Sunday, June 26, 2011

Rainbow Stripes

Looking for a fun easy project for the summer-you seriously could make 20 of these in a day...they're that easy. I choose a Free to Grow Organic Cotton stripe and paired it with a Cloud 9 dot. A little pleating, elastic and some hemming and you're done-I only wish P was a little older and could wear this!



Dress Pattern is from the One Yard Wonders book , available at the store.

Moda Bake Shop Project

I've had people asking me what they can make with the Chalk Cloth that we carry...well I was searching thru the Moda Bake Shop yesterday for a quick project and came across this-Quilted Chalk Board....what a great way to use the Sherbet Pips Charm Packs we have in the store and the Chalk Cloth. I didn't make the back or the pockets yet but love it already-I think I may actually skip those or maybe even make a large pocket on the bottom.

I can envision doing this with a variety of other charm packs, make a kitchen themed one, boys room, girls room, classroom, etc. Yeah I'm excited! You can also get the supplies at the store for $12-includes 1 Sherbet Pips Charm Pack, 13x13 piece of Chalk Cloth. I also have Bella Solids and City Weekend Charm Packs if you prefer those instead.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Finished Product

Here's a pic of the tunic from last night, next time I'd tweak it a bit, make it longer, one size smaller and shorter sleeves(I have already made them shorter than the pattern-but maybe a bit more). My husband kept saying that he couldn't believe I made it-it's a good feeling to see my sewing skills improving :)

Also sidenote from the post yesterday about the financial planning/budgeting...we didn't buy into doing any program, we just got the book are are using it as a guideline...I personally don't see how buying into a financial "program" would make sense for some in a tough financial situation since they most likely don't have the money to spend on that in the first place. :)

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Thursday Already?

Sorry for the blog post neglect this week-I feel like our weather this week has been so crazy that it has me going crazy in a million different directions-I swear every time I have to go outside it pours, I get soaked and have to change what I'm wearing and then it's fine. I was drenched looking like a wet dog at the Dr's office for P's appt this week-I think they thought I was crazy...oh well!

So let's see what have I been working on this week? I've been doing a lot of shipping, a little sewing, a little website updating(very little) and a lot of budgeting. My husband and I actually got a babysitter on Monday so we could get everything together and go to a coffee shop and figure out our budget....ah being an adult sucks sometimes :) We are following the Dave Ramsey Get Out of Debt plan so we'll see how that goes-I'm happy for our decision but know it's going to be hard at times.

It feels a lot more like Spring around here rather than summer so I worked on this shirt yesterday and was able to get it finished today....it's this pattern....from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross
Image from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross

in this fabric....

I want to try it on and see how it looks before I take a pic....may even wear it tonight-I'm headed to a private Tim McGraw concert here in Milwaukee

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Heading out in the mail

Just a quick wash and this baby quilt will be headed out to it's new owner. The new owner is a little baby girl, but I wasn't sure if the momma was a 'pink person' so I didn't want to overwhelm her-she's also a pretty modern lady so I thought these new Monaluna patterns would be perfect and I paired them with a modern black and cream circle backing. The animals in the prints are too cute...fox and birds(sorry you prob can't see in this pic)

I love this color combination-a bit more orangey red with the blue-might make one for E & P....

Friday, June 17, 2011

For the Librarian

I made this small quilt for a librarian we know that just retired-Congrats Marie! I love this books fabric and it's been a pretty big hit with customers too-plus I thought it would be a good little reminder of the past 25 years. I was originally going to make this larger, but when I was laying it out-the pattern just seemed to want to stop here-so I didn't force it. Love how it turned out and can't wait to get it in the mail today.
Also this is what the zig zag looks like after washing-I really love it-now if I only owned a serger :)
Have a great weekend and don't forget to call your dad and wish him a Happy Father's Day

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

My 2 Cents

So I've been realizing more and more lately that I am so truly lucky to have the customers that I have. They keep my life interesting, share their projects and their lives with me and I feel as though many of them have become friends.

I also think that support is a two way street so I'd like to show some support for some of my great customers that have businesses of their own and continue to support me...take a gander

Robyn Vining Photography and Ticklebugs Photography
Robyn takes some of the most amazing photos and is so extremely creative...She came up with this idea and took this pic of P for us(one of the many photos we fell in love with from that day)
copyright RobynViningPhotgraphy


Under the Apply Tree
Courtney is a great resource is you're thinking about use cloth diapers or learning more about them. Wouldn't it be great if she opened a store selling cloth diapers in the area-just a little nudge from me :)

Mabel and Me
Ok so I know I just talked about Emma and how great her items are, but seriously she makes the cutest dresses and most durable sandwich bags-E has not even been able to put a dent in the bag and that's pretty big if you know my 2 year old(or any for that matter)



Generations in Style and October Designs

Jenna and her mom Dawn are a great example of the idea that style is hereditary. They come in and work together to pick great fabrics and have such unique ideas of how to put everything together. Generations in Style features cute dresses and other baby items. I can't wait to start buying some for P. October Designs has graphic announcements geared towards adopted children-what a great idea!


Ok that's it for me tonight-tomorrow I'll be posting a project I whipped up today-just have to wash it first.


