It occurred to me tonight that I have been so busy I have not blogged in quite awhile. So I thought I would rectify that.  I am still working on getting the ideal set up for my sewing room and when I figure it out I plan to do a short video tour. Yes folks I am going to venture into shooting videos. O.K., so a little about what I have been up to.

My friend and fellow Etsy shop owner Brandy  commissioned me to make felties she could use in her hairbows. I had been wanting to create some of my own designs so I decided why not !  Now you may be asking what in the world is a feltie?  Felties are embroidered pieces of felt used for scrap booking or a variety  of other crafts. It has been about a month and I have created quite a few designs manually using my embroidery software. By no means do I claim to be an expert. However, I think these came out really cute.

The pictures above are uncut felties. Each design has an outline stitched around it so you can easily cut it to your desired size. I will be offering felties on my Etsy shop in the future depending on the demand for them. Also, be on the lookout for embroidery designs that I will create and sell. I am working on testing some now.  If you are interested in getting some custom designs created pleased contact me and we can work on your design.

I am also working on some new bib ideas. Here are two sports themed bibs I created recently. Both of these are for sale. Again I am open to hearing your ideas and I would love to answer any questions my future customers may have. You can message me for more info info@quilthandler.com or hit me up on facebook


 

 

New Space

My husband and I relocated in Feb 2012 from KY back home to NJ. After almost a year of staying with my in-laws we have ventured out to a home of our own again. I am lucky enough to have a sewing space again and it is probably three times the size of my room in Kentucky.  I am so excited just dreaming of all the sewing I will get done. Those of you that know me know I am a tad OCD and everything has to be in its place before I can sew. Therefore, I have spent the last 2 weeks just organizing and cleaning. The rest of the house is finally done and now I can focus on the sewing room. I thought I would share some pictures ( the before) and the work in progress(as of today). The when I have it all set up I will share more pictures.

 

[caption id="attachment_452" align="aligncenter" width="150"] My 10 X12 closet[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_450" align="aligncenter" width="150"] view from the closet[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_451" align="aligncenter" width="150"] From the staircase[/caption]

 

 

My new room measures 24 X14 with a 12 X10 closet. I have set up a mini fridge, computer, bed, printer , recliner and all my sewing stuff. I could live up here if only there was a bathroom !

New Year, Resolutions and Quilt Handler

 

 

Happy New Year everyone !  I hope you had a wonderful 2012 and are blessed with a fun filled, positive and easy 2013. What will the new year bring for Quilt Handler ?????

 

In the new year you will find holiday items, more baby bibs and  embroidery. My mind is full of new ideas for the new year. Look for valentine's day items appearing this week on Etsy. I  look forward to a wonderful 2013 with all of our friends, family and customers.

Black Friday Through Cyber Monday Sale

 

We are having a Black Friday - Cyber Monday Sale. Don't miss out. We added new gift sets, quilts and so much more. In order to receive your discount enter 1 of  the following coupon codes when making your purchase.

Holiday12- 10 % off your order

Freeshp12- free shipping

 

You can only use 1 discount offer.

 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheQuiltHandler?ref=si_shop

 

 

Unexpected Quilts

 

 

I was pleasantly surprised by our local mall on Saturday. They have redone their motto to reflect quilting.  According to the information available inside the mall, Moorestown was founded by Quakers and has a rich quilting history.  I must have stood in the entry way for ten minutes on the way in and on the way out. It was so fun to see a wall dedicated to quilting. I think these unexpected encounters with quilts excite me the most. I took pictures of some of the stenciling and sayings painted on the wall of the entry way.



This runs the entire length of the walls on either side of the entry way. I know it is an eight point star. But, does anyone know it’s name?



I never thought of this but how true this statement is! We are creative recyclers and some of the first recyclers.



