Friday Tutorial

Over at Amanda's! Go check out Jana's tutorial for a hanging chair sign. Of course you can also turn it into a pillow, a small bag, or just keep it as the cute little chair sign it was meant to be :)
Jana is also one the most funny people I know, so you will definitely have a good time reading her tutorial!
And you should also follow Amanda's website because she has a giveaway coming up (with lots of delicious fabric to win) and you really don't want to miss it!

Have fun reading and a great weekend!

Johanna

Auf Amandas Blog hat heute wieder einer des Creative Teams gepostet. Jana hat nicht nur viele gute Ideen sondern ist auch eine der lustigsten Leute, die ich kenne.
Für einen guten Start ins Wochenende und einem netten Tutorial über einen kleinen Stuhlbehang, aus dem man aber auch ein Kissen oder eine kleine Tasche machen kann, bitte hier lang.

Ein schönes Wochenende,
Johanna

Sheep. Or: my machine won't let me fmq

The last few days were busy with catching up on the million things that don't get done when you are actually busy :)
Es ist immer wieder überraschend, wie wenig man schafft, wenn man endlich einmal Zeit hätte, um die Dinge zu machen zu denen man monatelang nicht gekommen ist. Klingt komisch? Ist aber so :)

And, those two feet for my machine finally arrived. The free motion foot is fine and it seems to work, however the walking foot is not really fitting. My machine is too fast for it, it just can't keep up.
Now, my first attempts with the fm foot were really disappointing. Not at all what I had thought it would be. It did get a bit better but after three hours of trying I was quite upset so I searched the internet for help. Surprise, surprise, there is no course in Munich in the next month. And no private lessons.
I know that you will all tell me to practice more but the thing is: I have an industrial machine. I can't slow down the pace at which the needle drops (I can slow down the stitches per minutes though) and I can't drop my feed dogs, I just covered it up with a piece of cardboard.
So it might not be me who is not able to fmq but my machine. And I don't waste more time and money just to maybe find out that I would have to buy another machine in order to actually be able to fmq well.
Anybody out there with an industrial machine that can fmq? Would love to hear suggestions on this topic! Really anything!

Meine ersten Versuche mit Free Motion Quilting sind total in die Hose gegangen. Meine beiden Maschinenfüßchen sind am Mittwoch angekommen und ich habe sie gleich ausprobiert. Der Walking Foot passte... zumindest bis das Maschinchen loslegte und er klappernd den Geist aufgab :) Sie ist einfach zu schnell!
Der Free Motion Foot hat aber gepasst. Nur richtig free motionen (oder wie auch immer man das jetzt nennen soll) ging auch nicht so recht. Nachdem ich gemerkt habe, dass nur richtig Gas geben mir eine perfekte Fadenspannung garantiert, bin ich durch meine Probe-Mini-Quilts geheizt...
Nach drei Stunden habe ich es dann aufgegeben und das Internet nach Hilfe gefragt. Im nächsten Monat gibt es in München absolut keine Kurse und Privatunterricht kann man hier wohl total vergessen.
Allerdings möchte ich da doch bald Bescheid wissen, denn noch mehr Geld und Zeit zu investieren, nur um am Schluss festzustellen, dass nicht ich zu ungeschickt dafür bin, sondern meine Maschine schlicht ungeeignet ist und ich eine neue kaufen müsste, das will ich nicht so wirklich.
Also, nicht dass ich gegen eine neue Nähmaschine bin :) Gibt es denn jemanden, der seine Industriemaschine zum Free Motion Quilting überzeugen konnte?

In other news, Sally has her tutorial up on Amanda's site today! Go look at it if you like sheep! If you don't like sheep, go look at it as well!

I have enjoyed being in this team so much, it really is a lot of fun to work with the other ladies!

Amanda also has kits on her website available so that if you like a tutorial and want to recreate it yourself, you can just order it and make it.

Anderes Thema, Sally hat ihr Tutorial auf Amandas Seite veröffentlicht! Husch husch, rüber! Es hat was mit Schafen zu tun :) Es macht wirklich Spaß, in diesem Team zu sein, auch wenn es ein wenig anstrengend ist. Ich bin z.B. immer die Letzte, die emailt. Naja, jemand muss es ja sein :D

Amanda hat übrigens auch Kits auf ihrer Webseite, also, wenn einer von Euch eines der Projekte nachbasteln will, dann einfach bestellen.

And, last but not least, blogger is still driving me crazy, inserting space where it shouldn't be, ignoring my commands on another layout, making my pictures bigger or smaller, depending on its mood and not on the settings, and so on. Sometimes I think it was send to test my patience (and there didn't even exist a lot of it to begin with!).

