Sew while he sleeps

A wabi heart mini quilt- my first tutorial

2012-02-09T22:27:00.000-08:00

This tutorial is to make a reverse appliqued heart mini quilt, with raw edges. I finished mine in about 3.5 hours, even doing the design work, fabric picking and photos.

This project is for you if you want a break from precision quilting and sewing, if you need to make something quickly for a certain holiday, and if pink and red are not your valentine's most favorite colors.

I love it for some of these factors, but mostly for the wabi factor of it: an interpretation of a Japanese aesthetic embracing the beauty in irregular, organic work with the process evident. I posted a bit about this yesterday. Okay, enough background. Here we go!

(As I mentioned, this is my first tutorial, so please let me know if something is unclear or doesn't work in practice. I will edit to fix as needed.)

Finished size: 21.5" x 21"
All seam allowances 1/4"- or close
Fabric needs:
This project is perfect for scraps, which is all I used, all stuff I pulled from my stash and none larger than 22" x 22".
For the strips: 6 pieces, minimum 19" long and 1.5" high. (You could use 12 for less repetition.)
For the square to sew strips to: 14" x 14" (I used natural muslin here and for front piece)
For the overlaying front piece: 21" x 21"
For backing: 22" x 22"
For binding: 1.5" strips to get 85" in length (generous)

Assembly:

1. Sew your 6 strips together for the heart piece on the long side, right sides together, and press. I auditioned several arrangements and then changed my mind on the fly. Its part of the project! Embrace it.

2. Once assembled, cut from the short side into 1" strips (there is a little leeway in the 19" so you can mess up). This way you end up with strips of little blocks of each fabric.

3. Arrange your strips with small variations in height to approximate a heart shape: 11 strips make up the main part, and 7 below add extra length to the middle strips to make a decent heart. To make the top, I placed 1 strip in the center, then added to the sides, stepping up and then back down more steeply at the far sides.

4. Sew each of the bottom 7 strips to the 7 strips above them to get the extra length. Press.

5. Pin your strips in their arrangement to your 14" x 14" muslin square. Sew in place, using straight lines 1/4" from the long side of each strip. Or really, however you would like it to look. Sew once down the middle! Or three in each strip!

6. Now you are ready to place the 22" x 22" muslin square on top of the pieced strips. I sketched a rough heart at this point to place my pins, since we will be sewing in a heart shape, and I do best with multiple guidelines. Plus, it helps to make sure you keep your heart over the pieced strips and don't stray too much. Pin in place.

7. Sew a heart shape to piece your muslin squares together. I sewed mine 5 times, once in white thread and 4 in yellow/brown variegated thread, making sure to cross lines and sew at different distances to create a sketchy look.

8. Cut out inside the sewn lines to show the pieced heart.

9. Square up your muslin as needed.

10. Make your quilt sandwich with backing, batting and top. Baste.

11. Quilt, roughly following the heart shape at different distances and keeping the sketchy-look end product in mind as in step 7. I also did a line about 2" from each edge, and some random lines in the top right corner. Again, whatever looks right to you.

12. Trim up and square as needed.

13. Place and sew the binding. I did a single fold raw-edge binding (which is why it seems so small) to keep with the wabi look. Fold your 1.5" strips in half and press, then begin placing in the center of the bottom. When you come to the corner, you can still do the mitered edge look by just moving your strip over to the next edge and coaxing the fold nice and flat. I sewed close to the raw edge, more like a finishing stitch than a 1/4" binding stitch. So simple though- one line to sew, and you're done!

When I came to the point where I would join the strips at the bottom, I just laid them on top of each other and sewed them down as above.

All done! It really does sew up quick. Here are some more finished shots, emphasizing the imperfect but nevertheless pretty aspects of the quilt:

Let me know if you make it- I would love to know if this makes enough sense and see someone else's!

I Heart February post- a preview of my first tutorial!

2012-02-09T15:19:00.000-08:00

I could not resist making a Valentine's Day related project, especially after I spied a fun linky and contest over at Pink Chalk Studio's blog, and a contest for a tutorial over at Sew Mama Sew. So I whipped up this heart hanging. I hope I will get my first tutorial written for it later this week. Edited to add: here is the link for the tutorial!

First off, I have been doing some reading on Zen and also on architecture- I know, bear with me. The book was called The Architecture of Happiness by Alain de Botton. In the very last bit, he writes about the Japanese concept of beauty and transience called wabi-sabi. (With apologies to any Japanese readers or scholars- I will misconstrue this, but only to the best of my abilities and intentions). The idea is that our ideas of beauty lie largely in perfection, while wabi-sabi is more about appreciating the beauty in asymmetry, organic, irregular objects or activities. Thus, the idea for this project was born and executed.

The whole aesthetic of this project is to embrace the raw, rough parts of fabric and sewing and take a break from the measured, perfect angles that quilting often takes. For me, it is a psychological break from my usual sewing room thinking.

It is a lot of sketchy sewing without much regard to linearity or spacing, though it is hard not to think of those things after sewing so long.

I laid down the strips with raw edges and sewed two lines down each pieced strip to secure them down. Then I reverse appliqued the heart shape on natural muslin.

This is one of the particularly rough sewed areas, and you may be just able to see the strips under the muslin layer.

I only did a single 1.5" strip for binding and left raw edges on both sides, as well as at this joint of the binding.

The top edge, where I did some organic lines but did not like the way they looked enough to continue.

A closer view of the reverse applique stitches, in variegated thread.

Thanks for stopping by!

Linking to Pink Chalk...http://pinkchalkstudio.com/blog/2012/01/31/i-heart-february/

And Canoe Ridge Creations...

WIP Wednesday- stacks and scraps

2012-02-01T14:28:00.000-08:00

Stacks for Sparkle Punch QAL

A block that makes it look like i am doing more than cutting and stacking fabric

Scrap blocks- tiny bits, log cabin-ish and strips

Closer view of the little bits block

Not feeling very wordy today, because I am under the weather, but wanted to share!

Zig Zag baby quilt

2012-01-29T21:15:00.000-08:00

So I find myself tonight listening to the monitor, waiting for my son to fall asleep, my husband downstairs studying, and me without much to do. My sewing stuff is in the basement and it is cold down there, and apparently my machine is loud and the sound really carries. Plus, I like music on when I am sewing, and Kanye coming through the vents is not conducive to my husband's concentration. He suggested I write a blog post, but I have not much photogenic progress going on, just plugging along piecing my Sparkle Punch quilt...
Ah, yes! I never wrote a post about a quilt I made for my friend and co-worker's baby! And it is a missing link on my newly created Quilt Gallery page on this blog. A topic- success!

Back at my old, pre-baby job as a vet tech in a specialty surgery practice, I made an excellent friend who was having a baby. Well, this was before I got pregnant with my baby, and I was jealous. Three months later, I got over that (because I got a positive test, and the good hormones were raging) and I decided to make her a baby quilt.
I wanted to make a zig zag quilt, and to make things complicated I asked our coworkers if they wanted to each contribute a bit of fabric to make it, and then we would present it as a gift from all of us. My only guidelines were to get fabric in her nursery colors, brown and green. Then I got the fabric, and things got complicated. It was hard to make things look nice with that eclectic mix! Here I am trying out a layout- all one fabric, or all mixed up?

All mixed up, of course! Readers will know that I do love a crazy, wonky, lots-going-on quilt. And that I am really not skilled at taking good photos of my quilts! See below as evidence...

