let me stache your iPad for you . . .

I made this about a month before opening my Etsy shop.   I absolutely love this little iPad sleeve.  It's padded for a little extra protection and has the most adorable wooden mustache button.  The reason I never listed it right away was because of its label inside.  It says "small shop studio."  That was going to be the original name of my Etsy shop, and if I could have that name today, I would snatch it up in a heartbeat.  I work in a very small space and I have always wanted to say that I have a"studio."  So dreamy, right?  The name has meaning for me, but before I googled "small shop studio," I was too anxious to get things going and didn't properly research if anyone else had that name.  Well, someone else does, and she has a brand styling studio.   Awesome for her, bummer for me.  So that is why the sleeve was never listed until today.  Today, I say who cares.  I made an awesome sleeve, and I want someone to enjoy it.  So today my friends, I list it in the shop.  

You can read all the details in my shop.

Winner of the 5 patterns from Etsy shop, During Quiet Time, is debbiekl!  Congrats!

Triple Zip Pouch || Sewing Post

It's always a risk to show off photos of gifts before giving them.  The likelihood of the person who is receiving this gift reads my blog is very low.  So I am taking a risk and sharing with you my completed triple zip pouch that I made for Karlyn, my teenager niece.  And if Karlyn is reading this post - Happy Birthday!  It's not my fault you chose to read this one and only post!  ;)  I have one more I need to make but I haven't done it yet, and I'm already contemplating making one for myself too.  Debbie from A Quilter's Table created this pattern that features three zippers on one pouch.  I had no problems with it, but I did use my seam ripper a lot.  Also, I ended up doing the last few steps differently.  Mine is a little bigger too measuring 10" x 7" and has the zipper extended off the pouch.  You can head on over to the Flickr group to see what all the other talented people have created from this pattern.

I'm sure you'll see more photos of this pouch when I photograph the second one.  (These are the photos used for the Flickr group.)



Relevant links: Other gifts I have sewn
For Gracie
For Lucy
For Maeghan
For Olivia
For Nicole


My quilting book released Sept. 24, 2015 and is on Amazon.  Check it out!

My Paper Pieced Star Quilt Block || Sewing Post

First up, I have NO clue what this paper pieced block is supposed to be called.  I'm 126970% positive (my statistics teacher would be so disappointed in me right now) there is a name for this, so please let me know in the comment box.

On my Facebook page, I shared my block and made the mistake cutting it before accurately measuring.  That resulted in this block because I didn't have any more of the black fabric to fix my error.

Still looks amazing in my opinion, but it was not what I wanted.   Not too bad for my first paper pieced block!

Colors: Robert Kaufmann Kona Cerise,Cyan, and Snow, and Amy Butler River Shine

What I learned:

- Paper piecing wastes a lot of fabric.
-Everything is reversed, which became a problem for me when I wanted the colors to alternate.  Let's just say I have two extra quarter pieces . . .
- For goodness sake.  Measure twice!
-With paper piecing, you can achieve precise, crisp points.

Here was my mistake:  (and proof that imitation lighting can alter a color's appearance)

And here is what I wanted originally:

Because of my mistake, I was not able to rotate the star and have enough of the River Shine to create triangles on the sides.  :/

This photo was taken when I went to High Point Market, a hot spot in NC that happens twice a year for interior designers.  Hence, I named the block High Point 1-A on Facebook.  Totally, utterly boring.

Do you like to paper piece?