March 2016 | Go-Go Kim

sewing + social media + so much more

Thursday, March 31, 2016

The Splendid Sampler Block 13

I am just getting caught up with blocks for The Splendid Sampler with Block 13 Scrap Stars by Cory Yoder, designer from Coriander Quilts .  This week I am taken with the color green!

The block I made included Amy Butler, Moda, Dear Stella, Tula Pink and Denyse Schmidt fabrics and I pieced using Aurifil 50wt thread. The Clearly Perfect Angles mat from New Leaf Stitches was a massive help for me with this block!


I ordered new embroidery needles to make the block 12.  Mine were not being finger friendly so I asked for suggestions to make hand work easier.  Do you have a favorite embroidery needle? 


You can join The Splendid Sampler at anytime!  The blocks are available for you to make at your pace!  There is a very active and fun Facebook group that you can join to share your blocks for a real online sew along experience! Looking forward to seeing your creations! 




SHARE:

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

WIP Wednesday

It has gone from the season of snow to the season of blow here in VA!  Overnight all of the trees bloomed and grasses are coming out from hiding to bring forth POLLEN!  The people of the house are allergic to every pollen known to be in the commonwealth ( don't say state here...you will be corrected...lol) so we have gone down the path of allergy shots.  I am amazed at how fabulous they work but am not overly impressed with the time that we have to spend in the office.

Ready to sit for three hours, I packed up some little paper pieced hexes to start for a new WIP ( because I would not really be a quilter if I did not start new projects on a whim).



What is in the ( tiny) basket shown took me about two hours! I am not a fast hand stitcher.  Normally I will do anything to not hand sew but when sitting with nothing else to do, it seemed like a good idea.  It took me at least an hour to thread the needle ( I need to find my threader) and then I did have a little help from precious hands!

I made the time at the appointment a no screen time and asked the kids to bring other stuff to keep occupied.  Katy worked on her AP Psychology paper and Adam brought a Calvin and Hobbes book, a colorful game and something to draw on and with but he kept watching me with the paper piecing.  I asked him if he wanted to try and he said (in his most "I am an almost nine year old and do not care either way" voice) "Sure."

I showed him how and he was a natural.



That beautiful striped one is his!  He asked if he could do more the next time we have an appointment.  The answer was a huge YES!



All of the fabrics used were from a bag that were given to me from a local thrift shop.  I happened to ask about a sewing machine and they asked me if I sew.  When I told them I did they offered me a huge amount of stuff for nothing.  There were hand stitched blocks and so many vintage fabrics.  They are really very beautiful!


I cannot say this is the most fun Spring Break for the kids but we have spent some nice time together. Do you have projects you bring along to appointments or when you know you will be stuck somewhere for an extended amount of time?


SHARE:

Monday, March 28, 2016

Monday Motivation


Monday motivation is not really a motivation but a simple explanation of what goes on in my head..LOL!  There is a house full of people here all week for Spring Break but this is all I can think about...





For more inspiration, fun, sewing, quilting, giveaway opportunities follow me on:


SHARE:

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Sunday Stash #54

Sunday Stash is being hosted by the very talented Mary Emmens!  Mary is not only hosting the event this week, she is also having a GIVEAWAY, so be sure to pop over and see what awesomeness she is offering :o)

This week my  Sunday Stash is filled with Spring colors contained in Morningside Farm by the feedsack diva Darlene Zimmerman for Robert Kaufman!




I am completely over the moon about all of the bright colors and vintage feel of this collection!

I added in some of my favorite Aurifil ( Darlene has Aurifil collections) for fun! 




This fun Morningside Farm will be shipping in APRIL and will be available through Fat Quarter Shop!  

Be sure to visit Mary and be part of the FANTASIC SUNDAY STASH FUN!














SHARE:

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!  Around our home will be filled  with baskets with candy and toys, egg dying, food, and time spent with family :o)  Wishing you and your family a lovely day! 



