Pattern Sale!

Hello friends! It seems like I can't keep a consist posting schedule, but I'm just popping my head in to say I'm here. Most likely under a pile of fabric. I just had my second to last craft fair yesterday, which was a huge success. I had been meaning to post about it before, in case anyone reading this lives near Richmond, but I was too busy prepping for the show. Anyway, I'm coming up for a breath of fresh air today before getting back to the grind tomorrow. I have one last show on Saturday, so if you're in the DC/VA area, please come check it out at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, VA. My sister is a teacher there and she is organizing the show to raise money for a foundation that aids children in Africa. I'm excited about the show, but I'll be happy when it's over so I can focus on making some Christmas presents. Though I won't be making as many as I have in the past, but I can't imagine not making at least a few presents.

And speaking of making presents, if you still need a few ideas, I've marked down the three PDF patterns I have in my shop. They are each $5 each and can be delivered via e-mail to you today. As a bonus, each of these patterns only requires a small amount of fabric, so they're perfect for using up some larger scraps! The wristlet and headbands come together pretty quickly too, perfect for last minute gifts.

Alright, well hopefully I'll be back again soon. I have lots of sewn goodies to show off when I get the chance. I hope you all are doing well and are having a nice holiday season!

drumroll.....

Thanks to everyone who participated. According to my calculations, this little quilt has raised over $600! More than I could have ever asked for. Now, for the winner, it's :

Kimberly said...

I hope this week will double the amount of entries. It's an amazing quilt and this is such a good cause! While it would be nice to win, more then that I hope John gets better!

I'll be e-mailing you in a bit Kimberly!  Thanks again everyone!

one more...

Ok, I promise this will be the last post about the walk. I've uploaded a few more items to the shop, including the vintage sheet quilt above. Cute kid not included. The walk is tomorrow night in D.C. and I have raised almost $1,000 myself. I am so excited and it would be great to reach that mark! If you're in the area, we'd love to have you on our team. There's still time to sign up. You can just go to the bottom of this page and click the link that says "join our team." I'm about to run out, but when I get back I'll announce the winner of the quilt! Hope you all have a great weekend. I think fall is finally starting to set in here, my toes are freezing cold!!

More ways to help

When we signed up for the Light the Night Walk again this year, I had initially wanted to set up a store to sell some handmade goods to raise money for our team. Well, I finally got around to it, not as early as I had wanted to, but hey, that's life for you. I had some talented crafters donate some items, as well as some items made by moi. I'll be adding more throughout the day, including the vintage sheet quilt above, so be sure to check back frequently. All the proceeds from the shop will directly benefit our walk. So just in case you maybe wanted to buy, say A Overdue Book Calendar from My Aunt June

or perhaps a zipper pouch made by Randi

or a lovely tote bag made by her talented daughter

or maybe this Doll quilt I made using Denyse Schmidt fabrics.





The walk is this Saturday and I'd love to be able to match our last year total of $6,000. I think all of these items would make wonderful Christmas presents and think about how ahead of the curve you'd be if you purchased one! And again, I can't thank you all enough for your support and generosity! We really appreciate it.

New York! (and thank yous!)

Hello! I didn't mean to disappear like that after my last post, but the last few weeks have been crazy busy. We headed up to New York (both the state & city) for the week for a few events. My cousin got married two Saturdays ago and I had my 10 year (eeek!) High School Reunion Saturday night. It was a great time and I just love being in New York for fall. My mom and I took Isaiah to NYC for the first time. He got to ride the train down and visit Central Park. Another thing I love about NY this time of year is apple picking. There are so many farms near my parents house and this is probably one of the prettiest I've ever been to.You can see the Catskill mountains in the background.



Yesterday we took a hike on a trail I've probably passed a million times but have never been on. It was a beautiful day and I was able to climb the fire at the end of the trail. It has magnificent views of the Hudson Valley.




I also wanted to thank all of you that have made a donation to our Light the Night Walk and for entering the quilt giveaway. The walk is this upcoming Saturday, so I will leave the giveaway open until Friday when I will announce the winner. Feel free to continue to spread the work and I really appreciate your support. To date, the quilt has raised over $500! If you'd still like a donation you can make one here and you can see the quilt on the post below. I'll be back tomorrow with information on some handmade items you can purchase to help support the walk.