Und zu guter Letzt noch eine kleine Bitte an Blogger: bitte sei lieb zu mir! Das hat bis vor kurzem alles so gut funktioniert, jetzt macht er einfach was er will (und das ist eigentlich nie das, was ich will). Vermutlich ist das der tiefere Sinn des Bloggens: Geduld lernen. Wobei ich das vermutlich nie begreifen werde :)

Hope you have a lovely evening,

Einen wunderschönen Abend Euch allen,

Johanna

A winner

Thank you to everyone who commented on the pattern review post and to everyone who wished me luck in my quest to conquer that ugly spanish test :) I think I did pretty well, thanks to you guys :)

Vielen lieben Dank für Eure lieben Kommentare beim Giveaway Post und natürlich die Glück-Wünsche zu meinem Spanischtest. Noch weiß ich nichts genaues, aber die Klausur an sich war schon mal gut :) Und nun, der Gewinner:

And here is the handbag giveaway winner:

Number 3 (not much counting there) is Gill! Gill doesn't have a blog but left an email on her google profile (thank you!) and I will be contacting her in a bit.

I am a bit stuck on my quilting stuff because I am still waiting for a walking foot and a free motion foot to arrive at my house. I finally broke down under the peer pressure and I am hoping that they will fit my machine (eek!) and do a nice job on my quilts :)

Gerade komme ich nicht so recht weiter mit dem Quilten. Ich habe vor ein paar Wochen einen von diesen High Tech Walking Foots gekauft (die schauen ja ehrlich gesagt schon ein bißchen komisch aus...) und auch noch so ein Free Motion Fuß. Mal sehen ob die beide dann auch an mein Maschinchen passen, das ist ja schon so ein wenig heikel :)
Einen schönen Abend Euch allen!

Hope you have a lovely evening!
Johanna

An apology and a request

So I have been very quiet here. It's not that I don't want to sit behind my sewing machine or read through blogs and write comments or write back to you guys (so sorry for that! I will answer to you in a few days! Promise!).
It's just that I am studying like crazy.
This might be the first time I am so deep into Spanish that I am mixing it up with every other language I know. Sometimes I don't find the words in my own language.
Explaining things has never been so hard for me before. How do you do it when you only can think of the words in Spanish ( a language that has not very much in common with my mother tongue except for those weird "r" sounds and the word for "cheese" :) )

So until Tuesday, there will be nothing coming from me. Sorry!
This also means that the giveaway will be extended until then...
If you are still waiting for a message from me, I will get to you on Tuesday.

So eine Stille auf dem Blog und an der Nähmaschine kommt einem doch recht komisch vor. Es ist natürlich nicht so, dass ich nicht nähen will. Oder durch Blogs schnuppern und Kommentare hinterlassen will. Oder aber endlich Euch einmal zurück schreiben. Sorry!
Allerdings bin ich zum ersten Mal in meinem Leben an dem Spanischen so eng dran, dass ich es mit anderen Sprachen verwechsel. Erklär doch einmal etwas Deinen Freunden, wenn einem die Wörter nur in Spanisch einfallen (und das obwohl das "r" doch typisch bayrisch gerollt wird und zumindest Käse und queso sich so ähnlich anhören :))

Das ist wohl das erste Mal, dass ich so viel und so beständig für eine Klausur lerne. Natürlich lernt sich so eine Sprache nicht in einem Semester, trotzdem ist es sehr beängstigend wie viel man sich in dieser Zeit aneignen könnte. Gerüchten zufolge soll es Leute geben, die diese Sprachklausur beim ersten Anlauf bestehen. Ich kenne nur keinen einzigen :)
Am Dienstag werde ich dann wieder ansprechbar sein und den Gewinner des Giveaways ziehen :)

And if you have a bit of time for two clicks, please go and vote in the Gen X Quilters Love Nest Quilt Contest. If you scroll down you should see the poll on the right side. Mine is number 5 but please vote for your favorite!

Und wenn Ihr einmal ein klitzekleines bißchen Zeit habt, dann bitte rüberklicken zu Gen X Quilters. Bei deren Love Nest Quilt Contest habe ich mitgemacht. Wenn man ein wenig runterscrollt, dann sollte rechts die Umfrage zu sehen sein. Mein Quilt (der Regenbogenquilt) ist Nummer fünf, allerdings möchte ich natürlich keinem vorschreiben, was er wählen soll :)


Julie from Sew Jewely will be having a fabulous tutorial up on The Quilted Fish tomorrow. I know because I have seen the sneak peak on her blog and am showing it here to you (the picture on top of this text)

Julie von Sew Jewely hat übrigens morgen ein neues Tutorial auf dem Blog von The Quilted Fish. Und es ist wirklich toll, voller Knöpfe :)
Das Bild von ihr ist oben zu sehen.

