How about we start this weekend off right, with a giveaway! Julie of The Intrepid Thread knows how much I love Erin McMorris's fabrics, so we thought it would be fun to give away a bit of her new line, La Dee Da!
For a second entry, head on over to The Intrepid Thread and let me know what your favorite item is! Come back here and leave a second comment!
My favorite item is the Floradots print in Saffron from La Dee Da (go figure!)! They are a fantastic basic and the color is the perfect mustard gold! I love the vintage, mid-century modern feel of her designs!
All entries are welcome! Giveaway will end Tuesday, July 3rd at 5pm CST. Winner will be chosen by Random.org.
Every Friday I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please feel free to email me and I'll remove it!
Today we're going to have a little refresher on one of last year's Art of Choosing posts, building a well-rounded stash. I've gone more in depth, hit on things that I still get lots of questions about, and took fresh new photos of more current fabrics! Plus I've got a surprise in store for you too!
When you're new to sewing, it can be difficult to know where to start in terms of stashing. Of course it's often nicer for it to happen organically, but that can take a while. New and seasoned sewers alike may find they gravitate to certain colors and end up with holes in their range of colors. Having a well-organized stash can help you identify what colors you're missing or low on and what colors you might have more than enough. I'd recommend perusing the Art of Choosing series, especially the posts on folding and stash organization.
For fabric information on the stack above, click here.
Why Stash?
There is nothing better than having fabrics on hand when you're ready and rearing to start a new project. This doesn't mean you won't ever need to order anything special, but perhaps not as often! If you plan on creating quilts and projects from multiple fabric collections, it's especially important to have a healthy stash.
Often times you might find yourself drawn to focus prints that have lots of different colors in them, I know I do! These prints are great and can often be a building point for entire projects, but they don't always mix with one another very well. This is where stash builders come in! Because they generally are a single color, they can easily be mixed together with focus fabrics or other basics!
What to Stash?
Depending on your tastes and what you like to sew, there are loads of different fabrics that you could consider stash builders. For some it's strictly dots and stripes, while others might consider basic text prints a stash builder. Regardless of your style, there are some general qualities of a stash fabric that we can pretty much agree upon. Let's explore them!
Tone-on-Tone Fabrics
Tone-on-Tone fabrics feature different shades of the same color to create a pattern. They immediately read as a single color, which makes them perfect for stash building and choosing fabric by color.
Nature Elements by Pat Bravo, Outfoxed by Lizzy House, Hope Valley by Denyse Schmidt, Soul Garden by Carolyn Gavin.
Single Color + White/Cream Fabrics
Single Color + White/Cream fabrics feature a single color and the addition of white or cream to create a pattern. These types of prints can be found in most modern collections and they're really versatile.
Metro Living by Robert Kaufman, Sundae Stripe by Bonnie & Camille, Hoopla by Moda, Wild Thyme by Carolyn Gavin.
Geometric: Check Fabrics
You can't get much more basic than a simple gingham. If that's not your style, cross hatch and basket weave prints are all over the place now a days, and have a similar look!
Heath by Alexander Henry, Gingham by Michael Miller, Tailor Made by Cosmo Cricket, Dazzle by Melissa Averinos.
Geometric: Dot Fabrics
When you're searching for good stash fabrics, dot fabrics are a perfect choice. But don't think it's just about a regular old dot. There are lot of great prints that deviate from the standard dot. These prints can add a lot of interest to your projects!
A Walk in the Woods by Aneela Hoey, Oval Elements by Pat Bravo, Outfoxed by Lizzy House, Reunion by Sweetwater.
Geometric: Stripe Fabrics
Who doesn't love a good stripe? I'm always grabbing stripe fabrics for binding and other details on my projects. Traditional stripes are nice, and there are lots of prints out there that have a nice twist!
Handwriting Paper by Timeless Treasures, A Walk in the Woods by Aneela Hoey, Aviary by Joel Dewberry, Authentic by Sweetwater.
Floral Fabrics
Good stash fabrics aren't strictly limited to geometrics! It's nice to have floral stash fabrics too!
Floral Elements by Pat Bravo, Flower Sugar by Leicen, 1001 Peeps by Lizzy House, Farmer's Market by Sandi Henderson.
How much to Stash?
When I'm purchasing stash builders I generally buy fat quarters or 1/2
yards. Since I don't necessarily have a use in mind for them I hesitate
to get more unless it's something I really love. Lizzy House's and
Aneela Hoey's basics definitely fall under that category for me and I'll
often pick up a yard of my favorite colors!