But you get the idea. I hope. I quilted in two different colors following the zig zag pattern, but not evenly spacing them, and doubled up some very close to the adjacent line. The binding was my first print binding- I had no other non-brown in any appreciable amount. But I love the look of it. The back is simply the brown on white print from the blocks. And I did not measure it, but is that really important? It's baby crib sized.
Can you believe I am a scientist at heart, who works in exactitude and vigilant record-keeping? Naw, me neither. This is my fun time hobby!

WIP Wednesday: Bit by bit

2012-01-25T12:51:00.000-08:00

Work in Progress Wednesday! I have some fun stuff to show for my work this week:
(and have been working on the blog too- new quilt gallery page!)

Ongoing projects:
Blocks for the Sparkle Punch QAL at Oh, Frannson!
These are nice and easy to punch out about 6 whole star blocks a day, but I am antsy to put them all together and see what they look like!

Scrap attack quilt blocks
(Thanks everyone for the encouragement to keep going last week!)

No progress:
Cutting for the Sparkle QAL (I am planning on the mini size)
Name tag for Portland Modern Quilt Guild Feb meeting

Completed or new projects:
None!

Resolved to Sew 2012

2012-01-20T07:50:00.000-08:00

As you may know from the bloggy world, Very Berry Handmade is offering some very lovely prizes for writing a Resolved to Sew 2012 post, and I simply cannot resist those. But I also think making this list for myself was nice for (mostly) clarifying what I would like to sew this year, and in what method I would like to accomplish it.

My overall goals are:

Sew at least 30 minutes a day
Finish at least one non-quilting project
Use my stash as much as possible
Resist perfectionism in all manifestations. This is supposed to be a fun diversion from mom and wife work!

My specific goals for projects will be amended a few times I am sure, but include:

Finishing the whale I began knitting last year
Use up my remaining Tula Pink Parisville, in a giant vintage star quilt or for hexies in a few mini quilts
Make a Sparkle Punch quilt with Taza FQs
Make some Mid-Century House blocks for a quilt, massively inspired by this post from Tallgrass Prairie Studio
Make a scrappy quilt to clean out my scrap drawer
Use my Kona Poseidon bundle remains to make that ill-fated DNA quilt, or a pennant quilt
Make at least one project (weiner dog, quilt in the headlights or alarm clock) from Dare to be Square Quilting
Do the projects from the Portland Modern Quilt Guild- I just joined, and it will be a blast

So this post has no pictures, and therefore is not as appealing, so I will add a shot from Very Berry Handmade of the fabric prize I would choose should I win, the bundle of Summersault from Backstitch.

http://veryberryhandmade.co.uk/2012/01/16/giveaway-resolved-to-sew-2012/

WIP Wednesday- are these scrap blocks working?

2012-01-18T08:59:00.000-08:00

Work in progress Wednesday! And a happy snow day to those with one- we have one, and it is so beautiful! We rarely have seen snow where we live for the last few years (since Boston!) so it is exciting to have snow on the ground in Portland.

New Projects:

Scrap usage

I am working on using up some scraps, inspired by all the scrap posts lately, but I a not sure if these are a hot mess or just a mess. I kinda just wanted to go whole hog (wow, there is a lot of slang in this post already!) and just piece scraps together in a big block and then frame it in some neutral background, but I am not sure that will work. What do you think? Keep on trucking (couldn't resist) or just trash these and work from other scraps? I am tempted just to keep at it and see what happens...

Taza Sparkle Punch Quilt

I posted about this new WIP yesterday. These are my cut bundles of Taza for the Oh, Frannson! Sparkle Punch QAL. I am very excited about these, just have to get some grey Kona (coal? medium grey?) for the background. White would be too boring, and lots of the prints have white in them. Ugh, more cutting, but yay, more sewing blocks!

Old Projects:
Here is where I have re-evaluated. I have no uncompleted projects that I have started in the past, and I am making up a new list of what I want to do this year. Among them is a quilt from Dare to be Square by Boo Davis, which I got for Christmas, and some kind of quilt(s) to use up my Parisville FQs in purple. Either a giant vintage star or a couple minis in some cool pattern. I am open to suggestions!

Completed:
None!

Linking up...

New QAL project with Taza bundle

2012-01-17T08:12:00.000-08:00

This is mostly fabric eye candy, but I have been a bit silent- my son decided he wanted to learn to use the potty out of the blue, so I have been sitting on the bathroom floor a large portion of my day! He also got his first real injury, with blood and contusions and all, on his eye of all places, but he is fine.

So cutting fabric has been a nice break, especially when it is so pretty and I had forgotten I had it to play with! I actually received this fabric right after we moved, from the Free Spirit Fabric blog after commenting there. You should visit- they give away some nice packs of goodies! This is Taza by Dena Fishbein. They sent a whole FQ pack of 30!

So I thought these would be perfect for wonky star blocks, and then found that Elizabeth at Oh, Fransson! is doing a Sparkle Punch Quilt-A-Long. Perfect! So I started cutting...and cutting...and cutting. Then I had to put together a test block to see if I could pull it off.

Yes! This is going to be fun.

Fabric basket to store letters (the ABC kind)

2012-01-09T14:17:00.000-08:00

I made a fabric basket! I have had this bookmarked forever as a to-do project, but I got the kick in the pants I needed because my son needed something to store felt letters in from a gift. I used the tutorial from Pink Penguin, and it would have been even faster had I actually looked at the photos!

See, I sew in the basement now without a computer, so Saturday night I wrote down the tutorial and then went downstairs to sew. I had not picked out fabrics yet, so from that point until having the exterior and lining done only took me about 2 hours! So far, so much excellent-ness.

Cut to today, when I sewed the lining to the exterior and realized I attached the handles to the inside of the exterior. Rookie mistake. So I took out the trusty seam ripper, ripped and flipped, then finished it up in another hour, I think. Not too bad, all in all.

I used fabrics salvaged from samples my husband's old architecture firm was trashing, and the lining is some fabric from my stash I was gifted. So I am no help there! I highly suggest design firms for small bit of cool heavier weight fabrics- they get rid of them all the time!

Linking up...

Improv quilt done for Project Linus (thanks Pat Bravo!)

2012-01-04T14:09:00.000-08:00

I had my sister help me with the full photos after we took our run- so you get a peek of downtown Portland!
In case you missed the explanatory post it is here, but the gist is I made this quilt to be given to Project Linus after Pat Bravo posted on her blog that she had too many scraps and needed quilt makers to use them up. I thought it was an excellent chance to use some Art Gallery fabrics (I never had before) and to help do some good. (Readers may know I am a sucker for charity quilts.)

Fast forward to late December, when I decided to make my Christmas gifts, so this got put on the back burner. Another factor was tension issues with my thread and/or my machine. Either way, I fixed them and finished quilting and binding over 2 days! Whew, I can be productive when I put my head down- and when my husband does bedtime with our toddler for me. Heh.

My mission was to make the quilt only with the scraps I received- and I did pretty well, but I did have to use some white on the backing and a stash sheet for my binding. The pieces I needed were too large, and I only had 1" strips left.

This was my first time trying zig zag stitch for finishing the binding. I love how it is more forgiving, but I did get a bit off track here...full disclosure, process pledge, you know. But I can live with one spot.

These improv blocks were a blast to put together, and I tried not to let myself care about the color combos too much either, except to follow some rudimentary cool/warm scheme for each. Malka Dubrawsky's method of improv piecing made this a blast. And wild. And colorful.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think about it- too crazy? I know it is a taste thing, so I am just curious- I promise I won't get my feelings hurt!

