Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Thimble Blossoms Sampler - Sashing & Finishing

Hey there!

I finally finished my quilt top and have the instructions for sashing ready for you!



As soon as it stops raining, I will get some good photos of the completed top and add them to this post.  For now, you can access the sashing & finishing instructions here.

There are a few kits left available here in our shop if you need one.

Happy Sewing!  :-)

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Stocking Stuffer Week - Days 3 and 4

Hi there!

Our Stocking Stuffer Week is in full swing!  There are still a few hours left to grab today's deals! 


And Thursday's deals are now available too! 


Happy Sewing!  :-) 

Monday, December 7, 2015

Stocking Stuffer Daily Deals - Days 1 and 2

Our Stocking Stuffer Week is in full swing!  

There are just a few hours left to grab Monday's deals - including charm and mini charm pairs (choose from 20 collections!), Moda Candy Pattern Booklets and Bonnie & Camille Fat Eighth Grab Bags!  (Products will revert to their normal pricing on December 7th at 11:59 PM EST.) 


Tuesday's deals are up and these special prices will remain valid through December 8th at 11:59 PM EST. Save on our brand new pouch kit featuring 30's Playtime by Chloe's Closet for Moda and 25% off on all Swatch Buddies products and a V&Co Fat Eighth Grab Bag.


Learn more about how the Stocking Stuffer week works here.

Happy Sewing! :-)

Sunday, December 6, 2015

It's Stocking Stuffer Week!


Stocking Stuffer Week is here!  We are so excited to offer some great deals on fabric, notions, patterns and more over the course of the week!  Here's how it works ...

Starting Monday, December 6th through Saturday, December 12th, we will have several items available at a special price for the day (or while items last). With your first purchase, order a stocking stuffer envelope and use code STOCKING in the coupon code section.  This lets us know to hold your order for possible additions.

If your envelope is full, we will upgrade your envelope to a box (or next method) free.  Once this upgraded method is full, we will ship your order automatically.  You'll need to order an additional envelope to continue with the weekly deals.

All unshipped orders with the STOCKING code will be shipped on Monday, 12/14/15. If you have any questions about how the promotion works, just send us an email (sewlux at gmail).

Please note:  Our website is set for EST - so prices will revert back to their normal price at midnight EST.

Happy Sewing! :-)


Thursday, November 26, 2015

Black Friday Savings & New Kits


Our lowest prices ever are happening now during our big Thanksgiving sale!  




New markdowns are in our sale section!


AND an EXTRA 25% off everything in Clearance - as low as $4.50 a yard

And ... we're teaming up with Clover & Violet and Michael Ann Made with kits for their Sew Along Duo ... 



Learn more about the Sew Along Duo here and pick up your favorite kit(s) here

Happy Sewing!  :-) 

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Thimble Blossoms Sampler Week 7 - Nantucket

Hi there!

I am finally back with the last block installment in this sampler project. This week, we are using the Nantucket pattern.  I've heard a few of you on Instagram share that this block is a little intimidating.  And while it certainly does look difficult, you can totally do it!  I photographed a few steps to share some tips with you all.


Before I go into the tips, I will say that this block is a little on the tedious side as you really need to pin carefully in each step.  I would consider myself a confident piecer, so I didn't draw the lines as Camille suggests in the pattern. So, if this is a little scary, I would suggest you definitely do that AND maybe make a test 1/4 of a block to get more comfortable with this block.

First ... you are going to need some pins! The finer the better.


I used pins in all the intersections as I pieced the strips and completed strip sets together.  Put the pin through each unit at 1/4" and this will help line everything up nicely.  (Remove pins as you sew!)
Side note:  be really gentle when pinning ... you don't want to pull or tug the fabric a lot since there is a lot of bias going on here!


Continue pinning as you join the larger pieced triangle units into the quarter blocks.  I used pins at every intersection as well as in the background triangles.


The pattern suggests that you may need to trim these quarter units.  I chose to do so here.  You can use the diagonal lines your mat if you have them to assist you, if needed. I didn't need to trim much ... especially in my 2nd and 3rd blocks where I was much more careful in handling and pressing my units.


Continue pinning when you join the quarter units together.


You'll make two halves of the block.  And I pressed the seams between the quarter units in opposite directions so they would nest when I joined the two halves.


The next thing I want to share has to do with pressing ... and I mean "press" as opposed to "iron." All the block pieces have bias edges, which means that they will stretch.  So you want to be very careful about pressing these blocks - in ALL stages of construction.  Sometimes I "iron" and really force fabric where I need it to go.  Here we want to press... so up and down (vertically) with the iron as opposed to doing more heavy-handed sliding of the iron on the seams, if that makes sense.  I also chose not to use steam here to try and minimize stretching & distortion.

Another tip related to pressing is to finger press seams before you press them with the iron.  I usually "set the seam" quickly with an iron and then gently press the seam open with my fingers before getting the iron involved.  This just helps to make sure I don't work the fabric too hard with my iron.
(My good friend Lee at May Chappell calls this "married seams" in her glossary of important terms.)


