Swap #1 Spring Cleaning

Edit: Sign-ups are now closed.

I'm so excited to announce our first swap for 2014!

One of my favorite Hayao Miyazaki movies. Mei is helping clean out their new house in My Neighbor Totoro.

If you're like me, my sewing room could use a little Spring Cleaning (organizing your goodies that don't have a home). Keri helped me come up with this idea and I thought it was a great new idea for a swap.

This will be a blind swap. So you're swap partner will have someone else's name. I would like you all to create a board on Pinterest of organizers that you like. I made a board with a lot of different examples that you can choose from. I will continue to add pins to it over the next few weeks. Please have at least 3 different examples like a sewing machine mat, thread catcher, or fabric baskets. Choose a wide range of sized items as well.

Follow Amanda Wright's board Let's Get Organized on Pinterest.

Sign ups will be open until Friday, March 28th. You have 3 weeks to gather your pins together and get me your information. Partner information will be sent out between March 30th and April 1st.

This swap will be open internationally.

Update (9 March): I'm so sorry, knew I was forgetting something. The mail out date or these will be April 30th. 

Partner information will be sent out

Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the form to fill out all the information. I have a lot of questions.

Be sure to tag your pictures with #SpringCleaningSwap.

Let's get ready to kick some dust bunny butt!

Amanda

March BOM - Hexagon Spiderweb Block

March is an awesome month. It's Hexagonal Awareness month and March 14th is Pi and Save a Spider Day.

Let's talk about hexagons. There are many ways to make hexagons: paper pieced, template, pre-cuts, etc. You can sew them by hand or machine. There are a lot of different patterns from traditional Grandmother's Flower Garden, HexyMF by Katy of A Ginger Monkey, to modern asymmetrical ones like the one we're going to make by Pink Chalk Studios.

Here are a couple that I've made. 

These were made using an acrylic template and sewn on my machine.

I made these by hand using paper templates.

So this will be a super easy machine sewn Spiderweb Hexagon. I usually have to have everything symmetrical, but I really like the look of these hexagons. Spiderwebs usually are woven to the area that they find and aren't always symmetrical. I think that these are the perfect combination of the two patterns. Pink Chalk Fabrics has an easy to follow instruction on how to make your hexagon blocks. If you want to have a symmetrical hexagon you can print a template off on foundation paper and paper piece the strips.

Be sure to post your pictures to our Facebook group, Flickr group, or both.

Happy stitching.

Really Late February Block - Dawning Snowflake

I know this is late and I am so sorry. I just realized tonight that I hadn't linked the post to the next block up in the Misfit blog. I will wear my cone of shame for...  squirrel! 

Thank you so much to Keri (@thequiltedvalkyrie). She hosted the BOM this month on her blog. She picked out a super cute paper pieced snowflake block for us. Click on the image below to go to her tutorial for the block.

While you're at it, check out her Etsy store for super cute camera and gadget goodies. Click on the link below to check out her shop.

January 2014 BOM block.

I'm so excited to be having our first block of the month. I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year's celebration! I thought we'd start the year off with something pretty simple. It is basic snowball blocks. It has some applique, embroidery, and buttons. Make your snowmen the way you want. Make this your own!

I had started out with doing a 12.5" and 6.5" unfinished blocks, but my quilt math was off on my 6.5" block, so I'm changing it to only being a 12.5" block.

*All seams will be 1/4 inch.

Grab your scraps and lets get to cutting.

You'll need a background fabric (I used blue), white for the snowman, and scarf fabric (I used red).

  Cutting instructions for the 12.5" unfinished block.

Background fabric:

(2) 3.5" x 5"

(2) 4.5" x 4.5"

(2) 4" x 5.5"

(12) 1.75" x 1.75"

Snowman:

*One each.

3.5" x 3.5"

4.5" x 4.5"

5.5" x 5.5"

Scarf:

1" x 5"

Construction:

1. Draw diagonal lines on the wrong side of the 1.75" x 1.75" background fabric squares.

2. Sew the 1.75" squares onto the corners of the Snowman blocks right sides facing. Follow the line that you drew on.

 Note: On the smaller white block, you might want to offset or trim the background square down to 1.25" or 1.5" so that it has a "rounder" head.