Quilt Giveaway!!

Now I don't usually like to make you jump through hoops to enter/win a giveaway, but I promise this is for a really good cause. As many of you know, my husband has been fighting lymphoma for the past three years. Last year we participated in the Light the Night Walk for the Leukemia & Lymphoma society. It was a wet, cold night, but it was such a wonderful experience. Our team raised over $6,000 to benefit the society. It is a cause very dear to our hearts and without organizations like this, I'm not sure where we would be with John's treatment. So, I made this cross quilt and I am hoping to raise money for our walk this year.




Quilt Details: Measures approximately 41"x40" and is made with 100% cotton designer fabrics from Denyse Schmidt, Joel Dewberry, and Amy Butler. The white background fabric is Kona Solids in Snow. The batting is 100% cotton and the quilt is backed with a tangerine polka dot print by Amy Butler. It is lightly quilted with diagonal lines. This quilt is the perfect size for a baby quilt, a lap quilt, or for a picnic. 



To enter to win is very simple. For every $5 donation to our team, you'll receive 1 entry. For instance, if you donate $15, you will receive 3 entries, donate $25 and receive 5 entries, etc. Please follow the link below to make your donation and then leave a comment with contact info here letting me know your donation is completed.You will not have to say your donated amount as I will see it on my fundraising page. Because I want to raise as much as possible, any of you that either post about this on your blog or on twitter will receive an extra entry. Just come back here and leave a comment telling me did so. I know money is tight for a lot of us now, so any donation is really appreciated. Thanks so much and good luck!!

quilting bee blocks

It seems that the only thing I complete on a monthly basis are quilting bee blocks. It probably has something to do with the fact that I they are for someone else. If they were for me, I'd be slacking. The first block is for Jessica. She asked for wonky stars, which I've never made before, but were fun and easy.




Kelly sent fabric from the Sweetwater Pure line. She asked for triangles, straight lines, pinwheels. You can see her inspiration here. I came up with this block are looking at many different blocks. I'm sure there's a pattern somewhere, but I just made a bunch of half-square triangles and then put this together. As I've mentioned before, I really dislike triangles, but I think this actually came out pretty nicely.

Hopefully I'll be back here on Monday to give you more info on an auction/sale I'm working on to benefit our Light the Night Walk for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  Our team raised over $6,000 last year and John is hoping to raise $10,000 this year. We have a long way to go, but I suppose anything's possible! Have a great weekend!

Vintage Sheet Quilt

I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but this is the first finished quilt I've made with the 3 virtual quilting bees that I've been in. Two of those bees, I've done two round with, so really I have 5 quilts to finish. Five. I can hardly believe it myself. I am so thrilled to have something finished. I had actually intended it as a beach quilt but I couldn't get it done in time for our trip to the beach. My next thought was to maybe sell or auction it off to raise money for the Light the Night walk, but it has a few "mistakes." (John told me that I always am too critical of myself, but there's puckers, and they bother me!) So it will probably stay here with us or maybe be a nice Christmas present for someone.



These blocks were from my Pieced Together Bee. Almost everyone made me more than one block, so I'll have plenty of blocks to make at least two more quilts. The blocks are made with vintage sheets and some more modern fabrics. I had asked them to make blocks like Elizabeth's of Oh, Fransson! Mod Sampler. The white sashing is actually a thrifted sheet, as is the back and binding. For the "batting" I used a flannel sheet I also thrifted and I think it might be the most ingenious idea ever, which I didn't come up with by the way, I read it somewhere. It gives a nice weight to the quilt but it's still light.



Have a great weekend! Now that Isaiah started pre-K I have a new appreciate for weekends. So happy that it's here!

Urban Home Goods Swap Part Deux

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. My sister and I took a quick trip up to my hometown in NY for my cousin's bridal shower & bachelorette party. It was a great time and I really didn't want to leave. The weather was perfect and fall was just beginning to set in. Thankfully the wedding is in a month and I'll be able to visit again soon.





