26 April 2014

HST! CRAZY!

HST, Half Square Triangles, I have been making a Whole Lot of them, for different blocks.  There's Sew At Home Mummy's block this month, all HST's.

The Double Z Block, I made the Z's out of black and grey Kona and the center hourglass is a bubble white on white print (thinking it could look like sand going through time) and the exterior is plain white.

April's Aurifil block had a few HST's, not to many.

I used the same Kona colors here as I did for my Sew At Home Mummy's January Block.

I was  a little late to the game, in fact this week is the last week for Patchwork Posse's Round Robin, now block 12 does not have any HST's but block 9, 10 and 11 did.

Block 9 was the first one I heard about and did, and guess what I won a whole bundle of fabric!  Sweet right, except I was trying to do the pinwheels based on the tutorial and turned out awful, missed points and everything.

 A Rainbow of Colors with grey and black pinwheels.
The next one, I decided to be a little safe and did my pinwheels using Triangles on a Roll, have you heard about this?  It is a paper pieced method and I used the HST's paper to make Half Square Triangles.   Since it was my first time using it, I thought I would make a few videos.
Please at least watch the last video, lol, the surprise in my voice is evident, and I will apologize if my words offend anyone.  I was very surprised you see when the roll says Finished Size it means as inside of the block HST finished size.  Now I made this beautiful block, using this method, but I did end up trimming since I needed a different size.
Patchwork Posse Round Robin Block 10
Patchwork Posse Round Robin Block 11
Block 11 is a little different, it uses a differnt method to make 4 HST's at one time using a larger piece of fabric than the normal 1/2" larger than what you want you HST to end up as, I can't really explain it, check this tutorial out for some good photos.   And then this lady gives you some additional sizes, to make the pinwheels, I did this method to make pinwheels for my European Siblings Together group this month.
See points match much better.
I would like to say, my favorite way for making masses of HST's is going to be the Paper way, but if you need only 2 or 3 then do the square on square, if you need 4 HST's then do the Big Square on Big Square method this makes 4, but the problem with this method is you have to do the math and this is where the Paper comes in handy. I talked to the owner of Triangles on a Roll, and she is resending me the size I need cause I need to make 180 2" HST's that finish at 1.5" and 240 3.5" HST's that will finish at 3".  Please watch video 4 above to make sure you understand.  When I get the correct papers I will show you what I am making with all of those HST's, I think this is probably the MOST used type of block making for quilts, it's everywhere. Linking to these 2 new linky parties for me.
Patchouli Moon Studio's Weekend Link Party

24 April 2014

"Brick" Fabric Swap, A Tutorial

I'm in some really cool swaps!  And this time I am in a "brick" fabric swap.  What is a brick you ask, well in our case it is a 5" x 10" piece of fabric.  Now you can follow along with some other ways to cut fabric, but I thought I would show you one more!

FIRST: IRON!
SECOND: TRIM AND STRAIGHTEN! (the fabric is folded at this point, selvage to selvage)
NEXT: CUT 1-5" X WOF (width of fabric, once again it is folded) THIS WILL MAKE 4 BRICKS
I CUT JUST A LITTLE DASH ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE MARK TO GIVE A VERY SMALL ROOM FOR ERROR.
See very little!
NOW WE CUT 3 - 10" X WOF (Width of Fabric) Pieces 8 BRICKS PER WOF AND 24 TOTAL
I UNFOLD THE FABRIC NOW AND STACK THE 10"X WOF (42"  - 44") TOGETHER:
For this swap I am doing 2 different fabrics, so I stacked the 2 different fabrics up 3 different times, if I was to be only submitting 1 fabric to this swap, I would have stacked all 3 of the 10"x WOF together to make the cutting much easier.
TRIM SELVAGE AND CUT AT 5", I HAVE A AWESOME RULER THAT MAKES CUTTING EASY.  WHEN I GET TO THE MIDDLE FABRIC CREASE I READJUST AND MAYBE TRIM AGAIN SINCE SOMETIMES THE CREASE MAKES THINGS A LITTLE OFF CENTER.
How I hold my fabric under my ruler.


Nice left over selvage pieces, perfect for scrap swaps or gifts.

How about you do you like to do Fabric Swaps, check out our Christmas Brick Swap if you are in need of some fun Christmas Fabric.
Amanda made this, isn't is Awesome!, she's the Swap Mama!

Here is a diagram if that helps, I am not very computer literate so I borrowed one from Mel at Missouri Mel and did some PicMonkey playing to make this one up.

 Now Go Forth and Swap Fabrics!

