Dodging the Butterfly

Introducing Our Newest Addition

2012-03-01T13:25:00.003-05:00

Guess who gets to use this quilt for a little lady..... Introducing Charlotte Jane Matthews born 2/29/12 at 9:39 AM; 7 lbs 11 oz, and 20.75" long. We couldn't be more thrilled! And I do have to say that I am absolutely SHOCKED that we had a girl - I guess I had been counting on another boy all along.....

We are so happy to have a sweet little girl join our family. I know I am not going to be getting a ton of sewing done - but I am already daydreaming of all the girly projects I want to make.

Thanks for everyone's well wishes and support!

Nesting

2012-02-25T10:54:00.002-05:00

Shortly after Gregory was born, I went a little crazy at the Black Friday Joann's flannel sale. I haven't let myself buy flannel since then and I am finally using a bunch of it for our second child. Remind me to hide the bank card when this second baby comes - the things you do postpartum defies logic sometimes! Anyway - I made a bunch of large, double-sided receiving blankets. They are great for swaddling, covering the car seat, and bundling your little one - I hate the store-bought ones - they are too small and flimsy. I made three gender neutral ones, three girly ones, and two boyish ones. I plan to give some extras away. Making 8 receiving blankets was boring with a capital "B." But I know I am not really mentally available right now to tackle anything that requires a lot of thought. I considered making a wall hanging with the fabrics pictured below but the design I have in my head might be too complicated for my 9 months pregnant self right now. I love all of these fabrics together - I am hooked on the combination of pink and blue.

I am going a little crazy waiting for this baby to come - so I finally let myself resume a very simple project that I had started a while ago. I had cut a bunch of 5.5" strips and I am now in the process of making a big patchwork quilt out of them. Here's my progress so far:

I don't expect to get very far but I thought it might be nice to "decorate" my design wall instead of being taunted by a very empty space once the baby comes.

Handmade Baby Gifts

2012-02-20T14:07:00.005-05:00

Ohmygosh - I don't even know where to begin with this post. I feel so humbled by several BMQG member's generosity. We had our meeting on Saturday and during the show and tell, I was surprised by a baby shower of sorts! I couldn't believe the gorgeous things that my friends had made me. Instead of continuing to gush, I will allow the pictures to do most of the talking:

Rebecca made the baby the most amazing quilt. I can't believe how creative this design is - I seriously think she should enter it into some contests because it is so well done, unique, and modern. Look how she represented clouds, the sun, a blue sky, and grass: This bear is to die for.

I will always think of her when my baby uses it - it not only has a Momo fabric but she bound it in a Joel Dewberry woodgrain fabric - a fabric she absolutely LOVES.

She also made this matching white shirt with an appliqued and emroidered bear. It is so sweet.

Alexis made this adorable penguin which Gregory immediately laid claim to. "It's mine" were the first words out of his mouth when he saw it. I love handmade softies.

Amy made these adorable booties for my little one. I have seen this pattern around blogland but have never had the courage to try it myself - they're so itty! I am SO excited to use these- the gender neutral fabrics are perfect.

Jane made these sweet drool bibs - there is no way I am using them for food. She quilted them and everything - so, so cute!

Alice made these adorable burp cloths - she knows me too well with having used some prints from two of my favorite designers: Ann Kelle and Laurie Wisbrun.

Aimee made me this adorable diaper carrier and burp cloth set. You can never have too many of any of these. I love the Heirloom prints she used especially!

On Saturday evening I went out for a much needed "girl's night out" with friends. My good friend Liz presented me with this gorgeous knitted blanket. I just love it - pictures do not do it justice - it is SO soft!

I am amazed at her talent. I would be so happy if the baby "attached" to this blanket or Rebecca's bear blanket because they've come from meaningful friendships.

Thanks for sticking around for this long post. For many of the projects, my friends blogged about them and included links if they used a tutorial.

Most of you reading this can probably understand why receiving handmade gifts is so special. Sometimes people think that I wouldn't want anything handmade because I sew - but if anything, I think I have a deep appreciation for what other's create and I understand that it takes a lot of extra thought and work to make something special for a friend. My baby is very lucky!

Boy Sleep Sack

2012-02-17T14:27:00.002-05:00

The boy sleep sack is finished. I am very happy with how it came out. I think this is one of my "all time" favorite projects to do. I love using the nicer "designer" flannel (all other flannel projects that I do are always sourced at Joann's), I love the patchwork panel, and the end result is just so sweet. We'll see how truly functional it actually is soon enough. I used a pattern from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings. I can't believe I almost bought more flannel for the lining when I was truly only a few inches short. I took Jenny's advice and pieced a few parts to make it work and of course - you can't even tell because it's all the way inside the bottom of the sack. I know the real reason why I was worried about this issue, and it wasn't about cosmetics: I was simply feeling lazy and was super annoyed that I couldn't just cut out the piece without extra fuss.

I bought this flannel ages ago to make a receiving blanket but never got around it - it's a Robert Kaufman fabric but I can't remember the name. I used one of my favorite Joel Dewberry woodgrain fabrics for the bias edging.

10 more days till my due date!

Christmas Came Early Yesterday: Jingle by Anne Kelle

2012-02-14T12:47:00.002-05:00

I could hardly contain my excitement when Anne Kelle of Robert Kaufman fabrics contacted me to see if I wanted to play with some of her newest fabric collection, "Jingle." I can't imagine anything being more exciting for me- considering that she is one of my most favorite fabric designers and I am just a little fish in a sea of amazingly talented quilters out here in blogland. These are the fabrics that she sent (laid over a backdrop of another RK fabric that will probably be the backing for the quilt):

These are definitely some of my favorites. Those penguins with hats and scarves? I die.

I am also in love with the Remix coordinates she sent. These will be great for any Christmas project but we all know it's hard to find true red and green fabrics - so I am sure we will be seeing these popping up in lots of projects.

Thanks so much to Kelle for sending these. Thankfully, she was understanding of my my 38+ weeks pregnant status and I have plenty of time to create a quilt. I can't wait to get started though - this will probably be my first post-baby project.

WIP Wednesday

2012-02-08T17:42:00.002-05:00

Thanks for all of the kind comments regarding my pink spiderweb quilt! Lately, I have been looking back at the things I have made lately and my only thought is, "How on earth did I have the energy to make that?!" I really hit a wall today - I can't really envision doing anything besides taking care of my son for the next few weeks. I have really hit a wall with this pregnancy - I am so done! Anyway - I had a small burst of energy yesterday and was able to piece this patchwork rectangle for a boyish sleep sack. I soon learned that I don't have enough flannel for the lining and I am wondering if I should just order a coordinate or piece together a piece big enough that would work. I am not excited about waiting for a fabric order (or spending the money when I was determined to sew completely from stash), nor am I thrilled with the prospect of piecing together the flannel - which has a large scale print and will not look very good being spliced together (but no one is really going to see it anyway because it would be on the inside of the sack.....).

Girly Spiderweb complete!

2012-02-06T08:07:00.003-05:00

I finished this quilt over the weekend and I am very happy with how it turned out. I used a lot of pink scraps and about 1.5 yds of Sherbet Pips ice cream dot. It measures about 40" square. Even though I had issues with doing pebble quilting, it was fun to do a new technique and I love the look and texture it provides.

I am glad I decided not to quilt the pink spiderwebs - it makes them puff up, which is kind of fun. All of the seams within the blocks make for some very thick fabric areas that would've been very difficult to quilt through.

I am entering this into the "Scrap Attack Quilt Along" at Stitched in Color. I backed the quilt in some minkee I had had in my stash for ages and bound it with a reproduction stripe that I am happy to have finally put to use!

Thanks for stopping by!

The curse of pebble quilting

2012-02-04T12:57:00.001-05:00

I've always liked the look of "pebble quilting" but have never wanted to utilize the technique on a large quilt simply because of the significant time commitment. But I figured I could handle doing it on a small quilt: Well, the stupid technique ended up breaking my free motion foot. I was humming along - doing the pebbles on the border when the quilt suddenly would not move under the foot - it was horrible. It took nearly a week to figure what had went wrong (and I tried all sorts of "fixes" to see what had gone wrong - a new needle, re-threading the machine, using the foot on a different fabric/batting combo, etc.). When my mom came over on Wednesday, I had her bring over her free motion foot and I compared hers with mine. Turns out that I have used the foot so much that it simply wore out and the pebble quilting was the last nail in the coffin.

There are two large spots where the chrome is worn off and it is obvious that the spring has lost its ability to "bounce" very fast at all. I am glad that it only costs about $14 to buy a new foot and very relieved that I wasn't facing an expensive and inconvenient mahcine repair!

This experience made me think of my dear friend, Monet, who literally broke her machine beyond repair when she did pebble quilting on a baby quilt. She really had to argue with the store she'd purchased the machine from - insisting they honor the warranty she had had. They tried to give her back the machine when it still wouldn't do any free motion quilting - but she fought back and won - and they ended up replacing her machine!

More Viewfinders: Baby Changing Kit

2012-02-03T12:49:00.002-05:00

I whipped this "Baby Changing Kit" (thanks to an easy tutorial from Cluck Cluck Sew) in about an hour. Apparently the Joann's near me are not carrying chenille, so I used the leftover red Minkee from the Plus quilt for the interior of the kit.

I like how well my little diaper bag ensemble has come together. I used the bag for a morning at the Boston Children's Museum this week and it worked perfectly for my needs.

Baby Boy Plus Quilt Completed

2012-01-30T08:25:00.002-05:00

I finished this quilt over the weekend. I am quite happy with how it came out and I am already envisioning an adult-sized "plus" quilt to make someday. I have gravitated towards using reds in my quilts quite a bit within the past year. Fabrics I used include Daiwabo Tiny Tip Top, Meet the Gang, Sherbet Pips, Lizzy House Pearl Bracelet, Momo Half Moon Modern, and Tufted Tweets.

I backed the quilt in red minkee. It was not an easy process to put a real binding on the whole thing - that was my least favorite part of the whole process. I am going to try a different method with the girly quilt and maybe do a tutorial - there isn't a lot out there online on how to back a quilt with the minkee-like fabrics.

I really didn't have a lot of black and white fabrics to use for this - while I don't use a lot of black in my quilts - this did make me realize that it could be good to have a few more options in my stash.

I did straight line quilting on the quilt- I definitely didn't want to do a bunch of busy free motion stitching that would take away from the graphic appeal of the fabrics I had chosen.

I am really closing in on completing all of my baby projects. I am dying to cut into some fabric stacks I have been playing with and start a quilt (or two). I am not going to deny that even though I am SO ready for this baby to come - I still get nervous about the transition to a family of four and the unavoidable depletion of my sewing time.

Car Seat Cover Completed

2012-01-28T10:43:00.003-05:00

I completed a reversible car seat cover. I skimmed a few online tutorials but didn't feel the need to follow any of them very closely - it's just a rectangle with velcro straps. I added a layer of flannel between the quilting cottons to give it some weight and perhaps aid in a future use as a playmat. I like this side the best - the blood orange color on the tree blossoms is gorgeous and the Park Slope leaf dot couldn't match it any better. I may have made this on the bigger side - but what else is new?

The fabrics don't really match the apple green of the car sear - but it doesn't bother me.

This Heirloom print is probably one of my most favorite fabrics - it's so graphic and appeals to my penchant for monochromatic prints.

Thanks for visiting :)

WIP Friday

2012-01-27T11:47:00.002-05:00

This is the beginning of a unisex car seat cover - I am planning to make it reversible. I thought about making two (one for a girl, one for a boy) - but that is just too much work and the clock is ticking. Several months ago, I made a sleep sack and stupidly added a few pink fabrics. Now I do have to make another one that is more boyish. I found this Robert Kaufman flannel (far left) in my stash and some other coordinating prints. I would've preferred to have a geometric, non-themed flannel to work with but I am trying to use what I have instead of buying more. Oh, and those brown prints in the picture? That selection pretty much accounts for my entire stash of browns - I guess it's not really a go-to color for me! I couldn't resist a few cuts of the new Aunt Edna for the DS collection at Joann's. Those corporate monsters raised the price to $12.99 per yard! With a coupon and a sale - I bought a bit for $7.28 per yard. I agree with a lot of the chatter online about the price hike - if they are going to charge quilt store prices- they ought to provide quilt store service (e.g. no 1 hour lines at the cutting table, use a rotary cutter instead of a hack saw, employ people who have actually sewed, etc. etc.). I do love this line though - it's extra soft and goes perfectly with Hope Valley.

"Here We Go" Diaper Bag

2012-01-26T17:02:00.002-05:00

I finally finished a diaper bag I started over the weekend. Thankfully, my son has returned to sleeping at night and taking his naps - so I am feeling much better and sewing like a maniac.

I have wanted to make the "Here We Go" bag from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings book for ages. Finding the best combination of 3 different fabrics proved to be the hardest part - I had the Viewfinders and Echino - but could not find another print to use as the handles, accent strip, and interior. I even bought 2.5 yds of a golden yellow polka dot that I thought would work (luckily it was on sale) - that is now added to my stash. Finally, over the holidays - I came across a red home dec pin dot print from the 2007 Denyse Schmidt County Fair collection. I bought it with the intention to use it in a Multi-Tasker tote, but was happy to learn it would go well with this project. I altered the pattern a bit by not including a divider (I've made one before for this diaper bag and found it very cumbersome to put together as well as not very useful in general), adding a key fob/tag, and skipping the bias tape option of finishing the bag. I am happy I made those alterations - much less work and it looks fine.

This bag uses a lot of that very stiff interfacing- Peltex. I love how it gives the bag such a sturdy shape. It will be interesting to see how it lasts over time.

I am planning to make a matching changing pad/diaper case soon.

Giveaway Winner and Weekend Accomplishments

2012-01-23T08:12:00.002-05:00

Thanks to all those who entered the Quilter's Way giveaway. The random number generator chose #3: Rosa - who said she loves "Ruby." The most popular response for everyone's favorite collection from 2011 was Windham's Echo.

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My son finally graced us with two uninterrupted nights of sleep over the weekend, so I finally found some energy to work on a few projects. Here they are on my design wall: The plus quilt was a dream to make - one evening of cutting and arranging, another evening to put it together. It was so quick and I love the way it looks. My only regret is adding that "Swell" bird print - I realized too late that it is very "off white" while my other white prints are very bright.

To the side of the plus quilt is a quick beginning of a table topper I needed to make in preparation for the weekend's BMQG meeting. Unfortunately, we had to cancel the meeting due to the snowstorm on Saturday.

