Modern Mini Challenge

Pow Wow Mini Quilt by Love By Hand

I'm so excited to share this project for the Ellison Lane Modern Mini Challenge hosted by my friend Jennifer, who also happens to be the Sew South Queen! This mini quilt is my only and very first mini quilt! Sure, I've made pillows and wall hangings, but this is the first mini.  I finished it in May for my friend Karen for the post Sew South swap. I spent a LONG time thinking (mostly over-thinking) about what to make for Karen, and then I saw her commenting the most on mini quilts on Instagram. So I thought I would do something new to me, and make a mini.

 

The main arrow blocks are from the Pow Pow pattern from Cluck Cluck Sew, which you can find the PDF download here. I have a quilt on my cutting table all ready to go in the pow wow blocks, so I wanted to try it in a smaller size. Which, I have to say, based on my experience from this pattern, I just LOVE the Cluck Cluck sew patterns. So well written and easy to follow - something that is more difficult to find than I realized when purchasing patterns!

The center line is made of HSTs that you use when forming the pow wow arrow blocks, as she gives tips for using the extra fabric to make HSTs. 

 

I was really excited to use more Tsuru fabric - I'm seriously in love with the navy floral print above. The background white fabric is the new hashtag fabric by Dear Stella.

Thanks so much to my sewing gals - Karen (the quilting fairy), Christina and Lyanna, who helped me pull together the layout during our sewing day in March. They provided a lot of encouragement and words like "I'll take it if she doesn't like it!" that kept me moving forward with the project! 

Now that I've made one, I have a couple more mini projects in mind, as I want to put up a few in my sewing room so stay tuned!

Heart Baby Clothes Quilt

Baby Clothes Quilt by Love by Hand

I'm really excited to share this finished baby clothes quilt with you! This project is seriously my most favorite recent project that I've finished. Why? Because this project really reminded my why I started sewing, which was embodied in the tears of joy from my friend Liz when I showed her the finished quilt. While looking at the baby clothes quilt, she was immediately able to point out the outfit she brought her son home from the hospital in, his kindergarten school photo shirt - it was amazing to see her reaction.

  

The heart baby clothes quilt was made as a gift from my friend Liz to her mother, made with the baby clothes of her two grandchildren - Liz's son and her niece. Seriously, how sweet is the saying? "I never knew how much love my heart could hold until I was called Meme" and it includes the monograms and birth dates of both grandchildren. 

The quilt is a generous lap size. I used my new favorite background fabric, white on white pearl bracelets by Lizzy House. I just love how it gives the white texture.  And, the border and binding fabrics are from Tsuru Fabric by Rashida Coleman Hale by Cloud 9 fabrics.

Baby Clothes Quilt Stats
Size: 60x60
Fabrics: White on White Pearl Bracelets by Lizzy House for background, border and binding Tsuru by Rashida Coleman Hale, Grey Dot n' Square by Michael Miller fabrics for backing.
Baby Clothes: 30 total pieces, some were used twice
Pattern: HSTs and half snowball blocks to form heart
Finished: April 30, 2013

New Fabric Friday: Amy Butler Belle

While there are a TON of new fabrics that just debuted at Quilt Market this past weekend, I just had to share with you how BEYOND EXCITED I am about the latest news from Amy Butler. They are reprinting her very popular Belle line, and I cannot WAIT!

Image via Amy Butler's Facebook Page

So, why such the excitement from a fabric reprint? Well, funny you should ask. I've always had a love affair with fabric, long before I started Love Elaine and started sewing as an adult. On one family vacation to the Outer Banks, we went to a fabric store (which is no longer open sadly) and picked out fabric for a hand sewing project we (my mom, grandma and aunts) were going to work on in the evenings of vacation. Yes, some families drink and play board games, and ours, well, we had an old fashioned hand sewing circle.

And, the fabric I picked for my project? Amy Butler's Belle, which was my first modern fabric purchase, but at the time, I didn't know what gold I had. And I definitely did not buy enough! So, lately, I've been on the hunt for the french wallpaper print in orange and aqua, as I've had a project in mind for it for months, and the most I could find on Etsy was a FQ for $25! I'm so glad I didn't splurge for it yet, as my patience paid off.

