.

50 is Nifty Fabric Giveaway Winner...

Well, I ended up with over 100 followers after this giveaway! It's amazing what some free fabric can do to your numbers :)

I printed the comments out and cut them up and then threw them into a hatbox. My hubby drew one out. And the winner is....

Jennifer Gail (blog entry) from Hoodies and Flip Flops.

I'll be emailing you to get your mailing address.

Thank you everyone for following!

Until next time,

Mike.

My Crafty Home-Life

So, I entered this giveaway and lo and behold, I did not win (I know, shocking!) . But, as it turns out Linda contacted me because she saw my blog about quilting. While she does not quilt she said that many of her larger projects had several "scraps" left over :) She wanted to know if I would take them and put them to good use. So, I said "sure." (thinking I would get a package of little bits etc.) Check this out:

These are not scraps to a quilter! These are yards of fabric! I was shocked! And, she was gracious enough to pay for shipping too! She was just so happy to give them a good home! She wrote in her thank you note that she was trying to get up to 100 followers, so, give her some love here and become a follower:

http://mycraftyhomelife.blogspot.com/

She had 99 followers as I write this! Tell her I sent you!

Anyway, I just wanted to share my good fortune and help Linda out!

Until next time!

Mike.

Fabric Giveaway! Quixotic Crafter! 5 Fat Quarters!

Quixotic Crafter (Susan) is having a fabric giveaway! And, what better way to win 5 fat quarters, than to be jammin' out to Donna Summer while you enter :)

Click here to enter:
http://quixoticcrafter.blogspot.com/2012/05/fast-friday-fat-quarter-giveaway.html

Give her some love and follow her!

Toot! Toot! Beep! Beep!

Later!

Mike.

50 is Nifty and So is 100!!! Last chance for giveaway entry!

Tomorrow is the last day to enter my 50 is Nifty fat quarter bundle giveaway! I am pleased to say, that mostly due to this giveaway, I have reached 100 followers! Woohoo!!! I hope my new followers will enjoy (and my previous ones) my posts for years to come and always find them useful or informative. I broke a few bones in my foot on Saturday, so I have not been too busy (besides sewing hexies on the train). But, I'm getting around quite well with my special boot and it's not too painful :) I did miss my WIP post this week, but I will try to get to it tomorrow.

Click here to enter if you have not already.

This is the giveaway prize.

 This is my broken foot (not the ankle). Look at the metatarsals.

The day that I broke my foot, we got to meet Gordon Ramsay and eat at his new restaurant in Vegas!

Until next time,

Mike.

Fave Quilts: American Tribute Fat Quarter Bundle Giveaway

A nice bundle of fabric to give away:

http://www.favequilts.com/sweeps/American-Tribute-Fat-Quarter-Bundle-Giveaway

You can enter once a day!



WIP: Workin' for a Livin'

So, the theme of this post is "what are you working on?" Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting Project is on sabbatical (vacation) for the month of May, so she is having a linky party today. I decided to share the 3 projects I am working on as well as send out a reminder for my 50 is Nifty Fabric Giveaway! (and, btw, I am not on vacation, I'm still workin' for a livin')

If you have been following me you know about all the hexagons that I have been sewing on the train to work. I've posted several times on the subject. So, here is the first WIP:

This is a quilt for my daughter. I have sewn about 300 hexies (well, thread basted using the English paper piecing technique) and I am planning on sewing them on to the yellow broadcloth. I haven't decided if I am going to make a pattern or go a little random with it, but since her bed is a queen, I decided that 780 hexies sewn together by hand was a little bit too much for the time I have, and the birthday is in August. The broadcloth looks just like Moda marble fabric and it's good quality. (I love shopping at Fabric.com. I always get a good deal, free shipping (over $35) and there is usually a sale or coupon code). I got 9 yards (3 x 3 yards) for $27 (a steal considering it would have cost me a lot more to get by the yard 44" fabric and I will have leftovers). If you have any suggestions for use of the hexies on this fabric, let me know in the comments.

Second WIP:

This one is for my grandson (son of the daughter above). His birthday is in August too. He likes astronomy and buzz lightyear. I am using a pattern that I found a while back, but I am not following the instructions. It tells you to use something called texture magic which I do not have. So, I re-sized each block and made calculations as to how much fabric I would need to make a twin size. I think it will turn out nicely.

Third WIP:

This one is for my Aunt L. I've decided that the previous 2 quilts are more urgent because of the birthdays, so this will be the last one I finish. It is a queen size and I am using a free pattern that I found from Fons & Porter. It's very scrappy and I did have to re-calculate the amount of fabric to make it queen because they did not provide the measurements for queen.

Which, brings me to another point: I think that if a pattern is suited to all different sizes, then it should include the measurements and amount of fabric for other sizes. If you really want to sell them, it adds value.

Anyway, I am linking up at Leah Day's Vacation Link Up #2 and Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesdays.



Until next time, leave me some comment love,

Mike.