Sew Jess Quilts

I happen to stumble upon the #miniminiquilt and #miniminquiltswap purely by accident. But, boy am I glad I did. I've toyed around with the idea of making tiny mini quilts and have a few that are about 6 inches square. And when my hubby suggested I make a few tiny quilts, I took it as a sign that I should start making some. So I took to the scrap pile and started cutting out 1.5 inch triangles. So teeny tiny, but I'm weird and actually enjoy small sewing. My points might not be perfect, but they aren't in my larger quilts, plus I think it gives it a little more art feel to them. I LOVE how this little guy turned out, at 4.5 inches tall it is just the most darling thing every! And just like my normal mini quilts I bound this one using the single fold binding method from Jaybird Quilts ( Link Here ). The only modification to the binding, was to sew it on with a very scant 1/4 inch seam. Of course I just couldn't stop at one, now could I. So I started making more a

Who would have thought in just a few just months that I would like, actually enjoy sewing curves?! Not me! In October I joined my local quilt shop ( Stitched Studio ) for one of their block of the month programs. They were offering quite a few and I decided it was time to tackle one of my fears, sewing curves! So I joined the Curve it Up BOM, using the Quick Curve Ruler from Sew Kind of Wonderful . So far we have completed the first four blocks and it is getting easier to navigate those curves. I have enjoyed sewing curves so much that I purchased their QCR Mini  and started playing around with the mini patterns. I purchased some Cotton+Steel Spellbound last fall and never got around to sewing with it. So when I needed some fabric to test out my QCR Mini ruler I thought this would be a great way to make some new pillows for my fall/Halloween decor. I love the different combinations you can come up with just a basic curved block. Next on my curved sewing list is la

I always have good intentions of joining quilt a longs but somehow it never seems to happen. So this year I wanted to actually join a few (plus it was also encourage me to blog about them and connect with other quilters) and when I saw the Modern HST Sampler from Alyce at Blossom Heart Quilts I knew I wanted to join! So far so good, I've kept up and have completed this months blocks! For this quilt I am using my Cotton+Steel from various collections and Essex Yarn Dyed Linen in Black as the background. This quilt is looking great already!  My version of Candy or traditionally know as Shoo Fly. My version of Ninja or traditionally known as the Friendship Star. This is my first time joining a mystery quilt a long and I can't wait to see what the next block will be! Happy Sewing! Linking up with Alyce from Blossom Heart Quilts for Sew Cute Tuesday .

Last week scrolling through my Instagram feed, I came across a post from Megan from  @canoeridgecreations  about this True Love mini quilt pattern. (This is a free pattern available from her site!) First I love her mini quilt patterns. Easy to follow and you can use them to create larger quilts, pillows, wall hangings, or table toppers. So when I saw this one I just knew I was going to have to make it for a little Valentine's Day decoration for the house. Great thing about this pattern it uses 5 inch squares!! So I went digging through my scrappy stash bin and found some Valentine-ish fabric and was set to go. For the quilting, I did a straight-ish line across the whole mini quilt. Then I did a single line around the perimeter of the heart.  I think I may just have to make another one and use it as a pillow cover. Plus it is a great way to use more of my stash!! Quilt Stats Pattern: True Love by Megan Pitz of Canoe Ridge Creations Dimensions: 18 x 18 i

I love when I'm able to finish a mini quilt for a swap, well ahead of the deadline. I always try to get a good start, because sometimes life happens and sewing/quilting can only happen in small chunks of time. Well luckily this time my kiddos where mostly happy (minus a teething sick baby who wanted to be held during naptime) so I was able to get most of the cutting and sewing done while they were happily playing. For this swap I wanted to try and different shape. I was getting a little tired of square and rectangular quilts, thus the hexagon shape. And I wanted to try sewing with triangles, as I have kinda avoided them up until now. And now I want to make a scrappy quilt made with triangles! So when I was looking through my copy of Simply Retro and came across the Adorn mini quilt, I knew I was just the project perfect for what I wanted to accomplish. Made with scrappy triangles and background triangles, plus I could work the shape into a hexagon! Win, win for me! And this