3. Trim your corners 1/4 inch from the line/seam.

4. Press your seams. You can do this however you prefer. I pressed mine to the blue background so that they wouldn't show through the white.

5. Sew the background squares to the snowman squares.

* Sew in the following order.

~ 3.5" x 5" background to opposite sides of the 3.5" square snowman block.

~ 4.5" x 4.5" background to opposite sides of the 4.5" square snowman block.

~ 4" x 5.5" background to opposite sides of the 5.5" square snowman blocks.

6. Make and sew on the scarf.

* To make the scarf, lay it on your ironing board. Fold the long sides together to meet in the middle and press. It will make a 1/2" x 5" rectangle. Fold and press one short end in 1/8" to 1/4" to make a finished end.

(I forgot to take a picture of that pressing part, so this is what it should look like.)

* Lay your scarf on your snowman with the finished end at the snowman's neck. Pin the end in place. Bring your scarf to the other side of the snowman's neck and decided if you want your snowman to be standing or doing a headstand. For standing, bend the scarf towards the bottom of the snowman. For doing a headstand (in picture), bend the scarf towards the top of it's head.

* I made two bends. One at the neck and one at the straight side of it's head. Pin at the bends and then at the end of the scarf.

* Start sewing at the fringe end, leaving 1/2" to 3/4" at then end. Edge stitch around the scarf. When you get back to where you started, sew back and forth a few times to secure it and keep it from unraveling.

* Trim the end of the scarf to make fringe.

7. Embroider the arms on and add buttons/embellishments. 

*I need to sew the buttons on and embroider the arms.

My 6.5" snowman block ended up being 5.75". I added a border and will end up using it as a small mug rug or a coaster.

May Pillow Pop Sew Along Week 3

I hope all the Mama's out there had a wonderful Mother's Day! 

We went out to eat with my family and went fishing. I found a sandpiper's nest and 4 spotted eggs.

So this week we should have our tops finished and we are going to sandwich it and quilt it! How are you all coming along?

Sorry I don't have any pictures. I've fallen behind on this one. 

May Pillow Pop Sew Along : Weeks 1 & 2

Wow, so I just realized I missed posting for a week. *facepalm* Where did that week go? So this week we will be playing catch up. If you haven't already, pick out and cut your fabrics and sew all those squares together!

I'm going to have to play catch up and get my fabrics picked out and cut (having a block as to what I want to use). So I will be putting my pictures up afterwards. I'm having a bit of writers block too. Ugh... 

 I'll leave you for now with a picture of Mockingbirds eggs who have taken up residence in my rose bush.

May Pillow Pop Sew Along - A Bunch of Crosses

Are you ready for another sew along??? We are going to be making Katy Jones' A Bunch of Crosses pattern in Pillow Pop. It's on pages 60 -  63. This is another great use of our scraps!

You can follow Katy on twitter, ImAGingerMonkey, and her blog Monkey Do.

You'll need to pick out 6 assorted fat eighths (pick some solids to match your prints).

A quarter yard of of matching fabric for your binding.

A half yard for backing.

20" x 20" square of muslin and batting.

This month we'll have a little drawing. I have a bunch of 2-1/2 inch squares (great if you are making a Scrap Vomit quilt). To be eligible for the drawing, you'll have to upload a picture of your finished pillow to the Misfit Quilters Flickr group. If you do not have a Flickr account, just email me your picture and I will upload if for you. Upload your picture by May 30th. I will draw a winner on May 31st.

Schedule for this sew along.

Week 1: Picking out and cutting fabrics.

Week 2: Sew pillow top (all of the small squares together).

Week 3: Pancake and quilt your pillow top.

Week 4: Finish pillow (sew pillow back and binding on)

Week 5: Make sure to have your picture uploaded by May 30th.

Week 4 - Finishing Up

Yay! We've made it through our first monthly QAL! How has everyone enjoyed it? So this week we are making our backs for the pillows and finishing up quilting. Pages 116 - 118 have instructions for 5 different ways to complete the backing. I made the simple envelope back.

If you choose the envelop backing, make sure your to put your top half on first. Then remember to sew 1/2 inch from the edge of the backing fabric. I used a guide to help me. 

After you've sewn everything and finished the edge, cut the excess off and trim the corners.

Here is a picture of my basic envelop back.