I also started a diaper bag that I hope to finish today. "Nesting" via sewing projects is a lot of fun.

Blog Tour: Last Stop for the Quilter's Way Kit Designer

2012-01-20T15:03:00.003-05:00

Thanks to Quilter's Way for allowing me to participate in their Kit Designer blog tour. In case you were unaware, some of my friends from the BMQG have participated in this event earlier in the week: Alice, Jen, Aimee, and Pippa. We were all asked to review a new tool on the Quilter's Way website, Kit Designer, which allows you to design a custom quilt kit using templates and images of fabric from the shop's inventory.

I was immediately drawn to the Snow Stacks pattern and had fun adding fabrics from Lark, Modernology, Taza, Children at Play, Mod, and Kona and Designer Solids. You all know that I am trying to branch out from creating quilts solely out of one collection - so this is a great way to see how a bunch of prints work together that are not normally grouped together.

I have to say that I was impressed with the ease of the Kit Designer. I have had more trouble figuring out how to use a gift card code online than I did in designing a twin-sized quilt with this online tool. The only real trouble I had was in trying to figure out how to embed the image of what I had created into this blog post - but the link is here. I am not the most computer literate person, so I don't blame the QW software for my confusion!

I am pleased to host a Quilter's Way sponsored giveaway: four fat quarters of Amy Butler's Lark collection. I wasn't too sure if I liked Lark when I saw previews of it last year - but I can honestly say that it is one of my most favorite collections from 2011.
To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment on this post and tell me what your favorite collection is from 2011. International entries are welcome, no-reply blogger comments will be deleted. A winner will be chosen randomly on January 23. Good luck!

Progress

2012-01-19T12:00:00.002-05:00

Thanks for all the love on my spiderweb quilt and encouragement to see the light at the end of the tunnel with this pregnancy. Gregory is continuing his torturous nocturnal shenanigans - BUT - instead of napping when he naps - yesterday, I decided to put together the spiderweb top. I am finding that if I nap during the day, I can't sleep at night - no matter what happens! I am so happy with how it came out and I am proud that I finally kept to having it be a reasonable size - a newborn does not need a twin sized quilt! Now I am ready to start my plan for a boy quilt. I sketched out my plan last night on some graph paper and referenced my friend Meaghan's tutorial. I have never done a "plus quilt" before but I am excited. I am using the fabrics I had pulled a while ago- post seen here.

Pink Spiderweb

2012-01-16T12:04:00.002-05:00

I have had these triangle spiderweb pieces on my design wall for at least a week but no energy to blog about them. I am six weeks from my due date and admit to counting down the days at this point! Being pregnant is no picnic when you have an energetic 2 year old who has decided to keep an erratic sleep schedule lately as well as dealing with gestational diabetes. Denying a pregnant woman occasional indulgence in harmless cravings - like cereal, chocolate, and bread..... it's just not fair! (And lets face it - I never crave steamed broccoli or scrambled eggs - which is basically what I have been living on since October.)

Anyway - this is my second attempt at making a small baby girl quilt - I used a Sherbet Pips dot as the background and scraps from my stash to make it: I love the spiderweb block, I have only made one before (for a bee). I am predicting that maybe it will become my "dresden of 2012".......

Reflections and Predictions for 2012

2012-01-12T14:31:00.003-05:00

I have a WIP to share soon, but I am forcing myself to relax more this week. Suffice it to say that being 8 months pregnant has never been less fun :(

In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to participate in the Sew Mama Sew "Reflections and Predictions" series:

Looking back at the 2011 sewing scene, what trends stand out in your mind?

The popularity of solids gained momentum this past year. Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton solids have some serious competition now - finding the perfect shade of blue, for example, has never been so easy. The rise in cotton costs this year has resulted in solids being priced the same or almost the same as designer prints - a fact I find very annoying.

Speaking of the rising cost of cotton, I have also noticed that the popularity of different fabric substrates (voile, velveteen, sateen, etc.) are cropping up everywhere. I am amazed that some people are more than happy $20 per yard for special Japanese imports, organic fabrics, etc. A lot of these special designs have very clever, unique, and beautiful designs and I think people are willing to overlook the high cost because of this.

What were some of your favorite things related to sewing this past year?

I have loved renting time on a long-arm quilting machine. I truly enjoy it! I also wore holes into the fingers of these machine quilting gloves on my home machine - couldn't do FMQ without them!

What did you make that your most proud of?

The king size quilt, "My African Heart," is quite an accomplishment for me. It was inspired by Sarah Fielke's design (seen on the cover of her first book) but I really feel a lot of ownership of the design and concept despite borrowing the idea. The quilt reminds me of a special/crazy time in my life and I am glad to have such a momento of my four months volunteering in Uganda.

What sewn projects have you seen this year that you absolutely love?

The Hexy MF quilt from I'm a Ginger Monkey is simply breathtaking and may make me commit to a better plan for a large hexie quilt. There have been a lot of scrappy rainbow quilts that I love too. Finally, I am smitten with this WIP from Lucy and Norman: Maple Leaf.

Do you have a favorite sewing book or pattern from last year to recommend?

I really like Quilting From Little Things and Modern Log Cabin Quilting.

Are there any trends your're over and done with?

Cheesy motifs for boy fabrics including pirates, robots, skulls, forest animals, etc. It's just a personal thing but I probably won't ever do a bee for exchanging blocks again. Again, it's a personal thing - but I am going to try to shy away from precuts and making quilts solely out of one collection - I prefer a more eclectic look.

What are your thoughts about social media? How is it going for you? What do you love or hate?

I barely joined Pinterest and I am finding that I enjoy organizing my links that used to clog up my "favorites" bar. I will admit to spending more time on facebook this year and I guess I am more of a "lurker" than a "poster." I don't even know what Twitter is. Instead of spending lots of time on social media, I tend to use my computer time reading others blogs.

Do you have a favorite fabric collection or print from 2011?

Anna Maria Horner's Loulouthi is awesome. I have yet to touch the pieces I own - but I already want more. The best print that I want to make curtains out of is this one. I don't own any, but the Loulouthi voiles and velveteens are gorgeous too.

I am also excited about these Japanese fabrics from Kayo Horaguchi. True Up has a post here
and I think my favorite print is this one.

Oh! I am also in love with Denyse Schmidt's Joann's collection Daisy Mae. I have a big stack that coordinates with some African fabric that I can't wait to dive into.

What do you predict for the sewing industry in 2012?

More owls - even though everyone is tired of them. More fabric designers being "discovered" via avenues like Spoonflower. More reprints of old favorites - I have heard rumors of Amy Butler and Anna Maria Horner doing this eventually.

What are my goals for 2012? Any big or life changing projects?

I am trying to be realistic about what I can accomplish in 2012 with a new baby coming at the end of February. I would love to devote more time to smaller projects - specifically items to decorate/use in my home. I am also PSYCHED that the BMQG has been invited to display quilts in a gallery during the Lowell Quilt Festival- this is huge for our group!

Wheels Quilt

2012-01-09T06:51:00.002-05:00

I decided to make one of Gregory's friends a quilt last week. The little boy is obsessed with all things cars, so this Anne Kelle fabric from her Ready, Set, Go! fabric was perfect. I followed the same design concept I completed over a year ago for Gregory's whale blanket. I used Elizabeth Hartman's pattern. This quilt was a quick project - it only took me about 3 days. I used Kona solids from my stash.

I backed the quilt in an orange shot cotton:

I used scraps from the top to make a scrappy binding:

I couldn't resist including this goofy picture of my husband who also doubles as my resident "quilt holder."

This quilt is the first finish of 2012.

Storytime Quilt

2012-01-05T09:39:00.002-05:00

After finishing a gift for a friend's son (will post as soon as I get the chance to take a picture) - I can finally focus on sewing for my baby that is due in 8 weeks. We didn't find out the gender - so I am planning to make a girl quilt and a boy quilt.

Here is my first attempt at doing a girly quilt. It is a shameless imitation of this lovely quilt from the blog A Quilt Is Nice. Finding 47 unique character prints in my stash was a bit of a challenge! But I think I did okay.

My two favorites are the frogs playing holding hands and the 7 dwarfs surrounding Snow White.

I am concerned that this quilt top came out too big and I am unsure if I want to commit to having this quilt be the first quilt for the (potential?) daughter I may be carrying. I really want to start out with a small quilt, backed in something soft, that the baby might attach to.... I am going to have to think on this and I am already planning a second girl option.

The ironic thing is that I think I might be having a boy - the only reason why I started on the girl quilt first is because it is easier than the plan I have for a boy quilt and I felt like doing something quick and easy.

Last Finishes of 2011

2012-01-03T09:34:00.003-05:00

I finished the "Stamps" yellow and purple quilts for my friend who is having twins. I am very happy with how they came out. I can't wait to give them to her next week. The purple one is my favorite:

They measure 44" x 44".

She requested a soft backing fabric, so I found this light pink starry "soft and comfy" fabric at Joann's. It wasn't as stretchy as the traditional minkee and wasn't too bad to work with.

I am working on a few more baby quilts now - after making so many large ones last year - it's nice to work on some projects that don't take months and months!

2011 Wrap Up

2011-12-30T19:22:00.004-05:00

I had a lot of quilting "firsts" this year:

I learned how to use a long-arm quilting machine - logging a solid 24 hours at the studio, primarily doing free motion quilting. I participated in two bees and was able to finish this Purple/Grey Mod Mosaic quilt:

I made a quilt almost entirely out of scraps and did improvisational piecing:

I made a quilt from a pattern by my quilting idol: Sarah Fielke. I can honestly say that this is my favorite quilt that I have made this year.

I came up with my own unique design to create this sentimental mini. It is also one of my favorites from 2011. It is almost all done by hand and honestly took a lot longer than some of the big quilts I have completed.

Here are my stats of what I completed this year:

# of quilts completed: 27

Sizes: 3 mini, 11 baby, 6 twin, 2 double, 3 queen, 2 king

(9 of these were tops from 2010 that I finally managed to finish, 18 were started and finished within the year)

# 0f quilts given away as gifts: 9

(a lot more than I had thought - only one was completely ignored - which definitely made me feel like swearing off giving handmade items as gifts permanently)

# of items made besides quilts: 34

examples include a table runner, a skirt, patchwork sleepsack, bags, etc.

(20 of these were "kid/baby" oriented)

It's been a very productive year. Other sewing highlights include attending Houston Quilt Market and becoming the president of the Boston Modern Quilt Guild.

Thanks for following my sewing journey this year - everyone's support and encouragement means a lot!

Christmas Sewing

2011-12-29T13:25:00.002-05:00

I finally found some time to get back to sewing today. I quilted the purple Stamps quilt. I am going to put minkee-like fabric on the back soon. Here's most of the fabric goodies that I received for Christmas. My favorite one is on the far left from the Timeless Treasures "Bright Lights Big City" collection. I have immediate plans for the Taza pink Tarika fabric (2nd from left) and the rest will go into my stash.

Nick also spoiled me with some new sewing notions. I have decided to make the transition to cotton thread this year. Sarah Fielke insists on it and my good friend Alice also recommends it. It turns out my local Joann's actually carries Gutermann 100% cotton AND it's even cheaper than the polyester Gutermann.

Strips and Bricks finally completed!

2011-12-27T08:27:00.002-05:00

I honestly was beginning to wonder if I would ever complete this quilt. Choosing the fabrics (all from my stash) was a breeze and even the cutting and sewing of the top took me about a week. The real time eater was quilting the huge thing! I decided I was going to save some money and not rent time on the long arm to finish it - I wish I had just spent the $50! But instead, I decided to quilt it at home using straight lines and the edge of my walking foot as a guide = about 1/4" to 3/8" apart! It turned into some very dense quilting. I started doing this in the beginning of October and barely finish it about a week ago.

Throughout this past fall, I had to force myself to work on it - making myself do a column a day. Each column required more than a full bobbin's worth of thread. I ran into a major problem when I had about 13 columns left: the top wasn't as tightly basted to the batting and backing - so I had to rebaste it twice (the first time, I didn't do it right and ended up spending an inordinate amount of time with the seam ripper!).

Enough of my sob story about this headache! I will say that I am very happy with hot it came out and the straight line quilting does look pretty good - adding a whole new element to the project. The whole quilt is quite a departure from what I normally do - using a lot of neutrals is not very common in my work.

The quilt measures about 90" x 108" or so. I bound it in the perfect Moda bliss white on red dot and backed it in some Prince Charming baby paisley. It contains many of my favorite fabrics: KJR ribbon flower, AMH Cathedral in dusk, Her Crusier (red bike fabric) for Avalon, and Park Slope leaf dot. I based the quilt design on the famous Strips and Brick pattern by Malka Dubrawsky.

This will probably be my last finish of 2011. My 2 year old hasn't slept through the night for the past 5 days and hasn't had a proper nap in that time period either. Dealing with this at nearly 8 months pregnant has been unbearable! I will finish the year out with some 2011 wrap-up posts as well as sharing some pictures of some fabric goodies I received for Christmas. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the holidays!

Christmas Sewing

2011-12-21T18:51:00.002-05:00

I finally completed my last bee blocks for the Hip to Bee Square bee I participated in. Kerry sent some paper pieced tree blocks and we simply had to make them into large improvisational log cabin blocks with scraps she sent. I am happy to have participated in the bee but I think that maybe bees just aren't for me. I understand why a lot of people do them and love them but I am glad to be done! The mailman always gives me a heart attack when he delivers packages to my home - he opens the screen door and places them between the screen and front doors. He delivers the mail when Gregory is sleeping - so the house is especially quiet. I always think that someone is trying to break in! Anyway, last week he delivered a package from Gregory's great grandmother who sent this adorable stocking:

It is made from an old quilt and she machine embroidered family names on the back. I love handmade gifts and am grateful that Gregory now has such a nice family keepsake.

Tonight I finally was able to give these two quilts to a dear friend who just had her second little girl. Gregory is great friends with her first daughter - and when I found out my friend was pregnant again - I told her I wanted to make the baby a quilt. Of course, I had to go ahead and surprise her by making a quilt for her oldest too . Don't they coordinate nicely? She was quite pleased with them and I enjoyed making two girly quilts :) I did blog about these quilts previously but I hadn't revealed their real story in case she came across my secret plan.