How to Stash?
Well that's a very good question! ;) I'm pairing up with Brenda of Pink Castle Fabrics to bring you great stash builders! You can peruse her
giant section of stash building fabrics that we've selected in addition
to a new Stash Stack Club Subscription! Each month will be a different
color and we'll work through an entire year of colors! By the end you'll
have a stash of basics from red all the way to purple and a dose of
neutrals too!
We're kicking July off with one of my personal favorites, Pink! :)
Brenda has some other goodies for you! As a Thank You for being a founding member of our Stash Stack Club
use code FOUNDER10 for 10% off your first month! (expires July 10th)
She also has all of her stash builders 15% off this weekend with code STASH15!
Happy Wednesday! I figured it was high time I had a pattern sale! You can find both my Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern and Vintage Nine-Patch Quilt Pattern on sale in my Meylah shop!
The best part about Meylah is you don't have to wait for me to email you your patterns! You can download them right away and get sewing!
Sale will run through Saturday, June 30th! Cheers! :)
Today I'm happy to be reviewing the State Street Tote by Bari J over on Sew Sweetness as a part of Purse Palooza! As I mentioned on Sunday, I used prints from the Sweet Journey colorway of Rhapsodia by Art Gallery Fabrics! You can find my experiences with this pattern and lots more photos in the post here!
You can purchase the State Street Tote pattern in Bari J's shop here. You can find Rhapsodia by Art Gallery Fabrics at Fat Quarter Shop and The Intrepid Thread.
Hope everyone has had an enjoyable weekend! Ours was pretty low-key, but I did manage to get a few things done!
I made myself a new bag a few weeks ago, but only just now got photos ready and uploaded! It's the State Street Tote pattern by Bari J, using Rhapsodia by Art Gallery Fabrics. I am so happy with how it turned out! On Tuesday I'll be sharing lots more about this bag when I review the pattern as a part of Purse Palooza!
I finished up my first project using Cherry Christmas by Aneela Hoey! I decided my kitchen could use some cheerful holiday decorations, so I'll be crafting up a few this summer! This first one is a quilted appliance cozy! It was supposed to be just to cover my Kitchenaid mixer, but *ahem* someone over-estimated the size it needed to be (me!). So! It fits my mixer and my blender, haha! Next I'm going to spruce up some plain tea towels and make some potholders!
After I made the frog pincushion earlier in the week, I was feeling the need to make another. I found a few unused jars in the pantry yesterday so I turned one into a pincushion! I used this tutorial and a charm square of Domestic Bliss by Liz Scott.
I was so sad last summer when my favorite pair of capris got a huge hole in the knee. I had thrifted these jeans for $3 a few years ago and they are so comfortable. I tucked them in the corner, just couldn't bear to toss them! Today I finally pulled them out and patched them! I used a scrap of Neptune by Tula Pink and free motion quilted it over the hole (after stitching the hole up). These jeans have a pretty loose fit, so I was able to get the leg onto the free arm of my machine. Why did I wait so long to fix them?
Last night I started a new quilt project using my Blogger's Choice Bundle from Fat Quarter Shop! I am using Half-Rectangle Triangles, which I've never sewn before! So far they are fun! The top is coming along quickly, so hopefully I'll be sharing more soon! Rumor has it I might have a bundle to give away here too! ;)
Last night we drove out to Milwaukee to see my all-time-favorite band, Keane! This is the 4th time I've seen them, and the show was so amazing! They never disappoint! For a little blast from the past, here are some photos of me hugging the members of Keane back in 2005! One of my favorite memories!
Thought it was time for another garden update! My tomatoes have EXPLODED! Look how big they are! You can't even see the cages anymore! I've started harvesting basil, cilantro and lettuce (mostly for George bun!), and I've got tiny baby tomatoes and a baby pepper now too! I'm having such a blast!
Today I love the..
Smell of: Fried chicken
Sound of: Keane!!
Taste of: Red raspberries
Sight of: Neighbor kitty enjoying the sun
Feel of: Relaxing day at home
Good Things about Today:
- Good lighting for pictures!
- Relaxed today!
- Arrested Development!
- Got a few things done!
Every Friday I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please feel free to email me and I'll remove it!
Happy Summer! I have so much to show you this week! It's been busy over here behind the scenes, despite the crazy heat we've had in Madison. We've been sticking inside where it's cool!
