Sleepless in the Studio

Greetings friends - happy Tuesday - I'm so glad you stopped by for a visit!

Just a note before I show you today's creative inspiration:
The Blue Ribbon Designs website is currently experiencing technical difficulties due to an X-Cart update - I have submitted a help ticket and I am not so patiently waiting for them to sort out their issue (while pulling out most of my hair and shedding a few tears...I hate it when others make my brand look bad). For now, if you need anything, please visit my Etsy Shop: https://blueribbondesigns.etsy.com/ - thank you for your patience...and say a little prayer for my sanity. Fingers crossed it is back up and running properly soon...

Now, for some fabulous finishes to brighten your day and hopefully inspire your creativity! I have been living in my studio, barely coming up for air...trying to get caught up on client orders. Here are some of my finishes from the last week...lots of project bags and some special needlework finishing...not my stitching or designs, just my finishing work and ideas...

Brenda Gervais - Grand Olde Flag
Finished as a Stitching Wallet (my own finishing idea)
Outside/Front

Brenda Gervais - Grand Olde Flag
Finished as a Stitching Wallet (my own finishing idea)
Inside

Brenda Gervais - Ode to the Ort No. 2
Finished as a Pin Pillow/Bowl Filler (my own finishing idea)

I believe this was a class piece that was mounted on top of a box...

Small Project Bag with three Stitch Starter Ruler Sleeves

Three Large Project Bags

Customer Request - a Sampler Mat
This is the sampler rolled up...

Needlework Press - Jean Morgan 1834
Customer Request - a Sampler Mat
This is the sampler unrolled...

Large Project Bag
Two Small Project Bags

Large Project Bag
Tool Bag
Artist Bag

Small Project Bag
Tool Bag

Two Large Project Bags
Artist Bag

I'll be back in the studio this afternoon, working on more project bags (made from Brenda Gervais  fabric panels) and another sampler mat...I am hoping it will be another productive day. The sun is shining and I am planning to get outside for a walk this afternoon - the fresh air will do me good!

A final note for today:
A HUGE thank you to everyone that leaves me comments, follows me on social media, orders from my websites, and sends me needlework finishing and custom sewing/quilting orders! In these challenging times of uncertainty, you all truly brighten my days and encourage me more than you know. Thank you for supporting my small business and keeping me in stitches.💓

I hope you are experiencing sunshine and creativity today...

A Rainy Day Update...

It's been almost two weeks since my last post...but I have a good excuse...it is only a few weeks from the Komen 3-Day 60-mile walk in Dallas, and I have been busy training...and when I am not training, I am working hard on all sorts of projects, trying to keep Blue Ribbon Designs in business. Schatzi and I have been getting in some great morning walks around the lake...and I have been getting in extra mileage walking alone, logging in several 12+ mile walks in the last two weeks. My studio has been bustling with needlwork finishing, magazine projects (cross stitch and quilting), Etsy sewing, and custom orders - anything that will help supplement my income while the needlework industry is on the decline. Here is my last couple weeks in photos...

Some needlework finishing for a customer...

Fabulous squirrel fabric - a gift from my dear friend Mary - it will be made
into a tote bag when I can make time...

New fabric stash, thanks to a dear friend...

Simba keeping my stitching nest warm...

Geese at the lake...

Geese at the lake...

A special machine applique project in the works...

A gloomy morning at the lake, but it was still beautiful!

My training partner Schatzi, after a trip around the lake...

A custom Etsy order in progress..

Another stitching wallet complete and off to a good home...

It is a very rainy, gloomy day today and my walk was cut short this morning, so I will be sewing shortly...I have a pile of stitching wallets in progress and more finishing work to do! Then, after a birthday celebration for my husband this evening, I will be in my stitching nest working on a project for Just CrossStitch magazine...it is another day filled with creativity....
Thanks for stopping by...and we will visit again soon...

Saturday Samplings....

Wow - who hijacked my week?? - how can it possibly be Saturday already?? It seems like I blinked and my entire week was gone. It has been a creative and productive few days and I have several fun things to share...

I started my week finishing up several large sewing/quilting commission jobs (which I can't share, just yet)...but I did manage to get in some late night stitching time. I have been working on my 2014 "pink" design every evening - this special fundraising design will only be available to those who make a donation to my 3-day 60-mile walk in Dallas this year...and just like "Red Rosies and Pink Posies" from last year, ALL proceeds will benefit the Komen 3-Day. It is an autumn design and I am still working on a title for it...more details will be coming soon - but for now here is a second sneak peek (you can see the first peek here)...

I also made time to start doing the appliqué and/or quilting on more covers for my stitching wallets - these will be headed to my Etsy shop, once complete. Yep, I still plan to put an assortment of my stitching wallets up for sale - it is just having/making the time to get them put together. There will be several different cover styles and I am working with a variety of fabrics. I enjoy playing with the hexagon shapes and using my machine to appliqué them in place, but they are quite labor intensive - I just need more hours in each day to accomplish everything I want to do...but I will get these finished up and post here when they are ready to go into the shop.

