Monday, July 20, 2015

The Number 9 Sale!!

The other day I woke up and was overwhelmed with feeling like this has been the longest 9 months ever! I am now 39 weeks and last night was the first night that I didn't sleep well, which actually makes me feel super blessed! But anyway, I'm really getting excited and anxious to meet this little girl!

To make these last few days (crossing my fingers it's not TOO many days!) a little more fun, I've decided to put 9 of my patterns on sale!! I asked for favorites on Instagram, but didn't get a huge response, so I'm throwing in a few of my own favorites as well! :)


Sale Details: 

  • The sale is for the specified patterns ONLY (for example, if it says the bundled pattern is on sale but not the individual sizes, then ONLY the bundled pattern is on sale). 
  • Prices are already marked down - so no need for a coupon code! This also means that I've reduced prices on Craftsy as well! I know some of you prefer shopping there! ;)
  • I'm including links to the exact patterns on Etsy, Craftsy and My Shop - so you can pick your favorite place to shop!
  • Prices are only good for new orders. No refunds or returns on previous purchases. 
  • Once the sale is over, it's over. 

Sale will end once this little girl is born! Which who knows when that will be?! So don't miss it!


Here's the line up!!



Celestial Star Complete - bundle of 3 sizes!
Normally $10, now $8
20% OFF



Simple Celestial Complete - bundle of 3 sizes!
Normally $10, now $7.50
25% OFF



Simple Celestial 24 inch (formatted for legal size paper)
Normally $3.95, now $2.50
37% OFF



Grandma's Lawn Chair Quilt Pattern
Normally $10, now $7.00
30% OFF



Rockstar Complete - bundle of 4 sizes!
Normally $10, now $7.50
25% OFF



Winter Holly - bundle of 3 sizes!
Normally $5, now $3.50
30% OFF



Cathedrals Complete - bundle of 3 patterns in 2 sizes!
    
Normally $14, now $8
42% OFF



Star Gazing - bundle of 5 patterns in 4 sizes!
Normally $21, now $15
28% OFF



Starburst
Normally $3.95, now $2.50
37% OFF



Starfruit - 3 sizes
Normally $5, now $3.50
30% OFF






Enjoy! 



and Thank you!!!



Diane

Friday, July 10, 2015

Sew-Along: Polaroid Sleeping Bags: Where I Buy Fabric

This post is part of the Polaroid Sleeping Bag Sew-Along. You can find the main post and supplies list, along with links to all available posts in the series, HERE.

http://fromblankpages.blogspot.com/2015/07/sew-along-polaroid-sleeping-bag.html


VickiT left a comment on my first post informing me of a great place to purchase separating sleeping bag zippers! Thanks Vicki! And as I thought about it, I realized I didn't mention my favorite places to purchase some of the other supplies.


Vicki told me about WAWAK, which has their own site plus I found them on Etsy. Here is the link to their separating sleeping bag zippers: http://www.wawak.com/products/category.cfm/cid/731/-10-Molded-Plastic-Sleeping-Bag-/

I actually did end up purchasing those exact zippers from them. I realize also that in my first post I said you'll need a zipper that is 120 inches long. If you aren't using separating zippers - that length will make it easy to adjust it to the length you want.

The zippers I bought are 108 inches. That will leave about 12 inches at the top that won't be zippered (is that a word?). Anyway, I figure that's probably a good thing since I'll be inserting a pillow, and it will be nice to have some wiggle room and not feel like your suffocating when it's zipped all the way up! :)



As for other materials, here are a few spots that are my new go-to for certain fabrics. If you have favorite shops, give a shout out! I love learning about new places!



Hawthorne Threads

Minky: Hawthorne Threads has the BEST prices I've found on minky. Plus they have great standard shipping rates. And if you don't know about their tiered pricing, it's awesome! Especially when purchasing in larger quantities, or larger cuts - the more you buy, the more you save. Check it out.. Their color selection is pretty decent as well.


http://www.fabricshack.com/images/topnav_r1_c1_s1.png
Kona Cotton: There are a lot of different brands of solids out there, but I am a Kona girl. After Fabric.com went wacko with their half-yard pricing I went searching elsewhere to purchase my solids. I stumbled across someone's comment somehwhere mentioning Fabric Shack.com. I checked them out and they have ALL the colors, with great prices, and fast shipping! You can't beat that!



