Friendly Friday and Catching Up (Again)

So I've been a little busy lately, duh, when is anyone ever NOT busy? Since I actually managed to get a new job that starts on MONDAY (gulp) I've been trying to get my house in order before I'm gainfully employed and unable to spend all my time cleaning house (yeah right). Yesterday was the second half of a wholecloth quilt class I took at one of my Local Quilt Shops (LQS). This quilt and quilting technique is just simply AWESOME! Guess what? After only two morning classes and some mad quilting in between, I've got a FINISHED quilt! Want to see?

Here it is in all it's crinkly goodness. I LOVE this quilting technique, the result looks like PLAID! Isn't that sew cool? Hmm, did I mention this before or anything? Oh, and yes, I used ALL that thread I showed in my other post. Here are some more fun pictures of the quilt.

Close up of the binding and piping, plus the back!

A far away shot, sort of

So  now that I'm done tooting my horn about this quilt, here's a question:

Would you like me to create a tutorial about this technique? It's TOTALLY easy! It's two pieces of fabric, 1 1/2 yd each and some for the binding and piping. That's pretty much it for the materials, how cool is that!?

Please let me know if you want me to do a tutorial, because if so, I'll probably have to make another one (OH DARN) in order to photograph the process. Oh, and I figured out a sort of nifty faux mitered corner technique for the binding. (Very proud of myself about that) Did I mention that this quilt is done ENTIRELY on the machine? Even the binding!

OK, enough about me. What are y'all up to today? I think I'm going to try to work on my sewing room spruce up some more, but later.

I'm linking today's post up to the usual Friendly Friday linky parties. See sidebar for links.

Happy Stitches,

Anna

Spring and Mother's Day Inspiration

I've noticed that most of the crafty blogs I follow sort of revolve around the next holiday and how to decorate or make gifts for those occasions. That's good in a way because now that I have everything in my Google Reader I can just see it all in one place! Here are some AWESOME links for Mother's Day projects but I think these would also be fabulous for just general spring projects too.


Dana's Fabulous Blog, MADE


Cute tutorial for a scarf over here at Ruffles and Stuff Grosgrain (she doesn't have a cute badgey thing, can you believe it?!)But she IS amazingly talented and she SHARES her talents! So have you seen any awesome ideas out there in blogland lately? Have you posted any on your blog? Please do share! Oh, and don't forget that some moms totally LOVE fabric and would LOVE to get a gift certificate to their favorite online shop (ahem). We have gift certificates available now! It's an option in the left sidebar of our shop. If you have any problems with them, please let me know ASAP and I'll work to resolve them. (Haven't actually had anyone test out the option yet.) And finally, some BIG news! I got a job! I've been "unemployed" since January, from the job that helped pay the household bills and as of Monday May 3, I'll be employed full time. This is a double edged sword because I am really enjoying a) sleeping late b) getting to do whatever I want all day long (yeah right) BUT I didn't enjoy the stress of wondering how we'd pay the bills every month. SO my main goal is to TEACH Regina (the other crafty girl) how to post so that none of our awesome readers feel neglected. I'll still be around, hopefully just as much, but if it's sort of quiet around here for a few days, at least you know why. I guess that's it for now. Hope you have fun checking out those inspiring sites!

Happy Stitches,

Anna

Spill the Beans Sunday

Source

True Confessions of a Crafty Blog-aholic

Hello, my name is Anna and I am ADDICTED to crafty blogs! So I finally figured out how to use Google Reader. Not that I didn't really know how to use it, just that I forgot it existed. Turns out ALL the blogs I've ever chosen to follow for ANY reason whatsoever have been logged on my Google Reader account! That means that when I log in to my account I can see them, ALL the Crafty Blogs I've sorted into the Crafty Blogs group are now nicely organized and I can read new post after new post after new post and go on a linky crafty world spree! So, I was working on reading all the 300+ NEW posts (seems I forgot about it again for a day or two) and in the mean time I found oh, four or five NEW blogs to add to my reader! That means that for every two or three new posts I actually read, I was adding another new blog with more NEW posts! Crazy!! Now, it's a good thing I'm doing this at the odd hours of the morning because if it was during the day I would REALLY feel like I was wasting time. But at this time of the morning, when the dogs are sleeping, hubby is sleeping, it's just me and the world of crafty blogs, hmm, I can get lost in inspiration!

