Stack & Whack Wednesday

My Work In Progress this week is a Stack & Whack block quilt made from the Celia Benartex fabric line.   I purchased a set of 12 fat quarters some time ago and  decided it was time to pull it off the shelf and make something fun.   
 

I must say this fabric and pattern is a little "out of my box" so to speak.   But I am enjoying working with it.  I had enough fabric to have four stacks of fabric measuring 8 1/2 inches square. I then used my rotary cutter and cut each stack into nine blocks. Nothing was even or measured, so each of the four stacks will be completely different.  That's what makes it fun.

 

My pattern is a variation of the nine patch stack & whack found at http://www.ohfransson.com/.

Then  I rotated the fabric patches in each stack to the back.

i.e: 1st stack the top fabric went to the back, 2nd stack the top two fabrics went to the back etc....   So no 2 blocks should be the same, and each block should have one of each of the nine fabrics.

I was able to  lay the patches out and string sew them together. Keeping organized was the key & not stopping to switch the wash or answer the phone.  It worked pretty well.  

 

So I now have all four stacks of fabric sewed together in blocks and will try to finish up the top this weekend.  I have to decide if I want narrow strips between the blocks or let them butt together.
Decisions Decisions. 
 
More to come on this WIP.  
 

 
Everyone  Think Spring!!    

WIP Wednesday

It's Wednesday already!  It has been a busy week - the Groundhog has predicted an early spring, the Ravens won the Superbowl and we celebrated my hubby's birthday yesterday with a trip to the Japanese steak house (which is always a fun time).     Today I've gotten back to work on some little Valentine gifts I need to finish up before the weekend.

 

I made a couple Heart Applique Towels a couple weeks ago and today I'm putting together some Felt Heart Pillows.   

 

Here is a cute one I saw on Pinterest and gave me some ideas.. 

Pretty love woven heart pillow by annakrycz via Etsy

 

 

I had some red wool felt in my stash so I searched around the house to find a good heart shape.  Turns out these heart napkins I've had forever worked perfectly.  So I traced them on the felt & cut out.

 

 

Last week when I visited http://needles-n-pins.com/ (my fav local quilt shop) I found this gray linen fabric.  Now since I have it home under the light it looks alittle more brown, but it will be  fine.   I decided on a small 8" x 10" pillow size. Perfect for bedtop or on a nice chair. 

 

 

So, I have cut my hearts out & used a fusible to adhere to the linen. Then machine blanket stitched around the heart.  I pinned the front & back together & stitched around (yes all the way around) and then realized I hadn't put the stuffing in the pillow.  good grief.

So I pulled out a little on the bottom & stuffed the pillow & re-stitched.

I unraveled the edges a bit to give it a different look. 

 

 

Here is a picture of the finished project.   I have to make 3 more for the weekend but they will go smoother than the first. 

I guess that makes it a Finish It Up Wednesday too! 

 

I've linked with http://www.freshlypieced.com/.  Always so much fun to see what others are working on.  Such great ideas out there.

 

Wow I can certainly see I need to use my 'real' camera from now on instead of my Android.  Certainly makes a difference.   And just a word from a Newbie Blogger - be sure to Save your work before you walk away to answer the phone.  I think I did the beginning of this post 2 or 3 times.   Lessons learned.   

 

Any other good tips for a Newbie? 

 

 

 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MainStreetStitching

 

 

 

 

Superbowl Champs

 

 

What an exciting Superbowl game! Ups & downs all night long. 

Being Marylanders, born and raised- it has been quite an exciting

couple weeks of football.  Always the underdog but they kept fighting.

Joe Flacco pulled them through with all the naysayers at his back.

Felt so good to cheer for the home team in the big game.

This year the commercials definitely took a backseat to the game.

 

Just had to show my team spirit today.

It will be a new season in September so we have to enjoy it while we can.

Maybe the other birds in Baltimore will pick up the ball and give us another

great season of baseball! Go Orioles!  Spring training is just days away. 

 

 

Getting back on track with Work in Progress Wednesday at http://www.freshlypieced.com/

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WIP Wednesday

Works in Progress - well we all have a few of those piled in our sewing rooms I'm sure.  I seem to work on one type of project for awhile and then jump to another.  I like to keep mixing things up so I don't get bored. (like that would ever happen).. 
I just finished up a couple small quilts with a FireFighter theme.  Our family is quite involved in the volunteer fire service in our town.  Would you believe we have Blue firetrucks!   So when I saw these panels at a quilt shops going out of business sale I scooped them up.  I combined the main panel with some other fabric in my stash and I think they turned out pretty cute.   I can't say they are perfect for a little boy - because my daughter is the first one out the door when that siren goes off.  So they are a great childs quilt.  

 

 

  



Today is a warm blustery day in the mid-atlantic.  Tomorrow ol'man winter will be back with a vengance! They always say if you don't like the weather here - wait til tomorrow it will change. And that is so true.   Hope everyone stays safe with the storms moving east.

Linked with Lee at   http://www.freshlypieced.com/ 

 

 

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Finish It Friday

Today I've decided to follow http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/  and finish up a little project I've been putting aside.   Last year for Christmas I made several nieces little tote bags with a pattern from allpeoplequilt.com.  They turned out really cute and the girls seemed to love them. .  So, in keeping with my New Year's resolution of using up my stash, I found some nice fabric to make a couple totes for Valentine's Day totes or Easter.

 . 

I ironed a thin interface to the lining to give the tote some stability.  They go together very quickly. The pattern can be found here: http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/projects-ideas/bags-pillows/small-treat-tote_1.html 

 

Any little girl would love a Spring tote to carry all her treasures!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to Main Street Stitching.   I hope you enjoy my blog.  It is a dream come true for me. I have always enjoyed making crafts, sewing & quilting and I look forward to sharing this with you.

 I can't believe the month of January is almost over. I must say ol'man winter has finally descended on the Mid-Atlantic. So I'm staying inside looking thru my stash pulling out some fabric for a Valentine's idea.   I enjoy making decorative towels throughout the year & giving to friends/family.  

This shows the beginning of my Crazy Heart towel.  It's a great way to use up scraps and make a new accent piece for your kitchen or bath.  The random size strips are sewn to a thin piece of muslim as a base which is then cut into a heart shape.  Then I use the decorative stitching on my Bernina to make the crazy quilt style accents. A lightweight two-side fusible is used to attach the heart to the cotten towel. An thick satin stitch is used to outline the border of the heart.  That's it!    I like to use Dunroven House cotton towels because they wash up great. 

This shows the finished towel.

A quick and easy project to use some of your stash and a useful addition to any kitchen/bath. 




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