It's the Little Things (and the lights!)

Welcome to Day 4 of the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge! 

Today's prompt is favorite tools. I'm pretty simple--I don't have a bunch of super fancy tools, but below are some of my basic favorites.  

1. Cord locks - My new favorite accessory for mask making

2. Needle threader - I constantly rip out the wires on those little silver needle threaders. I bought these online--still need to watch the video to figure out how to use them. Hopefully once I do, they'll deserve a spot on this list! 

3. Seam pressing bar - I bought this at QuiltCon a few years ago. It makes all the difference for pressing seams open!

4. Scissors - This little guy came with my needle threaders. I like it!

5. Rotary cutter (and mat) - I appreciate having bright, cheerful colors for my most-used tools.

6. Mini Seam Ripper - The little rubber knob on the end makes this the best $1 (or $2?) I ever spent.

7. Binding clips - Little workhorses who bring order to the last step of the quilting process!

Here are a couple newer additions to my toolbox that I suddenly can't quilt without!

This overhead phone holder offers so much flexibility for videoing. I love the top-down workstation views it provides from up high.

And the lights. Oh, the lights! I bought them for doing videos and virtual presentations, but now I turn them on every time I saw. So beautifully bright and clean. :) 

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A quick heads up: I've been playing around in my head with a holiday project idea this week, and today I made it happen and I like it! 

I'm still working out the details, but I plan to share a video tutorial for how to make these next week. Stay tuned for details, either here on the blog or in my newsletter (sign up in the right hand sidebar...I'm a 2x per month kind of girl, so I won't deluge your inbox, I promise!)

If you like what you've seen here, you can also find me:

To find all of my quilt patterns, visit my Etsy shop. 

Find me on IG here.

Find me on Facebook here.

Meet the Secret to My Success

The Day 3 prompt of the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge is sewing machines. 

Where would you be without your sewing machine? I wouldn't be much of a sewer or quilter; I'm not a huge fan of hand stitching beyond the occasional embroidery work and finishing bindings. 

I bought a Janome 6600 back in 2006ish, and it's been my primary workhorse since then. It's more machine than I need, but I've gotten very comfortable with its many perks. 

The biggest drawback is that it's H-E-A-V-Y. When I went to workshops or sew-ins, I'd be lugging it in and cursing its weight. 

What prompted me to purchase a second machine? I neglected mine (don't skip those annual servicings!) and it needed a tune-up right while I was finishing up three quilts for Quilt Market, totally under the wire. Whoops. 

Shortly after that, I bought a second machine. I know a lot of people are machine collectors, but that's not me--I'd rather buy fabric! 😊 

After some research, I purchased the Janome Jem Gold Plus. Why? I knew I wanted a Janome because I liked what I had, I liked the idea of interchangeable feet, and it had my #1 requirement--an automatic needle threader. Plus, it's lightweight! So much easier to carry around.

In fact, I'm in charge of virtual school this week, and I moved this machine (and a cutting board and small ironing board) into the dining room. It's hard to get computer work done during virtual kindergarten, but I can definitely make some sewing progress instead!

This picture below illustrates the other reason I bought a second machine. I love sewing with my kids. I love that they're starting to be able to sew on their own. But I don't love sharing my machine. Plus, there are three of them. By having two machines, at least two of us can sew at the same time! 

What do you sew on? What's your favorite sewing machine feature?
 

If you like what you've seen here, you can also find me:

To find all of my quilt patterns, visit my Etsy shop. 

Find me on IG here.

Find me on Facebook here.

Sign up for my newsletter in the righthand sidebar and receive this free pattern.

Come Visit My Studio!

It's Day 2 of the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge and I'm still going strong! 😀 (Psst...click here for a link of everyone involved in this challenge.)

I'm happy I have these clean studio photos to share, because my sewing space has gotten a little (ok, a lot) messy again. Oops. 

I am lucky to have the bonus room over our garage as my office and sewing space. It's a huge room (20' x 30'), which is fantastic, but it has a few challenges (skylights instead of windows, short, hard-to-access closets...limited wall space). 

After organizing and rearranging my space last April, I made some adjustments in September because I found myself doing more video demos and virtual lectures/classes (find details here).
I needed my sewing table to be closer to my design wall, and I invested in these large and wonderful lights (plus I signed up for Cheryl Sleboda's Video Basics class!). So this is the view in the middle of my studio these days. With piles out of camera view, of course! 