But wait...There's MORE!

I have another confession:

I was organizing the shelves where I store most of my fabric and projects and I FOUND fabric I actually FORGOT I had! Is that horrible!? (Or just normal for a fabric-a-holic like me) I actually FOUND a few layer cakes from lines I REALLY love! I also found some charm packs and lots of patterns I had sort of just stuffed on the shelf for some odd reason. So, now that I've finished with folding the bigger pieces of fabric, I'm working on the declutter and actually sorting stuff in my Spring Studio Spruce Up. I hope that very soon I'll have some pictures to show you of my uber organized Spruced Up Sewing Space.

Your turn to SPILL THE BEANS!

What is YOUR addiction?

Fabric, beads, buttons, scrapbook paper, all of the above?

(Oh, don't get me started on my scrapbook paper addiction!)

Please share in the comments, you can post anonymously, don't worry, we won't tell your significant other.

Just remember: What happens on Crafty Girls Workshop Blog stays on Crafty Girls Workshop blog (unless you want us to share!)

Happy Stitches,
Anna

Spring Spruce Up: Progress Report

Well, I really wanted to draw a "winner" from the people who posted their links or commented on last Saturday's blog, but since it was just a small group, I've decided that you are ALL winners! So, I'm going to send you a very special Pin Cushion custom made by ME! How about that? Please e-mail me your mailing address at anna@craftygirlsworkshop.com if you have decided to join in the Spring Studio Spruce Up.

IF you are just joining us today, no problem! I'm going to do a BIG drawing at the end of the spruce up and I'm going to give you an extra entry for each comment on blog posts between last Saturday and May 1 (the end of the Spruce Up). SO there is still time to join in!

MY Progress Report:

I've drunk the fabric folding kool-aid (you know that already if you've watched my view-torial) and I LOVE it! I DON'T love having to re-press all my fabric again, but it's worth it to be able to get much more fabric on a shelf! That means, MORE room for MORE fabric!! Have you drunk the fabric folding kool-aid and tried it out? If so, please tell me and if you'd like to send me a picture, I'll post it on THIS blog. Before and afters are great, but just afters are great too.

I also tried to ribbon storage idea of wrapping ribbons on wooden clothes pins and storing them in jars. I LOVE it! Yes, I had to hunt around town for those wooden clothes pins (NOT the kind with the wire thingy) and then I had to actually wrap the ribbon the pins, but it was fun and since I don't have an overwhelming amount of ribbon, I think it looks pretty cool.

Other than that, not much else has happened on the storage spruce up front. I went to a wholecloth quilting class on Thursday and these are the fabrics I brought for my quilt. They are from Meadowsweet by Sandi Henderson (and yes, we have them in the shop!) The big flower is one side (1 1/2 yd) the pink flowerish pattern is the other side (1 1/2 yd) since it's a wholecloth quilt there isn't ANY piecing involved! All we did was bring it to the class already sandwiched with the batting (I used fusible, which I LOVE) and then she showed us how to do this really cool technique to quilt it which ends up looking like PLAID!! I'll have to show you when I get it done. I have to bring it already quilted to class next Thursday so we can put the binding on, which I'm going to use the orangy-pink fabric and we'll add a piping, I'm using the stripe. FUN, FUN! Oh, and I get to use ALL the threads I have in the picture, that's the fun part!

Now it's time to LINK UP your Spring SPRUCE UP! If you've taken any pictures and posted them, please link up below. If you don't want to post pictures, just add a comment to tell me you're participating. (Does anyone think I use capital letters too much? I can't help it I'm EXCITED!)

