a birthday giveaway!

It's my birthday today (& Jennifer's of course!) and I'm celebrating with a little giveaway!

I really wanted to say thank you to everyone who visits here and leaves such kind comments for Jennifer and me. It's been so much fun for us to share our projects and get such nice feedback from all of you.

I've put together a little gift package here with a couple patterns, a charm pack and 1/4 yard cuts of 4 favorite Denyse Schmidt fabrics. If you'd like to win this package, please leave a comment and I'll randomly choose a winner on next week Wednesday, June 6. To help me with shipping costs, I need to limit this giveaway to those living within the U.S..

 Thanks so much!!
~Jessica

**Thank you, too for all of you who left opinions about the Farmers Wife Quilt sashing options! I think I have it figured out what I'm going to use... I just ended up with another cold last week and with the long holiday over the weekend, I haven't been able to start on that. But, that will come together soon enough and then I can reveal what it's going to look like.

Farmer's Wife Quilt - blocks and sashing options

I've finished up 4 more blocks for the quilt. These are #23 Country Farm, #48 Homeward Bound, #56 Maple Leaf, & #90 Storm Signal. While making the last few blocks, I'm trying to add in some darker colors. I noticed most of the blocks are really bright and I thought adding some with darker colors would be good to add in the mix. Only 5 more blocks until I can starting arranging them!

I've been looking through what I have on hand for a sashing fabric and have pulled these 3 fabrics out as options. I spent quite a bit of time looking through the finished quilts thread on the FW flickr group. {All the quilts look so beautiful... you should take a look there if you're needing inspiration to keep working on your own blocks!}
Anyway, I placed some blocks on each of the fabrics to see what they would look like used as sashing.

Option A: Ok, so I really do like all the options. I guess I just have to decide what kind of look I'm going for. To me, the white seems crisp and more modern. It would really show off the bright colors.

Option B: This one is nice, too. The fabric has a really nice texture print to it and I like how it kind of pulls together all the blocks.

Option C: Now, I'm leaning toward using this one. It may be the most traditional choice (only because the example quilt in the book uses a brown sashing, too). I like how the colorful blocks really shine with the darker sashing.
Well, I suppose I have a little bit more time to decide. I should get those last 5 blocks made!
Is there an option that you like best?
~Jessica

stitching on the trip around the world

After a long break of working on this quilt, I pulled it out yesterday and got it ready for basting and quilting! The colors are so cheerful and fresh, I thought it would be nice to work on it while it is still a little cool and spring like outside.
 
A few weeks ago I picked up some Quilters Dream Cotton Request batting at a new little quilt shop in a town near by. I've read that this batting is good for hand quilting... and it's true. The needle slid through the layers so easily and it's been much easier on my hands. The batting is super soft, too.
I'm working on this quilt just by holding it on my lap. I don't have a frame to hold it in and it seems to be going just fine (so far). It sure kept me warm while stitching and watching a little American Idol last night!
~Jessica

geocaching...

We have a new family activity that was started over the weekend. It's called geocaching... maybe you've heard of it before? My daughter was introduced to it through her Girl Scout troop and now she has all of us involved in finding these boxes or containers hidden throughout our community. It really was an a enjoyable activity and I especially like it because all of our kids can be involved. When you have kids within a wide age range (ours range from 3 to 12), it's sometimes hard to find an activity that they will all enjoy.

The older two loved being in control of the GPS and leading us to the coordinates of the container. This one was more difficult to find... it was buried underground in a box covered with leaves and sticks. Not to mention, it was quite a ways off the trail by a huge tree. But, that's just all part of the adventure! Our little guy (who's just 3) loved the toy part of it. Some of the boxes contain small toys or trinkets that you can take (and then you leave something else in return). Now I know where all the happy meal toys go! ;) We acquired a Shrek that speaks non-stop!
We've only found a few of the geocache boxes, but I can see this will be a fun summer activity for me and the kids.