Overall, I am happy with how these blocks turned out.  They are not completely perfect, especially this first one that I made ....


You can see where I ended up trimming a little too much - which was possible because I had ironed a little more than I had pressed. :/


I will lose some points on the outer edge of my block.  BUT ... in general, I think they turned out pretty good and this quilt is for me.  Not for a show.  But for me to enjoy and once it is quilted I don't think it will be super noticeable unless you really look. So I decided to live with it. :-)


I can't really decide which I like best.  But I love the floral backgrounds.  I specifically chose these for this block in the kit because the seams would be less noticeable in the background.


Well, there you have them!  Good luck!  If you need help, just tag me on IG @sewlux and use #TBScrappySamplerQAL.

I will be back in a couple of days to share the layout process.  We'll start in the middle and work our way out, so hang tight on that step!

Happy Sewing!


Tuesday, November 10, 2015

New Collections are Here!


Several new collections have landed on our shelves in the last week!

We're thrilled to have Denyse's Legacy Reprint of Katie Jump Rope.  Classic designs in bold colors with some great basics.  We're loving all the browns and oranges for a fall-themed quilt.

And ... two new collections from Moda!  Basic Grey's new Mon Ami is so fun with mini tulips, rain drops, text prints, dots, and other great prints.  This one would play great with their older PB&J collection too!

And Erin Michael is back with more paint-by-number with Purebred.  We love the large florals, great low volumes, horses, and that painter's palette!

More is on the way too ... so stay tuned!

Happy Sewing! :-)

Holiday Hustle Kits & Tutorial

Hey there!

November seems to be moving by us as quickly as the wind is blowing the leaves off the trees!  If you are like me you are planning out your holiday sewing ... and I am sure another Holiday Hustle quilt will be on my list!

The original Holiday Hustle quilt from Kate Spain's Joy Collection. 

The "Holiday Hustle" quilt is simple and comes together in an afternoon!  The finished quilt measures 53" x 60", making it a great size lap quilt for the holidays (or anytime of year)!

We have few new kits to make it even easier here.



Find our tutorial for this great quilt here:

Happy Sewing! :)

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Thimble Blossoms Sampler Week 6 - Clambake

Hi again!

I am finally back with the latest in this sampler project.  I am so sorry for the delay!  But without further adieu, here it is ...

This week, we are using the Clambake quilt pattern.  We'll be making two rows to go under the Flower Patch & Summerville Houses.


For the top row, you'll use 9 full clams.  And for the bottom row, you'll use 8 full clams and cut the 9th in half to put on each end as you can see in the image above.


For the bottom row, you'll use white (or whatever you are using for the background) to create the curves in the clamshells.  I found it helpful to use my design wall to lay out my prints and would encourage you to do so also (the floor would also work if you don't have a design wall).


This strip is slightly longer than we will need, but we will trim it down in the final assembly.


I really love this Clambake pattern - its simple and easy to piece with a little planning.  I really want to mix some collections or maybe even a fun Christmas quilt with many of the prints I have collected over the years.

Thanks again for hanging in there with me!  The last set of blocks (Nantucket) will be shared this Friday and I've updated the original schedule here.

Happy Sewing!  :-)

Monday, October 19, 2015

Thimble Blossoms Sampler Week 5 - Flower Patch

Hey there!

I am running a little late again with my sewing (sorry about that!), but I am happy to be popping in to share this really fun (and ginormous!) block for this week's installment in the Thimble Blossoms Sampler.


This week, we're sewing one complete Flower Patch block, which is four units sewn together.  This block includes some fusible applique and I did a small zig zag stitch to secure mine to the foundation squares.  Then made sure to pin the intersections of points so they'd match up nice and pretty!

For the next week, we'll be making Clambake blocks and I wanted to check my layout a little in thinking about distributing colors throughout my quilt.  So, I thought I'd take this opportunity to show you how things are looking and also give you a variation or two for the top row to make your quilt your own, if you like!

First, let me apologize for the sun & wind that made these photos not what I hoped ... ;-)


But anyway ...  this is the original plan with the nine patch blocks on the ends and the three stars in the middle.


You can also move the nine patches between the stars, so it alternates blocks across the top.


And finally, you can sew the nine patches together in pairs and alternate between the stars like this ... 


I am leaning toward option two, but may still change my mind.  Which one do you like the best?

That's all for now!  I am headed to Quilt Market on Wednesday and will do my best to get my Clambake section pieced before I leave, but it may get posted early next week.

If you are just joining along, learn more about the QAL here.  (And remaining kits are now on sale while they last!) 

Happy Sewing!  :-) 

Thursday, October 15, 2015

New Curated Collections

Hey there!  One of my favorite parts of quilting is pulling fabrics, mixing and matching from different collections and designers.  And I had so much fun in this shop this afternoon putting together a few new Curated Collection bundles!  

This first one is called Bold Bouquet and mixes AMH Folk Song with some C+S Basics and Bella Solids in a pretty mix of prints in bold & warm hues. 


