What's-Up Wednesday!: Happy Mail and a Quilt-A-Long Announcement!

Hi peeps! 

Did ya miss me??? 

As you can see above, I started free motion quilting the Citrus Batik Table topper. My Pfaff was also in the hospital, so I got out my old 1990's era Kenmore. It is a very basic machine, having only 14 different stitches, but it is a workhorse and can do the job. I decided to try the 12-weight Aurifil thread I have, in a yellow-gold colour and was going swimmingly when all of a sudden I started getting thread breaks and all sorts of bird's nests of thread on the back. Yeesh! I tried everything I could think of…rethreading the machine, changing the bobbin, changing the needle and cleaning out the dust and lint…but nothing seemed to work, so I put it aside. Then I got my Pfaff back and would you believe, I had the exact same problem. So I did all the same things to my Pfaff and still was having problems. Double-Yeesh!

I have come to the realization that neither of my machines like 12-weight thread. I have unpicked loads of nasty stitches, but even though I will have to change threads and thread colour, I will not unpick the parts that came out looking okay. If this was to be a gift, that would be another story, but as this is just for us, I will let it go. I just have to keep repeating to myself "let it go, let it go". My Virgo self really dislikes things that aren't just right. Ah well….

I got some great Happy Mail over the past couple of months. I bought a bunch of machine parts off of Ebay for my 1948 Singer 15-91 including a quarter-inch foot, Singer branded needles, a walking foot, lightbulbs, magnetic seam gauge, a bunch of bobbins and an springed open-toe foot for FMQing. When they arrived, I was please to see that these parts will also fit on my Kenmore…bonus! 

I also finally invested in a quarter-inch foot for my Pfaff. Both quarter-inch feet have a little metal guide thing on the right hand edge of them that prohibits you from pushing too much fabric to the right of the foot, thereby allowing you to achieve a perfect quarter-inch seam allowance. Yay!

These two purchases were from Massdrop. The fat quarter bundle is called "Enchanted", and even though the bundle didn't include the 'main' all-over design that ties the whole line together, I got such a good deal that I couldn't pass it up. Plus, I can always find that main print at Fat Quarter Shop or Pink Castle(2 of my favourite USA-based online shops).

The 100-count boxes of Schmetz needles were also a steal on Massdrop. I got one box of #14 needles-these are my go-to needles for all-purpose sewing. I also got a box of #16 needles, which are my favourite machine-quilting needles.

Massdrop has very reasonable shipping charges(even to Canada!) and I was really pleased to find out that they combine shipping on multiples of the same item!

I joined a Canadian De-stash group on Facebook and got these two 2-yard pieces for a bargain. I just love those happy purple flowers! I will be using the primary colours stripes for binding on kid quilts. I always cut my binding on the bias, as it is more sturdy. Stripes cut on the bias create a neat finish.

I got these two Mary Engelbreit charm packs for about $10 each from the same Facebook group. The top print doesn't do the whole pack justice…there are so many cute prints in there, in reds, blues, greens and black. I am planning to make one of the free Fat Quarter Shop patterns for charm packs with them.

I also joined a couple of Canada-only swap groups, again on Facebook and these are the fatties I have received so far! The red one at the top right is a Pat Sloan print and I was so excited when it came as I have never had any of her prints and always thought they were super-cute! 

I bought the Simplicity pattern print, bottom right(neat, eh?), and the multi lifesaver print-bottom left, from one of the swappers who was having a de-stash on the other group, and it came with my swap!

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So…now I have an exciting announcement!!!

I will be starting a Quilt-A-Long next week, here on the blog! I contacted Connecting Threads to see if they would like to supply the fabric for me to host a Quilt-A-Long, using a block that I have designed…and they said yes!!! Yippee!!!

The first post will be a photo of the block and fabric requirements for a queen-sized quilt. The blocks are nice and big, at 15.5" square, including seam allowances(15" sewn in), and you will only need 25 of these easy blocks, plus 2 borders, to make a comfy queen-sized quilt! The posts will be about two weeks apart, to allow everyone(myself included!) enough time to complete each step.

