Joyful Journaling

Happy Tuesday friends! If you follow my social media, then you may have heard my extremely happy news - I finally got my fancy sewing machine back from repair in mid-March and I have been sewing up a storm daily. I was worried when it took months for repair, but the backordered parts finally arrived and my machine is sewing perfectly again. I have been making and listing a lot of items in my Etsy Shop and working on a few client orders...plus I have been working on projects for Poppie Cotton and ThermOWeb...and making a few gifts and personal projects. I have even been making time for new cross stitch designs and ideas. With the crazy new night schedule, I find spending time in my studio is keeping me sane and happy. I was also able to take four days off and help my local quilt shop (The Quilted Sunflower) for the Ad Astra shop hop, which is always inspiring and fun. It has been refreshing to take a step away from needlework finishing and some of the more cumbersome client projects and work on things that truly bring me joy. Here are just a few of the photos I can share...

Another project I worked on was this special framed piece for my mother-in-law - a gift for her birthday. Half of the heart is a map of where we live and half of the heart is a map of where she lives. I was quite happy with how it turned out...

Finally, you may remember this pillow I designed in December, playing around in my studio for the Poppie Cotton Christmas Countdown Challenge. I decided to enter it in the Nancy Zieman Productions 2023 Pillow Sewing Challenge. You could enter one photo of one pillow that was made in the last year and write one or two sentences about it.

This was my entry:
My Pink House Pillow is an original design, has an envelope back and uses a 12” x 12” pillow form. My pillow features fusible appliqué with blanket stitching, rick rack around the perimeter and a ¼” button for the doorknob.

The winners were announced in a blog post on March 26th, and I was on the list! I am receiving a June Tailor prize package, including: Quilt As You Go Morning Blend Table Runner package; Quilt As You Go Venice Placemat (set of 6) package; Quilt As You Go Venice Table Runner package and Magic Seam Wand. I haven't received my prize package yet, but I am looking forward to it!

Thank you for visiting with me today! I will be back on Thursday to share my latest ThermOWeb project tutorial with you. A little hint...my project is for Houses Make a Home Week...and you can see it on the ThermOWeb Blog on Wednesday. Until then, I wish you a happy and creative week...

Plenty of Pretty Project Bags

Happy Friday friends! Today, I am stopping by to show you piles of recent project bag finishes. I completed a couple large orders for my zippered project bags this past week (and one piece of needlework finishing, which I'll add to this post)..it is always enjoyable to work with the fabulous fabrics my clients supply for their custom bags...even when they send directional prints and prints with straight lines, it is still fun to play with all the different patterns and styles. I am still taking custom project bag orders on a limited basis (the client supplies their own fabrics) - if this is something you might be interested in, send me an email and I will reply with details (pricing, time frame, fabric amounts, etc.). This batch of photos also includes a bunch of Blackbird Designs bags I created for my Etsy Shop (these sold out immediately, but I do have plans for more real soon!). Here are a few photos of a sampling of my most recent custom project bags...

I have another large pile of bags ready to cut and sew over the next week for my Etsy Shop, along with a few client orders...so, my sewing machine will be humming along.

For now, it is back to organizing the garage and finishing up some yardwork - trying to get everything done outside earlier in the day, because the temperatures here have been brutal! I also have a tutorial video to finish editing today. I'll be back again soon when I have more to share...have a great weekend!

Sewing Session Snippets

Hello friends, readers and Blue Ribbon Designs enthusiasts - it's another post filled with creativity! I have been keeping busy with needlework finishing, stitching, sewing and quilting for the majority of my hours each day...trying to get a handle on projects and custom orders before we take our yearly Colorado trip in September. I finished a handful of orders for my zippered project bags this past week (along with a few custom pieces). It is always enjoyable to work with the fabulous fabrics my clients supply for their custom bags...even when they send challenging fabric with directional prints and/or straight lines, it is still fun to play with all the different patterns and styles. This batch includes more With Thy Needle and Thread project bags that are created from a printed panel...but in true Belinda fashion, I have changed the instructions inserting the zipper across the top and adding rick rack to both sides of the front panel...and I've made quite a few with a boxed bottom. I also had a request for a small scissor/needle case, measuring 5" W x 4" H - I quickly wrote up a pattern and made a prototype, then made two for my client with fabrics she supplied....if there are more requests for these, I may make some for my Etsy Shop. Here some photos of projects I worked on in the past several days...

My large and small project bags...

My large and small project bags...

My large and small project bags...

Custom-size bag: 14" W x 18" H

Two large project bags...

Project bag from fabric panel by Brenda Gervais/With Thy Needle & Thread
See designer website for information....

Project bags from fabric panels by Brenda Gervais/With Thy Needle & Thread
See designer website for information....

Project bags from fabric panels by Brenda Gervais/With Thy Needle & Thread
See designer website for information....

Custom Scissor/Needle Case 5" W x 4" H - Prototype

Custom Scissor/Needle Case 5" W x 4" H

Custom Scissor/Needle Case 5" W x 4" H

Two more project bag orders are in progress, then I start some HUGE needlework finishing orders. My holiday deadline for needlework finishing is September 1st...and sure enough packages are arriving daily. I always work in the order received and now it is time to steadily start working through those finishing projects. There are currently over 200 pieces of needlework finishing in my queue, so I am going to be a "finishing machine." These client orders contain some gorgeous needlework (LOTS of ornaments) and I can't wait to share some of the finishes with you...

Wishing you a happy and productive week!