Tuesday, June 14, 2011

July Classes

You can now sign up for July classes by calling the store at 414.482.7373 or emailing drawstringstudio[at]gmailDOTcom with your contact info and we will contact you for the class fee. All class fees are due in advance and non-refundable.
All classes are limited to 4 participants unless otherwise noted.


How to Choose Colors for Your Projects
Tuesday July 5 7:00-8:00pm
Instructor: Danielle Lussier
Description: Do you always have a difficult time trying to pick out coordinating fabrics for quilts and other projects. I'll discuss the common ways to pick fabrics and assist you with picking fabrics for your own projects.
Fee: $10-This class is open to 8 participants.


Quilting Block Basics
Mondays July 12, 19 7:00-9:30pm
Instructor: Elaine Wong Haselhuhn
Description: You will leave this two day class knowing how to create three different types of quilting blocks. Basket weave/rail fence, autumn hints, cups and saucers
Class participants must have working knowledge of their machines-one machine is avail for rental from the store for $10
Fee: $50 + supplies











Hostess Apron with Pocket
Thursday July 14 6:45-9:00pm
Instructor: Danielle Lussier
Description: You will leave this one day class with a finished product and a sense of accomplishment. This half apron is perfect for working on your sewing skills and learning a new project.
Class participants must have working knowledge of their machines-one machine is avail for rental from the store for $10
Fee: $15 + supplies














Baby Sling
Sunday July 17 1:00-3:00pm
Instructor: Sarah Rachelle
Description: You will leave this class with finished baby sling ready to use. Perfect project for beginners. Ring Sling Baby Sling.
Class participants must have working knowledge of their machines-one machine is avail for rental from the store for $10
Fee: $20 + supplies















Hostess Apron with Pocket
Sunday July 24 11:00-1:30 pm
Instructor: Danielle Lussier
Description: You will leave this one day class with a finished product and a sense of accomplishment. This half apron is perfect for working on your sewing skills and learning a new project.
Class participants must have working knowledge of their machines-one machine is avail for rental from the store for $10
Fee: $15 + supplies














Enjoy!



Friday, June 10, 2011

Magic and a Confession

So it's not really true magic but I think it's pretty neat....I've always read about other people having idea boards and I've never really thought about doing one, but then I began to get frustrated with having to move my projects around when space ran low and I decided to jump on board. There are so many different ways to do this and different materials to use-some people use batting, insulation sheets, flannel or a few other things I can't think of off of the top of my head. I decided to use flannel because I'd be able to reuse it without having to worry too much about the size I cut-with batting I feel like you would have to work off of a standard quilt size to make it truly functional.
As you can see all you have to do is hang it and it's ready to go, the quilt squares "stick" to it and you can play around with the design and are able to step back and look at it from a distance-which is a big plus for me.
Ok on to the confession.....I think I'm a pink person! I know this isn't a bad thing so fellow pink people don't take offense but I've never seen myself as a "pink person". But along with owning this store comes the realization that I must be. I tend to order a lot of pink, I do projects in pink and am currently working on a grey and pink quilt-see above pink for the start of the quilt(oh and thanks to Kelly over at Project: Cottage for the inspiration to do a zig zag quilt. Yet however I don't dress in pink, don't really buy a lot of pink for my daughter and am not doing her room in pink-atleast that's not the plan right now, but I really don't have a plan for it. So yes I guess I now consider myself a "pink person" hmmmmmm......

Oh I almost forgot-have you ever dropped something on your toe and it hurt so bad that you thought you were going to throw up? If it's happened to you-you totally know what I mean-those of you that don't, I hope you never do. Yeah happened to me today-I bought this pegboard to hang patterns a new way and really didn't expect it to be that heavy when I dropped it-not fun.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Put a few great things together and look what you get

Some Shades of Grey from Daisy Janie, a big print from Tina Givens and Ivory from Pure Organics along with the Atkinson Designs Urban Cabin pattern-all of which can be found in our store...oh and throw in an extremely talented seamstress-Elaine and this is what you get.....Thanks again Elaine-I love how it turned out!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

In the mail today

So ever since I had my shop featured on Heartsy I've been worried that I'd become addicted to it and start buying everything I saw...well I've held back a bit but I did purchase a few things and one of them came in the mail today. I think I'm going to have to work this into P's room design-that is if I can ever decide on a fabric for the curtains. It is from PennyWishes (found here) and it came super fast which is always key for me.



Winner, Winner, Winner

Ok so here goes......our winner is................


Shanna!!!!!!

Shanna said...
Blogged about ya!

Shanna
http://queenofthecastles.com/?p=223

JUNE 6, 2011 3:56 PM


A big thanks to all that entered and as a thank you-get 15% off your next order-jsut email me for the code drawstringstudio[at]gmailDOTcom.


Thanks...Shanna send me an email too and we'll get the details figured out :)

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Giveaway Extended!

So I had a great weekend out in the sun with my family and I decided to extend the giveaway in case anyone else missed it because they were out enjoying the nice weather like I was. So if you haven't already entered go HERE for details. Deadline is now Tuesday at 9pm CST.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Dusty & Old becomes Green & Shiny

I picked up this little rocking chair this past week on the same trip that I picked up the textiles-I had some green paint at the house that I was planning on using for another project but never got around to it. A few coats and this baby is as good as new and perfect for our family.