You do not have to make a queen quilt, but it would be great if you could participate…three of these blocks sewn in a row would make a nice table runner and four blocks set 2 x 2 will make a nice square table topper.

I will be putting a Quilt-A-Long tab at the top of the blog, to make it easy to find each week's post, in case you don't have the time to make one now, and for easy reference too!

I will be using the Maison de Provence fabric line by Connecting Threads, check it out! Now that I have it in my hot little paws, the rich tones(so beautiful in person) kind of remind me of the spices brought back on the Silk Road by Marco Polo!

The "COUNTRY VILLAGE" Quilt-A-Long will start on Wednesday, April 29, 2015.

Come join us!

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It has been a long and stressful month with my Dad being in the hospital. He had 2 emergency surgeries and spent most of his stay in the Close Observation Ward, due to the nature of his medical situation. I am happy to report that he is now back home and enjoying a good night's sleep in his own bed! Thank you so very much for the comments and messages offering prayers…it really means a lot to me that you took the time to tell me you care. Big Huggs to you!

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Sharing is caring!!!
Don't forget that I am happy to share…feel free to pin to Pinterest, post on Google+ and Facebook, and Tweet away! Just please make sure your posts link back to this blog. *If you mouse/hover over the top right corner of my photos, a red Pin-it button will show up and all you have to do is click it to be taken to Pinterest. There is also another red button right beside it for posting to Facebook and Twitter. Or, you could always use the little grey square buttons at the end of this post. 

Thanks for reading and have a great day! 

Quilty Huggs, 

Jacqueline 

PLEASE NOTE: The writer of this blog accepts forms of compensation such as, but not limited to; fabric/notions/patterns/books in exchange for a posted review. All comments/critiques/opinions are completely my own and are not those of the provider. This post may also contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. Thanks!

WIP Progress, Springing and a Tutorial!

Hi peeps! 

How is everybody doing today??? Did ya miss me? Laid low again with a weather-sparked migraine that lasted a week, eek! 

Before I was incapacitated I managed to get my citrus batik table topper put together-border and all! I am still amazed at how pain-free the HST's were…guess I never bothered to measure and trim them before…ha ha ha...it had been that long since I worked with HST's! 

I have spray-basted it to some older-stash fabric and am good to go for quilting…but I am still undecided on which pattern to FMQ(free-motion quilt) with my Pfaff. It will be on our large coffee table and will get spilled on, folded over and generally well-used so I think it should be densely quilted. The one that is on the coffee table now was quilted with a fairly tight meander and while that is the easiest FMQ design to do, I am a little bored with it.

This was made with two packs of Timeless Treasures charms I got from Craftsy during their Boxing Week Clearance Sale. I actually bought 4 from them and don't know just yet what I'm going to do with the other two packs. I had a few squares left over from the above project as I was working with specific dimensions, so I'd like to work them into the next project as well.

I took this picture early last week. This is part of the tree that is in our minuscule back area. This one usually grows so much in the summer months that it ends up touching our kitchen windows! Now, would you believe, the buds are fully open and little leaves are starting to grow.

Home-Made Spray Starch Tutorial

I don't really like to use the spray starch in a can as it has an icky slightly-sweet smell…and of course, the fumes and the ozone layer. This recipe is a mix of a couple I have seen online with a few personal tweaks!

You will need:

2 cups of cold tap water
4 Tablespoons of cornstarch
1 Tablespoon of vodka(yes, really…very important)
5 drops of Lavender essential oil(or a favourite, just not a citrus-based one as even small amounts might cause a stain)
1 spray bottle(got mine at the dollar store)
-mixing bowl, measuring cup for liquids, measuring spoons, fork and a funnel

In your mixing bowl combine the water, vodka and cornstarch and mix well using a fork. Don't add the essential oil yet!

With the help of your funnel, pour the resulting liquid into your spray bottle. Remove the funnel and add your essential oil. I use lavender as it has a nice smell, but you could use a different oil such as peppermint or rosemary...but no citrus-based oils as they can leave oil spots on your items!

