Melissa Dunworth – Page 79 – Sew Bittersweet Designs

A Lovely Year of Finishes – October Goal Party

10 Comments / A Lovely Year of Finishes, Fiber of All Sorts, halloween / By Melissa Dunworth

Welcome to October! Time to bust out the pumpkins and all the little ghoulies! October is a fun month for my family, two of my favorite people (my mom and Anne) are downright obsessed with Halloween, and I always try to make it special. Last year I made Anne’s Halloween outfit and I am going to do it again this year and that is my goal, very simple – make Anne’s costume.

Anne wants to be the cat. This will be quite a challenge for me as I still consider myself a beginner at clothes sewing. Tomorrow we will go shopping for our fabrics and notions and Thursday I will get started sewing! Wish me luck!

As we approach the end of the year Shanna and I would love to get some feedback from you on how this year has gone! Please take a couple minutes to fill out our brief survey so we can get ready for Another Lovely Year of Finishes.

Your turn!

What one item will you choose to do for October?

You have two requirements to be entered into the prizes this month.

1. Link-up {on this post} the first 7-days of the month

and

2. Link-up in the last 7-days of the month.

Add your blog post or flickr photo (with appropriate descriptions) to the linky party below.

Please grab a button or link back to Shanna and I so other people can join in the fun!

**Please note, the linky party is the same here and over at Shanna, so there is no need to enter twice **

For those unsure of how to link up go check out our Q&A Page for A Lovely Year of Finishes – there are instructions on how to link up from a blog and from Flickr.

Grab a button from my sidebar and spread the LOVE!

Oh yeah and there are prizes this month (as always!), here is what our fantastic sponsors are offering:

October Prizes Include:

1. A Fat Quarter Bundle from Moda United Notions

2, 3. TWO winners each getting to choose one pdf pattern
from Sew BitterSweet Designs – that’s me!
($10 value)

4. Choice of $15 or 2 charm packs from Stitch n’ Giggles

5. A Paper Piecing Kit from Paper Pieces

6. $25.00 Gift Certificate to Superior Threads

7. Quilting Patterns designed by Quilting Lodge

Try and visit 2 other people who have linked up before you so that we can cheer each other on!

Vintage Christmas Quilt Mini Reveal

9 Comments / A Lovely Year of Finishes, vintage christmas sampler / By Melissa Dunworth

The last week we have had rain so sadly I couldn’t get a picture of the quilt laying out in all its glory, but it is all finished!

I decided to use my backing for the binding technique, I love the pop of gold all the way around on the border.

Hopefully after my hubby returns in a couple weeks from doing Army things I will be able to get a full length photo and capture the quilt in all its glory!

Today is the last day to enter the September Finishes Party and start thinking about your goal for October as that party will open tomorrow!

My Fave Notions – Rotary Cutter

12 Comments / Fave Notions / By Melissa Dunworth

This week I wanted to talk about everyone’s favorite notion – the rotary cutter. This fascinating invention has made life so much easier for quilters around the world. I know this because my mom will tell me stories about having to cut all of her fabric out with scissors before there were rotary cutters. You know the stories I’m talking about, just like the ones my dad used to tell me about having to walk up hill both ways to school every day.

I personally own 6 different rotary cutters and my all time favorite is my Olfa Deluxe Rotary (Ergonomic). Considering that I have psoriatic arthritis in my hands and fingers, the ergonomic part is especially important to me. The other reason I like it is for the locking mechanism, easy to engage and helps me feel more safe with Anne in my sewing room. The one thing I thought I would address in this post is disposing of the rotary blades, even when they are too dull for fabric cutting, they are still quite sharp and dangerous. Here’s what I like to do:

What you might not be able to tell in the picture is that the yellow container on the left of the cutter has “dirty” blades in it. These blades are covered with lint and are too dull to cut my fabric. The blades on the right are new. I always keep one empty container on hand and I usually buy my blades 5 at a time. As the container on the right empties the one on the left fills up. Once the right hand container is empty the left hand one gets taped shut with packing tape thrown away. Then I buy a new set of 5. The empty one is now where the dull blades will go.