Just so you know, she made this for Amanda:

Und das hat sie für Amanda gemacht:



And "Sugar and Spice" will be out soon (as in: just a couple of months to go...). I can't wait for it to arrive! Did I mention that I love all things aqua and red?

Und anscheinend werden wir bald alle in den Genuss von "Sugar and Spice" kommen. Ich kann es wirklich kaum erwarten. Lauter aqua und rot, würde hervorragend bei mir rein passen. Eine kleine Vorliebe für die Farben habe ich ja schon ;)

Hope you have a lovely evening. Mine is spent on "Subjuntivo". Wish me luck on Monday :)

Einen schönen Abend Euch allen! Meinen werde ich dem Subjuntivo widmen... Wünscht mir Glück am Montag!

Johanna

PS: Pictures of the bracelet and "sugar and spice" are courtesy of Amanda from

The Quilted Fish. The other picture belongs to Julie from Sew Jewely.

Block Party

If you are looking for the handbag giveaway, go here or scroll down.
Most of the blocks that I made in the last months have been for Bee Germany. Not that I wouldn't do blocks for myself but I rarely scribble for hours and hours on my own blocks. Normally I know exactely what I want :)
The last bee blocks I made were for Tacha. She send us amazing blue, grey, and yellow fabric along with two sweet little FFA2 designs (the princess to be precise). I thought about this for days. Normally I go to my favorites, select the style I want and just scribble down some versions. On this one I had absolutely no idea what to make with it. It's a good thing Tacha provided us with a mosaic of what she loved. Circles and stars:

And this is what I came up with:

Not quite circly but close. Flowers on the bottom, the blue sky on the left side and the sun and moon on top. They all swirl together to make the little princess sleep well at night.
And this one:

Just a star surrounded by various fabrics and a flower at the bottom. Of course, there is a star at the top looking after the princess :)
And then was this one I made for Lina. Just a random picture pieced together with fabric.


Have a great day!
Johanna

I am linking up to Block Party:

Bag review and a giveaway at the end

Giveaway is now closed. You can still comment and I would love to hear your opinions on the review or the patterns themselves but you cannot enter yourself into the giveaway anymore!

Ich hoffe, es ist okay, wenn ich das hier in Englisch schreibe. Die Schnitte und ihre Anleitungen sind selber auch in Englisch, wenn es Euch stört, dann hinterlasst doch bitte einen Kommentar und ich werde das hier ins Deutsche übersetzen :) Am Ende gibt es die letzte der beiden Taschen zu gewinnen, dazu einfach einen Kommentar hinterlassen. Es wäre schön, wenn Ihr sagt, welche Taschenschnitte Euch gefallen oder ob diese kleine Review hier überhaupt hilfreich war. Nächsten Sonntag werde ich einen Gewinner ziehen.

It seems like everyone knows the patterns from Sue from "Sewing with me" but nobody talks about her. She has different shops on etsy. Each of them is selling different kinds of pattern: for children, for women and bag patterns.
I have purchased several of her bag patterns myself and also have tested two patterns for her. I was not compensated for this review and didn’t receive any money for testing. This is my own opinion and if you disagree or have a question feel free to leave a comment in the comment section.
Sue is selling her patterns only online, meaning that you can purchase them and she sends them to you in a pdf-file.
Advantages: it’s super fast and you can only print the part that you need. If you don’t need the instructions you just print the pattern.
She also carries some sewer friendly patterns meaning that you purchase just the pattern with basic instructions but the tutorial (which is most of the time several pages long) is not included. I love that version because I rarely look at instructions and just cut out the pattern and get to sewing.

Let’s take a closer look at some of her bag patterns, shall we? There are two patterns that I tested.
One is called the Jenny Bag.