Now give your spray starch a hearty shimmy & shake. This helps to mix the essential oils in well. The reason I wait till the end to add the essential oils is that I don't want to waste any of it in the mixing bowl. Just mixing the oil in with a fork will not disperse the oil throughout the spray starch mixture and some of the oil will stick to the bowl's sides, which is a waste in my opinion.

Now, keep your spray starch near you ironing board and spray, spray, spray away, but use sparingly-a little will go a long way! Just remember to give it a good shake before each use as the cornstarch tends to settle to the bottom once the bottle is set down. 

It should stay fresh for a month or two! When not in use, I put mine in the fridge and it lasts longer.

If you find that you have some white residue on your fabric after the spray has dried, just give the area a little swipe with your fingers or a damp cloth. The white residue is just plain old cornstarch!

Why the Vodka you ask? Vodka(or any clear alcohol, but not rubbing alcohol) acts like a dispersant and a binder(emulsifier)-helps the essential oils mix with the water, and will also help the spray starch stay fresh, as it is a preservative.

Enjoy!

Thanks so much to the peeps who commented about my new vintage Singer machine! I was directed to a couple different websites and can now say I know this about her:

Model#15-91

Made in St. John's, Quebec, Canada in 1948

My model was one of the first of these models to come off the assembly line, as I noticed there are some things missing: the face of the stitch lever(on the right) doesn't have any numbers on it for stitch length and there is no gold "Made in Canada" decal situated on the top of the machine head.

I also now know that I put the needle in the wrong way...DUH! While on modern machines you put the needle in with the shank facing the back, this Singer must have the needle shank facing the left! 

I have also started looking on eBay and Etsy for a Walking Foot and a few other things I like to have. Someday I would like a wooden cabinet to store her in, so I could set her up in the living room and not have to move her on and off the kitchen table…Featherweight she is not!!!

Today is the last day of Craftsy's Spring Blowout Sale! Scoot on over for amazing deals on fabric, sewing kits, and quilting kits!

I have been looking longingly at this kit: Letters Home Tea and Biscuit Table Runner since Craftsy first shared it! When you use this link, just scroll down the page to see the kit. It is on sale HALF PRICE for $25.43(this is the price in CA$-it will be much cheaper in US$)!!!

They even have a few of the lovely Aurifil thread sets…but these are going fast.

Question of the Day: 

 How should I machine-quilt my citrus batik table topper? I really need some ideas peeps!

Sharing is caring!!! 

Don't forget that I am happy to share…feel free to pin to Pinterest, post on Google+ and Facebook, and Tweet away! Just please make sure your posts link back to this blog. 

*If you mouse/hover over the top right corner of my photos, a red pin-it button will show up and all you have to do is click it to be taken to Pinterest. There is also another red button right beside it for posting to Facebook and Twitter. Or, you could always use the little grey square buttons at the end of this post.


Thanks for reading and have a great day! 

Quilty Huggs, 

Jacqueline 

PLEASE NOTE: The writer of this blog accepts forms of compensation such as, but not limited to; fabric/notions/patterns/books in exchange for a posted review. All comments/critiques/opinions are completely my own and are not those of the provider. This post may also contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. Thanks!

Thrifty tips, happy mail, a new sponsor...and a GIVEAWAY!!!

Hi peeps!

I got some lovely Happy Mail this week! This is the 14-piece Sakura bundle, which was only $23(CA$) plus a modest shipping fee(under $5), from Massdrop. 

They are having this drop again, now as we speak, so you'll have to hurry on over to pick up yours before they are all gone. 

I just love how it is tied up so cutely…definitely keeping that chevron ribbon for a craft project!

The prints have a slightly muted tone and a beautiful soft, drapey feel to them. These two prints are my favourites, but honestly, it was tough to choose between the other prints included in this bundle.

This is one of the sturdy boxes my purchases came in. There were even some plastic packing balloons inside to keep my purchases from shifting during travel!

Here is the new Enchanted 10-piece bundle offered at Massdrop. We need only about 25 more people to "Commit to Buy" and then the price will drop down to $22.99(CA$). The great thing about "Commit to Buy" is that your credit card/Paypal account is only charged once the price goes down to the lowest and once the drop has ended.