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22 April 2014

Secret Power Giveaway Winners

Who are the Winners for the Giveaway?
The first winner I let Random # Generator Pick and guess what, it picked #26, now I tried to get the thing to
show up on here but was unable to do so, I did take a picture of it in case anyone questions the answer,

Why you ask?  Because the winner was none other than DeborahGun, she also was one of the winners of last weeks giveaway!  How about that for Randomness!
you are so funny Mara. I was laughing so much reading that post - you foxy lady!! I think I need to use your make-up tips since I was told today that I was looking 'fatter in the face'!!
My favourite holiday is Christmas and my favourite type of stitching is embroidery. 

And her prize is a little bundle of fabric scraps and a fused glass necklace piece that I made when living in California.
Fabric Scraps

Which One Will She Pick

It will be all wrapped up and ready for Christmas in July!
 
Deborah and I are both in the Christmas Brick Swap, we are in need of some new Christmas fabric, if you would like some too, then come join us!

The next winner, not picked so randomly!  I was looking for the answer as Halloween as a favorite holiday and Cross-Stitching as a stitching super power, there were 5 people who liked both of these.  My son picked a name out of a box and came up with Janarama.
Love your creations. My favorite holiday is Halloween. I like to quilt, but also enjoy cross-stitching and a little embroidery.

And her prize is a Half Yard of Boo Crew and the magazine Just CrossStitch 2013 Special Collector's Issue HALLOWEEN. ( I got this from my dear friend Shirley, she was one of the 5 in this giveaway and I would have really cracked up if she had won her magazine back, because she also won in last weeks giveaway)
This fabric can make great trick or treat bags

 If you wish you were a winner and I wish this also, I will be having a giveaway in May and June also, so stay tuned, maybe it will be YOU next time!  And perhaps the ones Deborah doesn't pick will become yours.
Which one will be left?


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21 April 2014

Coming In and Going Out, Sunday Stash

Happy Easter Everyone!

I got a package last week with 9 yards of fabric in it, 6 prints at 1 1/2 yards each.
The fabrics smelled kind of musty so I put them in the Greek sunshine and wind for a day and the smell went away, which is good since I am using 4 and perhaps 5 of the prints in Fabric swaps.
The first 2 are Everything But the Kitchen Sink fabric from RJR Fabrics by Yuko Hasegawa,
Cute little ducks with umbrellas and mushrooms

they are for a 1930's Brick Fabric Charm Swap going on over at Missouri Mel, this swap is all full but if you like 1930's fabrics she will be doing more during the year.
Aren't they cute and small.

P.S. She has a weekly link ups to put in Giveaway's that you find on-line, I just won a charm pack of "Paint" by Carrie Bloomston of the "Collage" Carrie, so excited to get that and will share when I do. So be sure to check that out.

The next 2 are also for a swap, A Christmas Brick Swap!  There are still openings so if you want to get in, pop on over to flickr to sign upAmanda of What the Bobbin is in charge of this one and if you are a lover of fussy cut type of fabrics you want to be in it, there are some seriously cute Christmas fabrics already in the photo pool, plus my 2 totally cute prints.

Mistletoe and Holly also by RJR and Yuko Hasegawa, this is the first time I have come across his fabrics and can I say I just love them.  I need to see what else he has created.  These prints are also very small.

Everything is all cut and ready to be shipped off so I can enjoy an even greater variety of fabrics, with out breaking the bank!
I even made a tutorial on how to cut the bricks a 5" by 10" piece of fabric. Coming soon, I need to figure out how to draw a computer diagram.

If you have read my other previous Sunday post you know I was searching for a specific fabric to make a quilt, well I have my 4 fabrics ready now.
"Drift" from Angela Walters and "Indian Summer" from Sarah Watson
 They look awesome together, both "colors" are a perfect match, a light tan print on a creamy white.
2 Solids will be added to the quilt
The bottom one is AGF Pure Elements Sandstone, this was suggested by the shop that I bought these at, and it matches okay, but what looks even better is Cotton Solid - Silvercloud by Riley Blake Designs.
I picture this quilt as animals hiding in the forest, are you familiar with those types of paintings, I would put one here, but I don't want to step on anyone's copyrighting toes.
Linking up to Sunday Stash.

14 April 2014

My Secret SuperPower (plus giveaway)

HELLO!  My name is Mara, I am an American living in Greece, so glad you stopped by during another wonderful hop put on by Madame Samm of Sew We Quilt and our Cheerleader for this hop Pauline of  QuiltNQueen.
We are showing off our SuperPower's from April 11th to April 21st.
I think everyone has a SuperPower, a Secret SuperPower, maybe only a few people know about.....
Perhaps a Secret SuperPower that doesn't show it's self often ....Like Mine....
My SECRET SUPER POWER you ask?  shhh.....

