Sew-Along: Midget Block 1: Ohio Star

I recently came across a beautiful Depression Era sampler quilt as I was researching quilt ideas to use up all my scraps. I love making scrappy quilts and I hate tossing out fabric from the projects I've completed. Needless to say, I have tons of scraps! :)

Sentimental Stitches has a sample quilt series called Midget Blocks that reproduces the Depression Era quilt. Each block measures 4" square once completed and there are 196 of these little blocks.

I know, I don't need another project, but I fell in love with it and couldn't pass it up!

The first 50 blocks you'll need to purchase. And at $22 (that's .44 cents each) I couldn't resist. The instructions are well worth it, along with modern updates to the patterns such as paper piecing. The rest of the blocks are free!

Here's the first of my blocks, completed. This one is titled 'Ohio Star'. It's been updated to a paper pieced block that goes together super fast! I chose a minty green for the star and a shiny pink dot on pink for the background. I did my best to line up those little circles, maybe I should have chosen an all-over pink pattern instead. Oh well, it still works for me! I'm not too big of a perfectionist. ;)

Anyone want to join me for a sew-along?

Add your completed blocks to the Flickr Group!

Heather's Weekly Gazette, Issue 3

Things have been busy as always around here! I took a little downtime this week to work on easy things since Nature has decided to bloom, driving me inside with horrible sinus headaches. I’ll survive fortunately. :)

WIP’s (works in progress)

Open-Backed Dress Mock-Up

I finally completed my test sewing on the new pattern. The fit is going to be really nice and I've decided to add bust cups to the final product. I think the dress was designed for a stick, and I am not.

• Dress Style 1: Triangle Back

I only needed to do a minor adjustment on the back. One of the triangles gaped open oddly so I just cut off the bottom of the triangle.

• Dress Style 2: Strappy Back

This dress also needed minor adjustments. The top front gaped open a little so I measured what needed to be removed and took it off my pattern.

• Lastly, on both dresses I altered the necklines for a completely different look. :)

Mending

I've also done quite a bit of mending this past week…. torn pants, holes in quilts, that kind of thing. Nothing really fancy but I’m so glad it’s all crossed of my list now!

There were several other things I worked on but those were just the highlights. ;)

The Yarn Alcove

I finally finished hand winding all that new yarn I got! The turquoise yarn is so beautiful!

I’m still slowly knitting away on my Woodland Shawl. Sorry I forgot a photo of it for this week. Hopefully it’ll be longer (and prettier) next week so I can show it off then! You can find me and the shawl pattern on Ravelry. My handle is hgreenhomegoods over there and I'd love to connect with more yarnies! :)

UFO's (unfinished objects)

Oh boy, UFO’s… one in particular has been a thorn in my side. When I got this project, I was in love, ‘oh, this is nothing!’,I said... ‘I’ll have this done by Christmas!’, I said. Little did I know how involved this project was! The Canvas Log Cabin has gotten most of my attention this week. I’ve stitched while watching TV. I’ve stitched in-between projects and chores. I spent a whole day stitching (and watching Season 1 of S.H.I.E.L.D.- yes, all 12 hours of it). And I STILL don’t feel like I’ve made much progress on it. I’ve gotten the whole interior stitched up but not put together. I have a few bits here and there to stitch up before I can put the second floor loft together and stitch it to the interior. BUT, I’m so much further along than I was a week ago. Progress, one step at a time.

New Toys

I hit up a Hancock’s fabric store that was going out of business this past week and bought some good stuff on sale. I found some fun fabrics but also invested in another pair of Gingher scissors. If you don’t have good quality sewing shears or are in the market for new ones, get this brand! I also got a Sidewinder by Simplicity. The verdict is still out on this one for me. I think it’s a little flimsy but hopefully it’ll save me some time winding bobbins. And lastly, I got a couple vintage style patterns. I love Vogue sewing patterns but at $20+ each a pop buying them isn’t usually an option. I managed to get these for $4 each! :) I think that’s a win!

Home & School

My college classes are still going. I’m starting to feel like they’ll never end. I’m not particularly enjoying my Merchandising 2 class which probably has a lot to do with the way I’m feeling. My fingers are crossed though that I can still pass everything with flying colors. 6 weeks and counting!

My dryer has been giving me a headache this past month. First, the heating element went out & we had to wait 2 weeks for parts and repairs. Then, the panel with all the knobs need a clip replaced and the repair guy shorted out my dryer. He actually blew the fuses while replacing the clips. What repair guy doesn’t unplug or ask for the breaker to be turned off before working… apparently this guy. After doing our own trouble shooting and being thankful we had new fuses my dryer was back to working. Hey, I only had to hang 1 load on the laundry line. I got really lucky with my busy schedule. Things could have been much worse!

Lastly, my youngest son is starting Kindergarten next year (grab the tissues!) and we’ve been busy with Kindergarten Round Up & Screening. He’s going to do excellent in school. He got high marks on everything at the screening. We both also went to have our eyes checked. He’s never had his done and it was all kinda strange to him. I had mine checked too just to show him it’s ok and not too worry (and because it’s been 15 years since my last check up)! He’s not color blind and has 25/25 vision- those letters are tricky for a still learning 5 year old! And I have 20/20 vision, with an excellent report. I had a photo taken of the back of my eye and the Dr let me take a photo. lol It’s kinda weird looking!

