Spill the (Jelly) Beans Sunday

Well, next week is Easter! Wow, where does the time go? I spent a WONDERFUL day and a half out at Regina's on Friday and Saturday and I must say it was very productive. I finished an ENTIRE quilt top (except the borders since I need more fabric, oh darn) and most of a second top, isn't that amazing!? Have any of you ever heard of Tip Nut? It is an AWESOME website and I get daily e-mails with all sorts of links to great tips. Yesterday's was a crafty roundup of various spring, Easter, bunny, and chicky crafts! They called it Easter Extravaganza. I find that their links are a great way to find new crafty blogs (as if I need more to read). But I've also used one of their links to plans for an outside planter for a salad garden, I sent the link to my dad (who is in love with his new table saw) and he made one for me by the next weekend! Oh, and they had some suggestions for cleaning out your microwave and it actually inspired me to do it and it worked and now my microwave is CLEAN! I just printed out this template for a bunny applique which I'm planning to use on a couple of onesies. I love that it includes a flower and an egg shape. The printed shape was actually a bit smaller than I wanted to so I enlarged it by 150% on my printer. Alright, that's the weekend update, ready for Spill the (Jelly) Beans Sunday?

Just one question this week (because if I keep asking 6 questions I'll run out of ideas!):

In the comments below, please answer the following question, then add your blog to the McLinky.

Are you working on any Spring or Easter-ish crafts in your household? Please do tell!
If you aren't, please tell us what you ARE working on at the moment.




Have fun on the Bloggy Bunny Hop!

Happy Stitches,
Anna

Fabulous Friday

This post is going to be full of LOTS of different things so please bear with me, OK?

Friday Linky Parties:

You can see the badges in the right sidebar, but part of the reason I LOVE Friday is all the fun linky parties around Blogland! I've linked to Friday Follow at One 2 Try, Follow Me Friday at Trendy Treehouse and New Friend Friday at The Girl Creative! Friday is a great day to make new bloggy friends!! Also a new one for this week, Spring has Sprung at It's FUN to Craft.

Finish It Friday:

I managed to finish a couple of really easy and rather fun to make tote bags and I finished them on MONDAY! Don't ask me why I waited until today to post about them. Well, actually, I was going to wait until April for a surprise but just wanted to share today before I give them away. The first one, I made with Mill House Inn fabrics that my mom purchased. She wanted a tote that was small and had pockets for her cell phone and car key. I just LOVE this pattern for the Desk Deli Tote. It's supposed to be a reusable lunch bag but I found that the size and pockets make it perfect for a carryall bag and I use mine as a purse. We don't have the pattern yet because it's super popular and actually on backorder with our distributor! We will be ordering it soon though. This bag is so easy because it's made with mostly fat quarters! OK, enough rambling I'm sure you want to see pictures, right?

This is the one I made for my mom with Mill House Inn FQs

I made this one for my friend Lynda who looves shoes.

Can you tell that the batik fabric has flip flops on it? She also LOOOVES pink!

I think the fun thing about these totes is the way the pockets are made. You can customize them to the size that you want for your cell phone, car keys, pens, etc. There are some skinny pockets that were intended to use for utensils (since it's supposed to be a lunch tote) but I use them for my pens! The larger center pocket was intended for an ice pack, but that's where I stash my cell phone. Well, I'll be sure to announce when we get this pattern in and you can bet we'll list some kits to go with it!

Store Update:

Guess what!? If you are subscribed to our newsletter then you should already know this AWESOME news! (If not, visit the teal box in the right sidebar to sign up. hint: You'll get coupons!) The great news? BUTTONS! We have some wonderful and super cute buttons in our shop! Have you ever seen buttons with POLKA DOTS!? I hadn't until now and we have them! I just LOVE the red ones with white dots!

Click the image to view item in shop.

I suppose that's it for now. Thanks for reading all the way to this point! Please do sign up for the newsletter because there are A LOT of great things in store for the shop (including the Fab Shop Hop in JULY!) and I am sure you want to be the FIRST to find out about them!

Happy Stitches,
Anna

P.S. I just watched Julie and Julia last night and LOVED it! How cute! Didn't really inspire me to cook though, just to blog and sew more.