Image via Amy Butler's Facebook

I just LOVE the birdie sling tote bag in the above photo - its one of the first bags I ever made and I have made over 20 of them for various gifts, etc. 

Image via Amy Butler's Facebook

Love the look of this quilt! Big florals and prints have always been a personal signature. It defintiely comes from my start with making bags vs. quilts. I love how this quilt uses large prints to create an eclectic, happy look.

via BHG

And finally, I can make my quilting dreams come true and finally make a quilt similar to the one in this picture, which I pinned on pinterest over a year ago from BHG. Those colors are in my living room, and I have yet to make myself a quilt in those colors. There will also be pillows. And a table runner for my coffee table. And maybe even new curtains. Clearly, I have plans for this fabric, plans that I've been noodling for over a year, well actually, over 5 years if you count when I first came across the fabric.

Ok, so now this is where the fun starts! Link up your New Fabric Friday post. It can be about new fabric you are loving, new fabric you purchased/received this week, or new-to-you fabric that you found in your stash that you forgot about, so its now new to you.

<a href="http://www.lovebyhand.com" target="_blank"><img src="YourButtonImageURL" alt="Love By Hand" width="125" height="125" /></a>

Here are the rules: Add your link below to your post, grab the New Fabric Friday button and include on your post, and share the comment love with others. I can't wait to see all of the new fabric, my first love!

What I'm Working On {WIP Wednesday)

What a busy week of giveaways! In case you have missed either giveaway, be sure to check out the giveaway for not one but TWO Jo Totes Bags for you and your Mom with the ladies of the Craftaholics Anonymous Creative Team, and I'm giving away a Love Elaine apron for Sew, Mama Sew! giveaway day. Lots of great prizes up for grabs!

So, let's dive into the sewing, shall we?

I had the leather accent fold over clutch from LGB Studios on my to-do list for quite a while - and let me tell you, the pattern and the finished product did not disappoint! I'll write more with a few finished photos soon - but I had to share this photo of my supplies. What's not to love about silver Mirror Ball Dot fabric and orange zebra print? Love!

  

Remember the baby clothes quilt? Well, I finished it and its already been gifted to the recipient - and she loved it! There will be another post on this super adorable finish soon! 

 

I'm participating in the Pillow Talk Swap for the first time and I'm so excited! So many wonderful things are created by such talented ladies! Here's my fabric pull of assorted Ruby fabrics by Bonnie & Camille from Moda, which I just LOVE, and I have a plan for some paper piecing for the pillow. I'm excited to get started! 

 And, all of you have seen this fabric before - Paloma from Dear Stella from the quilt I finished for them for market. There was some leftover pieces that I was able to turn into these lovely ruffles for a last minute gift. I'll share more of these soon in another post. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE ruffles?

 

And finally, here's a block I just finished that will become the center of my drunkard's medallion quilt. Sorry about the terrible photo - it was late at night and I was late in getting it to my partner, so I just got the one photo! I'll share more about the block and the drunkards medallion along - but I'm so excited about using NEON fabrics. This is a paper pieced block from the Don't Call Me Betsy Lucky Starts BOM, and I am absolutely LOVING paper piecing.

Whew! I love writing these posts because it does remind you that you've been busy, since I haven't really felt like I got much done since my last post! And, these projects don't include a few other WIPs that I haven't touched in the last two weeks - my king sized Swoon quilt and my scrappy trip quilt blocks!

Please tell me I am NOT the only one with so many things going on at once! 

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!

Welcome! I'm sew excited to be participating in my first Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway Day! Its a great way to get to know great blogs and bloggers!

So, for my giveaway I'm offering a handmade apron from my Love Elaine shop. I just love aqua and orange - and this apron style is a crowd favorite!

