Love Triangle

I was lucky enough to do a guest post over on our first prize giver's blog.  Head on over and check out my little tutorial on triangles.  Then make something totally fabulous with your newly acquired triangle skill!  Don't forget to post it on Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #octoberquiltybox

Happy Quilting!

-Kristi-

Meet Quilty Box!

We're now about two and a half weeks away from the shipping deadline for the schnitzel & boo Mini Quilt Swap.  As you guys know, we have lots of awesome prizes.  Over the next few weeks (in between my sudden scramble to move across the country and everything involved in that) I'll be introducing you to our prize givers.  

The first prize to be given away is a box of awesome quilty goodies from newcomer Quilty Box.  What is Quilty Box?  Well, keep reading to see for yourself!

1. Please introduce yourself (name, location, family, creative history)

My name is Tabatha and I'm a native South Floridian.  I have red hair and freckles and an unhealthy love of the sun.  I'm a mom to three: DD-5, DS1-4 and DS2-6 months (and no, we are not done).  When people tell me I have my hands full, I say "What better way to have your hands full of than the hands of my children?" My husband is Spaniard and French and well, I'm pretty enamored.  I love creativity, games, the outdoors, and am a HUGE nerd.

Awesome hair pin by Art School Dropout

2. Where did the idea for "Quilty Box" come from?

I used to work in Corporate America, putting my MBA to use in various areas of strategy and business analysis, but left to become a stay-at-home mom, and that has been most rewarding for me.  As a busy mom, I sometimes felt I couldn't quite get the spark of creativity to sync up with my family's schedule.  My husband receives a monthly box containing "gamer" items that my family loves to receive each month.  I started thinking about how I could combine my love of quilting, and leverage this unique medium to reach out to the quilting obsessed and curious.  I didn't want to send a box with a project in it.  I wanted to send a box of inspiration.  Something appealing to all levels of quilters, with the element of surprise.  And, Quilty Boxes meet that objective.  But they are more than the contents of the box, my goal is to grow a community of creativity inspired by the monthly contents, to keep us inspired, creating, and sharing.  I want to let people know how diverse in technique and application quilting can be.

3. What kinds of things are typically found in a Box?

Each month contains items that revolve around a theme.  October's theme was Geometry and was inspired by all sorts of shapes and lines.  You can expect to find everything from fabric and notions to books and patterns, varied each month, along with a unique item each month to further inspire creativity.  Every month is different, there is no magical box formula.  And the contents of the box has a retail value far exceeding the cost.  October's box retail was about $60 and also includes exclusive discounts from some vendors.

4. What is your most favorite sewing tool?

Does my machine count?  I adore my Bernina, Big Bertha (or Bertie for short).  I love trying new tools and products, but my current favorite tool is my Gingher 45mm rotary cutter.  Just as nice to look at as my scissors, and cuts like butter.  My most used tool would be my seam ripper, and iron...I'm an obsessive presser.

5. What's the most favorite thing you've ever made?

I'm fickle.  Everything I make is my new favorite.  I made my mom a quilt with batiks in my own pattern, and I really love it.  I still haven't finished all the FMQ on it, but my mom is being patient.

6. How did you learn to sew?

Hand sew?  My Grandma Betty taught me simple stitches when I was quite young.  She wasn't a hobby sewist.  But, she could mend.  When she passed in 2005, I received her crocheting supplies, a hobby of hers.  Machine sewing has been within the past few years and the internet has been my teacher, plus trial and error!

7. What is on your sewing goal list? (Technique to master, pattern to make etc)

Geez... Finish my unfinished projects, plus a Super Tote by Noodlehead, a Swoon Quilt by ThimbleBlossoms,  Reverie Quilt by Rachel Griffith, finish my Autumn Sample from the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery, etc. And, I want to master Foundation Paper Piecing.  I also have ideas for some monochromatic quilts.

8. If you were a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, what part of the sandwich would you be and why?

Peanut butter!  A little crunchy, makes a mess, but you always count on it to hold the other parts together.  :-)

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To get your very own subscription to Quilty Box-and there's more than one awesomely affordable option-click here and be sure to use the code "SCHNITZEL5" for a discount good through November 15.  AND!!  There are still a few October boxes (pictured throughout this post)!  To purchase one, send a request to info@quiltybox.com.

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Thank you, Tabatha!  I love meeting members of our community and we love that you have been such a generous part of our first swap!

Quilty Box has very kindly offered up TWO boxes!  One for a random participant and one for "Most Unique".  Be sure to use our hashtags #schnitzelandboominiquiltswap and #makeaquiltmakeafriend and tag @schnitzelandboo as you ship out your Mini's!  Recipients, I encourage you to post pictures of your Mini's as they come in and be sure to tag me AND your partner.  This is how we will know if you have completed your end of the swap.  Only those that have sent their quilts will be entered to win a prize.  Stay tuned for more on our other prizes!

