Who needs a little thread in their stocking?

Hi Everyone,

Gütermann thread makes Signiture Cotton Quilting Thread and they asked me to tell you about this pretty little box of thread that is available for a special price, 20% off, for the holidays at Joann stores.

It is twelve 700 yard spools. Signature cotton thread is 40 weight, 100% extra long staple, 3-ply mercerized Egyptian cotton. This gives it strength and softness with low lint.

I am not getting paid to post about it but they did give me a sweet little 6 pack box of the same thread in all the best neutral colors to give away to you.

So if you would like to win this box of thread. Please leave a comment below telling me what your favorite color of thread is and why. I will draw a winner next Thursday from the comments.

I will start... my favorite color is dove grey because it matches everything :)

Hope you are having a lovely Holiday Season.

Love,

A Giveaway and Public Service Announcement

Hi Everyone,

How would you like to get this adorable enamel Mushroom mug (that I picked up just for you at the famous Powell's Bookstore) filled with charms of Mushroom and Flower fabric from Sarah Watts and Melody Miller of Cotton + Steel, and some other fun goodies from Market? If so... read on...

(Links in this post are affiliate links, I get a few pennies for promotion at no extra cost to you.)

My first PSA is about Cricut... if you have been on the fence about buying a Maker (intro post here) now is the time they have a super promo The More You Spend, The More You Save! Valid 5.30-6.5.
You can get a bunch of $ to spend to buy accessories.

They also have Free economy shipping (US & Canada) on orders of $99+ using code: MAYSHIP

And a great deal on the Easy Press (it is a special iron for making fun t-shirts) it has the perfect heat settings for iron on heat transfer.  Bring on the heat. Take $20 off Cricut EasyPress.Valid 5.30-6.5.

Last but not least... I have been wanting to tell you about Creativebug... as you all know I love Creativebug. I have been a member for a few years now and every once in a while I tell you guys about them. They have great teachers! Including Anna Maria Horner, Amy Butler, Lizzy House, Heather Ross, and Carolyn Friedlander... honestly it is great. The reason I am talking about them now is they have a special if you sign up now 1 Month for $1  you can do as many classes as you want... and Sonya Philip of "100 Acts of Sewing" with her hot patterns is teaching her three basic pattern classes. Tunic No. 1, Pants No. 1, and Shirt No. 1.
 
The patterns alone would cost you close to $50 this is a great deal folks. If you want to sign up just click on the picture to go to Creativebug.

Look at this Quilt with Anna Maria:



Plus they have painting, cooking, knitting... it's great!

 

Megan was the only comment for the giveaway so she wins! Woot! Giveaway is over :)

Manicure Mitts Free Project

 Hey Everyone,

Welcome to the Cricut Self Care Blog Tour!

I made these cute mitts for you. I used to be a manicurist. It is true. In a past life LOL In our shop we had a heated oil bath that you dipped your hands in then we had special soft mitts that you could put on and let the oil soak in without it getting on everything. That is where I got the idea. To be honest I have been wanting to make these for myself for a long time so this was the perfect excuse to give myself a little self care.

If you missed it, there is a list of everyone else on the tour on my last post.

Be sure to see the giveaway at the end of this post.

These mitts are so fast and easy they would make a great present for a girlfriend. Add some polish and maybe make a little zip pouch to keep them in.

Manicure Mitts Free Pattern

 

Supplies:

¼ yd External Fabric (I suggest quilting weight cotton)

¼ yd Lining Fabric (I suggest soft jersey knit, fleece, or minky)

Thread

Proper Machine Needles (ballpoint if you are using knit)

(This is an affiliate link) Cricut Maker Cutting Machine

You can find the file for these mitts on Cricut Design Space at this link (I drew them myself using the design shapes so that you could easily download and cut the pattern):

Https://design.cricut.com/#/design/86812196

I have also added a template pattern to the download.

Cutting:

If you are cutting with the Maker cut the pattern once with the exterior fabric and once with the interior fabric. From each of the fabrics cut two mitts with template right side up and two with template right side down. You should have 8 pieces when you are finished cutting. 

Instructions: Seam Allowance is ¼ inch unless otherwise stated. Here is a video with instructions as well.

1.       Place each external piece right sides together with a matching lining piece. With the external piece on the bottom sew the wrist edge only. Leave a 2” opening in the center of each of the pieces that have the thumbs facing to the right for turning.

2.       Open up and lay the pieces flat. Press toward the external pieces. Place the pieces right sides together matching the lining pieces and the external pieces with their counterparts. Sew all the way around starting at the seam of the external pieces and sewing around to the seam on the opposite side of the wrist. If you are using a knit for the lining switch to a ball point needle and sew the lining. It will look like the photo at the right.

3.       Clip into the thumb notch all the way to but not through the stitching.

4.       Clip all of the curves.

5.       Turn out through the opening at the wrist.

6.       Press. Press seam allowance under at the opening. Top stitch close to the edge of the wrist catching in and closing the opening.

