January 2012

Giving Back – Hopeful Threads

Hello everyone! I am so happy today to bring you Kristy from Hopeful Threads. If you haven’t heard of Hopeful Threads let me introduce you really quickly. Kristy is a mom and a sewist. She likes to give back and every month she finds a new charity to work with.  Read on to learn a little about how you can give back each month!

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Hello Sew BitterSweet Designs friends! I’m Kristy and I blog over at Hopeful Threads. When Melissa invited me to tell you a little about my blog, I jumped at the chance! Thank you again Melissa!

Like many of you, I am a very busy mama, with 5 in my nest ages 20months – 12 years. Sewing is something I love to do! It’s my creative outlet, my mama fun time, that’s why it only seemed natural when looking for a way to give back, to do so while sewing! Hopeful Threads was “officially” started just over a year ago as a way to allow me to use my sewing abilities to help others. Along with a group of very generous and talented creative bloggers, we have been able to meet a variety of needs through monthly sewing projects. Some of the projects have included, pillowcases for our local DCS, activity totes for Children’s Hospital and a variety of items like sundresses, cloth pads and diaper covers that have been sent internationally to Ghana, China and Cambodia!

In addition to offering an opportunity to sew for a specific need each month, I also like to share about businesses that give back or that support needs outside of themselves. For example, Create H.O.P.E. Designs is a project near and dear to my heart.

Create H.O.P.E. was developed for the sole purpose of financially providing for the needs of orphans and their communities. Patterns are only $5 and 100% of the money raised supports those in need! While I am not a professional pattern designer, I was able to contribute one of my more advanced tutorials to the project and have been so proud to be a part of the collaborative efforts of so many caring designers!

I will also introduce you to a variety of organizations that can use your support. While you may not be able to sew along each month, I do invite you to consider showing your support in anyway you feel led. The organization we are sewing for this month is Annabelle’s Wish an organization serving nearly 2000 children in foster and/or orphan care in China. They are humbly doing some amazing work!

In addition to our charity outreach, I also like to share various sewing tips, tutorials and pattern reviews, as well as, personal projects I am working on. I hope you will pop over and take a look around, and I’d love to have you join us if it looks like a place you find interesting! We do have a lot of fun!

And remember….every stitch matters!

Are you feeling inspired? Is 2012 the year you will focus on giving back? It is one of my goals for the year.

 

 

Valentine’s Day Showcase

I know what you are thinking…it’s only January!!! Why are you bringing up Valentine’s Day? I’ll tell you why. If we don’t start thinking about it now, we won’t be able to get our projects done in time!

I have something special planned here on the blog – I am hosting my first ever Valentine’s Day Showcase!  I am bringing some very special bloggers/crafters to you on my blog with inspirational projects and tutorials. It will start the first week of February and will culminate on February 15th with a linky party for you to link up YOUR Valentine’s Day creations!  The linky party will have voting enabled so everyone can vote for their favorite project and the person with the most votes will win a little something special from yours truly!

Love (Two red hearts)

Here is a sneak peak at some of the contributors:

Jenna from SewHappyGeek
Michele from Quilting Gallery
Nurse Brandy from When Life Hands You Fabric…Make a Quilt
Kris from I Don’t Have a Problem…I Have a Well-Rounded Fabric Stash
Debbe from Pieces to Love
Lyanna from Purple Panda Quilts
Lisa – she is in the process of launching a foodie & craft blog
Vicki from SassyBlog
And me too!

I have asked a couple other very talented bloggers to join in as well, but I sent the email out on a Saturday and I haven’t heard back yet, so there may be 2 more people joining us!  Take some time to check out the wonderful guest bloggers and follow their blogs, they are all such talented women!

This might be the first year ever that I am looking forward to Valentine’s Day – I never have before (was just never my thing).

What do you think? Are you in? If so grab a button and get working on the project you want to submit – I promise the prize is a cool one 🙂

NOTE: Don’t forget, I am one of the bloggers who is going to lose Google Friend Connect in March 2012, please take a moment and follow me via Bloglovin’, Facebook, RSS or networked blogs.  You are important to me and I want to be able to stay in contact with you!  Check my side bar for all the best ways to stay in touch after GFC goes bye bye!

Progress & Pay It Forward

I got to sew sew sew today and tonight. My hubs got home late so after Anne went to bed, I got an hour in the sewing room. Here is my progress on my Twirling Around Quilt:

My hubby is working a 24 hour shift tomorrow, so I should be able to make some major progress if nothing catastrophic happens tomorrow.