Happy Quilting!
-Kristi-

Mini Quilt Swap Guidelines

Hello, Quilter's of Awesome (QoA's)!

Want to hear something cool?  Of course you do...

A week into our swapping and our stats look like this:

-We're the number one listing when someone Googles "Mini Quilt Swap" WHAAAT?

-Our Flickr group, as of this moment, has 67 photos and 147 members.

-The hashtag "schnitzelandboominiquiltswap" has 100 posts.

-The hashtag "makeaquiltmakeafriend" has 32 posts.

-We have TWO more pizes to give away for a total of FIVE prizes!

-We found Lisa Nelson (who is one of our new prize givers AWESOME!)

I'm not sure who started the mosaic quilt pictures on the Flickr group, but seriously...WHOA. I am genuinely shocked at how this tiny little idea grew into this big, crazy quilty group of new and old friends.  We have people participating from all skill levels.  We have beginners, professionals, fabric designers, pattern designers, authors, stay at home moms, and even a guy or two.  We have participants in EIGHT different countries.  This is so cool!  Yeah, it was a lot of work for me, but I would do it again in a heartbeat because I am so touched by this community of crafters, sewists and creators.  In fact, I will be doing it again, but probably not until January so we can all get through the holidays. 

You've all seen the bloggy button thingy, right?  If not, check it out, stick it up on your blog, share it with the world!  The post below has the details on it.

Now, how about some guidelines?  

1. Quilts can be as small as 6"x6" and as big as 24"x24".

2. This is a secret swap, give us sneak peeks or even full views, but don't tag your partner!

3. Due dates to have your mini quilt in the mail is Friday, November 15.  This gives you about a month and a half to get through quilt market, finish up your WIP's, clear your cutting table off and stock your shelves.

4. Because the ship-by date is so far off, and this is a secret swap, please make every effort to send your swap between November 8-15 to keep the secret a surprise.  If you need more time, or you are no longer able to participate, PLEASE OH PLEASE let me know!  I won't publicly humiliate you (well shoot, I won't privately do it either!)  and I won't make you feel bad.  I get it, life is busy, things happen.  I want to know so other arrangements can be made for your person.  So pretty please with Auriful thread on top, let me know if something comes up.  Ok?

5. If you haven't already done so, come join the Flickr group to share all of your pictures, gather ideas and meet up with new and current friends.

6. Use the hashtag #schnitzelandboominiquiltswap and #makeaquiltmakeafriend to check out what everyone else is doing. 

7. Feel free to send goodies with your Quilts, if you want.  It is nice, but NOT necessary, so don't feel obligated to do so and don't feel bad if you don't. 

8.  HAVE FUN!

Happy Swapping!

-Kristi

PS Pretend this post was full of lovely, inspiring quilty pictures, k?  I couldn't figure out how to get them off our Flickr group and post here.  Heh...

Ooh, a fancy bloggy button!

Hey check it out!  ^^ a button for your blog!

Thank you to my friend and Stitch That Stash Bee mate, Kristan for helping me put that together!  I am a hopeless wreck with computer stuff, and she, obviously, is not.  At the bottom of this post is the button with all that garbledy gook stuff for you to copy and paste into that part of your blog where it belongs.  I'm sure you guys know what I'm talking about, right?  Riiiiiight.

So, guess what?  When the Mini Quilt sign-ups officially ended on September 25, it closed with 161 (162 if you count me) people in it!  WOW!  I never dreamed it would be so big!  I thought maaaaybe 20-25 people would be interested enough to sign up? Boy was I wrong!  And since the close of sign-ups, I've had an additional 15 people put their name on a list!  I decided to just go ahead and add them to the mix as well!  We'll be about 180 members strong.  I am amazed and humbled by your enthusiasm and eagerness to be a part of what started out as a middle-of-the-night thought about covering my ugly walls. 



We even have prize givers!  There is a new kid in town!  Have you all met Quilty Box?  For less than a price of a jelly roll, you can be sent a monthly subscription of quilty goodies.  How cool is that?  Just for participating in (and completing) the swap, you are entered into a random drawing to win November's box!  Awesome! Keep an eye out here for an interview with Tabatha, the genius behind this idea.

One of my favorite IG peeps, Kerry Goulder (kidgiddy) just wrote the CUTEST book, Sewing Tales to Stitch and Love, and someone is going to win a copy.  I am so excited about this book, and I know you will be too.  There are so many adorable projects in it, my favorite is the lobster.  A lobster!  You have got to get this book.  More on Kerry soon, too.