Mod Mosaic Bee Quilt FINISHED

2011-12-19T13:02:00.002-05:00

This quilt was begun almost exactly two years ago by my good friends who participated in the Boston Modern Quilt Guild bee block exchange. I finally finished it this past weekend! It took me about one week to do this jagged/puzzle piece type of straight line quilting. I used my walking foot and simply started at the top of the quilt and moved the quilt around to create a geometric/boxy random type of pattern. It was a little tedious sometimes but worth it I think.
Participants in the Flickr Hip to Bee Square group also contributed to this quilt. I also ended up making several myself, in order to have a 5 x 5 layout.

The quilt measures 63" x 63".

I backed and bound this quilt with some Urban Garden fabric I've had in my stash for a while.

A big thanks to all those who contributed blocks for this quilt! I am so pleased to have this finished and it's a great size for lounging under on the couch.

Motorcycle Quilt

2011-12-16T16:04:00.002-05:00

My son is obsessed with motorcycles. I told Anne Kelle at Quilt Market that I love her boys transportation line (Ready, Set, Go!) but she should include motorcycles next time she designs boy fabrics. It's really hard to find decent looking motorcycle fabric.

I was pretty happy to find this Alexander Henry fabric from 2003 called "Hot Bikes" at my LQS about 2 months ago. I know it's kind of an obnoxious print but Gregory loved the fabric and that's all that matters.

This fabric is SO large scale - I didn't even think about cutting it up much. I did a strip piecing front with fabrics from my stash: I pieced together random stash fabrics for the back - the back took longer to put together than the front. This quilt only took 4 days to complete and it's one of the only handmade present anyone is receiving from me. I am quickly losing energy and stamina at this point of my pregnancy and it's amazing that I am getting anything done lately.

I am a bit embarrassed to admit that this is Gregory's 6th quilt that I have made him and he's only a few months over the age of 2!

Kitchen Goods Swap Items Received

2011-12-14T14:11:00.003-05:00

Back in September, Jane received my fabrics for the BMQG Kitchen Goods Swap:A few months later, here's a picture of me just feeling over the moon about the items I received. Literally, the day before the meeting - I had told a friend that I had a goal to make pot holders next year and Jane had already made me two!

She made this cute little dish soap cover:

A table topper (that can also accomodate hot dishes):

And this apron just screams me. I love hexagons and the full bib style makes it very usable.

Thanks again Jane! I feel so lucky!

Kitchen Goods Swap Revealed

2011-12-12T08:22:00.003-05:00

These are the fabrics I received from Alice for the BMQG Kitchen Goods Swap: several fat quarters and a half yard cut of Kate Spain's Flurry for Moda.

I decided to make her a table runner with Dresden plate blocks (I know, shocking that I would turn to my favorite block). I used the interfacing method for the circles and it was so easy and good looking that I don't think I will do "super circles" again. I stippled it and backed it in this print:

It measures about 20" x 60" - which I know is HUGE - but her dining table is very large.

I added a few of my own fabrics - some Moda Bliss, a Sherbet Pips coordinate, and a reproduction print I got at the scrap bin at Keepsake.

This was a very fun activity and I can't wait to show you what Jane made me - it really made my weekend to receive such wonderful items made from fabrics I loved. Everyone in the guild who participated did an amazing job - I definitely think we should do something like this again.

Tis the Season...

2011-12-10T11:26:00.003-05:00

My next several posts will be about the handmade gifts I have been making lately. I am not planning to do too much handmade gifting this year because I am running short on time and I am more concerned with other projects that I want to complete before my baby is born. I will refrain from getting on my soapbox about why making handmade gifts is often not worth it.....

Anyway, lots of Christmas/holiday parties going on lately and last night I brought this patchwork fabric basket made from this infamous tutorial by Pink Penguin. I came home from Quilt Market with 5 mini charm packs of various collections and it's fun to use these small 2.5" squares on various projects. This basket features Moda's California Girl, linen, some Urban Garden, and a little Neptune. The gift was for a "Yankee Swap" style gift exchange and thankfully it was in demand (it would've been mortifying if it was viewed to be more of a 'white elephant' item). It even resulted in two people asking me if they could pay me to make similar items. Unfortunately, I am pretty sure I did the handles wrong - it looks more like a bag than a basket. Oh well.

I have finally started quilting my Mod Mosaic quilt - I am a little over half way done.

I am off to the year's last BMQG meeting for the Kitchen Goods Swap reveal this afternoon- can't wait to see what my partner Jane came up with my fabrics as well as give Alice her gift.

Twin Quilt Tops

2011-12-06T08:02:00.002-05:00

Last week I sashed the twin girl quilt tops. I am loving this pattern but I still hate doing sashing - I need to get over that because there are so many good patterns out there that require sashing. I had a request to back these in something extra soft like Minky. I picked up some really soft stuff that technically isn't Minkee but it's just as soft. It doesn't stretch too much but I know it's not going to be easy to work with. I am feeling crunched for time - so I am thinking about just quilting it directly onto the minkee (with batting in the middle, of course). Any tips for this? I know it can be done.....

I am really dying to start something new.... I pulled these fabrics for a special baby boy quilt in case I have a boy. I keep saying that I am tired of red and aqua but I keep going back to it. My only Black Friday purchase was two half yd cuts of "Meet the Gang" (2 fabrics in front). They are SO cute! I am really having a hard time coming up with a good idea for a girl quilt - I think it might be because I have made 4 baby girl quilts in the past few months and I have used up a lot of inspiration for that category :)

Bird Bath Sherbet Pips Quilt

2011-12-03T12:03:00.004-05:00

I couldn't do much yesterday after exhausting myself with the long-arm - so I watched Babe with my 2 year old and after he went to bed, Nick and I watched 3 episodes of Alias. Lots of TV watching while I hand sewed the binding down on this quilt: I started this quilt in June and it feels like it has taken me forever to finish it - but I know that 5-6 months isn't that bad. I had wanted to challenge myself by making lots of pieced blocks - 21 pieces per block makes for a lot of sewing.

The pattern I used, Bird Bath, came from Elizabeth Hartman's The Practical Guide to Patchwork: New Basics for the Modern Quiltmaker. I can't recommend this book enough as well has her blog - it seems like I do a lot of her patterns and tutorials.

I made the process of this quilt extra tedious because of my choices to fussy cut the center blocks and using over 100 different fabrics from my stash - every block is unique.

I rented time at a long arm quilting studio to stipple the quilt in light pink variegated thread.

I backed the quilt in the grey scooter Sherbet Pips print and added several inches of a Henry Glass print to the top and bottom of the backing piece. I bound the quilt in a SP scarf print.

If you look carefully at this picture, you can see the seam line for joining the two large backing pieces. I didn't do this on purpose, but I think it's hilarious that the brunette and blonde scooter boy are joined almost perfectly in several spots, making him look like he has a very interesting hair dye job.

I love this quilt and I am keeping it for myself. It will probably be a while before I take on another project like this that requires such a significant time commitment. I did get pretty tired of working on it along the way!

Sherbet Pips Quilted

2011-12-02T15:41:00.002-05:00

Standing at a long arm machine for 3+ hours at 6 months pregnant was not an easy task today. I am so glad I decided to do the quickest kind of quilting I know how to do: stippling. I am bored of stippling but I didn't have many other options if I didn't want to stand for much longer. I am binding it tonight and will enjoy the easy task of the hand sewing while I am sitting down!

Boring Sewing

2011-11-26T21:28:00.002-05:00

I have had lots of "boring" sewing on my agenda to do this past week. I hate putting blocks together to make up a quilt top - it's a necessary evil of the craft in my opinion. But here's the Sherbet Pips top in all its glory. I am going to add a small white border to it and quilt it next Friday at Laurena's. I have also returned to straight line quilting this beast and it is literally a chore. Five inches x the length of the quilt takes me over an hour! What was I thinking? I am making myself do a column a day so I can just get it done.

Stamps Quilts for Twin Girls

2011-11-21T13:05:00.003-05:00

Remember this lovely stack of fabric? It took me no time at all to decide on the pattern and complete 18 blocks of Elizabeth Hartman's Stamps pattern for 2 baby girl quilts. Usually when I have such a potential project stack - it takes me weeks to decide wha to do - but the colors were just so lovely, I got an idea quickly and ran with it! My friend is having twin girls in early April and loves the colors yellow and purple. She came to my house and picked out a beautiful rainbow of pastel monochromatic prints. I am so glad I had asked for her opinion because I had had a red theme in mind and it turns out she doesn't really like red!

This pattern was literally cathartic for me. You achieve the perfect points via an interfacing method - and it was just so relaxing to just lay out the squares, one by one. I also didn't feel like I was abandoning my family to sew over the weekend because I could just sit at the kitchen table and interact easily with Nick and Gregory - it's the kind of project that doesn't take a lot of concentration. My next step is to sash these blocks in white Kona. I will share my progress soon!

Completed Sherbet Pips Blocks

2011-11-19T10:24:00.002-05:00

I've had a very productive sewing week. I completed the BMQG swap item, completed blocks for one of the twin girl quilts (not sure if I can show them....), and finally finished all 72 of the Sherbet Pip bird bath blocks. I really dread laying these all out and putting them together - the layout really matters and finding the time and space to do this away from my two year old is difficult. Maybe over the Thanksgiving break I will find the opportunity.

These are some of my favorites:

Each block has 21 pieces - definitely the most pieced quilt I have ever done. That's 1,512 pieces for the whole quilt! Plus I am going to add a thin white border around the whole thing.

In a few hours I leave for the BMQG November meeting - we are having a show and tell, fabric swap, and we are working on some charity quilts - can't wait!

Why I Quilt

2011-11-17T08:34:00.002-05:00

[Fabrics pulled for twin girls - my next project for a good friend.]

I can't show what I completed earlier this week because I know my friend Alice reads my blog. I completed her kitchen swap item for our guild's swap activity - to be revealed in December.

A while ago, I came across a well written post on Dana's blog: Old Red Barn Co. Dana gave me permission to share what she had written in this post:

[She begins by explaining how difficult it was to explain to a friend what it means when she says, 'I quilt.']

I mean that I create something with fabric. I mean that I choose colors. Cut colors. Sew colors. I mean that I sketch designs and I realize them in fabric. I mean that I cut and sew and press. I mean that my mind relaxes when I do so. I mean that in that repetition my mind is able to reason and solve nagging problems. I mean that the resulting quilt is something I will enjoy for the rest of my life. Or to whomever I give the quilt will enjoy. I mean that I've found something that is all my own. That is an expression of myself from start to finish. And ultimately will be that expression even after I am gone. I mean that I've got this thing to do my hands that brings me happiness. Calm. Satisfaction. Appreciation. Sometimes giddy joy.

I mean that when my children were much younger, more demanding and my stay-at-home life made me feel separate, alone and detached from the world I had a means of re-centering.

Re-balancing.

Finding my worth within myself.

Yep. I cut fabric apart and sew it back together.

And I'm so glad I do.

Life has been pretty stressful here lately and I am finding a lot of comfort in being able to sew. It's so great to have something I can control and be my own thing. It's also nice to have something that can actually be completed - unlike a lot of house oriented projects that are forever needing attention. I am pretty comfortable with the fact that I don't focus the majority of my attention on making things to sell, swap, or even give away. I made myself 3 (going on 4) queen sized quilts for my own bed this year and I don't feel guilty about it. I don't enter shows or contests, write and publish my own patterns, or design fabric. I am not saying that any of this is bad - perhaps I will get into that stuff down the road - but for now, it's just nice to keep my hobby low-key and turning it into a business is definitely not in the cards right now. Have you ever noticed that it's always non-quilters who urge you to sell your quilts? I know their suggestion is a compliment but it's just not a motivation for me right now (not to mention I believe it's rarely cost effective!).

Anyway - I will stop rambling now but thanks for sticking with me if you're still reading. More project posts coming soon.

Dots and Ties Completed!

2011-11-14T13:42:00.003-05:00

I am so happy to be posting about this completed quilt today. I have wanted to make the quilt on Material Obsession: Modern Quilts with Traditional Roots ever since I bought the book at Joann's about 18 months ago. The pattern is called Dotty for Dresden but I am calling mine "Dots and Ties," thanks to my 2 year old who named it that when the blocks were on the design wall. I don't follow patterns too often, but with this quilt, I wanted to make it exactly like Sarah Fielke's original. The hardest obstacle in achieving that was finding the perfect red/white and white/red dotted fabrics - preferably made by the same manufacturer. It wasn't until I discovered the Michael Miller That's It Dot, that I knew I had a winner!

The only thing I changed about the original pattern was adding an extra column of dresdens so that the quilt would be queen sized. It measures approximately 84" x 100".

This is the second large dresden quilt I have made this year. I just love the simplicity of the block: it looks impressive but it is not hard to do.

I quilted it at Laurena's longarm quilting studio in Burlington, MA. I did free motion swirls of various sizes. It used quite a lot of thread and took me four hours.

I was really afraid to add any fan fabrics that were very dark but if I had to do it over again, I would throw in a dark green or a really dark purple. I like how the bright blue fans seem to really stand out.

I was tempted to wait for the Flea Market Fancy reprint to back it in the green bouquet print, just like in the MO book. I am glad I went with this DS for Joann's print instead - turns out that green bouquet print isn't being reprinted after all (yet? fingers crossed!).

Sometimes I feel bad about always splurging on decorative backings - but half the time I find ways to buy them cheaper than Kona and it just looks so great to have that pop of design and color on the back.

I feel so happy to have completed this quilt and I have been enjoying it on my bed ever since.

Last QM Post: Sarah Fielke

2011-11-12T07:34:00.004-05:00

I saw a lot of Sarah Fielke at Quilt Market - I went to two Schoolhouse sessions where she was presenting and I attended a book signing. I find her work to be inspiring, original, and eye-catching. Her Material Obsession books (also written by Kathy Doughty) are easily my favorite quilting books and I recently completed the quilt on the cover of the first book (post coming soon!). She is not only a prolific quilter, but she designs fabric too! Her new collection for Lecien, St. Ives, is filled with nostalgia and whimsy - I hope to get my hands on some of those dots soon!

This quilt is available as a free pattern download on the Lecien site.

I enjoyed seeing many of her quilts "in person" - so much better than just looking at a picture. This eagle quilt is definitely one of my favorites - probably because of the dresden element.

I really want to be better at doing applique - she uses the method to really add a wonderful element to many of her quilts.

This "Night Garden" quilt is another one of my favorites but it scares me because you have to use templates!

I visited her booth when she wasn't there.