Enchanted is the latest collection by Sarah Fielke…you may know her from her Little Quilts books(I got one for Christmas…yahoo)! 

This drop is limited to only 32 bundles, so you have to get in fast to get the deal! Here's the link.

I recently won these great reusable fabric shopping bags from Teresa of The Green Bag lady fame. She makes these shopping bags and gives them away for FREE!!! She believes we can all do our part and eliminate using plastic shopping bags during our everyday shopping trips. 

There is also a tutorial on how to make them, and if you would like to become a baguette(that's what she calls the makers of green bags for giving away), you can contact her through her blog! If you'd like to win one for yourself, here's the link to Green Bag Lady.

I thought I would share an upcycle I did recently. I love Baker's Twine, but it unravels and gets all messy once you have started using it. I had an a-ha moment when I saw the holes in the lid of a small parmesan cheese shaker.

I washed the empty plastic cheese shaker bottle(the 2-cup sized one), then let it air-dry for a couple of days. I then removed the label by wedging the tip if my kitchen scissors under the label and started cutting. After I had peeled the label off, I gave the outside of the bottle a little scrub to remove some of the adhesive left from sticking the label on. It doesn't matter if there is a little adhesive left over as you will be covering most of it with the label from the spool of twine. Carefully cut the label open then centre it on the clean bottle and tape it securely.

Pop your spool of Baker's Twine into the bottle and thread the tail end through one of the holes in the lid. Snap the lid in place and…VOILA you are done!

I was at Walmart this week and picked up a plastic bin(pink as there were no purple ones…how shocking???), some fat quarters, paper clips and bulldog clips(clearance $1…bonus!) and some very large knitting needles. I had seen tutorial on knitting your old and ugly stash into rugs…how cool is that? 

I will try to find that tutorial again and will share it with you!

I got the pink bin to store my charm packs in. The wicker basket(above) I have been using doesn't hold all of my charm packs, and I wanted them to all be in the same place.

Here's the contents of the bin now…I'll have to find my other charm packs to fill it up!

I then re-filled the basket with my special(hoarded!) fat quarter bundles. There is my Cotton and Steel collection, some Amy Butler Glow and Free Spirit solids.

There is a 'good' dollar store in the Walmart mall, so of course I had to go! I got a glittery pocket portfolio so I can store my notes, ideas etc. for blog posts, some post-flags, a clear box with lid and handle, some plastic bins to decorate(tutorial coming soon), and 2 covered ice cube trays.

I read an article in the paper about herbs that get thrown out after they go bad. Now this really struck a chord with me as fresh herbs are expensive here at this time of the year and they are always going bad before we can use them up.

What you do is: while the herbs are fresh you cut them up with scissors and place in an ice cube tray. Fill the cubes with water, cover, then pop in the freezer, making sure that the tray is level. When you need some herbs, pop a herb cube into your cooking pan. The heat from cooking will melt the water and you will have the benefit of fresh herbs all year long.

You can do this with garlic cloves too. That's why I bought 2 trays…I didn't want the garlic smell to overpower the herbs. I will make both trays with a Sharpie, so as to not get them mixed up.

I have been wanting a box dedicated to storing my precious Aurifil thread. As you can see, the spools have room to stand up straight and there is room to add more as I get them…on sale, of course!!!

I'd like to welcome Sew Sister's Quilt Shop to the QSH! family.

Here's a little about them:

Sew Sisters Quilt Shop is a Canadian Quilt Store dedicated to all things quilting. Whether shopping online or in person at our store in Toronto our goal is to provide you with great service and offer top quality products at the lowest possible price. We have a large selection of quilting fabric, patterns, books and notions - everything you need to complete your unique quilts! Be sure to check out our very large Sale Section with over 400 bolts of fabric for only $7.99/metre!

At Sew Sisters we believe you should buy fabric, not postage – so we offer great rates on shipping.

Orders over a $100 ship for free within Canada!