In other fun news, I got an AWESOME package in the mail yesterday – well actually Anne and I got an AWESOME package in the mail.  CeLynn from The Sunflower Patch hosted a Pay It Forward on her blog and I was one of the lucky people to get something from her!

Check it out!

Oh My Lord is CeLynn talented! I first met CeLynn in a swap I participated in and we also happen to be in a virtual bee together. She is wonderful! Check out her blog and check out her Etsy Shop too (she is on vacation until January 9th, but I promise she is worth the wait)!

I have one more Pay It Forward gift to make for my Pay It Forward – I have something special planned for it and I just need to find the time to git er done!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! I will be working on my quilt and the first two blocks for Jenna’s Sew. Happy. Quilt. QAL. What will you be working on?

NOTE: Don’t forget, I am one of the bloggers who is going to lose Google Friend Connect in March 2012, please take a moment and follow me via Bloglovin’, Facebook, RSS or networked blogs.  You are important to me and I want to be able to stay in contact with you!  Check my side bar for all the best ways to stay in touch after GFC goes bye bye!

 

Newest Design

Sorry I was MIA yesterday…I have been having phone problems ever since we got back from our vacation. Three visits from Comcast and one visit from our alarm monitoring company and we THINK that everything is solved now.  In other news, and warning – this may be TMI (too much information) for some of you – but Anne used the potty yesterday afternoon and evening SEVEN times! I am so thrilled!  I hope this is the start of a beautiful trend 🙂

I have been working on something special and I have a little sneaky peak for you!

I know the colors are slightly assaulting in the mock up – but how about imaging it in these fabrics:

Do you recognizes these fabrics (keep in mind you are seeing the reverse side of the prints)?  Check out the name of quilt if you need a hint!

Did you know from one layer cake you can get 672 squares measuring 2.5×2.5 inches? I was able to cut all those squares in 45 minutes! Fastest cutting I’ve ever done and I got to use one of the nifty tools that I won, a Sullivan’s Cutting EDGE Quilting 6.5×24.5″ ruler from Pat Sloan. So I not only got all my cutting done, but I sharpened my blade at the same time – no more dull blades for this lady 🙂

I am hoping to have more of this quilt completed this weekend – my hubby will be working a 24 hour shift on Friday which means lots of extra sewing time on Friday night.

NOTE: Don’t forget, I am one of the bloggers who is going to lose Google Friend Connect in March 2012, please take a moment and follow me via Bloglovin’, Facebook, RSS or networked blogs.  You are important to me and I want to be able to stay in contact with you!  Check my side bar for all the best ways to stay in touch after GFC goes bye bye!

Finish-A-Long @ Quilter in the Gap

Do you follow Rhonda from Quilter in the Gap?  For 2012 she has decided to host a Finish-A-Long party each quarter of the year. I am excited for a couple reasons, one I am participating (I need to hold myself accountable for a few things!) and two because I am a guest blogger for the 3rd quarter (fun fun fun!).

Here are the projects I want to finish this quarter:

  1. Zig-Zag-Zoom Quilt for my Sister-In-Law – I am going to be a proud Auntie yet again in the Spring and that baby needs a FINISHED quilt!

    Small Section of the Quilt
  2. I have 2 Quilt”ish” designs in EQ7 that need to be turned into patterns and tested – no pictures now, but there will definitely be pictures on the finished post!
  3. I am participating in Jenna at SewHappyGeek’sSew. Happy. Quilt Along – I have all my fabrics purchased and I plan on making each block and finishing before the end of the quarter!

    Sew. Happy. Quilt Along Layout
  4. I need to make my last Pay it Forward gift – I am sure that my partner has probably given up all hope on me, even though I still have 6 months to make good!
  5. I want to make SOMETHING for Valentine’s Day!

I am hoping that goal setting such as this will help keep me honest with myself on my projects!

I am linking up this post here over at Quilter in the Gap. Join in the fun and win some cool prizes while you finish things up!

NOTE: Don’t forget, I am one of the bloggers who is going to lose Google Friend Connect in March 2012, please take a moment and follow me via Bloglovin’, Facebook, RSS or networked blogs.  You are important to me and I want to be able to stay in contact with you!  Check my side bar for all the best ways to stay in touch after GFC goes bye bye!

 

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