We showed up to the book signing quite early so we wouldn't miss our chance to come home with a signed copy of Quilting from little things... I was able to tell her that she made my day when she commented on this post from my blog and she seemed to remember the Dotty for Dresden quilt top I had made. I gushed and told her how much I loved her work.

This book was the perfec thing to pour over on the plane rides home. So much eye candy and inspiration. My favorite part (so far) is her detailed explanation of how she chooses fabrics. This passage from the introduction is music to my ears, "My stash is large, but it's never large enough. I don't ever feel bad about how much fabric I have--the fabric is as essential to my inspiration as the actual construction of the quilts." I am the same way - I plan my quilts based on fabrics I love.

Urban Circus PJ's Take Two

2011-11-09T14:44:00.003-05:00

Last August I made Urban Circus pajamas for my son using a pattern from the Amy Butler's Little Stitches pattern. It was the 9-12 month size and he was so big at 11 months that they didn't last long. Several months ago I made these pajamas again using the Oliver and S Bedtime Story pattern in size 3T. I put them away for future use. He just started fitting into them now and requests to wear them every night! Booya!

I just love that fabric so much - I had to make another pair after he grew out of the first pair so fast.

I can't believe what a different a year makes - he's growing so fast.

Fabric Palooza at Quilt Market

2011-11-08T13:03:00.006-05:00

Before I show you my glutinous pictures of all of the fabric I bought at Quilt Market- I figured I would slip a photo of what I accomplished yesterday so that you know I actually use my fabric and don't spend all my time buying it. I finally added the corner triangles to all of the blocks and it really makes the quilt look much better if I do say so myself. Sample spree on Friday night was crazy. We got in line 2.5 hours before it started as a veteran QM attendee had advised us. I saved money in anticipation of the event: pre-release fabric at wholesale (or less) prices.... I literally had a good dream about the event before I even arrived in TX.

I did the most damage at the Lecien table: Flower Sugar, Folk Heart, and Woodland. I have always drooled over Flower Sugar fabrics but have never owned any before - so this was the favorite purchase of the whole spree for sure.

I have also never owned any Art Gallery fabrics - so I decided to indulge in these super soft beauties.

Riley Blake had some serious bargains: Daisy Cottage and Cherry Sew.

I literally had to push my way through and out to navigate the Moda table - that was the craziest table! I was so happy to get my hands on Aneela Hooey's: A Walk in the Woods.

I almost forgot about checking out the Robert Kaufman table but I am so glad I did. I already have the pattern planned for these FQ's of Laurie Wisbrun's Modern Whimsy.

Lotta Jansdotter's Echo line is to die for. I have a thing for mono-chromatic prints - and this bundle has a ton of them!

Traditional South African fabrics? I was so there! I love South Africa and lived there for 4 months as a college junior. I came home with very little fabric - so this was a special purchase.

Finally, I couldn't resist several Echino half yd cuts - I can now actually make a quilt out of all of these! I think I will destash a FQ set on etsy though - there wasn't an option to just buy fat quarters.

I went to the spree with the plan to indulge because I had saved my money beforehand and I don't think I will ever go to Quilt Market again. You only live once, right? I can't wait to cut into all of these fabrics and plan to do so soon.

Weekend Sewing

2011-11-07T12:08:00.006-05:00

I accomplished a lot sewing-wise this weekend. I don't know where I got all of the energy from considering how exhausted I feel today. Maybe I had the motivation because most of the projects I completed had fast approaching deadlines.

First, I made a peg bear for a 2 year old's birthday party. The birthday boy loves anything car oriented, so I used one of the few car fabrics I own. I have plenty of other transportation themed fabrics - but it was kind of strange that I didn't have a ton of car options. The little boy seemed to like it - so that made me happy.
I don't know if I will ever get into making Halloween costumes, but I knew I could make a trick or treat bag. Halloween was postponed till this past Friday night due to the weekend's snow storm that brought down power lines, trees, and resulted in thousands losing their power for days.

I had some Riley Blake Halloween fat quarters that did just the trick for this easy project. I used a pattern from The New Handmade: Simple Sewing for Contemporary Style by Cassie Barden.

The only thing that about killed me was turning 1" tubes of fabric - with a layer of batting - right side out. I had to have Nick help me and it delayed me so significantly that the bag wasn't ready till about 10 minutes before we had to leave.

I finally made two blocks for the Hip to Bee Square bee. Both of these blocks were easy and I am embarrassed that I was given 2 months to complete them and I was still a week late. The Kona coal pieces I was given for the stacked books block (left) came from two different dye lots- I find it very annoying that Kona can't tweak it's process to make all of it's Kona consistently "colored."

Finally, I made binding and attached it to my Dots and Ties Quilt - now I am doing my favorite part: hand-sewing the other side. Stay tuned for a big reveal of the completed project!

Quilts at Quilt Market

2011-11-06T19:41:00.005-05:00

(A Moda representative showing off a creative use of new Moda basics - I would totally wear that skirt!)
This post will show the quilts that I took pictures of at Quilt Market. Quilt Market is definitely not a "quilt show" but there is plenty of eye candy besides forthcoming fabric lines. My pictures originate from either the Schoolhouse classes (all day Friday classes mostly geared towards shop owners) and a few were taken on the floor of the market.

Alice and I loved this beauty made out of Flower Sugar fabrics. It's difficult to tell from this mediocre picture - but those blocks are made of dresden blocks with yo-yo's on the inner circle. Sandy Klops Mono Pez quilt showcases the basics in this line beautifully:

Cinderberry Stitches from Lecien has their first new line that is so cute and whimsical: Woodland Utopia.

Andover showcased some of its' newest children's lines- Meet the Gang

and Outfoxed:

We went to a "Schoolhouse" with Valori Wells, Tula Pink, Amy Butler, and Anna Maria Horner. Tula Pink had made a completely voile quilt out of all of their fabrics to showcase what a whole quilt of voile feels and looks like. It was gorgeous!

Anna Maria Horner showed us how to use her Loulouthi velveteen and ribbons in quilts:

Here's the ribbon quilt with a pintuck design:

The colors and saturation of the velveteen fabrics really makes me want some for myself even though I haven't been too sold on the whole velveteen thing.

Thanks for visiting!

QM Accessories Made by Me

2011-11-05T08:58:00.002-04:00

Before I went to Quilt Market, I knew I wanted to make myself a bag. I decided to go for a "fall" theme mostly to narrow my focus because choosing fabrics from my stash is often the most time consuming task when it comes to doing a project. I chose Denyse Schmidt's County Fair posie for the handles and Heather Ross' wildflowers from FFA III for the body of the bag. I used a self-published pattern found on etsy called the Nikki bag. I used random brown prints for the lining and pockets: a Michael Miller daisy print and a "Baubles and Bits" print for the pockets. The pattern was perfect- I had no trouble following it at all.

I also decided to make a "pocket clutch" by Keykalou Designs. This project was SO fun and easy to make. I can see making many more of these and I would also like to enlarge the pattern and make bigger versions.

I wanted to use the same fabrics as I had for the exterior of my Nikki bag, but I didn't have enough fabric. Instead, I used Henna Garden and a FMF print. This clutch was a perfect holder for my prescription glasses.

One of the most fun aspects of these projects was that Denyse Schmidt herself complimented me on the Nikki bag (she's the designer of the handle fabric!). I promise I didn't use her fabric to suck up to her but it was cool that she noticed it!

Quilt Market Fall 2011

2011-11-04T12:50:00.005-04:00

If you are looking for a recap of stellar fabric collections that were displayed at Quilt Market, I am afraid I cannot provide that. Kim Kight at True Up is posting frequently about all of the new lines.

My purpose in attending Quilt Market entailed meeting and talking to lots of people from fabric and pattern designers to bloggers to fabric company marketing directors, etc. I loved being able to meet so many people and it wasn't even that intimidating. It's a cliche - but really - it was fun to meet so many nice people and realize that although I put them on a pedestal - they are all just normal people! I met so many people that I didn't get pictures of: Denyse Schmidt, Anna Maria Horner, Sandy Klop, Laura Gunn, Sarah Jane, QuiltDad, etc.

My favorite experience was getting to meet Anne Kelle - she was SO nice and sweet and she actually remembered the whale blanket I had made for Gregory a year ago. She had had a friend make a girl version for her and I told her that she should have called me and I will make her another one (since she gave it away to a friend having a baby girl!). My friends took pictures of us together - so I will post one of those when I get a copy. This pattern designer, Carolyn Friedlander, was a doll. I fell in love with her tree quilt.

Here's Lu Summers - one of Moda's newest designers - a gal from England who was so friendly. Looking forward to her new line this spring - Summersville.

I was able to take a class with Eleanor Burns on doing "sassy stars." Ms. Burns is so funny and you can really tell that she loves what she does. I had to tell her that her "Log Cabin in a Day" was one of the first quilts I ever made and it really got me started with my quilting hobby.

Alice and I were able to meet Aneela Hooey - designer of Sherbet Pips, Little Apples, and the newest: A Walk in the Woods. I told her that I love her fabrics and am making a quilt for myself.

I was nervous to meet Ty Pennington but figured, why not? His new line is very striking!

Sandi Henderson was probably the most down to earth designer I met - the kind of gal you would want to live nearby so that you could have playdates with your kids together and grab lunch now and then. She's got a lot in store for all her fans - I am excited!

Of course I had to get a picture with the Cat in the Hat. The only Robert Kaufman designer I didn't get to meet was Laurie Wisbrun - to my great disappointment!!!!

Rebecca got to meet Melody Miller and was so EXCITED! I love the typewriter print for her new line.

I really didn't take enough pictures at QM - but the whole weekend was a busy blur. The most pictures I took were of Sarah Fielke's work. I will have to do a separate post on that - and it's great timing because I just long-arm quilted the Dotty for Dresden quilt yesterday!

Thanks for visiting! I have a lot of posts in store for the blog right now - maybe a little more about QM but I also have managed to complete quite a few projects lately!

Bloggers' Quilt Festival Entry

2011-11-02T16:13:00.002-04:00

I am dying to share pictures from Quilt Market but I came back to a long power outage and ended up camping out at my parent's home for the past few days. We finally came back last night and I am exhausted and trying to catch up around here.

Meanwhile - I didn't want to miss my chance to enter the Bloggers' Quilt Festival. I am choosing to showcase this mini quilt - a birth announcement quilt made for my son, Gregory. He was born in October - hence the foliage theme.

Most of this quilt was done by hand via English paper piecing, needle turn applique, and embroidery. I love having pieces of one of his baby shirts in the hexagonal background - it's the little white print with tiny bikes on it. This small quilt took a lot of time and it only measures about 18 x 20.5". But I love it and I am proud of my original idea to create a fresh/modern looking keepsake for my son and finally find a way to use paper pieced hexagons without committing to a HUGE project.

Thanks for visiting!

Happy Monday

2011-10-24T14:39:00.002-04:00

I am up to 42 Pips blocks. Still need to add the 4 white corners on each block to create the octagon look but I think I have finally hit my "groove" where this project is concerned. Only 30 left to go! Quilt Market is only a few days away and I am pretty psyched! I am making a new "fall" bag for the trip out of these two lovelies from my stash:

A Quilt for a Special Baby

2011-10-22T17:56:00.003-04:00

I finished this quilt top a little while ago and finally made the time to quilt and finish it this week. It is for a good friend who is having a baby girl in early December. I had her choose fabrics from my stash and I added a few. It was a little crazy not using any blue and having someone else control what fabrics would be used - but I am glad I did because she has a specific theme for her nursery. The Children at Play fabric (center of every nine patch) limited the kind of design that I could do on this quilt. But I like how it all came out.

I used another Marden's find for the back: Doll Babies by Henry Glass.

I bound the quilt with an old Alexander Henry print from my stash.

I enjoyed making this quilt - it was quick and I am proud of the good looking sashing I managed to achieve- sashing is always difficult for me!

9 Patch Lattice - Girly Style

2011-10-17T17:24:00.003-04:00

Thanks to everyone for their kind comments about the puppy pj's - he hasn't even worn them to bed yet - due to typical toddler messes before I could even get him in the crib. But they're in the wash now and he will wear them soon!

Last week I was feeling in a funk about my sewing - I am so bored of my WIP's and didn't have any motivation to tackle them. So I decided to start a new project for a friend from college, a little girl quilt for her daughter. Here it is, the 9 Patch Lattice by Elizabeth Harman, pattern found here. I pretty much finished the whole thing in 3 days - luckily Gregory took long naps and I had my husband look after him when my husband got home. I was very focused! I loved working with these fun fabrics - Urban Circus, Flora and Fauna, Mezzanine, Urban Zoologie, Children at Play, Garden Party, Pop Garden, etc.

I quilted it in a squiggly pattern where I purposely made loops that crossed over each other - it was actually not as easy as stippling and I don't think it looks terribly wonderful - but I am fine with it.

The backing is that Hallmark print that I bought at Marden's. When I went in August - I only picked up a yard. When my friend Alice was going to Marden's soon after I had went- I asked her to pick me up some more and I was so grateful when she brought back 5 yards for me! It's just the cutest fabric.

The quilt is bound in Michael Miller Ta Dot in Berry.

Now.... back to my WIP's!

Puppy PJ's

2011-10-12T16:10:00.002-04:00

I didn't finish these in time for Gregory's birthday but that's okay. I used some Claire Block in brown by Jennifer Paganelli and Aneela Hooey's Sherbet Pip puppies to make these "Bedtime Story" pajamas. I used the size 3T- expecting these to be pretty big on my son- but they are actually ready to wear for him even though he barely turned 2. Getting pictures of my little guy is not easy - he moves too much! I find that half of my pictures are taken when he's "locked in" the highchair.

I am happy to say that he likes these - he even asked to wear them today. I need to find the 3T Urban Circus pair I made a while ago - better get him to wear both sets frequently before he grows out of them!

Calling all Tula Pink Fans!!!!

2011-10-07T15:59:00.002-04:00

I am destashing fabric in my Etsy shop. I still have the Hushabye listed and I added Full Moon Forest and Plume today. I like Tula - but maybe not enough to devote my ever-dwindling supply of "free time" to using up these fabrics.

I promise to show some real sewing projects ASAP. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

WIP Wednesday

2011-10-05T15:49:00.002-04:00

I finally succumbed to the AH Ghastlie craze and got some of this clever Halloween fabric with a filled punch card at Quilter's Way (is there really anything better than "free" fabric?!). I have been slowly quilting the Strips and Bricks quilt in a very dense straight-line quilting. I will be lucky to have this finished by Thanksgiving.