Anyway, I'm participating in the Urban Home Goods Swap again on flickr. This was such a fun swap the first time around, that I didn't want to miss out on the second round, even though we're been crazy busy. I don't want to say too much about what my partner had asked for because I don't want to spoil the surprise, but obviously these items are kitchen themed. It was also my first time using insul-bright, which I used for the trivets and potholder. It was pretty easy to work with, just like batting, I even quilted right through it. I'm in love with the potholder I made and I think it'll probably be the first of many. If I can get my act together, I might even put up a free pattern. We'll see. 

dqs9

Oh man, I can't believe summer has gone by so quickly. I really wanted to be better about blogging, but my life has just been crazy these last few months. John has been in and out of the hospital several times and when he's been home, we've had to go to doctor's appointments several times a week. He's currently back in the hospital with with his second MRSA infection. The good news is, he had a great scan a few weeks ago that showed a very good response to the last round of chemo. He's also feeling pretty good and is walking a lot better than he has been able to in the past few months. Anyway, the point of all this is that I have not had the time or energy to do another crafty, other than my bee related blocks. Well, I've been knitting at the doctor's appts, but I'm a really slow knitter.

Of course, because I'm insane, I joined the Doll Quilt Swap.This is one of my favorite swaps and I would hate to miss out on it. I wanted to finish my quilt before I left for vacation. (Isaiah and I are joining my family in Ocean City (Maryland) this week for a little vacation, and while I feel bad about leaving John, I really, really need a vacation.) I had originally ended doing a "storm at sea" quilt because my partner likes traditional quilts, but triangles and I just don't get along too well. I saw this quilt pattern in a quilt books from the 70s. I didn't use the exact pattern and kind of made up my own directions as I went. This would be a perfect scrap busting quilt. I'm really pleased with the way it came out and almost want to keep it for myself!

Alright, now onto packing and cleaning! I always feel so crazy getting ready for a trip!

Urban Home Goods Swap

                                                        picture by Dusty911 (flickr)

This post is majorly overdue, seeing as this swap was about 2 months ago. This was a wonderful swap on flickr run by the fabulous Kerri and Heather. The idea was to make (obviously) items for the home, using modern fabrics and styles. It was a secret swap which are my favorite because you see all the great things posted in the flickr group and the anticipation of finding out which is yours is so fun. We all made mosaics of things we liked or were inspired by as a starting off point for our partners. My partner to send to was Daria. I decided to make her a sewing machine cover, a pin cushion, and an eyeglass case.

I received from Holly and boy was I ever lucky. I think pictures cannot do justice to what she sent. She made this beautiful knitting needle holder, made with linen and patchwork hexagons, a patchwork cork board, and a pin cushion. I can't tell you how much fun this swap was. I think there's going to be another round soon, so if you can get in, I'd highly recommend it. Check out the flickr group to see all the other things people made!

Long time...

Hello there. I can't believe how long it's been since my last post. We've had a crazy month and things are finally starting to calm down a little. After we got back from France I was majorly occupied with the Vintage Sheet Swap. Then John got sick and he ended up in the hospital. The day he was supposed to be discharged he contracted a staph infection and he ended up staying in the hospital for 2 1/2 weeks. At the tail end of his stay Isaiah got strep throat, which he nicely passed to me, and I ended up sick for a few days. Anyway, we're all on the mend. John is home now and feeling much better, although he has to be on antibiotics for 6 weeks. Isaiah is at John's parents house attending camp, so I'm trying to use this time to catch up on everything.

I do have a few crafty things to show from ages ago so hopefully I can visit this space a little more often. And so I don't leave this post without pictures, here are a few shots of what our living room looked like with all the swap boxes. We had a little over 90 participants and this is about 1/3 of the boxes I had. We have a pretty small house so I had to do all the swapping in our living room which was quite challenging. It was a lot of work but lots of fun. I loved getting to see all the sheets everyone sent it.

And how about that goal for USA today!?!?! Nail biting I tell you! Anyone else have World Cup fever??

I'm on the etsy blog!