This afternoon I whipped up a lined drawstring bag with a twist! Terri of Sew Fantastic came up with this super fun add on to my tutorial, outside pockets! I just had to make one! She has a tutorial for adding them here! I used prints from Bespoken by Art Gallery Fabrics along with Oval and Pure Elements also by AGF!
Original size tutorial can be found here, custom/other sizes pattern can be found here, pocket tutorial can be found here.
I've made some progress on my Bloom quilt this week! Two largest rounds are sewn down! I'm using a light gray Bella solid (I can't remember the color, bought it at my LQS, apologies!) for the background. I'm absolutely loving it so far! Hope to finish the top this week!
Dug into my scrap bin for two projects this week. The first is another addition to my pincushion collection! I spotted this ceramic frog candle holder at the Bath and Body Works sale early this week and knew it would be perfect for a pincushion! A handful of fiberfill and a small circle of fabric and voila! The scrap is Poetica by Art Gallery Fabrics.
My second scrappy project for the week was a new key lanyard. My old one was really worn and dirty, I've been meaning to replace it for a while. I used scraps from my Patchwork Bunting and my favorite interfacing, fusible fleece (Pellon 987F). A few simple quilting lines give it extra sturdiness. Fabrics are Sugar by Pat Bravo.
I got some very exciting mail today! A few months back Kimberly of Fat Quarter Shop asked me to put together one of their Blogger's Choice Bundles! Of course I said yes! The time has come, my bundle is here! I'll be chatting about it over on their blog next month! In the meantime I'm trying to decide what to make with it! I choose prints from Lillybelle by BariJ, La Dee Da by Erin McMorris, Grand Hotel by Jenean Morrison, and Oval/Pure Elements by Art Gallery Fabrics. Can you tell my Art Gallery obsession has reached an all-time high? :)
In other fabric news, look what arrived on my doorstep last week!? Some Cherry Christmas by Aneela Hoey! I've got a fun project in the works for this beauties, I hope to share next week! Cherry Christmas ships in July! Watch for it, it's beyond cute!
Happy Monday! Let's kick off this week right, today I'm sharing a fun summer inspired project on the Art Gallery Fabrics Blog! That's right, it's Fat Quarter Gang time!
I'm showing you how to create this patchwork bunting! Who said bunting is just for celebrations? Everyday is a celebration, so use this bunting anywhere you want to add a little sunshine! Find the full project tutorial here.
I choose prints from the Creamy Gelato color way of Sugar by Pat Bravo for this project. The colors and prints just scream summer to me! Would you like to win fat quarters of these delicious prints?
I've been promising this post and video for over a year, but I finally did it! If you've been reading this blog even for a few months, you'll know how much I love baking Bretzel bread. Bretzel is German pretzel bread, like a soft pretzel but in roll/loaf form. It is my favorite food ever, and I love baking it. I always get questions whenever I make this bread, so I put together this post for anyone who's ever wanted to bake it!
Traditional soft pretzel recipes require a lye bath, but thankfully, you can achieve similar results with a baking soda bath. The advantage of using baking soda is that you probably already have it on hand and it's safe to handle, unlike lye. I have tried a few different Bretzel recipes, but this one is my all-time favorite, I now use it exclusively. I don't make any changes, it's that good! You can find it here. I'm going to share a few tips and then walk you through preparing your rolls, the baking soda bath, and finishing your Bretzel rolls. The video is at the very end of this post!
- Do not try to substitute regular flour for the bread flour. Bread flour has extra gluten in it, and it really gives it that chewy pretzel like texture. If you don't plan to use it a lot, store it in the refrigerator in a plastic bag to keep it fresh.
- Yeast, baking soda, and bread flour all have expiration dates, make sure and check them before baking!
- I use regular active dry yeast for this recipe. We used quick rising once, but it didn't work as well. I've never used bread machine yeast either. If in doubt, stick with regular!
- If you're like me and forget to set out butter and milk to warm to room temperature (or you're impatient!), here is a little trick. Melt your butter in the microwave, then pour the milk into the same dish. Put the dish back in the fridge for a few minutes, until it feels lukewarm.
- Invest in a simple thermometer. They're inexpensive and take the guesswork out of getting your water right. I have this one, you can buy them at most big-box stores! I like to get my water to 115 degrees F (you're aiming for 110-120), that way if my milk/butter is a little too warm or too cold, it shouldn't be a big deal.
