Scraps Come in All Shapes and Sizes

Just when you think you finally have a good grasp, handle or plan for the UFO's and scrap fabrics, this happens.  You discover a box of forgotten scraps.

This is my applique scraps and tool kit.  The good thing is it's pretty well organized and small.  Let's dig in here and see if I can come up with a plan to use up some of scrap pieces.

Amazing how much stuff can fit in one little box.  There's things in here that to be honest, I don't know why I have them.  For instance the store bought embroidered applique.  I don't think I bought them or would ever use them but I also don't have the heart to get rid of them because they are kind of cute.

On the hand I feel like the leftover applique pieces I can work into quilts.  Look at the bag of bias strips!  While digging through this box I realize I could start making plans to use them up and actually make some things with them. But I guarantee you the box of applique will keep growing as I work to use the contents.  

These look promising. Just add a few of the scrappy leaves and some bias strips and BAM I'll have a cute little spring wall hanging.

And these....could be little flowers for the wall hanging.  Oh yes! I have a vision for a smaller lap quilt.  It would use up most of the leaves and the brighter colored applique pieces in this box.  I could use the scrap bias strips to make a vine border, add the leaves and flower applique to the vine.....

So I put it all back in the box and took the dog for a walk.   By the time we return from our walk I had come to my senses.  I'm not dealing with those scraps right now.  Stay the course Lea Anne!  Go square up some HST's!  If you're new here and wondering "What HST's?".  Click here.

Thanks for stopping by my little spot in Podunk.

Until next time...

I hope you find time to stitch up something sweet!

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True Grips, Truly Grip

The HST trimming is progressing along slowly.  If you have no idea what I'm talking about you can read all about my HUGE stash of bonus HST's by clicking this link  https://podunkpretties.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-joy-of-hsts-stitch-clip-and-flip-fun.html

The slow progress is partly due to this Quilt In a Day ruler.  It works great but man is it slick.

Most of my rulers have been plastered with Nexcare transparent tape.  The tape has a texture that grips fabric pretty good.  This 6.5" ruler is my most used ruler and has many pieces of the grippy tape.  Seems like overkill but it works.  Maybe it works so well on the 6.5" ruler because it's small and easier to control the slipping.

The Nexcare tape has a minimal effect on the highly polished Quilt In a Day ruler. 

It's time to try something different in order to speed up the trimming process.  These True Grips are made by The Grace Quilting Company.  I won them back in early December during their 12 Days of Christmas online event.  Believe it or not, I just received my winnings Jan.15.  That's a story for another day.

To say the least I was skeptical about the True Grips.  I've used similar products in the past and they were not so great.  That's how Nexcare tape became my go-to for slippery rulers.  When I opened these my first thought was "Wow!  that's a huge instruction sheet for stickers."  But this is an advertisement pamphlet.  No instructions included anywhere on the packaging but I think that's because we all know how stickers work, or at least I hope we do.

Right out of the package they feel different than the ones I used years ago.  The True Grips are thicker and feel a little like rubber.

Two little grips were strategically placed on the ruler, right about where I place my hand when using the ruler.

Success!  Not one little slip during the trimming of about 20 HST's!  Amazing! 

 Since these were free to me I had to check out the price.  Between $5 to $7 for 30 grips per package, 15 large and 15 small.  I used 2 large for this ruler.  The small grips are the center that is cut out of the larger circle.

I placed the remaining grips back on the pamphlet to keep them like new until I need them.  Funny how they stick to the glossy paper but they aren't sticky to the touch.  My guess would be these are made from the same stuff as static stickers, but that's purely a guess.  All that matters to me is they work like a charm and I will never use Nexcare on my rulers again.  And that's big deal because I can be a little thrifty/cheap.  These are worth every penny!

Thanks for stopping by my little spot in Podunk!

Until next time...

I hope you find time to stitch up something sweet!

Edited to add this to the Nifty Notions Tab.

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Making a Bee Skep Pin Cushion

The title of this should say Making Another Bee Skep Pin Cushion.  Some of you may remember when I designed this little cutie back in 2018 for the Save the Bees Block of the Month by Jacquelyn Steves.  It was a FREE-BEE here on my blog.  

