Randi's Roost

 I have not posted on here in some time, so I figured it's time for an update! As you have probably noticed, I have spruced up my website a bit, and unveiled my new logo. I hope you all like it, especially since there is now Randi's Roost merchandise!  I was so excited to receive my samples of the shirts and stickers a few days ago. I wanted to make sure the stuff was good before I offered it to you all! The shirts are so soft, and I have a hard time resisting sleeping in them. They also wash beautifully. I am working on organizing an in-person meetup here in beautiful Hunterdon County, New Jersey. It would be at a local brewery/restaurant, so we would not be able to sew there. BUT, they have delicious food and a myriad of beverages, so we could eat, drink, talk about sewing (or other stuff), and maybe I could even do a trunk show! It would be a great time in a lovely little town (Milford). If there's enough interest, we could do this regularly. We are working on some new p...

*Products provided by sponsors* The final challenge of the year is called Celebration. The Island Batik Ambassadors were given the challenge to make any project that represents a holiday. While it was tempting to choose Christmas, I decided to go down a different route.  Recently, we lost my husband's grandpa, or Taid Fawr, as he was known in our family. Taid Fawr (say "tide VOW-er") means "Great-Grandpa" in Welsh.  Taid Fawr with my younger daughter, who bears a striking resemblance to him Somehow, even though he was 99 years and 2 days old, it seemed too soon for him to go. He was an awesome guy, and one of those people who friends and family wish could live forever. Taid Fawr speaking at our wedding in 2013 Having just lost Nain Fawr (Great Grandma- say "nine VOW-er") not too long ago, it was especially difficult for all who loved them. They were married for 77 years! Taid Fawr and Nain Fawr holding my...

At last! The challenge I've been waiting for! This month is the ByAnnie Blog Hop, It's In the Bag! I run the ByAnnie Bag Makers Group on Facebook, and back in January, I also started working for ByAnnie! So that's why this challenge was the most exciting for me.  I also had a bit of choice paralysis- so many great patterns to choose from! So I set up a poll in my Facebook group, and asked the members to vote. I already had a probable choice in the back of my mind, and then that same pattern is the one that won the vote. THEN, Annie herself voted and chose the same pattern as well. That sealed the deal- I would be making Divide and Conquer! Divide and Conquer is a compartmented travel bag that is widely agreed upon to be the most difficult ByAnnie project. I had never made it before, so I was eager to give it a go.  Here is the description from the ByAnnie website:  "Organize it all in these versatile bags in two sizes with adjustable handles and f...

For our October challenge, the Island Batik Ambassadors got to use the amazing AccuQuilt Go Cutter and the North Carolina Star Block on Board. It was suggested that we go with a Fall theme, but it wasn't a requirement. I decided to include all four seasons! I made four small wall hangings- one representing each season- that are meant to hang together. Each one is a 12" square. It was a delight to work with the Go Cutter, and I never would have attempted this block without it. The North Carolina Star block is a bit complex, and has a lot of small pieces. Using the Go Cutter not only ensured accuracy, but saved many hours.  I also used Island Batik fabrics from several different collections, Aurifil thread , Hobbs batting , and a Schmetz microtex needle. Be sure to check out the amazing projects by all of this year's Island Batik Ambassadors by visiting the links below! Brenda Alburl ~  Songbird Designs Renee Atki...

For this month, our challenge was to use a technique that is near and dear to my heart: paper piecing. We were allowed to use foundation paper piecing or English paper piecing, and I chose foundation paper piecing. This month I was lucky enough to work with Ornate Gems by Kathy Engle. I'll be honest- I had a heck of a time settling on a pattern for this challenge. I love foundation paper piecing so much, and the choices are so endless! I was a bit overwhelmed and actually had a few false starts before I finally settled on using the Mini Series patterns by Alison Glass and Giucy Giuce- but with a twist. I enlarged the blocks to better show off the beautiful fabric. So my blocks for this project were 7.5" rather than the 4" blocks I used for the Mini Series Sew Along.  And then, disaster struck.  While opening a jar of salsa, I felt a POP in my wrist and hand, and was almost knocked over by the pain. After lots of bad words and a visit wi...