Happy Stitches,

Anna

Spring Spruce Up: Fabric Folding Tutorial

I wanted to post the video directly here in the post but it's not working! So try clicking here for a direct link to the video on my flickr page.

Sorry about that!

Here's a little video-torial I created to show how to fold fabric for storing on your shelf. I hope you enjoy it and find it helpful. Thanks to the Happy Zombie (Monica Solorio Snow) who posted this first in a photo tutorial.

Happy Stitches,
Anna

Linking up to:

Friday Follow, New Friend Friday, Feature Yourself

Spring (Studio) Spruce Up (part two): Sort and Organize

Why is it that the entire feel of a room can change if you change the name? If I call a room my sewing space or sewing room, it feels normal and sort of plain, but if I call it my Sewing Studio that completely changes the feel for the room! Just a random thought to start off my post about organizing.

You know, in honor of Earth Day this Thursday (April 22nd) I think it makes sense to be sprucing up our studios or some part of our homes. It's a perfect time to air out your linens that have been stored away in favor of heavier blankets, and to rexamine the items in your home/sewing space. I figured out how to do a mosaic! Here's a great website for that.

1. Fabric storage, 2. my sewing table feb 09, 3. Craft Space (new home!), 4. magnetic board on inner cupboard door, 5. my desk, 6. Ribbon storage, 7. buttons 002, 8. A corner in my studio, 9. craft room glitter shelf

These were just gathered from the first 10 pages of the over 9000 images in the Craft Rooms group!

I found some totally cute storage cubes (collapsible) at DOLLAR TREE!

All of these for just $5 total! And they match my room colors, isn't that too cute?! The rectangle ones have dividers on the inside I think those will be perfect for organizing small notions and the others will be great for FQs and precuts.

Here are some other great ideas for storage:

Ribbon Storage in jars (with great tutorial)

Fabric Folding tutorial (Happy Zombie)

Video Rack turned Ribbon Holder (French Picnic)

Tipnut Buncha Links Organize Sewing Rooms and Crafts Supplies (They did all the work for me!)

General Decluttering Tips (Tipnut again)

Organize a Craft Space (Home Made Simple)

Wow, these pictures are so inspiring! I'm very determined to get my sewing room organized from top to bottom this week so I have some great pictures to post on Saturday!

Question(s) of the day: How to do you store your fabric/papers/thread/buttons?

Do you organize by color? By size (yardage)? By collection? Theme such as holiday? Come on! Spill the beans!!

Happy SpRiNg SpRuCe Up!!

Anna

Spring (Studio) Spruce Up Inspiration (part one)

I'm not sure why, but I'm a super insomniac tonight and you get to benefit from it! I've been blog hopping and found some great ideas and inspiration for sewing rooms. Did you know there is a group on Flickr just for pictures of Craft Rooms (a small group of only 4,330 members!) AND Sewing Rooms (over 1000 pictures!) If you just go and type "sewing rooms" in the search box it finds all sorts of great pictures!



Hmm, I have some more ideas but I think I'll save those for tomorrow's post, I can't wait! In the meanwhile, don't forget to link your post with pictures (before OR after is fine) on my linky post from Saturday! You will be entered to win a Goody Bag from Crafty Girls Workshop! Oh, and tell your friends!! I am determined I'm going to figure out how to make one of those neat-o mosaic thingys for tomorrow's post of great storage ideas! I have two ideas for storing ribbon, oh, actually, make that three I just remembered another one I can grab. Oh, and Kim over at Everything Etsy had a neat post a little while back about crafty spaces. Hope you'll check it out! Have a great Monday!

NOTE: You can post ANY Spruce Up to the linky page, I don't mind if it doesn't relate to a crafty/sewing space. Any sort of before/after will do and be inspiring to those of us who need to spruce things up a bit.

Happy Stitches (and Sprucing Up),
Anna

My Blog is Carbon Neutral, is yours?

