Darling, Embrace and Promenade

Hello and good day my friends!

I have been so excited to bring these new patterns to you that I have been working my little tail feathers off! 

My newest babies.... Promenade, Embrace, and Darling

In the next few days I will go into more detail on each of them, but for now I'll give you this....

They are available now. If you'd like to purchase them in PDF form, you can purchase them in my shop, or on Craftsy.

Paper versions are also available in my shop!

Which one is your favorite?

Much Love!!!

Tip on Rotary Cutter Blades

A few years ago I posted a tip regarding rotary cutter blades. I wanted to touch base once more because I do feel it is important. 

Rotary cutters make our lives so much easier when it comes to quilting.  We love them.  We cherish them. We want more of them.  However, along with them, come a few rules.  

The most important rule is changing out that blade.  It's like a razor for your legs.  The more you use it, the duller it gets, which results in a less effective blade.  

Ever notice when you are cutting, you don't get a clean line? You get a jagged wonky line? That's because your blade is too dull to give you that perfect straight edge. 

I change my blade every time I cut out a new quilt. ESPECIALLY if I used that blade to trim the previous quilt because of the cutting of the batting.  Plus, I just love how much easier it is to cut with a fresh blade.  It's like cutting through warm butter versus refrigerated butter. 

The cost isn't so pretty though.  I make a lot of quilts so it can get costly.  

This is where my tip comes in.  As much as I love Fiskars and Olfa, I don't like the cost of their blades. As you can see above I don't mind spending the money on the cutter. :) So I go to Harbor Freight Tools and buy their 2 pack of carpet blades.  Two blades for $1.99.  Wowza!! 

These fit the 45mm cutters and they are sharp sharp sharp! I mean, after all, they are carpet blades!! I've used them for years now and I have never had a problem. So go ahead and indulge... buy your self some blades. Buy yourself a LOT of blades and start switching them out more often and you will see ...

1.  Your cutting time will decrease.

2.  Your cutting will be more accurate.

3.  Due to #2, piecing will be more accurate.

4.  Due to #3 your sanity will remain in tact. ;) 

5.  Now that you've saved all that money on blades, you can buy more of those pretty cutters OR more fabric!! 

This cutter is on my wish list.... It's Olfa's Splash cutter.  Isn't it pretty.......???? 

Much Love!!!

Pshew!

It's July 2, 2013. 

Just over 6 months into the year. 

Time to take inventory and look back.

I don't really think about my finishes in terms of "how many" until I stop and compile and list.

However, it seems, when I do count, I'm a bit shocked.

Maybe it's not a lot to you, but it's a lot to me.

Eleven. 

Eleven pieced, quilted, and binding on. (one not shown here as it was a gift = scrappy trip along)

Plus, two pieced quilt tops that I did for a friend and two of my own that need quilting. 

I am realizing now, with the exception of my Scrappy Trip Along quilts, I like a lot of white. It's in every quilt.  Hmm...might have to change that up...

You might be wondering about those bottom three.... you've seen sneek peeks here and there if you follow me on Instagram... but you will see the full quilts very soon!!! D:

What does your finished pile look like? 

Much Love!!!

Oliso

A bit ago I introduced you to my new little friend.  I thought it only fair to come back and tell you a bit more after test driving it for a while. 

Straight up, I don't like to iron. I don't really know why.  It's not difficult. I'd just rather be sewing. 

I've had several irons over the past few years. I say several loosely, as they were really all the same iron, it just had to be replaced because it kept breaking. By breaking I mean puking.  ALL. OVER. MY. FABRIC.  You know, right? You are happily ironing that nearly completed quilt top and all of a sudden  your iron sounds like a dragon breathing fire. You lift your "dragon" up and see brown streaks all over your top. Not cool. 

Enough was enough. 

Enter Oli-Sew Perfect. 

I have found my iron-mate. 

She is quiet. She doesn't breathe fire. Or SPIT! (very important for a lady)  She also doesn't leave brown stains everywhere she goes! Oh, and she is this perfect shade of yellow. It's not so bright that you need to wear sunglasses, yet it's not so muted it looks cream colored. Also, it reminds me of pineapple flavoured Starbursts. 

It's not your typical iron because you don't set it on it's heel.  You leave it horizontal. When you touch it (even with just one finger), it lowers flat.  When you let go, it raises back up. It's impossible to scorch your fabric. Unless of course you stand there holding the iron. This does take some getting used to. Five minutes, tops!

The first few times I turned around to my iron laying horizontal on my fabric, I ran in Lightning McQueen speed to prevent my house from burning down, all the while she sat there laughing at me. The fabric wasn't even hot. She's smart. 

She also gives you perfectly flat seams.  Front. 

And Back! ( ** Swoon ** )

With my previous irons, I was under the misconception that the more holes in the plate, the better.  So I got a Professional brand name iron that had recessed holes everywhere. Not good for quilting, I found out. That flat plate is what gives you those beautiful seams. It's difficult to press flat with so many holes. Plus it gives out too much steam.  Oli-Sew Perfect has just the right amount of vents for quilters and they are not recessed like in typical irons. The entire plate is flat! Score!

She has a sense of humor, too. If you happen to set her on her backside, she will stick her tongue out at you!! Silly goose!

How does your iron stack up? 

(the above photo has nothing to do with the iron but it's just so pretty.  I thought I'd include some eye candy.  You're welcome.)

So, if you're fed up.  If you've had enough and you're tired of fighting that big bad dragon, head to the nearest store and grab up an Oliso smart iron. 

You.  Will. Love. It!

P. S.  I actually kind of like to iron now. 

Much Love!!!

Have You Heard?

There is this really cool place. 

If you haven't been there, you'll wish you had. 

If you have, you'll definitely will want to go back! 

What is this place, you ask? 

Craftsy!!!

They have all sorts of stuff there. 

Quilting Classes - Once you purchase a class you will always have access to them.  Whenever. Where ever.  Forever. 

Patterns of all sorts - Quilting patterns, knitting patterns, crochet, jewelry, paper crafts, even cake decorating!! Psst...my patterns are out there, too! 

A project section where you can upload photos of the projects you've completed.

A supplies section where you can buy fabric and supplies you may need! We ALL need more fabric! 

So what are you waiting for??!! 

Head on over to Craftsy and have a look around.  If you haven't made an account yet, go ahead and do that too.  It's super easy and you won't regret it. 

Once you've been there, tell me what you found.  Is there a class you'd really really love to take? 

Pure Goodness

I am so loving this line! 

It's a new release for Michael Miller that is coming in July! It's called Waterfront Park and the designer is Violet Craft! 

If you don't have this line on your wish list, jot it down! It's HOT! 

I plan on cutting out a bunch of triangles. 

What would you do with it? 

Much Love!!!

Instagram Giveaway

Hello Friends!

Today is the first day of Summer AND the longest day of the year!!

Time for a celebration!

I'm doing a giveaway over on Instagram. If you don't already follow me, I am KarrieLyne there.

Here's how to enter:

1. Head on over to Instagram

2. Search for my profile (KarrieLyne) and locate the above photo in my timeline.

3. Repost it to your timeline tagging two people. Just @ them.  Make sure you don't tag the person who tagged you though!

4.  Add the hashtag #freckledsummer to your post!

That's it! You're entered.

Winner will be chosen on Sunday at 3pm CST.

Much Love and Good Luck!!!