A Sailor's Valentine - The Sewvivor Nautical Challenge Post

Here it is!! So so excited for the big reveal!!! My handmade Sailor's Valentine!!! What is a Sailor's Valentine? Let's break down.

Per wikipedia, A sailor's valentine is a form of shell-craft, a type of mostly antique souvenir, or sentimental gift made using large numbers of small seashells. These were originally made between 1830 and 1890 and they were designed to be brought home from a sailor's voyage at sea and given to the sailor's loved one or loved ones.

I thought long and hard to select a great pattern and this Wheel of Fortune block by Wombat Quilts definitely called out "ship steering wheel meets compass star"- super nautical in my opinion.

As for the fabric selection- whew, what a process!! I tried to have each print represent something I felt was nautically themed:

• Yellow prints represent the hot sun
• Black prints are the night sky
• Linen reminds me of bon-fire smoke
• That Lizzy House print is for seaweed
• Pink wood grain is for drift wood
• Heather Ross seahorses are for, duh, seahorses!
• The background blue is for the ocean
• And to tie it all together- those steering wheel

I really wanted to create a real wooden frame for this piece and though I got mad love from my Home Depot visit- I apparently suck at math- angles are NOT my thing! So, a fabric wood fame was created and I just LOVE IT! I painted a few shells and added a sand dollar as my center piece.

I had a lovely photo shoot with my sweet friend Ale!! Even though our sunny Portland day was a wee be bright I think we got some pretty good shots.

This little gem is up for sale in my etsy shop. A wonderful woman Anne,was recently diagnosed with cervical cancer at age 28. She just had a modified radical hysterectomy on August 7. All funds will go directly to Anne. If interested, please help Anne raise money for her medical treatment by visiting here.

And now... VOTING!!! Go, go go go vote right HERE for your favorite nautically themed piece. I hope you enjoyed seeing my Sailor's Valentine, there are so many amazing projects! Only 8 will make to the next round!!! EEEEEEKKKK!!!

Duffles,Sewvivor & Selfish Sewing...

What a super busy sewing weekend!!!

Do you ever commit to too much sometimes? I took on the task of making 9 duffle bags for one of my sweet friend's bridesmaids- yup, 9!! Repeat. 9! I've been cutting, cutting, sewing, sewing... I managed to finish two this weekend (woot woot) and love how they are coming along!! 6 more to go... I'm going to be a duffle making pro by the time I finish all of them!

Cargo Duffle: Pattern by Noodlehead for Robert Kaufman found here

On top of the cargo duffle sewing fest, I managed to make it into Sewvivor. What an amazing group of talented individuals- seriously! I've been brainstorming, plotting and planning for my Nautical theme challenge. I cannot WAIT to show you what I have up my sleeves! I hope you love it as much as I do. Here's a sneaky for ya!

While I should be getting my Sewvivor entry done, I decided a "Jessica Break" was in order. No more duffles, no more Sewvivor. What would a procrastinator like myslef think to do other than start a project for no reason whatsoever? DUH! Slacker Jessica in full force!!

The lovely Violet Craft has her new patterns out and the ever lovely new fabric line Brambleberry Ridge. Fabulous, yes? I've been eyeballing the Flying Falcons pattern for awhile and was elated to get to sew this up!! It came together quickly, and the pattern is very easy to read.

Be sure to check out Violet's AWESOME Forest Abstractions Sew-A-Along on her blog- AMAZEBALLS!! But I ain't got time for that! LOL!

My jam packed sewing weekend did include some awesome family time. We saw 7 shooting stars on Saturday night while hanging out at the pool. SEVEN?!?! So awesome! And I have a date with the best hubby... Dinner, Anchorman 2 (which I heard was okay), and dessert! :)

And... the lucky $25 Westwood Acres winner is...

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:5Powered by R

ALLISON SEWS!!!

Right Sides Together

Hey, It's me on the Right Sides Together blog!!

I'm so excited!!! And to share in the fun, I'm offering up a gift certificate to Westwood Acres lovely shop.

Leave a comment below and follow Right Sides Together via Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. A random winner will be selected on Sunday 8/3/14.

Destash

Some new fabric treasures up in the etsy shop!

A friend, and a quilt

I love my friend Crystal. She's an amazing woman and I'm so ever thankful to have met her. I made her this quilt for her birthday. Yeah, her birthday was in March and I just finished her quilt. She's an understanding friend :) Happy belated birthday Crystal! Love you so much!!

Pattern by Elizabeth Hartman- Firedrill, from Modern Patchwork

This is also my submission to the Sew-Vivor contest- check out the details here!

Shop Goodies & a Mini...

Oh my- it's been far too long since I've been able to really get behind my machine and sew, sew, sew!! I've missed it so much!!

I put together these cute baby quilts as a way to simply "finish a project". Know the feeling? I decided coordinating baby dolls and bibs were definitely needed to complete each set. Aren't they cute? I had fun making them, and hope they find great homes soon. They're listed in my wee little etsy shop here.

I also managed to to finish my Schnitzel & Boo Mini Swap quilt for my partner. She wanted something with different mediums, etc. so I did my best to make a 3-D-ish vine with leaves set upon a low volume neutral background. I also wanted to try my hand at some spray painting and added some gold and black paint to it. I love the way it turned out. Pretty different and unique, and that's just what I was striving for. Hope she loves it cause shipping to Australia is craziness!! 

And to top my weekend off, I won as the "random winner" for the Snack Time mini I made Kelly via Sara's sweet sew-a-long! How cool is that? 

Destashing!

Getting rid of some gems! Check out my etsy shop here