Quilt stats:
Finished size: 53" by 47"
Pattern: "Nate's Quilt" from Fresh Quilting by Malka Dubrawsky (I mostly followed it!)
Fabric:
Top: All Art Gallery scraps from many different lines, sent by Pat Bravo for the purpose
Binding: A stash sheet from Serena and Lily
Backing: More Art Gallery scraps and some stash Kona snow
Quilted: on my Brother in straight lines on the diagonal with variegated King Tut thread

Hello to new readers- my 2011 mini recap

2012-01-03T14:47:00.000-08:00

Here I am.
I have not had one photo of a person yet on my blog. So here I am. And yes, I do make that face an awful lot, so why not use it as my profile pic?
(If anyone knows how to get the photo rotated in Blogger from Picasa, let me know. I am not super techy-versed.)

I am linking with Lily's Quilts for Fresh Sewing Day and Small Blog Meet, so I am going to do a recap of 2011 sewing/crafting. Then you'll get a good sense of me and what I do.

I am getting used to this mosaic thing.

Some quilts, some crafty stuff, mostly sewing. See below for links and details!

From top left to right:

Purple vintage star quilt front and back

Amy Butler buttercup bag

Poseidon quilt front and back

Parisville quilt

Brown and yellow fall quilt front and back

Name banners

Blue Parisville quilt

Bluebird costume

Owl pumpkin

Charity quilt top

Brown stocking and Heirloom stocking

Pillow, felt crown and tutu gifts

Little Apples quilt

You may notice if you click through, these are not in date order. I am not that cool, or organized. Plus, naptime is over and my son is saying "all done" in his room. So, until next time!

My Blogger's Choice FQ bundle

2012-01-02T08:22:00.000-08:00

Yes, I went bold. And pink.

From the top left to right:

LouLouThi Sugar Coreopsis Yardage LouLouThi by Anna Maria Horner for Free Spirit Fabrics

Kaffe Fassett Collective Pink Japanese Chrysanthemum Yardage Kaffe Fassett Collective by Westminster Fibers

Get Together Pink Squirrels and Nuts Yardage Get Together by David Walker for Free Spirit Fabrics

Taza Pink Color Stripe Yardage Taza by Dena Designs for Free Spirit Fabrics
Power Pop Orange Thirteen Yardage Power Pop by Jenean Morrison for Free Spirit Fabrics
Modernology Rose Mod Vines Yardage Modernology by Patricia Bravo for Art Gallery Fabrics
Kaffe Fassett Collective White Herringbone Stripe Yardage Kaffe Fassett Collective by Westminster Fibers
Domestic Bliss Primary Window Seat Yardage Domestic Bliss by Liz Scott for Moda Fabrics
Domestic Bliss Aqua with Cream Beaded Curtain Yardage Domestic Bliss by Liz Scott for Moda Fabrics
Mimosa Yellow Mosaic Yardage Mimosa by Dear Stella Fabrics
Summersault Rose Pinwheel Yardage Summersault by Erin McMorris for Free Spirit Fabrics
Kaffe Fassett Sky Palm Fan Yardage Kaffe Fassett Fabrics by Westminster Fibers
Nursery Basics Sky Solid Yardage Nursery Basics by Cloud9 Fabrics
Bella Solids Porcelain Yardage Bella Solids by Moda Fabrics
Pure Elements Festival Fuchsia Solid Yardage Pure Elements by Patricia Bravo for Art Gallery Fabrics

Christmas gifts for my niece and nephew

2011-12-27T12:31:00.000-08:00

Yet another post from the "wait to post photos of gifts until after Christmas" category.

I made gifts for both my nephew and niece and wanted to share them, especially as they are all firsts for me!

The first is a pillow and cover for my niece. I have had these FQs of Birch Storyboek fabrics sitting around waiting for a perfect project ever since I received them from Green Bag Lady. Turns out a gift for my little niece is perfect! I made her a pillow form and an envelope-backed pillow cover. I used the tutorial from Cluck Cluck Sew, but left out the appliqued front. I did applique a letter P on the back for her name though.

The second project is a felt crown for my nephew. I started this on a whim about a week and a half before Christmas because he mentioned he wanted a crown to go with his tutu (see below). So I made him a very boyish crown with his initial, along with a rocket ship, the moon and a star. My sister and I browsed a lot on Google images (and there are some great ones there if you crochet) but I based mine on the ones made by Maureen over at Maureen Cracknell Handmade. I have wanted to make one ever since I saw hers.

The third project is a tutu for my 3 year old nephew. His friend had one at her house and he adored it, so my sister mentioned he would like one. I found a really easy tutorial at Skip to my Lou. It is still a bit serendipitous to me that a headband fits a toddler's waist. I mixed some purple, fuchsia and white to make a rather riotous tutu. My nephew loved it and wore it with the rocket ship crown, which was adorable.

These were all so fun to make, and it was nice to challenge myself with new projects and mediums. I like having these excuses to break the mold!

Little Apples quilt: a finish and a gift for my mom

2011-12-26T12:57:00.000-08:00

I did not want to post pictures of my finished Little Apples quilt until after Christmas, because it was a surprise gift for my mom. But now I am happy to share, because this is the quilt I am most proud of yet! It is the largest one I have ever made- I went to a local shop, Modern Domestic, to quilt it because their space is larger and their machines are much nicer Berninas compared to my little Brother.

My mom loved it! This was the gift I was so excited to give this Christmas, and I am so happy to give it to my mom.

Quilt stats:
Finished size: 60" by 52"
Pattern: "Valentine" from The Practical Guide to Patchwork: New Basics for the Modern Quiltmaker (p. 71) by Elizabeth Hartman
Fabric:
Top: Little Apples jelly roll (won from Diane and sponsored by Julie) with sashing in Kona Medium Grey (won from Bec and sponsored by Fat Quarter Shop in this haul)
Binding: Heath for Alexander Henry
Backing: Rendezvous by Khristian A Howell for Anthology, Kona snow, some random black dotted stuff from JoAnn's and leftover Little Apples strip
Quilted: on a Bernina 450 using a fan or sunbeam pattern (?)- no idea what to call it, but credit to my husband for suggesting it!

progress!

2011-12-20T07:48:00.000-08:00

Stockings! I have been wicked busy sewing for Christmas- thus, very little blogging but lots of progress on projects and presents. This means, on the off chance that someone who will receive one of these gifts is reading (and my readership is pretty low, but a fair majority are family!) I have to wait to show pictures until after the gifting days- so check back for some wonderful finishes after Dec 25!

As for the pics I can show though, I finished two stockings, one for me and one for my two year old son. I made mine first because I had never made one before and had to make up the pattern. I am glad I did, because it is about half the size his ended up being! Way too small for someone with lots of stuff in a stocking!

I vaguely used the free All the Trimmings Stocking pattern available from Denyse Schmidt Quilts, but mostly just for the construction guidelines. I don't have a printer, so I just eyeballed my pattern. I love how they came out! For mine, I used the Heirloom fat eights I won from Stitching by Starlight. Thanks again, Angie!

Hopefully they will hold up well to stuffing on Christmas Eve!

Happy holidays to everyone reading this, and I hope your sewing and crafting is well received, as gifts or in your own home!

Sew Modern Monday post- hope this counts!