 



 

 

There was also a beautiful T shirt quilt on display that was bordered with photographs taken in Moorestown through the years. If you live in the south Jersey area I suggest visiting the Moorestown Mall. They also have some nice shops including Sears, Spencer’s Gifts, Hot Topic, Boscov’s and many more.

http://moorestown-mall.com/

 

 

Upcoming Quilt Events

 



Hello friends,

If you are like me, you are always keeping your eyes out for upcoming quilt shows and quilting events. Who doesn't love the chance to spend the day getting inspired by fellow quilters. Also, who can resist the chance to shop at the vendors and merchant malls? I know I can't. There are 2 upcoming quilt events I want to share with you. Some of you have probably heard of them but maybe someone doesn't know about them yet. I have not attended either of them. However, I am hoping I get a chance to go to Quilt Odyssey in 2013 and some Mancuso shows this year.

 

The first event is Quilt Odyssey, which is held  in Hershey PA.  It runs from July 26-29th. This is a quilt show with classes and retreats. There will also be vendors.

 

https://server7.pacecomputing.com/quiltodysseycom/www/Merchants-Mall.php

 

The second  is The Quilt Festival and Antiques Show put on by Mancuso Show Management. They put on 7 shows throughout the year.




August show -will be held in Manchester New Hampshire and run  August 16-19th

http://www.quiltfest.com/activities.asp?id=18




September Show- will be held in Philadelphia Pennsylvania and run September 13-16th

http://quiltfest.com/activities.asp?id=4




October Show- will be held in Santa Clara California and run October 11-14th

http://www.quiltfest.com/activities.asp?id=7




November Show- will be held in West Palm Beach Florida and run November 8-10th

http://www.quiltfest.com/activities.asp?id=36




February Show- will be held in Hampton Virginia and run February 21-24th

http://www.quiltfest.com/activities.asp?id=8


 

Feb/ March Show- will be held in Somerset New Jersey and run February 28-March 3rd

http://www.quiltfest.com/activities.asp?id=30




May Show- will be held in Denver Colorado and run May 2-5th

http://www.quiltfest.com/activities.asp?id=35


 

 

I will no longer be publishing at bits and pieces. You can now catch my blog at QuiltHandler.com. I hope to see you there :)

Been Awhile...

It has been awhile since I posted anything I have made. Since my last post I have opened an etsy shop. You can find it here:

I have been busy making things for the shop and will soon be adding more items. I recently sold a customized baby bib.

The buyer was not sure of the sex of the baby and so she chose to give her cousin a blue bib with pink writing. A great idea !

I also went to visit some chat friends and made the hostess a runner.

Another cosmetic/ accessory bag

I am loving havng this week of to play in my sewing room. This morning I finally made a pattern I am really happy with. I made this bag this morning to hold my spare charger and flash drive. Once I get some supplies in I will be offering this exact bag with custom monogram for sale on my etsy shop. I will also make this pattern in other colors and various ribbon styles.

Kindle case

Another quick project. I got a kindle for Christmas along with a nice stand up case. However, my purse is a bottomless pit and I did not want the nice case to get marked up. I made a quick case that will hold my kindle in the case and my head set and charger.

embroidered cosmetic cases

I wanted to make something small for the women in my life and had 2 weeks until Christmas. After doing some investigating I found cosmetic bag patterns and tissue holders. I am no Vera Bradley but I whipped a few things up to give as part of Christmas gifts this year. They were so well received that I am going to try selling these on etsy. I will have them listed as available in different color/ patterns of fabric with custom monograms. Here are the pictures of the ones I made and gave as gifts.