...and if you read my AccuQuilt Block Party Blog Hop post on Monday, then you know I had put together some pincushion tops using leftover shapes from my deck pillows...another wonderful project I made using the new AccuQuilt GO! Simple Shapes die by Edyta Sitar. I actually finished up the pincushions this week, and was quite pleased. Machine appliqué is one of my favorite ways to spend my day - it makes my heart happy - so these were a joy to work on - in fact, I may have to put together a few more! I'm not sure what I am going to do with these three yet - they may become gifts...or they may end up in my Etsy shop...I'm still deciding.

I have been truly inspired by all the posts in the Block Party Blog Hop - this entire group is amazingly talented and creative...so if you haven't had a chance to check out the other posts, take a minute or two to peruse the following links (you won't be disappointed!)...and there is still a week left in the hop, so more wonderful posts are still to come...

May 19th – Samplings from a Blue Ribbon Girl  (that's me!)
May 20th – Beaquilter
May 21st – Freemotion by the River
May 22nd – May Chappell
May 23rd – Sew Incredibly Crazy
May 24th – Laundry Basket Quilts
May 26th – Inventive Denim
May 27th – Sew Fresh Quilts
May 28th – Quilt in a Day
May 29th – Nancy Mahoney Designs
May 30th – Ray’s Sew Crafty

Here are a few close-up shops of my bright and cheerful pincushions....

Time to get back in the studio...I want to get more sewing/quilting done on my stitching wallets while the house is quiet...I also want to get more work done on my new website...and I have to get in a training walk...and of course, I have stitching to do! Enjoy your weekend...

So Happy Together

Moving right along this week, I completed another gift on my list...this time a miniature red and white quilt. I had so much fun putting this together yesterday and then finishing it up by hand sewing the binding last night...I am just thrilled with how it turned out. It is approximately 17.5" x 17.5" and I am excited to ship it to it's new home. I just adore this redwork style fabric by Marcus Brothers Textiles (it is quite old and doesn't have any other information on the selvage)...when I purchased it, I thought it would be fun for fussy cutting...and it was a bargain on sale for $3.00/yard...that was last October - and now I wish I had a bunch more! I used my AccuQuilt Fabric Cutter to cut strips for the border and fussy cut four of the red squares for cornerstones...the backing fabric is also a favorite (a gift from a dear friend) - it is Love Letters by Sharyn Sowell for Clothworks. I hope I have enough fabric left to make a couple more - I know someone else that I would like to give one to for a special occasion....I'll be measuring what I have left this afternoon.

I know many of you asked me about my new stitching wallets and if I would add some finished ones to my Etsy shop...well, I got 6 cut and ready for sewing/quilting yesterday and plan to prepare a few more today before I sit down at my sewing machine and begin working this week. They are quite labor intensive with the machine appliqué, so I want to have a bunch ready to go - that way I can work on them in "assembly line" style. I'll post here when I have some completed...

Finally today - I just had to share a photo I snapped late yesterday afternoon...it was taken at our front door where both dogs (our Shih Tzu Simba and our German Shepherd Schatzi) were enjoying the sun...I just love it when they can happily share the same space...

Hexagons and Hearts

I had to make some time for sewing and quilting this week - partially because I *needed* a creative fix at my sewing machine and partially because I needed to make several gifts for upcoming events. I have started working on some of my own original sewing/quilting design patterns that will be available on my new/updated website in the near future. The first one I have been finalizing is a stitching wallet...and I have been working on several prototypes. I finished one yesterday...it will be an upcoming gift for a very special friend...and I am just tickled with the results!

Instead of English Paper Piecing (EPP) hexagons for the outside of the wallet, I decided to fuse them in place on a background fabric and machine appliqué each hexagon place. I used my AccuQuilt GO! fabric cutter to cut the hexagons, playing with various sizes. Once I had the outside of my wallet complete, I started playing with ideas for the inside. I wanted a place to hold a pair of scissors, a wool piece for pins/needles and several pockets to hold a ruler, package of needles, and special stitching accessories. I used some fun Riley Blake cotton quilting fabrics (So Happy Together by Deena Rutter) for the inside...and added some adorable owl ribbon for a fun embellishment. I finished it off by adding red binding around the perimeter and an elastic with vintage button closure..

I have several more of these in the works with assorted fabrics - as my finished pattern will have several different options....and I may sew up a few for my Etsy shop (you know, in my spare time).

Finally today - a HUGE thank you to those who have been voting daily for my quilt block designs - I really appreciate your support and kindness - two of my blocks are currently in the top 25 (shown below), but I would love to boost them up even higher! I would really like to win some money for my charity (The Komen 3-Day)...so please consider voting (it's really easy - just click on the titles of my designs below or read my previous post for details)...and to those of you already placing votes daily - I heart you! Remember you can vote for all your favorite blocks once per day (per email address)...

Pinwheel Party

Blue Skies