I was hopping around blog land as I do most every day and I came across posts like this a couple of times. When I actually stopped to read one I realized, DUH! I should do this too! All they said is that we need to post about the project and then share the button with a link to their page. Then they will plan a tree in the name of MY blog (and hopefully for my website too) somewhere in Germany sometime this spring! The website has some great photos and really explains it better than I can. Here's me doing my little itsy bitsy part to help make the world greener. By the way, we planted a really pretty Weeping Red Bud in our front yard a few weeks ago when it was still blooming. Now it has big green leaves. Yippee! Yeah for nature!!

By the way, you should TOTALLY do this! It takes about three seconds and will make you feel better, hopefully. If you DO, please drop me a comment and I'll send you something special as a thank you.

Happy stitches,
Anna

Spring Studio Spruce Up Challenge

Yeah, it's not very pretty, but here are some pictures of my Sewing Space currently. Actually, I've moved my sewing machine downstairs because my sewing space is so cluttered that I can't think in there and would rather work downstairs! Plus, it's easier to let my dog in and out all day if I'm not running up and down the stairs (need to get a doggy door).

Basically, my work space is a mess! I have the luxury of having an entire room dedicated to a creative space but yet I've moved my mess downstairs, hmm, seems sort of contradictory, don't you think? So my challenge to myself, and you if you choose to accept it, is to spruce of my sewing space for Spring! Then I can really get in there and work on some exciting projects and not feel like my hobby/business is taking over the dining room!

Here is where I plan to gain some inspiration, this AWESOME magazine we have listed for an AMAZING deal, called Studios. See where it says "storage solutions for every artist"? That's exactly what I need! We only have 4 more copies available and since this is last years' issue, we've knocked $2 off the price! So, if you want to join me in the Spring Studio Spruce Up, please post a picture of YOUR sewing space/creative space (it doesn't have to be an entire room, we can get the best inspiration from all sorts of different spaces) and we'll check back next week to see what you've done to spruce it up!

I can't wait to see your before pictures.

Happy Spring Spruce Up!
Anna

P.S. If you DO link up your before pictures you'll be entered to WIN a FREE goodie bag from Crafty Girls Workshop! I plan to do a drawing each week AND one at the end, so if you post every week, you'll get multiple entries! Please join me!!

Too Many Tops

I am SEW excited! I finished TWO quilt tops this morning, they really only needed borders but at least now they are DONE! Here they are:

Charming Love U Quilt with the new border!

I just LOVE the Love U Charm quilt! It's my own design, what do you think? It went together SO fast and we have ALL the supplies you need to make this cute top in our shop. If you are interested in a kit of these supplies, please e-mail me and let me know. I'm happy to put one together for you with instructions too! This one is going to be quilted up and listed in our Etsy shop, eventually.

Rocketship Quilt (from a kit I bought locally)

I am totally in love with this geeky sort of rocketship fabric. The cutest thing is the grey rectangle fabric has cute geek-y words all about science and space! Can you see that? I think it's adorable and educational at the same time! My hubby is a science teacher so if we ever had a baby boy I think this would be the perfect quilt for him. But for now, I'm going to quilt it up and list it in our Etsy shop for your baby boy!

I realized I'm really good at making tops, now I need to get better at quilting them!!

Of course, since today is Friday, I'm linking today's post to all the FUN Friday linky parties, including: Follow Me Friday, New Friend Friday, Friday Follow, Feature Yourself, and, Look at Me I'm So Crafty

Happy Stitches for the weekend!

Anna

Catching Up

Wow, now that I've been back from the Moda retreat for a couple of days I almost feel like I'm getting caught up! I didn't realize how tough it is sometimes to be away from the computer for long boughts at a time. That did help me refocus though on the most important part of Crafty Girls Workshop, our customers and friends. There is still time to comment Saturday's post to be entered in the drawing for a secret suprise we received at the retreat!

