From Three to Insanity

Private Swap with Jacey - Part II

2012-02-04T21:17:00.000-08:00

If you had been in my house at 11:25am yesterday (thankfully my kids were not), you would have heard me gasp and say, "Oh, Jacey - no fuckin' way." Remember how I sent out a parcel to her last week? This was the week that she sent one back to me.

She knit me an awesome hat to match the mitts she made for me last year and it is so perfect. It is the perfect size for my [unnaturally long] head. It's made with the same wool that she used for my mitts, which is maybe the most perfect color for my coloring. This new hat is so fantastical, especially with cooler weather headed this way. Oh, I love the pattern and am crazy thankful to have such a talented friend.

But she didn't stop there. She also made me a mug cozy, which I've been sorely needing, as I prefer to drink my coffee straight from a mason jar. I never bought any Prince Charming fabric but do love it so. Don't all of the prints look pretty together? You'd think that would be more than a lovely parcel already, but then Jacey went a little bananas on me. She sent me this awesome calendar panel. Totally fun!

But then, this. A FQ bundle of Innocent Crush Voile. It is soft and beautiful and amazing. And I just met Anna Maria Horner at the LAMQG meeting last night and I fell in love with her fabrics all over again. I actually had the bolt of Maybe voile in my hands last night but after much deliberation, I walked away from it. It is so serendipitous to have received these awesome fabrics today. I am so. in. love. They are amazing and I am already tossing plans for them around in my head.

And as though none of this was enough already, she sent a hefty piles of selvages for me. I am spoiled rotten - thank you so much, Jacey. You're a great friend and I'm already looking forward to next year's swap.

Private Swap with Jacey

2012-01-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

Jacey and I arranged a private swap last year and we both had such a good time with it that we decided to give it another go this year.

Jacey asked me for a little selvage goodness and I was happy to oblige. I started with a mini quilt. I'm a sucker for ROYGBIV and I've been lovin' on the Plus Quilts that are all over Flickr, so decided to combine the two. I really love how it came out. The pluses aren't all perfectly defined, but the flow of the top to bottom rainbow makes up for that.

I quilted it with some very dense X-shaped straight-line quilting. I typically lean towards less dense quilting than this, but I am so in love with the look , and I hope that Jacey is, too.

From there, I made Jacey some selvage potholders. I've drooled (more than once) over a lot of her delicious dishes, so I know she cooks. I hope she likes having these in her kitchen.

I threw in a few extras to complete her package and sent it off. Jacey is maybe one of the sweetest people I've never met and it was such a pleasure to sew for her. I'm a bit early in sending off my parcel, but I was too excited to wait before sending it off. I know that whatever Jacey sends back is going to be awesome, but sometimes it's so much fun to give a gift that getting one in return is gravy.

Winter Gardening

2012-01-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

This is the first year that I've gardened and while my summer garden was a hit, I fear that I put my winter garden down way too late, even for my toasty warm Zone 10 climate. The garden has been slow-going, but nearly three months after planing my winter seeds, I'm finally starting to see the fruits of my labors.

Of the billions of broccoli seeds I planted, I have a single head ready to be harvested. There are a few more that look promising. Broccoli is one of the few green veggies that both of my kids will eat, so I'm looking forward to this harvest.

The carrots have been great and plentiful. My son has never eaten so many carrots in his life as he has this winter. He gets such a kick out of dangling them out of his mouth and asking "What's up, Doc?" in his best Bugs Bunny voice. We've already just put down some more carrot seeds in the hope of getting a second winter harvest of these sweet, crunchy gems. If we get a big enough harvest, I might consider trying to pickle some of them.

The pumpkins are trying to make a good showing, but the hard freeze we got early last month seems to have taken it's toll on them. We finally have a tiny fruit forming. I'm not sure if it'll ever ripen fully. We'll see.

And lastly, the blueberries are starting to bud. I planted four plants last summer, each a different varietal and plan to put a few more plants in this year. I envision a proper blueberry orchard in my wee backyard...

I'm already looking towards spring and summer veggies - the new seeds will be ready to go down in just another month or so. Bean has requested that we grow peanuts (that's what I get for giving him the Burpee catalogue and asking him what he'd like to grow) and Sprout wants tomatoes - the one thing that failed to thrive last summer. As for me, I'm looking forward to lots of peas and asparagus this year. How about you?

Out With the Old, In With the New

2012-01-06T15:26:00.000-08:00

The Rainbow Fence Quilt was my last of 2011. It had been sitting in my WIP bin for a few months - just waiting for me to quilt and bind it. But there were holidays and related sewing and before I knew it, I was staring down the end of the year. I really wanted to finish this one up (as my 14th start-to-finish quilt for 2011) so powered through the quilting and binding with just hours to go in 2011.

I used up tons of scraps from my scrap bin that I had cut into strips earlier in the year, as well as some purples that I had to trade for, as my stash is woefully short on purple. This is my second rainbow quilt of the year using those scrappy strips, and I love it tons. It's so bright and cheery and every little scrap has a story to tell.

I bought some new fabric for the back - all from JoAnns and most on clearance. I feel like the back is the perfect compliment to the front. It's lightly quilted in a chevron pattern - I'm finding lately that as much as I love the look of stippling, I really, really, really like the drape of light straight-line quilting. It's bound in some KJR stripes and finished size after a run through the dryer is 40”X59”. It’s listed in the shop.

And with the completion of the Rainbow Fence quilt came the beginning of Laura’squilt. A dear friend, the woman whointroduced me to my husband, is expecting her first child next month. She’s one of the nicest people I know and isgoing to make such an awesome mama. Ireally wanted to make something special for her babe. She’s decorating the nursery with an Africananimal theme, so this is what I made for her.

I used two Michael Miller animal prints as my jumping point andcontinued from there. I love the colorsin this quilt – I had been worried that the animal theme might start to get tootwee, but I feel like this group of colors keeps the quilt looking sophisticatedand modern. My inspiration for the quilt was this - I love on pointe squares. The finished size after drying is 40"x48" - perfect for a new baby but big enough to grow with him. That's my six year old holding it up in the photo above - it's just about as tall as he is now. Congratulations, Laura!

I'm excited to have my first start-to-finish quilt of the year done already with 359 more days of quilting ahead of me. Next on the docket - Jacey's mini (I know you're reading this, J!).

Sprout's Quilt

2011-12-27T15:05:00.000-08:00

I'm lucky Sprout's so patient, because I've been working on her quilt for the better part of the year. It's been 9 months since I first saw the inspiration for it while we were running errands together. And it was well on it's way 6 full months ago when I made the label for the quilt quilt. I had hoped to have it done for her 3rd birthday back in July. Wishful thinking.

But now, just under the wire for the year, it's done. The pink and orange combination that I love so much looks perfect in the [very] pink room that she loves so much.

The quilt is filled with lots of my favorites - AB Full Moon Dots, Swell, Mendocino, FMF, Cake Rock Beach, Tula Pink Ladybugs, and tons of other goodies that I thought would be harder to cut up than they actually were. It's backed with a Valori Wells flannel that I wouldn't have chosen but that you did, and is bound with these dots that I recently went a little overboard with. They ended up being perfect.

Finished size after a trip through the dryer is 60" x 83" - it's a bit narrow since she doesn't use a box spring, but it's definitely twin-sized, and is by far the largest quilt I've ~~ever stuffed through the tiny shank on my machine~~ quilted myself. The quilting is hard to see, but at random intervals I've traced the inside of the squares. I'd say maybe 60% of them have quilting and the rest do not. This loose quilting has made for a great drape.

I love it, (and so does Ginko) and I hope that my sweetie-pie girl does, too.

Teacher Gifts

2011-12-16T21:35:00.000-08:00

Year after year, I find December to be very overwhelming what with holiday parties, school holiday programs, Bean's birthday, and the (self-imposed) pressures of putting out holiday cards and doing some holiday baking. And, of course, there is the issue of gifts for Bean and Sprout's teachers.

I can't imagine a world where I wouldn't give hand-made gifts to my kids' teachers, but as the month ramps up, I always feel overwhelmed by the myriad of things on my to-do list. Thankfully, Jeni's tutorial for drawstring bags is quick and easy and yet makes such a great product.

I love these bags. They are so stinkin' cute and make adorable gifts. I used large scraps and making a dent in my scrap bin is the icing on the cake of these gifts.

I filled each bag with a few jars of homemade jam and a little bamboo spoon. They were very well received.

And for the office staff, I prepared boxes of homemade cookies. I love making cookies and perhaps I go a bit overboard around the holidays. This year I made ten varieties - Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk, Nutella Hamentashen, Chocolate Crinkles, Mocha Snowflakes, Snickers Surprises, Carmel Bars, Scandinavian Almond Cookies, Apple Squares, Chocolate Carmel Drops with Sea Salt, and Gingerbread Double Chip Muffins.

I'm glad to have these gifts done and delivered - a few more things crossed off of my to-do list. Now it's time to knock a few more items off that list. But not before I eat one of the cookies I kept for myself.

New Placemats

2011-11-19T15:10:00.000-08:00

Earlier this year, 6 lovely ladies each made me a 12.5" quilt block. They used their fabrics and a pattern of their choice and I had no say in anything except for the colors - in this case, blues, greens, and purples. And so goes the 3x6 Bee.

I had no idea what to expect and was delighted at the blocks that I received. I knew I'd be using the blocks for kitchenwares - possibly a table runner. Maybe some potholders. But time got away from me and the lovely blocks were shoved in the bottom of my WIP bin. I finally pulled them out and decided to turn them into a set of placemats and a matching hot pad (which isn't done yet, so no pix of that).

I added a patchwork border on the sides and some white sashing to bring the finished size of each mat to 15"x18". They're a bit oversized, but if they prove too large for my table, I'll give 'em a spin in the dryer and shrink them a bit.