SHARE:

Friday, March 25, 2016

Spring Color using Play Crafts Free Palette Builder!

Walking around the neighborhood, Spring is really everywhere and with the warmer temperatures comes amazing color inspiration!  Bringing those one of a kind colors into your quilts has been made so much easier using the cool Palette Builder tool by Play Crafts!


These photos taken on my iPhone this avert noon were easily uploaded into the Palette Builder to find the coordinating Moda Bella Solids that most closely match. This user friendly tool also lets you move the pre chosen selector dots for you to create a more customized result.










I am going to have a very difficult time pulling myself away from this really amazing tool!  Play Crafts also has other FREE TOOLS available for you to help boost your creativity! Go visit, play around and be inspired with COLOR!
SHARE:

Thursday, March 24, 2016

The Splendid Sampler Block 12

The Splendid Sampler Block 12 is Checkerboard by Pat Sloan!  This adorable block is a free pattern  available now for your to create your very own one of a kind block!  They were so sweet I made two!

Pat has step outs for this block on her blog to make sure your tiny squares are perfection! My tips is ( as always) to use Aurifil 50wt thread for piecing! The 50wt thread makes is possible for you to piece with more accuracy! No bulky seams and blocks that are the wrong size!




Make sure to join The Splendid Sampler Facebook Group for tons of support and inspiration!  Also, if you are posting your photos on social media, make sure to add the hashtag #thesplendidsampler!  I am loving seeing all of the different blocks!

SHARE:

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Silk Tie Easter Eggs

Happy Spring!  The trees are blooming and tennis season has commenced :o) That means I am in the car twice a s much and it also means it is is time to make Easter eggs! We usually do the traditional dye from the local store but this year I wanted to try something a little different, more interesting and that I had never tried before.



About a week ago I came across this fun video on Facebook.  It was created by The SALT project and shares how to make Easter Eggs using old ties.





I am a big fan of using anything old for something creative so I decided to give it a shot!
I looked up some more information about dying with ties to make sure I had everything I needed.  Martha Stewart is always full of information and she did not disappoint with her Silk Dyed Easter Egg video.  I did learn that the pot to use for boiling needs to be either enamel coated or glass.  I used my big canning pot and added more water/vinegar.  Also, start with fresh eggs not hard boiled.  Lastly, make sure the ties are 100% silk.


Last week I went to some local thrift shops to gather ties and found them for .50 to $1.  The majority of ties found were red or blue.  If you are a regular thrifter, you can look throughout the year to provide more variety.  For some reason, trying to find string this time of year is also next to impossible.  Target had some in the card section on clearance for 1.88 per spool.



Full disclosure...this is not a fast project.  There is prep work and lots and lots of tying.  Thank goodness Michael was here to help or it may not have happened this week!  It would be a fantastic thing to do if you have lots of helping hands!  Great family project!



The eggs look so dressed up and fancy!


After simmering them for 30 min, they came and were placed into a bowl to cool.  There was one tie that bled red but none of the color transferred to our hands when we were setting them free!


Are they perfect...no.  Did I expect them to be...no :o)  Will I try this project again... with and designs that are this beautiful...it is very likely! The entire process is pretty impressive!


Now to decide what to do with them. My kids do not like hard boiled eggs to eat ( crazy kids) so although I wanted to make 4 dozen fantastically whimsical colorful eggs, it seemed to be wasteful to hard boil a bunch of eggs to throw away.  These we will save for the hunt and I will be searching on  Pinterest to find creative recipes that kids will love ( for OTHER hard boiled eggs!  It was brought to my attention that eggs dyed in this way are for decoration only! They could be toxic to eat!  Please do not EAT eggs if you make them in this way!)



SHARE:

Monday, March 21, 2016

Monday Motivation {Sewing for a Cause}

Welcome back to Monday Motivation!  Quilters are the most generous people I know.  They continuously give of their time, talents and treasures to help others, usually people they have never met and will never know. The call to create for those in need is always met by the quilting and sewing community with open hearts!


