pardon the interruption...

We are taking a much needed vacation at 

the lake this week...

There will be lots of sewing, fishing, eating, 
drinking :), and just plain old relaxing.

Come back next week for

{Sew} Modern Monday!

xo, Megan

{Sew} Modern Monday #27

It's that time again!

{Sew} Modern Monday!

June was my month to serve as Quilter for the BLISS circle of do.Good Stitches {a charity bee}.  I asked the talented ladies to make two bow tie blocks using my tutorial using fresh, summery fabrics paired with white. As the blocks came rolling in, I really started to get more and more excited to put this quilt together.  I just love the idea of so many people, living in all parts of the US, coming together to make one special quilt for charity.  It is seriously something special.

Once all the blocks were in, I sewed the top together and waited.  Waited for some quilty inspiration/motivation to FMQ and finish it up.  Surprising that inspiration came this past weekend in a little Google chat with Elizabeth from Don't Call Me Betsy.  On a whim, I asked her how she bastes her quilts and she guided me to this tute from Kristie from OCD: obsessive crafting disorder.  spray basting + dumbbells = brilliant!

Not only did she share the tute, but she also gave me the courage to just do it!  When it comes to quilting and especially basting a quilt, I tend to stress to the max.  The OCD kicks into overdrive and it really makes for a bummer of a sewing experience.  But, taking her words in stride, I just went with it.  And in less than 2 hours I had this quilt basted and quilted!  Spray basting rocks my world!  (thanks Elizabeth!)

I finished it up with a bit of bright blue Kona cotton (sorry, the name is escaping my memory at the moment). I love it!  Now all I have to do is ship it off to our charity, Wrap Them In Love.

Quilt Stats

Size: 50" x 50"

Pieced by: myself, Don't Call Me Betsy, sasikirana, 

My Fabric Obsession, i like orange, too!, linda beth,

Orangebird242, weezie lou, chloeandme,

and WendyLouP.

Quilted by: Me

Now it's your turn.  What have you been sewing on this past week?  psst...rules are over here.

busy as a bee.

Phew, it's hard to believe it's already the middle of July.  Where the heck does the time go?!?!  One minute we are in a snow storm and the next we are trying to stay cool in the summer heat (alright, maybe not that drastic. but you get the picture).  There have been lots of fun and exciting things going on over here--sewing and not sewing related--that my actual "sewing time" seems to be dwindling. Boo!  But, I did manage to squeeze some bee block sewing in this past week...


{Sew} Beautiful [June]
Alright, I was actually behind (it was due in June!) with this block but thankfully Cara granted me a bee extension (thanks Cara!). For Cara's month, she asked us each to make a creative pieced house block using some fun scraps from her stash.  Gah, talk about nerve wrecking! I seriously spent a lot of hours thinking about this block before I actually had enough courage to get down to the sewing part.  I think it was the combination of having free reign and wanting produce a rocking block.  Anyway, it had me a little out of sorts until I finally reached a breaking point, and just went with it.
 

And wouldn't you know when it's all said and done, I seriously loved making this block.  Especially when it all came together in the end. :)  phew.  Talk about pushing outside the comfort zone.


Cara is putting our blocks together and then donating them to a NICU family (see where the "home" theme fits in?).  How awesome is that!


do.Good Stitches [July]

Becky from My Fabric Obsession, this month's quilter from our do.Good Stitches BLISS circle, asked each of use to make 3 blocks using this Jaybird Quilts' tutorial.  She asked for us to use grays and yellows (an emerging trend according to Sew, Mama, Sew!).  Again, way outside my comfort zone!

But in the end--it really was easy peasy!  I think I might be using this technique for a little pouch in the near future.  It's a great way to use up scraps--or any jelly rolls you may have stashed away. :)

And there you have it--a month of bee blocks.  This month definitely pushed me outside my comfort zone and stretched my quilty horizons.  Yay for learning something new!

xo, Megan

pretty {little} pouch swap. round 2.

mmmm, i love me some pouches.

which is why i've signed up for another round of 

the pretty {little} pouch swap. 

so...

here's a bit of pouch inspiration. 

:)

1. paper airplane pouch, 2. Ring of stitches, 3. purple bird patchwork large pouch, 4. Hexie pouch, 5. Innocent Crush Triangle Quilt, 6. such a star., 7. pretty petal clutch - Explored, 8. the peaceful pincushion, 9. Kaleidescope table topper , 10. Umbrella Prints Trimmings2011, 11. pouch for pretty {little} pouch swap, 12. 8 line zip, 13. QAYG Log Cabin 2011, 14. Little Pouch, 15. Oh 1, 16. wristlet bluebird

xo, Megan

{Sew} Modern Monday #26

Hey, hey, hey!

Do you know what time it is?

It's {Sew} Modern Monday time!

Another week has come and gone, and I find myself...once again...without a fun, modern sewing finish to share with you all.  my apologies. :)  But hey, that doesn't mean I have completely stalled out on the sewing home front.  You see while there may not be any finishes, there have been lots of fun things in the works this past week.  Let's see, there's...

