Jacks Quilt Pattern by Bryan House Quilts

I was very luck to have tested a really lovely pattern called, "Jacks". It was designed by Becca of Bryan House Quilts.  Take a look a Becca's beautiful version of the quilt.

What a beautiful job she did not only on the pattern but the quilt as well.

The pattern is easy to read and has really clear instructions. I love how she has combined both traditional piecing with the 16 patch and the foundation paper piecing of the star points! I had never worked with a block that combined the two methods and I have to say I am a huge fan! I chose to do a baby quilt for someone and it was easy enough to determine the directions for a smaller than intended quilt based on the directions and cutting information provided.

I love how this quilt looks not only with the block itself but the beautiful stars that form when you piece the blocks together! Take a look at what I did with the pattern:

This outdoor photo was a little off in the blue color, it is not such a bright blue. It was a super sunny Florida day that day! lol So, I took a pic indoors as well, which reflects the blue a bit better.

i just love the center star when it is pieced like this! These are approx 16 in blocks I believe so this was a nice size for a newborn. I would easily work with this lovely pattern again!

If you want to check it out, the first photo is linked directly to the pattern or you can click HERE to go right to Bryan House Quilts' Store and purchase it now.

If you use the pattern I would love to see it! Link me here or on Instagram!

Tanyia

In Stitches: Nebraska Star

I made another cross stitch pattern and am sharing it with you today. It is still nothing fancy, but it is a little more detailed than the first one I did. I am enjoying this as a learning process, I must say.

I have enjoyed the Quilty Stitches Sampler I have been doing from Little Miss Shabby and I was thinking when I hang it up I would also love to have a couple other single bigger blocks hanging near it as well. So, this was the first one. I definitely want to do one or two more though.

This particular one I did in an almost 4x4 square to fit perfectly in a 4x4 frame. I may or may not have picked out the frame even and made the cross stitch to fit it lol. I fell in love with the frame, what can I say?

Anyway, I do hope you can use it and enjoy it. It is free to download in my Craftsy store. or simply click the image above. I have now marked the previous free one up to $1. I know... a bit expensive lol, but I am thinking it's worth a buck!

Before I go, the winner of last week's giveaway is:   PK Sews! I will be emailing you in a bit this morning, congrats!

PK SewsAugust 12, 2014 at 12:33 AM

Swoon! Amy Butler is my favorite designer. Thanks for sharing, and thanks for your inspiring blog. I love your Plus and Hexie quilts. I follow you via Bloglovin.

- See more at: http://www.domesticdeficitdisorder.blogspot.com/2014/08/stash-giveaway-amy-butler-soul-blossoms.html#comment-form

Have a wonderful Monday, and enjoy your week!

-Tanyia

In Stitches: "Look at the Stars"

***THIS PATTERN IS NO LONGER FREE, A NEW FREE PATTERN WILL BE COMING OUT ON MONDAY, AUGUST 18TH*** 

Happy Monday to you! It is my humble opinion that Mondays should suck significantly less! So, every Monday I will have a different little theme going on here. I will be rotating between four different ideas. This is the first one!

I have wanted to start designing cross stitch patterns for ages as I have always loved doing them. As of now Domestic Deficit Disorder presents: In Stitches. Once or twice a month I will share with you a cross stitch pattern I have designed and offer it to you for free from my new Craftsy Store. It will remain free until the next pattern comes out, at which time it will be priced.

This is my very first pattern so it is not difficult, nothing too fancy, just a sweet little saying. It includes full cross stitches, half stitches, and back stitching. If you have any feedback, complaints, praises, etc just email me and let me know. This is a learning process and I would love your feedback, just be gentle please :)

 I hope you can use it and enjoy it. If you do grab it and do some stitching I would absolutely appreciate being able to see it! It would make my day!

You can go to my Craftsy store and grab it HERE or by clicking the image above. 

Also I changed my Instagram name to reflect my blog and you can #domesticdeficitdisorder and/or @domesticdeficitdisorder to make sure I see it! I would love to feature it on my blog and regram it for you as well.

Enjoy and may your Monday be spectacular!