Tula Pink's collections play together well so often and having Elizabeth & Eden on the shelves right next to each other gave me an idea!  The Astraea floral print is one of my all time favorites and a little pink and aqua is always a good idea.  Meet the Elizabeth's Eden bundle ...


Vintage Market by Tasha Noel has some of the cutest little prints perfect for fussy cutting.  I paired a few with some Moda Dotties, a little Daysail, and few other great stashbuilders for this perfectly sweet Market Day bundle.


Which one is your favorite?  These three bundles are on sale now through Sunday, 10/18/15!

(p.s. We have a little giveaway going on over on Instagram if you follow us there!)

Happy Sewing! :-)

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Gooseberry Now Available!


We're pretty excited about this collection!!!  Gooseberry by Lella Boutique is on the way!  Complete collection of yardage as well as stashbuilder bundles and precuts now available and will begin shipping this weekend!

Happy Sewing!

Color Play Mini Quilt


Hey there!  I am excited to finally share this fun mini with you.  I stitched it together a few weeks ago and it comes together really quickly!  I wanted a project to show off the great colors and prints in the Simply Colorful collection by Vanessa Christensen of V & Co and I think this fits the bill!


We have a few kits with all the fabric you need for the top and binding as well as a printed pattern sheet with instructions available in the shop.


I made a slightly smaller version with a mini charm pack of Hello Darling and Essential Dots White Black.  This one is destined for the exterior of a Sew Together Bag, but wanted to show you an idea for quilting your mini.


I free motioned some swirls in the squares and did some really small little figure 8 loops in the background between the squares.  I really like how it came out.


Thanks for stopping by today!  Happy Sewing!  :-)

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Moda Basics Sale


Just a quick sale update tonight!  Save 15% on all Moda Basics this week - including Bella Solida, Grunge, Dottie, Essential Dots, Mochi Linen and more!  No coupon code needed!

Thimble Blossoms Sampler Week 4 - 9 Patches

Welcome back!  I hope you are having fun sewing along on this QAL ... How did you did with your house blocks last week?

This week, we are making the last of the blocks we will need from the Summerville pattern by Camille at Thimble Blossoms.


These little 9 patch blocks are point come together quickly.  You can see that I elected to use low volumes in the outer corners and replaced the middle background square with another print for some variety.  Feel free to make these however you want! 


One thing I wanted to make sure to point out in the pattern is that you need to trim the 9 patch before adding the corner pieces to complete the block.  The pattern calls for this (I may have missed it with my first block!) and you will have a hard time getting your finished block the correct size without cutting off points if you don't.  For me, it was about a 1/8" off each side.  


You will need 8 blocks total.  I haven't sewn mine together yet since I may switch up the layout a little on the top row of the quilt (more about that later). 

I hope you are having fun sewing along.  Share a link or tag me on Instagram (@sewlux) and use #TBScrappySamplerQAL so I can see your little neighborhood!

Have a great weekend and I will see you next Friday with the Flower Patch block. :)

Happy Sewing! :-)

Friday, October 2, 2015

Thimble Blossoms Sampler Week 3 - Houses

Welcome back!  I hope you are having fun sewing along on this QAL ... How did you did with your star blocks last week?

This week, we are still making our way through all the great blocks in the Summerville pattern by Camille at Thimble Blossoms.

If you are using our kit and making these from layer cake squares, please be sure to refer to the instructions included in the kit for cutting the main body of the house from one layer cake square.


These house blocks come together pretty easily, especially if you chain piece to make several at once.


I tried to use most of the colors from the layer cake throughout my houses and I also tried to think about patterns that would be ok with seams in them for the roof parts especially.  (For example, the orange peel could look a little wonkly with a seam in the middle, but the florals hide the seams a little better.)


Is it bad that now I want to make a whole quilt of these house blocks?!


They are just too cute?! :-)

I hope you are having fun sewing along.  Share a link or tag me on Instagram (@sewlux) and use #TBScrappySamplerQAL so I can see your little neighborhood!

Have a great weekend and I will see you next Friday with the next set of blocks!

Happy Sewing! :-)


Friday, September 25, 2015

Thimble Blossoms Sampler Week 2 - Stars

Happy Friday!

Who's ready to sew up some easy star blocks this weekend?

This week, we're still working with the Summerville pattern (available here) for our Thimble Blossoms Sampler QAL.

These star blocks are very easy (and quick!) to sew.  I chose to make them a little scrappy, but you can certainly make them all one color if you want depending on the fabrics you are using.


I put the pinks & reds opposite of each other on my star, as well as the cool colors (aqua and green) across from each other.


To get nice points with half square triangles (HST), I always sew a little big and them trim to size. This helps with accuracy when you join them together into a larger block.  You can use a ruler, but I also love a Bloc Loc for this!


Here are all my pretty blocks awaiting their quilt top neighbors!


Are you sewing with me?  Share a link or tag me on Instagram (@sewlux) and use #TBScrappySamplerQAL

Have a great weekend and I will see you next Friday with the next set of blocks!

Happy Sewing! :-)