Sew The Library: Needle Book

Welcome to another edition of Sew the Library! I'm so happy you stopped by. For this month's project I chose a lovely book that has in my library for quite some time but I've never got around to making a single project from it. It is such a shame because it is an excellent book. Hex-Go-Go by Tacha Bruecher gives us a new take on traditional  English paper piecing with great projects for all skill levels. I decided to start small and tackle one of the more beginner friendly projects: the Rosette Needle book. The colors I chose are very different from the ones on the book, but I really like how it turned out. It feels very warm and the brown and oranges really got me thinking about autumn. However, I ran into a little problem while making my needle book. I didn't have enough felt for the 'pages' of the book so I ended up with only two pages rather than four as the pattern suggests. Oh well sometimes we have to improvise :)

How a bout you? Have you been sewing from your library? Please link up any projects that you have completed or are WIP's from a book or a magazine.

Thank you for stopping by!

XO

Martha

Ho, Ho, Ho & On We Sew, Giveaway & Free Pattern

Thank you for stopping by to this month's Ho, Ho, Ho & Oh We Sew. I'm so glad you are here. On this month's stop Chelsea from Patch the Giraffe and I are sharing hosting responsibilities. She has a wonderful tutorial to make a Christmas pillow cover.  It feels a bit strange to be talking about Christmas right in the middle of July, but it is never too early to get a head start on our handmade Christmas makings. Fiona @ Celtic Thistle Stitches & Paula @ Mud Pies & Pins  had the most brilliant idea to organize the link up and get us motivated to start early making our Christmas presents. 

At the beginning of the year I made and envelope bag to keep my date book and stationery organized (you can see it here)  and it has been such an useful bag that I thought I'll make another one to carry my iPad and share the pattern with you.  It super easy to make! And the would make great personalized gifts. You can download the pattern here. This is my fist try at pattern writing so if you have any questions or need clarification, please let me know. 

An now on to the giveaway... this month's giveaway is sponsored by The Fat Quarter Shop. The winner will receive a Mini Charm Pack. There are over 60 to choose from. To enter the giveaway please ink up you makes below:

An InLinkz Link-up

Thank you for stopping by!

XO 

Martha.

Finally Off The Needles

Happy Sunday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Things continue to be a bit hectic around here so there hasn't been a lot of finishes. I have so many projects I wish to work on, but sadly so little time. My poor sewing machine feels very neglected lately. But I've been working on my knitting (I love how portable it is) I carry my projects around everywhere I go. I love to knit in the car and my commute to work with the morning light is my absolute favorite time to get some knitting done. In the past  couple of weeks I made so much progress on my Nae shawl that I have been working on for quite some time (you can read about it here and here) and today I finally finished it! I love the way it turned out. I can't wait to take more photos and show you what a lovely pattern this is. 

I hope you have a wonderful week.

*Linking up to Wool on Sundays at Rainbow Hare Quilts and Yarn Along at Small Things*

XO

Martha

Sew The Library: Felted Necklace

Hello and welcome to another edition of Sew the Library! I can't believe how fast this month went by. For this month's project I chose a book that has been in my library for quite some time: Stitch Magic by Alison Reid. The book is about techniques for stitching fabric to create different textures; some of the techniques include pleating, pintuckig, cording and smocking. I think it is a great book to have in the library and the techniques could be applied to many other projects. This necklace is part of the chapter about folded shapes: basically you cut small pieces of fabric and fold them to add a three-dimesional effect to a project. The necklace came together very quickly and super fun to make.

How about you? Did you finish or are working on a project from a book or a magazine? Please link up your projects and don't forget to visit others. 

Thank you for stopping by!

XO

Martha

On the Needles...

Happy Sunday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I'm so happy to have a few minutes to write on this space. Life has been crazy busy around here and sometimes it feels like there are not enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do. But slowly things are getting back to a normal pace. While I've been mostly absent from the sewing room and blogging most days I'm able to sneak in a few minutes of knitting during my morning commute. Even though I'm still working on my Nae Shawl; I decided to start another shawl. I found the yarn on clearance at my local crafts store and I couldn't pass it up. It is super soft. I wasn't too sure about the color at first but the texture and soft feel immediately caught my attention. However, the more I work on it, the more I like the color. It is so different from the colors that I usually pick, but I think it is good to try something different once in a while. 

Wishing you a beautiful week and lots of crafting time.

XO

Martha 

Sew The Library: Needle Case

Welcome to another edition of Sew the Library! For this month's project I decided to make a project from an old time favorite: The Zakka Style book. I just love every single project in that book and hopefully one day I could say that I had made them all. This is the Patchwork Pencil Case designed by Shannon Dreval, but instead of using it as a pencil case I decided to use is as a needle case. The size is perfect for holding a set of double pointed needles or a pair of circular needles. And since I do most of my knitting on the go is always good to carry an extra set. 

How about you? Did you finish or are currently working on a project from a book or a magazine? Please link your finished projects or WIP's* below and don't forget to visit others. 

*I understand that sometimes it takes time to finish a large project. So I decided to add the option of including works in progress.

Thank you for stopping by!

XO

Martha

Wonky Log Cabin Quilt

I'm so excited to finally share with you my finished Log Cabin Quilt. I just love the way it turned out. Although, I can't really take full credit for it... I made this quilt for my husband because for the first time he requested I made him a quilt of his own (you can read more about it here). He was very involved in the design process and always checking on the progress of this quilt. It was actually really cute to see him with his very serious face trying to make a decision every time I presented him with fabric or quilting options to choose from.

The main fabric is Robert Kauffman Brussels Washer Yarn Dye in black. Brussels is very similar to their Essex Yarn Dye linen; basically the only difference is that Brussels is a linen/rayon blend while Essex is a linen/cotton blend. It doesn't give the impression but this fabric is very soft and has a wonderful drape. The color variation of the fibers reflect the light so beautifully and in a way it has a very masculine feel to it. For the backing I used a very soft   flannel with a subtle crosshatch print. I also quilted it with a crosshatch design using a dark gray thread. I love how the quilting sort of disappears on the black fabric and shows up more at the centers of the log cabins. 

It was such a fun project and a really enjoyed having a collaborator. 

On another note: Cassandra is the winner of the fabric giveaway.  Thank you for participating and all of your wonderful comments. I really appreciate every single one of them.

Wishing you a wonderful week!

XO

Martha

Giveaway!

Hello friends! Welcome to the new home of Weekend Doings. To celebrate this new phase I'm having a little giveaway to say thank you for your support. And if I don't say it enough, thank you. Your comments mean the world to me and it is what keeps me going on this little project that is this blog. 

So on to the giveaway: I'm giving away two fat quarters of Robert Kaufman Pop Posies 100% organic cotton and a packet of Schmetz quilting needles. To enter just leave a comment. I'll be happy to ship internationally so everyone is welcome to participate. The giveaway will stay open until Friday May 14 and on Saturday I'll announce a winner.

Thank you so much for stopping by,

XO

Martha