Participating In:
Monday Handmade Linky Party at Judy's Handmade Creations 
Craftastic Monday Linky Party at Sew Can Do

-Tanyia

Schnitzel & Boo Mini Quilt Swap - rcvd reveal

I received my mini swap package last week on a particularly crappy day so it was such a welcome surprise to get it. It put a big ole smile on my face and I love what my partner sent me :) I did post right away and thanked her on Instagram but just had not gotten around to doing it here yet. Jules, who blogs at Procrasticraft sent to me.

I just love it! I love the linen background and the liberty pretty are gorgeous and in my favorite colors!!!

This is the whole, beautiful bundle! She sent me two really sweet pins, a candy tin to keep hexies in and she sent some hexie templates ... which I am making plans for! She also sent a sweet little note and a scrap pack from her very own stash of each of the prints in the Pretty Potent line. <3 So beyond thrilled as I have none of it!

It was sweet and I love it, it is proudly hanging in my quilt room on the wall by my fabrics. It was a great swap experience on both ends and I am looking forward to another one!

Thanks again, Jules!

-Tanyia

Schnitzel and Boo mini quilt reveal

I didn't realize I completely forgot to share the mini quilt that I made and sent to my partner. So, here she is :)

I reduced the Feathers paper pieced pattern down to 75% and made a few of them.

I really love the way it turned out and I was proud to share it and send it off. This is the first time I sent someone a quilt other than my good friend so I was a bit nervous about the quality of my work and whether the stitches were good enough etc... but in the end I felt good about it.

I am so glad I did this swap! I think it helped me grow some as a quilter. I honestly can not wait for another one!

-Tanyia

Participating In Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story

Le Challenge #14 - Reveal

I have not been blogging this summer... mostly as I have just been having fun with my girls! I have been crafting though :) I took part in Le Challenge, for the first time. I liked the inspiration word "small"  especially since I just finished the Schnitzel and Boo mini quilt swap quilt so I already had mini quilts on the brain.

I had seen a similar idea on Pinterest and fell in love with. My middle dd saw waves and I feel like that was pretty accurate so I named this one Midnight Waves.... like the moon up there is shining on the dark water at night.

I always keep the old jeans we wear out or outgrow so this was a perfect little craft for this. It is about 12 inches wide and I have already hung it in the downstairs hall. I love it. I think the edges need some more fraying but other than that I love it.

I am so glad I tried something new that I normally would have shied away from! Thanks Le Challenge, I am looking forward to seeing the next inspiration word soon!

-Tanyia

Participating in Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story

New Challenge posted!

I just recently heard about the Le Challenge. I don't know, just another case of me living under a rock I guess! But this was a great time for me to hear about it as this month is " small "  Of course with my love for mini quilts, this totally made my creativity spark! I want to make a wall of Minis in my house and so far I am off to a good start with 5 of them, but it is a half wall near my craft room and I want to go from top to bottom with them!

So... yay :) Le Challenge it is! I am going to make something just for me! Woohoo!

How long has it been since you made something just for you? I think it is something we do not hear often in the quilting world. It seems as quilters we are always doing for others, which is amazing and I am all about that. But every once in awhile, I wanna be all about me as well!

Have you joined Le Challenge yet? Are you going to? Pop over and check it out and join in this month!

-Tanyia

Wooden Spool Wreath Tutorial - sort of!

I actually finished this up about a week or so ago and just have not gotten around to posting it. I really love how it turned out and how quickly it came together. It all started when I was in Michael's and walked past the wood aisle, where they have things for painting. Well, now they have wooden spools! Small and large and they are just adorable. Next thing I knew I had a bag of each in my cart and I was in the check out aisle... I am pretty sure it was a craft black out or something!

You need one bag of each size, some glues sticks, a glue gun, a wooden wreath form, and some fabric scraps. I have some Bijoux left over from the plus quilt I recently finished, so I used that. I had them cut in to 5in squares so I made some small snips and then ripped the fabric. I wanted it to have a shabbier look and some little "threads" hanging off here and there so I ripped all the fabric.

I used a dab of hot glue to stick the fabric to the wooden spool, then wrapped the fabric around the spool. Some of them I wrapped loosely and some a bit tighter, a few of them tight up against the spool even. Just to have varied looks. Then I dabbed hot glue along the ends and secured the fabric on. Then... I repeated...a lot! Eventually I started building shapes and making lego like structures ... that is where the Domestic Deficit Disorder reared its head lol!

