Let's get Acquainted Blog Hop - Hilltop House Edition!!!

Well, HELLLLOOOO all!!! And welcome...what fun to have you pop over for a visit. Wish I could offer you a cup of tea (I'm on a bit of a green tea blitz right now) but you know, the internet and all makes it a bit of an inconvenience! How 'bout I just start right in with a formal introduction and give you a bit of a tour??! Sound good? Ok, let's get at it then.

My name is Lisa - I am a teacher by day (little people - K and Grade 1) and a quilter by all other hours. I also loooove to cook, bake and preserve whatever I can get my hands on (usually in the summer, which is now in my neck of the woods, so look out if you are in this area!)

I live in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada. Which is about an hour away from Vancouver, BC - many of you may know/recognize Vancouver (and Whistler) as we hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics. For those of you that live in the U.S. it may help to give you a locale - we are about 2.5 hrs north of Seattle. Lots of trees - it is very green and pretty here. The picture above is my current view out my back porch. Actually, we are very lucky here, we have both ocean and mountains in Vancouver, so we get the best of both worlds! My house is actually on the top of a hill - hence the blog name!

A while back, Melissa from Melia May Quilting (Hi Melissa!!!) tagged me in a game of blog tag and I posted my responses to her questions here. If you click on over you will find more info about me.


And just a few more details...I would like to include some quilty info:

What is on your cutting table right now?

Weeelll...I just chopped up a ton of these little critters...

And I am planning on making them into more of these.

Because I just did not get enough of this quilt.


I am also still pining away some ideas for my sashing for these blocks. Read my plan here.

I did manage to find some tone on tone prints and I have chopped them into strips, but I am still trying to work out the 'herringbone' part of my idea. Wish me luck! (Luckily I had planned to give this quilt to my friend in the summer, otherwise I would be a little late as she works with me at school!)


When did you start quilting and who taught you/how did you learn?

I started quilting in the beginning of 2010. I had ALWAYS wanted to quilt - my husband gave me a machine for Christmas 2009 (best gift ever!). I left it in the box for a month or so - terrified of it and then I signed up for a beginners class at a local quilt shop (which is no longer in my town, so sad) and never looked back. All the rest I have learned from bloggers (thank you!!!) - tutorials, advice and of course my own trial and error. My very first ever post on my blog goes into more detail on my sewing inspiration - you can read that here.


What type of sewing machine do you use?

My machine is a Janome 4030 QDC - this machine is my friend. Seriously. It works like a little work horse and does everything I need/want it to do. It is meant for quilting and crafting, so it came with the feet I need, needle up/down and a few other little tricks.

You can find a post about my sewing room here and if you look closely you can see it nestled on the table in this pic.

Recently I had to take my machine in for an overdue tune up/cleaning and I had a really, really hard time parting with it (even though I knew I was going to be out of town for most of the week it was going to be in the shop). I was so sad, that the man behind the counter asked me teasingly if I would like a moment alone with it before I left. Haha!


What is you favourite/least favourite part of quilting?

I love ALL of it. Every single little bit. Yes - even basting haha! It's true, I actually like pinning all those little pins. But my actual favourite part is the quilting. I absolutely love quilting and right now I am on a straight line quilting gig - cannot get enough of the straight lines (and LOTS of them too, I like to quilt very densely).

And I loooove the scraps and saving the snippets. Who knows what I will actually do with them - but goodness, they just can't be thrown away! Late last year I finally organized all my scraps and that felt really good. You can find my organization post here. I loooove to organize and keep things where they belong, I think this is part of what attracts me to quilting - because it seems such an organized and precise art to me.


Do you have any favourite quilting notions?

Definitely my quilting gloves. As you can see in this picture, I use them a lot. I find they keep my hands from getting cramps when gripping/wrestling the quilt through my machine. Obviously, I need a new pair. Any suggestions??? I love these ones, but the fabric store doesn't carry them anymore and I wonder what you all use, if anything???

Do you have any tips/tricks to share?

Labels, labels, labels. Label your quilts. They truly are a part of you. Quilts are our paintings - a label is our signature. Before I used labels, I found my quilts quite hard to give away (it made me feel sad to let them go). Now that I use labels, I find it much easier as I know they will always be marked with my 'signature' and not just out in the 'world all alone' haha! I use labels from Hobbytime on Etsy. They are the 'satin folded care labels' which are the first item featured on the shops home page. They are printed with my blog name on one side and my name on the other. I just sew them into the binding as you see here...

I will leave you with a mosaic of my latest sewing endeavours. Thanks for the visit. Hope you all have a fabulously wonderful weekend - spending time doing your most favourite activities (sewing included here I am sure!!!).

If you have a moment, do visit my friend Martha over at Weekend Doings (have you seen her cookie recipes??? Not to mention her quilts...!!! Both soooo yummy.). This week she is sharing some new blogger advice. Thanks Martha!

Have fun visiting the other bloggers this week on the Let's get Acquainted Blog Hop.

Friday, July 5

Christa @ Christa Quilts!

Alyce @ Wonderland By Alyce

Anna @ The Crooked Banana

Rachel @ Sew Happily Ever After 

Stephanie @ Quarter Incher

Shayla @ Sassafras Lane Designs

Caroline @ Carolines Craftiness

Lisa @ Hilltop House Creative Works (me!!!)

A BIG shout out goes to Beth from Plum and June - the brains behind this amazing hop. Thanks Beth for your time spent planning and organizing this fab event. I am so pleased to be a part of it!


~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