And lastly, a third prize from me, not nearly as cool as Kerry and Tabatha's, but a prize nonetheless.  Someone is going to receive a mini quilt from me, yay!  No picture yet, but that's ok, it gives us just one more thing to look forward to here, right?

Now that everyone (besides my last minute sign-ups from tonight) has been assigned a SECRET partner, we need to start the mad dash of stalking each other on Flickr, Instagram, Pinterest etc.  Please feel free to leave your name here along with your social media name for your partner.  Some of you are hard to find (or so I'm hearing via email from your partner).  If we could make it easy for your person to see what you like, that would be fantastic!  There is a thread on the Flickr group for this very thing. PLEASE visit the thread and say hello!

That's about it for now.  I will be back tomorrow or the next day with that promised suggested guidelines/ideas etc post.  My butt hasn't yet made a full recovery from the four day sit-down with the computer and ALL THOSE EMAILS!  It's still numb.  Yep, pins-and-needles, that's my butt.

Happy Stalking!
-Kristi-

PS...don't forget to grab our Swap button! Let everyone know you're a participant!
 

<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/2293967@N20/" title="schniztel & boo Mini Quilt Swap, round 1"><img src="http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd449/jiminykrikkit/38c0e7f2-0ee6-4485-acfb-e1289f3e5755_zps831d9d44.jpg" alt="schniztel & boo Mini Quilt Swap, round 1" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Mini Quilt Swap NEWS!

 (the end of the sign-ups)

Sign-ups for the first schnitzel & boo Mini Quilt swap is now over.  Thank you all for your interest and excitement, I am overwhelmed...160+ people signed up!  WOW!

So now, I take on the huge task of sorting you all.  Too bad I can't borrow the Sorting Hat from Hogwart's!  I'll be back later today with more info for you later today so sit tight! 

Don't forget to follow me right here to stay in the know for future swaps, giveaways, news etc. 

Happy Sewing!

-kristi-

Mini Quilt Swap



Well, hi!

http://comfortstitching.typepad.co.uk/comfortstitching/2010/01/raw-edge-applique-tutorial.html

The other night I was lying in bed wide awake at about 2:00 in the morning.  Do you know what I was thinking about?  The hideous wood-paneling in my living and dining room.  HID-E-OUS. I really despise it, but there's not much I can do because the house is just a rental...sigh... 

http://artisania.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/lil-fox-super-sale/

Someone that I follow on Instagram posted a picture of their quick-fix design wall.  She had stapled Warm 'N Natural quilt batting on her walls, which in my opinion was pure genius.  I started fantasizing about doing the same to my walls.  I laid there awake, picturing the blocks and partial quilts that I could pin up there and how pretty it would look.  Then I imagined the splatter of ketchup that could easily happen with the resident four-and-a-half year old and how pretty that would not look.  Then I imagined the price tag for all of that batting and well, I knew it wasn't going to happen.

http://stitchindye.blogspot.com/2009/05/more-mini-quilt-monday.html

But how could I make my walls nice?  There had to be a way to cover them.  I really dislike the background that it creates, and how orange it makes everything appear in pictures, especially at night.  So I was awake, yet I was dreaming.  Dreaming of all of my talented friends and my fabric stash and this super sweet little mini quilt that my friend gave me.  (picture tomorrow...it's dark already so now the lighting sucks.)  And, I had an idea when I woke up: I'll make a bunch of mini quilts in all sizes and style!  Yeah!  It's perfect!  Buuuut...it'll take a really long time and I kinda want them all now.  What to do, what to do.  I GOT IT!  I'll host a mini quilt swap because everyone likes a swap, right?  And we all love our Happy Mail, so why not?  I say we do this.  Tell your friends, have them tell their friends, let's make stuff for each other, it'll be awesome.  Quick, sign up and then go take a peek at the quilts I'm showing you here.  Gather your inspiration and get ready!  This will be more fun than...I don't know...it'll be more fun than most things, how's that?

http://quiltinspiration.blogspot.com/2012/01/free-pattern-day-hearts-and-valentines_04.html

So, here we go with the guidelines/suggestions:

1. You will be assigned a partner according to the answers you submit, so think carefully!

2. Be sure to give as much information as possible so your swap is a happy success.

3. Quilts can be as small as 6"x6" and as big as 24"x24".

4. This is a secret swap, give us sneak peeks or even full views, but don't tag your partner!

5. Due dates to have your mini quilt in the mail is Friday, November 15.  This gives you two months to get through quilt market, finish up your WIP's, clear your cutting table off and stock your shelves.

6. Because the ship-by date is so far off, and this is a secret swap, please make every effort to send your swap between November 8-15 to keep the secret a surprise.  (although, I'm not sure this is the right way to do it for a secret swap, does anyone have any thoughts on this?)

