Holiday Sweet Tweet Winners

What a wonderful time I had reading all of your winter traditions. I really loved getting a teeny glimpse into your lives and how you celebrate with your families. Thank you for sharing with me! I have some wonderful ideas for fun new things to incorporate into our traditions here in Texas. :)

I've finished my Sweet Tweets quilt and as soon as I can get some pictures taken I'll post some shots. I'm so happy with how it turned out (minus all the cat hair Dexter and Fiona deposited on it while I was pinning it for quilting...note to self: do not forget to remove kitty hair from quilt prior to photography...)

Without further ado! Congratulations to the two winners of the giveaway (via random number generator):

Johanna #12
We don't have any "unique" traditions. My favorite though is leaving cookies out for Santa on a special plate with chocolate milk. I LOVE those cardinals! They have been my favorite since I was probably three.

B Greene #49
I have a little white Christmas tree (an extra) that I usually decorate with my late grandmother's earrings as ornaments and beaded necklaces as garlands. We first did this when my husband was deployed and I couldn't face getting everything down from the attic alone. It was really , really pretty and a nice way to have her memory with us at Christmas. Love the new fabric line - I need to make some Christmas goodies, so this would be perfect!

Everyone have a great week! Oh... and I'll be postings some sneak peeks of TWO more new lines shipping this fall. Think kitchen and sewing room!!

Holiday Sweet Tweets | Giveaway and a sneak peek of my new quilt

A few weeks ago, the UPS man showed up with my yardage of my newest line for Robert Kaufman, Holiday Sweet Tweets. And I have been absolutely itching to sew with it. So, the weekend before last, I pretty much barricaded myself in my sewing studio and cut, sewed, cut, sewed and fondled fabric to my hearts content. I had hoped to finish the quilt over the weekend but I'm just not fast enough. I did get the whole quilt top finished though, pinned and started the quilting. Yahoo!

The top is inspired by Ashley's (from Film in the Fridge) Picnic Stripes quilt (way back from 2009)  and I am so delighted with the way the piecing turned out on my own Holiday Sweet Tweets version. I've included a few WIP shots below. I was able to use my all time favorite circles from my Modern Whimsy collection (stash of that is becoming dangerously low so am hoarding it like crazy) as well as some pretty solids and other goodies from my stash. 

Sweet Tweets comes in two color stories and I am so delighted to get to work on holiday goodies using navy, yellow and pink. The little peppermint footstools just make me smile every time I see them. And I have a special place in my heart for cardinals so it just makes me so happy to get to sew with this line. 

I think I love the diamonds pattern from the line more and more every time I look at them.

And I took a page from my IG pal Julie's (@chickenjulie) book and worked a big piece of selvage from the line into the quilt back. I stitched it straight line and then reinforced with zig zag to make sure that narrow little seam holds up. Hoping to get the rest of the quilting done in the next week or so and I'll make sure to share pictures as soon as I can. (I have determined I *might* detest the quilting process. Piecing I love. Quilting not so much. All that tugging and dragging a giant thing around on a tiny machine. Blech. I have nothing but admiration for those of you who do such beautiful quilting work!! I have no idea how you do it! Mine is just a hot mess. Maybe I just need to finish this one off but plan to rent time on a long arm machine for future projects...)

Partridges and cardinals!

Holiday Sweet Tweets has started shipping and will be making its way to stores this month and next, so get your holiday project list prepped and I hope you might find a way to work some little peppermint footstools into your plans!

In the mean time, I have 2 FQ bundles (1 in each color story) cut and ready for two of you! Just leave me a comment here before the morning of Monday June 10, 2013. (As always, international entries welcome and make sure you leave me a way to contact you!) In your comment, I'd love to hear about a winter holiday tradition you share with your family. I think it would be fun to bring a new tradition into my own family's celebration and it would be a blast to have learned about it from you!

Barnyard Counting | Winners!