Memory Quilt

Now that I have gifted this quilt I can blog on it. My uncle passed on in February 2011 after a long battle with various health issues. He was truly a very inspirational man and the heart of his family. His passing saddened me deeply. He was always positive and joking around despite his poor health. I decided I had to find a way to help his family through this loss. After some research I decided I would offer to make a memory quilt from his clothing. My aunt promptly sent me some of his favorite t shirts and I began the task of turning them into a forever memory. I decided on a pattern and using my go cutter cut out the squares I needed. The top took me several months. Then, I had to decide on a backing and labels. I decided on army fabric for the backing since my uncle served in the army. In the end, I added a label for each corner. Each label was dedicated to him as a man, husband, father and grandfather. I was finally able to gift the quilt on Christmas Eve. Which, seems quite appropriate as it was his favorite holiday. This was an extremely emotional project for me and one I probably would not take on again except for a close relative, friend. I am extremely grateful my family trusted me to make this gift for them and allowed me to be a small part of their healing process. I love you all :)

Learn How to Join and Press Binding Strips - QNNtv.com

A great binding video.


Learn How to Join and Press Binding Strips - QNNtv.com

Not quite quilting but home decor of sorts

When I first started in my classroom the previous teacher had made valances for the windows. They were black with bright colored musical notes. Very cute material, but, the were cut and sewed crooked, and each valance was a different length. Every time I looked at them I cringed. I could not find the time throughout the year to make new curtains. Finally, I had a bit of time and tackled the task of making new curtains. This is my first attempt at home decor type stuff. They serve the purpose though and we keep them open all day and closed at nap.

doll quilt

I used my go baby and cut some 4.5 inch squares and made a quick little doll quilt. It was simple and fun to do. I will bring it to school so my girls can cover their baby dolls while they sleep. I have a feeling I will need to make at least 1 more.




Have I mentioned how happy I am with my go baby ? Before I got the baby it took hours for me to cut and half the time the blocks was crooked. Now, layer crank and it is cut and ready to sew! I could seriously advertise for them. They made quilting with one hand a hundred times easier and I don't cry in frustration anymore :)

My new old machine and table

Last year I decided to buy an older sewing machine as back up for my Bernina. Well, I got it cleaned and oiled etc. then it sat in my closet. until two weeks ago when I was cruising craigslist. I found a vintage sewing table for 10.00. With machine measurements in hand Josh and I headed to check out the table. At first we were not sure if my machine would fit but then Josh remeasured and said it would. He picked up the table and then we ordered hinges to set my singer in it. I also got a darning foot off of e-bay for quilting. My main reason for wanting the table was having a larger quilting space. One day I will get a koala table for my Bernina but for now I'm loving my new set-up.

It took hours to figure out the tension etc. but once again with Josh's help on the troubleshooting we got her set up. I am now using this pretty singer to piece and will practice a few small quilts on it before I attack the memory quilt I am working on for my aunt. I want at least 20 hours on the machine before I put something that special on it.

Little project

I have several ongoing projects. However, I wanted to share one I completed today. My kids have a reading center and I wanted to make them something to allow the center to be more desireable. I took some extra curtain material from the teacher before me and made 2 comfy pillows for them to use. Here is a picture of one.



Next on the list is to find some pretty kid fabric and make new curtains for my classroom.

experiment

A few weeks ago I had such creative block I could not sew a thing. A friend suggested I grab some scraps and sew. This is the result. The front is all the scraps that I sewed a few weeks ago tied in by rick rack. This top has Halloween, Christmas, cars, flames ... It is truly an uncontrolled scrappy top. The back I used my baby go to fuse on some flowers. I really like the idea of using a two sided runner. In the end this runner dissolved my creative block :)


My only dilemma is what to do next??????

Disappearing Nine Patch For Baby girl

I am in love with the disappearing nine patch pattern. Every quilt looks a little different depending on how you lay things out. I made this top to keep in case... Well in case came this past week. The assistant director at work is due on July 17th with a baby girl. She is the type that does everything she can to help out the teachers even when the director and owner don't want to hear it. I just felt her baby needed a quilt. This circumstance taught me to try to always have some tops ready to go.

Thankfully, I bought a baby go last week. I plan to make a bunch of tops from my scrap bin and keep them handy. I'd also like to donate a few more to linus. This little machine is truly a godsend I can cut binding in 3 minutes ... before 3 hours if I was lucky.

One of my quilts with the recipient Abbygail :)