Do you do this?

image source

You've probably figured out by now that Regina and I really love to sew. Lately I've made myself stop using the computer around 12 noon and go into my sewing room to actually work on some projects. Yesterday I finished TWO really cute tote bags, one for my mom and the other for a dear friend (pictures of those in a couple of weeks.) I also realized I have a TON of fabrics cut and divided into little baggies that are ready to be made into quilts! That's because I went through a kit buying phase and after I had done that, I went through a "I'll just cut these and make them ready to sew" phase. Now I'm going through the "I really want to make these things" phase. Maybe it's the spring weather or something.

Do you ever do that? Go through certain phases and then get super productive and make a lot of stuff?

Here's the other thing. I have a mini laptop (since main computer is in another room) and I've set it up so I can actually WATCH stuff on it while I'm sewing! I love to have music playing or my new favorite is either a show on hulu or Netflix. Hulu is a neat website I found where I can watch previous episodes of fairly new TV shows. My recent favorite has been Fringe, which was written by the same people who wrote the Lost series. I've just gotten caught up on the last five episodes of the second season over the last few days. Also, Netflix, if you have an account with them, will allow you to stream movies or TV shows on your computer for no additional cost! I was able to watch all of Seasons 1 and 2 of the BBC TV show Robin Hood (so sad that was only a three season series!) And soon I'm going to hook up an external drive so I can watch DVDs on my mini laptop too. My latest discovery is books on CD. This was sort of one of those V8 moments. I LOVE to read. I have NO problem listening to books on tape or imagining what's going on, I've done this several times when I used to have a LOOONG commute to my previous job. So why not listen to books while I sew? While I was at a thrift store yesterday, I found a copy of John Grisham's The Brethren on CD for $2.99. Gee, for that little how could I go wrong? Well, I found out, it's not just a 4 CD set, it must have more than that but all that was in the case was 4 CDs! I just finished listening to the 4th CD and now I'm hanging!! I plan to take it back to the store tomorrow. But wait, I'm not finished!! I just stopped by my local library today and picked out THREE more books on CD today! And one of them is even about a quilter who solves mysteries (my other favorite sort of novel is mysteries). So I can listen to a book on CD about a quilter while I work on a quilt! I also checked out three books but those will be hard to read while I sew. :-)

Does this sound familiar? Do you like to listen to books on tape or watch TV or movies while you work on a quilt? Or do you prefer to listen to music or have complete quiet?

I'm just curious because I felt so much better when I asked around and found out I'm not the only one who sews without shoes on (the better to feel the pedal, right?) Can't wait to hear your replies.

Happy Stitches!

Anna

P.S. Don't forget to join the CGW Sew and Show group on flickr! I'm anxiously waiting to see what creations you've all come up with!

Spill the Beans Sunday

NOTE: If you were sweet enough to comment with your opinion about the option of offering advertising on this blog a week or two ago, please e-mail me and I'll send you a FREE pattern for a quick quilt made with a jelly roll!

Now it's YOUR turn to spill the beans (and I don't mean coffee because it's past 1:00pm). Please take a moment to answer the following questions. I had SEW much fun reading about how people learned to sew and where you are from. If you answer this post with a comment, PLEASE make sure to include your e-mail and I'll send you a FREE pattern too! Last thing, I've decided to add McLinky at the bottom. SO, if you answer these questions here in a comment, link up your blog (main page is OK) and we can visit each other and make some new bloggy friends!

1) Name
2) Favorite hobby (sewing, quilting, scrapbooking, cooking, etc.)
3) What sort of patterns/designers/colors do you like? (i.e. bright and funky, soft and floral, Amy Butler, anything by 3 Sisters, Basic Grey, Sweetwater, etc.)
4) What patterns would you like to make? (i.e. tote bags, quilts, baby clothes, stuffed animals or softies, adult garments, home stuff like aprons or pillows, etc.)
5) Of the previous list, is there anything that you'd like to make more of?
6) Who do you sew/craft for most? (kids, family, friends, neighbors, customers, yourself!, etc)
7) Anything else you'd like to share?
8) Now add a link to your blog on McLinky!