Shipping Charges

Order Total	Canada	USA	International*
$0 - $19.99	$4.99	$12.99	Actual Postage
$20.00 - $100	$8.99	$12.99	Actual Postage
Over $100	Free	$12.99	Actual Postage

Really, you should check out their sale section...lots of goodies there(and only $7.99 CA$ per meter). I even found some hard-to-find Flea Market Fancy by Denyse Schmidt there recently! 

The everyday prices for even designer quilting fabrics averages about $12.99(CA$) a meter…which is an awesome price…and no currency exchange to worry about for Canadians!

The Bargain Lover’s Club

Price: $18.99 per month

If there is one thing we love more than any other at Sew Sisters it is a great bargain! Join our Bargain Lover's Club and we will send you 8 fat quarters every month for only $18.99. The postage is included for Canadians - others please enquire about shipping rates. All fat quarters will be great quality quilters cottons handpicked from our sale collections. You may cancel your membership at any time. The lovely ladies at Sew Sister's have generously offered to give away an 8-piece fat quarter bundle from their wildly popular Bargain Lover's Club.  Please note this giveaway is for Canadian and USA addresses only. To enter this giveaway, please leave a comment describing your latest upcycle!  I will pick a winner at noon(PST) on Monday, February 23, 2015. EDITED TO ADD: -It is not a requirement of this giveaway to follow me, but it sure would be nice if you did!!! -Sew Sister's Quilt Shop and myself are not responsible for lost or stolen mail from this giveaway. **Giveaway is closed and prize has been awarded. Thanks for participating!** Thanks for reading and have a great day! Quilty Huggs, Jacqueline

Fun Finds at the Dollar Store, and Giveaway Winner(s)!

Hi peeps!

I had some fun at the 'good' Dollar Store recently, though I have to admit that our Dollar Stores up here are actually $1.25 stores!!! 

I needed a container to fit my arriving-any-minute Clover Clips. I ordered 2 x 100-pack, so was thinking I needed a largish box to with them in. Got 3 small rolls of Washi tape too!(The box I bought was way too huge, so I found another in the house. The above box now holds my extra 1" hexagon papers!)

I got this 10-pack of slide-seal freezer bags as I am wanting to make the below bag. At $1.25, they were a steal, compared to the Zip bags I have in my kitchen drawer. As these come from the Dollar Store, I wouldn't use them for food storage, who knows what they are really made of.

The tutorial calls for 6 bags, and I am planning to make two-one for my EPP supplies and one for my embroidery stuff. I plan to only use 4 bags for the EPP one as I think 6 will make it too bulky. Six bags are fine for my embroidery stuff(minus my larger hoop).

Got some Happy Mail!! I am really impressed with the calibre of packaging on my first purchase from Massdrop. My Clover Clips were in a nice, sturdy box with a clearly readable label. The shipping costs were VERY reasonable for something shipped to Canada from the States.

WOW!!! This is the latest Massdrop deal:

Aurifil 12-weight thread, 10 small spools ONLY $29.99!! Regular price $50!!!

Use the below link to join this awesome deal!!! Great for quilting and machine-embroidery.

https://www.massdrop.com/r/Q2XSMW

I love how these Clover clips look like candy! They will come in sooo handy when I tackle sewing the plastic bags into my Busy Bags!

And now for the giveaway…drumroll please..ta-da!!!

The winner of the $35 Gift Certificate to Fat Quarter Shop is:

Saskia S.!

I have emailed her and hope she gets back to me soon!!!

Thank you so much to my sponsor, Fat Quarter Shop. We have other things in the works, coming soon!

I was thinking that having only one winner wasn't fair, gotta pick one more, please, Mr. Hubs!!(I had him pick two numbers between 1 and 24)

I will be sending a 6-pack of craft clips, and four spools of Connecting Threads' Essential thread to:

Debbie C.!

I had to email her via her YouTube account, as it was the only way to get a hold of her!

The above gifts are not sponsored, just a little prezzie from me!

Please remember, if I can't reach you, you can't win!

I just want to thank everyone that follows this blog and those who entered my giveaway. There will be more in store!!!

Quilty love and huggs,

Jacqueline

Saturday Showcase and Giveaway winners!!!

Hi Peeps!

Clover Wonder Clips...

Have you tried these yet? 