 

The original cushion is looking a little dingy from setting on the shelf for the last 3 yrs.  I love it so much I decided to make another one.  Why not do a video tutorial?  So I did!  While making the video I realized that I could just wash my old one.  Oh well I was nearly half way finished with the video before my brain and common sense kicked in, might as well just keep moving forward and finish.  It's such a cute little pin cushion and easy to make.  This would be a great gift for all our sewing or quilting friends.  And would put a little dent in the scrap bin too.  The larges piece of fabric is 5.5". 

Click on this link or the image below to watch the tutorial and get the free printable PDF with templates. 

Thanks for stopping by my little spot in Podunk.

Until next time...

I hope you find time to stitch up something sweet!

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Unboxing the Sew Yeah Subscription Box

 There's many quilting subscription boxes available online these days.  It seems like every year a few more become available.  This is my second time trying out a new to me box.  For me it's like I'm getting a surprise gift every month.  The only thing that would make it better is if it were FREE.  I don't think the Sew Yeah brothers are on the same page but you never know maybe they'll surprise me someday.  (Brody, if your reading this...HINT,HINT, my birthday is the first week of April) 

Okay, lets start digging into the Sew Yeah Basics Box.  First thing to mention is the theme of the year.  BASICS, this means every box this year will include fabrics from a basic line of fabric.  Twelve different designer fabric manufacturers have signed on to fill these boxes.  To me basic fabrics means it could be solids, marbled, gingham, dots or a blender of any kind.  

 This is probably the most basic and unattractive subscription box I've seen.  But I knew this in advance, they shared the BASIC box in a couple of their videos. The black tissue paper is pretty BASIC also and it's their brand color so it too was to be expected.  I'm sure my loyal followers at this point are wondering why I would choose this box.  Honestly, I wonder myself!...LOL!  I like a surprise and a challenge.  You see, the Sew Yeah Brothers like to challenge quilters to get out of their comfort zone.  Whether it be with color or style.  To some degree I agree with them.  In order to grow in any area of life one must be a little uncomfortable sometimes.  Well I'm uncomfortable with this box so far, mission accomplished!

Shew, peeling back the black paper and seeing the happy colors with smiling faces takes the edge off of that uncomfortable feeling.  The Sew Yeah brothers always make me smile and remind me of my own mischievous boys who are about the same age as the brothers.

So what's in this box?

From left to right in the image below

1. The Sew Yeah Brothers, then on the back is a brief explanation of this year BASIC box subscription.  It also includes social media and their shop information.

2. A small card with a (corny)DAD joke.  Who doesn't like a good laugh?  

3.  Information about this months sponsor, Riley Blake.  On the back is the Riley Blake designer, Christopher Thompson and his line of fabric called, Blossom.

4.  QR codes for the Sew Yeah online shop and the best part is a QR code that takes you to exclusive projects and an interview with the fabric designer of the month.

I can't tell you how excited I was to see Riley Blake as the sponsor of this box.  You all know my love affair with Riley Blake.  In my humble opinion they have the best fabric.  Not just prints and color but the overall quality of their fabrics.  If I'm going to pay top dollar I want top quality.  Riley Blake has never let me down.  The owner Cindy Clowder is down to earth and goes out of her way to make quilting fun for everyone, from designers down to the fabric customer.

Well this months fabric is definitely out of my comfort zone.  When I saw BLOSSOM, by Christopher Thompson was going to be in the box, I was excited.  I have a few FQ's of this line.  Of course they are much brighter than these.  These are fairly good sizes of fabric.

(2) 1/2 yds., (1) 20 x WOF and (1) 1.5 yds.

Pastels aren't my colors of choice but I think I might already have a plan for this very 1990's pale fabric.  My living room back in the late 80's early 90's was peach and mint green.  I'm going to use that memory as my inspiration for my project instead of the FREE projects from the QR code mentioned above.  Not that the FREE patterns for this month are bad.  As you can see the quilt and the tissue holder are both really cute.  I just like to do my own thing most of the time.