• a fun new modern flickr swap.  Elizabeth and I are starting our own modern flickr swap called For the Love of Solids completely devoted to solid fabric junkies (like ourselves!).  You can find more details here.  Oh, and sign-ups start Wednesday, July 13!!
• this week's teacher interview for The Sewing Summit blog.  This week's teacher spotlight is with Vanessa Christenson of V and Co. and her blog rocks!  The best part--she's moving to Iowa! Yep, that's right--only an hour or so away from me.  Gah!  It looks like my dreams of starting an Iowa MQG chapter could be coming true very soon.  Even if it is just the two of us--I will be happy as a clam! (wait, what the heck does that saying even mean?  moving on...)
• speaking of TSS, did you all hear about some new travel bag developments?  Jeni from In Color Order and I (with the help of a great group of TSS teachers/bloggers/peeps) are putting together a fun series all about bags, bags, and more bags.  More details soon--but I promise, it will rock!
• oh, and there has been sewing.  lots of sewing.  But, you'll have to take my word for it. :)

And in addition to all that, I have gone about my "real" life--the part that doesn't involve Twitter/Facebook/Blogs.  You know, the lame part. :)  Which is why I haven't had a chance to comment on all the link-ups from last week (boo!).  But rest assured I have checked them all out.  Plus, my mom usually let's me know what's been linked up each week. thanks mom for being my biggest fan! 

Alright, moral of the story.  No sewing finish.

So let's get right to the fun part--your link ups!  I think you know the drill (if not, here are the rules).

Hit it!

For the Love of Solids [a modern swap]

Do you have a serious love for solid fabrics?
Do you enjoy fresh, modern designs?
Are you addicted to flickr swaps?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, 
then I think you are going to love this...

I am so excited to announce a new modern sewing swap
officially starting August 1st called

For the Love of Solids [a modern swap]

And because two swap mamas are better than one, 

Elizabeth from Don't Call Me Betsy will be helping out as well!

Alright, so who else is excited?!?!

Come join the For the Love of Solids [a modern swap]

flickr group to see more of the nitty gritty details.

And remember, sign ups start Wednesday, July 13th!

We are limiting the sign-ups to the first 100 swappers,

so mark your calendars and spread the word. 

:)

xo, Megan

slow and steady.

Believe it or not, I have jumped head first into another QAL. When Elizabeth from Don't Call Me Betsy announced her Kaleidoscope QAL, I just had to sign up!  Ack!  I know, I know. :) But believe it or not, I am right on track!


Did you all catch that, RIGHT ON TRACK WITH A QAL!


Can you tell I am a little excited?!?! 




I decided my Pips stash would be perfect for this QAL--yay for stash busting!--and just started cutting this past weekend.

And now I can't stop piecing blocks.  Seriously, this is a great QAL--you all should join!  Elizabeth puts together clear, straight forward directions that are so easy to follow.  Which makes for an awesome QAL experience!

I can't wait to start putting my blocks together--this just might be a new favorite finish folks! :)

xo, Megan

{Sew} Modern Monday #25

It's {Sew} Modern Monday time!
 

I hope you are all having a wonderful 4th of July weekend!

 

 

Today's {Sew} Modern Monday finish has been a long time coming.  How long, you might ask?  Well lets see (this might be a record!)...

 
Summer 2007--bought fabric and pieced quilt top.

December 2007--long arm quilted the quilt.
the quilt moved from apartment to apartment, town to town--begging for attention!

June 2011--fell back in love with the quilt, cut and attached binding.

July 2011--finish!

 

Yep, it has been a very long time.  

But hey, a finish is a finish!

I love the bright and cheery fabrics, which are perfect for summer!  
 

I was lucky enough to have access to an APQS long-arm quilting machine when I worked at my LQS.  Loved that job!  So this quilt was quilted on the long-arm, using an all over loopy flower pantograph.

The pattern is called Cheese & Crackers by Terry Atkinson (one of my all time favorite pattern designers!). As for the fabric, I honestly can't remember.  hey, it's been a while since I picked it up!  I am almost certain it's Moda--if you know, please share. :)

 

Quilt Stats

Name: Cheese & Crackers

Size: 57" x 70"

Pattern: Cheese & Crackers by Atkinson Designs

Quilted by: Me

Now it's your turn.

Have a recent modern sewing finish?  Then link up!

Here are a few guidelines to follow.

1.) Link up a recent sewing project using modern fabrics and/or designs.  Please link to the specific post, not just your blog home page.

2.) Please link back to Canoe Ridge Creations in your own post.  If you want, grab the {Sew} Modern Monday button over on the sidebar and add it to your blog page.  That way you won't have to remember each week.

3.) Check out other people's {Sew} Modern Monday links.  What fun is linky party without comments?  Please take the time to comment on other people's posts.

4.) Don't forget, there's a {Sew} Modern Monday flickr group too!

bee fabric [sent!]

Remember that bee fabric I mentioned a few days ago?

  

  
Well it's been cut, pressed, and packaged

and now on it's way

to my fellow bee-mates!


Isn't it so yummy!?!


So yummy in fact, I couldn't help making a 
test block of my own.


We are using this tute from Badskirt.
WARNING: This block is addictive! 
  

  

Yep, I can't wait to start getting my bee blocks back! :)

Have a great 4th of July weekend everyone!

Oh and today is the last day for my Kona FQ giveaway,

be sure to enter!

xo, Megan