Fun With The Other Wives

Today is my stop on the Farmers Wife In Your Life Blog Hop! The challenge was to make something other than a quilt with at least 1 farmers wife block. I immediately knew what I was going to make...a zipper bag. I can never have enough of them and love giving them as gifts filled with goodies. And the best part is that I brought a friend along on this hop :)

I am a member of the new Fort Worth Modern Quilt Guild and have met some great gals there. So I invited my new guild friend January, who blogs at Sew Sew Go,  to make a bag with me. It was a lot of fun teaching her how to make a bag, I don't know who was more excited to see her finished bag. And it was a pleasure since she is a very fast learner. Please make sure to visit her blog, you won't be sorry.

Since I have already done a tutorial on making a zipper bag in January, here's a link to the tutorial.

The only thing I changed is that I put a 1.5" border on the sides of the FW block, a 2" border on the top and a 2.5" on the bottom. This worked perfectly and the entire FW block is shown on the front without losing any of  the block to a seam allowance or the gusset.

Now for the eye candy. Here's the bag January made. She only had 7" zippers (lesson learned...always buy a zipper at least 14" long since you can always cut it down) so it was a bit of a challenge to figure out the quilt math. Once we had the border sizes correct it was a piece of cake. I just love how she fussy cut the top border, isn't is great?

And here's my bag

and a close up of the decorative stitching I did. I just love all the fancy stitches my Bernina can do and try to use them as often as possible.

This bag is going to quilting classes, retreats and sewing dates. It is going to be for my rotary cutters and scissors since my other bag is getting full.

I'd like to thank Sunni from Love Affair With My Brother for inviting me to be part of this fun blog hop. Make sure to check out all the other great projects from the other hoppers and to hop on board yourself on March 24th when the linky party begins. She has some great prizes!

A Month to Celebrate!

This month I will be celebrating 2 things. First is my baby becoming legal! When did that happen? It seems like he was just a baby in my arms. The second thing is that on March 28th Craizee Corners will be 1 years old! I can hardly believe it. When I started I had no idea what I was doing and if I would ever connect with anyone. So to all the Craizee Corner friends thanks for sticking with me. I hope you have enjoyed the blog and will continue to enjoy it.

To celebrate the anniversary of Craizee Corners I have a busy month planned. There will be prizes...big ones and lots of eye candy from me and some friends too. And of course there will be tutorials and a new pattern by months end. I will also be guest blogging and blog hopping from time to time :). To start out the month I am taking part in the Farmers Wife in Your Life Blog Hop. Yes I know I divorced my 'farmer' a long time ago, but I got him to help me one last time for this event. For the divorce papers see here :) 

Farmer's Wife in Your Life is a series inspired by The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt by Laurie Aaron Hird. The series will focus on using 6" quilt blocks in everyday sewing projects. 

Here's the schedule:

March 4-Sunni is guest-posting on Jolly Jabber 

March 5-Love Affair with my Brother 

March 6-Craizee Corners 

March 7-Lilypad Quilting 

March 8-Love Affair with my Brother 

March 9-Clover & Violet 

March 12-Mommy for Reals
March 13-A Colorful Life 

March 14-It's Sew Kiki 

March 15-Lilypad Quilting 

March 16-Why Not Sew? Quilts 

March 19-Love Affair with my Brother 

March 20-Echinops & Aster

March 21-Life's Rich Pattern

March 22-Ellison Lane Quilts

March 23-Love Affair with my Brother

For more info visit Love Affair With My Brother, there's prizes and a linky party too!

Come back tomorrow to see what I did with my Farmers Wife block. I might even have a friend along for the ride :)

Go! Ahead & Show Some Love

Have you seen the Go! Ahead and Show Some Love Blog Hop? Paulette from Sweet Pea Quilting and Creations is hosting it in conjunction with the Quilters With Modern Tools group. This months blog hop is all about the color red, Valentine Day and the Accuquilt cutting system. And today it's my turn on the hop!







The project I made for this blog hop is my Dresden Love hot pad. It's kinda big for a mug rug, but kinda small for a table topper, but is the perfect size for a hot pad.

This is a simple dresden fan using a 22.5 degree ruler. For those of you that are new to my blog, I do a monthly series on Nifty Notions rulers and the ruler of the month in January was the 22.5 degree wedge. Check out all the ruler tutorials I have done for you here.