I love their scappy look and how they're brought together with matching edging and binding. They highlight the colors of my dishes and kitchen walls.

Thanks so much, ladies!! I love my new placemats and really appreciate your lovely blocks!

Papa Joe

2011-11-14T15:30:00.000-08:00

My Grandpa is sick. It sucks that he's sick. It sucks that his current treatment plan focuses on keeping him comfortable. It sucks that I live 2,000 miles away and can't visit with him on a regular basis.

It. All. Just. Sucks.

If I were any closer, I'd be there in a heartbeat and our visit would be much like our last - we'd sit quietly together and talk, and he'd doze for a bit, and then we'd talk and reminisce some more. And I'd sneak him some verboten candies when Granny wasn't looking

But I don't live closer and I can't be there again, and I'm feeling quite helpless about it all. My first instinct [as a Jewish woman] is to cook, which is, in this instance, pointless. My next instinct, which kicked in late in the game, was to quilt.

So I made this for him this weekend. It's modern and he's not. I made it in his Alma Mater's colors of scarlet and grey, only remembering after the whole thing was quilted that he's red-green color blind; it'll probably look like a big brown blob to him. He might not love the aesthetics of it. He doesn't really have to. He just needs to know that it was made especially for him - that I labored over every creative decision to make it worthy of the man that he is.

I hope it keeps his body warm. I hope it keeps his heart warm. I hope he knows how much I love him.

Habitat Quilt Challenge

2011-11-07T15:00:00.000-08:00

The Los Angeles Modern Quilt Guild (LAMQG), like many of the other Modern Guilds, is participating in the Habitat Quilt Challenge. Can I be honest here? I really don't like this line. With apologies to designer Jay McCarroll, I know a lot of people love it oodles and I just don't get it.

When I got my bundle of fabric, I just stared at it. For weeks. It was just so uninspiring to me, and as I struggled, Ramona reminded me that sometimes less can be more. Thank you to Ramona for this reminder. Knowing that I didn't have to saturate my quilt with Habitat fabrics kind of freed up my creativity. From there, I started riffing on how a play on words with "Habitat." And I finally came up with this.

My colors are a bit off today, but the body of the quilt is Kona Berry and the stem and leaf outlines are bias tape made with Kona Grass. The leaves and binding are made out of the Habitat fabric. I made this simple flower/vine creation that kind of looks something you'd find in the natural habitat of something or another. I used contrasting thread to free motion quilt "The natural habitat of a child is wrapped up in a quilt."

Lastly, I quilted the whole thing with repeating straight lines of the word "habitat."

All in all, I have to say that I love it. I didn't expect to, but I do. I wish I had purchased a yard of one of the prints from the Habitat line for the backing - some of those prints are so busy that my quilted words, which are not as pretty from the back, would have been nicely hidden in the pattern. Instead, I used a solid, so the back of the quilt isn't as pretty as I'd like.

I was so unenthusiastic about the line that I didn't want to spend $10 for a yard of backing. I really wish that I had ponied up the funds, though, because this quilt looks so unfinished from the back. For the small price that I would have spent on the backing, I would have had a gorgeous quilt. As it stands, I have a very pretty quilt from the front and a lot of "blah" from the back. *sigh* You live, you learn.

This quilt is destined for Quilts for Kids - an organization that I support annually. Since the Habitat fabric was donated to the LAMQG members, I can't think of a better thing to do with this quilt than to donate it - it's all about paying it forward.

Whirlwind October

2011-10-17T06:30:00.000-07:00

Time sometimes seems to pass in the blink of an eye. I'm not sure how it happened, but it's mid-October and while I do have a stack of projects to show for my time, I'm not sure how so much time has passed.

I made a pillow for Melissa for the LAMQG scrappy swap. It was a blind swap whereby you got a bunch of scraps from another member and had to create something for them. Melissa indicated that she'd like a cushion for her couch and I'd had something like this sitting on my inspiration wall for forever and was pleased to make this for her. I do hope she likes it.

I started working on Sprout's winter coat. Being LA, winter is a relative term. A layer of polar fleece and a layer of fine wale corduroy is more than enough warmth in these parts. I bought a few yards of this corduroy last year and knew right away that I wanted to make her a coat with it. I'm just waiting on some buttons that I ordered from Etsy to finish the whole thing off.

I've been baking a lot lately. I made some amazing pumpkin spice bread using a pumpkin from my garden and some apple butter that I put up last month. Oh, it is so yum. I made a few small loaves, so have some in the freezer waiting for me on a chilly day.

Lastly, I've been working on my Habitat Challenge quilt. I struggled for a while with it before coming up with a plan. It's about halfway done now and it'll be done soon, I hope. I am such a fan of using FMQ to write.

With two weeks left before Halloween, there is still lots of sewing to be done this month. Sprout has requested a Princess Peach (of Mario Kart fame) costume and Bean wants to be a robot. I am thankful that his costume will require no sewing, as her costume, with yards of pink polyester satin, promises to be a bear to sew.

Once all of this is done, I hope to have a restful November.

Saying Goodbye

2011-09-17T14:34:00.000-07:00

It's still plenty warm here in Los Angeles - our days still reach easily into the 90s. But autumn is definitely upon us; the days are shorter and the nights are cooler. My garden is certainly feeling the changes; not but three months from when I first planted it, it's past its prime.

The leaves of the pumpkins have developed powdery mildew. They've also started to brown, as have the tomatoes. The beans have become more woody. Nearly all of the pumpkins are ripe. The corn is, I believe, as close to ready as it's going to be.

We harvested the rest of the goodies yesterday - whatever tomatoes were ripe were gobbled up as we picked them. We also picked the first of our pumpkins, as well as some berries, which seem to have taken a shine to our slightly more temperate late-season weather.

The rest of the pumpkins will be allowed to finish ripening for the next week or two, as will the melons and corn. But after that, they'll meet the same fate as the rest of the garden, which now resides in my compost bin. It's hard to say goodbye, but these plants are past their prime and ~~it's time~~ I'm already late in putting down my fall seeds.

The Hope Quilts

2011-08-25T06:21:00.000-07:00

Last year I made some quilts for Quilts for Kids and I really enjoyed knowing that the quilts I was making were going to bring joy to some kids who could really use a smile. I did it around Christmas and while it was lovely to sew philanthropically during the holidays, it's also such a crazy time of year. This year I decided to take advantage of the summer lull to get my sewing done for this organization.

I didn't request one of their fabric kits this year - I have so much fabric on hand that I decided to stashbust a bit. In going through my stash, I realized that I had a lot of fabric lying around that wasn't my style and wasn't getting used. Some of it had been gifted to me as part of swaps and just wasn't my taste. Others were prints that I had bought ages ago and had since fallen out of lust with. But they were fine prints, so I decided to pair them with some of my favorites and make a quilt that I really love.

One of the prints that I love and included in this quilt is a Sweetwater text print. I love Sweetwater so much and "hope" seems so apropos for a quilt for ailing children, so it was a perfect addition to this quilt.

This quilt is quilted with a random curly, loopy pattern - the first time I quilted like this. It's less dense quilting than a meandering stipple, but still crinkles up evenly and I love the technique. I call this one simply "Hope."

As I was finishing up this quilt, I attended the Long Beach International Quilt festival, where I met Carrie. I love her and her amazing patterns. Her booth was filled with the same charm and fun that is her personality.

I was so taken with her Wonky Little Houses quilt - it's the quilt that's on the cover of her pattern of the same name and it was the cornerstone of her booth. It is so gorgeous with inspired fabric choices, whimsical quilting, and the very essence of what "cozy" should be. I couldn't think of a better pattern to use for a Quilts for Kids quilt. I used a bunch of my favorite scraps and took many cues from Carrie, including a grey sky, a pieced grass area, and multiple quilting styles. Really, her quilt was so amazing that I wanted to replicate it as closely as I could.

I added a a border, but otherwise kept very true to Carrie's pattern. In keeping with with the "hope" theme, this quilt features a piece of the Sweetwater fabric inside one of the homes, from which comes the name "Hope in Houses."

The sky is quilted with a meandering stipple, the houses are outlined but otherwise unquilted, and the grass is quilted with random intersecting lines. It's hard to give this one up and I do hope that it will make someone as happy as it makes me. I see a lot of Wonky Little Houses quilts in my future.

I do encourage all of my quilty friends to donate a quilt or two to Quilts for Kids. It's a worthy cause and if you're anything like me, you have at least one quilt (or the fabric to make a quilt) lying around your studio just waiting to be used. Or contact the organization directly and order a fabric kit. Or both. Really.

Thank You Pie

2011-08-12T16:30:00.000-07:00

The week before last, I was on Jennifer Perillo's website learning about preserving cherries. Her writing is a joy to read - both funny and insightful. Her recipes are amazing and I wish I made half the things that she does on a regular basis.

This week, I was there again, learning of the sudden loss of her husband, Mikey. After reading her story, I found myself so badly wanting to do something for her and her children who will never again dance with their Daddy. Anything. And thankfully, Jennifer let me know just what to do.

For those asking what they can do to help my healing process, make a peanut butter pie this Friday and share it with someone you love. Then hug them like there's no tomorrow because today is the only guarantee we can count on.

So today I made Peanut Butter Pie with my kids.

When I told Bean that we were making pie, he asked if it could be Thank-You Pie. Last year, Bean started what will become a family tradition whereby everyone puts a candle in the pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving and says what they are most thankful for. Then all the candles are lit and everyone blows them out in unison.

Tonight I will share this pie with the three most important people in my life and I know what my "most thankful" will be as I place my candle into the pie. I'm glad I have this day to share with my kids and my husband and will give them all an extra kiss tonight at bedtime. Please do the same with those that you love.

Puttin' Up

2011-08-12T06:50:00.000-07:00

So, I got the canning bug this year - like I need another hobby in my life. But once I started, I find that I kinda can't stop. It started with the BHG Canning Magazine that I saw at the check-out line at the market. Then I spent hours reading more than a year's worth of posts over at Food In Jars. And now I have a cabinet full of beautiful and delicious homemade preserves.