The giveaway ends on Friday, May 10 at 5 PM PST- and while I can't get it to you in time for Mother's Day, it could be a great gift for yourself if you're a Mom or a belated gift for your Mom. Or, just keep it - being a Mom not required!


To enter, leave a comment here with your favorite color combination for Spring. For a bonus entry, like the Love By Hand Facebook page and leave a comment letting me know you did. I'll choose a winner by random number generator on Saturday, May 11.

Giveaway open to international entrants. To join the in fun, visit Sew, Mama, Sew! for more fun giveaways to enter!  Good luck!
 

HUGE Jo Totes Mother's Day Giveaway!

Mother's Day is only DAYS away! YIKES!! Are you ready? Do you have a gift for that special Mom in your life? Well, don't worry, we have you covered! Hang onto your seats and get ready for a FABULOUS giveaway!

With Mom Day coming quickly, the Craftaholics Anonymous® Creative Team put our crafty little heads together and decided to hold a very special giveaway just for you! We are giving away 2, yes, not 1 but TWO Jo Totes! {are you jumping up and down yet?! Because we are!} We are so excited to offer you this special giveaway! Jo Totes make us weak in the knees, so we knew they would be the perfect giveaway. 

If you're in love with these bags, wait till you see JoTotes' newest bag that we have the honor to introduce to you today! Behold the "Abby" bag! 

It comes in mint or lilac and is available for preorder today on May 6th.

 The lucky winner will get a Jo Totes for herself and one to give to a special gal in her life!

{The Rafflecopter may take a second to load} 

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

GIVEAWAY RULES:

No purchase necessary. To enter, participants must like the facebook pages by using the Rafflecopter form above. This giveaway is in no way affiliated, administered or endorsed by Facebook. The giveaway closes on May 10th, 11 PM CST. The winners will be chosen via Random.org and will be notified by email on 5/11/13 and will need to respond within 48 hours to claim their prizes or other winners will be chosen. Winner must be 18 years of age or older and a US resident in order to win. Winners are responsible for paying any necessary taxes on winnings.

Disclosure: A HUGE thank you to Jo Totes for donating the prizes! We love Jo Totes and appreciate them sponsoring this giveaway.

What I'm Working On { WIP Wednesday }

Whew! Its been a busy couple of weeks in my sewing room and it promises to be even busier through the end of the month, as I have 2 quilts to finish. But, I have to admit - I'm having so much fun with sewing again. The projects that I have in the works are the types of quilts that made me want to start sewing in the first place - making gifts that are special, meaningful and 100% unique. Gifts that keep on giving long after they are given and received. You'll see what I mean in a minute.

Quilt for Dear Stella

I finished the Dear Stella quilt I was working on, as it had to rush off to be photographed and will eventually find itself at quilt market. I love working with Dear Stella and I LOVE their fabrics. These fabrics are from two new lines, Tuxedo and Paloma. Wait until you see the fabric that is the backing of this quilt - it is AMAZING.  I'll be sure to share when I see the new photos of the quilt. I just love the colors and how this turned out.

Next up, I finished the cutting for a keepsake quilt that will be made out of baby clothes. A friend of mine and her sister are giving a quilt made out of the baby clothes from when their two kids were small to their mother for her birthday on May 1. The car block above from the cutest summer romper is my FAVORITE, and I can't wait to show the finished product next week.

I ordered and received my fabric from Hawthorne Threads for another quilt due at the end of the month as well. The above fabric lines are Urban Mod by Art Gallery fabrics, which I mentioned my love for in a previous post here, and Gimma by Lotta Jansdotter. I love how well they place nicely together, as I needed a bit more pink to for balance. I am so excited for my plans for this quilt, but I'll have to keep them under wraps as I don't want to give anything away to the recipient. But, I promise a full recap with hopefully happy recipient photos once its given!

And, I finished another project for the Craftaholics Anonymous Creative Team. It uses piping and a zipper and I just LOVE how it turned out. It should post later this week, so I'll be sure to let you know when it does.

So, all in all, it was a pretty productive two weeks, and I promise lots of progress by next Wednesday as I have to finish a couple of these projects!