Monday, February 28, 2011

Happy Monday

Happy Monday y'all! 

Just stopping in to share that today is the last day to use the "VQB" coupon code for 10% off your order on our sewluxfabric.com site.  You can even combine that code with the Innocent Crush fabrics, which will be on sale through Tuesday, March 1st.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Tea Garden

Greetings!  Hope you are all having a fabulous weekend so far. :)

I got to play around with those pretty Tea Garden fabrics yesterday.  The fabric is not only gorgeous, but it feels really lovely as well.  I decided to use the hexagon block pattern again (I will move on to another type of block soon! :-) ... this one a little smaller and I fussy cut some sweet little birdies this time.

I need to quilt it and add a little binding to finish up this wall hanging, but what do you think so far?


Thanks for stopping by ... remember to link a picture of your hexagon block by 11:59 on Tuesday to be entered to win a set of 3 half yards of Innocent Crush. :-)

See you soon!

Friday, February 25, 2011

More Hexagons

Hi everyone!  Hope you've all had a great week!  It's the weekend and for many of us that means some sewing time! :)  Need a project?  There's still time to make a hexagon block and share it with us before we draw for a winner of 3 lovely half-yards of Innocent Crush!  Check out the tutorial in our previous post here.

I just whipped up a slightly smaller version with some fabric I've been hoarding for quite some time ...

What do you think?  I love the dot border around it.  I used 1" wide strips instead of 1.5" and the hexagon is 5.5" instead of 6.5".  Once you get the hang of these blocks, you can stitch them up pretty quickly.  How about a quilt with floating hexagons in all different sizes?  If you're like me, you're hoarding some lovely prints with big flowers or medallions that would be so awesome featured in a block like this.

Speaking of which, how about the cute bird or pretty flower in these Tea Garden prints?!  Just a hint of what's to come later this weekend! :-)
Get stitchin' y'all and link us up on this post.  :-)

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Hexagon Block Tutorial

Hi and happy weekend!  I know for some of you, its a long weekend and I hope you'll be able to get some sewing in. :-)  A few of you liked the Innocent Crush Hexagon blocks that I had shown you earlier this week and asked for a tutorial.  I made a block today and took notes to give you all the details on this one.  This is my first quilt block tutorial, so if something doesn't make sense, please ask in the comments!  Also ... at the end of this post, I'll be announcing a contest.  Are you ready?!

Step 1:  Gather some pretty fabrics, a hexagon template (mine is 6-1/2") and your regulars (pins, scissors, etc).

Step 2:  Cut a hexagon from your focus fabric.  If your selected fabric has a specific portion of the design you want to show off, fussy cut as I am doing here.

Step 3: Cut six 1-1/2" wide strips of your border fabric. 

Step 4: Begin adding the border around your hexagon.  I started by adding strips along the top and bottom.

Step 5: Continue adding your border strips, working sides opposite each other as you go.

Step 6: Trim your block so it looks like this ...


Step 7: Now cut two rectangles 3-1/2 by 6-1/2",  (I used 3 x 6, but this doesn't leave much room for error, so next time I will use slightly bigger ones as I've instructed you to do!)  Cut them on the diagonal - one in each direction as shown.


Step 8: Attach triangles to the hexagon.

Step 9: Attach remaining triangles.

Step 10: Trim your block - approximately 8.5 x 9.5 (or wider if desired - just use wider triangles when building the block).

Step 11: Add your border (sashing) - I used 1-1/2" wide strips here as well.  Add top and bottom and then the sides.  (Note: if adding several blocks together, you may choose to add strips between the 8.5 x 9.5 block and then add one long sashing strip on each side. Hope that makes sense!)


Step 12:  Trim your finished block - mine measured 10.5 x 11.5".

So ... what do you think?  This is relatively easy but adding those triangles can be a little tricky but you can do it!  I hope you enjoyed this tutorial ... and again, feel free to ask questions in the comments and I will try to clarify for you.

Ready for the CONTEST?!  Make a hexagon block this week and share it on your blog (no blog? share a flickr photo) with a link back to this tutorial post.  Leave a comment on this post with a link to your project so we can check it out.  When you add your link in the comments, we'll enter your name in to win a half yard set of each of the Innocent Crush fabrics featured in this tutorial project. The deadline will be March 1st.  Winner will be announced March 2nd.

Additional Notes:  All seam allowances are 1/4" and seams are pressed out (away from hexagon). If you use our tutorial, we'd love for you to link back to the tutorial ... and of course share your project with us! Thank you. :-)

UPDATED TO ADD:  You can make any size version of this that you'd like if you don't have a 6-1/2" template.  However, I am including a photo below that shows the measure for a 6-1/2" hexie if you want to try and make a template. :-)  Looking forward to seeing some blocks in blogland :-)

Happy sewing! :-)

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

I've Got a Crush ...

Hello all!  Yesterday I hinted that I'd be sharing some Innocent Crush inspiration and I am keeping that promise!