 Ta Da! Here are the two pillows that I made and were on the couch long enough for me to take the picture before my daughters claimed their pillow.

March's Pillow is A Bunch Of Crosses by Katy Jones (@ImAGingerMonkey) on page 60. It is a 20" square pillow.
March will also have a random drawing for those who finish their pillows by the end of the month. 

Week 2 and 3: Piecing and Quilting

I'm so sorry for getting week 2 out a week late. It's been a crazy week. We put our cat, that has been with my inlaws for the last couple years, to sleep today. He has been sick and the vet didn't know what was wrong. He was 13 yrs old.

Well during week two I actually had us scheduled cutting the fabrics (which we did in week 1, so we're not behind).

Week 3: Sewing the top and Quilting.

We'll be arranging our fabric squares and sewing them together. We will start by sewing the squares together by rows and then aligning our seams and sewing the rows together.

 

Tip: Press the seams in a row in the opposite direction as the one before it. Look at the top two rows as an example. It will give you less bulk when pressing the seams between the rows.

Next we will sew our borders on. Do the shorter borders on the sides first and then the top and bottom borders. *Remember that you needed to add half an inch to the cutting instructions in your book to the length of each border.

Now for our final step of the week. We will pin sandwich our layers. Place your muslin on the bottom. Batting on top of the muslin and center your pieced top on the batting. If you want to straight line quilt it as Heather did, draw a line in the center of your cross vertically and horizontally. I pinned around the area to be quilted. 

 

 (My needle fell out several times while I was quilting. lol)

Happy Stitching,

Amanda

Coming up: Week 4 - Finishing our pillows!

Pillow Fight - Life Aquatic Week 1 : Slice and Dice

Good afternoon Misfits!

If you're just tuning in, we are doing a monthly QAL. Our first book is Pillow Pop. It is 25 pillow cover patterns compiled by Heather Bostic of {House} Of A La Mode. February's pattern is Life Aquatic by Heather Bostic. I'm so excited for our first Book Club Quilt Along! I fell in love with this book and had to buy it. I wanted our group to do something different than a quilt and something that we would be able to make quickly because if you're like me, I have a TON of WIPs that I want to finish this year.

Grab a pencil or pen because we have a small correction to make to the cutting sizes. I contacted Heather to verify this. The cutting for the Linen should be 3" x 14.5" and 3" x 19.5". She told me that this was a correction that the editor failed to make when they notified them of it before printing. 

I have decided to do two of these pillows, but in different color schemes. The first one is in black and red scraps and the second one will be in gray and pink Sunkissed by Sweetwater.

Week 1 will go from today, Feb 3, to Saturday, Feb 9.

What fabrics are you using for your pillow?

Enchanted Makeover Capes for Kids Program

I came across this today and I wanted to have a "cape party". If you would be interested in making one or more capes for this please email me at themisfitquilters@gmail.com. Capes should be mailed to me by Feb 10th.

Click on the picture above to go to the Enchanted Makeovers blog post to get the pattern for the cape and optional applique.

Enchanted Makeovers was created by Terry Grahl. The company transforms shelters for women, mothers, teens, and children from a sterile, uninspiring place to a warm, welcoming, and empowering "home". Providing a positive atmosphere to rebuild their lives and self.

February - Pillow Pop QAL - Life Aquatic

I wanted to chose one of the two pillows by Heather Bostic, the compiler of the book Pillow Pop, for our first QAL. I choose her 18"x 18" pillow for it's simple and easily sewn design. I wanted it to be one people of all skill levels would be able to sew and one that would be great to raid our scrap bins. 

If you haven't gotten your book yet, I just wanted to give everyone a heads up on fabric requirements. You can use any colors that compliment your style. I will give the pattern for the following months on the finishing week's blog post for each month.