Then you pull out your handy dandy wooden wreath form. As you can see I was building towers and reading blogs as well as doing this... Domestic Deficit Disorder again lol.

Then I started willy nilly gluing the spools to the wreath form. Just hang in there and keep going. Once you have the first layer done you will go back in and add more and add the small ones to fill in gaps and such. I probably could have bought another bag of big ones and kept going for a super full wreath, but I am perfectly pleased with the way that it came out. It turned out better than I thought it would!

It is just a tad wonky on the bottom left but its not too bad!

There you have it :) See, a tutorial, sort of. Sort of because I do not have every single step but honestly I think you get the picture, no?

If you love it let me know! If you make one let me know! If you hate it...shhh!lol

-Tanyia

Particiapting In:
That DIY Party DIY Show Off 
You Made it and Love it 
Link Party Palooza 
Craftastic Monday Linky Party

Bloggers Quilt Festival - Large Quilt Entry/ 2014 FAL Quarter 2 - finish 3!

 

Well, I figured since this was my first year entering in the Bloggers Quilt Festival why not go all out and enter two! Sounds like a plan!!

This quilt is one that I just finished last week. It is 65 square, so 260 inches which puts it in the large category. Me... I quilted a LARGE quilt! hehe yay me! I really feel like I am finally getting this quilting thing! Lol It only took 2, 2 1/2 years lol

Anywho, here she is:

I just shared this one on this past week's WIP post, so you may have already seen this one.  I am happy to say my eldest daughter claimed this one before it was even done lol. She and her kitty have been happily cuddling it all week. Which actually worked out well cause the kitty has a cold! Poor baby!

Ok, now, back to our regularly scheduled blog!

-Tanyia

Bloggers Quilt Festival - Modern Entry

I am so excited to enter something in to the Bloggers Quilt Festival for the first time! Last year was the first time I had heard of the Bloggers Quilt Festival, I guess I have been quilting about two years now!

This quilt was started last year and was a year long effort as part of the Skill Builder BOM club. I finished it a bit late, towards the end of Jan. The only thing I did differently from the original design was to leave off the border as I liked the more modern feel of no border.

I call this quilt Heatwave. I think it definitely embodies the overall look and feel of the quilt and its warm colors. I sleep with this one everyone night and just love it. I used flannel on the back because that is my favorite for sleeping.

I learned so much while making this quilt and I love that it was quilt as you go which enabled me to handle it easier, especially since it is the first bed sized quilt I made. I found it a bit finicky at first but quickly got the hang of it.

Each square is quilted differently to showcase the block's design. I think it is a good fit for the modern category, don't you?

Thanks so much for looking and stopping by, I am going to have a lot of fun looking at all the beautiful things people have been making! There is so much inspiration out there!

Are you entering anything in the quilt festival? Link me up, I would love to see it!

-Tanyia

2014 FAL Quarter 2 - finish 2!

I shared this finish briefly last week during the WIP Wednesday post. So here it is with a couple more pics for the FAL with Katy from The Littlest Thistle.  I am really loving the FAL this year becaue it is actually motivating me to get some things done instead of just letting them pile up!

I think I am finally getting just as much joy out of finishing a project as I do out of starting one lol. Somewhere in the middle I lose gusto for a little bit but this FAL is helping me keep up with things none the less! :)

Here is my Garden Fence table runner. It is made with Nordika by Jeni Baker, moda solid gray in some color I forget the name of lol, and Squared Elements by Art Gallery in Carbon on the back.

It is almost 20 inches wide by almost 100 inches long. It is for the long dining table in my formal dining room, which is black. I love that there is finally something on it! I did echo quilting and organic line quilting on the sashing. I am really pleased with how it turned out. Or course some of the quilting is a bit wonky still but I am definitely getting better :)

At first this one was really hard for my to handle as it was so long and I tried rolling the edges in but that actually made it worse. So I relaxed, just let it go (literally) and found my groove almost halfway in and from that point it was smooth sailing! Yay!

-Tanyia

Everyone Hates Brown!!!

