For the Boys blog hop

Hi guys,

I hope I am not late to the party! Some family stuff came up which delayed my post but here I am!

So this blog hop is especially for the boys – things that we make for the boys and men in our lives! Hosted by Mdm Samm and our cheerleader is Amy.

If you are new to my blog please have a look around. Feel free to follow me on Bloglovin, I am also on Facebook and Instagram. I am always posting photos on Instagram so you will see what I am up too over there way before I blog about it! Links for those are on the side bar.

Now, I had a dilemma this week because the project I was going to share is going to be published so I can’t show anymore pictures….and in all honesty I haven’t finished it yet either. But I will give you a sneak peek -

So What did I make for this blog hop? I thought for ages and came up with something that I know my youngest will need when he starts school next year and it will last him years. My oldest is still using his after 3 years!

It is a humble book bag. In our school these are used for homework, home readers and can also be used as library bags.

I found this cool shark drill in my stash so decided to use it. It is also good if the bag stands out from the crowd so it is easy to see and be grabbed out of the box quickly.

For the lining I used some of my sister in laws dyed fabric. I used velcro for the closure and just put a very simple handle on.

    
I hope my post hasn’t sounded rushed! I was typing as fast as I could go!

Be sure to check out the other participants for today -

November 13^th
Dachsies with Moxie
Patchouli Moon Studio
It Seams to Be Sew....
Scrappy n Happy – Here I am!
Loves to Quilt
Michelle's Romantic Tangle
Factotum of Arts
Jackie's Art Quilts
Living with purpose

Bye for now,
Jess :)

Sewjo in overdrive!

Hi all,

I don’t know where to start! After a couple of weeks of working everyday I have really enjoyed being at home more and sewing every spare second.

I started with this -

It is from Heather Bailey’s Fresh Picked pattern of fruit pincushions. I was thinking it would be a cool teacher appreciation present but the boys loved it so much that it didn’t make it to school.

I have been side tracked too! And this quilt is really  addictive, I just want to work on it non stop!

This is the centre of the Midnight at the Oasis quilt. A pattern by Jen Kingwell. I am using the Quiltmania pattern but you can also buy the pattern on its own.

So, I thought I had better do a to do list so I don’t get too side tracked.

The first thing on the list is made and ready to be posted. I will do a full reveal when they have been swapped!

I am working on the mini quilt now. I am doing lots of needle turn appliqué for this so I hope my partner loves it…she actually hasn’t been commenting on my sneak peeks so I am a little worried.  There are pictures on Instagram and flickr.

Blakes quilt – AKA the star burst quilt is coming along. I am ready to baste it and start quilting, just don’t have the energy today for all that kneeling and pinning. I was going to share this quilt for my post in the Boys Blog Hop but I can’t do that now so I am quickly coming up with something else and I hope to do a tutorial too. I will be using that shark fabric in the background of the above picture.

Here is a list of the participants in the blog hop - 

November 6^th
Vrooman's Quilts
Sew Many Yarns
Young Texan Mama
Baa’s Amazing Adventures!
Little Mushroomcap
Threading My Way
Sarah Scholz and Chasing Unicorns
Quilt Doodle Designs

November 7^th
Amy's Crafty Shenanigans
Ridge Top Quilts
Creatin' in the Sticks
Elizabeth Coughlin Designs
Meadowbrook
Malinis Quilts
Just Let Me Quilt
Kris Loves Fabric

November 8^th
Debby Kratovil Quilts
Made By Me in Red
Freemotion by the River
Val's Quilting Studio
Tomorrow's Treasures Today
The Stitchin’ Post
The Nosy Pepper
The Reluctant Quilter
Quilting, Losing & Tea

November 11^th
Jane's Quilting
Pieces By Polly
how Art you
Selina Quilts
Upcycled Fabric
BQuiltin Studio
In The Boon Docks
Gemini Stitches
Secretly Stitching

November 12^th
Pig Tales and Quilts
CeLynn's Sunflower Patch
rainbows.bunnies.cupcakes
Devoted Quilter
Desertsky Quilting
Sew Fresh Quilts
Red Letter Quilts
Craft Nurse Quilt
Miss Priss Quilts

November 13^th
Dachsies with Moxie
Patchouli Moon Studio
It Seams to Be Sew....
Scrappy n Happy – Here I am!
Loves to Quilt
Michelle's Romantic Tangle
Factotum of Arts
Jackie's Art Quilts
Living with purpose

November 14^th
I like to QuiltBlog
Marjorie's Busy Corner
My Fabric Relish
Feathered Nest Studios
Moose Stash Quilting
QuiltnQueen
Grandmama's Stories
Our Busy Little Bunch
Words and Stitches

November 15^th
Everyone Deserves a Quilt
From This to That
Monkey Makes Three
Just Quilt It
Life, Quilts and a Cat too
Thimblemouse and Spouse
More Stars in Comanche
Sew Incredibly Crazy
Sew We Quilt

That is quite a list and I already follow a few on there so it will be great to see what everyone comes up with!

I am off to have a CT scan on my chest this afternoon, my cough is still hanging around so the Dr is trying to figure out why I and the antibiotics can’t kick this infections butt!

Bye for now and happy sewing!
Jess :)

In your words blog hop

Hiya!

Today is my day in the blog hop….

 

Before I show you my project I would like to thank Mdm Samm and Linda for all their hard work organising the hop!

And here is the list of the bloggers who will be posting today in the hop -

Life in the Scrapatch (Pat B.)
Just Sew Sue (Sue B.)
Nati's Little Things (Nati)
Amy's Crafty Shenanigans (Amy)
Pig Tales and Quilts (Thearica)
Scrappy 'n Happy – you are here! 
Little Mushroom Cap (Amira A.)
Moosestash Quilting (Joan K.)
Sowing Stitches (Beulah aka. Carol)
Just Quilt It  (Kathy G.)

Go and check out some ways to use words and be inspired! Some are having giveaways too!

Now the rule for this is to use a word or words that reveal who we are or more about us.

This is might reveal more about me and what I am trying to bring into my life this year. I have a feeling it might be a year with some interesting challenges so this is what I am doing -

I decided to make a Reflection notebook. At the end of each day, just before bed I sit down and try to think of the positive things that happened during the day. And also things that I am grateful for.

Last year I started doing this verbally with the boys each night at bedtime, no.1 son tends to dwell on the negatives so I am trying to get them to think about the positive things that happened and it has made a difference. No.2 son reminds me when I forget, he says “I haven’t told you my favourite part yet”!

I used one of my current favourite fabric ranges – Noteworthy by Sweetwater as the feature fabric. And embroidered the outline of the letters using Cottage Garden Thread in Cherry Blossom.

On the inside I put a pocket to hold my pen. These fabrics are from Feather n Stitch. You might see the pen is a Paper Mate ‘Ink Joy’…I thought that was cool. Bringing the joy in with the pen too!

I even did a little basic scrapbooking…I thought this would be a good reminder of what I am trying to do each time I open the notebook.

I looked up the words on a online dictionary and printed them out, glued them to some pretty scrapbook card and fortunately the finished size fit the book perfectly!

Here is a little peak at the first page. I am just keeping it short and sweet.

So this year I am going to reflect on the things I am grateful for and the positive things that happen each day!