While we were at the Moda retreat we just couldn't HELP but go through the warehouse and stock up on some more fabrics. Here is a glimpse of what we have newly listed in the shop for you:

A Breath of Avignon - Precuts and Coordinating yardage

Martinique by 3 Sisters

NEW Honey Buns, Jelly Rolls and Layer Cakes and MORE yardage

We found some bolts of Arcadia by Sanae which was SUPER popular and we found FOUR coordinating bolts AND honey buns!

New Freebird by Momo and charms are available!

There are so many more new items available, I'll have to spread them out into another post, but be sure to take a look at our patterns section. We have everything listed with NEW items to show up first!

Happy Shopping!

Happy Stitches,

Anna

Welcome from Trendy Treehouse!

We're so thrilled to be featured today on Trendy Treehouse Marketing Monday! Please be sure to read our post from Saturday about the SPECIAL we're having on some CUTE fabric and a GIVEAWAY incentive if we sell ALL THREE BOLTS!

Thanks Tara!

Happy Stitches,
Anna

Super Saturday Sale!!

Hello Betty!

Flowers on Cream

Checker in Blue

Polka Dots on Blue

We're having a CRAZY SUPER SATURDAY SALE!! We want to sell ALL of the three bolts of fabric we have shown above. It's currently dropped to a super duper low....

$6.00 a yard!

Shipping and tax charges apply

Tell your friends! Twitter it, Facebook it, blog it! If we sell EVERY yard of this fabric between now, Saturday April 10 and next Saturday, April 17, we will give away something that is totally cute and fits with the retro theme! To enter, just leave a comment here for each of the following items you've done:

1) Leave a comment to say you're going shopping!

2)Blog about this

3)Buy fabric (one entry for EVERY yard you buy!)

4)Tweet about it

5)Tell your Facebook friends

Happy Stitches and Happy CrAzY SaTurDaY SALE!!!

Anna

Guest Post from Orabelle Baby

**Thanks to Shayne for Orabelle Baby for agreeing to provide a guest post while Regina and I are "away" at a Moda Retreat***

Greetings from Orabelle Baby! I am excited to be a guest on Crafty Girls Workshop blog, and to have the opportunity to introduce my shop and myself to you. My shop features handmade clothing for infants and toddlers. In addition to making clothing, I am a full-time momma to a 4 year old son and a 2 year old daughter. I feel so fortunate to be able to stay home with my children while at the same time help somewhat with the bills! I find passion in my work and my children bring me inspiration daily. I love it! I hope you have a minute to check out my site and my blog (which offers some great discounts and giveaways!)

Happy Spring!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/OrabelleBaby

http://orabelle-baby.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Orabelle-Baby/194925981741?ref=sgm

Shayne

**Here are some pictures of Shayne's adorable creations!***

A perfect spring outfit for a little girl!

A fun outfit for a little traveler!

I'm Linking this up to Friday Follow, Follow Me Friday and New Friend Friday (see links in Sidebar)

Crafty Girls Hit the Road

Regina and I are heading out today to Dallas to a mini retreat near the Moda warehouse. (We get to stay in a hotel, thankfully) We're going to learn some awesome ideas from famous people such as Joanna Figueroa of Fig Tree quilts fame as well as other who will teach us to make our business even better. Due to our road trip, we won't be able to process or ship any orders until Monday April 12, but we will have access to e-mail to answer any questions you may have. And as I alluded to yesterday, I have two guest blog posts lined up, one from Gabrielle at Bee Wise Bags and the other from Shayne at Orabelle Baby (see links in sidebar). Thanks ladies for agreeing to post in my absence. Well, I have to go pack! See you on Sunday!