Ok, ok, so I meant to show you some handmade goodness this week, but I just never got around to it. I was waiting on our new couch and starting to sort through, quite literally, thousands of vintage sheets for the vintage sheet swap I am hosting. Anyway, I wanted to share with you that my story is on the etsy blog today. It all came about when a friend I had played softball with in college contacted me after finding me on etsy. It was fun to catch up with her! I was a little nervous about sharing my story, but I figure it can't hurt, maybe it'll help someone else get through a difficult time. I love this picture of the three of us, this was (I think) before John's bone marrow transplant. Isaiah looks like a baby in this picture! John is probably plus 60 pounds and a lot of hair in this picture. Hopefully he'll get back there again soon!

Anyway, I swear I'll be back next week with goodies. Have a good weekend!

long time no see!

You'll have to excuse my absence, but John and I were lucky enough to take a trip to FRANCE!! We got back last week and we've been playing catch up since. One of my mother in law's friends had passed along an application to us to go on a pilgrimage to Lourdes. John went as malade (or a sick person) and I went as his companion. We had a wonderful experience and it was so nice to spend time together alone. While we were gone, our families joined forces and painted our living room & dining room (my sewing room) and put in hardwood floors. It looks amazing, but I've been busy organizing and putting things back in place. Now it's back to the real world and housework (ugh!). I have a few handmade things to show this week, so hopefully I'll be able to share soon.

Richmond

We had a fabulous trip to Richmond this weekend. I had never been and it was really a nice city to explore. I wish we could have spent more time there, so I'm sure we'll be making a trip back. The craft fair was a lot of fun and very busy. It was such a nice space and I was surrounded by so many talented artisans & crafters. I even got to meet a very nice blog reader, whose name I did not catch, but thanks for stopping by & saying hi! I'm in the process of updating my shop now with leftovers from the show, so if you're interested, check it out.

Show on Sunday

Part of my absence this week is due to my preparations for my first craft fair of the year. I have been sewing like crazy the last few weeks and am finally coming up for air. The show is in Richmond, VA so if you're in the area, come stop by and say hi! I've never been to Richmond, so we're heading down early tomorrow to visit before the show on Sunday. If anyone has suggestions of "must see or do" let me know! Have a good weekend.

quilting bee blocks

Since I may be taking a big trip later in the month, I'm trying to stay ahead of all my bees & swaps. I finished up these two blocks for my two quilting bees. The first is for Colleen. She requested this pattern using men's shirt fabrics and kona cotton (I think in ash). I cannot wait to see this finished! The second block is for Jessica. She sent out two fabrics, very close in color and asked for a modern block, ala Drunk Love by Denyse Schmidt. I always think these blocks are fun to make.

***NOW CLOSED****Tomorrow is also the last day to sign of for the Vintage Sheet Swap if you're interested. We already have over 70 swappers, but there's still a little room if you were thinking about joining.

Vintage Sheet Patchwork Swap

 Last year I participated in Oh, Frasson's Vintage Sheet Patchwork Swap. It was a lot of fun and it was great to get so many sheet fat quarters. I'm excited that I'll be hosting a second round of the swap, so if you're interested go here for more info. Can't wait to get started!

Wallet Pattern Available

Hey there! So when I said the pattern would be available yesterday, I really meant today. You know how life just gets in the way sometimes!!?!? Anyway, my newest pattern is for the Carry & Go Wallet. The wallet holds a set of keys, has a clear vinyl ID pocket, a zippered coin pouch, a place for folded cash, and 3 credit card slots, each which will hold at least 2-3 cards. It can be a little tricky to make your first one, but once you get the hang of it, they'll become addicting, I swear! So if you're interested, you can find the pattern in my etsy shop or in my bigcartel shop. It is PDF tutorial that has 12 pages of directions and comes with color step by step photos that will be sent via e-mail so you can start as soon as you get the pattern. Enjoy! And thanks again to Kristine for testing the pattern :)

tricky blocks

This month for my two quilting bees I had two tricky blocks to complete, a cathedral window and triangles.

Sandy had the wonderful idea to have us do cathedral windows. It was a fun block to make but I probably could only make a few before getting tired of doing it. That's why this was an ingenious idea for a quilting bee!

 The second block is for Corey. She asked for triangles and squares. Somehow I came up with this. I like it, but it's a little bigger than the size she asked for. Let's just say my math was a little off when I calculated what size square to use. 