- After you add the yeast and are waiting the 10 minutes, your yeast should foam up. If it doesn't, start over! It's been killed!
- I almost always end up using the full 3 cups of flour.
- After the first rise, I use a Kitchenaid Mixer with a dough hook to knead the dough for 10 minutes (keep an eye on that mixer, they're sometimes "walk" right off the counter if you're not careful!). If you don't have an electric mixer, knead by hand for 15-20 minutes until the dough is elastic and smooth. Try not to add too much extra flour.
- If you're thinking about buying an electric mixer but hesitating because of the price, don't forget to check your local consignment shops. Kitchenaids last a long time. My Mom has one from the 70s that is still in great working order, they're tanks! Mine is from a thrift store, but it's rather new since it's a colored one! You can often find good deals on new ones around the holidays too!
- I like to separate the dough into four balls rather than two. I like smaller rolls!
- As you're forming the rolls, make sure to stretch the dough and tuck the ends under until it's sealed on the bottom. You don't want water to get into the dough during the bath.
- Be careful, you need a rolling boil! Add the baking soda very slowly, it bubbles up quite a bit.
- If you plan on making this recipe more than once, I'd highly recommend purchasing a spider strainer, I use this one. It is the perfect size and shape for lowering the rolls into the bath. You have to be gentle with the dough at this point, because you don't want the rolls to open up and water to get into them. You could also use a slotted spoon, or slotted pancake turner.
- The rolls should float up to the surface when you put them in the bath.
- After the rolls have been in the bath for 15-20 seconds, flip them over and let the other side sit for another 15-20 seconds. Lift out carefully.
- I like to do one roll at a time to make sure the pot isn't too crowded and I can keep an eye on them.
- When you're finished, it's perfectly safe to dump the water down the kitchen sink. I usually do so while it's still hot, cleans out your drain like nothing else!
- Don't forget to cut slits in the top of your rolls AFTER they've been in the bath so that air can escape during baking. I use a serrated knife to cut the slits.
- Sprinkle kosher salt on top! If you forget to do this before baking, it's not the end of the world, just add it when they're done.
- Apply melted butter immediately after they come out of the oven. I use a silicon pastry brush (mine is a cheap $1 one!) to apply the butter.
- The bread tastes best hot from the oven. Cut in half and eat alone (my favorite), or with butter or jelly. Would also make a fantastic sandwich bun!
- If you have leftovers, don't store them in an airtight container, the crust will get mushy. You can leave them sitting out overnight. I give it a quick go in the microwave and it's perfect for breakfast!
Okay, now for the video! I show you how to form the dough into the rolls and the baking soda bath. Thanks to Michael for taping it!
I hope that is helpful! The baking soda bath can be a little scary the first time around, but I promise it's doable! If you have any questions, please ask, I'll reply in the comments!
Every Friday I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please feel free to email me and I'll remove it!
Today I have a giveaway for you from my new sponsor, JAQS Fabrics!
JAQS Fabrics is run by the lovely Q, who blogs here about her stitching adventures, and has a great selection of modern fabrics. You'll find fabrics from Moda, Robert Kaufman, and Cloud 9 (among others!) alongside great Japanese fabrics from Kokka and Lecien! You can even browse fabrics by color!
Beyond great selection and a clean, easy to navigate website, you're going to find savings programs too. US Shipping is always $5 or less, every $20 you spend earns you fabric credit, and the more you buy, the more you save! We all like to save a little, right?
And now, it's time for that giveaway! Q has generously offered a half-yard set of these lovely prints from Flea Market Fancy by Denyse Schmidt for one lucky winner!
So, how to enter? Just leave a comment!
If you'd like a second entry, head on over to JAQS Fabrics and let me know what your favorite item is (come back and leave a second comment!)!
Make sure your email address is viewable in your profile or include
it in your comment. Winner will be chosen by Random.org. Giveaway ends
Monday, June 18th, at 5 pm CST! US entries only please!
What's my favorite item? It was a tough call, but I'm really drawn to this adorable Ballerina patchwork print by Kokka! It's so sweet! And the girl's tutu is beyond cute! What's my favorite service at JAQS Fabrics? That you can order Fat Quarters, woo hoo!
Since there will be only one giveaway winner, Q has a little something for everyone! For 15% off entire store use coupon code "InColorOrder15" for orders over $50! Code valid until Wednesday, June 20th.