You will need
1 - 2.5" x WOF red fabric
1 - 2.5" x WOF pink fabric
1 - 5" square red fabric
1 - 8" square white fabric for background
Steam-a-Seam
1 - 1.5" x WOF pink fabric for border
2 - 2.25" x WOF red for binding
1 - 12" square red fabric for backing
1 - 12" square batting


To make this hot pad you will first need to figure out what size fan pieces to cut. 


1. Decide on the size of the fan/plate you want. For this project I wanted the fan to measure 7" across the diameter. For those of you who failed HS geometry the diameter is the size of the line drawn thru the center of a circle. 

2. Once you know how big of a fan/plate you want you can figure out what size pieces you will need. It's a pretty easy formula:

Take the diameter and subtract 2 and then divide by 2. So if you want a 7" plate/fan it works this way... 7 - 2 = 5/2 = 2.5. So the strip you cut your wedges from need to be 2.5".

3. Now that we know what size strips to use it's time to cut the strips. If you are using 2 different fabrics for the plate/fan cut your strips the desired size and then lay them out one on top of the other with right sides together. Place the ruler on the strip with the Logo face up (so you can read it). Line up the top edge with the line that corresponds to the size of the strip. Trim the left side and cut along the right side to make your first wedge.

4. Then flip the ruler over so the small edge is at the top. Line the left edge of the ruler with the left edge of the strip and cut along the right side of the ruler.

5. To figure out how many pieces to cut divide 360 by the degree of the ruler. In this case
360 ÷ 22.5 = 16. So you will need to cut 16 pieces or 8 sets of wedges. This formula applies to any wedge you are using.

You will now have 16 cut pieces like this. 

6. Once you have all your wedge pieces cut you will be sewing them to make a point at the top. Here's how:

Fold the wedge in half like so.

7. Then sew using a quarter inch seam along the larger straight line

 8. Then turn the piece right side out to form a point. You can use a stiletto or other pointy object to push the point out. Here's what you will have now

9. Then sew the pieces together. Start at the part closest part to the point and sew using a quarter inch seam to the bottom. Sew them in 2's, making sure the same fabric is always on the top.

10. Continue sewing pieces together, pressing the seams open as you go till you have a full circle (made with 16 wedges).

11. Now it's time to put it all together. You will need the 3" circle die, some double sided web interfacing (I use Steam-a-Seam). Following the directions affix the Steam-a-Seam to the back of the piece of fabric you will be making your circle with. In this case the red fabric.

12. Using your Accuquilt cut a 3" circle out. Also cut a 5" circle out of the Steam-a-Seam alone.

13. Affix the 5" circle to the back of the dresden fan. Then take the paper backing off press the dresden fan onto your background fabric.

14. Peel the paper off the back of the 3" red circle and affix it to the center of the fan.

15. Cut the border fabric into 2 - 1.5" x 8" and 2 - 1.5" x 10" rectangles.

16. Sew the 8" strips to the top and bottom sides of the background fabric and the 10" strips to the sides of the background.

17. Make a quilt sandwich with the backing face down, the batting and the top face up. Pin to keep it together.

18. Using a blanket stitch on your machine sew around the circle to finish the edges. Or you can hand sew a blanket stitch if you prefer.

19. Quilt and bind. I quilted in the ditch between the background and the border until I got to the corners. I marked 1" in from each side and used painters tape to show the line to sew on. This gave it a slightly framed look.

There you go a Dresden Love Hot Pad.

I hope you like this tutorial. Be sure to check out all the other blog hop stops in the Go! Ahead and Show Some Love Blog Hop.

If you are looking for the Accuquilt cutting system and dies they can be found here.

Till Next Time

My New Tablet Keeper

Have you seen Nancy Zieman's Trace N' Create Tablet Keeper Templates? Nancy makes creating a e-tablet or paper tablet holder easy. It takes less than 4 hours and is the perfect quick afternoon project.

I was lucky enough to be asked to take part in the Nancy Zieman Tablet Keeper Blog Tour. It just started 2 days ago so if you missed the first 2 tour stops there's still plenty of time to check them out. Click here for a complete list of the stops on the tour. And Nancy is having a wonderful giveaway to 3 lucky winners! Make sure to go to the Blog Tour site everyday to check out the other stops on the tour and to enter her giveaway...be sure to tell her Sha sent you!


I picked out some cute Maxine fabric for my tablet keeper. I made an IPad case recently out of Maxine fabric so this will add to my set.