If you have a favorite spot for any of the other supplies, let us know in the comments! I'll add to this list as I find more great places to shop! :)



Diane

Thursday, July 9, 2015

3rd Quarter Finish-Along Projects

Since the 2nd Quarter on the Finish-Along with Adrienne of On The Windy Side just ended, that of course means that the 3rd quarter is just beginning. There are a few days left to link up your projects for the quarter, so be sure to stop by and check out all the details.


2015 FAL at On the Windy Side



Here is my list for this quarter. As always I like to be ambitious and have a lot of things on my list, as well as give myself options to pick from.

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Sew-Along: Polaroid Sleeping Bag

If you follow me on Instagram (@fromblankpages) then you've probably seen a few pictures of the Polaroid Sleeping Bags I am making for my kiddos! I've been planning these since at least last fall when I bought our 6 8 person tent (I can't even remember - it's really big!) for Christmas. :) I absolutely LOVE camping! And I hope I can pass that love onto our children. But our children do not have sleeping bags. So of course, I'm going to make them some myself!

I actually have been wanting to do this for years, but I'm glad I waited so I can make them for all my children at once. A big undertaking, but I'm not going to think about that.

When I shared some pictures on Instagram, I received a good response from people that would also be interested in a pattern. I decided this morning as I was chain piecing some blocks, that I might as well do a little Sew-Along/Tutorial as I went. This might be a bad idea, seeing as how I could have a baby really anytime now. So it might get interrupted and I might not finish in the near future. BUT this would also be good motivation to follow through and finish them. Probably something I'll need so I don't have 250 polaroid blocks sitting around my house for years. ;)



Saturday, July 4, 2015

Starry Skyline Quilt

One more super quick post! This is the last finish I have for the 2nd Quarter of the FAL (my list) with Adrianne of On The Windy Side. I'd love to have nice photos to share, but I know I'll end up missing the deadline if I wait for that to happen.


This is my Halloween Quilt using my Starry Skyline pattern. I pieced the top in 4 days! Because I wanted it to be finished and be able to use it for Halloween last year... and then it just sat there for months. lol. oops.

Anyway, I spent lots of hours quilting it, finished the binding last night. I really love how it turned out!! I can't wait for fall to use it! Though we did actually use it last night, and it was nice. :)



Diane

Tommy's Quilt

Sorry for the quick repeat. I need to have a separate link to link up for the Finish-Along, so here is another picture of Tommy's quilt, but you can read about it HERE.


Here's my original list of projects.


Diane

June 2015 Finishes

 Since I'll be posting lots of finishes this week, this blog post is also a part of A Week of Finishes, an event I put together in 2013, and decided to revisit again. If you have any recent finishes you'd like to link up, grab a button and please do! (you can share blog posts, flickr photos, or IG photos.) I love to see what other people have been making!

from blank pages...


June was a fun month for finishes! I finished a lot of Wip's and that is SUCH a great feeling!!!

The week after school got out we went on vacation to Utah to visit my sister who was visiting from Hawaii. It was a great week, and a great excuse to hurry and finish a few things before we left.

First up are two pairs of capris I had made in May, and had actually been wearing, even though they still needed elastic. Yep, my belly was big enough to hold them up on their own, though after a while the knit would stretch, and while that was not a problem being at home, I figured elastic would be a nice addition. ;)


Meet my almost-37-weeks-pregnant I-just-woke-up haven't-gotten-ready self: ;p

I have to laugh at this photo, and yes, I purposly left that finger there. My oldest took some pictures for me, and then my hubby came out to take *better* pictures to put on my blog. Well, every single picture he took had his finger in it! lol! I love him!! 