This week I'm working on my Rainbow Adorn for the Rainbow Mini Quilt Swap round 2. This is one of the few mini swaps I am allowing myself to sign up for this year. I wanted to try and make a mini that wasn't a square or rectangle, so I looking at patterns I found the Adorn mini in Simply Retro and knew I could alter the pattern a bit to make a hexagon. All I had to do was remove a few background triangles and proof, hexagon! This was my my first time sewing with triangles. I had to unpick a few seams and resew, but it's all apart of the learning process. I'm already scheming up a new mini for myself! Happy Sewing! Linking up with Freshly Pieced for WiP Wednesday

When I saw Crystal's tutorial for a travel coloring mat made with the Color Me Fabric, I just knew I had to make one for my 3 year old. Her tutorial was is very nicely written and is very easy to follow. Nora loves coloring, so this is the perfect, since I can let her color it and then throw it in the wash and it's ready for coloring again. This has been Nora's favorite Christmas gift I pre-washed all of my fabrics so there would be no shrinking when washing. The Ultra Washable Crayola markers work great and come out in the wash. I wash the mat on a cold cycle and let it air dry. (Note: sometime the orange and red don't always come out completely this is why I air dry, so I don't set the colors.)  It has been quite fun watching Nora color and seeing her coloring improve each time I wash her mat. I should probably make another one so I have a spare in my bag at all times. Happy Sewing! Linking up with Sew Fresh Quilts for Let's Be

The first full week of the new year and I have my first finish! After Wednesday, I was able to sneak in some quilting time and finish this one off. I am continuing to work on my free motion quilting skills, so I tried a simple stipple. I'm really starting to enjoy FMQ!  I love how bright and colorful this mini is. It is going to be perfect for my new sewing room. Can't wait to start working and moving my stuff into my new space! Quilt Stats Pattern: Mini Round & Round by Thimble Blossoms with added spool block by me Dimensions: 11 inches x 11 inches Quilting: Stipple Fabric: various scraps including some Cotton + Steel, Tula Pink, and Ann Kelle Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday

In an effort to help keep my crafty/sewing resolutions I'm joining the 2016 Finish-A-Long, so I can finally finish projects that are just hanging around. This is my main goal for this quarter. I am going to finish this queen size bed quilt for my husband and I. I've had the top pieced together for a year now (and prior to that cut out the year before!) so it is just time. I'm going to keep the quilting simple since this will be on our bed and get washed plenty. I would also like to finish 2 garments, another Everyday Skirt and shirt. These should keep me busy and help achieve the goals I set for myself! Happy Sewing!

One of my goals for this year is to clear off projects that I have started and not finish. Well this little mini quilt just happens to be one of them! I cut out this mini, I think last summer with every intention of sewing it pretty quickly. Well life happened and I didn't. And it got shoved to the bottom of the pile. (This is a big reason I'm stepping back from a lot of swaps) While cleaning up my sewing space, I found this and a few other mini quilts I has cut out for myself and decided now was the perfect time to just get them done! Instead of just a plain block in the center, I decided to add a mini spool. This will be perfect for my new sewing room. Now to just decide on quilting! Happy Sewing! Linking up with Let's Bee Social WiP Wednesday

Here are my goals for 2016! Finish the Queen size bed quilt for Derek and I!!! Finish up quilts in progress. I currently have two mini quilt that I cut out, but didn't finish in 2016.  Make a challenge quilt for my quilt guilds annual quilt show in July. Make blogging, more of a priority. I share a lot on Instagram, but I would like to keep this space going. Plus this will be a little nicer record for my quilts and I can see my progress as a quilter as well. This will include blogging at least 2x a week to start. Continue my Quilt the Book Challenge, by making 2 quilts a quarter. Start garment sewing. I have a passion for slow fashion and I would like to build on that by making and sewing my own garments. Not too many goals, but I'm trying to keep things simple to go along with my word for the year, Simplify.

2015 Best Nine Instagram pictures What a way to start the new year, one kiddo on the mend and now the littlest one has the crud. At least I'm over it, so I will just spend my weekend snuggled with my kiddos! 2015 was a pretty good year. I really started to push myself with my quilting and designed a few minis for various swaps. I hope to keep that up this year. Besides quilting our family grew with the addition of Enna in March. I was surprised by how easily I was able to transition from a mama of one to a mama of two. As for 2016, I want this to be the year of finishing projects (quilting and home) and simplifying our lives with less stuff! So here's to a new year!