On Sunday while Tim and Tyler were watching the NY Giants whoop up on the Dallas Cowboys (GO G-Men!), I decided to make my Tablet Keeper. The difficult part was that I am banned from watching any Giants games (evidently when I watch them play they lose) so I had to be careful not to peak at the TV (my sewing area is in the living room). I'm fairly certain that I succeed since they won!

As part of this blog tour Clover sent all the participants a bunch of cool stuff to make the tablet keeper with. These were all new products for me, I had never heard of any of them before. You can find all these items here http://clover-usa.com/product/10321/9570/_/E-Tablet_%26_Paper_Tablet_Keepers.

My favorite new product is the Create A Strap Interfacing. I'll never have to make a thin tube of fabric and deal with the hassle of turning it right side out again! All I had to do is adhere the special strap interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric and then fold it along the cut out lines.

As an after thought I was going to add my name to the strap, but sadly when I tried I had a huge operator error and added it upside down :(. Here's the right side up pic of the name. This was the first time I used letters on my machine!

The directions were very easy to follow and before I knew it I had an almost finished project. After inserting the Pre-cut Tablet Keeper Shapers, it was time to sew the top of the project closed and put the binding on. I used a zig-zag stitch all the way around to make sure all the sides were securely closed. I liked how that looked and decided to use another decorative stitch instead of binding.

Now I have my very own Tablet Keeper! I have to be honest with you, I don't know what I was thinking but for some reason I thought that my IPad would fit in the large size and when it was done I realized how wrong I was. So for now this will be used to hold my pattern design design book. I do plan on making the medium size for the IPad once I get more fabric.

I hope you enjoyed this stop on the Nancy Zieman Tablet Keeper Blog Tour. It has been my pleasure being your tour guide today. Thanks to Nancy Zieman and Clover for asking me to be part of this blog tour.

For more info you can check out this great video of Nancy showing how to make these tablet keepers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhYVERqxYpQ&feature=channel_video_title

Fat Quarter Shop, Kimberly and Your Second Entry!

Question for all your Sewists and Quilters in blogland...
How many times do you see this wonderful link everyday?

I see it several times a day, but then I am probably the ultimate Fat Quarter Shop shopper!




Then I started thinking that I do a lot of interviewing of fabric designers as part of the Designer Select Series, but I don't think we know that much about Kimberly from The Fat Quarter Shop. Of course we all know how wonderful she is to the quilting community, especially the online community, but not much about the woman. You can find Fat Quarter Shop on many different platforms in the online world thru the FQS blog Jolly Jabber, Twitter and Facebook. So I cornered her and got her to answer some questions (I really didn't corner her...she very happily responded, but cornered sounded better :) ).

Have you guessed what the second way to enter the giveaway is?

Simply take the 'pop quiz' below for your second entry. Just leave a comment on this post and the best thing about this is even if you fail the quiz miserably, you still are entered!

What's at stake? A $50 Gift Certificate from where else? The Fat Quarter Shop!

Are you ready for the quiz? Make sure to keep your eyes on your own paper :). Time starts now...

1. What is Kimberly's favorite sports team?
A. The Dallas Cowboys
B. Texas A&M Football
C. UT Football
D. The Dallas Mavericks Basketball

2. What is Kimberly's favorite flower?
A. Poppies
B. Pink Roses
C. Daisies
D. Bluebonnets

3. If Kimberly was making a Bloggers Choice Fat Quarter Kit, what fabric designers lines would she use as a focus fabric?
A. 3 Sisters
B. Cosmo Cricket
C. Kate Spain
D. Bunny Hill

4. What's Kimberly's favorite pizza topping?
A. Meat...all the way
B. Just Cheese
C. BBQ
D. Vegetarian

5. Which is true?
A. Kimberly has sky dived
B. Kimberly is an accomplished scuba diver
C. Kimberly's ears are different from each other
D. Kimberly has been to Europe and Australia

There you go, just answer the questions and leave a comment on this post.
As always you must be a follower for your entry to count, but please do not leave me a comment saying you are.

If you missed the first chance to win you can find that post here. This giveaway will run thru Dec 17th, entries accepted until midnight CST. Mr Random will pick a winner on Dec 18th.

Who loves a Giveaway?!?

Today I am joining with over 200 other quilting bloggers in a GIANT Blog PARTY! This Party is being thrown by QuiltingGallery.Com. I don't know about you but I am going to hop all over blogland to try to win prizes!

Lets get this party started!!!