They are one of the hottest new notions around! Use them instead of pins when you are sewing on bindings, or sewing up bags, or anything that is a bit thick for you pins to go through without bending them. 

I stumbled upon this website that gets like-minded people together to mass-purchase certain items from the manufacturer at a huge discount. If you were to buy this 100-count package of Clover Wonder Clips, it would cost you close to $60!!! But they are only $23.99 plus reasonable shipping!!!I have included a link for you, for if I were to get 5 or more people to purchase them, Massdrop will send me a gift box worth $50…and that means more giveaways for you!

Awesome! 

So, please tell your friends!

Clover Wonder Clips, 100-pack, almost HALF PRICE!!!
Follow the link here: https://www.massdrop.com/r/Q2XSMW

…and now for the Aurifil & Extras Giveaway winners…drumroll please…

The three winners are: Carla P., Lorette C. and Monica H. 

I have already heard back from Carla and Lorette. Monica H. could you please get back to me? Thanks. Winnings will go out on Monday.

Tomorrow is  Mr. Quilt, sew Happy's birthday and we are having a bunch of family over for a BBQ. Yumm! Gotta go tidy the house now...

I will leave you with this lovely pile of fabric with hopes that you have lovely piles of fabric to play with too!!

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Jacqueline

NEW SPONSOR and an AURIFIL GIVEAWAY!

Hi Peeps!

I would like to welcome Paper Pieces on board the blog today. This is where I purchased my (almost) 4,000 papers for the first and second giant hexie quilts. They have generously offered 20% off your order, using the code: qsh20. They have high quality card-stock papers to sew your fabric on, in a multitude of shapes. Head on over to their website and have a look around! They also have various books and notions to help you on your way. 

Coupon code expires: July 1, 2015.

How about that weather! It was close to 100* yesterday for Canada Day!

We didn't go to any of the festivities as I don't do crowds much, but we did head into town for some lovely air-conditioned shopping. Got some much-needed things and found an awesome tripod for my camera(alas, not purple!), and it was on sale! Yay!

I rummaged through my latest box of scraps from L in Arizona and found most of the fabrics needed for my Prism Jumbo pillow. Got them all trimmed up and drew the diagonal lines on for piecing the HSTs. I figured that since I was cutting all the fabrics needed for one pillow, I might as well make 2! You can follow along if you like! The tutorial is on my Cute Tute Links page.

 ...and now for the Giveaway!!!

There will be three, yes three, winners of my giveaway today. Each winner will receive a large and small spool of Aurifil thread(care of Alex Veronelli-Aurifil Brand Jedi!!). The thread is in various neutral colours and weights. Also in your little grab bag will be: a book of John James needles, a fat quarter of unicorn/castle print(gotta spread the purple love!), and a zipped nylon sewing bag(or you could use it for cosmetics). I had the bags printed by CowCow.com. The needles, fatties and bags are from me!

Now here's the rulezzz…

1. You must follow me by email. That includes all my Facebook, Bloglovin and Google Plus friends. 

-Just enter your email in the Follow Me By Email window in my right-hand border. 

-You will get a pop-up window that will ask you to type in a code, then hit enter. 

-Lastly, you will receive an email confirming that you want to follow this blog. Click on that and you are done! It actually takes more time to type out this explanation than it does to follow me! I ask that you do stay following me for at least a month or two. I do not share emails.

2. You must leave me a comment letting me know that you are following me by email, and within the same comment I would like you to tell me which kinds of tutorials you would like me to do. I do have a few thoughts, but it never hurts to get input from other peeps.

That's it, easy-peasy! 

Just follow me by email, comment that you have, and tell me about tutorials you would like! 

One comment per person only, please.

I will draw three names on Saturday, July 5 and will contact the winners shortly after that. Please make sure I can email you for your snail-mail addy. If you are a no-reply blogger, please make sure to give me your email address.

This giveaway is open to international addresses(I am in Canada), with the exemption of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East-due to the high frequency of lost/stolen mail.

Sorry, I am not responsible for lost or stolen mail.

Giveaway has been awarded. Thanks for participating!

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Jacqueline