This was my mom's sewing table when i was growing up. It's a treadle machine table, but she had an electric machine in it (though my kids love the foot action!). I love having this in my space.

My biggest challenge in the studio was accessibility. Digging through plastic totes to find the fabric I wanted was not good. Right now my best scraps* are organized, rainbow-order, in these plastic drawers. They're not folded--that's not my jam. At all. I still need a few more drawers. 

 *Yes, I said best scraps. :) I have several (cough, cough...6 or 7?) more totes of scraps safely hidden in those short closets you see in the photo above. I still need to sort and donate the fabrics in them, but that'll be after stay at home ends. 

Moving on, this corner of my office doubles as a guest room. Under the Ebb & Flow quilt is a futon, currently laying flat for mid-day naps. Just kidding! I did add one of my favorite improv quilts to the wall for a little extra color!

Here's where I spend the majority of each day, at my desk doing computer quilting work. I was lucky enough to bring this desk home from Florida--my friend Sarah gave it to me. It's wonderfully deep and gives me plenty of work space besides my monitor and printer. 

To the left is my ironing board. I have one of those big boards, and I couldn't quilt without it. I've created a little mini gallery above it, and it's so much more pleasant to stand at the ironing board with all this eye candy. 

These bins used to be my scrap storage. My scraps have outgrown them, and frankly, I got used to using these handy little cubicles to hold projects in progress over the last eight months. This weekend I put the canvas bins in place, making it look a bit neater. I need to decide if I want to label the boxes, or just play "grab bag" when looking for a project. 

Those are all the clean parts of my studio! I hope you enjoyed the photo album tour. If videos are more your style, see below:
Back in the spring, I was part of the Spring Clean Your Studio Blog Hop and I took this video. I'm reposting it here. :) 

     

Thanks for stopping by!
I hope you'll browse around my blog while you're here and come back often! 
Sign up for my newsletter here and as a thank you, I'll send you a free copy of my quilt pattern Diamond Drama. (Tip: If you sign up and don't see the newsletter email, check your junk mail--or promotions folder if you have a gmail address--just in case.)

If you like what you've seen here, you can also find me:

To find all of my quilt patterns, visit my Etsy shop. 

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Hello + NEW Ribbit Pattern!

December is starting off packed to the gills! I'm joining Cheryl of Muppin.com in the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge, which starts today, and I'm launching a new quilt pattern (which is 20% off...keep reading for details!). 

So if you're new here, hello and welcome! Thanks for stopping by. My name is Lisa and I'm a quilter. 😁

I'm also a:

• quilt pattern editor
• pattern designer
• fabri-holic
• virtual lecturer/teacher
• mom of 3 kids currently doing virtual schooling
• chocolate lover
• baker
• huge fan of outdoor activities

If we were meeting in person in a quilting group, maybe we'd do an ice breaker like 2 Truths and a Lie. It's a cheesy game, but I enjoy it because you learn such interesting yet random things about people. 

I'll put mine here; leave a comment with yours and a guess about which of mine is the lie. 😁

1. I despise bananas.

2. I once ran a marathon.

3. I once skinny dipped in a glacier lake.

If you'd like to see some of my work, click on the Patterns link up above or visit my Etsy shop and/or use the links at the bottom of this post to follow me on IG, FB or to receive my newsletter. I love making new quilting friends!

 And now on to Ribbit!

This quilt pattern has been in my "to-do" folder for several years. It was just waiting for the right fabric line. And let's be honest, time. If I had time to make every quilt I wanted to, well, I'd need a bigger house. 

When I saw Cheryl Lynch's Mosaic Masterpiece collection for Hoffman Fabrics, I knew it was time for Ribbit to come to life! The cool multi-colored tile pieces in the fabrics perfectly echoed the style of my frog quilt design. Find out more about Cheryl here.

I like them all, but I am IN LOVE with the light mosaic print. It's the perfect low-volume print, with all those fun pops of color. See the full range of colors here.

I took the Freddy the Frog out to my neighbor's dock on a blustery November day. 

The Ribbit pattern is 20% off to celebrate launch week! Purchase the pattern in my Etsy shop using coupon code RIBBIT.

Is there a frog lover in your life? Make them a Ribbit quilt! 

Click here to purchase the Ribbit quilt pattern.

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Modern Give Thanks Banner Tutorial

Itching for a quick Thanksgiving-themed project? Even in this crazy year, there's much to be thankful for.

