Lysa Flower's Daily Designer Diary : : One boombox pattern : : three sewing projects

If you’re so inclined and want to make my Boombox quilt…

…it can be purchased here on ETSY. If you want to make this Boombox Sewing Machine Cover…

…you will need the Boombox pattern above and the FREE tutorial on my site. I have it for you HERE.

Now, if you want to make a Boombox bag like this one …

…again, you’ll need the top Boombox pattern for the front of this bag. You’ll also need this tutorial, which I wrote for the project below, the Boombox Nesting Bags. The measurements aren’t exactly the same but it will help you figure out how to put it together. You’ll only have to change a few measurements. Voila! Boy, you’re gonna be busy!

P.S. To be honest with you, I’ve always secretly hoped a manufacture would approach me and licence my boombox bag for product! Wouldn’t that be amazing!!!

SNAP TO GRID

I'm beyond thrilled to see SNAP TO GRID finally hitting the shelves! Honestly, I've never had so much fun sewing with a collection before! When Kim Kight asked me to sew for her 80's inspired Spring 2017 collection I happily through myself into the design challenge. I had planned to make a SEWING MACHINE BOOMBOX at some point BUT when I saw this collection it just HAD TO HAPPEN! And with many cheers of, "I want to make one too!!"... I'm pleased to release the official BOOMBOX SEWING MACHINE COVER TUTORIAL today! You to can get it HERE.

As soon as I saw the Big Pill Dot in Black I knew the CASSINGLE also had to happen. This 60" lap quilt (brilliantly named by Kim), tickled every Memphis Group bone in my body. It's the largest, simplest and fastest to make of all my patterns. (It's only 14 weeks to Christmas... WHAT! Did I really just say that?!)

Cotton + Steel have the BEST selvages, am I right?! Which lends themselves so well to the The CASSETTE TAPE mini quilt cassette labels AND it allowed me to showcase ALL of the collection! FUN FACT: Jonna came up from Washington to sew this quilt with me! There were many giggles, squeals and most importantly much dill pickle dip! 

Second FUN FACT: The CASSETTE TAPE pattern is needed to make the zippy cassette pouch. Make it to fit inside the Boom Box Sewing Machine Cover or just to have all by it's self. (More about that next week-wink, wink!) 

Speaking of endless possibilities with this collection, you saw Kerry Goulder's Hot Skates Quilt right? SO GOOD!

When I went to Spring Market this past May, I wanted to take some bags with me sewn in the Snap to Grid collection BUT I had run out time. Instead of scrapping the idea I commissioned Reece Montgomery (www.happyokapie.ca) and Sherri Chalke to make some.

Reece modified Sara Lawson's Polaris Bag along with my CASSETTE TAPE pattern piece "D". The result was this stunning bag! I HEART IT SO MUCH! It makes me SO happy just to look at it!

Sherri and I went to Quiltcon 2016 together. For the trip she had made a bag using Sonja Callaghan's, Bag PDF Pattern AND CASSETTE TAPE pattern pieces (I posted about it HERE). I've always loved Sherri's bag, so you know what I asked her to do right. The bag was PERFECT for the trip. I was always getting stopped in the isles with people asking about it.

Phew! So much to chat about this week. And I haven't even mentioned the SNAP TO GRID thread pack. Gah!!! How do Cotton + Steel always get it so right?!

RECOMMEMDED FOR YOUR PLAYLIST: Just like the Snap to Grid collection, the possibilities are endless... so I've settled on, THE CURE: Friday I'm in Love. Happy week everyone!

BOOMBOX SEW-A-LONG WEEK 8 - the cassette tape zippy pouch instructions AND!

Lots of exciting things this week! First: the final week of the BOOMBOX sewing machine cover sew-a-long! This last week was my favorite: the cassette tape zippy pouch (that fits inside the sewing machine cover). You can get the instructions HERE. You'll also need this PDF page for the cassette tape bottom.

If you didn't get a chance to do the sew-a-long, fear not! This fall, I'll be compiling all the instructions into a permanent tutorial that will live on my site. It will be here for you whenever you need it! Don't worry, I got your back. 

Second: You know what else is exciting? Cotton + Steel came out with their 2017 Spring Collections Look Book. I've always loved their Look Books AND now I'm IN one of them. SEE!

Third: My CASSINGLE pattern has been released on ETSY and Craftsy! YAY! To celebrate all this excitement, we're going to have ourselves a give away! To enter, leave a comment here telling me your favourite 80's song. I'll add it to my 80's playlist and I'll post the winners name (and favourite song) on the newsletter next week. BUT wait! You have three chances to win. Leave a comment here, on the Lysa Flower Facebook Page or on Instagram (contest and rules will be posted on Facebook and Instagram by noon tomorrow PST). Good luck!

BOOMBOX-SEW-A-LONG: WEEK 7 (don't you love it when it ALL comes together!)

Have you seen what Angelini @suchastitch has been up to? I've LOVED seeing her progress on Instagram (#boomboxsewalong #lysaflowerpatterns). She's posted photos, starting with an inspirational BOOMBOX art wall, to her colouring sheet including her fabric selection and ALL her sewing (especially those teeny tiny pieces). Have a look at what a smarty pants she was! On the tiny pieces on the back of the pattern I noticed she coloured them! BRILLIANT! She also made two cassettes. She wasn't happy with the first one (which I loved) so she made a new one (which I also LOVED). I could never choose between them. Please done ever make me!

This week the sew-a-long is quite exciting! The boombox gets sewn ALL together. Next week is even more exciting because we're going to be making the cassette zippy pouch! Yay! All right. I need to settle down, I'm getting a head of myself. This weeks instructions you can get HERE.

RECOMMENDED PRODUCT: I like spray starch. There I said it. BUT did you know starch is made out of potatoes? You know who likes potatoes? Bugs. The last thing I want are bugs to be interested in my quilts. Or my anything! Here's a solution. Soak! Have you heard of it? This spring I came across their booth at Quilt Market. I also like smelly things. There I said that too. I prefer scents that are fresh and not to flower-y. They have dreamy scents! Their solution to spray starch is called FLATTER. It gives me that extra crispness I'm looking for when I'm paper piecing my heart out. Oh and they also have (soy based) labels designed by Carolyn Friedlander and Deynse Schmidt. Pretty, nice smelling and useful. I'm sold.

RECOMMENDED FOR YOUR 80's PLAYLIST: Styx-Too Much Time On My Hands. Check out this Jimmy Fallon Split screen - Hilarious! 

PS. Speaking of time, this week I came across this quote: Time is an equal opportunity employer. Each human being has exactly the same number of hours and minutes everyday. Rich people can't buy more hours. Scientist can't invent new minutes. And you can't save time to spend it on another day. Even so. time is amazingly fair and forgiving. Not matter how much time you've wasted in the past, you still have an entire tomorrow. - Denis Waitely - Serious!