WOW Sew Into It

I took a little break and went to Tampa to visit with my friend Yvonne and we went to the Gasparilla  Pirate Festival  this past weekend, there were lots of Buccaneer bead throwing and I caught lots of beads at least 2 pounds worth, and many people were in full pirate gear it was awesome.  Throwing Beads Buccaneer Beads Caught   Parading Pirates Another awesome friend Gail also took me by the Tampa Buccaneers Football Stadium and the corporate office to see some more pirate theme items around town, yeah it was pirates weekend and I had a fantastic time.   Helmet Design Display Sew Centers   Not to be outdone by pirates, I visited two sewing center while in Tampa, the ladies at the sewing centers Keep Me In Stitches and Bernina Pfaff Sewing Center, loves to sew and there were some lovely quilts, bags, and clothing on display. This was a great motivation for me because I am completing my first quilt, I was able to pick up some quilting supplies a

The moment have arrived, I have completed all 20 quilt blocks from the 2012 Craftsy Block of the Month.  The below two methods used paper piecing templates from Piece by Number website, if you want to see how it is done check out the  The Sometime Crafter website on how to make the circle of geese block. Next step will be to assembly my blocks into a pleasing layout, then connect blocks using fabric strips in between each blocks. Friendship Circle (Oct) Circle of Geese (Oct)

Finishing the quilt top is near, took some time getting to my September 2012 blocks but the moment has arrived and they are sweet. Chain Block (Sept) Cleopatra's Puzzle (Sept) Each little square cut and pinned

I have come across many little tips and tricks, to improve my sewing, organize my space and improve my blog on the web, here are a few of my favorites. How to Track Your Wardrobe One site that is chock full of tips and tutorial is Coletterie, but I am liking the tip on how to track your wardrobe .  Sarai created a template to track her wardrobe, she even included a free template if you wish to track your own wardrobe. I like this idea because one never knows how many pair of pants one owns, especially black pants and I own quite a few.  I probably should not buy any more black pants but I can't seem to stop.  Maybe this process will help me curb this habit, and possibly add a different color pants or skirt and dresses. Shaping Sharp Corners Shaping corners can be a challenge, and I get frustrated, so I was ecstatic to get this tip from Tilly and the Buttons to help simplify shaping sharp corners .  My corners always came out bulky or not quite pointy, but not anymore. P

I spent part of my New Years eve completing the star blocks so here are my two new blocks for 2013, the Ohio Star and the Double Star. The Ohio Star block was pretty fun to make and simple, the Double Star took a bit more thought and precision,  I measured every bit of the way while working on the Double Star to make sure there was not much if anything to trim at the end.   I believe my new year will be filled more than ever with more sewing, knitting and crafting, hope yours is too. Ohio Star (Aug) Double Star (Aug)