Tidbit Tuesday #34

I was working on a Moda Bake Shop project this weekend and as I was sewing I encountered a really great tip. Sometimes until you actually run into an issue, it's hard to think of those tips! :) 

Do you ever find yourself sewing along and when you look at your seams, you see skipped stitches?  like this...

click on image to see larger version of my mess..lol :)

You re-thread your machine, check your bobbin and even re-thread that, but nothing works. You think to yourself, "oh great! All this work and my quilt is going to fall apart!".

I'm here to tell you the solution is "usually" really as simple as changing your needle! Yep! Sometimes, unbeknownst to you, your needle gets bent and doesn't like to play nice, so this is its way of telling you he needs to be replaced!

So switch out that pesky needle and put in a fresh one and start again. Hopefully you will now have pretty stitches like this...

Don't you just love when bad things happen to me so I can teach you how to prevent them? LOL! 

Much Love!!!

Enabler Alert!

How did it get to be Sunday already?!! Yikes!! 

I've been a bad blogger. Haven't I Pat? (I'll take my lashings at the next stitch ~n~ bitch..lol)

I've been wanting to post some pictures of some fabrics that I ordered lately but by the time I get home it's dark, or nearly dark, and that does not make for good photos when you want to show off fabric. 

So...I made a point to take some photos this weekend! 

I don't normally buy fabric that I don't have a project laid out for (crazy I know!) but when I saw this line, I just couldn't resist. I mean look at those bikes!! Plus the fabric is teal and gray! I need to grab up a few solids and get a project in place for this yummy line! 

Introducing Michael Millers Baby Collection... (well some of it)

Have you seen Patty Young's new line, Sanctuary!? Oh. My. Gosh! I thought this was pretty on the screen but to see this in person....*faints*!  

I have a few projects planned for this line, so keep your eyes out for them. One as early as January 26th...*wink*. :)

Last but not least...I got my grubby (ok not really) little hands on this!!

*Squeeeee*! Look at that viewfinder print!! Melody Miller is the name behind this one! I had a "really" hard time finding this color! In case you're interested you can find it HERE and HERE. If you dig a bit more you may find additional places, but most places are sold out! The plan for this baby is to  make a catch all bag to take to the office. Oh, the solids are Essex linen. I've never worked with it before, but I hear its dreamy. :)

I hope all of you have had a fabulous weekend!! 

Chat soon!

Much Love!!!

Tidbit Tuesday #33

Ooooooookkkaaayyyyyyyyyyyy.....it's Tidbit Tuesday and I have a good one for ya!! 

This is kind of like a "my brothers friends mothers fathers uncles daughter in laws sister" kind of linkage so try and keep up, k? LOL

Sarah from Confessions of a Fabric Addict *waves* emailed me with this tip. 

She was reading The Bitchy Stitcher.... this post... (I recommend following this blog. I mean, come on. The name it self lured me in! ;))

In the comments of this post, Stephanie said....

 

"FYI: If you get blood on fabric, all you need to do is use your own spit and it will completely take the blood out. Sounds gross, but it works! (Longarmers rely on it, as strangers prefer to NOT have blood on theirs! hehe)"

So in other words, either stop sticking yourselves with needles or sewing your fingers (OUCH), or start spitting on your quilts. *grins*

You wonder why I always wash my quilts first..hee hee :)

Have a tip of your own, or a tip you saw somewhere else that you think is helpful? PLEASE oh PLEASE email me at karrielyne@gmail.com with the subject line of "tips". Please? :D

Much Love!!!

Meeeooowwwww!!

Ok, so you know the saying, "who let the cat out of the bag?"?......

Well.....let's just say Amanda Herring from The Quilted Fish has!! Whoop!! 

If you are not sure who Amanda Herring is, she is the designer of the Sweet Divinity line for Riley Blake. Remember this quilt? :)

Well, she set out to find a team of peeps to be her creative consultants and guess what??!! 

No really. Guess. :D

Yep..she picked me and 8 other amazing crafters!! 

I cannot even explain how excited I am to be a part of this team! Not only do I get to create with and get to know Amanda better (who is amazing), but I also get to work with a team of 8 other amazing ladies!

So do me a solid and head on over HERE to check out all of these blogs, say hello and make sure you subscribe so you can keep up with all the projects that are yet to come!

Yep you heard me right! That means more tutorials for all of you from all of us! Whoop!

**doin' the happy dance** :D :D :D :D

Much Love!!!

Photo Play

You should be able to click the photo to see a larger collage. :)

I've been playing. :) 

Multiple photos of all of my 2010 projects. Well almost all of them. 

Wanna play too? 

Head on over to Shape Collage and give it a go. It's free, unless you want to upgrade to Pro. 

Have fun!

Much Love!!!

Tidbit Tuesday #32

Hello hello hello!!!!

Today's tidbit is brought to you by Angie from Love Sew Special!

"When I am drawing diagonal lines on my blocks I start from the center and work towards the corners. I do the same when I am pressing my seams. My grandmother taught me this years ago, and I still use it today. It keeps the blocks from stretching, especially near the corners where there is not as much fabric to work with as in square blocks.  I often draw these lines on a piece of cardboard that I have glued and taped a piece of fine sandpaper to the center of.  This helps hold the piece in place and also helps with the distortion factor."

Awesome tip Angie!! Thank you!!!! 

Keep those tips coming! I need more more more!! Did I say more? LOL! 

If you have a tip you'd like to share, please email me HERE with a link to your blog (if you have one) so I can feature it here! :)


Much Love!!!

The Road Ahead

I was asked in a recent email what my favourite quote was and it didn't take me long to choose. There are millions and millions of inspiring quotes out there, but my favourite is this one by E. E. Cummings.... "Trust your heart if the seas catch fire and live by love though the stars walk backward."  

You can interpret this quote in many ways but what does this mean to me specifically? To me it's about taking chances. To follow your heart, your dreams. Everyone has a past and everyone has had bad things happen to them, but we can't let that hinder us. Our future is an open book and we are the ones who write it, so take a chance and see what happens. They say that the things that you are most scared of are the things that are the most worth while. 

Robert Frost got it right when he said:

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."

It too is about taking chances and following your heart, not someone else's. Be who you want to be, not what someone else want's you to be. You are, after all, an awesomely unique person. Why would you want to be anybody else? :) 

So...with 2011 locked and loaded, will you go forward with the safety on or will you take those risks that you have been wanting to take, but haven't? 

I do not make resolutions, per se, but I am unlatching that safety and giving it everything that I've got!  Let's see where I am a year from now....where will you be?

Much Love!!!