Ok, one thing I have learned is that most people have the most trouble using browns! During my Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day post, I shared the fact that I was giving away some orange fabrics from my stash because I just can not seem to make them work and I have trouble with Oranges.

I asked the question what people use the most and have trouble with the most. Now, while there were those awesomely lucky people that said they can work with anything... there are a lot of people that have trouble working with brown.

Come to think of it I have not used brown very much myself. So this prompted me to go on a search of brown used in quilts in a modern way. That is the key there... because brown fits in really well with a vintage style, with a civil war style... but those of us that do not like that aesthetic seem to shy away from brown needlessly.

So I  have made a few mosaics to help showcase brown in a modern way and share what I have found. Who knows... maybe it will help inspire you to try it. I am pretty sure I am going to at least be more open to the idea of brown in the future now!

I can not for the life of me get this mosaic maker to work right now and give me links so I have added the links for each quilt below the mosaics

1. https://www.flickr.com/photos/cauchycomplete/217825981   2. https://www.flickr.com/photos/35939871@N05/4648022978   3. https://www.flickr.com/photos/31159787@N04/5106735274   
4. https://www.flickr.com/photos/seethebrightness/5417421023   5. https://www.flickr.com/photos/25845164@N08/6841911238   6. https://www.flickr.com/photos/31610002@N02/3720993762   7. https://www.flickr.com/photos/62355915@N00/10544476754   8. https://www.flickr.com/photos/craftzilla/7307928554   9. https://www.flickr.com/photos/upstatelisa/4418354172

1. https://www.flickr.com/photos/kcladwig/2295413622   2. https://www.flickr.com/photos/sewhappygeek/5997194371   3. https://www.flickr.com/photos/buggletquilts/2344802554   4. https://www.flickr.com/photos/hayabusagirl/5258224917   5. https://www.flickr.com/photos/mickle82/5440551132   6. https://www.flickr.com/photos/letterwoman/5996898336   7. https://www.flickr.com/photos/32474418@N04/6077466469   8. https://www.flickr.com/photos/amygunson/2833086892   9. https://www.flickr.com/photos/fallingutopia/3306225061

1. Cracker Jacks   2. https://www.flickr.com/photos/theenchantedsquare/2667930435   3. https://www.flickr.com/photos/philistinemade/2740841731   4. https://www.flickr.com/photos/smileshiner72/2408700324   5. https://www.flickr.com/photos/simplegirlsimplelife/6832050698   6. https://www.flickr.com/photos/letterwoman/5252746289   7. https://www.flickr.com/photos/hayabusagirl/5258837320   9. https://www.flickr.com/photos/60360243@N07/7955933334/

The last one is one I made. I loved the way the brown made the blues and oranges pop!

So, there are a few ways that brown can be used without being fuddy duddy! I think I am going to do a bit more research and find inspiration in brown modern fabrics as well! Who knows where this is going lead! lol

If you have not entered my Sew Mama Sew Giveaway it is located HERE! Please please please do not be a no reply blogger... even though I warned against it so many people still are. So sad if they win and I can not contact them :(  Now, I am off to finish the giveaways as well! I stopped around 50 last night so I have a lot more to conquer! Whew! It's so much fun, too!

-Tanyia

2014 FAL Quarter 2 - finish 1!

I honestly am so happy and proud of myself that not only did I finish 2 things in quarter 1, but I am off to a good start and have one finish under my belt for Q2 now as well! Sooo exciting!

I have a tutorial board on Pinterest and one of the pins was for a hexie project. I liked this a lot because I loved the look of it but also because it did not involved stitching the hexies together. It just looked like a more modern, cleaner way to use hexies, and I loved the aesthetic of it!

This photo is NOT mine, it belongs to Nicole of Modern Handcraft. It will link you directly to her tutorial. I did not create it, I just want to share with you, since it is a lovely tutorial that gave me the courage to try my first hexie project :)

Now, I got the sewing lines a bit off when I did mine and mine is not perfectly straight but I am absolutely thrilled with the finished project and will definitely be trying again. I love the finished project and am super proud of it :)

Now... I am off to another finish! This is too much fun! I can already, however, feel the pull of new projects coming! As a matter of fact I took advantage of the coupon in Fat Quarterly and ordered myself 4 big bundles of fabric as a Mother's Day present! :) I can not wait to share them with you!