To be honest, I first thought it look funny but I wanted to test anyway. Right now, this is the one bag that I carry with me everywhere I go. It fits some of my books for university but if I decide to just carry around my water bottle, purse, hand cream, and my calendar, it looks good, too.
I once decided to go grocery shopping with it but that didn’t end well. I managed to fit two bottles of milk in it but that was it.
I love that it is not a handbag but allows me to carry it across my body so that my hands are free. For carrying the rest of the groceries if needed :)

One thing: these printable patterns are almost always spread on various pages so that you have to assemble them after printing. Sue tells you which parts to assemble and also gives you the dimension of the finished pattern piece. She does not however (at least when I tested it) give you little darts on each side of the pieces so that assembly would be rather a “match the darts” game. You really have to measure or else your paper pattern will not be the right size and therefore not fit.
I know that some people don’t like to sew curves (like those on the bottom of the bag) but most of the time it is easier then you think. The instructions make it perfectly easy and show you how to do it so don’t be afraid to try!
If you like the shape but not the constrasting bottom curves (I really don’t know what to call them...) just use the pattern for the lining. It has the same shape but without the curve sewing and you get the same bag!
The pattern calls for a seam in the middle of the front panel but you can easily avoid it by putting the fold of your fabric on that line and cutting the rest as instructed.
Or - again – just use the pattern for the lining.
One thing to take into consideration: the back of the handbag is flat. You could easily put together two front sides making the bag look the same from each side.
For me, the flat back works because it makes it easier to slide my books into the bag. I love everything that makes life easier :)

I would say that this is a pattern that is a bit trickier to sew but it is nicely described and if you are not afraid of curves then you should try it.


Measurements: 27 x 30cm ( 10x12inch)
You can find the Jenny Bag in her shop: Sewing with me

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Next, I tested her bag pattern No.139. Nice name for a bag :)
It is not released yet so if you won this giveaway you would be the first to ever have a handbag with this pattern :)
For me this handbag is too small. Plus, I like to have my hands free (for riding my bike...) and the only time I would use it would be for going to a party. I love that it is not tiny and all the very important things that you would like to carry around fit in it, yet it is not bulky. It really is perfect for going out or standing in line at your favorite shopping boutique but just don’t expect to fit your groceries or your ten new pairs of jeans in there :)


I have done similar bags to this one before so I didn't have any difficulties with the pattern. However I had some problems with printing the flap pattern piece but that should not be an issue anymore by the time it is released for sale :)
I left out the O-Ring because it was just not my style. The pattern didn’t change too much, I only had to make sure that the handle was sewn on correctly and not tangled.

I used piping to make the flap stand out more from the body of the bag. You can – of course- just do what the pattern tells you and decide to not use up your leftover piping from another project :)
Sue gives you exact instructions how to sew the flap to the body – which is in my opinion the only tricky part of the pattern. You can opt to make your straps longer so that you can carry your bag across your body but I decided to go with the handbag version.The only thing that bothered me was that little extension on the flap of the original bag. I loved it when I first saw it but the more I looked at it the less I liked it. I decided to do a round version of it and I really like the result (it is just a half circle that was turned around and topstitched) but you can of course just leave it out all together.
Instead of the magnetic closure you can also use velcro or any other normal button.
I can also see some nice embroidery on the flap to show it off and make the bag more special.
Long story short: nice pattern with great possibilities for making it unique.
Measurements: aproximately 34cm x 20cm (13,5 x 8 inch)

Now, for the giveaway: leave me a comment and you are entered into the draw of this bag (the no.139 one). You could tell me what bag patterns you like or if this review was helpful. Or just anything else :)
If you spread the word and tell me in an extra comment you get another entry.
If you a no-reply commenter, please make sure that I have a way of contacting you (leave an email address!). If you win and I have no chance to contact you, I will pick someone else.
I will draw a winner next sunday.
Hope to see you soon, Johanna

Edited to add:

Here are the bags that Sue made for her patterns, so that you can see how they were supposed to be and what I changed. Please go visit her shop for more pictures.

KarrieLyne at the quilted fish and review announcement

Hi guys,
just a quick post to let you know that KarrieLyne's blogging today on Amanda aka the quilted fish's blog. Go check out her tutorial. It's really amazing!

I will be having a review of some great handbag patterns on sunday (I hope!) and will be giving one away (yay!).
I really hope you will be visiting then.
Have a great friday,
Johanna

Nur ganz kurz: ich wolte Euch wissen lassen, dass KarrieLyne heute auf Amanda aka the quilted fishs Blog schreiben wird. Sie wird ein Tutorial zu einem Kissen vorstellen. Bitte alle hier lang.
Ich selber werde am Sonntag (vermutlich, eventuell aber auch erst am Montag) einen kleinen Überblick über ein paar gute Taschenschnitte geben, von denen ich zwei neulich testen durfte.
Dazu gibt es dann auch ein Giveaway mit eben einer dieser beiden Taschen, die andere habe ich gleich behalten :)
Bis Sonntag!
Johanna