Coastline Blog Tour Week 3 Recap

February 20, 2016

The final week of the Coastline Blog Tour was just as exceptional as the first two weeks with five more uber talented makers showing off their sewing skill. I want to thank all the bloggers for making this the best tour ever. My deepest thanks and profound admiration for their sewing skills--you guys are the BEST!

To see all the blog post from the 16 Coastline Blog Tour makers, visit them here:

Feb. 1 Heidi Staples - fabricmutt.blogspot.com

Feb. 2 Bethany Raymond - sew-not-perfect.blogspot.com

Feb. 3 Lisa Mabey - mabeyshemadeit.com

Feb. 4 Corinne Sovey - mustlovequilts.com

Feb. 5 Raedene Averitt - chasingmermaidshop.com

Feb. 8 Sue Stone - needleinafabricstash.wordpress.com

Alexis Wright - mysweetsunshinestudio.com

Feb. 9 Jennifer DeShazer - ajennuinelife.com

Feb. 10 Kristen Wright - twoblondesandasewingmachine.wordpress.com

Feb. 11 Katie Skoog - TheSimpleLifeCompany.com/Blog

Feb. 12 Cristy Stuhldreher - iloveyousew.com

Feb. 15 Sharon Mcconnell - colorgirlquilts.com/blog

Feb. 16 Candice Ayala - CandiceAyala.com

Feb. 17 Anorina Morris - sameliasmum.com

Feb. 18 Aida A. Valverde - aikamaku.com

Feb. 19 Jessica Stewart - snickerdoodlestew.com

Week 3 closed the tour with quilts, kids garments, and a travel tote. I want to thank and shout out to these designers for their beautiful and professional work!

On Monday, my very good friend and Quilt Market roomy Sharon McConnell of Color Girl Quilts designed and made a stunning quilt. Sharon is the master of curved piecing and also did an amazing job spiral quilting her quilt.

Candice Ayala of Candice Ayala made two outfits. The first is a Summer Dress by Bubby and Me from AGF knit in Tradewinds. The second is the adorable Beachcomber print cotton Pensacola Beach Petal Top by Seaside Notions. I love all the details and variations Candice made to the patterns to add her own touch to the garments.

On Wednesday, Anorina Morris of Sameliasmum showed us her Oh Buoy quilt. Oh Buoy is right, what a beautiful quilt that uses all the prints from the collection and photographed at a marina and lighthouse. Perfect design and tribute to the collection.

Aida Valverde of Aikamaku gave us another stunning local and made us all want to be on that sunny beach with her as she photographed her California Traveler Bag made from Sandbar canvas and assorted cotton prints from the Coastline collection. Aida designed this bag just for the Coastline Blog Tour and it's perfect for travel or a day at the beach!

Last, but not least, Jessica Stewart of Snickerdoodle Stew (and Izzy and Ivy Designs) wowed us with her children's clothing. Jessica used knit, cotton, and canvas from the collection to stitch the super cute Evie Sundress and Pippa Jacket. Find the patterns for these garments on Jessica's blog and shop.

A blog tour would not be complete without a fabric giveaway, right? Instagram followers were asked to repost their favorite images from the tour and use the hashtag #CoastlineFabricsGiveaway to enter into the drawing. A name was randomly drawn from the hashtag pool entries and the lucky winner of the 20 piece fat quarter bundle from the Coastline collection was Kathy Cummings! Congratulations Kathy, I hope we've inspired you to sew something amazing with your fat quarters.

Thank you everyone for following along. I hope you have discovered some new bloggers to follow and have loads of idea of what to sew next. Find more inspiration on the AGF blog and the Coastline fabrics Lookbook.

Sketchbook Blog Tour Day 5

August 21, 2015

Today is the last day of the Sketchbook Blog Tour and Alexis Wright is posting today from My Sweet Sunshine Studio. Alexis has sewn the Rose dress from Violette Field Threads and I am in love with how it turned out! She used the cotton Tiny Dancer Midnight and Doodlie Meander prints. Doesn't her daughter look amazing? I love this cut on her--how perfect!

Photo courtesy of Alexis Wright of My Sweet Sunshine Studio

See the My Sweet Sunshine Studio blog post to learn more about Alexis and this outfit. Thanks so much Alexis for being such a BIG part of the tour. I am looking forward to seeing you again at fall Quilt Market.

Yesterday Jessica Stewart from Snickerdoodle Stew posted on the Sketchbook Blog Tour. If you missed out on any of the days or want to see the full list of bloggers, click here. Tomorrow I will post a full recap of the tour along with announcing the winner of the 10 yards of Sketchbook fabrics. Yup, that's right, you still have time to enter the drawing for the free fabric. Sign in to instagram and REPOST any of the Sketchbook blog tour images. Use the hashtag #SketchbookTourGiveaway in your repost and you're entered into the drawing! Drawing ends Saturday August, 22nd at 9:00 a.m. EDT.

To wrap up my series on sewing with French seams I have one more project for you. This one doesn't use French seams but I feel fits the series because the construction method creates clean finishes to the edges without the use of hems (on the body of the bag). I took the common folded Market Bag construction and added a self-lined feature to the construction for a new twist on an old favorite.

These are super fun to make! Download the free Market Bag PDF pattern from my Free Patterns page for the full instructions on how to make a bag.

SELF-LINED MARKET BAG

Large bags like these are great for for taking with you to the store or Farmer's Market. They would also make a great, reusable alternative to paper gift bags or gift wrap! Show off fun prints and make several to use and give.

Sketchbook Blog Tour Day 2

August 18, 2015

I couldn't be more excited about the Sketchbook Blog Tour week. Today's post by Raedene Averitt from Chasing Mermaids is one of the five reasons why I'm so happy! Yesterday Kara Orr from Sweeter Than It Seams posted about her date night tank and clutch. See the full line-up of five talented bloggers here.

Sketchbook fabrics outfits made by Chasing Mermaids

Visit the Chasing Mermaids blog to read more about the patterns and prints used to make these adorable outfits! So cute! Thanks Raedene for being part of the tour :)

In addition to the five ladies posting beautiful Sketchbook fabric projects, I will also be posting each day with either a tutorial or new free project. Today will be a tutorial on how to sew a French Seam. The rest of the week I will have sewing projects that use French seam construction.

FRENCH SEAMS

I love French Seams. They are as pretty on the inside as they are on the outside. The technique is very simple, but can sometimes be confusing because you begin the French seam by sewing with the WRONG sides together. That's what usually trips people up. Here's how they are made:

1. With raw edges even, sew the WRONG sides together along the side seam line(s) using the seam allowance indicated in the pattern.

2. Turn pieces RIGHT sides together, press, and stitch deep enough to encase the raw edges inside the new seam or as indicated in the pattern. Note: Some patterns will have you trim the seam(s) before turning, so always read through the instructions before you begin.

3. Turn right side out and VOILA!

Tomorrow we will put this technique to good use and make a pretty pencil case to fit into back-to-school notebooks!

Don't forget to repost your favorite Sketchbook Blog Tour projects on Instagram for a chance to win 10 yards of Sketchbook fabric! To enter, use Instagram and repost a blog tour picture from any of the bloggers on the tour. Be sure to include the hashtag #SketchbookTourGiveaway in your post. The drawing ends Saturday, August 22nd at 9:00 am EDT.