And my second pair:
This guy wanted to hang out with me for this picture, and I had to pick this photo of course. This is how I always carry him. He is definitely my most cuddly/attached kiddo! I love that he's always near me. :) Though I think he's REALLY going to miss this baby bump when it's gone!!! He fits perfectly sitting on top of it and laying on my shoulder. I think it's probably really comfortable for both of us. Anyway, I just wanted to document this too since I got a picture of it. :)
I found both of these knits at Joann's, which I never see knits that I like there. I don't really know what to wear them with though. Prints on clothes is a new thing for me, so sometimes I definitely don't match - as my maternity attire is limited, or I'm in a black or white shirt. Whatever. They are super comfy! and cool. And I'll be able to wear them as non-maternity as well, which is always nice.



The last time we went to Utah for a summer trip was about 2 years ago. While we were there my brother gave me one of his quilts to repair for him. I love the story of this quilt, and I LOVE that I was able to add a little bit of myself to it.

When my brother was young, he helped make this quilt with my grandma, (and my mom and sister, I think). Then at a family reunion, or some family get together, it was raffled off. Well, my mom bought tickets for all of her kids, and my brother won it! Apparently my mom's aunt was really upset that a little boy won it as she really wanted it. Ha! Obviously I don't know the story well enough, but still, I think it's awesome.

It has been his family's favorite quilt and it definitely showed! There were a few huge holes, and all around the edges was bare and falling apart. I also thought it was interesting that it was always the green fabrics, and a few blue fabrics, that had the most wear on them.


Anyway, I patched the holes from underneath, adding batting and a layer of fabric. Then pulled the original fabric over that so that it would have as much original fabric as possible. Then I added a binding around the edge to cover any wear, as well as help prevent any more.


Unfortunately I didn't have time to get a better photo of the finished quilt. Maybe I'll see if he'll send me one. Until then, here it is. I think the scrappy Cotton + Steel binding goes so perfectly well with the patchwork quilt. The prints are perfectly vintage, and I like that making it scrappy didn't add a frame to the quilt, since it didn't have one originally. :)



Other finishes: Teacher gifts! I had started these pencil mug rugs months and months ago and finished them up. I just love these so much! Hunter had two amazing teachers this year, and I am so grateful for all their efforts to help him! His year and progress was 100 times better than what he experienced in Florida. That was a rough year, so as his mom, I am so grateful for people who care about him and help him!!!

I had better photos, but iPhoto has been acting weird and it won't show me a bunch of my photos. :( Luckily they are only the ones from my phone, so I think I have them all backed up somewhere... I just need to find them. :)

These mug rugs are another project from my 2nd Quarter Finish-Along list with Adrianne of On The Windy Side. So I will be linking them up over there.



On our road trip I finished up my Simple Celestial mini! All the handstitching was perfect for the long car ride! I finished all of it up except two sections, because the colors I had weren't quite perfect, so I finished those after we got home. But now it hangs next to my computer and I am SO in love with it!! I wish I had time to make ALL the quilts, because this would be a fun one to have in a large quilt!




 And just in the last minute, like literally the night of the 30th, I finished stitching down the binding on Tommy's quilt. I made the first block over two years ago. And that was all until earlier this year. Now it's finished!! Tommy loves it and he's SO excited to use it! But I need to do a photo shoot with it first, so I'm making him wait. ;) He's pretty patient about it, so that's nice. :)


This quilt is another project from my 2nd Quarter Finish-Along list with Adrianne of On The Windy Side. So I will be linking this up over there too! Wahoo! That's four things off my list so far! (and I actually finished another one last night!)




Alright! That's it for catching up with all my finishes! It was a good week! I'll share my last finish for the FAL too, so I can link it up. Can I just tell you how great it feels to finish something!! But I also must admit that it is also very enabling to start new projects, which I have definitely done! ;)


from blank pages...


If you want to share any finishes you've had for the year, feel free to link them up below! :) Thanks for everyone who has linked up! It's fun to see your projects! I'll keep the linky open if you want to keep sharing!


   

Diane


Friday, July 3, 2015

May finishes 2015

Since I'll be posting lots of finishes this week, this blog post is also a part of A Week of Finishes, an event I put together in 2013, and decided to revisit again. If you have any recent finishes you'd like to link up, grab a button and please do! (you can share blog posts, flickr photos, or IG photos.) I love to see what other people have been making!

from blank pages...



I only have two finishes for May, but I think they are my favorite so far!! And both are pillows.

First up, my Rockstar Pillow.