Gregory's 2nd birthday is this Sunday and I really need to get moving if I want to give him anything handmade. I am starting with a pair of Oliver and S Bedtime Story pajamas. Yes, I use his high chair as an ironing station.

We Have a Winner!!!

2011-10-02T21:54:00.003-04:00

Thanks to everyone for entering the giveaway and for their sweet comments. I had never done a giveaway before and it was hours before one person entered. I had begun to worry if giving away a gently used item really was tacky. I only had 15 entries but that was great! So I just used random.org to draw a number and it is...... #13! Who says the number thirteen isn't lucky? So the winner is the woman with the screen name: UBee - please email me with your address. Congratulations and thanks to all who entered.

Welcome October

2011-10-01T14:45:00.003-04:00

I've started to work on several things at once. Unfortunately, I have had to seam-rip almost this entire clamshell quilt - I had added more rows (since this picture was taken) only to soon discover that the quilt top was widening as I went and the only way to fix it is to do it over. BOOO!!!! I am thinking about attaching the pieces to a big piece of muslin to keep it straight next time- is that a good idea? I made this little guy for a one year old's birthday party we're going to this weekend. These Peg Bears are SO cute!!!

This picture shows you how much bigger the Habitat bear is than the original size pattern.

I have been enjoying returning to my Bird Bath quilt. I really enjoy shuffling through my fabrics to find complementary combinations for each block. I added 9 blocks this week - only 52 to go!

A few weeks ago we had a sew-in at Erica's house. It was a much needed break from my crazy toddler! I didn't really have a great portable project to bring, so I brought a bunch of fabrics to cut into strips for a simple patchwork quilt top I am planning. It was a good project to bring - as I hate ironing and cutting - but having the company of friends made it fly by.

Thanks to those who entered the giveaway- I will draw a winner tomorrow.

Miscellany and My 1st Giveaway!

2011-09-27T13:02:00.005-04:00

Look what I found in one of my purses today: the missing dresden plate for my African Heart quilt. This post explains how I thought I was done putting together all of the plates - only to count that I had 29 plates. I scrounged together some scraps to make another, not realizing that this little guy was hiding in a bag - probably from a trip to a quilt store when I was trying to find some printed background fabric! I guess I will make a mini quilt or something out of it! Last weekend I found this vintage doll quilt at a yard sale for $2. I am thinking of cutting it up to make another patchwork sleeper. Do you like how I am training my toddler to hold up quilts for me?

I also found this cool vintage fabric at another sale for a quarter.

I've decided to do a giveaway for the first time on this blog. I made this Birdie Sling quite a while ago and have only used it a few times. I hope it's not too tacky to giveaway something that is not in brand-new, mint condition - but the bags are piling up in this house and I haven't been using it hardly at all. Just leave a comment on this post and I will draw a name this coming weekend.

My sewing progress has been slow going lately. I am just tired (probably because of the pregnancy) and we've had lots of gloomy-weather that has made me return to my first loved hobby: reading. It doesn't help that that Mendocino clamshell quilt is driving me nuts and very boring to do....... Hopefully I will snap out of this soon!

Dots and Ties

2011-09-25T14:07:00.003-04:00

This top has been done for over a week but between the weather being so rainy and overcast and never having a "helper" to hold to the quilt for a picture- that explains why I am late posting this. We went to the North Billerica commuter rail station to take these pictures yesterday. I am very happy with how the quilt is looking so far but I really can't wait to quilt and bind it!

All of the "fans" are fabrics from my stash. I had to buy a whole lot of "That's It Dot" by Michael Miller.

When my son saw this quilt coming together, he said, "That's dots and ties." I thought that was pretty clever!

I plan to return to Laurena's Longarm Quilting to finish this up ASAP.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-21T13:18:00.000-04:00

FSDC: Giant Peg Bear

2011-09-19T12:35:00.005-04:00

I finally came up with an idea to do with my small pieces of Jay McCarroll's Habitat fabrics right before I left for Kentucky. I had all summer to do something and I really procrastinated this project. I am usually not so prone to putting things off - but I wasn't really excited about the fabrics and knew if I made something for my home - it wouldn't match anything.

So I decided to enlarge one of my most favorite softie patterns: the Peg Bear by Jhoanna Monte Aranez of One Red Robin. This pattern comes in the book One Yard Wonders. Normally, this bear turns out to be about 14" tall, mine is about 32" tall after blowing the pattern up to 200%. I sewed Habitat strips along with various solid pieces together and then quilted them onto fusible fleece. I used fleece, wool felt, embroidery floss, and safety animal eyes (from Joann's) for the face and tummy.

The best part of this project was that my son absolutely loves it. This is what he said when I gave it to him, "It's a bear! It's a big bear. It's cute, it's cute. I like it. I love it." And he hasn't really let it out of his sight since. He wasn't happy when I had to take it to the BMQG meeting on Saturday!

I am so glad that he likes it because it's awfully big to be kicking around a small apartment. I used over 4 bags of polyester stuffing.

For our next swap, our guild is doing a non-blind kitchen goods swap. We were asked to bring our own fabrics to give to our partner and simply tell the other person what we might want. The fabrics I received are from Alice, who brought a selection of delightfully soft Christmas fabrics. Alice is pretty flexible about what I can make her - so that's great!

These are the fabrics that I gave my partner. I told her she could do whatever she wanted too. I don't have anything handmade for my kitchen - so this is going to be fun. It didn't take me long to recognize, that yet again - albeit subconsciously - I went for a pallette of red, yellow, and blue!

Happenings

2011-09-14T13:37:00.002-04:00

Thanks for everyone's kind congratulations on my baby news. We are excited!

Early this week I started and finished my project for the Free Spirit Designer Challenge. I am going to have to reveal it after this Saturday's BMQG meeting. Let's just say that I have made clothing, four quilts, and numerous softiestoys for my son and I have never received such a good reception for something I have made him - it made me very happy (especially considering the thing I made him with the Habitat fabrics is pretty whacky).

I am still plugging along on my dresden quilt and will have the completed top to show soon. Meanwhile - it was nice to see a picture of the quilt I made my sister in use in her new apartment in Colorado. I gave it to her this spring and I am so happy that she likes it.

Exciting News

2011-09-09T12:56:00.002-04:00

Most people reading this already know the big news: I am pregnant. The baby is due February 27. I chose not to find out Gregory's gender and plan to do the same thing with this one. It is tempting to find out only because I could really get cracking on making lots of gender specific baby items. But I think it will be worth it to have a surprise.

Knowing that our lives will change drastically in about 5-6 months, I have been kicking the sewing time into overdrive. There is just SO much to do! After Gregory was born, I didn't really touch my machine for a good four months- I am only going to be busier with two children! In other exciting news, I am going to attend the Houston Quilt Market at the end of October. I am assisting with a modern quilting themed book that my amazing friend, Rachel, is authoring. We are still working out what my role is in helping with the book- but I am psyched to have an amazing weekend away with some great friends from the Boston Modern Quilt Guild. You have to have certain credentials to attend Quilt Market - so this was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity that I couldn't pass up.

So as I prepare for the Market and a new baby - I need to publicly pledge to stop buying so much fabric!!! I kind of got in "vacation mode" in Louisville and allowed myself some indulgences - but I need to STOP and sew with what I have! There are so many sales lately - but I must resist :)

Back from Louisville!

2011-09-08T16:36:00.003-04:00

The night before I left for Louisville, I decided to make some airplane pants for Gregory. I used the Bedtime Story Pajama pattern (Oliver and S) and Anne Kelle's airplane print from "Ready, Set, Go!" Traveling alone with a 23 month lap baby was daunting - but the flights couldn't have gone smoother. I was so happy to reunite with my husband (after a month long absence!) and have a visit with his parents in Louisville, KT. I had hoped to squeeze in a trip to Paducah while we were there - but it is a good 4 hour drive from Louisville and there definitely wasn't enough time! We had a nice time visiting with each other - we went to the downtown Science Center, Nick and I caught a movie (thanks for watching Gregory, Bob and Julie!), and simply had a nice time allowing grandson and grandparents to have fun together.

While I was there, a little bit of quilting was squeezed in: Julie showed me this gorgeous fan/dresden plate quilt that has seen lots of use within the family. I love the design and colors!

Julie's grandmother made several "boy versions" of Sunbonnet Sue:

In the Louisville airport, on our way out, we had some time to kill and were able to admire this crazy quilt from 1875. The strawberries that Gregory is pointing to are three-dimensional.

Since we returned on Labor Day, I have been wiped. It's also been raining non-stop and I haven't had a lot of motivation to do much of anything. But yesterday I finally got my act together and started putting the red centers onto the dresden plates - I am over halfway done.

I should've inserted this picture earlier, but here is a picture of the fabrics I bought at a Louisville shop. They had a quite the variety of modern and traditional fabrics. I was also shocked by the lack of markup on fabrics - flannel was $10-11 per yard and home dec was about $14. Local quilt shops around Boston sell those types of fabrics for as much as $20 per yard!

Yesterday I was hit by a massive cold and had to keep myself from napping in order to sleep at night. I occupied myself by pulling fabrics for a secret project:

I used the top left fabric as the inspiration for pulling complementary fabrics (it's Anna Maria Horner Garden Party). The fabric on the far right (Maryoshka dolls) will be the backing. Suggestions for simple quilt patterns are more than welcome!!!!

Progress

2011-08-31T22:05:00.003-04:00

Luckily, Hurricane Irene was very mild for the area I live in - but I prepared for the worst- I even decided to go hang out at my parent's from Saturday afternoon until yesterday. The power flickered and that was it. During Gregory's naps I took advantage of my parent's cable and DVR and watched/listened to several episodes of "What Not to Wear" and "Law and Order." It really helped to get me through the very monotonous task of sewing the dresden plates onto the background squares: When I got home last night, I finished the last of these Children at Play blocks. I have to say that I like the fussy cut squares of these prints - but I find that these styles of prints limit my creativity a bit- I am much more used to using prints and color rather than trying to fuss with little character/novelty images.

I am off to Louisville on Friday to reunite with my hubby and visit his parents with Gregory. We were going to squeeze a visit of Paducah in - but there just isn't enough time. But you better believe I hope to squeeze a quick visit to a quilt store that I heard is excellent. I am really excited to be with Nick again and finally allow Gregory to see his grandparents- as it has been over a year now since we last all got together!

Mosaic Top Done!

2011-08-27T16:06:00.002-04:00

You all might be sick of this quilt by now but unfortunately, at least one more post is coming (when I finally finish it!). I would love to hear opinions on whether I should add a few borders. I am thinking: 1st a small white border, followed two gray and purple borders that are a little thicker than the white (maybe 3 inches each?).

P.S. Thanks for all the empathizing and supportive comments regarding the Hushabye sampler that I hated. I'd never written a post like that because usually I like what I make. I am going to finish it - but not for a while - it's time to focus on other things.

Hushabye Sampler Top Finished

2011-08-23T15:22:00.005-04:00

I don't know if I should share how negatively I feel about this quilt top. When I told my mom all of my complaints - she suggested I just throw it away - it was her reaction to my vitriole. I don't hate it enough to literally put it in the trash but it's been a serious struggle from the beginning. Here are some of my reasons for loathing this project:

#67. The fabric requirements for the pattern required that I buy certain amounts for the sashing and backing which both ended up being WAY too much fabric. The fabric I had to buy doesn't really go with the rest of my stash - so it's a waste. #88. I cut up two yards of the pink Hushabye owl print that ended up being a waste because my rows and columns of sashed blocks wouldn't fit properly around the panel I had cut. (Totally my fault!!!!)

#92. I hate doing sashing for quilts - it's not as easy as it looks and I rarely can do it right.

#102. I had my doubts about using the saturated brown prints in some of the blocks - and then I went ahead and clustered them all together - which makes it even worse.

#111. I liked Hushabye, but now I can't bear to look at it anymore. I am hanging onto some of my yardage of the owl prints - but the rest is being destashed on etsy.

I totally understand the wisdom of "finishing what you start." But I once read some advice on flickr to a woman who wasn't sure if she should finish up a hand pieced hexagon quilt that she hated. The comment said something to the effect of, "Sometimes we spend too much time and money on projects we aren't enjoying and it's often better to just move on and spend our efforts on things we are excited about/enjoy more."

Dresden Progress

2011-08-21T20:45:00.002-04:00

Last week I finished up all of my dresden plates for the Dotty for Dresden quilt. There are 30, as I am adding a full column to the pattern in order to make the quilt queen sized. I am really pleased with how they came out. I put the pieces together randomly - just trying not to have same colors touching and having no fabrics repeated within the plate.

Friday night, I started another quilt:

All of my WIP's are kind of overwhelming me right now! This weekend I have been trying to put together the top of the Hushabye sampler quilt.... I would much rather work with the above projects but I will get to them as soon as possible.

World Quilt Show 2011

2011-08-20T15:06:00.004-04:00

The World Quilt Show in Manchester, NH did not disappoint. The quilts on display were very diverse - there was something there for everyone! I love how they have quilts from all over the world - Japan, South Africa, England, Germany, etc.

I will be brief in my narration of the few pictures I show here:

I liked this one because it uses African prints - I am always looking for ideas on how to use my Uganda fabric stash! The work of Linda Schmidt was on display and it was nothing short of jaw-droppingly beautiful. I should've taken more pictures of her work, but these next two were some of my favorites:

This quilt was from Germany and I was mainly inspired by the unique color pallette.

This floral quilt was a collaborative effort from a guild in Capetown, South Africa. I thought it was absolutely gorgeous!

There were so many vendors at the show, it was a bit overwhelming. I was very interested in "Dusty's Vintage" - a small company in MA that sells vintage tablecloths, buttons, trims, and fabrics. I bought two cuts from the 1950's - the purple and red paisley and a lavendar/green floral feedsack - a full yard of each. I am sure it's rare to find such old and pretty fabric in such pristine condition. These fabrics are sitting on a backdrop of a new Denyse Schmidt Sugar Creek print - Whimsy Bouquet - I am going to use it to back my dresden quilt. After I got home from the show - I took my son to Nashua to hunt some down - I was a woman on a mission!

I also got this horrifying novelty print at the World Quilt Show, my son really loves motorcycles. PJ pants are in order I think.

Maybe saying he's "obsessed" is a better term......

