Sneak Peak

I'll give you three guesses what I have been up to...

YEP!!! You got it...trimming HST's. And then of course...SEWING HST's. Been making these...

Who knew HST's make HEARTS??? Certainly not me. And let me tell you, there may have been a party in my sewing room when I discovered this.

Happy Friday all! Linking up to 'The Let's Get Acquainted' linky party, hosted by Deborah at Simply Miss Luella.

~Lisa

Take Two

Oh, what a wonderful weekend. First I cut squares...

Then I drew lines and pinned...

Stacked some nice neat piles of fabric sandwiches and sewed each one...twice

Then I chopped them in half (much fun!!!)

 And yay me - now to the design wall for some HST play.

I have had to put this quilt aside for the time being, as it is intended for a birthday in June and the above lovely must come to fruition by the end of March. This new lovely is my 'Take Two' Night of Hope quilt, as the first one was not coming together as I hoped it would. I was not entirely happy with the points and because it is such a special quilt, I really wanted to be proud of its construction. I have decided to scrap the pattern altogether and go free style with the above HST's, as I have really enjoyed this type of design lately. I may return to the original eventually and finish it up as a keeper for me.

Wishing you all a wonderful week! Looking forward to weeks end as I am heading to Vegas Friday eve. YAY!

Linking up with Anything Goes Quilt and Sew at Stitch by Stitch and Let's Get Acquainted Monday Link up Party Hosted by Owen's Olivia.


 ~Lisa

Nancy Drew is Coming to You...Giveaway Results

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading each and every one of your Nancy Drew memories and project ideas that you shared in your comments on my last post. I am thrilled that so many of you have enjoyed reading Nancy as I have or have become intrigued to learn about this delightful character. Thank you, thank you for sharing with me xo.

The giveaway is now ready to be given away!!! I used one of the free random online number generators and the lucky number it produced was...


# 42 (Random numbers generated Mar 8 2013 at 21:47:19)


Comment #42 was made by Wren15 who wrote, "I remember snuggling up with a good Nancy Drew book and a cup of hot chocolate on snow days when I was a kid. It was the best way to spend an afternoon off school. I think if I got the charm pack, I would like to make some new cushions to add to that window seat, so that my niece can use those when she gets old enough to read Nancy Drew books on it."

Thank you Wren15 and congratulations!!!! Please email me (you are showing as a 'No Reply Blogger') and send me your specifics and then I can send this little package of fun on its way to you. Happy sewing!

Thanks again to everyone who participated in the giveaway! I hope that you enjoy the rest of the Nancy Drew is a Clue Blog Hop and have a fantastic weekend.

~Lisa

Nancy Drew is a Clue Blog Hop and Giveaway!

OH WOW!!! Nostalgia. I am in my happy place for sure. Nancy Drew was an all time favourite friend and comrade when I was a young girl. I even started a Detective Club at one point, sleuthing out behind the elementary school, looking for clues! It has been great fun lately playing with the new colourful 'Get a Clue Nancy Drew' fabrics by Simon and Schuster for Moda - and I have some finishes to share  with you!

If this is your first time visiting my blog, welcome! It's good to have you here, on my stop of the 'Nancy Drew is a Clue' Blog Hop hosted by Carol at 'Just Let me Quilt'.  Be sure to visit over there and try to solve the mystery clues to win great prizes. Meanwhile, I have been having such a great old time, reacquainting myself with these...

Anyone else keep their Nancy Drew book collection??!! I still have mine and when I pulled them off the bookshelf recently to have a look at, my son became very interested. He instantly decided that he would like me to read one to him. Presently he is 7 years old, so we'll see how that goes - but I am certainly willing to give it a try. He has chosen 'Mystery of the Brass Bound Trunk' which is interesting, as this book is showcased in the fabrics.

I knew when I recieved my Nancy Drew fabric that I wanted to make 2 particular items. First up  - a mini quilt - as I have been obsessed lately with filling up my sewing room wall with teeny tiny quilts. I find that I am drawn to the Nancy Drew silhouette, so I decided to start with a sketch. I sketched out my silhouette (I looked at silhouette pics on the internet for inspiration) and then traced my sketch onto tracing paper to make a pattern...

I used my self-made pattern to produce this mini - she is very tiny, measuring at 8.25 x 7 inches.

Next up was a purse - or if you will - a BOOK BAG, calling it this makes me feel as though it was meant to be made with this fabric - ha! I have made this patchwork 'Schlep Bag' before numerous times and simply modified the free pattern to use 5 inch squares (and added a cross-body strap rather than handles). I really wanted it to be the right size for a young girl to wear and pop a few books in at the library (Nancy Drew OF COURSE!).

It was nearly impossible to choose which fabrics to use because, lets face it, I love them all - but in the end I went with red on the outside and patchwork blue on the inside. I tried to showcase my favourite prints, the faces and the books, by using them at the top of the bag and on the strap. 

I love the D ring detail. I have never used one before, but I really wanted the strap to be adjustable. Did I mention I hijacked the rings from an old belt??? Reduce, Reuse, Recycle as they say.

And now for the really fun part - my very first EVER giveaway -  because I love this fabric so much and truly enjoyed my trip down memory lane, I thought it only fair to share the love. I have put together a small charm pack from some of the fabric I have left over. There are 20 - 5 inch squares in the blue, yellow and white colour way.



If you would like a chance to play with these fabrics too, all you have to do is:

1. Leave me a comment telling me what your most favourite Nancy Drew memory is or what you might like to make with the charm pack.

2. Followers get 2 chances - let me know you are a follower in a second comment. New followers welcome of course!

3. Cross your fingers!  I will close this giveaway at 8 pm pacific time this Friday, March 8 and post the winner. EDIT: This giveaway is now closed, thank you to all who participated. The post to announce the winner can be found here.

Good luck all! Thanks for visiting my stop on the 'Nancy Drew is a Clue' Blog Hop.

Here are a list of the other Blog Hop stops for today:

Michelle’s Romantic Tangle
Life in the Scrapatch
Debby Kratovil Quilts
Selina Quilts
Meadowbrook
My Sister Made Me Do It
Whims and Fancies
Pieced Brain
Just Let Me Quilt


~Lisa

February Lucky Stars BOM

I was so excited for the Lucky Stars Block of the Month last month that I printed off the templates the morning that it was emailed. I printed off a couple of extra templates at a reduced size - used my pencil crayons to colour them, then I cut them up - moved them about - and decided on my favourite colour/fabric arrangement.

I proceeded to spend the morning sewing and ended up with 4 lovely squares - each a quarter of my star. I pinned them up on my design board together, to gaze at them, all pleased with my results AND promptly left them there all month.

When in my sewing room, I would admire them and think how fun this quilt would be upon completion. NEVER did it occur to me to sew them together - like actually COMPLETE the block! Until yesterday, when I realized that our new block would be emailed today. So, guess what I did last night...

YEP- I finished it. Wohoo me! And paired along with my block from last month, I am thinking this is going to be one heck of a colourful quilt. Maybe I should tone a few of the blocks down?! Likely not - this bright colour thing is waaaay to much fun.

Happy Friday all! Linking up with Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.


~Lisa