You can make this in a morning while your turkey cooks. :) It's that easy, and that quick.

I made this banner using the following Painter's Palette Solids:

You can make this with six fat quarters. Each letter block measures approximately 4" x 5". 

Let's get started!

You'll Need:

Six Fat Quarters (Mahogany, Cumin, Wheat, Maroon, Mocha and Teal)

Batting

Approximately 7' of jute

Fusible web

Pinking shears or rotary cutter with pinking blade

Ten miniature clothespins

Click here to download the letter templates. Print one of each page. 

Cutting: 

From the Mahogany: 

Adhere fusible web and then cut ten 3" x 4" pieces

From each of the Wheat and Teal:

Six 5" x 6" pieces

From each of the Maroon and Mocha: 

Four 5" x 6" pieces

From the Cumin:

Print out the letter template pages. Trace onto the paper side of fusible web. Adhere the fusible web to the fabric and cut out one of each letter on the traced lines. Remove paper backing from the letters. 

From the batting: 

Ten 5" x 6" pieces

Make the Banner:

Step 1: Layer a batting piece between two teal pieces. Spray baste or pin if desired; these pieces are small enough (and we'll be trimming the outside edge later), so you don't need to secure the layers unless you want to. 

Step 2: Fuse a 3" x 4" Mahogany piece centered on the teal piece. Again, you can measure, or you can simply eyeball it, as we'll be trimming later. 

Step 3: Stitch 1/4" from the outer edge of the Mahogany piece. Stitch 1/4" past the outer edge of the Mahogany piece. 

Step 4: Using a pinking shears or rotary cutter with a pinking blade, trim all sides approximately 1/4" past the outer stitching line. You can measure and mark if you like, or just eyeball it. (I told you this was easy!)

Step 5: Repeat steps 1-4 to create ten quilted sandwiches; three each of Teal and Wheat and two each of Maroon and Mocha. Lay out the quilted sandwiches in the order you prefer and position the letters in place. 

Step 6: Fuse the appropriate letter to each quilted sandwich. 

Step 7: Use miniature clothespins to attach letters to the length of jute. Hang and enjoy!

Note: This tutorial was originally featured on the Paintbrush Studio Fabrics blog. 

Don't miss my other Autumn-themed tutorial:

Harvest Tones Leaf Runner

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Birthday Week Giveaways!

 It's my birthday week and to celebrate, I'm giving the gifts!

Earlier in pandemic time, I fussy cut little positive sayings from a print in Cherry Guidry's Words to Live By collection and did some improv log cabin-style sewing. Making mug rugs, or just little mini quilts...whatever you'd like to call them; I'm calling them Scrap Happy Minis. My intention was always to give them away, and this seems like the perfect time! 

Here's a sampling of the mini quilts. Some were not yet bound as of writing this post, but they will be by the time I give them away, so I still wanted to share them. 

So...how can you get one? YOU can't...exactly. At least not for yourself. I want to help you brighten someone else's day. Head over to my IG feed (@lisaerin1121) and tag a friend you'd like me to send a Scrap Happy Mini to. Each day this week, starting Tuesday, I'll randomly choose a tagged name to receive a Mini. 

Thank you for helping me to give these Scrap Happy Minis away and hopefully make some people smile. 

p.s. I'll be continuing the birthday celebration later this week with a pattern sale and giveaway too! Follow me on social media for details.

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NEW Opposite Directions Pattern!

I'm excited to be releasing my Opposite Directions pattern today! 

This pattern was a long time in the making. It started out with this version several years ago. I used just three fabrics--two gradated prints and the background color. 

 

I always knew that I wanted to create a few additional versions--a rainbow one, of course! I chose four shades of blue for the background and ran a rainbow of tonals across each row. 

Opposite Directions: Which way does it go? My friends were game to take a fun photo playing tug of war with the finished quilt. :)

I also wanted to make a smaller version of the quilt. With the right prints, this pattern is perfect for a baby quilt. I discovered the Pine Lullaby Rediscovered collection from Art Gallery Fabrics and knew I'd found the perfect fit. 

White and black outdoorsy prints with cute little critters, all of which popped off a two-tone green background.

Hello, baby!

And this background fabric! Be still, my heart!

Those arrows are calling your name, aren't they?

Opposite Directions is now available in my Etsy shop. Grab your copy today!

Buy the Opposite Directions pattern

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