Late to the Party: Shoo Fly Party

It seems a party started without me.  The Shoo-fly leader and ender party that Bonnie Hunter is hosting on her blog.  (read more about it here if you missed it)

I read about the shoo-fly challenge back when it was issued on July 4th but I was elsewhere in my mind.  I wasn’t up for sewing.  I was working on outside yard work and handling affairs after Kramer passed away.  I had no thought or care about quilting.  ZERO.

Well after finishing Georgia’s quilt I’m a bit on a roll again.  I’ve been tidying in the sewing room and decided that maybe I would dig through my bonus triangles and see if I have something that would work for the shoo-fly challenge.

Well I looked and nothing struck me but in my digging I came across a bag of fabric that was sent to me a long time ago…LONG TIME.  It had frogs on it with a pink background.  I loved it from the moment I saw it.  I am not someone who loves girls in all pink…so the frogs mixed with the pink was perfect in my mind.  I kept the scraps thinking someday…someday I’ll do something with this.

Well…now is the day!  I’m making the shoo-fly blocks my own…they are all going to have the same center…that frog fabric!  I didn’t have a lot of it so I had to be careful to cut to get the maximum center squares.

All the pieces were wrinkled and a mess from being stored in a big ziplock bag…so I knew I needed to iron them.  Remember when I reviewed the wool mat from Nido?  That one was 13.5 x 13.5.  I loved it for keeping by my sewing machine.  Seriously, that mat was worth its weight in gold (actually more than that as the mat is super lightweight).  I will never make another crumb quilt without my mat close by.  It was such a time saver.

Anyway, Winnie the owner at Nido contacted me and asked if I’d like to try their new larger version of the mat.  YES – PLEASE!!  I loved the little one, I’m sure to love the larger one.  So, I got it out of the packaging and plopped it out on my kitchen island.

Oh..this is PERFECT for me.  The mat is perfect for the kitchen island.  I brought it out over nap time.  The kiddos were all sleeping and I had 15 minutes or so to iron which is the perfect quiet time job.

Check it out…isn’t my frog fabric adorable??

I loved the mat.  I loved that my kitchen island could quickly become a workstation for ironing.  I love this bigger sized mat.  This one is 17″ x 24″.  It’s really a great size and I can see me often using it.

My laundry room (think tiny room) is adjacent to the kitchen.  I can easily slide this mat alongside the washing machine for quick and easy storage.  It’s MUCH more handy than pulling out the whole ironing board.

The mat is the same great construction as my small mat.  I’ve seen other brands of wool mats and I like this one best.  It doesn’t seem as fuzzy and it’s stiffer.  I like that.  It isn’t smelly.  I was warned that the wool mats can smell as they are made from sheep wool…this one, I don’t smell anything.  Having it close to quickly grab and use is awesome.  Those of you who are conserving space in your sewing room or are sewing on dining room table like I used to do, will love this larger version.

Ironing is all I had time for over naptime so after the childcare kiddos left (except for Carver and Gannon) I put the mat away and took out my cutting mat.

You can see the pieces are all odd shaped.  However many pieces I can cut, that’s how many blocks I can make.  My hope is that I can get enough for a center of a baby quilt.
I had a helper…  Carver!
He had his little skid loader and was scooping up my cut squares.

I ended up cutting mine at 3 1/2″.  It seemed to be the right size to get the most pieces.  I worked to get a frog on each one.  Occasionally the frogs were cut off but for the most part, most every square has a frog face on it.  I ended up cutting 56 squares…sounds like this is going to be a baby quilt…probably a 7 x 8 setting.

I love when the fabric can make the decisions and I don’t have to.  Speaking of decisions, with this size of block Bonnie suggests making the blocks finish at 6″.  I think I’m going to increase that to 7″.  I know that isn’t a typical block size but I don’t care…I’m making it my way and I think the blocks would look cute a little more chunky.

I ended up testing my thoughts…this is my block.

I love it.  Chunky it is.  I think that will make the quilt a little big but we’ll see.  I’m letting this quilt make its own decisions.  For now, I’m only going to worry about the blocks.

Notice I used my small mat at the sewing machine.  I can’t tell you how much I love it.  It sure is saving on the ups and downs I have to do to the ironing board!! Now I just sit.  Here’s my setup.

It works so nicely.

Anyway..Winnie the owner of the company is being super generous with all of you.  She’s offering a discount price on her mats again!!  Here’s what she said, “We have created the code JOSCOUNTRY which will save your customers 15% off 1 mat and 20% off 2 or more.”

 

Here’s a little more of the nitty gritty about the mat:

• NO SLIP GRIP! – Our wool mats are made from the highest quality 100% authentic New Zealand wool. The thick wool texture provides exceptional grip and stability for patchwork and makes pressing a breeze!
• EFFECTIVE – The dense wool fibers have excellent heat retention, allowing for heat to be delivered from both sides. This makes it quick and easy to achieve those crisp, flat edges! Our mats can also be used to iron clothing! edges!
• PROTECTION – Our ½ inch thick mat provides ultimate protection, preventing heat transfer to the surface below. Whether it is your dining table or anywhere on the go, you can iron on any surface, worry-free!
• PORTABLE – 13.5 x 13.5 inch is the perfect size to take on the go- to classes, retreats, guilds and more! It’s compact and will fit on any workspace. Plus, its portable enough to tuck away out of sight once you are finished your work.
  17 x 24 inch is the perfect size to take on the go- to classes, retreats, guilds and more! It is the perfect size for your workspace and great for bigger projects. Plus, its portable enough to tuck away out of sight once you are finished your work.
  
• LIFETIME WARRANTY – Love it or we’ll take it back, no questions asked! We care about our customers and want to make sure you are satisfied with our product.
  

HERE IS THE LINK….for the 13.5″ x 13.5″
HERE IS THE LINK…for the 17″ x 24″

The company sells through Amazon, so these are Amazon links.

Put the mat in your cart
-Once you go to checkout there will be a box to put in a promotion code or coupon.
-When you are there plug in this coupon code:  JOSCOUNTRY

You will get 15% off is you buy one…20% if you buy more than one
It would be a great time to give a gift.  The small mat is only $24.99..without the discount.  That’s the perfect price for gift giving.

I love mine…

I may be late to the shoo fly party but look out!  I’m here now!

HEY…check out the companies website HERE.