Thank you so much if you are contributing to a charity with your fabrics, threads, time and talents!  You are amazing!  If you are looking for a new project to start I hope you will look through and consider one of these projects.  I will be starting a page with more opportunities so if you have a favorite project that is not listed here, please leave a comment with the name of the organization and a link to the organization so I can share!













I started working on The 70273 Project this weekend.  After reading the post, I immediately stopped what I was doing and started creating some blocks to help the cause. I have only a few blocks so far but have so many left over strips from my other red projects I decided I can make a few of these a week and help out giving a voice to those that had none.





Each cross is different.  I will not make any alike to respect each individual that was victimized. 







The Barefoot Heart




{Benefitting March of Dimes}
Fat Quarter Shop



{Online Quilting Bee}




American Patchwork and Quilting 




{For deployed troops, veterans and families}




{blankets and quilts for children in need}



{also has shorts for boys}




{ Sewing kits so girls can attend school during their monthly cycle} 





For more inspiration during the week, fun, and links to free patterns please follow me on:




















SHARE:

Saturday, March 19, 2016

National Quilting Day Giveaway!

Happy National Quilting Day!  I love being a quilter and part of the quilting community!  There are so many reasons to quilt including being creative, keeping your mind healthy, reducing your stress levels, a sense of community locally and online ( YAY internet) and keeping the quilting arts history alive :o)

I cannot think of a better way to commorate the day than a GIVEAWAY!  This is a sponsored giveaway from Quilter's Stash Box and includes a DVD for the amazing documentary Still Stitching!




Quilters Stash Box offers a "Try Me" sized box option is half the size of the standard box and is still FILLED with incredible goodies! Make sure to visit Quilter's Stash Box to find out all of the options available and find one that works best for you!




If you have not seen Still Stitching, there are numerous trailers available to find out all about this interesting and fun documentary.  I enjoyed watching this trailer about the lovely Singer Featherweight! 





Still Stitching gets into the history and love of vintage sewing machines and their importance in our lives!  This quote really says it all...

"One of the most pervasive and critical machines to enhance and advance civilization is the sewing machine, yet it is so easy to take for granted.  Look around your home and identify all the items that required machine stitching to produce, and try to imagine life without the sewing machine."

The Giveaway includes everything you see in this photo:




Still Stitching DVD
Hoffman California Fabrics Bali Pop Cockatiel Snaps
Aurifil 50wt  thread { two spools}
Stroll quilt pattern by Cora's Quilts
Moon Rocks quilt pattern
Spiral Eye Needles
Fun button from Hunter Design Studio
Informational brochures about products offered in the box


The giveaway is open to all of my international friends :o) 

You are not required to do all of the options to be entered.  Choose one or  all!  Your chances will increase with the more options you choose :o)  

The giveaway will close on 25 March and a random winner will be chosen through Rafflecopter and announced on or about 27 March and I will contact the winner through email.  

I hope everyone enjoys this special day to celebrate and please SHARE this giveaway on all of your social media to give everyone a chance to WIN!

HAPPY NATIONAL QUILTING DAY!  Thank you SO MUCH to Quilter's Stash Box and Still Stitching for this FABULOUS opportunity!








a Rafflecopter giveaway
SHARE:

Thursday, March 17, 2016

The Splendid Sampler Block 10

The Splendid Sampler Block 10 is up and ready for you to make!  Iowa is the colorful and super fast block by Sherri McConnell from A Quilting Life that you need to make NOW!  


I placed Iowa on the design wall and am amazed at how the blocks are starting to take up space!!!  WOOT WOOT! 