Don't forget there is a GIVEAWAY HERE until next Fri for a beautiful quilt pattern from my best friend Cornelia! It is her first ever pattern so please stop by and help support her. <3 

-Tanyia

Also Participating In:
That DIY Party 
Craftastic Monday Linky Party 
Monday Handmade Link Up Party

NEW - Every Which Way Quilt Pattern and GIVE A WAY!

My best friend, Cornelia Pramendorfer, just released her first ever pattern! I am so darn excited for her! I mean... look at it, it is just lovely! There are so many color possibilities that would rock this! I was thinking black, white, and gray solids even would look so modern and clean! Wow!

I have a whole new respect for people that do the pattern designing. Its not like you draw a shape and ... tada! NOPE! No way! I tried at the same time she did and gave up in the writing process. It was exhausting and turned what I was trying to do from fun to a hateful chore lol. So I am thankful for all the talented people, like Cornelia, that can do this. That being said, I might try again, but whew, at least going in to it I won't be disillusioned again! lol 

Cornelia has a brand new Craftsy store HERE. Make sure you follow along as I know she will have more to come! You can also find her on Etsy if you prefer HERE.  I know she is on Facebook and Instagram as well and I believe if you check her out you might find more give a way opportunities! Stop by her blog HERE as well for another chance.

Basically we are just trying to get her name out that so every one can see just how fab she is <3 Not that I am at all biased! lol

Anyway, if you would like to win this pattern, just leave a comment and tell me which fabrics or fabric colors you think you would use with the pattern. If you are a follower of mine leave another comment for a second chance to win. Lastly, if you share this via social media, leave the link, and another comment for a third chance to win!

Winner will be drawn next Friday, May, 9th. Good luck!

-Tanyia

2014 q1 FAL - finish #2!

I shared this previously in a WIP post when it was done, but I wanted to get it up here as part of my Q1 finishes for the upcoming linky party in March. If I happen to finish another one by the linky party I will be well and truly amazed. So wish me luck! lol

Anyway, this here was my second attempt at a Dresden and I loved it so much it sat around basted forever because I was afraid I would ruin it when I tried to quilt it! lol

First of all, I have to share the Dresden tutorial I used that I have found so very helpful! It is the Dresdens Decoded tutorial over at Stitchery Dickory Dock.  It is a great tutorial, very newbie friendly! My first attempt was sort of abysmal but I am definitely loving this one more.

Oh and don't mind the stray threads on the carpet... we know you all have them too! lol 

woohoo! TWO FINISHES!!! If you have any, link me up, I would love to see them.

-Tanyia

Also shared at the You Made It and Love It linky party

WIP Wednesday - Feb 12th

Well, I have certainly not made very much progress this week. I turned 39 last Friday so I am progressing with aging lol.I had a busy weekend, and spent much of my time organizing my fabric after moving my sewing room from upstairs to downstairs.

First I finished my hexies for my mini project. There is something around 175 in there I think. I hate hand sewing by the way. This process was occasionally not horrible for the first time. I finished them yesterday and I did have a really sort wrist though. There is something definitely satisfying though when you get a really great one with crisp lovely edges :) I definitely got better at the end. I am looking forward to making it in to something but am not going to rush it, I think I need a break from looking at them lol

I have made a bit of progress (going from 3 to 5) on my feather quilt. I am loving the way these are coming together so far. I have never done an entire quilt top with all paper piecing and I can tell it is going to be a favorite! Paper piecing is just so precise and I love it! Again... a little bit here and there.

Last but not least, this took most of my time that I spent in my sewing room, but I am SO glad I did it. I used the comic book boards I shared last week and organized all my fabric. I am sure it would look lovely if things were color coordinated but I really prefer keeping fabric collections together as that is how I prefer to sew. Even those scrap jars up top are collections lol. I feel like I have a little fabric store now and feel so much more inspired to look at it and make something! I'm a happy mama!

So, this week I want to work on my feathers a bit more and maybe pull out the Star Surround and do some more quilting on that one. I have not touched it all week. I am thinking of working on a new mini as well. I totally love the instant gratification of them!

Off to hop! Can't wait to see what everyone has been up to :)

-Tanyia