7. Come join the Flickr group to share all of your pictures, gather ideas and meet up with new and current friends.

8. Use the hashtag #schnitzelandboominiquiltswap to check out what everyone else is doing. 

9. Feel free to send goodies with your Quilts, if you want.  It is nice, but NOT necessary, so don't feel obligated to do so and don't feel bad if you don't. 

10.  HAVE FUN!

11. Follow the link below to sign up:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Z70dttzgulZdsSkmU6Vlh14z-PZG73xk4AvzpvajKzE/viewform

Happy Swapping!

-Kristi

*This is the quilt that Kathy gave me*
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PS The quilts above are not my creations. 

They are linked to the rightful owners, and posted here for your inspiration.



Tutorial: Mini Fabric {paper} Grocery Bag

*exterior, side and interior of the bag*

 My sister is always doing really nice things for me and Roo, so I decided to make her a new tote bag as a thank you.  It ended up being timed just right because the day after I finished it, she wound up having emergency gallbladder removal surgery, can you believe that?  So, Mom and I stuffed it full of goodies (magazines, new cozy socks, candy, a travel coffee mug and a notebook) and brought it up to the hospital with us.  She loved it!  I was pretty excited when she said "It looks just like a paper grocery bag, except it's fabric!" because that is exactly what I was going for.  Yay!

How about a little tutorial on how to make one for yourself?  Yes?  Alrighty then...here we go!

Gather your supplies:
1/2 yard Exterior Fabric (tan Kona cotton)
1/2 yard Lining (red gingham)
1/2 yard Accent for exterior strip and interior pocket (cupcakes)
1/2 yard Fusible Fleece

From the Exterior cut:
One Bag Bottom 7 1/2" x 26"
One Bag Top 6" x 26"
Two Handles 4" x 19"

From the Lining cut:
One Main Piece 14" x 26"

From the Accent  cut:
Exterior Strip 3"x 26"
Pocket 7" x 9"

From the Fusible Fleece cut:
One Main Piece 15" x 26"

**Seam Allowance is 1/4" unless otherwise noted**

Let's get started, shall we?

1. Fold Pocket in half, so that it measures 4 1/2" x 7"; pin edges making sure to leave a 2" opening for turning and stitch.

2. Trim corners; turn right side out and press; topstitch 1/4" from folded edge.
(not the side with the opening)

3. Find the centers of the pocket and lining by folding in half and marking.  Measure 2" down on lining, and pin pocket in place, matching centers; edge stitch 1/8". Fuse fleece to lining (not pictured) and set aside.

 4. With right sides together, stitch exterior strip to bag bottom; press seam toward bag.  Repeat for bag top to remaining side of accent strip.

 5. With right side up, topstitch 1/4" from accent edge on both sides of exterior.

 6. With right sides together, pin lining to exterior and stitch.

7. Turn lining to inside (wrong sides together) and press but do not stitch.  You should have about 1" of the exterior fabric folded to the inside:

 8. Open bag pieces out, pin long edge, right sides together, and stitch all the way down.

**ignore the pins at the top and bottom of bag, ONLY pin and sew the side at this stage**

9. Match center of seam to center of folded edge of bag; press seam open; pin top and bottom of bag and stitch leaving 3"-4" gap in the lining for turning.

 10. Measure a 1 3/4" square on each corner, starting with the fold and the seam, NOT the raw edge (if you measure from the raw edge, your square will be off by 1/4" on one side)

 11. Cut all four squares from the bag corners.

12. Match center of fold to center of seam and pin.

13. Sew across the seam, making sure to backstitch when you start and stop.  Backstitching will reinforce the corners.

14. Carefully turn the bag right side out through the opening in the lining and press.  Stitch opening closed by hand (not pictured); topstitch 1/2" from finished edge.

15. For the handles, fold each handle in half lengthwise and press.

16. Fold one raw edge to center and press.

17. Repeat for the other side.

18. Refold at the center and edgestitch 1/8" from double fold side first (this helps prevent twisting and bunching when stitching) and then edgestitch single fold side.

19. Measure and mark 2 1/2" from center back seam on each side; place center of the right side of handle edge about 1 1/2" down from finished edge on this mark.  Measure 1/2" down from the handle's raw edge (or 2" from finished edge of bag) and fold handle up towards top of bag (this process makes sure that the rough edge of the handle is hidden).  Pin in place and repeat for the other end.  Repeat process for front of bag.

20. Stitch a square with an "X" in it at the handle's edge (not pictured).  This will ensure the security of the handles.

That's it!  Please come back and let me know what you think of your finished bags.  You can even upload a picture to the schnitzel & boo Flickr group, I would LOVE that!

Happy Sewing!
-Kristi-