NICKI'S PRIZES

I spent the entire weekend sewing!  I was in class Saturday from 10:30 a.m., till 4:30 p.m.  Needless to say, I was pooped.  But I learned some cool tricks with Regina Bernina, so I'm really excited!

Sunday, I made Nicki's prizes from the blog giveaway.  Since she was the only person who signed up, I made coasters and my first mug rug.  Still not digging the name "mug rug."  Just sounds weird.  How about "snack coaster?"  Or "mug mat?"  Anyway, the giant coaster/mini placemat turned out REALLY cute.  Totally going to have to make more of those!

Here are the coasters, front and back.  I switched it up a little and used different fabrics for the backs.  Usually, you use one of the fabrics you make the coaster fronts out of, but I ended up with five coordinating fabrics, and I totally had to use them all!

I used gray thread to do the quilting, and this time I used a longer stitch.  It turned out really well!

The backs are so cute!  I love these stripes!  So fun!

And now to the mug mat.  Sorry, just can't do that rhyming thing.  At least not in this case.  Anyhow, I used the two stripes as backing and binding.  Nicki's initials are NH.

Now no one else can walk off with it and claim it's hers!  Nicki really likes the backing.  Love it!

I really enjoyed making this mini quilt.  So easy and so cute!  It was great.  I'm totally going to make more of these.  I think my momma would like one.  And Nicki absolutely loved it all.  She said the fabrics will coordinate PERFECTLY with her living room decor.  She goes, "I can't wait to take them home!"  Yay!

COASTER MADNESS -- 50th POST AND GIVEAWAY!

Holy crap!  It's my 50th post!  And I'm having my first giveaway!  So read to the bottom to find out how you can win a cute set of coasters!

Some friends from work, who are engaged to be married, bought a house together earlier this year.  Their house warming is this evening, and last night, I put together a set of coasters for them.

I've made about four or five sets of these coasters since I got Regina Bernina.  Needless to say, they are stinking easy to put together and look pretty darn cute when they're done.  The pattern is the Sidecar Coasters from Connecting Threads.  Very cute.

I have no idea how they've decorated their house, so I went for something that was sort of mod but still has some old-fashioned flair.  Their house is in an older part of Boise, so I didn't want something too modern.  Forgive the fuzzy pictures.  My camera had an encounter with a bottle of coffee creamer a while back.  Don't think it's recovered.

I like these because you just cut stacks -- almost a Stack-and-Whack -- and then simply shuffle pieces and put them back together.  My favorite fabric is the gray with the big yellow dots.  It's the backing because it's the biggest print.  Love it!

And yesterday, I received a present in the mail!  From Allison at Cluck.Cluck.Sew!  My layer cake of Swiss Chocolate.  Yay me!  I'm going to make all kinds of fun stuff with it!  Woo-hoo!

  

For the giveaway, I'll give you a few chances to win a set of six quilted coasters:

1. Leave a comment telling me your favorite fabric collection.
2. Become a follower of the blog and leave another comment letting me know.
3. Follow me on Twitter @hattjam1008 and leave yet another comment letting me know.
4. Like Mad Hatter Quilts on Facebook and leave a comment letting me know.

I'll close the giveaway in five days, Feb. 16, and pick a winner by random number generator!  Thanks!

FIRST CRAFT RETREAT!

So, for the first time in my life, I'm headed for a craft retreat!  My dear friend Elena is celebrating her birthday by hosting an all-day crafting bonanza at our friend Robin's great big house.  I work till five, and the crafting/movie watching begins at six.  And because I'm riding with Elena, I had to give her all my stuff last night, including the new sewing machine, which I have now christened Regina Bernina.  Because pretty much anything that costs over $1000 needs a name.  Anyway, I have to say I was a little sad to let Regina go with Elena.  It was kinda like letting a kid leave on his first over-nighter.  'Course, I don't have kids, but . . .

I can't wait to get crafting!  I'm hoping that Robin has a table that's taller than mine, and I can get a TON of cutting done.  That's the part that kills me -- I'm 5'10", and I cut on a really small wooden table.  Can you say, "backache?"  And while I can't afford a new table, I need to get a new cutting mat.  Mine's getting a little brittle.  Hee, hee!  I have honeybun strips to sew into bargello tubes; I have to create a stitch sampler for my machine class (that's project numero uno).  I have fat quarters to cut for this pattern: http://www.modabakeshop.com/2009/10/vintage-ribbons-table-runner.html.  I have charm squares to quarter for tiny baby blocks.  Lots to do!  We're spending the night tonight, then crafting all day tomorrow!  I'm quite excited.  I will post pictures when I come back!

HAVING NICE TOOLS MAKES A DIFFERENCE

Now that I have Regina Bernina, my new 350 PE, I have been sewing like a demon!  It used to be such a fight to sew, but now it's fun to sew again!  I haven't had this much fun since I learned to sew when I was 11!  I've sewed nearly every night since I got the sewing machine.  I've made three sets of coasters, a candle mat, started a table runner, and started three shopping bags.  I'm really excited to sew each time I sit down at the machine.  What a great feeling!

MY BARGELLO PLANS

So here's my plan for the bargello table topper for Mom's and my booth at the Harvest Festival. It'll of course be a little different than this, since I didn't take the size thing into account -- I was just trying to figure out if it would look okay when there were only six colors. Whew. Thank God it looks like it will. I'll let you know how it goes -- no worries there!

EVERYTHING BUT THE BINDING!

I have finished my sisters' placemats -- well, everything but the bindings. Those are going to be tricky for me, but my mom is going to help since she's a better hand sewer than I am.

Anyway, I've included a crappy cell phone picture because I can't find my camera right now. And I really don't want to worry about great pictures until I've finished them.


I'm moving on to potholders and coasters for Harvest Festival. I'm going to make some sets of four and sell them at Mom's booth at the Arts and Crafts show. I'm also going to make another bargello, but this one will be a bit different -- only about 12 inches deep, but quite a few feet long so it can be used as a table topper for Mom's table at Harvest. It's browns, oranges, and creme. It'll be really country-ish but funky since it'll be bargello. I really enjoyed making my first one, and I was really proud of how well I did with it, so I'm looking forward to trying again. It should be interesting!