2011-11-27T20:28:00.000-08:00

Okay, so Sew Modern Monday at Canoe Ridge Creations is for modern sewing finishes- a finished quilt top counts right? I hope so, because I am posting- so comment to warn me if it doesn't! I am itching to share though!
This is the improv quilt I am making from Art Gallery fabric scraps sent by Pat Bravo for Project Linus quilts. These fabrics were a blast to work with, and it was a great challenge for me to sew a project using just these scraps. So great a challenge in fact that I failed just a bit. I had to use some Kona snow yardage from my stash to make up the quilt backing- the remaining scraps Ms. Bravo sent were too skinny to make it up. Cheater cheater me. But hey, they were my rules that I broke.
Picture disclaimer- I am having a wicked hard time with my camera, so these are not lovely, but they do convey the idea. However, the pics of the sewn together pieces are terrible, so I guess you have to take my word for it? The last picture is terrible, but proof they are done...

See? The last shows it all taped up to guide my not-usually-very-straight line quilting. So far...not so good. Lots of tension issues. I seem to have these worst with my King Tut thread- anyone else? Maybe I need a new machine...

One last bit- a rearrangement of my to be done Little Apples string quilt. I will need to add borders too.

Linking up...

Little Apples quilt blocks ready to be sewn up and a new project

2011-11-14T21:25:00.000-08:00

My Little Apples blocks are ready to be made into a quilt top! I am excited to get this ball rolling, as I hope to give this as a Christmas gift this year. Plus, I just love to complete a project.

I think the quilting should go easy too- I plan to just to straight line quilting in random arrangement across the entire quilt top. I think this will be best considering this is the largest quilt top I have made to date, I am quilting it on my machine at home, and there are all kinds of lines on this quilt already, so no need to distract any more! It is already quite busy, though I am liking it this way. I would like some opinions though.

I think the top needs to be larger, because I would like it to be more throw sized than baby sized, but I am out of fabric from my jelly roll! Should I just do a border in the same grey as the main lattice fabric, go for a brighter color from the Little Apples line, or do half blocks with the strips from Little Apples and a solid on the other half? (And does all that even make sense?)
I have not started piecing because I do not have a 1/4" quilting foot (horrendous, I know), but I did all the blocks without one...will it make a difference?
What color for the binding- grey, red, the dark green or turquoise from the blocks?

Also, just to add things to a list already chock full and unfinished with the holidays so close, I signed on to make a quilt for Project Linus through Pat Bravo's blog. She sent out bags of scraps to volunteers, and I started cutting into mine and arranging by color to do a quilt from Fresh Quilting- Nate's Quilt. I love the idea of improv piecing and hope that makes it come together pretty fast. The scraps are gorgeous by the way- even if I mess up the quilt design someone is going to love this quilt just for the fabrics! Thanks for the materials. Art Gallery Fabrics and Ms. Bravo!

Bloggers Quilt Festival- my baby's quilt story

2011-10-30T20:56:00.000-07:00

This was not my first quilt, or my first baby quilt, but it is my first quilt I made for my baby. I wanted my son's quilt to be colorful and beautiful. Though it seems counter-intuitive to add a lot of white to a baby quilt, I could not resist the look. And it has stood the test of time, wash after wash. He sleeps with it every night in his bed, and it comes with us on trips, even just for a nap at grandma's house.

I was experimenting with layout here, trying to make the colors go in order of value. But not too perfect, of course ;)

The backing I found at my LQS and could not resist the perfect blend of green and yellow.

Here's a closeup of the fabric, and my mixed yellow binding. That has become an accidental signature- my binding is never long enough in the fabric I pick, so there is almost always a little piece added!

A full shot of the front. I adore this quilt. But not as much as I adore the little boy I made it for. I think I love it extra because of who it was created for.

The stats:
Finished measurements: 36" x 42"
Pattern: modified (scaled way down) from the Purl Bee- A Wedding Quilt
Fabrics: color blocks made from my stash, which was in large part inherited from someone else (aka no idea), backing and binding was a remnant and the white is Kona snow
Quilting: done by me, very simple stitch in the ditch along the blocks

Thanks for reading through my favorite quilt story!

Sewing and general crafting updates

2011-10-30T17:43:00.000-07:00

I am admittedly having a difficult time fitting blogging into my life right now! The first reason is we have no internet in our new place- I just use my husband's phone to get online. So that means I can only be on the net when he is home and we are not busy eating, playing, cooking, cleaning, relaxing together or doing a multitude of other non-internet things. The second is, I have been busy doing crafty things for Halloween! First up, a bluebird costume for my little man (he's almost two!):

(my chair doing my modeling here)

(closeup of the wing)
This was really fun, it all came together in a day (luckily a very sleepy day for my son) and he wore it yesterday for a zoo Halloween scavenger hunt. The wings need to be adjusted to stay on better, but he loved to wear the hat. I used this Martha Stewart baby pattern as inspiration, but drew my own wings and followed the instructions very minimally.

The next project was a first trip to the pumpkin patch, and then carving pumpkins. I went for the bird theme whole hog this year and chose to do an owl.

I used a Dremmel tool specifically made for carving pumpkins, which I highly recommend! It was a blast and so easy, but I did get little bits of pumpkin all over my arms. Shower after the carving, not before.

And the third reason for my lack of blogging? I want to use all my free time to see how this Little Apples string block quilt is going to turn out! I get about 2-3 blocks done a day, but I am getting anxious!

I've got a nice pile going, but I have a lot of my jelly roll left! I can't wait to start laying it out.

Best of luck to all for the coming week, getting through a sugar-fueled late-night holiday and getting some sewing/crafting/work/relaxing done!

Been a long time...updates from a rainy city

2011-10-15T10:13:00.000-07:00

Hello to my readers! I have moved to my new city of Portland, Oregon and am somewhat settled in, enough to be sewing once again and trying to get back into my groove. Most of my time up to this point has been focused on moving in to our new house and playing with my son. His sleeping times have been occupied by unpacking and organizing, cleaning and relaxing with my husband. And looking for a nice modern not-too-expensive couch (no luck on the last front).

This is my color-organized bookshelf- can you tell I missed my sewing/quilting?

Our new front door

My new sewing area- smaller, but hoping this smaller footprint will make me more organized!

My Little Apples jelly roll all cut up and ready to use to make some string blocks (I am using the instructions from The Practical Guide to Patchwork by Elizabeth Hartmann, a fellow Portlander)

These are the selvedges- don't they look interesting in this little bunch?

This is an Heirloom bundle I won from Angie at Stitching by Starlight, from her 10 for 10 interviews, which if you missed are still on her blog. My first fabric winnings at my new house!

This I received before I left Cali but forgot to mention it here in the madness- this is a Storyboek fat quarter bundle from Birch fabrics, which I received from the Green Bag Lady. These are beautiful and soft- now I just need a plan for them!

More to come soon, but for now, I need to get back to stitching my Little Apples!

Finished- 100 Quilts for Kids

2011-09-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

So I said my last post would be the only one for a while, but I have to post my quilts for 100 Quilts for Kids because I finished the second one just in time to start packing (and link up!). So here it is:

Love the variegated blue thread on the purple binding

My two quilts to donate- now going to two kids who need them! One of these is for you, Diane!

I will be taking these to Doernbecher Children's Hospital to donate to the chemo ward. We had a close friend whose son was treated there and I would love to give some handmade comfort to those brave kids during their often lengthy treatments.

A WIP Wed post for my peace of mind

2011-09-21T07:54:00.000-07:00

Had to post my WIP Wednesday, I guess it is now ingrained in me. So I will make this one different too. I feel the need to post it since it will likely be my last post for a month or so. I will not be doing much sewing to report on, because I will need to be packing- just found out I will be moving to the Portland area in two weeks. So here goes my progress before I have to pack up my sewing room!

My banners/bunting are finished! One for each of two boys, and finished up and ready to go to their new home. This was a fun and relatively easy one!