The spring wildflowers were really pretty through the woods.

 

I think this one is called "Columbine".

I'm not sure what this one is, but it was really pretty. Maybe it's a "Lady Slipper". There were quite a few of them along the walk. They remind me a lot of the way that orchids grow.
Thanks for visiting with me!
~Jessica

Farming again...

blocks  #31 Evening Star, #40 Friendship Block, #41 Friendship Star, #96 Tulip

I haven't worked on these in a long time and had forgotten about how colorful and fun they were to make!

It was nice to lay them out on the porch and see what's already been made. I think there's 41 blocks pictured and I would need 50 to make a lap size quilt. Only 9 more to go! Now to decide on a sashing fabric... I'm thinking something with a printed texture and a darker color would be good.

~Jessica
**more info. about the Farmer's Wife Quilt-a-long can be found here.

a few of my favorite patterns...

Hello!
I've been taking a little break from so much sewing & blogging the past few months, but I thought I'd pop in today and share with you some of my favorite patterns!

I always think a pattern is a good one if I've actually made it more than once. And the three patterns that I'm sharing today are all ones that I've made many times & again within the past few weeks.

The first one up is the Maddie Top by Sis Boom. The top is quite simple to make, but a little fiddly with the shoulder straps. It's not difficult, it just takes some time to do all the necessary steps. It always turns out cute and I think it is a great top for little girls in the summer. I can't wait to see my niece in this one!

My next favorite pattern is the Lined Drawstring Bag by Jeni of In Color Order. This is a pattern that my daughter and I turn to when she has friends over and they need a project to do. I let them look through my fabrics and pick out what they like and they each make their own bag. For most of the girls, it's their first time sewing and it's been an easy and quick project to do (with some guidance). I've also made quite a few of these for myself (like the one above that's holding a crocheting project) and I also use them for gift bags.

The last pattern that I've found very useful is the Jane Market Bag by Alicia Paulson. I've made several of these bags over the past couple years and it's become a favorite of mine to throw stuff in for soccer practice or for day trips out with the kids. It's really the perfect size tote bag, not too big or too small!

I alter the pattern a little bit by lengthening the straps and by using a layer of fusible fleece on the outside fabric of the bag. I like the way the fusible fleece helps hold the bag up when it's empty and how it gives it a little more structure.

These bags were made using up the last bits of County Fair Home Dec fabric that I've had for a long time. I'll keep them on hand for when I need a gift for teachers or friends. Everyone likes a new tote bag, right?!

I hope you have enjoyed seeing a few of my favorite (non-quilty) sewing patterns!
Happy Sewing!
~Jessica

Brrr! giveaway

ETA: Congratulations to Debbie, comment no.71!!!

Thank you all for entering and I'm sorry I didn't get this posted earlier in the week. My family has had the flu this week, so I've been needing to care for them quite a bit!

Hope you have a great weekend!

~Jessica

Would you like to win some Brrr! fabrics by Laurie Wisbrun?
I've got a fat quarter set to giveaway!

1. Sleepover Pajamas in Brrr!, 2. Brrr! Rocket Ship wall hanging , 3. box bags and fabric giveaway, 4. polar bear pillow, 5. Swoon #3 - Bears and Chairs, 6. Brrr! Triangles Quilt, 7. Brrr! Mini Quilt, 8. Brrr quilt front, 9. Brrr! Baby Quilt, 10. Brrr! baby quilt - quilting, 11. Ursus {Maritimus} Major!, 12. Brrr! bear paw!, 13. Brrr! by Laurie Wisbrun, 14. constellation quilt, 15. Brrr! quilt top, 16. Brrr! Quilt and Pillow

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

Aren't all these Brrr! projects really fun? I think the mosaic gives you so many different ideas to use these fabrics!

I'll choose a winner by random number on Wednesday, March 14.
The giveaway is for U.S. address only.

Please leave a comment and make sure there is a way for me to contact you, should you win!
Thanks and good luck!
~Jessica