Have you had a chance these past few months to check out The Fat Quarter Shops Designer Select FQ Club Kit? I hope so, I know I enjoy these FQ kits. By being in this club I make sure I get a bit of some of the best new fabric lines right when they come out. I have to be honest, at first I wasn't sure that I would use every kit, but I love them all! One reason is that they are so different, and it keeps my quilts all looking different.

The past few months the kits have included fabric from Bunny Hill Designs, Blackbird Designs, Fig Tree, and Pam Kitty Morning.

The upcoming kits are just as wonderful and include Sandy Gervais, Parson Gray, Jenn Ski and Lily Ashbury and that's just the first few months of 2012.

And to celebrate the end of 2011 The Fat Quarter Shop is giving away a $50 gift certificate!!! I might also have some other goodies to give away from some of the designers, you'll just have to check back next week to see.

So how do you win this awesome prize?

Note - you must be a follower of Craizee Corners but you do not get an entry for it, it's just a prerequisite.

For your first entry tell me something that you have planned for next year that you are excited about.

There will be 1 more way to enter, but you will have to wait till this weekend to get that entry. Here's the link for the second way.

That's all, as usual no jumping thru hoops...just 2 simple ways to enter.

Comments close at midnight on Dec 17th CST.

The winner will be chosen on Dec 18th by Mr. Random.

Good luck and Happy Holidays!

My Plans For The Week.....

Happy Monday everyone! I have plans, lots of plans for the week. The beginning is busy, but the second half is almost empty (so far) which will leave me plenty of time to play! I have  surprise for you and me coming (do I hear the G word again?) so stay tuned!

I am so excited about Tuesday, I am part of the Accuquilt Fall Blog Hop! All week long we will be hopping from one blog to another to share Fall ideas. Today Darlene of SewCalGal starts the hop with an adorable quilt made from tumblers (and I heard the G word on her blog today too!). I hope you join me for this fun hop and make sure to check here tomorrow for my special Fall project. If you can't wait that long here's a hint...It has to do with the color pink. Those of you that know me might be able to guess it, but please don't tell anyone.



As for today, I am guest blogging at Sally's Quilting Corner. She has a series on how to organize your sewing/quilting space, no matter how big or small. Go to her blog to see how I fold and store yardage and while your there it would be great if you left her a comment with your organizing hints :)...oh and don't forget to tell her hi for me.




Have you been to Talkin Tuesday's (#Talknt) yet? It's a tweetchat room hosted by the awesome Cara of Cara Quilts. From 9 - 11 EST we all get together and answer questions about quilting. It's a great way to learn new things about your favorite addiction. Tomorrows (September 27, 2011) Talkin' Tuesday is being sponsored by my friend Sally of Sally's Quilting Corner...yup that's the same Sally that I am guest blogging on. I hope you join us, but here's a hint...don't access it thru twitter search, use tweetchat instead. It will make it so much easier. And if you are not on twitter yet, there's still time to join. Once you get on twitter you can find me at @shapernes. 

And to make my life even busier I have 2 classes at The Berry Patch planned, 1 on Tuesday and 1 on Wednesday.

Plus I have to make 2 blocks for 2 special friends of mine that I have to get in the mail by Wednesday morning.

And to end the week I want to finish the quilt I am making for my oldest son by Friday. He's coming to visit this weekend and I want to give it to him.

I'd love to hear what you are up to this week...are you as busy as me? Are you busier than me? If you let me know I will be your biggest cheerleader!

Sha :)

Blog Hop Day 1...Here's Tiffany!

Welcome to day 1 of the Friendship Blog Hop! I have been waiting for this day for 2 whole weeks, which in my world is a long time to keep a secret  :)

As I said yesterday, Tiffany from Another Pie in the Sky is up first.

Just a side note...Do you remember seeing this exact button yesterday? Think hard and if you need to check scroll down a bit to yesterdays post. Do you see the difference. Overnight Tiffany decided to change her blog look! She is amazing at how she can come up with a new design that quickly. If you are looking for someone to help you with your blog or even a blog button check with her...OK back to our regularly scheduled program.

I am not going to show you the whole front of the Hometown quilt Tiff made, but I will give you a hint...

You can see the whole quilt at Another Pie in The Sky. While your there please leave Tiff a comment about how awesome you think her quilt is :) and tell her Sha sent you! If you like what you see please consider following her blog too.

Come back tomorrow to see Carolyn of ...Just One More Stitch share her quilt!

Sha :)