Now, finally got to piecing this quilt top, using my blue colorway of Parisville. I ended up making two (relatively) square quilts so that they could both be donated. Then I found out I was going to need to spend all my time packing. So now I am in finish-it-up-NOW mode. Thus, trying to get these quilted and done by Friday. At least I made progress...

Pinned and the machine is set up to quilt this one at naptime today. If I only finish one, just one more going to 100 Quilts for Kids, so here's to being really good and finishing both!

It'll be a while, so I'll see you all on the flip side (of October).

WIP Wednesday- where not a lot got done

2011-09-14T13:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, some things got done, but mostly these involved caring for a sick son and trying to take care of a house in the process. And the sick son is a toddler, not eating anything and not sleeping. This last you realize does cut into my sewing time. There's a reason this blog is titled the way it is. So I'll be less wordy this time.

Completed:

My quilt to donate for 100 quilts for kids, as seen yesterday. It is now washed, but I doubt that justifies many more pictures.

Making a new list for my to-do for this page. Last week I winged it, but now I want to actually use it to keep myself accountable. Yay.

New:

Banner (bunting?) for my friends' kids, to decorate their new room. I am using blues for background and red for the letters. They have now been cut out, ready to sew- maybe tonight?

Ongoing:
Cutting out patterns and fabrics for my Amy Butler patterns using my Harmony Arts fabrics. This is where I need some advice.

For the Domestic Goddess Apron: This fabric combo...is too busy? Or is it okay? I wanted to make a kinda crazy mix here for my sister, so the flowery fabric would make up the bulk and the blue and brown Harmony Arts the accents. Thoughts?

The next project from the AB patterns is the Birdie Sling. I am using the center Harmony Arts fabric for the main part of the bag and trying to decide on my accent fabric. The batik on the left? The flowery Kona Bay on the right?

Or the green?

No progress:

DNA quilt (design and cutting step 1)
Echino Squared-inspired Parisville quilt top (arranging blocks)
Kaleidoscope quilt with the pomegranate Parisville
Other quilt to donate to 100 Quilts for Kids- perhaps a ticker tape or other QAL quilt?
Knitting a doll/softie for Christmas gift for my niece

This week's stats:
Completed projects - 1
New projects - 1
Currently in progress - 7

Brown and yellow fall quilt for 100 Quilts for Kids- completion!

2011-09-12T13:30:00.000-07:00

I love saying this- done! I am done with my quilt for the 100 Quilts for Kids drive. Well, the first one at least. Now the race is on to finish at least one more. Maybe I will also donate my Parisville quilt, or my Kona poseidon quilt. I doubt I need them as much as they will be enjoyed by someone who receives them through the drive.

Here's a closeup so you can see the quilting. I loved the quilting for the original quilt from Made by Rae, so I stuck with that, nice parallel lines in yellow variegated thread to set off the brown. Okay, close to parallel. I am trying to buck this perfectionist thing in my quilting.

This is the back, made of extra smaller charm squares, a big piece of brown fabric and some white printed with cute little bunnies in brown.

These are the cute little bunnies! And some view of what the quilting looks like on the backside. Pieced backs make me wonder how they will line up, especially with straight line quilting, but this worked pretty well.

Here is another closeup so you can see the prints. Mixed some yellow in there because the brown was getting overwhelming and the fall colors need some yellow, yes? So I had to throw some in the brown binding too- just some smatters, like fallen leaves.

The thrown-carelessly-over-a-chair look.

I did not plant that ball. But it does bring out the yellow in the binding. Thanks dear toddler.

All folded up. Love that brown print with the flowers.

Did I overdo it with the pictures? Hopefully not. I was having fun celebrating my finish, and wondering who will love this quilt? Hopefully a kid who needs a extra bit of love and comfort.

Linking? Why yes I am. Also to Sew Modern Monday!

Project from a craft book (Amy Butler of course)

2011-09-10T13:35:00.000-07:00

I have been on a road trip the last week and just got in my sewing room yesterday, so I am posting just to keep up. I wanted to show off a project I completed for my son a while ago, from Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones. This is the quick change tabletop set. It made a nice nesting project for me before my son was born, and I loved having a nice place to change him in different rooms- instead of buying a changing table we were able to use this on top of a dresser.

Again, I am not sure of the fabric maker or name of the prints, as this came from a gifted stash, but I know the flannel I used for the removable pad was from a receiving blanket. Those turned out to be very ubiquitous and useless for swaddling, but nice for covering a changing table!

The pattern was easy to work with, and the real challenge was prepping the materials, because it asks for high density foam, and for it to be cut to exacting measurements- and me without the suggested electric serrated knife! I muddled through and was able to get the fabric to fit over the bolsters (in some cases just barely!) and it worked wonderfully.

The genius of this design is many fold, and it was the most useful thing I made for my son so far.

The changing pad itself is removable (you may be able to see in the picture above, the extra edge) and attaches with velcro, so when it gets dirty (say, 15 times a day) you can wash it separately.
The bolsters on the sides are also removable, so they can be washed when they get dirty as well. Saying this reminds me- sewing that velcro was also kind of a pain. And I was surprised how expensive it was to outfit this pad in velcro! Shocking!
The little pocket on the side is lovely for storage and makes the whole deal look that much better finished. That Amy Butler, she does know how to make even a diaper disaster area look good!
The length is nice and was useable for a long period of time, even with a pretty long baby. By the time he really started rolling around I was on the floor anyway.
No need to buy extra furniture, or to move something heavy when baby changes rooms- moved easily from my dresser to his room and to the floor for visitors or roly poly babies.

Overall, highly recommend this project, very useful, very cute and makes a nice decorative (and customizable) addition to a baby room.

I made a few other things from this book- the modern diaper bag pattern I posted about here with pictures (end of the post), and I will have to show off the snuggie blanket some other time :)

Linking up to Craft Buds for Craft Book Month!

WIP Wednesday for 100 Quilts for Kids, and a Travel Handmade linkup

2011-08-31T10:24:00.000-07:00

Whew! Lots to show and talk about this week! I am going to try to format this correctly this week so that we can stay organized....

Ongoing projects:

100 Quilts for Kids QAL- currently doing okay?

A new work in progress, started this week as my project for 100 Quilts for Kids, the charity quilt drive at Swim Bike Quilt. I am following the QAL using the Storytime Squares pattern from Made by Rae. I used some charm squares from my stash for this one, and hope that kids like brown. Will it be okay? I think it will be cute, but hope that the occasional florals will not dissuade a boy from liking it too.

So I added my second row of piecing last night and saw that I really do need to find/replace my 1/4" quilting foot. My top right squares do not line up, and since I have also somehow misplaced my seam ripper, I am going to have to fix it after a trip to my LQS.

Echino squared inspired quilt for Parisville fabric- progress to quilt top piecing

Posted here previously, now on the wall and possibly I am going to rip up some blocks or replace some with more white space to calm down the crazy. More to come when seam ripper is replaced.

Super large Amy Butler bag- finished

Someday I will get a new camera, I promise. For now, please forgive my poor photos and lighting, I am simply making do with the fact that I rarely finish anything during the day. And forgive my lack of process shots. There is no room for extra brain power to take photos while following an AB pattern. This is the Modern Diaper Bag from Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones. First off, wow. This bag is gigantic. As I cut out the pattern, this became more and more obvious, but I somehow thought in my delusion that it would get smaller as I sewed it, as if the seam allowances were 5 inches instead of 1/2 inch.