Next is a spool of Aurifil Thread.  This thread is so light it's almost white. It's so pale I can't tell if its pink or peach. 

You all are going to think I'm crazy but these needles are my favorite part of this entire box.  Schmetz 80/12 needles are my go to when piecing my quilts and when quilting on the frame.  I buy them in bulk on Amazon.  If you haven't tried 80/12 needles you're missing out.  I used to piece with 90/14, and quilt with 100/16.  Both gave me issues from time to time.  Then I read somewhere 80/12 was the best universal needle.  Sounded very odd but I gave them a try and I've been hooked on them for years. Of course I still keep a wide variety of Schmetz needles on hand for unruly fabrics but it's rare that I need them. 

And the last thing in the box is a sticker.  It's cute and I think I'll put it on one of my many binders in my office.  The color is so me!  The youngest brother named, Teancum, designed this sticker.  I love all the brothers but "T" is my favorite.  He's very knowledgeable about quilt fabric and all sewing machines.  He's a mix of Macgyver and Cliff Clavin all rolled in to one.

That's everything in the box.  How does it all add up?  Is this box worth the price?  

Both are good questions and here's my long winded answers.

I paid $58.85 for this box, that includes shipping and my state tax.

Box $55.00

Tax $3.85

I went to their website and used their prices for the contents in this box.

Fabric 

(2) 1/2 yds. = $11.52

(1) 20 x WOF = $7.20

(1) 1.5 yds. = $17.28

Thread

(1) spool $13.99

Needles

(1) 80/12 = $5.79

The website didn't not have the same needle so I chose them most expensive 80/12.

Sticker

Not on website = $0

QRcodes/pattern

videos are free on YouTube = $0

Total = $53.48

The price of the box $55.00

+

My State Tax $3.85

I paid $58.85

My thoughts on this subscription box.

Let's state the obvious, this is not a bargain box like some other monthly subscriptions.  It was not pitched to me as a bargain box.  However I will say that I was a bit surprised at the cost break down simply because I am a thrifty kind of gal.  So I'll be reviewing this box as a full price quilter who looks for quality not quantity or price.

 Sew Yeah Brothers mentioned the manufacturers are competing with each other and some of the boxes are going to be much nicer.  That's exciting to hear! 

Even though many of the items in this box are not things I would typically purchase they are of good quality and will make me work out of my comfort zone.  

I would also like to see included in the box a list of what is in the box.  Not the prices but a the product description should I want to purchase more.  Lets say I fall in love with the gray fabric and want more.  There is several different shades of gray Blossom fabric and my fabric cut does not have all the information I need to order more.  Or what if  I run out of the thread and the stickers have fallen off or faded.

The QRcode was a good idea as long as you don't loose the code.  I had to download an app for my computer so I could watch the video in a size that I could see.  It was a fairly easy process and I didn't mind it all.  The app will come in handy since we see those QRcodes a lot these days.  

As I watched the video for the free patterns I had to remind myself I was now a non thrifty quilter.  I also tried not to compare it to my own YouTube videos.  But I can't.  A free quilt pattern means just that an entire pattern.  You can tell me the correct cutting or give me a print out, one or the other I don't care as long as I get the full instructions somehow.  I was disappointed with video instructions.  I thought it was just me.  Nope, I went back a the next day and the comments on the video were the same as I was thinking, lacking in instruction.   The Sew Yeah Brothers are eager and willing to please so they immediately started working a written instructions.  They haven't posted them yet, but they will. 

Overall, it's a good box and I'm looking forward to the months ahead and challenging myself to use the fabrics as they come in each month.

These box subscriptions are sold out but you can get on a waiting list by contacting them.  Here's a link to the website where you can find an email or phone number.

https://sewyeahquilting.com/

If you are interested in the Live Destash and New Stash Sales here's a link to their YouTube Channel.

https://www.youtube.com/c/SewYeah/videos  By the way Saturday nights are the best time to get good fabric really cheap!

Until Next Time...

I hope you find time to stitch up something sweet!

I love ya!

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