Melissa Dunworth – Page 156 – Sew Bittersweet Designs

We Decorated

7 Comments / Christmas / By Melissa Dunworth

Yesterday my hubby and I braved my mom’s attic – her house is 90 years old and one wrong step up there will land you in the dinning room below – and rescued all the Christmas decorations.

I should be upfront and honest – the vast majority of the boxes in my mom’s attic belong to me – I have a GINORMOUS nutcracker collection. I have been collecting them since I was 13. They range in size from 2 inches to 3.5 feet tall. Anne had never seen one before because last year at age one we didn’t want to put them out. This year we only put out a handful of the sturdier ones and are still contemplating putting them away…we shall see.

She was definitely a fan when we first started decorating.

Then she got a little bored and pulled out a puzzle…

And here is our tree. It is a small fake tree up on a table. I am allergic to the real deal so fake it is! The up on a table part is convenient because it makes it that much harder for Anne and the cat to pull down ornaments!

Are you all decorated for the holidays?

If you haven’t already make sure and enter the giveaway for a $25.00 Intrepid Thread gift certificate!

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!

Quickie Basting Tutorial

10 Comments / mystery quilt, quilting, quiltmaker, tutorial / By Melissa Dunworth

Seeing as I have spent the last 3 weeks doing nothing but quilting – projects big and small – I thought I would show you how I baste a quilt.

I am old fashioned – no basting sprays for me. I don’t have anything against them, they just aren’t my preference. The one time I did use one the quilt felt really stiff afterwards and I just didn’t like the way it felt. I know tons of people do like them and use them. I think you should try different methods and see what works best for you – pin basting – while time consuming – works best for me. This is a twin size quilt, I did it in front of the TV and was done in about 30 minutes.

I start out by putting together my backing and pressing it.

Lay backing right side down onto the floor. Having hardwood floors is awesome for pin basting because I can tape the quilt to the floor. You can also do this on carpeting – I usually pin the backing to the carpet.

Press batting (it looks wrinkled but it really isn’t). Lay flat on backing – DO NOT STRETCH. Trim batting down to size of backing.

Center quilt top on the batting – you are now ready to pin.

Pin every six inches – if you know your quilt pattern (I did straight line quilting following the diamond shapes) try to avoid pinning directly in the path of where you want to stitch.

Once you finish quilting – square up your quilt and trim excess batting and backing. Bind it and you are all done!!! Let me know if you would like me to do a tutorial on how I bind quilts 🙂

And this is where I tell you how glad I am that my hubby, while incredibly supportive, does not read my blog and for that I am grateful! This is his present and I can show it off here before giving it to him because he won’t see it!

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a $25.00 Intrepid Thread gift certificate!

Fat Quarter Shop Winner

7 Comments / Fat Quarter Shop, Giveaway / By Melissa Dunworth

I love announcing winners on the blog – I love any opportunity to brighten another person’s day – it makes my day brighter! Today I get to announce the winner of the Fat Quarter Shop notion of the month giveaway and two 1/2 yard cuts of fabric.

Author: Lori
Website: http://craftication.blogspot.com
Comment: permalink
Love blue lagoon batiks. A fabulous giveaway!

Lori – you have one your choice of Triangle Papers from Fat Quarter Shop

You will get to pick one roll in the size of your choosing – I personally would love a roll of 2.5 inch finished HSTs – they are on my list to buy before the end of the month!

You also get to choose two 1/2 yard cuts of fabric! You can choose from Froggin’ by Sue Zipkin or from Always and Forever by Deb Strain!

I have sent you an email! Congratulations!

Everybody Loves a Winner

6 Comments / Uncategorized / By Melissa Dunworth

And FOUR winners are way better than ONE!

The winners of the SewMamaSew Giveaway day are:

First up the Apron Pattern:

Author: Connie
Website: http://conniekresin.blogspot.com/
Comment: permalink
I am a follower Melissa and what a great giveaway, thanks!

Second up – Paper Pieced Wall Hanging Pattern:

Author: apple blossom
Website: http://abis-scrapsoflife.blogspot.com/
Comment: permalink
I plan on working on a quilt for my mom (email address deleted for winner’s privacy)

Third up – Quilt As You Go Pattern:

Author: Pat V.
Comment: permalink
I plan on making a quilt for my nephew for his March 1st birthday!

And the bigger winner of the 1 lb scrap bag and all my delighted scraps is….

Author: VickiT
Comment: permalink
Wow. Great giveaway and the scraps would be a very nice bonus. Next year I will be making baby stuff – burp clothes, bibs, receiving blankets and hopefully a quilt as well. We have another Grandchild arriving in Feb so I need to get things made for her.

Congratulations everyone! I have emailed all of the winners and will be mailing out the prizes next week. Thank you to everyone who entered and don’t forget I have another giveaway going on right now for The Intrepid Thread!

Sponsor Highlight – The Intrepid Thread & Giveaway

207 Comments / Uncategorized / By Melissa Dunworth

Happy Friday Everyone! Only 9 days left until Christmas – have you finished your sewing and shopping yet? I am mostly done – still need to take care of Anne and my dad.

If you want to get me something special you can start at The Intrepid Thread! Julie carries some of the best fabric lines available and constantly has new lines rolling into the shop. The last 2 weeks alone she had NINE lines hit the shop! Can you believe that?!? I swear – if I owned my own fabric shop I would be in sewing heaven.

I had the pleasure of meeting Julie when I was home in CA last month, she lives not to far from where I went to college. We had a nice lunch and Anne promptly fell in love with her. She is a wonderful spirit and a pleasure to work with. I ordered some yummy Rendezvous from her on Black Friday and it was at my doorstop the next Monday – all wrapped up in tissue paper, with a bow and a handwritten note. Julie always goes the extra mile.

Here is a just a small taste of some of the yumminess that hit her shop this month:

Art Elements by Pat Bravo — Art Gallery Elements by Pat Bravo

Domestic Bliss by Liz Scott — Domestic Bliss Charm Packs by Liz Scott

And my personal new favorite:

: Half Moon Modern by Moda Cotton Quilt Fabric

I know what I want for Christmas, do you?!? Well how about I give you a chance to make your Christmas fabric wishes come true?

Julie is offering one of my readers a $25.00 gift certificate to her shop, The Intrepid Thread, good for anything in the shop!

Does that sound like something you might like to have for Christmas?

You must be a follower of my blog to enter

1. Go to The Intrepid Thread shop and tell me what you would buy if you won (1 Entry)
2. Spread the word – blog, tweet or facebook about this giveaway, leave me a link (1 Entry)

That’s it! Two possible entries. I will leave this giveaway open until Friday, December 23rd and I will have the plugin And the winner is… pick the winner. I will announce the winner on Christmas Eve – someone is going to have a little extra something in their stocking this year, will it be you?

Good luck!

Author name: Melissa Dunworth