That being said, I am really pleased with how it turned out, and very pleased with my color and fabric choices. Alas, I did not get to use Ms. Butler's fabrics for the bag, and even more of a bummer, have no idea what this fabric is called or what line it is from, as it came from the stash.

I do like how the stripes compliment the damask print, and I don't usually work with grey and yellow, but love the way it matches up here.

I actually gifted this to a friend to use for her baby, as I know she loves a large bag and travels quite a bit. I hope she loves it and gets lots of use out of it!

No "real" progress:

Plans for rest of Kona Poseidon FQs
Plan for pomegranate colorway of Parisville- I am thinking a Kaleidoscope quilt though, using Don't Call Me Betsy's QAL
Plan/start the second quilt top for 100 Quilts for Kids
Start the Little Apples string block quilt top

Putting together a quilt- opinions needed!

2011-08-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

I began working on piecing blocks for my other Parisville quilt this weekend, the one inspired by Fresh Lemons' Echino Squared (as as I tend to think of it Echino2). So far so good. Used my scissors, as per my last post, and happy with the way blocks looked in piecing- at least for the most part.

These look nice, I think. I decided to mix the fabrics, patterns and colors in the blocks to create some more interest and less uniformity. I think this may be where I got off track. I did it sort of off the cuff, so then when I pieced the blocks and then started laying them out, things were looking a bit off...

Exhibit A. What the....? This looks so odd to me. Granted, I pieced it last night just working kinda randomly to see what worked and how big it looked with 4 blocks by 5 blocks and how to arrange. But still. I did not love this layout at all, and didn't love how the blocks looked together.

So this morning I went back out and tried again, rearranged a few blocks, and got to wondering why some things looked off.

Exhibit B. I like this arrangement better, but I could use some help figuring out where I am going wrong. Do I need more white space? More careful arranging of the blocks for color coordination? Do I need to cut up some of the topiary fabric to make it work better? (NB: the topiary background is more cream than white.)

I'd love some assistance.

Why I returned to scissors, pencil and ruler: a story of disillusionment

2011-08-28T12:09:00.000-07:00

No kidding, I am through with rotary cutters. A few reasons you ask? Gladly.
1) I always make more mistakes than the time it saves me and end up wasting fabric cuts.
2) I have issues making it go straight.
3) My blade is always dulling wicked fast so I have to go back and cut the missed spots with scissors anyway.
4) My cutting area happens to be my dining room table which (no coincidence) is also where my toddler eats yogurt and applesauce, with a spoon, by himself. Equals epic mess (but also mommy pride).

So I did all my cutting for the Parisville mist colorway quilt the old fashioned way- and I loved it! Never turning back. I used the Echino Squared quilt from Fresh Lemons as inspiration (thanks Toni!) though mine is of course not going to look much like this! Once again I muddled it all out myself in all of 20 minutes and then started cutting. I am impetuous like that.

Work in progress Wednesday- with a finish!

2011-08-24T13:39:00.000-07:00

Yes, let's start with the finish, because I am so glad I am done- er, i mean, I am so proud of it. This quilt proved to be difficult in the end- maybe I just had it too easy piecing it in the beginning. Either way, I am proud of the finished product and happy with how it came together.

This shot really showcases how well the binding matches certain fabrics in the Parisville line, especially the cameos and fans. Trouble is, it is hard to match a binding to all the fabrics in the line, and since I have them all in this quilt, it was a bit of an issue. But I decided to go big and bold. I quilted all of the blocks differently, because I like to make things difficult on myself, and I thought different shapes looked better with the fabrics. Some have boxes, some arches, some frames, some linked triangles. The I just quilted along the yellow center lines, parallel to the blocks. I tried a variegated Kin Tut thread, which was a first for me, and it was perfect for this quilt, since the yellow is a major hallmark of this colorway, and the reddish-pink binding compliments the other dominant color.

Here is a shot of the whole deal. It is likely hard to tell what the quilting looks like- my apologies, I need a new camera and perhaps a pro photographer to correct my poor quilting photos. At least you get an idea of what it looks like. Heh. The dimensions are about 36" x 42" and I have no idea what the binding fabric is called- it is the oldest fabric in my stash (predates it in fact) and was given to me with a pile of stuff.

To do list as of now (short version):
1) Plan for the Little Apples jelly roll I got from Di and The Intrepid Thread- maybe a string block quilt like FITF's or this modern tracks pattern from Me? A Mom?

2) Plan for the other Parisville quilts- I still have the other two colorways in FQs! I'm thinking one like Fussy Cut's kaleidoscope quilt and Fresh Lemons' Echino Squared. Or maybe one like this?

3) Decide on a palette for the Dead Simple QAL at Lily's Quilts. And if I can pull it off.

Does this post count as a work in progress? I hope so- I need some advice on what you all think will work for my Parisville blues and purples and the Little Apples jelly roll!

As a side note, if anyone has a little one and needs a cool stroller, there's a giveaway for a Bumbleride Indie Natural at The Baby Guy Gear Guide. A straying from fabric and quilt giveaways for sure, but maybe worthwhile!

quick reminder to those needing a project (or a home for a project)

2011-08-22T16:51:00.000-07:00

Kate at Swim Bike Quilt is having a quilt drive called 100 Quilts for Kids (see the button below and on my sidebar?) that is getting started up via sharing progress and finishes on Flickr and linking up September 28-30 or October 12-14 for prizes! So if you need some incentive to create a quilt to donate locally, consider this your call to action! Kate is giving away some lovely fabric this week for help spreading the word, so get over there, make a plan and donate a quilt (or many!) to those in need of them.

Now, if Kate could also inspire me to swim and bike, I would be in excellent shape, karmically (i doubt that's a word) and physically!

machine/quilting issues

2011-08-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

Major issues with my machine (yes, it did need some cleaning/maintenance, and that helped) and with quilting this Parisville quilt. The two things are very much inter-related. I quilted down a row of the big blocks and then realized my tension was all wonky and I had knots and skips on the back. Then my thread kept snapping or tangling- it was bad news.
Cue the realization that I needed to clean the lint from under my bobbin tray (yuck! especially when inhaled) and then do some maintenance. This helped my thread issues, but somehow did not keep me from making silly mistakes like keeping my backing from folding up on the edges and getting quilted on to the top (really???)
Apologies for all the parentheses. So I am using this time to vent. I also wanted to give a thanks to The Intrepid Thread and Diane from Random thoughts do or "di" for the Little Apples giveaway. Yay for Cali shops and blogs- I had my jelly roll the day after Diane emailed me to tell me I won! I am very excited. In fact, it is taking all I have not to just start a project with that instead and leave my Parisville to be quilted another day. This line is really soft and cuter in person than online- the colors are excellent. But readers will know that I do have a thing for grey lately.

In addition, the other nice news is my Parisville top was featured for Tula Pink week at Craizee Corners. Sharon is doing a giveaway for some Tula Pink fabric and patterns- I don't know if the Modern Alphabet pattern will be one of them, but I am hoping! I have never worked from a pattern before, and this one seems sufficiently over my head to be a good start!

Ooh, and I just thought of another fabulous thing to distract from the bad stuff- I also won a giveaway from Harmony at Harmony Art for some Amy Butler patterns. The patterns are fun- 4 bags and a neat apron- but then Harmony turned out to be a wonderfully gracious and friendly person, as well as a fabric designer. She creates a lovely array of organic fabrics and when I mentioned that I would have to pick some up she gifted me a few pieces. She's also in Cali, right near me. Small world. Thank you Harmony, you are wonderful! Here are the beauties I will be using to whip up an Amy Butler pattern or two (the top is called Evelyn and the bottom Let it Grow):

This is very therapeutic. Now that I have stated all these good things that have happened this week it does not seem so bad that I am having some sewing room issues. Thanks for listening!