I read some interesting disposal methods online including wrapping the blade in scraps of fabric or paper before throwing it out. This concerns me. How many times have you had to go dumpster diving in your trash bin in the sewing room? I have done it on many many occasions. My fear would be the fabric or paper becoming dislodged and slicing my hand up. Just because the blade is too dull for fabric does not mean it is too dull for my skin.

What is your favorite brand rotary cutter? Is there a great ergonomic one out there that you think I should try? How do you dispose of your blades?

A Lovely Year of Finishes – September Finishes Party!

10 Comments / A Lovely Year of Finishes, Fiber of All Sorts / By Melissa Dunworth

September has flown by and we have now come to the end. Time to link up those finishes! Mine is happily completed, but as yet not photographed. Hopefully before my hubby leaves for 2.5 weeks I will be able to get a picture!

Here it is at the beginning of the month, it is now quilted (which was my goal), I just need to finish the binding…hmmm maybe I will work on that today and be 100% finished with this one!

Now it is your turn!

What one item did you choose to do for September?

You have two requirements to be entered into the prizes this month.

1. Link-up {on this post} the first 7-days of the month

and

2. Link-up {here} in the last 7-days of the month.

For fun, how about we all visit each other and cheer each other on! Try and visit at least 2 other people who link up and oooh and aaaah over their awesome creations!

Add your blog post or flickr photo (with appropriate descriptions) to the linky party below.

Please grab a button or link back to Shanna and I so other people can join in the fun!

**Please note, the linky party is the same here and over at Shanna, so there is no need to enter twice **

For those unsure of how to link up go check out our Q&A Page for A Lovely Year of Finishes – there are instructions on how to link up from a blog and from Flickr.

Grab a button from my sidebar and spread the LOVE!

Oh yeah and there are prizes this month (as always!), here is what our fantastic sponsors are offering:

September Prizes Include:

1. A CraftsyClass (winners choice of class)

2, 3. TWO winners each getting to choose one pdf pattern
from Sew BitterSweet Designs – that’s me!
($10 value)

4. $25.00 Gift Certificate to I Love Fabrics

5. Choice of $15 or 2 charm packs from Stitch n’ Giggles

6. A Paper Piecing Kit from Paper Pieces

7. Quilting Patterns designed by Quilting Lodge

8 & 9. A thread pack from Aurifil

Mommy & Me Totes!

8 Comments / Hopeful Threads / By Melissa Dunworth

I am sew very excited to be part of the Hopeful Threads Create H.O.P.E Designs September Sew Along!

One thing that is very important to our family is to not only give back to our community and to those in need but also to instill a love of helping others in our daughter. This month Kristy is showcasing an amazing website – Create H.O.P.E Designs, it is a collective of women who donate their time and talents to raise money for orphans worldwide. The simple act of purchasing a $5.00 pdf pattern goes to support children in need.

That being said, I had the joy and privilege of working with the Mommy & Me Color Block Tote pattern by Aivilo Charlotte Designs. I love this pattern as there are so many options for how to make it. For the closure alone you are given three different choices with complete instructions for each. What’s not to love!

Here are the 3 bags I created this month:

Anne has a thing for Halloween, so when we went to pick fabrics, it became quite evident that we were going to have Mommy & Me Halloween totes. The Hello Kitty bag has already been mailed to a friend of mine for her lovely daughter.

Another nice feature of this pattern, that I didn’t take advantage of is the fact that you don’t have to color block your totes. That is entirely optional! I love options, don’t you?

Each bag has a pocket because girls need pockets!

When I finally gave Anne her bag, she was so excited! Halloween is her favorite time of year and she is definitely what you might call a “bag lady”.

As you can see, Anne’s bag got a little extra bling, some giant ric rack! The pattern comes with instructions for sewing in some ric rack on both size bags, though I think you could easily apply the directions to other embellishments as well.

Here’s one last pic of Anne’s bag, she stuffed in her favorite lion and I snapped this pic before she ran out of the room to play with her newest accessory!

If you are in the market for a well written, fun bag with tons of different construction and size options, head over to Create H.O.P.E Designs and purchase the Mommy & Me Color Block Tote! This pattern is definitely easy enough for any skill level to complete and you will truly love your new bag.

Thank you Kristy for asking me to participate this month!!!

Author name: Melissa Dunworth