A Goodbye Gift

2011-08-18T22:02:00.004-04:00

I have been saving the selvedges (sp?) from my fabrics for maybe two years now. I don't really know why - I guess I started to see projects that use them now and then and I figured, "I may want these someday." I have come very close, on multiple occasions, to throwing them away - it just has added more clutter to my overflowing fabric stash. But there are some awesome projects that use them - there's even a whole flickr group dedicated to it and someone even made a whole dress out of them! Amy, from Made During Quiet Time, recently joined our Boston Modern Quilt Guild and she has an awesome tutorial on how to make a very cute armrest pincushion. I thought it would be a perfect going away gift for Monet:

Working with the selvedges was fun - I am now glad that I saved them. When choosing which ones to use - I simply looked for ones with lots of lettering or circle/colored dots.

I would recommend, when working with selvedges- when sewing them onto the background square - use a square a little larger than the measurement of what you want to end up with. I found that all of my sewing made the piece a bit wonky and I had to cut it to size at the end and some of the edges didn't end up having the "support" of the background square. The only alteration I did to Amy's tutorial was adding a flannel bag of rice into the pincushion in order to make it have more weight.

I gave this small gift to Monet at the end of our afternoon at the World Quilt Show. I will post about the show tomorrow. Right now I am feeling a little overstimulated by being at the show most of the day (SO many beautiful quilts and SO many vendors!) but I also feel a little overwhelmed. Monet was the founder and leader of our guild and has worked tirelessly to create a very meaningful organization and she also has been a wonderful, true friend. I am going to miss her terribly as she heads off to law school. Her departure not only means that I won't get to see her much but it also signals the transition for me to go from being vice president to president. I love the guild and I am excited to continue working as an officer - but of course it is a little intimidating! I have to say that I am more than grateful to Monet for providing a wonderful foundation to a group that I hope will thrive for many more years.

Strips and Bricks Top Completed

2011-08-15T08:00:00.000-04:00

The night before my SIL came to town- I hurriedly tried to put this top together so that I wouldn't have the rows lying all over the place. I put in the movie "Catch Me if You Can" and was done by 10:30 pm. I was also in a rush because I thought I might want to bring it to Marden's to choose a backing - but I realized I had something in my stash that will do. I have to say that I am really happy with how it turned out. I am kind of surprised by its large size, even though I planned it that way- 90" x 92". The reason why I wanted to make this quilt is because I wanted an excuse to use some of the gray and black fabrics that I own and love. But I don't think I would ever be content to make something without much color - so that is why I added some blue and red prints (my favorite colors). I kind of like to think of it as a black and white photo with some color added to it.

Fabrics I used include Half Moon by Moda, Henna Garden, Cathedral by AMH, gray Wishing flowers, Daiwabo gray elephants, Pearl Bracelet, Avalon bikes, Ribbon Flowers from KJR, Cherry Wallflower, etc. The neutrals I used were Kona Snow, White, Ash, and Bone. The pattern was inspired from Strips and Bricks by Malka Dubrasky.

It may be a while before I get the opportunity to baste and quilt this beast but hopefully I can show its' completion soon.

Gregory's Birdie Quilt

2011-08-13T15:28:00.000-04:00

Melissa made this sweet quilt for Gregory. It is a pattern by Elizabeth Hartman. I love the color choices and bird- theme. His room actually has somewhat of a bird theme - I made him a bird mobile and his nursery art is a series of prints from this etsy seller: Barkingbirdart.

Anyway, I love the prints she used - some Red Letter Day, Flea Markte Fancy, and some Tina Givens. The back is a perfect choice- a flannel with little birds on it!

I have to say that it means a lot that she made this for Gregory. People often think that I don't want anything handmade because I sew a lot - but if anything, I have an appreciation for how much time and work goes into something like this! I love it!

Lowell Quilt Festival 2011

2011-08-12T15:13:00.002-04:00

My SIL, Melissa, is visiting from Texas this week. Although she is really busy with work and school, she does enjoy sewing and has made a few quilts in the past couple of years. She brought Gregory a quilt she made and he loves it- I will post that tomorrow.

Anyway, some of our activities so far have centered around sewing. Today we went to the Lowell Quilt show. I was excited to show her a quilt made by a fellow Boston Modern guild member: Jen Boucher. I am so happy for Jen! I have seen quite a lot of progress on this quilt and to see her win a blue ribbon for the Best Wall Quilt is simply AWESOME! You can see more of Jen's work on her blog: A Quilting Jewel. (Incidentally, this quilt has hundreds and hundreds of crystals on it!) Of course, I had to take a picture of this interesting use of hexagons:

This quilt was my favorite - probably since I seem to have a thing for trees. I wrote down the name of the pattern and I am going to try to find it and do this someday in modern fabrics.

I have been doing a little sewing while Melissa is here. I whipped together my first dresden plate in about 10 minutes. I am telling you - once you have the "prep work" of making all of the fan blades, these things fly out of your machine in no time.

Melissa also requested that we make a trip to Marden's in Maine while she's here. We went straight from the airport! I was really thrilled with what I got:

The Maryoshka doll piece is made by Hallmark (who knew they made fabric?!), the woodgrain is a Timeless treasure print, and the red print is a perfect backing for the girl quilt I am planning for my friend. The two KJR finds were from Lowell show today - I was ecstatic to find them because they are literally both my most favorite prints from that collection and I had very little!

Strips and Bricks

2011-08-08T21:02:00.002-04:00

I am hoping to finish off the 10 rows I need for this quilt tonight: The color pallette/fabric choices feel very different than what I usually do - especially given my heavy use of neutrals. I am not sure how I feel about this project yet but I am optimistic. I am also enjoying the ease of it - sometimes you need a quick project. For the next 4 weeks me and Gregory are flying solo. Nick left today for a job training in Ohio. A few years ago, when he was in law school, he left for 3 months - but this separation feels more painful. It's probably due to the fact that we have a child now - I have to be a single parent for a little while and Nick feels the guilt of being away from our son. I know there are lots of spouses who have to separate for a lot longer than a month - so I will keep my complaining to a minimum. The one good thing about this, I am hoping, is that I think I might get more sewing done!

Fabric Friday and WIP

2011-08-05T14:33:00.002-04:00

Yesterday Nick took Gregory to the park and I finished my last two blocks for my bee quilt (contributions came from the Boston Modern Quilt Guild and Hip to Bee Square flickr bee). I am waiting on one last block. Yesterday I finally decided to write a person in the bee who I had not received a block from- and it turns out that the package had been misplaced and she hadn't mailed it yet. Phew! I had seen her picture of what she made and I am so relieved it wasn't lost!

I love the way this quilt is looking but I am surprised at how "small" the quilt looks after having accrued blocks from two bees and making several blocks myself. Hopefully I can show you the completed top soon.

I finally spent most of my birthday money on some Joel Dewberry Heirloom. The blog world seems to really be falling hard for the Citrine pallette (orange, aqua, yellow) but I am very happy with my choice of Sapphire. If you have any suggestions for a good pattern that showcases large scale prints - let me know.

A good friend of mine is having her second baby girl in December. I want to make her a quilt and invited myself to her house with a huge bag full of fabric choices. She has a background in interior design and before I knew it - she pulled apart some of my little "themed" packets/collections and made this: a red, pink, green pallette with a hint of orange. I love it!

I told her I needed to add more, so these are the fabrics I put together on the bottom row: What do you think? I do think it needs some editing still.

I am thinking about using this brand-new sheet as sashing for the quilt. Normally I am against using anything but normal Kona - but this sheet has a nice and soft texture and has a subtle chevron pattern in it. I know that using a cheap sheet is discouraged - but this sheet is 250 thread count, 100% cotton. Any thoughts?

Hello to all of my new followers! Thanks for visiting!

Blogger's Blockapalooza Blocks are finally finished!!!!!

2011-07-30T13:56:00.004-04:00

I am so happy to see this sight on my design wall, all 16 blocks are finally complete!!!!! I can't emphasize how much I ended up hating this project. I mean no disrespect to the organizers/pattern writers, etc. But it was just not something I enjoyed. My problem was the difficulty of the blocks, falling out of love with the fabrics, and having no real purpose for this quilt (not sure what I am going to do with it when it's done!)

Normally, I am the type of person that can stop reading a book if I am not enjoying it- but I really felt that I should finish this project especially given that I had already bought the 5.25 backing fabric required. I also didn't want to wimp out and have a useless baby blanket.

It probably would've helped if I had chosen fabrics that I was more in love with. Someone made this quilt with City Weekend fabrics and I love their version.

Now I need to decide how I will lay these blocks out. There are two options I am considering: 1. I can sash the blocks with a neutral and put cornerstone squares at the intersections of the squares. Or I can frame them around a large piece of the large owl print that comes in the Hushabye line. I am going to figure it out ASAP so that I can get this baby quilted and bound!

I started out with a full FQ bundle of the Hushabye Tula Pink line and now I don't know if I can use these fabrics again. I am going to try and swap them or sell them.....

Fabric Friday: More Birthday Goodies!

2011-07-22T12:49:00.000-04:00

My HT order arrived this week. I mainly chose boy prints from the new collection, Children at Play. I couldn't resist a few of the girly ones - I think the hopscotch one is my fave.

Finally, my sister treated me to some goodies at the Fabric Corner. I chose some Echino, Pooches and Pickups, and the last one is another HT find - the London subway system!

I can't wait to finish some of my ongoing projects so that I can cut up these new goodies.

Jumping from Project to Project

2011-07-21T12:33:00.004-04:00

(Pictured above: a bowl of dresden fans ready to be sewn all together - trimming, turning, and pressing these babies was not a quick effort!)

I promised you all that I was doing some sewing and not just spending all of my time fabric shopping! I have been working on several different projects.

I did another block for the Blogger's Palooza quilt along - I don't know what I was thinking when I decided to do this quilt. I had never done a quilt along before and hadn't heard much about it - but I just started making blocks as they were posted. Then illness after illness hit our family and I put it aside midway through the quilt along. Now I loathe this project and just want to get it over with - "flying geese" units are decidedly not my friends. Now that my 1/4" seam problem has been fixed - I am able to return to these Pips snowball blocks. (I think I need to clarify that I have always had a 1/4" foot- the problem was that the needle was not in the right position - properly spaced from the 1/4" guide. My machine does not have the option of moving the needle by the click of a button - so it had to be fixed internally.)

I hope you all don't get sick of these blocks - I still have 61 to go.

I sewed my strips onto my bricks for this quilt:

I hope no one minds that I have a fabric Friday post scheduled for tomorrow - I am always one that enjoys knowing what bloggers like and it can be a good way to know about newly available goodies. Plus I love to see pictures of fabrics rather than the screen image provided by the manufacturer - a real photo provides a real understanding of what the fabric really looks like! Finally, I've said it before and I will say it again: I am decidedly more obsessed with fabric than I am with sewing!

Happy Birthday To Me

2011-07-16T15:10:00.002-04:00

I apologize for all of the "fabric only" pictures lately - but I promise lots of sewing is getting done behind the scenes. Yesterday was my birthday and I received lots of goodies. Including a few random cuts from fabric.com: left to right: Kumari Garden, Haven's Edge, and Ready, Set, Go: I also asked for a huge cut of Kona Nightfall to use in making a giant spiderweb quilt with Loulouthi fabrics. My verdict on Loulouthi? It's AMH's best collection yet!

With some birthday money, I just ordered several cuts from this collection: Children at Play by Sarah Jane for Michael Miller fabrics. I was browsing Hawthorne Threads when it popped up, all of the sudden, that this collection was available. I felt like I was trying to buy tickets to a soon-to-be-sold-out rock concert - the pressure on what to choose was intense. I guarantee that these prints will be gone from HT by the end of the weekend. I love HT, but I wish that they weren't so stinking popular - hardly anything stays in stock.

Now, I need help on deciding what to use the rest of my birthday money on. I thought I would be able to pass on Sandy Henderson's Secret Garden collection - (my trepidation was linked to surprise at how different this collection is from her previous lines) but I am in love with these gorgeous prints!

This is the midnight colorway - my first instinct is to grab many of these:

But part of me is feeling like maybe I should go with something different than what I usually gravitate to, like the Tea Time colorway:

And finally, I am DYING for Joel Dewberry's newest, Heirloom. There are three colorways of this collection too and I don't know what to get either. Most people online are going nuts for the aqua/orange combos - which I love - but the deep reds and purples are calling to me as well.

Secret Garden and Heirloom are set to be released any day now. They both have something like 60 different prints each! Images courtesy of Fat Quarter Shop.

Fabric Friday: Gather Here in Cambridge, MA

2011-07-15T12:18:00.000-04:00

A friend treated me to some fabric (as a thanks for doing her a favor) last week and I have to say that I love, love everything I came home with. We met up at Gather Here in Cambridge, MA. They are having a sale right now to make room for fall collections - so we took advantage.

This first fabric on the far left is my most favorite - ohmygosh - I want to make everything with that fabric. It's a print from Valori Well's newest collection, Wrenly. There are lots of colorways - but I love the rainbow-ish version the best. Next is a Modern Workshop print, two prints from Zoo Menagerie, Kumari Garden floral, Kokka Little Mermaid, and an AH stripe. I bought myself a little treat too: these fabrics are so girly (thanks to the pink and purple) - so I can only hope a friend who's expecting will be having a girl. These are also Zoo Menagerie.

If you happen to be in the Harvard area, run, don't walk to Gather Here. It is easily my most favorite fabric store in the New England area.

Thrifty Thursday

2011-07-14T12:10:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday's yard sale exploits were modest but good. Nick and I stopped at a church-run thrift shop in Tyngsboro and I picked up 7 of these wooden hoops. I plan to frame pieces of my favorite fabrics in them, like this. Any local friends who want me to pick some up for you? Just let me know - I plan to go back and get more. In the same store, I found this picnic-inspired 5 yard piece made by Robert Kaufman. It doesn't have any kind of date on it, so I have no idea how "retro" it really is. I also couldn't resist the 4 yd piece of gray floral fabric on the right.

Wednesday

2011-07-13T15:05:00.000-04:00

The latest update on my machine is that I picked it up last week and the guy wasn't very pleasant and definitely defensive. I was never rude to him or his staff- I just had to be "matter of fact" when it came to telling him that it appeared he didn't do what I had paid him to do. He blamed all of my problems on a bent needle. I didn't want to argue with him - so I just took my machine and got out of there. Today I brought the machine back to the Janome dealer who confirmed what I had tested at home: the 1/4" seam is now accurate (yay!) but only the straight stitch works - no zig-zag, no decorative stitches, no nothing. I feel like I have a big paperweight - even though I know that I rarely use anything but the straight stitch. I have to admit that buying a new machine has been germinating in the back of my mind for a while - but that is not going to happen until I raise the funds.

