Monday, September 24, 2012

Let's Get Aquainted Blog Hop

I have long legs.

It means that I'm often letting down the hem of pants so they fit better.  I finally asked for a sewing machine to help me with this task, because I wasn't doing a very good job.  Then I made a table cloth for our long table.  It was fun...so I decided to make a quilt for our bed.  It was enjoyable enough to make another.  I thought about stopping at this point, but I happened upon the blogging community and haven't looked back since. 

Here are the things I've finished this year.
Upper left: Window Boxes.  Upper middle: quilting.  Upper right: November Stars
Middle: Tetris
Lower left: Baby quilt.  Lower middle: locked hearts (in progress).  Lower right: Don't Touch Me
A few more (random) things about me:
*I have my masters degree in mechanical engineering but am currently a stay-at-home mom.
*I'm a Christian.  My favorite verse is from Philippians - "Rejoice in the Lord always; I will say it again, Rejoice!"
*I really like to be organized, although my sewing area doesn't portray that very well.
*I like to read, play board games, video games, and Frisbee.  (The current video game is mine craft.  I'm breeding bees while my husband does all the hard work to make our base usable.)

Here are some of the standard Q&A from Beth.
*How long have you been quilting?  About three years.
*Favorite quilting tip(s)?  Listen to your sewing machine
*Favorite blogging tip(s)?  Put a link at the top to show your finishes.  (Also, I really like it when I can read the whole post in Google reader.)
*Favorite fabric (or wish list fabric)?  Bright solids at the moment.
*Book you are currently reading?  I'm reading "Magician: Master" and the Little House on the Prairie series.
*Favorite quilting tool?  The rotary cutter.  I cut my first quilt out with a scissors because I didn't want to invest much if I didn't enjoy it and it took so long. 
*Favorite music to listen to while quilting?  Actually, I quilt by the computer so I usually have Netflix playing.
* Binding - by hand or by machine?  Machine.  I did a doll quilt by hand and it was not pretty.


I have a reversible coaster tutorial for today.



Total fabric requirements:  13" x 4.5" in three different colors

Cut the following from each of three different fabrics:
*6 of  4.5" x 1.5" strips
*4 of  4.5" x 1" strips

Sew them together using a 1/4 seam so that you have every color combination as shown in the picture.  (The picture is organized by middle stripe.  The left two have a light purple middle stripe, the ones in the middle have a dark purple, and the ones on the right have a white stripe.)

I finished my coasters using a similar method to the tutorial from Throw a Wrench in the Works.  Put two blocks right sides together.  (I put all the blocks with the same middle stripe together as shown above.)  Put a piece of batting the same size as the coasters (4.5"x 4.5") on one side.  Sew a 1/4 seam around the outside, leaving a 2" hole in the center of one side for turning it right-side out. Before I turned it right-side out, I trimmed the corners to reduce some of the bulk.  I then did a small topstich around the outside and was done!




 Thanks again to Beth for hosting this blog hop!
 Plum and June
Make sure to visit the others this week too!  Amanda from Material Girl Quilts today and Vicky from Vicky K Creating and Francine from Mocha Wild Child on Thursday. 

23 comments:

  1. Great post :) Love your little coasters - they are so sweet!

    It's funny how you can start a hobby without even realising it - you have some gorgeous projects there!

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  2. Your mosaic is lovely! Thanks for your nice clear coaster tutorial. Good to learn a bit more about you on the hop:-)

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  3. So nice to learn more about you Amanda! Your finishes this year are gorgeous and those coasters are super cute. Thanks for sharing.
    Amanda

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  4. Oh I love those coasters! I really like purple and someday want to make a black/purple quilt :)

    BTW, I love your I spy - I just made 2 I spy quilts - one for my mom because she loves the bright colors and, well, she's a kid at heart:) and the other for a friend's baby.

    Thanks for blogging and have a wonderful blessed day!

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  5. Wow, I can't imagine cutting out a quilt without my rotary cutter. Your brave.

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  6. hello, it's nice to meet you! The coasters are so sweet!

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  7. Okay, that is, I think, the best reason I have heard yet for how someone started sewing!

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  8. Love the coasters, great tutorial thanks

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  9. Oooh, those are fun! Thanks for sharing!

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  10. Hi Amanda...nice to get to know you on the hop! You have some pretty projects there and the coasters are so cute. Thank goodness for those long legs ;)

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  11. Hi Amanda, nice to meet you. Your mosaic of finishes is so pretty. Great tutorial.

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  12. Hi Amanda stopping by on the blog hop! Nice to meet you and thanks for the coaster tutorial -- like the stripes!

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  13. hehe I think I will have to make my coasters a bit bigger - I only have oversized mugs, I see no use in having 2 or 3 cups of coffee if I can just use the big mug. Thanks for the tutorial.

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  14. Nice to meet you on the blog hop. I am very impressed you have your Masters in mechanical engineering. That is no small feet. Thanks for the tutorial. Those are cute coasters.

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  15. Great tutorial.
    I am glad I hopped over here on the Blog Hop now.
    Is there a way to help blog readers be able to see the whole post in Google Reader?

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  16. SO great to meet you, Amanda. That's one of my favorite verses too! Love your finishes!

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  17. Nice to meet you Amanda and thank you for the great tutorial!

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  18. Nice to meet you! You are very productive! They all look great!

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  19. Hi Amanda. I first met your while doing the Tetris QAL but it's nice to know you better. Still love your finished Tetris.

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  20. Gorgeous coasters! I love the whale fabric in your I spy quilt, I'm using some for my nephew's quilt. I also love Magician!

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  21. Great to meet you on the Blog Hop and find out more about you :) I'm so envious of you having to lengthen your trousers - my machine only knows how to shorten them ;)

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Thanks for commenting...I love seeing what you have to say!