I made this for my boys room, but it's been sitting on our living room couch for the last 2 months. It's just so comfy! :D Plus, I need to make the boys quilts, so it really doesn't match their room yet anyway. right?!

I made 4 - 9 inch blocks to create this design (makes an 18 inch block). With the borders it's about 21 inches - which is perfect for the Ikea pillow forms we have.


 
 I made my zippered back a little differently with this pillow, creating a flap, rather than just trying to hide the zipper with the seams (I don't know how to explain how I did it before). But I LOVE this!! So much nicer!


You can find the Rockstar pattern Here.



And here is my last project for the Handmade Birthday Club! I sent this to Sarah. This is probably my most favorite Celestial Star block I've made! (though that might not include some of the blocks from my Celestial Star Quilt. But as a stand alone, I definitely would LOVE to make another pillow just like this one!

I seriously love this! My heart starts racing just looking at it! lol.


I picked the prints based off of one picture in Sarah's instagram feed that said she was loving coral and navy. I added a few more colors to add some interest. Why is it that the fabric pulls I'm most unsure and nervous about always turn out to be my favorite?? I need to step out of my comfort zone more often!!


Phone picture - and it's a little off. But here's the stack I started with. I definitely like it, but I was nervous about it before I actually made the block.


 I did some simple handstitching, outlining the white diamonds. and then went around the entire center with a thinner thread to add some more stability to it. I really like simple, and I hope it's enough to hold up well.


 Of course I did another zipper with the flap. Maybe I'll have to find time to do a quick tutorial. It's SO easy! and quick!


 and with a pillow form inside. 
My heart is just glowing looking at these pictures. I love this so much!

This pillow was another project from my 2nd Quarter Finish-Along list with Adrianne of On The Windy Side.

You can find the Celestial Star pattern Here.



from blank pages...


If you want to share any finishes you've had for the year, feel free to link them up below! :)


   

Diane


Thursday, July 2, 2015

April 2015 Finishes

Since I'll be posting lots of finishes this week, this blog post is also a part of A Week of Finishes, an event I put together in 2013, and decided to revisit again. If you have any recent finishes you'd like to link up, grab a button and please do! (you can share blog posts, flickr photos, or IG photos.) I love to see what other people have been making!

from blank pages...



Here are my finishes from April. I don't feel like it was very much... so hopefully I'm not forgetting anything. 


 I made a church bag for Mabel. I made the boys some years ago, to carry their activities in to help get them through an hour long Sacrament Meeting. They still look brand new, and Mabel was super excited to finally have her own!


I pulled out my Heather Bailey stash (since it has such fabulous girl prints) and Mabel picked out this combo.

You can find the pattern for this HERE. Mabel requested two of the larger pockets, instead of one large and one small, and it works really well! Her pocket size Book of Mormon fits perfectly inside it!



Next I whipped up a new bib. This little guy still loves to use bibs, which I love as well. But since he's getting bigger, all our bibs are either really small or really grungy - having gone through 3 other children. I figured it was about time that we had some more really cute bibs around the house! (I have only a few... the rest are old, or boring store bought ones.)


I drafted a pattern and got to work. It needs a few tweaks, but I like it. And I love having the little pocket at the bottom to catch any falling food. I'd love to spend a few hours making a bunch of these to replace all our old ones with.



I love all the leather moccs I see around, and would love to have some for the new baby. But I'm sorry, I'm not going to pay $60 for a pair that won't last long. I found a good pattern on Etsy, and got some good advice on Instagram and went ahead and made some of my own. Unfortunately I had a lot of issues....


But eventually it worked out and I have some finished moccs! But they are too big, so the girl gets to wear them! She's worn them outside a few times and they already look super worn. Aren't they supposed to last a long time?? I don't know.

Anyway, I bought some red leather to make a pair for the boy (these blue ones were supposed to be for him. And some pink leather for the baby. I guess I should get on that! ;)

Anyway, the moccs are one of the items I had on my list for the 2nd Quarter Finish-Along, so I'll be linking these up over at On The Windy Side. Wahoo for a finish!! :D


And that's it's for April!

from blank pages...


If you want to share any finishes you've had for the year, feel free to link them up below! :)


   

Diane