As always, thank you for sharing all of your great ideas for projects using Barnyard Counting. You guys are a never ending source of inspiration and I love getting to read each and every comment. A few of you mentioned kitchen textiles and I LOVE that idea. What fun these prints would be for tea towel edging, huh? I have a friend who is moving to a new house soon and kitchen textiles would be such a fun gift! And, of course, I love all the quilty goodies you are dreaming up. Can't wait for Barnyard Counting to start arriving in shops. So soon! (begins shipping June and July)

Onto our lucky winners of the giveaway! Congrats ladies!!



Jenny at Cut.Sew.Iron.Repeat 33 said...
these fabrics would make the cutest draw string bags! i have birthday parties galore this summer to make gifts for!
thanks for a chance.

Trisha Weekes / myfourtrees 15 said...
I absolutely love this line...I have this thing for barns and barnyard animals. I would be so tickled to get to play with this new line! What would I make, gee...I liked the book idea, but would probably make a quilt! Thanks for sharing with us!

And thank you so, so much for those of you who were able to contribute to my fund raising efforts for Make A Wish. I'm getting closer to my goal but I'm not quite there yet so if you can make a contribution (even a tiny one!) we can get wishes funded for these terminally ill kids. Thank you so much for your consideration!

Barnyard Counting | Giveaway!

Squeee!! Or maybe I should say oink! Or moo!

I am so excited to get to share my next collection for Robert Kaufman. Barnyard Counting starts shipping June/July 2013 so it will be in quilt shops before you know it! The collection is made up of a bunch of sweet prints that feature barnyard sounds and counting and numbers. Its a nice gender neutral collection and would be a fun choice if you have baby shower gifts on your list to make.

My favorite print in the collection is the multi-directional print that includes all of the animals from the barnyard. There are cows, sheep, pigs, goats, frogs, turkeys ducks, chickens, horses, and a little barn.  I love the checked numbers that are tossed throughout. 

A coordinating panel with 10 boxes perfectly sized for a cheater quilt or a super cute soft book. Blocks would be really cute from these panels too. 

And moo cows in three colors: red, blue and a medium green

And chicks in light blue and a grassy green. Peep peep! 

Text print in red, white and black with all the sounds from the barnyard. 

My future includes some PJ bottoms from the black print. 

All of the coordinates together. I know you guys are going to make some AMAZING quilts out of these prints. Cannot wait to see them!!

You know how much I love it when the team at RK surprises me with a super cute selvage. 

Chicks!? I nearly fell over from excitement. SOOOO cute. 

And now for the giveaway!!

I have 2 FQ sets of Barnyard Counting to giveaway to 2 lucky readers. Just leave me a comment here with ideas for what you might make with Barnyard Counting if you win. I'll choose both winners via random number generator the evening of Monday 5/20/13. Make sure I have a way to contact you and, as always, international entries are welcome!

One last thing! I'm hoping that you might be able to contribute a small donation to help me meet my fund raising goal for the Make A Wish Foundation!! I'm almost there but need some help to raise this last little bit. Make a Wish pays for amazing wish experiences for kids suffering from terminal illness. 

100% of the proceeds raised will go directly towards funding wishes (often the last great experience some of these kids get to have.) 

If I can meet my goal, I commit to rapell (abeseil for those of you not in the US) down the side of a 32 story building here in Austin on June 15. (And yes, I am completely terrified but also excited!) With your help we can make a huge difference in the lives of kids who are so deserving of something really special. So anything you can contribute would be amazing! Donations are being collected here. And if you can't help and know someone who can, please share the link! Thank you for your support!

New duvet cover

How on earth have I not shown you my new duvet cover? My work schedule has really messed with my blogging and sewing schedule lately so I'm sorry to have been dark for a bit. Hoping to get back into a better routine soon!

So... Duvet cover!! I finally upgraded to a king sized bed (yay!) and when I did, I took on the mammoth task of making a new duvet cover for it. Wowzee is that alot of fabric! Weird... From this angle, the bed looks like a queen...

I used the gorgeous and easy to follow pattern Modern Crosses from Susan Beal's Modern Log Cabin Quilting Book (which is wonderful by the way if you don't already have a copy...)

And then of course I needed new pillow cases. :) Ashley over at Film in the Fridge has the world's best tutorial on french seams and pillow cases. Easy peasy. And I even was able to match up my stripes! Fiona approves...