I started with things like basic berry jams, using lots of sugar and commercial pectin. Then I started using recipes with more interesting flavor profiles, like Strawberry Balsamic Thyme. And now, a month into my new hobby, I'm making small batch Plum Ginger without pectin. I based it on this recipe, but reduced the sugar and subbed out ginger for the lemon verbena. Oh, it is so delicious. And it set. Perfectly.

I'm sure I'll be gifting out a lot of these jars, especially around the holidays. That is, if they last that long. Bean eats PB&J sandwiches every day for lunch (sigh), and he is powering through my stash.

In addition to the varieties mentioned above, so far this season, I've made Strawberry Lemon Marmalade, Raspberry White Chocolate, Peach Vanilla, Peach Bourbon, and Blueberry. Plus, I preserved some cherries using this recipe.

Any yum recipes you want to share with me? What should be next on my to-make list?

Pretty {Little} Pouch Swap

2011-08-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

The Pretty {Little} Pouch Swap might be one of my very favorites on Flickr. Pouches are great - they're smaller than a bag, so come together quicker, which suits my desire for instant gratification. And they're so versatile - they can hold cosmetics, or toys, or sewing supplies. Or, if they're large enough, they can even hold the contents of my purse. Like this.

I carry a big hulking wallet, and it takes a decent sized pouch to hold it. And Jen made me exactly that. This pouch is just gorgeous. A little Ruby Star and a little hand stitching and suddenly I have the most amazing bag. But Jen didn't stop there. Knowing that orange is one of my favorite colors, she thoughtfully included some amazing orange goodies - some lovely orange scraps, an orange zipper, and a length of orange butcher twine.

Oh, I love it all - thank you so much, Jen!

On the other end of the swap, my partner was Molly, who made a this inspiration mosaic for me. She said she was groovin' on these colors, liked linen, and wanted me to err on the side of too simple rather than overly fussy. So I made her this.

I do hope you like it, Molly. It was loads of fun creating for you.

I'm kind of sad that the swap is over already and I'm already looking forward to the next round!

Featured on The Name Game

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

Are you a reader of Cindy's blog? You know that I'm crazy for selvages, but she's even more in love with them than I. She does amazing things with them and is well known for her gorgeous pinnies.

She has a great feature on her blog - The Name Game. It's a great place to find out why bloggers chose the names that they did for their blog. So if you've ever wondered why I go by "Chicken Julie" or why my blog's tag is "From Three to Insanity" then visit Cindy's blog today and check out my feature.

Garden Progress

2011-08-03T22:40:00.000-07:00

My garden continues to flourish and I continue to be amazed. It's been just under two months since this and I'm really enjoying the fruits of my labor.

The greens are doing great. I have no idea what was in the baby green mix I planted, but there are some crazy spicy greens in there. The beans continue to be abundant; the kids are especially fond of the purple ones. And the cucumbers come faster than I can eat them.

Lots more is on the horizon, too. The bell peppers that were part of my container garden last year wintered fine and are thriving in the new location. I *think* they will be purple when they're ripe, which will please the kids.

The pumpkin that are taking over the garden (note to self: next year, plant all vines in a separate bed) are starting to fruit - there are at least a half dozen of them and I don't think they're done yet. I'm really pleased that they are growing and will have a hard time deciding whether to cook with them or decorate with them come autumn.

And lastly, my darling Ambrosia Cantaloupe. I had no desire to plant melons, but Bean was begging for them, so I ran with it. They made lovely vines with lots of flowers, but for nearly two months, there was no fruit to be found. Until today. This is largest of the three melons and we are PSYCHED to see them. Bean's already asking if they are ripe.

In less happy garden news, my tomatoes refuse to ripen. Lovely fat green tomatoes started showing up a month ago and they are no less green today. The caterpillars seem to think that these gems are for them and they are chowing down. I've fried a few of the green ones, but I'm the only one in my house who likes fried green tomatoes (how can that even be?). Plus, frying fresh produce kind of defeats the purpose. I really hope that they ripen up before they all get eaten by the critters.

What's thriving in your garden? And is it just me, or are you already thinking about your winter garden? It's been 106 here for a week and all I can think about is planting a ton of cruciferous veggies.

Humbled

2011-08-02T09:16:00.001-07:00

Wow. Imagine my surprise when I opened my blog reader and came across this. I had no idea that Ohdeedoh had picked up my quilt display.

I am always inspired by the lovely ideas that they feature and am honored to be featured there today.

Finish It Up!

2011-07-21T22:29:00.001-07:00

Do y'all know Meg? She's crazy talented. The last photo on her banner? Look familiar? Crazy talented. Plus, she's BRILLIANT because she started the "Finish It Up" group on Flickr.

I had wrapped up nearly all of my half-finished projects back in December, but I had one quilt that still languished. It was the first quilt that I free-motioned quilted and it was a bit of a disaster; I really should have practiced more first. I was so disappointed with my quilting that I folded up the un-bound quilt, shoved it in a corner, and let the cats sleep on it. When I finally washed it, the dryer did wonders for it, and while it's so very far from perfect, the crinkles hide a lot of the quilting and I decided to finally bind the thing and finish it up.

I'm glad to have it done. Finished size is 43"x51". It'll make a good picnic quilt since I don't care if it gets stained, but for now the kids are having a grand time building forts with it.

Another project that I started a few months ago and have been meaning to finish is an embroidery of one of Bean's drawings. Bean has never been into art, but this spring brought a new-found love of outer space and, miraculously, a need to express that love through drawing. For the first time, he brought home drawings from preschool every day - rocket ships, planets, aliens. Fully recognizable drawings. I am so in love with his art and the passion in which he describes it all.

I had recently seen this and decided that it was the perfect medium to turn Bean's drawing into a keepsake.

Bean seemed partly proud and party curious that I would have taken his drawing and "did sewing" with it. It hangs above my sewing table and he's more than a bit miffed that he can't have it for his bedroom wall, so I see another one of these in my future.

A big thanks to Meg for the kick in the pants I needed to finish these projects and make way for new ones.

Giveaway Winner

2011-07-19T08:24:00.000-07:00

Specs: This table of 1 random numbers was produced according to the following specifications: Numbers were randomly selected from within the range of 1 to 40. Duplicate numbers were not allowed.

*************

I used Stattrek to generate a random number (in unrelated news, if you know how to copy the cute little table from Random.com, will you please let me know?) and the winner is Loretta, who wrote:

Go Girl! Congrats!! I could do lots that with adorable pouch, please!! Love you!!

Paying it Forward - A Giveaway!

2011-07-15T16:40:00.000-07:00

**Comments are now closed.**

I was the winner in last week's Selvage Challenge over at Venezie Designs. A big thank you to all who voted for me. I won a $50 credit at one of Karen's two stores. She has a great online selection, has very competitive prices (and sales!) and assures me that she combines shipping between the two stores. You should totally check her out.

I used my credit to pick up some great fabric - some blenders that I'd been itching for, a few odds and sods, and some fabric for a new dress for Sprout.

As a huge thank-you to those who voted for me, I wanted to spread the love. I'm offering one giveaway with two options - you can choose either a FQ stack or a nifty little pouch.

The pouch is fully lined with the same print as the contrast strip on the exterior. It measures about 9.5" x 6" and will hold whatever your little heart desires.

The FQ stack has four prints - Alexander Henry Heath in Grey, Alexander Henry Luca in Pink, Spring Street Sketchbook Flowers in Green (which I got from Karen), and Moda Basics Notebook Paper.

The giveaway is open to everyone - I'll ship internationally. Just leave a comment and tell me which prize you'd like - it's as easy as that. Don't forget to leave your e-mail address if you're a no-reply blogger. I'll draw a winner Tuesday when I wake up, so you have 'till then to get your entry in. Good luck!

First Harvest

2011-07-14T20:22:00.000-07:00

Oh my - I'm not sure where I lost my brown thumb, but I seem to have misplaced it. Do you remember what my fledgling garden looked like a mere month ago? Let me refresh you.

What a difference a month (A SINGLE MONTH!!) makes.

(Do you love my firefighter in the background? I love him.)

I'm so proud of my little garden. I actually had to rip out two of my four pumpkin pants that were started from seed because OHMYGOD those things are large and invasive. The spinach isn't doing well - I'm guessing it's way too hot for it, so I will enjoy the tiny sprouts that I have now and will try it again in the fall. Other than that, things are growing happily.

We had our first mini-harvest today - a cucumber, some radishes, a bunch of basil, the tiniest bowl of spinach you ever saw, and some pea shoots, which I probably shouldn't have picked, but couldn't resist.

Lots of tomatoes are on the way, as are more cucumbers. I'm looking forward to what the next month brings to our plates. I was late in starting this garden, so my harvest is a bit behind the curve. If you're gardening, I'd love to know what you're harvesting now.

Summer Sorbet Quilt

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

I bought this fabric a while back thinking that it would make a great quilt back. It's a bigger scale print than I'm usually drawn to, but it's bright and happy and I had to have it. I started collecting shades of green, orange, and pink for the quilt top and was thinking that some half-square triangles would be great. There are so many options with HSTs, but in my mind, the quilt was always going to be offset concentric diamonds. Just like this.

I love the way it came out. The colors are some of my very favorites (if I had a dime for every time I paired pink and orange, I'd be filthy rich) and the prints are great. Some Spring Street in orange, Modern Meadow Herringbone in pink, and City Weekend in green, just to name a few. *swoon*

When the quilt top was done, it was so bright and summery to me that I changed my plans for the backing. As much as I love my inspiration fabric, I had a voile backing on my brain for Sprout's quilt, and though I have decided to back hers in flannel, I thought a voile back might make this quilt just perfect for a light summer throw.