There seems to be quite a few hexagons floating around on blogs and such and I've been thinking about coming up with a pattern that is basically a large hexagon with some borders.  This is still in the works so to speak, but here's the start to my wall hanging/table runner ...
The big and bold Loves Me Loves Me Not Golden print is perfect for a large 6" hexagon.  What do you think?   I hope to get this project finished up this week ... If you'd like to see a tutorial for the project, let us know in the comments and I will work one up for you!

Have you made a project with any of the Innocent Crush fabrics?  We'd love to see them ... link your project in the comments or send us an email so we can feature your project here on the blog! 

Also ... we've just put our Innocent Crush prints and custom bundles on sale ... grab some to add to your stash! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Hi!  Happy Tuesday, y'all!  :-)  We wanted to thank ALL of you for visiting, commenting, and following our blog!  You are so sweet ... and its pretty clear you are some some Fandango and bag lovin' people! :-)

We did draw a winner ... drum roll, please ... Owen's Momma is the winner of our contest!  Congrats!  Please email us at sewlux (at) gmail (dot) com so that we can get your prize out to you!


All of our Fandango collection will be on sale in the shop through tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday approximately 5 PM), so there is still time to get a great deal on some of those beautiful Kate Spain prints!  We'll be back tomorrow evening with some Innocent Crush inspiration. :-)

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Heart Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!  :-)  Don't forget to comment on the Giveaway post ... I will be back tomorrow with the winner! Have a lovely day!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Get Stitchin' with a Giveaway

Hi everyone!  It's midweek and if you are like me you are already looking forward to the weekend!  :-)  I hope to get some QT in with my sewing machine ... how about you?

If you are in need of some inspiration, you should check out the great bag patterns from Clover & Violet.  They have several patterns that are great for putting those cute charm packs you may have been collecting to good use.  Recently, Clara & Jennie posted a giveaway on the Clover & Violet blog for a pattern, charm pack and a yard of fabric in a coordinating print ... I thought it might be fun to double the giveaway, so we are doing the same over here as well!

We'll be giving away a pattern to make this cute Brooklyn Bag AS WELL as a Fandango charm pack and one yard of the Fandango print of your choice from our fabric shop.
Here are the details on how to enter ... Post a comment on THIS post telling us your favorite Fandango print from our shop (see image below).  You can earn one additional entry for each of the following ... (1) tell us which Clover & Violet pattern is your favorite in your comment (2) post about this giveaway on YOUR blog (just include a link for us in your comment so we can stop by and visit) and (3) becoming a follower of our blog.  So you can have your name entered up to 4 times!  How do you like those odds?!  All entries must be completed by 11:59 PM EST on February 14th.  We'll post the winner of our giveaway here on our blog on the 15th.

Don't forget we have all these great Fandango prints on sale in our Sew Lux shop!

Happy Sewing and Good Luck! :)

Sunday, February 6, 2011

ALL FANDANGO ON SALE!

All of our great Fandango by Kate Spain for Moda fabrics are marked down through February 15 - no coupon code needed!  We have 18 great prints as well as jelly rolls and charm packs ready to ship!  Shop our sewluxfabric.com or our Etsy shop.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Red & Aqua Mini Mod Pod Quilt

Hi everyone!  Earlier this week, I mentioned I'd be back to share about an red and aqua quilt that was in the works.  Well ... I finished the binding last night and here she is ...
I adapted the Mod Pod pattern from Carolina Patchworks for this one.  I picked up this pattern some time ago - I think the design is super cool.  For this quilt, I just made a half-scale version of the pattern by using 1.5" strips instead of 3" strips.  I also did a lot of chain piecing instead of pre-cutting all the parts.  And minus a few small errors with seams lining up, I am really pleased with how this came out!  I did use the Designer Beads in Red and Mist for this one and its such a fun combo!

Here's a closer shot of how I chose to quilt it.  A walking foot and a lengthened stitch is especially helpful.  I really love the drape that the straight-line quilting gives this little quilt.  A different feel than when I use free motion designs.
For the back, I thought this red and white print from my stash would be fun.  And I kept the binding the same as the red in the quilt (Designer Beads in Red) to keep things clean and simple on the front. So, what do you think?!
Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!  Thanks for stopping by and happy sewing! :-)

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

We just mailed out our first email newsletter yesterday!  If you'd like to be included on all the latest, please use the sign up form on the left hand side of the blog.  We'll never sell your info and you can opt-out at anytime should you choose to.  And we promise not to email you everyday!  :-) 

We hope you'll decide to stay in touch with us for info on new fabrics, opportunities to save as well as inspiration to get you stitching!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

FQ Winner & Coupon Code

Happy Tuesday y'all!  Many folks are getting lots of snow today ... hope everyone is staying warm.  We're supposed to reach 70 tomorrow!

Our January free fat quarter winner is Kathleen C.  Kathleen, please look for an email from us to claim your prize! :)

Also, we have a coupon code to share with you - save 10% off your purchase on our standalone site with coupon code "VQB" during the month of February ... so happy sewing to all you virtual quilting bee folks!  There are lots of bees out there organized through Flickr if you're looking to get involved in one (or more)!

We'll be back later this week with some project ideas and samples!