Anyway, like a lot of bloggers, my sewing and blogging tends to slow down in the summer - there's too much fun to be had when the weather is favorable. Still, I am attending to a few projects.

The last of my Hip 2 Bee Square blocks are trickling in, I can't wait to finish this thing. Cutting dresden plates for my Dotty for Dresden quilt has gone much more quickly than I had anticipated - thank goodness. My African Heart quilt needed 600 fans, this quilt needs about 480. Using the Nifty Notions wedge ruler really speeds things up.

It has been a real struggle to decide which fabrics to use for this quilt. I know it might sound pathetic, I am just SO in love with Sarah Fielke's original - that I almost wanted to do an exact duplicate of hers. But that's pretty much impossible - so I am just trying to mirror what she did. In digging through my stash, I have chosen green, blue, orange, purple, and pink fabrics that are (relatively) small in scale and have especially favored reproduction-ish fabrics like KJR and FMF. Fielke did not include purple fabrics in her quilt - so at least I am stepping out of the box a little.

After all of these, I still have about 100 left to cut.

My First Original Tutorial: Piecing Batting an Easy Way

2011-07-12T14:53:00.000-04:00

I know it's a cardinal rule of good sewing blogs to provide numerous tutorials to one's readers. It's just that I am not all that original to come up with all new designs and ideas- and I am not a fan of reinventing the wheel. (Binding tutorial anyone? I am sure there are at least 100.) But I am proud to provide you with a new way to piece batting together that won't make you tear out your hair, require hours of hand-sewing, or nearly ruin a queen sized quilt (not like I speak from experience or anything).

Go to Joann's and buy some interfacing for knits - I found a link here, to give you an idea of what should work. I bought a yard and used my coupon, so the cost was a little over $2. Cut your interfacing into strips 1.5" wide like this: Now- simply place the strip of interfacing over two pieces of batting that are butted up against each other. Iron it in place. Keep ironing strips to join the pieces together - overlapping the strips a bit when you are starting with a new piece. The instructions which accompany the interfacing suggest the use of a "pressing cloth" to adhere the interfacing - I found that this was completely unnecessary (thank goodness - throwing a wet rag on batting doesn't sound like a good idea anyway).

For my Improv quilt, I put strips of the knit interfacing on the back of the join as well - just to be extra thorough and because I had so many pieces leftover. It's probably sturdy enough with one layer though.

So, I have to say that I didn't really "make up" this idea - I had seen ads for "batting tape" in the back of quilting magazines that cost about $15 a roll. If I am going to spend $15 just to fiddle with a bunch of batting scraps, I might as well just buy new batting - queen sized runs about $23, you know? But for a little over $2 - it's much more economical (and easy!) to piece batting scraps together and it's environmentally friendly, right? Plus you might not be so plagued by batting pieces all over the house - feeling consigned to make bibs and mini quilts just to use them up!

Improv Quilt Done!

2011-07-11T14:38:00.002-04:00

This is one of my oldest UFO's - finally complete! Yay! For the longest time, it sat on top of my bureau as a baby-sized top - I was forever unsure if I should finish it as is or just keep adding to it, as I had originally planned. I finally just went for it and dug out all sorts of scraps and completed it - adding 5 more pieces of Heather Ross' "Princess and the Pea" print. This was a great scrap buster, but I have to admit that I did cut into some larger cuts to add variety to the quilt. I have to add that this was a great project to use all those cute scraps people send you when you swap fabric with them.

I quilted this quilt at my friend Joanna's house, as she had kindly offered to let me try out her Juki. I have to say that I loved using her machine. The large throat space was a real dream and the speed with which it sews (thanks to an industrial-power motor) made quilting this baby easy. I also felt brave enough to try a new-to-me free motion quilting technique: swirls. I love how it changes the texture of the quilt - be warned that it did take a lot of thread - I almost used up a 1,100 yd spool of Gutterman thread (the largest Joann's carries) and probably went through at least 12 bobbins.

I rarely do pieced backs because: #1 I am lazy and #2 I love the look of a big, awesome all-over print on the back. But I knew I needed to use up some of my stash, so here is the result: The largest piece, Prints Charming Rainbow Garden is one of my faves.

I also pieced the batting to finish this quilt and will have a tutorial on how I did it tomorrow. This quilt was a very economical project for me - I didn't need to go out and buy something specific for it- just used what I had on hand.

Cutting Party

2011-07-05T13:26:00.002-04:00

Update on my machine: I brought my machine back to the guy who "cleaned" it 5 weeks ago. He wasn't in the shop so I explained the situation to the lady and the guy called me the next day. It was an awkward conversation but I tried to stick up for myself. The only way to truly prove he didn't clean it would be to open up the machine and see if he did the really "deep cleaning" that I paid my hard earned $70 for. He contradicted himself - saying he didn't remember my machine and later claiming he'd "fixed something specific" (not true). I am in a weird position here - he already has my money and there's a small possibility that he really did clean it - but I had to go with my gut and the opinions of three other sewers who were aghast at the amount of junk just in the bobbin case alone. I told him all of the problems I have with it and told him I wasn't in a rush to get it back - I just need to have the service I originally paid for. Not going back to him next time, obviously.

While I wait for my machine, I have been tinkering with my Elna and getting lots of cutting done. This picture shows my pieces for my rendition of the Strips and Bricks quilt: I am using 4 neutrals, 5 reds, 5 blues, and 14 grays/black & whites. The cutting and preparing of my Mendocino clam-shell quilt is going very slowly. I am doing the super circle technique to turn the edges under and it doesn't help that it's so humid and the ironing of the edges sometimes comes undone - even with lots of starch.

Today I am going to start cutting my Dotty for Dresden quilt - I hate cutting so much but when your machine is in the shop - you've still got to get something done!

Fabric Friday: Destash Score

2011-07-01T12:30:00.000-04:00

Here's an online fabric shopping tip for you: search "destash fabric" on etsy and you may come across some real gems. I made the (mistake?) of doing this last week and the lovely package from TheDestashSquid came on Wednesday. These are some of my faves: Jack and the Beanstalk, Hippos, architecure drawings, and Lush woodgrain. It's hard to tell from the picture, but those sheep on the right are awesome. The wolf wanting to eat them is even more crazy awesome.

I couldn't resist this fairy tale pack - including Little Bo Peep, the 3 Little Pigs, and Humpty Dumpty:

These bears were really an impulsive choice for me, but I like them:

Sewing Highs, Sewing Lows

2011-06-30T16:23:00.002-04:00

I have had lots of "sewing highs" this week. Firstly, I was able to quilt this quilt at my friend Joanna's house. We met through BMQG and she is a sweetheart who is a very talented quilter and a master of all things applique. She likes to encourage other people to buy a Juki, like hers, and she kindly offered to let me try it out at her house. I had so much fun being able to escape for the day (while my sister watched my kid) and finish this long-standing UFO. I will do a full post once it's completed. Last Saturday I only went to three yard sales - it was a very rainy day and I went to three indoor sales that were still happening. At the last one, I hit a jackpot when I found this Singer Ultralock 14SH644 in a shabby suitcase. I talked the guy down from $25 to $15 - it had accessories and the manual with it. I will let you know how I like it once I finally find the time to try it out.

When I came home from Joanna's - there were two packages waiting for me - a fabric order (post coming tomorrow) and another small package. It turned out to be the manuals, some feet, and 24 cams for that Elna sewing machine I bought at a yard sale a few weeks ago!!!! I was hyperventilating when I realized what it was. You see, in my stalker-ish way, I actually had written a letter to the lady at that yard sale asking if she might find those cams (only sold on ebay for at least $5 each!) and she went ahead and sent me all of this stuff!!!!! Don't worry, a thank you card and generous reimbursement for shipping is on it's way to her now.

Now for my sewing "low": Today I went to a Janome dealer to get help with my 1/4" issue. Turns out that my zig-zag function is broken - which might end up resolving my seam issue. Additionally, the lady took off the needle plate on the machine and we discovered layers and layers of horrifying dirt and lint right there in the bobbin area - everywhere!!!! Some of you may remember that I only got my machine cleaned 5 weeks ago. She swears, up and down, that there is no way that this guy really cleaned the machine if there is that much debris. I paid him $70! Additionally, he did not replace the "wic" (small oiling/cloth piece) and should've noticed the zig zag and (maybe?) the seam issue. She was really encouraging me to bring back the machine and demand a refund. I am not a confrontational person - but I really can't afford $70 for nothing! Any advice would be greatly welcomed.

New Projects

2011-06-27T14:43:00.006-04:00

I have three UFO's left: my bee blocks quilt- which are starting to show up in the mail now and then (two are stuck in Canada, due to the postal strike up there), my improv quilt (quilting it on Wednesday at a friend's house), and my Hushabye quilt (seen below). Not too bad, right? I am finally letting myself start some new things.

For my Sherpet Pips stash, I decided to go with a pattern in Elizabeth Hartman's book - The Practical Guide to Patchwork. I am doing the "bird Bath" pattern, choosing to fussy cut the centers with Pips. I haven't added the corner triangles yet because I haven't decided if I am going to use a solid or prints. This one is my favorite - the gray Sanctuary print looks like wind/snow.

In true Laurie fashion, I have decided to make the quilt bigger than the pattern calls for. Elizabeth recommends 30 blocks, I am planning to do 72.

These blocks are taking me forever because I am really having trouble achieving a perfect, scant 1/4" seam. Please don't judge me! I know that's supposed to be one of the "basics" of quilt making - but the Janome quarter inch foot makes a seam much bigger than 1/4", my machine does not have the capability to move the needle, and the post-it's and tape methods are just not working.

I am visiting a Janome dealer this week to get help with the 1/4" issue - there is another 1/4" foot I haven't tried - so hopefully that might work?

So far I haven't used the coordinates from SP, just digging through my stash of reds, grays, blues, and pinks.

I finally returned to my Blogger's Palooza project and made block #16:

I had had 9 blocks completed for quite a while. When I finally pulled them out, I was very tempted to sew a 3 x 3 layout and call it a day. But then I realized that I need a small baby girl quilt like I need a hole in the head, so I am continuing on.....

While I wait to resolve my 1/4" issue - I am going to be a cutting machine for new quilts that I want to make. I have had my eye on a Strips and Bricks quilt for a while and plan to do my own version with these fabrics:

I also made the decision to finally cut into my Heather Ross Mendocino collection to make a clam-shell shower curtain rather than auctioning it off to finance my son's college education. Hopefully that won't be a horrible decision......

I am continuing to agonize over my fabric choices for the Dotty for Dresden quilt but plan to cut that ASAP as well. I don't mind starting several projects at once - it's good to have the variety. What I don't plan on doing is allowing ten and twenty quilt tops to pile up without quilting them - I will not be making that mistake again!!!!!

Fabric Friday: Thrifted Fabrics

2011-06-24T08:26:00.003-04:00

Thanks for the congratulations on yesterday's post! It was so exciting! Now to reveal the fabrics: I filled a big bag with all sorts of stuff but this post is just showcasing the vintage prints. The other fabrics I bought aren't as exciting - just plain things like some blue shirting, a white linen blend, etc.

Most of the pieces aren't too big but that's okay - I don't need yards and yards of the stuff!

This is my favorite:

Cheater patchwork!

The quality of vintage fabric is questionable - you all know that I am not a fan of anything less than "quilt shop quality." But I am not a fabric snob when it comes to vintage fabrics - if I like the pattern - that's all that matters. I plan on making a simple patchwork square quilt out of my vintage fabrics - no intricate piecing and something simple to showcase the prints.

Clocks!

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Epic Yard Sale Find

2011-06-23T14:56:00.003-04:00

Last weekend was awesome. I had my first class of "The Basics of Being a Mamarazzi" so that I can finally start to understand how to take better pictures. Right before the class started, I pieced the back for my Improv quilt. Sadly, this is the bulk of sewing progress I have to show due to my son having a nasty cold all week. Back on the topic of having an awesome weekend - I went to an EPIC yard sale on Saturday. It was an estate sale in Westford - and I knew I was in for a retreat when this pattern was one of the first things that I saw: (Come to this Saturday's BMQG meeting to win it!)

But the real find was this AMAZING sewing machine!!!! It's an Elna Air Electronic SU machine. The reviews I have found online are excellent ("you'll have to pry it from my cold dead hands," "I doubt any sewer who has one will part with it. they just don't make them like that anymore," "I like how it is lightweight and portable, yet it is all metal and sturdy") and they go for about $375 on ebay. The Elna name is still around (bought by Janome) but the original Switzerland company that made the older machines is gone.

The machine has the capability to do lots of decorative stitches, but you have to have these small black discs called "cams." My machine only had one and they go for at least $5 a piece on eBay. I am not going to try and buy a whole bunch online (you might as well as buy a new machine rather than constantly dropping $30-$50 for 6-10 cams) but will keep my eye out for deals.

When I spotted the machine - I soon discovered that the foot pedal was nowhere to be seen. The lady running the sale helped me look for it but soon gave up. I was desperate to find it - and I combed through that trashed room until I found it!!! Victory! This is what it looks like - not a typical sewing machine foot pedal at all:

I haven't played with it too much because the lady said she would send me the manual and I have not received it yet (if she doesn't send it soon, I can buy a PDF version online for about $7). I also know that it needs to be cleaned/oiled - which will have to wait. But I am so thrilled to satisfy my small longing for a new machine by instead getting a sweet little 1954 Swiss made gem! I bought this machine plus a large (used) rotary mat, a trash bag full of fabric (more on that tomorrow), a brand new bag of cotton batting, a vintage puzzle ball, a brand new wooden lap quilting frame, and a shoebox full of new sewing notions all for only $20. This was an AMAZING deal!

Autumn Celebration Mini Quilt

2011-06-22T08:39:00.005-04:00

Even though this quilt only measures 18" x 27" - it was many months in the making. I am teaching English paper pieced hexagons this Saturday for the BMQG, which has been good motivation for me to finish it up. I started making hexagons last summer and have about 27 hexagonal flowers that I haven't touched since (I plan to get back to them now, I promise!). I think it is good to show examples of how one can use hand-pieced hexagons without committing to a HUGE bed-sized quilt.