I chose a Valori Wells print - the large width of this fabric meant that I could back this 44"x64" quilt with a single piece of fabric. The voile was not as hard to work with as I had feared. I used a 75/11 needle rather than the 90/14 needle that I usually use for quilting, and it quilted perfectly and didn't damage the delicate voile. This quilt is perfect - it is everything I wanted it to be for a warm weather quilt. Light. Bright. Thin but cozy.

I used straight line quilting that followed the lines of the diamond pattern on the front of the quilt. The lines are at random intervals, which matches the random look of the front.

I need another quilt in my house like I need a hole in my head - the shop would be such a better place than my home for this quilt. But I'm just not sure that I can bring myself to list it - I love this one an awful lot. It is folded in a safe place for now - waiting for me to make up my mind on it.

Please Vote!

2011-07-05T19:39:00.000-07:00

Karen over at Venzie Designs is hosting a Selvage Challenge this week and she thoughtfully invited me to join the contest. There are some amazing selvage projects - if the Selvage Day at Stash Manicure didn't whet your appetite for these lovely gems, maybe this contest will. Selvages totally rock.

I have some stiff competition this week. Cindy at Live A Colorful Life also submitted a beautiful selvage quilt. She's known for all things selvage - I think she might even love 'em more than I do. And there's an adorable bunny made out of selvages that you can even purchase. You should totally check them both out after you vote for my quilt.

So head over to vote at Venzie Designs today. It'll take something like 30 seconds of your time. You know you want to.

And this quilt? The one I love with all of my heart? It took a lot more time to make than 30 seconds. Really. Big thanks in advance.

She Turns Three

2011-07-02T19:02:00.000-07:00

I started my blog when our family of three turned into a family of four and life became pretty insane. Spout was the one who completed our family; she was born three years ago today - 7:02am on 7/2. I accused the nurses of fudging her time of birth, but apparently they take these things very seriously and assured me that 7:02am was in fact Spout's legitimate time of birth. I spent last night re-reading my birth story and getting nostalgic.

For her second birthday, she got a shirt with a "2" on it and she's been wearing that thing for a whole year. It's really small on her now, so I made her a new one for her 3rd birthday, complete with "sparkles" around the neck. She loves it.

Before she went to bed last night, we asked Sprout what kind of cake she wanted. In typical fashion, she was very specific and asked for cake that had "a little bit of pink on it, with chocolate frosting and sprinkles that are purple." So that's what I made for her.

We also asked her what she'd like for her birthday and I swear to you that when she answered "fabric to sew with" I almost wept. Spout is now the very proud owner of a Singer Pixie Plus and five FQs from my LQS. Happy birthday little girl.

Sprout told me that she wanted to make a quilt, but when I told her that we could make a skirt that she could wear today, she was sold. She picked out the fabric she wanted and I plugged in her new machine. It's basic but smart - there is a foot pedal, but for people with little legs that can't yet reach the floor, there is a button that will engage the needle, so Sprout can make the machine sew all by herself.

I taught her how to raise and lower the presser foot, turn on the sewing action, and cut threads. Together we helped guide the fabric through the machine. And in less than an hour, Sprout was wearing the very first piece of clothing she ever sewed. On her third birthday.

We zig-zaged the raw seams, but 3 year olds aren't known for their patience, so the fabric isn't prewashed. We'll see how it holds up once it's washed. Both the length and the stitching are uneven, but it fits and she loves it. And so do I.

I am such a proud mama. I can't wait to sew more with her - I wonder what she'll want to make next. Happy birthday, my sweet little girl.

Eating Well

2011-06-23T08:15:00.000-07:00

My kids are growing up in suburbia, but I was raised in the rural farmlands of New Jersey. Stopping at roadside produce stands was de rigueur during the summer months. I picked strawberries and blueberries with my mom. And while I now live in the suburbs of one of the largest cities in the country, I'm just a stone's throw from some of the finest produce this country has to offer.

I have taught my kids about locally grown produce and how eating local and in season makes for the best tasting food. My kids love going to the local farmer's markets and eating their way through them. They choose not only produce that is familiar, but show a great curiosity towards things that are new to them, like sunchokes. And fava beans. And cherimoyas.

Beyond buying from farmer's markets, I think it's important to show my kids where food comes from. We are growing our own food this year, and we're big fans of the local Pick-Your-Own farm - we go multiple times every year to get the best of what each season has to offer.

Yesterday we were on a mission for strawberries to make jam with. What we came home with was this.

The vines were heavy with blackberries and there were even raspberries to be found, though I know they'll be more plentiful in a month. Looks like my plans for strawberry jam will be revamped. Hello triple-berry jam.

And we couldn't leave without veggies. Bean wanted radishes - he'll nosh on them with butter, salt, and rustic bread. Sprout wanted to pick potatoes - I see hash browns and fried eggs in our future. And mama needed summer squash and lettuce. Those lovely squash blossoms are an added bonus (try finding those in your local megamart).

We came home sweaty and dirty, but with a greater appreciation for the food on our plate.

Selvage Table Runner

2011-06-17T06:15:00.000-07:00

My kitchen table is a heavy wooden piece. Once upon a lifetime ago, it had a lovely medium-dark stain. And then we had kids.

Like all kids, when Bean transitioned from a highchair to a booster, he was a messy eater. The area in front of his seat got wiped down more often than any of the other areas of the table. We removed his drips and crumbs and also a lot of the wood stain. After some time, we had a lovely medium-dark stained table with a lightly stained area in front of Bean's chair. I moved him to a different seat and then another at the table in order to mitigate the concentrated stain loss in front of his seat.

When Sprout moved from a highchair to a booster, we had the same problem and she was moved from seat to seat around the table until I was left with a table that was stained a lovely medium-brown in the center and a light brown around the perimeter.

I told myself that this was okay. The table had a rustic feel to begin with, having only been stained but not varnished. The uneven stain simply enhanced the rustic effect. But the table has had a lot of other a~~buse~~ love lavished on it in the years since we had kids.

There was the time period that Bean realized that forks make the coolest little divots in soft wood. And that time that Sprout had a blast coloring, sometimes on her paper and sometimes not, with red washable marker (note to self: washable markers are washable off of people but not off of tables).

At this point, there's no denying that my table can no longer even pull off "rustic." It's just annihilated. And while a table runner doesn't cover the whole thing, it pulls your eye to the pretty fabric rather than the disaster that is my kitchen table.

It's 17"x44" and covers a good portion of the table. It's made with my beloved selvages, is sashed in Kona Black, and is bound with Moda Hoopla Dots in Pink.

It was inspired by these great blocks, which are in my gallery of really cool projects that I'd like to tackle. I'm so happy to have this on my table.

Gardening with a Brown Thumb

2011-06-15T06:17:00.000-07:00

It is no secret in my house that although I have grand visions of gardening like this, the reality is that I have the power to kill plants just by looking at them.

Earlier this season, the kids and I planted seeds in little peat pots. Much to our delight, little sprouts appeared.

The little plants soon became too big for the peat pots - too much root structure and not enough space. And before they could be transplanted to some larger pots, they died, leaving long crispy stems as a reminder of the bounty that could have been.

So this year, for the first time, I created an in-ground garden in my under-utilized side yard. The bed is about 4'x17'. Bean and Sprout helped me plant some seedlings that we bought - tomatoes, basil, and melon (at Bean's request). We're also giving a second go at the seeds we I killed earlier this season - spinach, beans, snap peas, pumpkin, radishes, beets, and corn (at Sprout's request).

Here she is. I put some bird netting around the perimeter of the bed - we have opossums, raccoons, and skunks in my neighborhood and they all like tasty morsels. I'm *hoping* this keeps them at bay. I'm also hoping that I remember to water my veggies and not kill the whole lot of them.

Keep your fingers (and green thumbs) crossed for me. I'll keep you updated with my progress (even if I fail miserably). In the mean time, if you have any gardening tips, please do send them my way.

Teacher Gifts

2011-06-13T06:22:00.000-07:00

And just like that, school is out for the year. I'm not sure how nearly 6 months have come and gone but school is over and summer is here. I stashbusted to make some Jane Market Bags as teacher gifts this year. I wasn't brave enough to let the kids choose the fabrics that they wanted for their teachers' bags, but I did give them the option of choosing which bag went to which teacher (though I did pull aside the red one for myself ahead of time).

If you don't own this pattern, go buy it now.
Right. Now.

It's such a great pattern to have - easy to follow, with clear, simple instructions. The finished product looks gorgeous, folds up nicely, and has so many applications besides being used for groceries. I use mine all the time - earlier today it held a towel and swim trunks for Bean's swim lesson. The day before that, I used it to take some returns back to Target. Tomorrow will be a different day with a different use.

Single Fold Binding - Tutorial

2011-06-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

I've read from a lot of people that they'd love to improve their bindings, so I thought I'd do a tutorial for Single Fold Binding. This is not what I use to bind large quilts, but I do use it for binding small items like doll quilts, mug rugs, place mats, and table runners. I really like this binding - Carol turned me on to it and I think it finishes off little projects so nicely.

Let me start by saying that I've never been good at writing tutes - have a go at this and do not hesitate to ask questions if something isn't clear.

The first step is to prepare your binding. Start by cutting strips of fabric on the grain - I like to make mine 1.5" tall. To sew your strips together, set them perpendicular, corners aligning, right sides together.

Mark a line corner-to-corner and sew on the line. Trim to a scant 1/4" seam allowance and press open.

Repeat with as many strips as necessary until you have a long enough binding for your project.

To attach the binding to your project, lay binding on project top, right sides together, raw edges together. Be sure to leave a long tail ahead of where your stitches begin. You're going to want up to a foot of space (or as much space as you can get, if you're making a smaller project) between your start point and your end point, so take that into consideration when deciding on where to start sewing. Stitch together using a 1/4" seam allowance.

