A Kindle Pouch For One Of My Favorite People

It's no secret that I adore my husband's family.  One of my favorite people in the whole world is my husband's grandfather "Grandaddy".  Every year on Labor Day weekend, we have a birthday party for Grandaddy.  This year is no exception, but perhaps a bigger party because he will be turning 90!  This is a photo of us earlier this year:

Isn't he the cutest??? In addition to being cute, he is a voracious reader.  A few years ago for Christmas, my in-laws gave him a Kindle.  He uses his Kindle almost everyday, but has never had a cover or bag for it.  So, this year for his birthday, I made him a Kindle Pouch:

He loves birds as much as he loves reading, so I thought I would combine the two with those cute Alexander Henry owls!  Here is a better view of the front:

And the lining is a great Denyse Schmidt print from JoAnn's:

I just love the way this turned out, and hope he does too!  Happy Birthday Grandaddy!

I hope you all have a fun Labor Day weekend!!!

The Great Equalizer

Hello Again!  I have a confession to make...sometimes...I don't love pre-cuts.  I know - blasphemy!  I guess I should clarify.  I love the idea of pre-cuts.  Let's get a piece of fabric from the whole collection! I can have one of everything!  Sounds great, except, once I get the charm pack, jelly roll or layer cake open, I'm standing there thinking "now what?".  I guess what I don't love is that they make me feel limited, like I have to use them in a certain way.  So, when I received a store made* pre-cut roll for Christmas, I was determined not to let it get the best of me.  It took awhile, but I finally decided that I should just sit down and sew.  I unrolled the pre-cut roll and grabbed some super soft and shiny grey cotton sateen from old sheets and started adding to the strips.  When that was done, I knew I wanted a really large border, but I couldn't do that great Kaffe Fassett Big Bloom print justice by butting it up against the grey.  Then I found the Kaffe Fassett green inner border and when I added that, the quilt just sung!  And this is the result:

                                                                 The Equalizer Quilt

And, you know what?  I LOVE IT!!!  It is bright and vibrant and even though it is made from pre-cuts, it has movement and individuality.

This got me thinking....maybe I haven't given pre-cuts a fair shake.  Maybe if I starting thinking about them in a different way, I will start to feel less limited by them.  What do you think?  Are pre-cuts limiting or a good way to get a variety of different fabrics?

*This pre-cut roll was made by Intown Quilters in Decatur, GA (www.intownquilters.com).  It is not a "full" jelly roll like the ones that Moda distributes, but instead is made of 16 fabrics at 5"wide and about 14" long.  How you see them in the quilt is exactly how I received them.

Hello and welcome!  I'm Ashley and this is my little space to blog about sewing, quilting and other handcrafts.  I thought it would be nice to show you a picture of me:

And my stash - this may or may not be all of it....

This is my machine, a Juki 2010Q:

My design wall, which is currently featuring Heather Ross Munki Munki charms with scraps.  I purchased these charms from Amber at www.oneshabbychick.typepad.com when she had an awesome de-stash sale.  I made this using a quilt-as-you-go method.  The top is all sewn together!  Now I just need to sew a backing and bind it!

Some close ups of my favorite blocks:

I am excited to be blogging and I hope that this blog will serve as an online project journal and a way to connect with other quilters.  Please leave comments - I would love to hear what you have to say!