Make sure to join The Splendid Sampler Facebook group belong to the best online support quilting bee EVER!
SHARE:

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

WIP Wednesday


WIP Wednesday is my summer wardrobe! I have been working on this dress and am using a lovely knit perfect for the summer!  My shape is well...my own.  It is hippy on the bottom and lacking in the top.  I am two to three different sizes when making garments.  This constant struggle is real for all women no matter what their body type happens to be.  This one currently my dress form was made  using my actual measurements but it was not quite right in the top area. It was oddly small, which almost never happens. So the search for the perfect size begins...



I made a second one using a larger size, increased the length by about 2 inches and I came up with this "muslin" with a slightly heavier knit.  I found this king at a thrift shop 2 yards for $1 so I do not feel super guilty making king muslins from it.  Katy thinks this is a SUPER CUTE 80's crop top but that just ain't happening!  Going out in public like this would surly damage people's eyes and scare small children.  I lived through the 80's once, not so sure I could make it through a second time.  This is more to show how short the top was on my body even after the going up one size AND adding two inches to the  length.  To show you the first would have be obscene! 






My next attempt will be to try one more size up and adding length to the bottom.  I do not want to go up too much an have to then cut down, so I am going to keep going up one size until I find my perfect  fit or until I run out of printer paper.  I am cool with either way :o) Have I ever mentioned I hate tracing lines?






Hopefully by the week's end I will have this dress all sewn up and ready to wear!  Katy is already asking for a dress for her too out of the same material.  


SHARE:

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

The Splendid Sampler Block 9

The Splendid Sampler Block 9 Quilt Shop by Jane Davidson from Quilt Jane was released on Sunday and is SO adorable!



I made minor changes to the original.  Barn quilt was in my head from the second I saw the block!  I also needed to use the remains of my Log Cabin skirt that I made for last Market to create a red tin roof and shingles for the barn.  I thought it would be appropriate to make it a Moda Shop since most of the fabrics used are from Zen Chic for Moda :o)

The fussy cut boat in the barn quilt is from a piece of fabric Jane gave to me the very first time we met at Quilt Market.  It is so very sweet and tiny!


These blocks are fast and easy to make with lots of support from group members on Facebook!  They have all been really fun to make and with a variety of techniques, you can learn something NEW! If you are sitting on the fence...come on and join in the fun! 




SHARE:

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Thrift Shop Finds

I started thrifting when my oldest sons were babies. The oldest is going to be 28 on St. Patrick's Day and the next one will be 25 in April. So it has been a few years.  We lived in Sunnyvale, CA in a tiny apartment and this was a way to pass the time when we had one car ( so I could walk with a stroller), no money and I was usually on my own since we were military living in areas with no family.  I loved the hunt and finding treasures.  It has been a part of my life even since.

We still need to be mindful of money ( retirement is around the corner) and I do still like to pass time in especially small thrift shops where real treasures can still be found for not insane prices.  This week I visited two very small local shops and was completely overwhelmed at my good fortune!


Patterns! Vintage...beautiful...FABULOUS...PATTERNS!  I never find vintage patterns that are like these!  I visited the shop yesterday as they were closing and noticed them.  There were hundreds of patterns in boxes.  I did not have time to go through them but the lady said, "We open at 10am tomorrow."  I was there at 0959 ;O)   I brought my own bag just in case it was needed ( it was).  I stood on my tip toes looking through the top bins and sat on the floor looking through the rest.  After a solid hour of sorting through all of the bins I ended up with 60 patterns!   They are not all my perfect size but I think I can learn how to adjust for .25 a piece!


There were patterns from the 50's 60's and 70's.  They had a ton from the 80's but I am not a shoulder pad girl :o)




My favorites are the ones found from ( I am assuming ) independent pattern companies.  These were mailed to individuals and still in the envelopes.  The postmarks are pretty cool!   I will be looking up the information about these pattern companies later for sure.


This is the insert from the one on the left.  Priceless!


Do you go thrifting for necessity or fun ( or both like me)?  I will be sharing more of my thrift shop finds next Saturday.
SHARE:
Blogger Template by pipdig