When you get to a corner, stop sewing 1/4" from the edge. Back stitch to secure your stitches and lay your project down as shown below with the binding extending from the project.

Take the binding and fold it up at a 45 degree angle (see below). You'll notice that when you make the fold properly, the tail forms a straight-line extension from your project.

The next step is to fold the tail back down on itself so that it aligns with the next side of your project, right sides together.

Stitch the binding starting at the top edge of the project and continuing down the side until you are 1/4" from the next corner.

Repeat until you have completed all four corners and you are approaching your starting position. Remember to leave up to a foot of space (or as much space as you have) between your starting and ending points. Leave a long tail of binding at your end point.

There are two ways to join your tails - a straight seamed join and a diagonal seamed join. I prefer the former for very small projects, like mug rugs and potholders, and the latter for larger projects, like doll quilts and table runners.

To create a straight seamed join, lay your project flat. Fold your binding pieces straight back on themselves near the midpoint of your un-stitched space. The two folds should meet each other with a tiny bit of space between them.

Finger press the heck out of the folds, then join them, right sides together. Pin together so that the raw ends are together and the folds meet. Stitch on the fold line. Trim seams to a scan 1/4", press open, and stitch your joined binding down. Whoot!

To create a diagonal seamed joint, lay your project flat. Near the midpoint between your start and end points, trim one side of your binding with a straight line perpendicular to the raw edge of your project. Take the other side of your binding and fold it back on itself so that the folded edge meets your newly cut edge with a tiny space between them. On your folded side, measure from the fold the height of your binding. My binding is 1.5" in this example, so I measured 1.5" back from the fold, marked a line, and cut. Did that make any sense at all? Probably not. Check out the photo below.

Once your tails have been trimmed to size, it's time to join them. Start with both tails wrong side up. Take the right tail and fold it down to you so that it's right side up. Simply lay the left tail on top of it, corners aligning as show below, and pin in place. Mark a line, corner to corner, and stitch.

When you remove the pin, your binding should lay flat on your project, like this. Check to make sure it's laying properly before trimming your seam.

If it doesn't lay flat, pick out your seams and try again. If it does lay flat, clip the extra fabric triangle that's sticking up, leaving a scant 1/4" seam allowance, press open and then stitch your joined binding down.

Awesome. Now it's time to sew the binding down. You can use your machine - there are oodles of tutes online. I've tried them and I just don't have the zen to make it work. Each time I machine bind, I drop bits of the binding and it just drives me batty - I much prefer to hand stitch it.

You'll hold your project with wrong side (both project and binding) facing you. Fold the binding down so that the raw edge meets the raw edge of your project. You're now viewing the underside of your binding. Knot the end of your thread and push it through the underside of your binding, very close to the fold, as shown below.

Then fold the binding down again to cover the line of stitching that was used to attach the binding to the front of the quilt. I like to whip stitch one stitch to secure my thread before using a ladder stitch to invisibly bind the quilt.

When you reach the corner, make sure to fold the binding on the next edge of your project in half, making the raw edges of the binding and the project meet.

Then fold the binding again, covering your row of stitches and making sure that you have a nicely mitered corner. I like to make a single whip stitch to secure the corner before continuing with my ladder stitch. You can barely see the stitch in this corner - unless you go looking for it, you'll never see it.

Continue all the way around your project and you're done! Whew. If you've made it this far, I hope you found this tutorial helpful.

Giveaway Winners!

2011-06-06T15:42:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of my visitors, new and old, who left comments for my giveaway. Using Stattrek, here are the two random winners - Karen will receive the pile of selvages and Julie has won the potholder.

2 Random Numbers 05 20

Specs: This table of 2 random numbers was produced according to the following specifications: Numbers were randomly selected from within the range of 1 to 58. Duplicate numbers were not allowed.

Both winners have been contacted. Congratulations and enjoy your prizes!

Selvage Goodness Giveaway!

2011-06-02T22:20:00.000-07:00

I'm honored to be guest blogging over at Stash Manicure today. Thanks to everyone who's visiting me today by way of Madame Samm. She's featuring all things selvage, and anyone who knows me knows how much I love selvage.

Seeing as this was my first invitation to guest blog, I'm celebrating with my first giveaway. If you love to sew with selvage, enter to win a pile of lovely selvages to create with.

If admiring selvages is more your thing, enter to win a selvage potholder in springtime pinks and greens.

Just leave a comment letting me know which goodie you're most interested in and I'll draw two winners on Monday at noon Pacific. One entry per person. Please make sure you include your e mail address if you're a no-comment-blogger so that I can contact you.

**Comments are now closed**

[My House is a] Wildlife Preserve

2011-05-25T09:10:00.000-07:00

Things can get a little insane when you're a parent - especially when you're a parent to five year old boy. Like most little boys, mine has a boundless curiosity. Which is why, when we went to the local Bug Fair, we came home with a box of silkworm larvae. Oh, how Bean loves his silkworms. He spends hours letting them crawl all over him and his toys (they 'drive' his toy trucks, crawl along his railroad set, and get put into LEGO boxes). And though we have a few of them left, most have already spun cocoons.

I've explained the life cycle of these little critters to my son and he's none too pleased by it all. Once the silk moths emerge in a week or two, they will mate and die a few days later. The whole "exist to mate" thing is a hard sell for my boy who loves these critters so much that he just wants to name them George and hug them and pet them and squeeze them.

In related wildlife news, I noticed a bird nest in my eaves this past week. I checked to see that there weren't any eggs in it and planned to take it down in another day or so. Today, just before I aimed the hose at it, I decided to check one more time for eggs. And as is my luck, there were eggs there. Poor little eggs. I'm sorry you're not ever going to hatch. I'm sorry I had to pull you and your nest off of my portico. But your mama chose a lousy place to nest. Plus, you make for a lovely day of discovery for my boy.

(eager little fingers can't wait to touch these gems)

If it's possible, Bean might love these eggs more than he loves his silkworm larvae. All he wanted to do was hold them. He kissed one. He asked to hold them in the warm sunlight to hatch them.

When I told him that he couldn't hatch them (in his hand or otherwise), he asked if we could eat the eggs. After considering it, I told him that we couldn't do that, either. He was bummed, but settled on giving the eggs additional kisses.

While my husband might not be totally on board with our transition from suburban home to wildlife preserve, Bean (and even Sprout) is totally digging it. And in all honesty, so am I.

Swaps Recieved

2011-05-21T18:24:00.000-07:00

I must have been a saint or a magical unicorn or something else divine and lovely in a former life, because Karma is really shining on me this week.

Earlier this week, I received my ALFALC (A Little Fabric, A Little Chocolate) package from Lesley. She is such a thoughtful swapper - lots of amazing goodies that were inspired by or lifted from my wish list.

Look at these amazing goodies - a stack of fabric that includes the Sweetwater that I've had my eyes on. A whole lotta OOP Heather Ross. Her handmade enclosure cards. A sweet little pouch edged with selvage (swoon - she really knows how to make my crafting heart sing). All of that PLUS a cute mushroom clippie, a little notebook, and the requisite chocolates. A huge thanks for such a thoughtful and generous package.

Meanwhile, my pouch for the Pretty {Little} Pouch swap arrived today from Amber. Oh, I am simply speechless. Let me preface the photo of the pouch by saying the rules of this swap indicate that you need to send a pouch. One pouch. That is all.

I got three pouches. Three amazing, perfect pouches. And two FQs. And buttons. And Post-Its and vintage postcards from Hawaii. All wrapped up in a Chocolate Lollipop selvage. Fantastical.

Each pouch features a lovely wonky star with a Japanese print for the [teeny tiny] center. The two larger blocks feature square-in-square frames and straight line quilting. The little little pouch has a variety of quilting - straight lines, concentric squares, and random graphic quilting. Oh, these are fun little gems.

Another thanks to Lesley and Amber and also to the universe for pairing me up with such great women.

Bloggers’ Quilt Festival :: Spring 2011

2011-05-19T09:16:00.000-07:00

Happy nearly-Friday. I'm squeaking in under the wire to submit my Selvage Quilt to Amy's Spring Quilt Festival.

I can barely even remember how I got the idea in my head to do a selvage quilt. I must have stumbled onto one of the selvage groups on Flickr and the next thing I knew, I was up to my eyeballs in selvage.

They say that it takes a village, and in this case, it truly did. One of my favorite things about this quilt is that the majority of the more than 1,100 selvages came from other people. I accumulated lots of selvage by trading my yardage for them, but there were many other bits that were just donated to me. People who were following my progress or hearing my pleas on Flickr for selvages would tuck some into a parcel they were already sending me. Occasionally, I'd receive an envelope with a few selvages from a quilty friend - no note, no request for reciprocation. Accumulating selvages for this quilt really showed me what a wonderful community Flickr is.

When I started this quilt, I had planned to make a lap-sized quilt, but I was urged to consider making it bed-sized. I was told that a project like this is a once-in-a-lifetime piece and to go big or go home. The finished quilt is 68"x85" and looks lovely on a twin bed, even though I use in on the couch as an extra large throw.

As much as I love looking at the quilt as a whole, I can get lost in it looking at each individual strip of selvage. While I don't know where or from whom each strip came from, I know which are from my stash - each piece has a memory associated with it. As I glance at the quilt now as I type, I see the print I used to make Sprout a dress. And there's the skeleton print I used to make Bean some Halloween pajama bottoms.

A huge thank you to Amy for hosting such a wonderful quilt festival. I'm honored to have my quilt among so many other gorgeous works of art. Do spend some time going through them all here - there is some amazing eye candy that will certainly get your creative juices flowing.

Blogging Haitus - Over

2011-05-16T09:11:00.000-07:00

I was on such a roll - rolling out lots of new quilts and posting about them all. Then I realized that the post on my Flying Geese Quilt happened to be my 100th post and I realized how much sewing I'd done this month and I dunno. I got tired.

