new moon trailer!!!

*scroll down and pause my music before you hit play*

only 174 more days!!!

*swoon*

*sigh*

*squeal*

rachel=greedy for these.

i'll take one of each, please.

in every cut moda has.

fat quarters, charm packs, jelly rolls,

layer cakes, honey buns, dessert rolls,

turnovers and of course...right off of the bolt.

then times that by 2.

because i ♥ them both THAT much!!!

yeppers. sounds like a plan to me.

p.s. if yall are looking for my giveaway...it's HERE.

may giveaway day.

comments closed!!! thanks yall!!!

winner is leanna!!!

congrats!!!

i'll need your address please!!!

ssg3369 {at} hotmail {dot} com

thanks.

♥ rach

thanks to sew mama sew, it's may giveaway day!!!
yayyy!!!


anyone wanna have a go at winning this scrappy little number???
yeah...i was hoping you'd say that.


it's no secret that i'm a movie buff.
i can hold legitimate conversations on movie quotes alone.

so here's what yall have to do...
tell me your all time fav movie AND your fav quote from that movie.
easy peasy.


so i'll go first:
i'm rachel.
my fav movie of all time is legends of the fall with the super delish brad pitt.
and i just realized that my fav quote isn't blogger friendly at all. niiiice.
but yall get the drift.


so do your thing.
random winner will be chosen via name in a hat method on may 31st.

the most beautiful eye candy.

the top is done!!!

the top is done!!!

the top is done!!!

it was done by friday, so i made my goal.

the pics have been posted in my flickr photostream all weekend.
it's been making the rounds in flickr land.

i've had nothing but positive response.

even though it's not done yet, it has quickly become my all time fav quilt.

oh how i ♥ thee.

and i ♥ the 17 other people that helped me make it!!!

so now...i'm afraid of quilting this beast.

there are a gozillion seams in this bad boy!!!

so i'm open to suggestions.

how would yall quilt it???

honestly.

would you...

stipple like this???

straight like this???

or send it off and let someone else figure it out???

p.s. those mini pinwheels were the devil.

but aren't they cute???
i'm SO glad i suffered through them.

memorial day weekend.

fabric lamp shade tutorial.

i'm pretty sure yall are gonna like this one.

it's over at the moda bake shop.

so go make this gal happy and show me some love.

{direct link is HERE.}

toot your own horn!!!

if you make this, add the pic to my p.s. i quilt: sew & tell flickr group.

{and of course the moda bake shop flick group too.}

just a little tease.

ooooohhhhh. aaaaahhhhh.

big difference from yesterday huh?!?!

it only needs borders.

mine. all mine.

i made these blocks for me. yes me.

these are for bee inspired.

the 4 bigger blocks were my block contribution to my own quilt.

and that adorable little stack at the top...

those are mini pinwheels for the sashing.

pure cuteness i tell you!!!

trust me when i say...

"this is going to be the most amazing pinwheel quilt EVER!!!"

i might be a little bit biased, that's just how i roll sometimes.

i'm trying like crazy to get this top completely pieced before friday.

where are my cheerleaders when i need them???

i'm thinking it's time for a pep rally.

vanessa made me do it.

that's right, vanessa, it's ALL your fault!!!

in other news...

my new goodie will be hitting the moda bake shop later on this week!!!

so watch for it.

p.s. cathy from wish upon a quilt emailed me...

i promised her i'd tell yall that they're having a blowout sale!!!

been baking...

a little goodie for the moda bake shop!!!

"wishing i was at market" retail therapy.

me=ohio.

market=pennsylvania.

{only 3 hours away!!!}
so here i sat totally bummed.

and then it happened...

i got a little package via the fat quarter shop!!!

yayyy!!!

i just ♥ how they package their stuff!!!

everything in the bottom three pics came from them.

{compliments of momma...thanks again momma.}

now about that top pic...

i may have made a little pit stop into the local quilt shop today.

i may have bought a glace charm pack.

and i may have bought some shangri la yardage.

but yall can't prove it though!!!

infact, this blog post will self destruct in 10.5 seconds.

block o' strings tutorial.

as promised...a string block tutorial. {the SUPER easy way.}

gather some strips from your stash.

any length, any width, any color, any pattern.

i think i took out about 60ish, just to have a nice variety.

you're gonna want 4 of those strips to be a solid white or a white print.

you will want to make sure that your white strips are all the same size.

{mine were about 1 1/2".}

take some regular printer paper and make four 6 1/2" squares.

on the wrong side of your white strip...
spray a thin coat of quilt basting spray.
quickly adhere it to the middle of your 6 1/2" square.

this is optional...
trim down the white strips.
it doesn't have to be exact, as you can see on mine.

now it's audition time.
play around with your strips until you are happy with them.

i can get 4 to 5 strips on each side of the white strip.
you won't know exactly how many until you start sewing.

lay your first strip right side down onto your white strip.

turn your stitch length down to about 1.5
{just trust me!!!}
and sew your first strip on.

after each strip, press with a dry iron.
it makes a difference to press after each strip, so don't skip it.

keep adding strips until you cover the right side of the paper.

now flip your paper over.
go again until you cover this side of the paper.

your covered block should look something like this.

and the back should look like this.

trim off the stragglers using the paper as your guide.

now here's the fun part.
remember how i told yall to shorten your stitch length???
that was so the needle would perforate the paper for you.
just tear off the paper gently, like you would a check out of your checkbook.
you'll be doing this in sections.

flip it over and voila...you've just made your very own mini string block.

now this is important:
spray this block with a lightweight starch.
{i prefer to use magic sizing.}

the reason why i starch is for 3 reasons...
it flattens the seams for easier quilting.
it retains the proper block size instead of stretching.
and lastly, i find that it's much easier to baste my quilts with a crisper, flatter block.

make 3 more of these mini string blocks.

audition time again!!!
play around with your blocks until you are happy.

sew the top 2 mini blocks together.
press seam to the right.

sew the bottom 2 mini blocks together.
press seam to the left.

sew the top to the bottom.
press using more lightweight starch.

and now you have a complete 12 1/2" string block.
isn't it gorgeous?!?!

you can make a doll quilt out of this block. {like this one.}
you can put 3 of these blocks together to make a great tablerunner.
or put 12{ish} of them together for one sweet quilt.

note to add: make sure to change your needle before going back to fabric.

i use a completely seperate needle for paper foundations.

hope yall enjoy.

oh and one more thing...

i started a flickr group for the peeps that make my tutorials.

{this includes my moda bake shop tutorials too.}

i'd ♥ to see them all in one place!!!

so please...go join!!!

p.s. i quilt: sew & tell