Lastly, my pattern for the Carry & Go wallet should be available tomorrow. My friend Kristine tested it for me last week and hers came out great. Hopefully I can get my act together and finish it up tonight!

doll quilt received

 I finally received my doll quilt from my partner from the Doll Quilt Swap. I think the best (& worst) part about the swap is the anticipation of receiving a quilt in the mail. Trying to figure out which one is yours from the pool, stalking the mailman everyday. Lots of fun. This lovely was made by Rachel. This picture is not the best, but it's been raining here for the last four days, so this was the only shot I could get. I just have to find a spot to hang it. I think I'm running out of wallspace from all these swaps. Now that the swap is over, I'm ready for another one. I sure love getting good mail!

On a side note, is anyone having trouble with the new picture formatting of blogger? I cannot seem to get the pictures to move where I want them too. It is soo frustrating! Anyone else having this problem and know how to fix it?

wallets

I just finished this cute batch of wallets. I started sewing one last week as a trial for a new pattern I'm writing and I got into a rhythm and ended up sewing 7 more. This could be one of my favorite things I've made to date. I use one everyday to carry my keys & credit cards for a quick trip to drop Isaiah off at school. It has an outside pocket for an ID and can hold fold cash, coins, and credit cards on the inside. I'll start pattern testing this week and hopefully the pattern will be available next week. In the meantime I'm adding these wallets to my shop.

Working & a winner

How was your weekend? Ours was pretty good. Nothing too busy and nothing too lazy, just right for me. I started working on my next pattern. I actually have two in mind but I'm waiting for some more supplies to come in. Have I said I love this Hope Valley fabric? Oh I did? Well I'm going to say it again. I LOVE this fabric! Seriously, get yourself some. Tell your husband I said it was ok. I'll vouch for you.

The winner of the patterns is lucky #13 Jenny who said: congratulations on the pattern complete and your good news!! would love your patterns. (Jenny I've sent you an e-mail. )

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway. For those that are interested, the pattern is available in my etsy shop. I also have pattern bundles, 2 for $10 or 3 for $15 if you want them all for a few dollars off. Hope you're all having a good beginning to your week!

New Pattern Available(and a giveaway)

Ok, time for some shameless self promotion! I just finished up my latest pattern, the Patchwork and Linen Headband and it's now available in my etsy shop. I have loved making these for a long time now. I started making them for my first craft fair over three years ago and they always seem to do well. Now you can make your own and they are pretty simple and fun to make.


To celebrate it's release (and some other good news!!), I'll be giving away a copy of each of my three patterns I have available. Just leave a comment and I'll pick a winner on Monday. You can receive extra entries for either blogging or tweeting about it (just include @seekatiesew in your tweet). If you already own the patterns, feel free to enter and I'll send you another prize.

Have a great weekend!

doll quilt

You may remember just two posts ago when I showed this doll quilt top. Well turns out it was a quilting nightmare. First it took me forever to decide how exactly I was going to quilt it. When I finally decided, I went with a "handstitch" stitch on my sewing machine, using metallic thread. I should have know that it was probably not a good idea to A. use metallic thread for the first time and B. to use a stitch I hadn't used before. Needless to say it was a frustrating process.

Luckily the same day a huge box of Denyse Schmidt's Hope Valley arrived. I realized it would be perfect for my partner and feed my urge to cut into the new fabric. I honestly didn't think I liked this new line of fabric that much, but let me tell you, I'm absolutely in love with it. It is so gorgeous in person.

The inspiration for the doll quilt also came from Denyse, her new pattern, Cog + Wheel. I don't actually have the pattern so I just drew it out on graph paper. It worked out pretty well although probably not as neat as it would have been had I used the pattern. I used linen as the background fabric which I think compliments this line of fabric wonderfully.

When it came to quilt I had a few problems with the linen. It shifted a lot as I was quilting and I had to stop and readjust a few times. This is the first time I've ever really quilted with linen and I almost broke up with linen today. Almost. I'm glad I perservered though because I really, really love this quilt. I hope my partner like it too!

Oh and speaking of linen and patchwork, I'll be releasing a new pattern tomorrow and having a giveaway, so be sure to stop back!