Fabric Requirements:

Aqua: assorted scraps equaling 1/4 yard. (44 : 2-1/2" squares)

Tangerine: scraps in assorted tones for cross (5 : 2-1/2" squares)

Linen: 1/4 yard 

Backing: 1/2 yd decorator fabric

Batting: 20" x 20" piece

Muslin: 20" x 20" piece

Pillow Form: 18" x 18"

Other Items:

Thread 

Sewing Machine

Rotary cutter & Cutting mat

Iron & Ironing Board

Basting pins

Zipper (if you choose to make a zippered pillowcase)

QAL Book - Pillow Pop

Okay, I know I said we'd vote, but this book has some super cute pillow patterns! I also thought that there are a lot of different QALs going on and most of them are full size quilts, this would be a great small project to do. If you have a full plate like me with WIPs and busy schedules a small, quickly finished project would a great idea. We are the Misfit Quilters and doing a QAL that isn't "normal" is right up our alley. We will be doing a slow paced QAL at just one pillow each month. Another great thing is that these are small projects that can be interchanged. Just have to buy the # of pillow forms that you intend to use for where ever you want to showcase them (ie. 2 for the couch, bed, etc). We'll make several of the same size pillows so you can have lots of options to switch.

The beautiful book is by Heather Bostic. You can follow her blog {House} of A La Mode or follow her on Twitter at @HouseofALaMode. The book is a collection of patterns by different quilters. There are 25 patterns with pillow sizes of 16, 18, or 20 inches in size. There are patterns for all levels of experience. You can grab a copy of her book from Amazon (click here or on the picture).

Go ahead and grab your copy of the book. If we do not have enough people signed up for the February Sweetheart Swap, then we will start in February.

Please check what size pillows you would like to do on the poll on the upper right hand side of the page.

Happy Stitching,
Amanda

Quilt Along - Name and Book Suggestions

The poll results are in. I'm excited to announce that we are going to be starting a Misfit Quilt Along! I joined a couple last year and they were very fun! What we are going to do is vote on what book we would like to start with. Then we will pick a pattern from that book every month or every other month. Each week we will have a goal to complete (cutting, piecing blocks, piecing rows, completing the top, and finishing). I will set up a timeline so everyone will know what to expect. You don't have to do every pattern. You can pick and choose what month you join in. You might not like the particular pattern or you are too busy.

I would love to have some suggestions for books. I've been searching the last week or so and there are some great books our there. Please comment with your suggestion. It can be a book of only quilts or a book that has quilts and other sewing projects in it. I will link the books that you suggest in this post and then post a poll so that we can all pick the one we want to start with.

I will have a button up for our quilt along soon.

Other news:

So far we only have 2 people interested in the Sweetheart Swap for February. We need at least 4 more people to join or I will have to cancel it. :-(

I am in the process of making a fun crafty thing starting in February. I can't wait to unveil it soon!

Stray stitches,

Amanda

February Sweetheart Swap

Yay! I'm so excited about our first swap for 2013!


Deborah over at Art Threads created a beautiful quilted Valentine's day table mat pattern we'll be using. I happened across this one day and loved it. I thought it would be a great project for our swap. Click the above or one of the pictures below to take you to the tutorial.

If you want to go ahead and sign up you can anytime from now to Jan 30th. I'll put up what info I need in the email in a few mins and link it here.

I will email you your partner on Feb 1st.

Mat must be mailed to your partner by Feb 20th and you must email me letting me know when you mail it out and receive it from your partner.

TheMisfitQuilters@gmail.com

Happy stitching,
Amanda

February Swap Coming Up

Hello everyone!

I hope that you are all doing well and your holidays were warm and happy. I am in the process of putting together the February swap details and wanted to let you all know and get an idea of who all would like to join. Official sign up dates are Jan 25th - 30th and partners will be assigned and emailed out Feb 1st. I am so excited about getting this group back up and running.

We have a twitter name now. @MisfitQuilters Please add it because I will be sending out all the information about the upcoming swaps and other information about the group with it starting Feb 1st.

Check out the above tabs. I will be adding a tab with all the information needed in the emails when you sign up for a swaps.

I had a suggestion for swaps that would be used for charities. Maybe we could make blocks and piece a quilt together. Does anyone have suggestions for charities that you support that accept quilts. I know a few and will add links to them in a tab as well.

Happy stitching,
Amanda

Newton PTA "Snowflake Project"

This was shared with me on FB and I wanted to share it with everyone else here. As the letter states, they are in the process of moving the Sandy Hook Elementary school to a new building because of the recent shooting. Let's help the children of the Sandy Hook Elementary school by sending snowflakes to decorate the halls of their new school. Please remember NO WORDS on the snowflakes, but use glitter and anything else you can to make them uplifting and cheerful.

Snowflakes are due January 12th.