Happy Stitches,
Anna

Design Wall Update

Last weekend I had a wonderful opportunity to go out to Regina's house to sew for two whole days! Of course, while we're sewing, we're also discussing Crafty Girls business, so it's sort of a business meeting at the same time (cool, huh?) I wanted to show off one of the quilts I worked on, it was a super productive weekend since I made significant progress on two quilt tops. First, I spent most of that week working on a Two by Fours quilt. This quilt pattern is awesome (and we happen to have it in the shop) because it just uses a jelly roll, the ENTIRE jelly roll, all the strips cut into two sub units. Then piece those together and make it into the top! Then add a small inner border and wide outer border and you have a VERY nice sized quilt. Well, I had cut my Portobello Market jelly roll into the specified pieces in preparation for a quilt retreat, hmm, LAST year, and put them into a zip lock baggy. I never got around to sewing the pieces together until last week. Each evening, I worked on the various units and by the end of the week, I had the ENTIRE top (except the borders) complete! This might have been mentioned in the post about listening to books on tape or watching Netflix/Hulu and here is the top all done!

Two by Fours Pattern made with Portobello Market JR

Aren't those fabrics pretty? I really wish that jelly roll was still available and the yardage too! I hoping that when we go to the Moda Retreat tomorrow we'll be able to find some yardage I can use for borders. I mean, we'll only have the ENTIRE warehouse available to search in! I also have a Martinique Jelly Roll and can't wait to make this same quilt from that JR!

So that leads me to my next item of business. I'll be gone for a few days, but don't worry, you won't be left in complete silence like you were last week (Sorry for that by the way). I have arranged for a couple VERY talented ladies to post in my absence and I think you are all in for quite a treat! Well, I must be going.

Oh, one more thing, if you HAPPEN to stop by our shop and try to purchase something, please accept my aplogies in advance if the cart doesn't work. We would be happy to process your order through e-mail, just drop us a line, anna@craftygirlsworkshop.com with your order and I'll send you a pay pal invoice. I'm very sorry for this happening, we are working with the company to get it resolved as soon as we can (even if it means transferring our entire inventory to another store.)

Happy Stitches,

Anna

Spill the Beans Sunday

Happy Easter! I can say that because I'm writing this at Midnight so it's correct.
Today's question:
Do you have any Easter/Spring traditions with your family?

My Answer:
Growing up we had the usual go to church, share big meal with family and hunt for eggs tradition. Occasionally we'd find an egg with candy a few months after Easter was over. I think we switched to plastic eggs when we found a month old hardboiled egg, EWWW! (just kidding - sort of)

Please share your answer in the comments section below, then link to your blog and spread the word! I think it would be awesome if we had more links than last week. Oh and I FINALLY figured out how to leave the linky thing open longer, so it will be open all week!

Hopefully I'll have a nifty blog party button to share soon too. Anyone want to help me out with that?





Happy Stitches,
Anna

Crisis Averted, Please Return to your Regularly Scheduled Shopping

Wow, this is what it feels like panic when you realize that your SHOPPING CART SOFTWARE is DOWN! We were wondering why we hadn't had any orders in TWO DAYS. Lately, that's pretty unusual. Well, I chalked it up to the Easter Holiday weekend. Perhaps people are too busy with their families to shop for fabric right now. Totally understandable. Then tonight, I was listing some AMAZING new fabric bundles we've created (I had loads of fun taking pictures yesterday) and I decided to test the shopping cart, but it wouldn't load! PANIC! Long story short, somehow I read a forum post that explained how to change the address and it corrected the problem. I felt a little better knowing it wasn't JUST my site that was down, it was happening to all 20,000 of the users of Mal's e-commerce. Note to self, if something seems unusual, it probably is an indicator that something is not RIGHT. OK, so our store is working now, please return to your regularly scheduled shopping. And would you like to see some fabric eye candy?? (I hope I don't get spammed for that)

Martinique Bundle Full and Half Yard Cuts

Michael Miller High Tea Bundle Full and Half Yard Cuts

There is sooo much more listed on our web store AND on Etsy. Happy Shopping and Happy Easter!!

Anna

Found Something Cool to Play With

Until I have time for a more in depth post. Visit this to play!




Happy Stitches,
Anna