It seemed silly to call attention to my 101st blog post. I was too burnt out to start any of the new quilts that I've been prepping. So I've kind of been hiding under a rock and posting the odd photo on my Flickr stream.

Meanwhile, I have gotten some crafting done in the past few weeks. I finished my Pretty {Little} Pouch Swap pouch for Meg. She loves patchwork, linen, and Zakka and had indicated that a cosmetic bag lined with some laminated cotton might be nice. I didn't think to take a photo of the inside (a laminated Modern Workshop print), but here's the exterior.

I like this one a lot and found that today's laminated cotton is much thinner and easier to work with than the stuff I bought 3 years ago. I see a lot more of these little bags in my future. It was especially rewarding sewing for Meg - we had been partnered last summer for round one of the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap and she made me this lovely rug. It was fun to return the crafting favor.

I also made a set of place mats for Melissa for the LAMQG Home Goods Swap. She has been loving Orla Kiley prints and while this Max and Whiskers for Moda isn't exactly Orla, it does kinda have the same vibe.

Photo courtesy of Melissa

Her photo of them was much better than mine - she even got Explored with this shot!

And now, with these little projects completed, I'm feeling rejuvenated. I just ordered the sashing for this quilt (oh fabric.com, I love you so) and I expect to start piecing it soon. Keep your eyes peeled!

Featured!

2011-05-16T08:55:00.000-07:00

The lovely ladies at Quilt Story have featured my Selvage Quilt today! Thanks so much to Heather and Megan for the recognition. They have a great blog full of lovely tutorials, inspiring creations, and yummy tidbits - you should totally have a lookie-see.

Circle of Geese Quilt

2011-04-25T21:40:00.000-07:00

This is the last of the nearly finished quilts that's been sitting in my WIP bin for months on end. The Circle of Geese quilt was made in collaboration with some wonderful women in an online quilting bee that I was part of last year.

I sent each bee member a selection of fabric scraps in a single color as well as a large cut of my background fabric, which is Moda's Basic Grey - Grunge in Hot Chocolate. I asked everyone to make a Circle of Geese block in the pattern and size of their choosing. There are a few patterns for this type of block - this is probably the most popular one, but my favorite pattern was created by Lynne.

The blocks I got back are gorgeous. Circle of Geese blocks aren't easy and the ladies did an amazing job. I love this quilt - it is nearly exactly how I had envisioned it. I had grandiose ideas of making a quilt comprised of circles into the shape of a circle like this, but when push came to shove, I didn't have it in me. So I ended up with a (nearly) square quilt, but it doesn't make me love it any less. My plan was always to have this quilt be a picnic quilt - something to keep in the back of my car for all of the impromptu picnics I have with my kids. To that end, I added a loop on the back of the quilt so that it rolls up for easy transport.

The back is a single print - yardage of some Alexander Henry that I had on hand and had been wanting to use up. Binding is pink Crosshatch from the Farmdale line. I stippled the quilt in grey - I was worried that the thread would be too light against the main color of the quilt, but it ended up being nearly invisible. Finished size is 60"x63".

I'm glad to finally have an empty WIP bin. While I'd like to believe this means that I'm about to take a breather from quilting, I already have two new projects that I'm itching to start.

The Selvage Quilt - Finally Finished

2011-04-22T06:22:00.000-07:00

It's done!! The Selvage Quilt is done!!

I don't even know where to begin. I am so glad to have this one done - it really was a labor of love. I wish that the photos did it justice, but there are so many tiny details in each piece of selvage that so much gets lost in a picture. I love looking at each individual square, each tiny scrap of fabric, and each memory that goes with that fabric.

The quilt was made using string squares 8" squares, 80 in all, that are sashed in Kona Navy. On average, each square has about 14 selvages, which means that I used upwards of 1,100 strips of selvage. The flannel backing is All Star Blue Dots by Riley Blake. Binding is Alexander Henry's Raindrop Stripe (thank you Amber, for that awesome call).

This was sent to the long-arm quilter - there was no way that I was going to risk unsightly puckers on this quilt. The quilting is slightly more dense than I though it would end up, but I do like the way the pattern plays off of the diamond pattern of the string blocks.

(The color is way off here, but you can see the quilting design easily.)

This quilt was initially intended to be a lap quilt, but I was talked into making it a twin size - the finished size is 68"x85". Because I will still probably use it to cuddle on the couch with my sweetie and because I like some serious heft in my blankets, I had the quilter use two layers of batting when she quilted it. This quilt is seriously heavy - maybe a bit more so than I had intended. That said, it's going to be awesome come next winter.

A huge thank you to everyone who traded or donated selvages for this project - I couldn't have done it without you. Thank yous also to everyone who supported me as I obsessed, complained, and sewed (a lot!) through this project.

Goodbye, Old Friend

2011-04-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

I never knew how attached I was until it was gone. It's always the way, isn't it? It's been in my life for more than a decade; certainly long before I was a sewer. At first it was just a teeny tiny part of my life, but as I became a sewer and then a quilter, we spent so much more time together.

I admit I didn't take care of it like I should have. I dropped it. A lot. I rarely cleaned it. And it really has started to show it's age. It's plastic casing is cracked and broken. Its lovely nonstick coating had worn off (how does that even happen??). It is time. Oh, cheapie Black and Decker iron, it is time to say goodbye.

I never really paid much attention to my old iron, but now that it's gone, I miss the way it fit in my hand - it was so familiar. And while my new iron, a similarly cheapie Sunbeam is so lovely (it doesn't drip, isn't cracked, and has no hard water buildup), I do find that I miss my old one. Just a little.

WIP Wednesday

2011-04-13T15:52:00.000-07:00

I will not be afraid to cut into my Flutterby Ladybugs.
I will not be afraid to cut into my Flea Market Fancy.
I will not be afraid to cut into my Mendocino.
I. WILL. NOT. BE. AFRAID.

The Citrus Quilt

2011-04-11T20:10:00.000-07:00

It's springtime and everywhere I look I see lovely shades of citrus. Lemon yellow shows up in the lantana that greets me outside of my family room window and in the center of the strawberry blossoms in my garden.

My California poppies are the colors of Mandarins.

And the radishes that have just started to germinate in their peat pots are the color of Key Limes.

How could I not be inspired by these amazing colors? The result is this - The Citrus Quilt.

I used 8" blocks that were improv pieced in square and rectangle configurations. Most blocks had what would become the white sashing as the outer edge of the block, but a small handful of blocks featured no white or white sashing on only two or three sides.

The starting point for the quilt was a striped Art Gallery Fabrics print, which I knew I wanted to use to do this with. I don't think I'll ever tire of this application.

The back is primarily Kona Cheddar with some scraps added for visual interest. It's been free motion quilted and is crinkly and lovely from the dryer.

The finished quilt measures 38"x45" (yikes - that's 2"-3" of shrinkage with fabrics and batting that wasn't prewashed!). Binding is handstitched using two patterns that were featured in the quilt. You can find it in the shop.

I was Featured!

2011-04-10T20:32:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit late in sharing this with you, but my Confetti Quilt was featured on Modern Day Quilts last week! Thanks so much, Heather!

To Benefit Japan

2011-04-10T20:20:00.000-07:00

A huge thank you to those who bid on the quilt to aid in the disaster relief for Japan. The highest bid was Tai Chi Mamma, who bid $175. Her donation to Mercy Corps has been made and I'll be delivering her quilt tomorrow.

You might remember that I had mentioned that I'd be taking part in yet another fundraiser to help with disaster relief. Unfortunately, there were some problems with the raffle that I was to donate another quilt to. Modern Relief is currently trying to regroup and I'll update you as I know more.

WIP Wednesday

2011-04-06T19:23:00.000-07:00

Bright citrus colors seem to inspire me annually at about this time of year.

To Benefit Japan - Part 1

2011-03-30T21:35:00.000-07:00

***This auction is now closed. Thanks so much for bidding!!!***

The tragic details of the devastation in Japan continue to unfold. There are countless people in desperate need of aid and supplies of every kind - from fresh drinking water to medical supplies. Tragedies like this seem to bring out the generosity of people and there are so many ways to give. While no single effort is enough, I do hope that the combined effort of everyone's generosity makes a difference in a meaningful way.

With this in mind, I'm trying to help in as many ways as I can. I'm proud to be a part of the upcoming online quilt auction run by Modern Relief. With each $10 donation you make to Mercy Corps, you'll have one chance at winning one of more than 85 amazing quilts. I'll be blogging more about that effort next week.

But today I am starting a silent auction for an heirloom-quality handcrafted quilt. I made this quilt using more than 580 squares of pattered fabric in a variety of colors, making it a good match for any decor. The back is as visually appealing as the front and the quilt is finished with a binding that's been carefully hand-stitched to make it both aesthetically pleasing and durable.

The finished size of the quilt is 49"x68", making it the perfect size to snuggle under. It features cotton blend batting and diagonal straight line quilting, both of which help to give it a soft drape.

The silent auction will run until 11:59pm PDT on Wednesday, April 6. The details of the auction are as follows:

Leave the amount of your bid in the comment section of this post. Please don't forget to include your contact details.
Bidding ends at 11:59pm PDT on April 6. The highest bidder at that time wins the quilt.
Once the auction ends, the winner will be contacted by me. You'll be given instructions on how to make a tax-deductible online donation in the amount of your winning bid to your choice of Mercy Corps, Doctors Without Borders, or Save the Children. Once I receive confirmation of your payment, I'll send you your new quilt via Priority Mail.

Please consider placing a bid to win this quilt and help those in need. Feel free to link this post in your blog, Twitter feed, Facebook status, or though any other media.

Palate Cleansers

2011-03-28T21:00:00.000-07:00

I've been cranking out quilts lately; I finally bound and finished my confetti quilt, I made my Pips quilt, and I whipped up a quilt for the Modern Relief auction. And in the middle of all of it, I pulled some fabric for my next quilt. But for now I totally needed some palate cleansers - a few small projects to clear out my head and my sewing room before starting my next big project.