Kona Poseidon FQ quilt, take 1 (a finish)

2011-08-18T15:16:00.000-07:00

It is finished, all quilted and bound. I love the way this quilt turned out, it looks so crinkly and wavy, which nicely balances the straight lines and rather straightforward piecing. This layout looks much better than the colors back to back, which is how I envisioned it the first time. My husband convinced me to go with the grey for the binding rather than pieced colors, and I think he was right.

Here are closeups of the individual sides. I have no idea what to call this pattern, I simply made it up, though it is obviously not complicated.

I ended up piecing the back, because as I started to cut the reclaimed duvet I got from the Serena and Lily sample sale, I realized it was quite stained. Guess that's why they call it a deal. So I started cutting, and as usual I love the look of a pieced back more than a plain one. And I had a lot of fun just piecing it as I went with no real plan. The bottom pic is a closeup of the peacock print.

I have more plans for the rest of the Kona Poseidon stash, so keep your eyes open in the next few weeks. I am being pushed in the direction of a DNA blot-inspired quilt, so I am getting ready to geek it out. This quilt is small, as you can likely tell, my usual working size, though the proportions worked out a bit funky for this one- it is 42" x 56" I think. Now to quilt the Parisville top...

WIP Wednesday

2011-08-10T19:55:00.000-07:00

Gonna make it, gonna make it...with my husband taking care of bedtime, I am going to squeak in a WIP post on a Wednesday! I quilted some at naptime today, using a method I just found on Kristen's blog So Happy. It primarily involves making un-straight lines, just wriggling the sandwich as you sew, which makes it my favorite, because I don't have to worry about keeping to a line.

I think I really love the results, I am just needing to decide if I want to do the whole quilt like this or just part of it. Maybe the green half to be quilted in squares/rectangles in green thread? Yet to be determined, as I only got through 1/4 of the quilt before naptime was over.

In related news, I checked out a quilting reference book from the library last night and learned a few things I should be doing but was not. See, I never took a class or really read a book, I have just been kinda winging it as I go along. Turns out my machine has this thing called a walking foot that makes it easier to quilt accurately. Hmmm. I tried it, and it worked well. Plus, it looks hilariously weird, and that helps to ease the pain of not figuring this out before.

My other WIP, the Tula Pink Parisville-utilizing one, has a backing fabric cut up (a Serena and Lily salvage again, from a sheet) and is all basted up like a turkey. It is awaiting my trip to buy quilting thread that matches and machine time stolen from the above quilt.

Sew Modern Monday: Amy Butler bag finish

2011-08-08T11:43:00.000-07:00

This bag is my first Sew Mondern Monday post and my latest finish that remains unblogged- until now! This is the Amy Butler Blossom shoulder bag from her book Style Stitches.
I had heard this pattern was really challenging, and when I bought the fabric at Hip Stitch in Albuquerque on vacation they had made a sample for the shop and mentioned again that it was a lot of work because of the stiffness of the interfacing.
All that said, I loved making it, and was antsy to do so the moment I saw the pattern posted on Sew Mama Sew.

The fabric is from the Soul Blossoms line, Peacock Feathers in turquoise for the outer and English Garden in pine for the lining. This is my main issue with AB patterns- I love them, but I feel like I need to make them from her fabrics, because they will make the bag that much more beautiful.

The detail of the handle attachment was the part of the bag that really drew me into the project. It looks extravagant, but it was not that difficult to achieve. Matching up the fabric- well, that is difficult to achieve for me! I actually didn't even think of it here as I was cutting. Heh.

The lining was comparatively simple and I like the look of it. I modified the pattern (something I can't seem to help doing) and only added one divider panel inside, and omitted the zipper. Yes, a bit chicken of me, but I also didn't think I would use a zipper pocket.
The real issue for me is the closure. I used a magnetic closure, the ones that attach like brads, but I wanted to use an "invisible" closure. I bought one for this project (a Dritz magnetic sew-on closure) but couldn't figure out how to get it to work correctly. The magnet kept sticking to my sewing machine plate and messing up the stitches. So I ended up with an exposed closure, which I dislike for both aesthetic reasons and because it pulls the fabric each time you open the bag. Live and learn I suppose.

Does anyone have tips for how they attach these sew-on closures inside the fabric layers? I would appreciate the help! For the next one I want to make it work...hand sew maybe?

Work in progress Wednesday: Tula Pink Parisville quilt

2011-08-03T08:11:00.000-07:00

So, I will cheat and show the finished quilt top first, so those who have other things to do can just take a glance, and then get into the process.

The quilt is small, about 40" by 50" and it is Tula Pink Parisville in the Sprout colorway, sashed with Kona Snow. I am not sure what to call the design, as it is a little bit of a cobble-together.

I searched and searched for ideas about what I wanted to do with this quilt, looked all over the Tula Pink Flickr group for ideas, because I have never worked with big prints that seem to need to be showed off before. Finally I found this Flickr picture, but I do not know how to contact the person who made the quilt to give them credit, so hopefully this will suffice. Update: found the designer of this pattern by cruising Sew Mama Sew, via Quilt Dad: it is a Happy Zombie pattern called Rectangle Reverie.

This fabric is part of the Fat Quarter Shop winnings I received and was so excited to work with. I really like the way it turned out, but it was not what I planned.

I originally planned it to look like the quilt from the Flickr pic, but I sketched it out quickly before my son woke up one day and never referred back to the photo. So I made some notes on my original sketch, squashed a lot of numbers in, calculated what I would need to measure and cut, and then cut. I am impetuous like that, or spontaneous, or something that borders on impatient.

I didn't spot my error until I actually sewed everything together and laid it out. Do you see it? It only seems like an error (I hope) when compared with the original quilt. The sashing of the smaller yellow pieces between the large prints are supposed to line up square with the middle of the large prints. But I mis-read the photo and my sketch and made them so they do not line up at all with the large prints.

Maybe this pic makes it more clear. So what did I do to correct my error? Nothing! Laziness or ambivalence wins again, because I looked at it, thought "eh?" shrugged my shoulders and carried on. I actually do like it now, and moreover, when I calculated what I would have to do to fix it, I decided against it completely.

I wanted to share all this because the finished product looks nice (if I do say so myself) but I like what I have been seeing on others' blogs about process and showing mistakes or otherwise imperfect parts of beautiful quilts. So I am taking the process pledge and starting with that honesty now. I am a perfectionist at heart, but my way of sewing and quilting is a break from that, and my methods don't allow it!

Please see the button below for the pledge.

I, Amorette, pledge to talk more about my processes, even when I can’t quite put them in the in words or be sure I’m being totally clear. I’m going to put my thinking and my gut feelings out there.

Where I sew

2011-08-02T07:13:00.000-07:00

I wanted to add a photo of where I sew. It is not too fancy, for sure, though that new chair really classes up the joint, eh?
Mostly I wanted to show this to underscore my point about taking time for yourself, mom or not, to do something creative, productive (in a non-essential way), and all your own. I do not have all the best equipment; sometimes my machine drives me crazy with its inadequacies, my table is wobbly when I sew too fast (there's a Zen lesson there), and my rotary cutter for some reason always dulls fast. My cutting mat is shared with my architect husband for model building. There's a lack of table space, so I use the guest bed.

But I love to be out there and working! It is my space, my time, and I love to have something else going on while my toddler sleeps. I'm a young-ish stay at home mom and a housewife, and though it seems cliche to be quilting, I actually do enjoy the creative process.

new sewing chair!