Slather your hands up with a moisturizer (Olive Oil and Coconut Oil are my favorites) and put on your new gloves to keep the oil from getting on things while it penetrates into your skin. These are a super simple fast project for a gift. You could grab some pretty polish, cuticle oil, and a cute nail file and wrap them up for a quick birthday present.

Now for the fun Giveaway:

 I am giving away a free download of the pattern for the Gabriela pajamas above. Can I just tell you how excited I was to see that they have my size? Also the pattern has all kinds of help for fitting. Honestly you are going to be amazed at the amount of information in this pattern. You can make it as shorts, below knee, ankle, or footie. You can customize the sleeve length. The sizes are 00-36 ... I think everyone in the family needs these. Look here to see it in sizes similar to yours. On real women.

To enter to win the pattern. Do one or all three of the following and leave a separate comment for each thing that you do.

1. Follow me or let me know that you already do.
2. Subscribe to my YouTube
3. Repost on your social media of choice.

I will draw a winner on Monday, April 2nd.

Hope you love it!
Julie

So Busy! And a Giveaway!

Hey Everyone,

I know it has been a while since I have added any kind of interesting content here. I decided a long time ago that I would quit apologizing for blogging absences, but really, I have been gone way too long. Let me tell you a bit about what is going on in my world :)

My child started college in January. She has finals this week and she is getting straight A's... super proud of her, but she doesn't drive yet.

For those of you in places like where I grew up that don't have a lot of traffic and craziness on the roads, it might seem strange that a 19 yr old would not be driving already but it is pretty common here. Add to that the fact that we only have manual transmission cars and you see my problem. I drive her to school which adds an extra 2 hours to each day for me. She will be driving by the time Fall semester rolls around LOL

I did a 30 day challenge with Creative Bug to learn brush lettering and I am practicing every day. It is super fun and I have used it in some projects which you will see below.

 I made this Zip-up Tray Pouch for my friend and roomie at Sewtopia, Jaime.

 We were in Denver and this is the gift that Jaime made and brought for me.

This is my Traverse Bag that I made at Sewtopia with Anna Graham (Noodehead) I use it ever day and LOOOVE it!

Had a great class with Lizzy House, who reminded me that being intentional about the items that I make and buy is what will keep my passion alive.

This is the quilt I made in Lizzy's class out of lawn fabrics designed by Heather Ross. I am going to hand quilt it with a lawn backing.

My child made these adorable origami bunnies for me for Easter.

I made the new Sorbetto Tank from Colette for Sally and Amy Sinibaldi's lookbook for Charleston.
Art Gallery didn't use it but you will see more of it once it gets back to me and I send it to Sally :) It is probably the most technically perfect clothing item I have ever made.

I went to Planner Con in March and came home with all kinds of swag. I love my planners and it is my new passion. Arting up the planners has gotten my creative mojo fired back up.

This is a picture of my three planners. The Marigold one is my daily planner for life, the Ballerina Pink one is my Faith planner, and the fabric one is my art journal/ listing planner.

I made the fabric planner as a tutorial for my new blog venture with Sally. It is called I'll Take Jesus, we do crafts and tutorials, give away fun printables, and do weekly Bible devotionals on Fridays. We post daily. So that is where a lot of my time is spent. Can I just say you don't have to be a believer to come over and see our arts and crafts tutorials? Here is one that I posted this week:

 It is a perpetual calendar. You can see I used my brush lettering technique for the month tags.

Speaking of paper crafting it is where my heart is right now and I am starting a new paper crafting club. (Yes, you all that have signed up already through the Scrappy Stash Buster Club I am finally getting going.) If you would like to sign up for the newsletter for paper crafting click here.

About the shop.... I mentioned a few months ago that I am changing the trajectory of the fabric shop. I am choosing small collections that not everyone else is carrying and only things that really speak to me. I found it soul crushing to have so much fabric coming in all of the time and to just cut fabric all day long and have no time to create with the beautiful stuff passing through my fingers. I am working on downsizing enough to move everything back home. I have enough room for about 1/3rd of what I had in the shop. So I might still be a bit quiet while I finish up with the warehouse and get things moved. If you wanted any of our shelves or classroom tables please email me because I am ready to give them up now. We did great with Neptune and the Mermaid and Charleston ... there is a bit left of both. I am still on the look out for small sweet collections and, of course, I have the Tilda coming.

Now for the giveaway. I am giving away one of my prototype Traveler's Notebooks that I made a month or two ago (I will let you choose your favorite). If you would like to win a notebook cover with an insert already installed for you to start with right away.

Please leave a comment on this post. I am also including a bunch of sticker swag from planner con and my own stash.

For a second chance, you can sign up for the newsletter and leave a second comment letting me know that you did. Don't forget to leave an email where I can reach you if you win. I will use Random.org to choose a winner next week on Thursday morning.