Anyway, I got the idea for this quilt last summer and was happy to finally make it happen. Are you familiar with those cross-stitch birth announcements? Example shown here. I wanted to make something with that concept for my son that incorporated quilting and was modern: Most of this quilt is hand-done- there are hand-pieced hexagons but also some needle turn applique for the tree and baby carriage, and some hand embroidery on the stroller. A kind friend with an emroidery machine did my baby's name and birthdate on some white Kona for me.

I was able to applique the hexagons with the help of spray starch, a seam ripper, pins, and my sewing machine; I blogged about this technique on this post. I had the perfect Nicey Jane binding scrap that bound the whole quilt.

I am very happy with how the quilt turned out - it came out differently than I had been planning - but I think I made it better than my original ideas. I think one of the best aspects of the project is that there are pieces of one my baby's shirts (the white with little tricycle on it). The quilt is hanging in our living room - after all that work - there is no way that I am just going to stick it in my son's room - where we only go for diaper changes and bedtime. :)

My African Heart

2011-06-20T07:55:00.004-04:00

This quilt has been done for a few weeks but getting appropriate/worthy pictures of it has not been easy. But here it is: I am really, really happy with how it came out. I long-arm quilted it at Laurena's studio in Burlington, MA and had a wonderful day completing it. It was the fifth quilt I have done there and I finally felt comfortable with the huge machine and didn't feel like I had to be babysat by Laurena. (But let me just say that she never makes you feel weird or guilty for asking for help - I just enjoyed being able to be more independent!) It took me 5.5 hours to quilt - but the time flew by because I was really happy with how it was turning out.

I backed the quilt with Moda Bella Solid in Black - much softer than some of the more popular solids out there! You can see the quilting the best on the back - I stippled on the white parts and outlined the hearts 4x each in light blue variegated thread- you can't really tell that the thread color changes though.

I had planned on quilting within each of the 600 dresden fan pieces and I tried doing this on three of the fans before I stopped and realized it looked horrible. It took a few minutes of scheming and pacing - and I finally realized, I don't have to quilt in the fans at all!!!! Thank goodness for that realization - I love how the dresdens "pop" now and I would've had to come back a second day - as there would've been no way I would've finished it in one day.

Some quick information on the fabrics used: the heart fabric is a Nigerian wax printed fabric I bought in Uganda four years ago, the white background is Kona Cotton white, and the print fabrics used in the fans include more Kona, a shot cotton, some Jennifer Paganelli, Daiwabo, Henry Glass, some random black and white pritns, and another African fabric I bought in Uganda. It was bound with Kona Pacific.

I have been accused of using very literal names for my quilts - and it's true (previous favorites include - Tufted Tweets, Urban Circus, and Good Folks quilts - guess what they were named after???? - the fabric collections I used - I know, I know, I am so inventive!) I have been calling this quilt my "African Heart Dresden quilt" - what a mouthful! So now I am christening this quilt with a new name, "My African Heart." I have lived and volunteered in both South Africa and Uganda and the whole continent has a lot of meaning for me due to the good and bad experiences I had there. I like that my quilt is joyful and bright but also has a bit of an "edge." It's easy for me to romanticize my experiences abroad but in reality, there were some tough lessons I had to learn.

I am happy with how I chose to use the Heart fabric as the theme for this quilt - hopefully it won't take me another four years to think up a good idea on how to use the rest of my fabrics from Africa.

Sewing Kit

2011-06-15T13:23:00.003-04:00

I am not really sure what to call this thing I just made but I think that "Sewing Kit" will suffice. I wanted to make something that could carry sewing tools, notions, and hold a current project. I had admired a friend's at some BMQG events and knew that I could improvise my own pattern that would work for my needs. For the outside I used some fabrics I had received in swaps. The purple fabric is a 2009 Echino Peacock print, there is some Amy Butler Wallflower mustard (wish I had more than a FQ of this!), and I bound it with some AMH Garden Party fabric.

I quilted the outside and lining with straight line quilting (time consuming, but worth it!). I used a large piece of white wool felt to store pins, needles, and safety pins. The blue polka dot on the right is a large zipper pouch for whatever else I want to have with me - I will most likely put whatever hand-sewing project I may be working on in there. This is the first time I have installed a zipper and let's just say that the design of this sewing kit lends itself to hiding the serious errors I made (namely not lining up the top and bottom pieces evenly).

I am really enjoying doing all of these "smaller projects" after doing several large quilts that require months of attention. I may force myself to complete all of my UFO's (there are 4) before I allow myself to start a whole new project - but I am really getting anxious to get going on some newer things..... I have pretty stacks of fabrics set aside and can't wait to get started!

Cosmo Bag

2011-06-13T13:50:00.002-04:00

Completing this bag feels like a serious accomplishment. There were at least 26 different pieces of fabric - 24 of which had to be lined with interfacing. Cutting out all of the pieces took the same amount of time as it did to sew it all together. The pattern comes from Amy Butler's newest book: Style Stitches. For the outside of the bag, I used some Echino fabric I had received for Christmas (I had planned to use the fabric for pillows but changed my mind), Heather Bailey's Pop Garden Peonies in Pink for the lining, and Amy Butler Green Dot from the Love collection for the handles.

I took a lot of advice from this post when I made the bag. I ended up using lots of fusible fleece instead of the woven interfacing - I am still shocked that the bag is still so floppy with all of that reinforcement. But it's still got decent structure and was worth it to deal with all of those layers.

The funny thing about owning a bag this so big is that I often only carry my wallet, cell phone, and keys with me.... I am kind of a minimalist when it comes to what I am willing to carry around with me all day. But I still love it and I am looking forward to using it soon.

Fabric Friday: Fabric as Art

2011-06-10T13:00:00.002-04:00

I had 1.25 yds of AMH Sketchbook in Ivory fabric that Nick put to good use for me this week: About $3 in lumber, staples, and screws were all that was needed to put together this beauty! I recently decided that I was getting tired of the Africa motif in our apartment, so here was my first effort at changing that.

Last night the Boston Modern Quilt Guild had a sew-in at Gather Here and Make Something in Cambridge, MA. That store may possibly be my most favorite local quilt store now. I couldn't believe their selection - most modern fabric stores nearby rarely have the newest stuff, carry only a few prints from any given line, and the employees are often grouchy and mean.... not the case at Gather Here. I guess maybe I don't need to move to Denver anytime soon to be closer to Fancy Tiger. I couldn't leave without some bike fabrics from the new Birch line: Avalon.

Thoughts

2011-06-06T13:10:00.005-04:00

I frequent yard sales A LOT during the spring/summer/fall. Often, I manage to find crafty items at yard sales. I recently made a vow to not go TOO wild on craft stuff this year - but I couldn't resist all of this adorable vintage baby ric-rac: and I was thrilled to find 4 packaged pillow forms that I plan to make quilted covers for to match my new quilt. Last time I needed a pillow form, I decided to make one after seeing that they sell for $15+ at Joann's. I am happy that I could buy 4 of them for $4 and not have to bother with the hassle of making them!

Over the weekend, I finally felt motivated to return to my mini quilt by making these teeny hexies:

For the same project, I had a friend embroider my son's name and birthdate for me on her embroidery machine:

On Friday, I long-arm quilted my African quilt. I am SO, SO happy with it!!!! This picture is just a sneak-peek. I plan to bind it this week and do a full post featuring its' completion.

Speaking of binding, I had to break my fabric diet to buy some Kona Pacific to bind the African quilt. I brought in my remaining 10" to the Fabric Corner to make sure that I bought the right color that I had already used in the wedges of the dresden plates. I just need to vent here for a moment: I am not impressed by any company that cannot consistently provide the exact colors that they're supposed to be. See the picture below - the difference between the two "Kona Pacific" colors is drastic (more so in person than the picture portrays). "Different dye lots" is just not an acceptable explanation. As solid fabric prices are gradually approaching the cost of premium designer prints - I don't think it's too much to ask that they print their colors consistently! Even the store clerk agreed with me that they were too different shades of blue.

Last week I sent out my bee block fabrics for the Hip to Bee Squre bee. I decided to continue with the blocks I had started with in the Boston Modern Quilt Guild rather than create yet another WIP. Nicole at Patchwork Duck surprised me this morning by already posting my block in our flickr pool:

I love it and cannot wait to see what the other members create.

Fabric Friday: Wool Felt

2011-06-03T13:46:00.002-04:00

I have been trying to "cool it" on the fabric shopping until my birthday. But I made a $10 exception yesterday to buy some brightly colored wool felt at Quilter's Way in West Concord, MA. They sell 9 x 12" pieces for $1.85 and I know these are going to go a long way for me. There are lots of little projects out there that require wool or wool felt- my first project I plan to make is a needle book.

As you are reading this, I am quilting my African Dresden quilt! I am SO excited to complete that baby!

Pincushion Organizer

2011-06-02T13:40:00.003-04:00

I am really loving doing all of these "small" projects lately. It is SO nice to just have something completely accomplished at the end of the day. Yesterday I made this pincushion organizer from an Oh Fransson tutorial.

I had issues with using a directional print for the outside of the scrap bag - but I made it work.

Motorcycle and Bike Pajamas

2011-06-01T13:26:00.002-04:00

The night that Gregory wore his new pajamas to bed, a neighbor's friend parked his motorcycle in our backyard. Gregory was very excited to see this little surprise when he woke up- although I didn't really capture his excitement in these photos.

I whipped up the pajamas in one evening - I am finally getting the hang of sewing this pattern (Oliver and S Bedtime Pajamas). The pants honestly take about 20 minutes and the shirt is not that much longer once you get the hang of it.

The fabrics are Michael Miller's Retro Mod Bicycle in Gray and the piping/sashing is done in the blue tile from Sanctuary by Patty Young.

Patchwork Sleepsack

2011-05-31T07:47:00.003-04:00

Just to add to your confusion regarding this statement, over the weekend, I made this: into this:

it's a patchwork sleep sack, from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings book. I attempted a unisex look - feeling that a little bit of pink wouldn't hurt. The patchwork front is made from Tiny Tip Top fabrics and Kei Honeycomb - both Japanese import fabrics. I thought I would hate putting all of those tiny squares together but it actually wasn't that bad. The lining is a simple white on blue flannel dot from Robert Kaufman.

The backing is a Erin McMorris Irving Street flannel. I made double fold bias tape from some Kona Robin's Egg.

I had a really hard time putting the outer pieces together with the lining - so much so that I had to ask for my husband's help in interpreting the instructions. I ended up making a major mistake with the "under panel" - but I was able to improvise. I feel like I might have to make this again to figure out what I had done wrong.

No, I am not pregnant

2011-05-30T13:32:00.000-04:00

Okay - so I think I had some people guessing when I said that I was going to make some receiving blankets. One thing you should know about me: Gregory had burp cloths, quilts, bumpers, a nursery curtain, and bibs before he was even conceived. Additionally, I am a Mormon woman - thus I am constantly surrounded by gestating women and it's nice to have baby gifts on hand.

Now that I have that out of the way, here are three receiving blankets I made recently. Right after Christmas - there was an amazing sale at an online store where they were selling City Weekend for $4 per yard and AMH voile for $6.25. Naturally, I stocked up, but now I am wishing that I had stocked up even more!
These blankets were easy to make: they consist of 1 yd of flannel, 1 yd of voile, and 1.5 packages (4.5 yds) of Wright's double fold bias quilt binding. They really are so soft and I am very happy with how they turned out.

Anna Maria Horner's tutorial leave a little bit to be desired- so here are a few tips:

1. Do not baste the edges together - this just makes them bunch up together and ruffle - not pretty.

2. Sew the edges wrong side together with the flannel on top of the machine - it's more stable than the voile.

3. Buying the bias tape is much cheaper and easier than buying solid voile and making your own.

4. Sew the edges of the rectangle and then cut the curve on the corners, pin the corners, and then apply the bias tape.

5. If you can't find or don't want to buy folksy flannel, as she suggests, invest in another quality flannel because the quality of the flannel does matter - especially if you are already making the effort to pair it with voile.

6. Pre-wash the flannel.

I realize that my "tips" aren't really in order - but they are just some things that came to mind that would've been helpful for me to know in the beginning of this project. Each blanket took about 1.5 hours - so I definitely recommend it as a nice, quick baby gift.

Small Projects

2011-05-28T12:20:00.000-04:00

Last week I made three receiving blankets (post scheduled for Monday) and did a few other sewing projects:

I cut the bajillion pieces to make the bag on the cover of Amy Butler's newest book. Now I have to wait till my 50% off Joann's coupon is valid so that I can get the mammoth piece of interfacing to back all of the purse pieces. Making an Amy Butler bag is a commitment, to say the least, but it is fun and the results are usually worth it. Nick had been asking me, for over three years, to make a curtain for our back window in our home. I finally did! He was surprised when he saw it. I used instructions from the book Sewing in No Time by Emma Hardy. I love that book, bytheway; I highly recommend it.

Now our horrible alcoholic, screaming neighbor can't see into our house! Woohoo!

Fabric Friday: SP and African Fabrics

2011-05-27T13:16:00.003-04:00

I almost didn't want to do "Fabric Friday" today because I didn't think I had much to say on the subject right now. But then I realized that one of my small projects this week was pulling fabrics from my stash to coordinate with my Sherbet Pips bundle: And I also realized that it might be fun to showcase some fabrics I bought in Uganda when my husband and I volunteered there about four years ago:

I came home with A LOT of fabric - my favorite souvenir from our four months there. It averaged to $1 per yard - and I was boosting their economy, right? I had never heard of modern fabrics or anything like that - but I was definitely drawn to the large scale prints and bright colors.

The best quality ones I came home with were "wax printed" in Nigeria and the Ivory Coast. They all were cut into six yard pieces.

When I came home with them, I promptly pre-washed most of them and unfortunately, a lot of them bled. But at least I know that is an issue and I will address it more fully when I begin to sew/quilt with them more.

A few pieces I have have some gold/metallic elements to them - which I would normally shy away from, but I like it on these fabrics.

This one reminds me of something maybe Amy Butler would do:

This is one of my favorites - you already know that I am partial to pink.

I knew when I spotted this one - it would be my favorite for sure. I don't know if I will ever have the strength to cut into it - I have actually contemplated using this piece for a whole cloth quilt.

You can find African fabrics at some local quilt stores and on the internet but I have never really been tempted to buy them. It wouldn't have the same sentimental value for me. But I really am amazed at these beautiful fabrics - it's an amazing resource from the continent and some of the designs are simply like artwork.