**********

I've been loving the Jane Market Bags that I've seen online and have been meaning to buy the pattern for ages. I've also been meaning to put together a new bag for my kids' sand toys and it seemed like the right idea to marry those two intents.

I used some Dwell home dec. weight fabric that I got at JoAnn's on sale for the main body, some Alexander Henry dots that I had lying around for the pocket, and some un-named brown Kona for the lining. As for the pattern, it's great - I highly recommend it. It's so easy to follow and makes a great product. I did make a few small changes to the pattern, though.

• I added batting to the straps to help them keep their shape better when I wash the bag.

• I didn't put a pocket on the back side of the bag - its' a solid piece of fabric.

• I shortened the front pocket by 2" and widened it by 1.5" then added elastic to the top of it to keep my items secure.

• I added a button and loop closure at the top to keep sandy toys from tumbling out of the bag in the back of my car.

I love how the bag came out and see lots of these in my future - they'll make great gifts.

**********

After I finished up my Pips quilt, I had a lot of leftover scraps made some sweet placemats with them. I loved making them - all the fun of making a quilt with just a fraction of the work. They are sashed in Kona Coal and bound with Alexander Henry's Heath in Pink, which is the same binding I used on the Pips quilt.

These have already been washed and dried for that lovely crinkly look. I had intended to list them in the shop, but they are so lovely that I'm going to have a hard time parting with them. We'll see...

**********

These sweet little skirts will be listed in the shop next week unless Sprout pilfers one or two of them first. The two on the right were made from bits out of my scrap bin and the three on the left are from a single yard of Urban Garden that I got in a Flickr swap. They are just the thing for the spring weather that is finally headed our way.

Now that I've had cleaned out some of the scraps from my studio and had the gratification of some quickly finished projects, I'm off to go start another quilt. What are you working on these days?

The Confetti Quilt

2011-03-24T21:02:00.000-07:00

I've shared a few of the bee blocks that I've created for others in the virtual quilting bees that I belong to. Of course, others have made blocks for me and I'm ashamed to admit that I've sat on them for way too long before finally assembling them. Remember how they looked in July? Sigh. They stayed in their un-assembled state for many more months. But I've finally gotten my act together and put the quilt together.

The main color is Kona Raisin and the quilt measures 48"x ???. Damn. I can't remember the dimensions. My husband, sitting next to me on the couch, suggests writing that the quilt is "just big." So it's a lap quilt. It's 48" x something. Neighborhood of 65". We'll call it 48"x65".

I'm typically not a scrappy binding type of gal, but I was trying to use up the scraps leftover from the quilt and didn't want to make another purchase. In the end, I really like the look - it really enhances the scrappy look of the quilt front.

I love this quilt not only for how it looks (which, by the way, is exactly what I had envisioned), but also for the collaboration between 11 other ladies, former strangers, who helped me make it. A huge thanks to the ladies of Sew Bee It.

Pippy Goodness

2011-03-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

When the Pips pre-cuts came out in December, I was so excited to play with them. I already put together a little Mug Rug with one of the prints, and I've finally finished my Pips quilt.

This quilt is made using Ashley's Rectangle Squared tutorial, though I did use larger dimensions to better showcase Aneela's lovely Pips.

The blocks are sashed in Kona White and are quilted in a meandering stipple in the sashing only. I love the look of a stippled quilt but I prefer the drape of less quilting, so this was a good compromise.

I found that I had lots of stash fabrics that really coordinated well with the Sherbet Pips line and added a few blocks of some Moda Bliss Dots in Red, some Henry Glass Summertime Dots in Aqua, and some Monaluna Mingle Dots in Grey. I've also seen the Pips paired with some Nicey Jane, which worked very well.

I backed the quilt in a single print from the new Sweetwater line - Summer Garden in Misty Grey - after being inspired by this quilt's back. I just love the look of the handwriting fabric and the Sweetwater's colors played perfectly with the Sherbet Pips. It's bound in Alexander Henry's Heath (which I simply cannot get enough of) in pink.

Finished size is 52"x64". Like all of my quilts, this one features an heirloom quality hand-stitched binding. Quilt is listed in the shop.

Modern Relief - Japan

2011-03-17T14:12:00.000-07:00

I think it's a pretty safe assumption that most of the world stands by feeling horrified and largely helpless as we watch the devastation from the recent earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown unfold in Japan. I, for one, feel helpless. Impotent.

I'm incredibly thankful to have found a creative outlet for my desire to help. Stay tuned for information about an online quilt auction to help raise money for those who need it most right now. You'll have a chance to bid on this this project that I'm working on as well as many other beautiful quilts.

In the meantime, please keep the people of Japan in your thoughts.

WIP Wednesday

2011-03-16T06:50:00.000-07:00

If you need me today, I'll be on the couch catching up on my DVR and binding a pile of quilts.

Sunday Stash

2011-03-13T14:29:00.001-07:00

I went "shopping" in my stash to brainstorm ideas for my next quilt.

This is what I pulled from my stash. The two on the far left have been sitting in my stash for a few months and the three to the right are recent acquisitions via Flickr swaps. They were definitely the beginnings of something, but only amounted to two yards of fabric - not nearly enough to make a quilt. One of my Stashpact resolutions was that purchasing fabric for a quilt is okay, so I supplemented this pile with some new purchases.

I purchased a few more pieces to round out the pile and now I have the makings for a whole quilt. I purchased 2 yards of the Kona solid (Cheddar) for the back, as it's so much more cheaper to buy solids than prints. I'll piece the back for visual interest but having the solid as the main fabric saves me some money along the way.

The Rainbow Quilt

2011-03-07T08:44:00.000-08:00

It was windy and grey this morning - not great weather for taking pictures of a quilt, but the weather definitely calls for a rainbow. Remember what I was working on last month? She's done!

I finished this quilt last night - it was pieced from these strips. I bought the Kona Ash sashing, but everything else, including the non-pieced back and binding, came from my stash. It feels so good to be using up my stash.

Finished size is about 41"x51" which is a lovely, generous size for a baby and is still more than enough quilt for my 2.5 year old. The stripey (love!) binding is hand-stitched for an heirloom feel.

Quilt is listed in the shop.

WIP Wednesday

2011-03-02T08:48:00.000-08:00

Oh Pips, I love you so...

The Painbox Quilt

2011-02-27T20:50:00.000-08:00

Goodness, I didn't think I'd ever finish this one. I've been a member of Flickr for quite a while, but didn't really get involved with the community until I started Elizabeth's Paintbox Quilt Along last January. I dutifully made my squares in time with the group. And then let the stack of them collect dust for many months.

In an effort to clear my studio of the many languishing projects stuffed in bins, I finally got this quilt done.

I love this quilt - bright and cheery and colors that wouldn't ordinarily use together. It's the perfect quilt for the kids' playroom.

I used straight line quilting - double lines of quilting run through the sashing. I find that I'm really liking the drape of this kind of quilting - the quilts that I stipple end up being slightly stiffer than this more open type of quilting. I accented the machine quilting with a bit of hand quilting - my first attempt at it. While my stitches are a bit wonky, I do like the overall look that it gives the quilt.

I as I laid out all of the squares, I realized that there were a handful that I didn't care for when combined with the rest of the lot, so I pulled them and made Sprout a doll quilt. It was an opportunity to practice some big loopy quilted flowers and machine stitched binding - neither of which I am good at. My sloppy handiwork was lost on my little girl, who proclaimed, "I like the colors and my dolly likes the flowers." You're welcome, sweetie.

With the missing squares, my quilt ended up being roughly 51"x58" which has proven to be the perfect size to cover me and a child on my lap as we read books on a rainy day.

The Seam in the Fabric

2011-02-20T16:17:00.000-08:00

I recently picked up some Alexander Henry Farmdale in red floral - about 3 yards. I knew when I bought it that it could have been irregular, and paid a fair price for for the fabric. Halfway through the cut, I found this.

Can you see the seam running through the fabric as two pieces of cotton were sewn together? I guess I had never really thought about how fabric was printed; of course fabric would be printed in longer sections than the 20 yards in a bolt.

And here's the back view of the seam. This was the first time I had come across this and found it to be kind of interesting - I hope you do, too.

WIP Wednesday

2011-02-15T21:04:00.001-08:00

Bringing a little sunshine to my day.

The Valentine's Day That Was

2011-02-15T20:30:00.000-08:00

According to my calendar, it's February 15, which means that I missed posting my Valentine's Day post on Valentine's Day. Oops. That's what running after two kids will get ya.

Bean had a class party that the room parents arranged; I was responsible for one snack and two gift bag items. For snack, I made red Jello Jigglers hearts.

Favors were heart shaped melt-and-pour soaps, since they went over so well last year. This year, I put them in sewn paper pouches based on Anna's tutorial. I have so much leftover patterned paper from my scrapbooking days, and it was nice to put it to good use.

Additionally, in lieu of candy, I put these labels on some red apples and sent the kids home with them. Aren't they great? I want to label all of our produce with them.

Lastly, we printed off these Valentines for Bean's classmates. I was so proud of my boy - this was the first year that he could write all of his friends' names on their cards. He had me transcribe a special note to his teacher, which was totally adorable - he was definitely feeling the Valentine's Day love.

Stashbuster Playmat

2011-02-05T19:44:00.000-08:00

I had intended this quilt to be for a dear friend and her new baby. But once the quilt top was done I realized that it wasn't right for her. I do love it, though and now that I made her a quilt that better matches her style, I have finally finished this one.

This quilt was made entirely of stash fabrics - front, back, and binding. The starting point was this striped print that I bought a small cut of at JoAnn's a lifetime and a half ago. I loved it then and I love it now. I decided to use my favorite application for striped fabrics and was able to get five blocks made.