OK, me first.
1) Anna
2) Sew and quilting although I think I have Crafters A.D.D. because I can't seem to focus very long on one project and have started making paper cards and even made a calendar with scrapbook paper!
3) I love bright and funky fabrics and have recently purchased 12 different fabrics with a lime green and turquoise blue color scheme for a new quilt! (Forgot I already had a set of FQs at home in that same color line!) I totally love Amy Butler, Heather Bailey, Anna Maria Horner, and I really like the Basic Grey fabrics most of the time. I know a lot of fabric designers are also designing for scrapbook paper companies and visa versa now. Basic Grey and Sweetwater are good examples of that.
4) I have plans to make lots of quilts (bought the kits for them!) but I also have lots of patterns for totes. I just saw a TON of cute patterns to make stuffed animals and I think that would be interesting but I don't know who I would give them to. I also like to make pillows, like I said, Crafter's A.D.D.
5) Pretty much more of EVERYTHING! I need to get myself OFF the computer so that I can actually SEW! In fact, I've started trying to make two things at a time since I seem to have so little time to spend sewing!
6) At the moment I'm sewing a tote bag for my mom and another one for my close friend as a gift. I also have plans to sew for our shop for samples and sale. I'm looking forward to seeing what people add to our flickr pool so I can get some more inspiration!
7) Hope this is fun and not too redundant with the previous meme (I'm calling it that because it's easier than anything else.)

Super Sponsor Sunday!

Today I'm featuring a guest post from one of our sponsors, Jill from Women Who Do It All.

Hello readers of the Crafty Girls Workshop! I am so excited to be guest blogging here today! Love their products! Well first a little introduction to me and my blog :) I am Jill from Women Who Do It All. I have a sweet little guy, Sam, who is three months old. I started my blog because I wanted to make a kind of community where women who "do it all" (and let's be honest, that's all of us) could share ideas and build friendships. I keep my blog hopping with fun craft ideas and motivating health and fitness tips. I also love to share great recipes and have lots of fun giveaways (the best part of blogging, right?) I've got two great giveaways going on right now.

One for a Cricut (shown in the picture) [EDIT: The Cricut giveaway has concluded but Jilll still wants to give one away when she reaches 2500 followers, head over and help her out!] and one for a $50 gift certificate for the JC Penny Portrait Studio. These end in just a couple days so head on over and check them out :)

I had a hard time choosing just one post to feature here, but I ended up settling on my tutorial for an adorable baby mobile just because it's fun and could save you lots of money not having to buy one from the store, plus my son LOVES it!

Head on over to Women Who Do It All for a tutorial for how to make one yourself!

Thanks for the guest post Jill. We will be stopping by soon!

Happy Stitches to all,

Anna

CGW Sew and Show on Flickr!

Edit: The badge is now available! It's over there in the sidebar with the nifty code thingy that you can just copy and paste! If you have any questions about that, please e-mail me. Click the link below to visit the flickr pool and join in! Thanks!!

Thanks sew much to Amy from Positively Splendid who has offered to help me with designing a badge for the NEW flickr group! When we get that finished you can bet it will be the next post, but until it's ready, PLEASE do stop by the CGW Sew and Show flickr pool and join in and post your pictures! I've already put in a few pictures of things that Regina or I have made and I hope they will inspire you too! The idea is to show what we've made using our fabrics or patterns (or both) and we'd love to see what you've made! Don't worry, we aren't checking receipts to see if you purchased it from us. That's OK if you didn't but the exciting thing about flickr is that it's all about pictures and you can add a description to your pics. So you can tell us about the item, why you made, and where you got the inspiration. If you used fabric or patterns from our shop, well, GREAT! If you have a pattern that you've used and think we should carry, let us know in the discussion portion of the group. Well, happy stitching to you!

Anna

We have a Flickr Group!

This is going to be short and sweet. I've just started a new flickr group for anyone who wants to join us and show off the projects they've made with patterns or fabrics from our shop. OR if you didn't buy them from us but you have projects using patterns or fabrics that we sell, come show what you sewed in our group! I'm calling it the CGW Sew and Show group.

But I have a teensy little problem:
I REALLY want an uber cool badge to help promote our new group! You can put this cool badge on your blog and proudly tell the world that you're a member of the CGW Sew and Show group!

Can anyone out there help me out with creating a badge? If you would like to help out, I'd be willing work out some sort of swap, such as your design skills for hmm, maybe a yard of fabric or something. Please e-mail me if you think you could help. Thanks sew much!

Happy Stitches,
Anna