As does Dexter...

Mmmmm... Bed time!

And I used my Modern Whimsy green circles (soooo soft) for the back/inside. And there's a little surprise mini quilt inside.

I loved this project and it makes me smile every time I walk into my room. :)

p.s.
Whenever I post pics of my duvets, I get some questions on how I finish them:
-I sew them with 1/4 inch seams
-No lining (so all the seams are exposed inside)
-I wash it right side out to protect the seams
-My previous duvet was well worn and washed frequently and over the course of 5 years only had a few small spots come undone and they were easily repaired.
-I use a simple button closure for the bottom

Who wants to see me rapell down the side of a 32 story building?!

And no, I have not lost my mind!

I'm raising funds and awareness for Make-A-Wish Central & South Texas. And if I can be one of the first 300 people to raise a minimum of $1500, on June 15th & 16th 2013 I will be able to step up to the edge and rappel 32 stories down the One American Center in the heart of downtown Austin.


Since 1980, the Make-A-Wish Foundation® has enriched the lives of children with life-threatening medical conditions through its wish-granting work. The Foundation's mission reflects the life-changing impact that a Make-A-Wish® experience has on children, families, referral sources, donors, sponsors and entire communities.

A wish experience is frequently a source of inspiration for children undergoing difficult medical treatments and a positive force that helps them overcome their obstacles. A wish experience is often more than a dream come true: It’s the catalyst that rekindles their belief in themselves and the promise of their future.


Only the first 300 fundraisers to raise their minimums will earn a spot to go Over the Edge, so dig deep and let's get those pledges going for Make-A-Wish. My donation link is below!

https://www.austinovertheedge.com/Laurie_Wisbrun/

Bright and Buzzy zipper pouches and a BIG bag

How has it been 6 weeks since my last post?!? Geez this year has been absolutely flying by. I've been busy, busy as a bee (forgive me, sometimes I can't contain myself), but was able to make a few goodies from my new Bright and Buzzy collection. I woke up this morning and realized I had never shared them with you!

The first bag is this little zip pouch for my friend's daughter Hailey. I've really loved using the Alphabet panel from the collection to personalize things in a fun way.I used all three of the bee prints and the two honeycomb prints from Bright and Buzzy. Then threw in a few Olive the Ostrich coordinates and my favorite Modern Whimsy circles (am starting to hoard these in my stash...I will be SAD when I run out!)  Ms. H loved the little pouch and it was so much fun to be able to surprise her with it.

And then there's the mother of all zipper bags. I made this big ol' bag to take to Quilt Con and its going to be the best beach bag. It measures 25 x 18". It's HUGE. I basically followed the open wide zip pouch pattern by Noodlehead but just made it giant. The zipper is a plastic one from Joann's that's made for jackets and I love how chunky it is. I added a little pull tab so I could make sure to open it without fighting wiht the bag. The leather handles came from All 4 Handmade's Etsy store and I just hand sewed them on using embroidery floss (wishing I had a thimble the whole time!) Must remember to order more straps to have on hand for future projects...

I lined the inside of the bag with the green bees from Bright and Buzzy and used some more Modern Whimsy Circles for a whole bunch of interior pockets. In retrospect I wish I had made at least one of the pockets a zip pocket but I didn't know how to make that work and I was making the bag last minute so couldn't be bothered to google it. Next time :)

And then there's also my Z for Zipper pouch which is posted about a while ago. I love this little guy. :)

Bright and Buzzy has just started arriving in quilt shops, so I hope you will find some on your sewing tables soon. I can't wait to see what you make!! I'll keep an eye on Pinterest, Instagram and Flickr!!

Shop Update!! Loads of new goodies!

Super excited to announce that I have a whole bunch of NEW limited release fabric and pillows panels now available in my Etsy Store!

The designs are bright and cheery and perfect for ringing in Spring, which is already starting to make an appearance here in Austin. I hope you love the new designs and can't wait to see what you make!
I hope you'll hop over and take a peek. 

And of course, the original Oh La Llamas are still available!