I CAN BE FOXY

Oh Yeah, you heard me right, FOXY!

Secret Super Power, FOXY HOOP!
Way back in the day when I was younger, I sold make-up and I learned a few tricks of the trade in applying said make-up.  I only put on my full blown war paint make-up two times, both for weddings.
One was a family wedding and all of my Aunts, Uncles and cousins kept coming up to me and commenting on how beautiful I was and asking "What did you do?" Living in LA at the time, I think they thought I had done some sort of cosmetic surgery, that is how much this tool/make-up can change your appearance.

Now I am about ready to give away MY SECRET, so we can ALL have this Secret Super Power.
We will be a Club, of Super Foxy Women (and perhaps men, who knows).
Self photos (1st Without Make-up, 2nd with Make-up and yelling at my daughter)
First Take a black and white photo of yourself, most people will find black lines under their eyes, around their nose, corners of the mouth and around the chin line.  Now go out and buy yourself a tube of white concealer, I used to sell the brand SeneGence.  I don't have any more and I couldn't find any white concealer's here in Greece so I used the next best thing a white cream that is used for wrinkles, I just didn't blend it in as much and left it fairly intact while I added my powder foundation.  Apply to those dark areas, when you apply it along your jaw line it will get rid of any double chins and make your face appear thinner, blend it into your skin, then apply your regular foundation over the top, add a little eye liner and mascara, and your FOXY!

Okay, now you are asking yourselves "What in the World does this have to do with Stitching and Sewing?"
Glad you asked, have you heard of Knockout Neutrals and Spotlight on Neutrals, both books from Pat Wys.  She talks about Value and you can say the 2 things, your face and your quilts are connected.

How do I look in Color!
Just realized I am wearing black, lol color, look at my awesome bag, it's in a rainbow of colors and has a fox on it, so not only am I foxy, so is my bag, Thanks to Mary of Mary Moon Designs for my tote during a recent swap, LOVE IT!
 I also made a bathroom pouch to go with my new bathroom foxy hoop decoration.  I used Vilene Lamifix for part of the fabric so it can sit on the bathroom counter sink area and I won't worry about it getting wet,
  plus the outside see through pocket is lined with the lamifix and I used a plastic table cloth that I got at the Euro (Dollar Store) for 1.50 euro, don't you just love it when the dollar store sells things that are not a dollar, HA!

I used Brussels Washer Linen in Silver and Ed Emberley Picture Pie Fox in Grey.

Plus lots of Orange, Orange Kona, Orange Felt, Orange Zipit Zippers 
and of course Orange DMC thread # S741
Linking up all of this "bright" Orange and sparkly thread to
Le Challenge

I also used
DMC Light Effects #E130 for some sparkle on the mask and around the lettering of foxy.
I am picking 2 WINNERS for the Giveaway, it is a SECRET Giveaway, the first winner will be chosen randomly and will win an assortment of fabric and a glass pendant made by me, the second winner will be chosen based off of their answer to the question 
What is your favorite Holiday? and
What's your favorite way or Super Power way of stitching, Do you like Quilting, Embroidery, Knitting, Cross-Stitching, NeedlePoint, or Crochet, or any other ways that I haven't mentioned?
The second winner will receive a half yard of holiday themed fabric and a stitching book(these prizes are already picked out and are themed generated so that is why I would like to know the answers to the questions above)  Thanks!

My favorite holiday was Halloween, but since we don't celebrate that in Greece it is now Easter, and that is coming soon!  And I love to do Embroidery, I think it is fun and there are so many options.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today and be sure to check out the other bloggers of the day, all though if you are following the hop, I should be your last stop!
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And if you are still here and wondering why I don't put on my foxy make-up very much it is because the last wedding I wore it at was a friends/co-workers wedding and another co-worker started yelling at me during the reception about why I looked so good and got very mm.. violent about my looks.  It was interesting, lucky for the me the bride was humored and she even thought it was funny that the camera man must have also thought I looked pretty foxy hot, since I was in all of the photos of the wedding, except the cake cutting, lol, now that was totally funny.  Lucky for my friend I had been in charge of taking pictures of our bachelorette party in Reno and there was only 1 picture of me in there during our group photo.
The End.  So just be careful on where you decide to get Foxy!
My daughter put on some make up too :)
Be sure to answer the questions in the comments to be entered in the giveaway it will end on April 21st at the end of this blog hop, the rest of the blog hop days can be found here.