2011-08-01T14:25:00.000-07:00

I got a new sewing chair on Saturday! I have been sewing on a very uncomfortable wooden folding chair, and I saw this at a Serena and Lily warehouse sale and couldn't pass it up- it was about 80% off from normal. Plus, gorgeous fabrics, very nice shape and has casters on the front to make it easy to move. The armless chair is the way to go- I like to be able to hop up quickly to iron my seams!

I also wanted to share a link for a giveaway of some lovely fabrics from a Portland, Oregon designer (who doesn't love elephants on a quilt?) at Lily Pad Quilting: http://lilypadquilting.blogspot.com/2011/08/we-have-new-sponsor-and-giveaway.html

If you win it, I will make something for you if you do not sew! Promise! I am very motivated and prolific these days!

A nine patch made for a friend

2011-07-29T17:21:00.000-07:00

I made this nine patch quilt for a friend a few years ago when she announced she was pregnant with her first child. I love making these baby-sized quilts because they are so much easier to quilt on my small-ish machine than larger sizes are. Plus, they are adorable and I love to imagine a kid dragging them around someday, hopefully wearing it out to the seams with love.

The nine patch blocks themselves are made from vintage fabric, and I received these and all the fabric used to make this quilt (and many more!) from my friend and former boss. She gifted me all this fabric that she had not used in her stash, and I am still using it. Don't worry, I made her a tote bag and gifted her my most recent quilt finish too.

This is the backing on the quilt, a simple yellow tone square in a field of cream fabric printed with small flowers. To make up for the potential girliness of the flowers I bound the quilt in blue. The quilt is approximately crib-sized, 36"x 46" and is quilted with the stitch in the ditch method around the nine patch blocks. This was my second quilt, and I have not branched out much for quilting methods. Maybe this next more modern, artsy project will inspire me.

Link to the Gen X Quilts Summer Fair:

(Not sure why the logo is not showing up for the Summer Fair. I am new to this button thing.)

WIP Wednesday- what have I been doing with my new stash?

2011-07-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

I am officially on the blog bandwagon, so why not get on the format wagon too? WIP= work in progress, so I am here to report and be held accountable for my progress this week. Okay, maybe it is mostly just a blatant desire to show someone else what I have done. Without further ado, here is my cutting table with the Kona Poseidon fabric chopped up. It really pays to have a glass table to shine a light below my mat to cut more accurately. Good
architect-y trick.

Here is the green side all color-arranged and sewed up. I have been thinking the grey is too dark, but it had become pretty clear this is an experimental quilt in many ways, so I am going to run with it.

Here is the corresponding blue side all arranged and sewed up, ditto. I think I like this side better. I am so colorist.

And this is what they look like lined up together. I am not sure about this, but it was my original concept going into the project. Now I am wondering if I like it, or if I should sew the two color sides as separate small quilts and just hang them side by side as display quilts.

Any thoughts on the aesthetics?

Finished purple quilt, new fabric

2011-07-23T10:23:00.000-07:00

I have been not so excellent at posting my progress on this quilt, mostly because I was wanting so much to finish it that I could not bear to take extra time away from the sewing room. But now this quilt is finished, and I am officially on purple overload. The finished quilt is approximately 42"x 42" +/- 1/2" here and there. You know, standard deviation has its place in the sewing world.

detail of block, sashing and binding

almost full-length of quilt

quilt back, pieced with scraps from the front

And the reason I was in such a hurry to finish this quilt, you ask? I had an excellent new stack of fabric coming from Fat Quarter Shop courtesy of Bec from Chasing Cottons, and her blogiversary giveaway. It was difficult to choose what to get, but exciting to pick new stuff without spending guilt. I picked some FQ packs and some kona yardage for quilts I had in mind I wanted to make. Then I had a huge amount of fabric in my cart and had to whittle it down.

I have been busy washing my haul today, because I am apparently of the "wash before you use" camp, though not everyone is. For the record, the solids pack is Kona Poseidon FQs, the prints are Tula Pink Parisville, which I could not resist and are even better than I had hoped, and the yardage is Kona medium grey. I can't wait to get started on a new project with these! I'll be better about posting during my progress this time around.

A few thoughts on sewing or crafting with kids

2011-07-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

In reality, this could as easily be a post about sewing while working a job, having a husband or partner, or being all-around busy with your gourmet cooking (and eating) habit. Finding time to sew when you have other responsibilities is really about being a little....selfish. Remove the negative connotations from that word, and bask in the glory of an hour of selfishness a day. It's good for your mental state, which makes you a better mom, wife or partner, co-worker and gourmand.

Justified thusly, what about the logistics? For me, I sew when my son naps, or in larger quantities when he goes to bed at night. A few things have helped immensely with this: a supportive husband who encourages my selfish time, a monitor to hear or see my son, and a separate space to work in. Our house is small, and my son's room is right next to the living room and very near the only other working space in the dining room, but we have a space in "the studio," what would be a garage otherwise. It removes noise from our house while he sleeps, but also lets me have things spread out without having to worry about little hands on scissors or needles. Or pulling down a quilt I am in the process of piecing.

However you get the process to work for you, if you need that little time for yourself, to make something beautiful or try a new hobby, please find a way to make it work. I know it helps me a lot to have some time and space to do something wholly my own, and I hope it will help everyone else. It is not perfect, because it does take time in the evening from my husband and our time, but it also means I get to neglect a pile of dishes from the afore-mentioned gourmet cooking and eating, and to avoid diaper laundry. These last are definitely worth putting off for 30 minutes to an hour!

I have been quilting for the past two days in the evening, and here are some progress shots:

the front

the back

And are the loaves of honey whole wheat bread I made yesterday, minus the one that got devoured with dinner. Homemade bread is also worth the diversion, and actually not difficult to do while my son is awake, except the opening the oven bit.

The story of the first quilt I made

2011-07-17T09:34:00.000-07:00

Until I get more photos published (and figure out how to do those spiffy photo sidebars that quilters have showing the quilts they have completed) here are some photos of quilts I have made, and a description of the first.

The first quilt I made, I only have a picture of the quilt top, and it is off-centered and wonky. I would like to think my photo skills have gotten better as time goes on, but no promises there. I have a ridiculously hard time remembering to take photos of my quilts before I give them away. I have yet to ask my sister to take a photo for me, and I made this quilt in November of 2008.

This was my start to quilting, because I wanted to make one for my new nephew, so I bought fabric, though about taking a class, decided to bag it and just made it up as I went along. I appliqued the colored animals onto a strip quilted background of black and white. The backing is a candy striped orange and I folded it up on the front to use as a binding. I did that because the only handmade quilt I possessed used that method of binding, but I have not done that since. It is a crib sized quilt, 36" x 44" if I had to wildly guess.

These are a few other quilts I have made, and hopefully will write more posts about later. Blogging about past quilts is a little strange, I have only seen others blog about WIPs or finished projects in the present. Bear with me. These should be in loose chrono order.

There we are! I have finished many more quilts than this (well, at least half as many) but photos are outstanding- not in the sense that they are breathtakingly beautiful, but that they are missing. More to come!

First blog post

2011-07-17T09:03:00.000-07:00

I wanted to start a blog to chronicle my adventures in sewing, which I primarily do during my toddler's nap time- hence the name of my blog. My husband also pointed out that I derive a lot of inspiration and help from blogs, especially those on sewing and quilting, so I should put my own images and info out there. So here we are! Pictures and added flair to come as time permits- and sewing comes first!