OK, so now that I’ve grossed you all out I’ll sign off with a little something to look forward to….

Look for details this week!!!

Heather's Weekly Gazette, Issue 2

Ok, well, it's been a little over a week since I last wrote. Life has sure been busy lately!

Social Media Outlet

Umm, yeah, this has been slacking a bit. I've had my nose in my college books and haven't focused on much of what's going on the world lately. I hope to pre-schedule a few things in the coming weeks though! 

My Facebook page is Heather's Green Home Goods. My Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter handle is hgreenhomegoods.

Business Buzz

All of my business outlets have reopened! I really enjoyed the break but the business is not only my livelihood but also something that I love doing. I'm working on a few sales and giveaway announcements so keep an eye out!

Henandchickcloth

Micromops

Heather's Green Home Goods

Business Undertakings

This week I shipped off 407 microfiber rounds that have been serged together with a hidden waterproof layer. I still need to cut and sew another 193 and get them out the door. They are headed to the Old Soap Factory where they are packaged with a natural wax which is great to use to refurnish wood cutting boards, etc. 

The Yarn Alcove

I made a little progress on the shawl I've been working on but not enough to share. Instead I wanted to show you what I bought at a local yarn shop last week while on my break. OOOhhh, AAAhhh!

 In Other News

I was able to get work done on my left arm recently. I've been wanting a half sleeve that really speaks to me. I gave several designs to my tattoo guy and he delivered a really great custom piece. All the black is done and I get color next week. I think it's amazing!

Heather's Weekly Gazette

Hi, Everyone!

I've really been missing blogging as a creative outlet. Time and life hasn't really allowed for much of it for a while though. Instead, I thought I'd take photos throughout the week and compile a weekly post. I hope to write about how my business is going, what I'm sewing for it, what I'm sewing for myself... you know all those WIPs (works in progress). I'm also going to share about my yarn adventures, mistakes and things I'm improving on, and UFOs (unfinished objects). Besides my crafty side I'll share with you things about life and my college experiences! Hopefully, this helps me get the juices flowing so I can share some more interesting things in the future. :)

Social Media Outlet

As with the blogging, much of my social media outlets get pushed by the wayside. I do try to keep up as often as I can though to let you all know what's going on. My Facebook page is Heather's Green Home Goods. My Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter handle is hgreenhomegoods. (As a side note: I've been on instagram for awhile. Recently something happened to my account and it was deleted! I have no idea why! I had to create a new account and start all over. Oh well, it will all work out for the best.)

Business Buzz

I've been so busy with college that I've needed to take a break. I've got 2 Etsy shops, my own .com, and I sell on Amazon. My Etsy shops and .com are on vacation and pointed towards Amazon. I have Amazon set up so I can ship them my items and they ship Amazon Prime. I'll let you know when I open everything back up again.

Business Undertakings

This week I've been taking my time sewing on some purses for a local salon. The purses are the perfect niche for this place... lots of ladies getting dolled up and checking out all the products on hand. I finished a pink purse and am working on a fun green and turquoise scallop purse. You can buy them at A Passion for Nails (& Hair!).

My Sewing Pursuits

I've been sewing on a muslin mock up of a fun new summer dress for myself. (For those that don't know, a muslin mock up is made out of cheap muslin fabric. If the pattern isn't fitting just right then corrections can be made on the muslin and transferred back to the pattern. This saves your good fabric for the final product!) On this pattern I already had to adjust the sizing up to fit and have started sewing both bodice styles. Trying on and fitting are coming soon. I really like this pattern because of the open back and I can't wait to show off my tattoos with these fun dresses!

The Yarn Alcove

I've grown a lot over the past year as a knitter. One project that I've really wanted to make was a shawl. I finally found a pattern that I love! It's called the Woodland Shawl. I'm working in a self striping fingering weight green yarn. I *think* it's Stroll Hand Painted Sock Yarn but I've had it for 2 years waiting for me to decide what to make from it and I can't find the info card for it. I started over the weekend and have knitted up to the first leaf pattern repeat. Oh, I'm loving it so far!

UFO's (unfinished objects)

I have tons of UFO's. I think I have CADD, that's Crafty Attentive Deficit Disorder for those who don't know I start a project, get bored, and start something else. My goal is to pick one of my UFO's and make some progress on it!

This week I pick my canvas log cabin project. My next step is to work part of the roof. It's a pretty big section so I'm not sure if I'll get it done this week. I'll try to work on it before I pick up my knitting since I can do both of them while watching TV in the evenings with the family. I'll update my progress next week!

Home & Other Stuff

This post is getting pretty long so I better wrap things up. Everything at home seems to be running pretty smoothly. I'm really trying to take it easy. ;) I'm on Spring Break and head back to the college grindstone next week so things will probably change. I've also been exercising and I hope to talk about what I'm training for in a future post. Until then... have a great week!