From there I added some some Alexander Henry owls and some of my very favorite Moda Home dots (even though it's decorator weight, it's nearly as soft as quilting cotton and it has a lovely hand). Kona Coral, Kona Stone, and some un-named yellow and brown round out the lot. The pieced back features the same fabrics from the front and the binding finishes up what's left of my Kona Coral stash.

I love that it's gender neutral and I cannot get enough of that Kona Coral - I do foresee more of it in my near future. It is so bright and cheery that it brings a smile to my face every time. This quilt features random stippling, is hand bound, and the finished size is 39" square.

It's listed in the shop. UPDATE: Quilt has now sold.

The 3x6 - 1Q11

2011-02-04T21:40:00.000-08:00

The two virtual quilting bees I was in have wrapped up and although I needed another commitment like I need a whole in my head, I decided to join the 3x6 Bee.

This type of bee works differently than most. In the 3x6, you're assigned to a group of seven members and have three months to create 6 blocks. The blocks that you create for your fellow "hive" members are to be designed by you; the only design stipulation is that each block has to be identical. Each member supplies the fabric for the blocks they make and everyone gets to chose the colors of the blocks being made for them.

I made this sample for myself using the colors that I wanted - primarily blue and green. I think it might have been a bit batty to use Oh Fransson's Mod Mosaic Pattern for this bee - after all, it is an improv pattern by it's very nature and the point of this bee is to create multiple blocks that are identical. Oops.

While they aren't perfectly identical, they are pretty close - I tried hard to get not only the shapes similar but also made sure that the colors followed the same motif between the blocks.

I had a lot of fun making these, and I hope my hive members like their blocks. I really enjoyed the opportunity to put my stash together in combinations that I ordinarily wouldn't have. I think I'm in love with the grey/black/green combo.

The Birthday Cake

2011-01-30T18:10:00.000-08:00

Picture it. You've already made this cake for your boy's birthday last month and now your husband's birthday is here. You know hubby is hoping for a cake as special as his son's was. Your husband as a well documented love of all things liquor and bacon, but since you've already made him a bacon cake, you have to find a fresh idea. What's a girl to do?

If you're as lucky as I am, you stumble upon Ann's blog and you find this. And then you make your husband a Chocolate Guiness Cake of his very own.

Happy birthday, my love. I hope you enjoyed your day and your cake.

I heart Swapping

2011-01-27T21:03:00.000-08:00

I've been busy lately - putting together two swaps though Flickr. The first was the Mini QT swap, which is a swap of a micro-quilt that is between 6" and 12" square. The theme for swap was "Take Flight." I made this quilt for my partner, Amy. She has serious love for her VW Bug, Yoda May, so I wanted to feature her car in her quilt. I do hope she likes it, even if I used the most open interpretation ever of the swap theme.

In return, I received this lovely quilt. I had requested a quilt that I could hang in Sprout's room, which is painted pink. Isn't this darling? So perfect for a little girl's room. Thank you, Amy, for a wonderful addition to my daughter's room.

Secondly, I arranged a private swap with Jacey. She makes the most amazing knit goods that I had been ogling for quite a while. When she suggested doing a swap - some of her knits in exchange for one of my mug rugs and an appliqued tee, I was over the moon. Look at these amazing gloves she made for me. I cannot express how much I love them - the color is gorgeous and they are so cozy.

This is the mug rug I made for her. I love doing "interactive piecing," as it's called; making a picture using fabric and stitching. I wish I had thought to take a picture of the tee I made, but I was so eager to put it in the mail that I forgot. Oops.

The only thing that's better than making goodies is receiving them. These swaps have made a fun start to the new year and I'm looking forward to more swaps this year.

WIP Wednesday

2011-01-26T08:12:00.001-08:00

49 blocks down

22 currently in progress
9 more left

All Paths Lead Home

2011-01-21T14:23:00.000-08:00

Home is where the heart is. And even though a dear friend of mine is moving, she'll always be close by, in my heart. And to make her her new house feel more like a home, I decided to make her a quilt.

Her favorite color is red, so when I saw this pattern in the Connecting Threads catalogue, I knew I had my quilt. It seemed serendipitous that the quilt pattern name is "All Paths Lead Home."

Since I am on a strict fabric diet, I decided to make a scrappy version of it using what I had in my stash. To supplement my stash, I did a few Flickr swaps and also bought a single yard of fabric, which isn't bad, considering that the pattern calls for roughly 10 yards of fabric.

The back, also scrappy, was inspired heavily by this. And my "inspired heavily," I kind of mean "lifted" The solid is Kona Coral, the floral from Alexander Henry's "Camden" line. And the line of scraps are all bits from the fabric featured on the front. The quilt's tag is part of the strip. It reads "You will be missed, but a few hundred miles is nothing between good friends."

Quilt is 48" x 60" and features hand stitched binding. I do hope this quilt keeps my friend warm, both body and soul.

More on Resolutions

2011-01-14T13:31:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking hard about StashPact and my crafting resolutions. I run a small business, so it is unreasonable to think that I wouldn't purchase any fabric whatsoever for the whole year. Also, already this year I've spent $57.94 at my local quilt shop. $20 was on a 12.5" square ruler, which I've wanted (and needed) for a very long time and the reminder was on fabric (only half of which was bought for a quilt that I'm currently working on). For shame...

So here's what I've rundown.

1. Purchases for project-completing supplies are allowed when needed without question. These types of supplies include thread, quilt batting, insul-brite for making potholders, snaps for making bibs, and trims for dresses.

2. Solids are allowed when purchased for a specific project. Now that I've sorted my scraps, I have a few quilts in mind, but they'll all require sashing of some sort; I'm going to need some plain yardage to complete them.

3. Prints are also allowed when purchased in small quantities for a specific project. If I have the makings for a whole quilt save for a half-yard of fabric or so, it's okay to purchase that bit of fabric. The goal is to use up my stash, but I am realistic enough to know that I'll have to supplement what I have in some cases. I made this quilt, front and back, from stash fabric. But I simply did not have anything in my stash to bind it. So $3.50 later, I had purchased a half-yard of yellow micro-striped fabric and had a brand new quilt to show for it. It was a worthy investment.

4. Make Bigger Quilts. I love quilting, but most of my quilts are baby quilts - approximately 39"x47". The reason for this is twofold - not only do smaller projects give me quicker gratification when I complete each project, but I started sewing for children and most of my projects are aimed to them. But I'll have many more uses (and recipients) for my quilts if I start sewing them in larger sizes.

5. Stop Hoarding Fabrics. Like many quilters, there are some fabric lines that I just can't get enough of. Swell. Munki. Flea Market Fancy. While my collection of prized fabrics is small, it is dear to me. And while I have cut into those lovely bits here and there, I do want to use them more often in the coming year. There's just no point to having them folded up neatly - the point of fantastic fabric is to use it.

I'm enjoying hearing about your fabric goals for the year - do keep them coming!

Cleaning Out the Scraps

2011-01-12T09:02:00.000-08:00

It's only natural that the New Year brings one's thoughts to resolutions. I, like most, have tons of them. I know that I will not have the willpower to keep most of them, but to keep my on track with my crafty resolutions, I joined this group on Flickr. They are helping the lot of us become more dedicated to using more of our stashed fabric and buying less (or no!) new fabric this year.

In order to use what I have, I realized that I first need to *know* what I have, so I've been taking inventory of my stash this week. I started with my scrap pile - a gnarly and overwhelming mass of lovely little bits.

I first separated out strip-sized pieces, which can be used for, among other things, spiderwebs, string quilts, and log cabins. I love the way they look in their ROY G. BIV layout.

I cut the rest of the scraps into either 4.5" squares or 3" squares and threw everything else out, save for some teeny tiny cuts of Japanese and OOP/HTF fabric. And what was once a giant heap on my sewing table now looks like this.

This all took a few hours, but it was well worth my time, as I now have the makings of quite a few quilts here, as well as a new pile of found selvages.

In the next few days, you'll see more of my stash and hear more about my crafting and stash goals for the year. Please feel free to share your goals here (I'm always looking for more inspiration!) and do join StashPact11 on Flickr.

Finishing up the Year - Making Things Harder Than They Need To

2010-12-31T06:53:00.000-08:00

Whew - it's been a busy week, but I really am pleased with the dent I've made in my WIP pile. Don't get me wrong - there's still lots there that I need to finish up, but the six projects that I finished up this week have made me feel much better.

Remember these fun squares? I love how they look in this finished product - the quilt looks exactly like I had envisioned it would. Can you recognize the pattern? It's nearly identical to a disappearing 9-Patch. Except that I pieced this in the most backwards way possible to get the same effect.

Instead of making a traditional 9-Patch and cutting it into quarters, I made blocks of three sizes - a large square, a small square, and a medium rectangle. I sewed them into units consisting of a large square, two small squares, and a medium rectangle. In hindsight, it was such a cumbersome way of making what should have been a very simple quilt. I just didn't know any better. You live, you learn, right?

This quilt was inspired by Michael Miller's Sassy Stripe print, which I made into these blocks (I can't tell you how much I love using this application for striped fabric - I see a lot more of these blocks in my future). From there, I pulled fabrics from my stash in colors that matched the stripe print. Everything except the binding on this quilt came from stash scraps, which I'm pretty pleased about. I *have* to start using my leftovers more often.

Finished size is 37"x44" and features a hand-sewn binding. It's listed in the shop.

I hope that I've inspired you to take a crack at some of those long-forgotten projects. Here's to a happy, safe, and creative New Year!

Finishing up the Year - More Selvage Love

2010-12-30T06:14:00.000-08:00

This year, I've traded my stash and my soul for as many selvages as I can get. And while most of them are used for my selvage quilt, some bits just aren't right for that project. For the quilt, I need pieces of selvage that are mostly of a single color and have at least a half inch of printed fabric beyond the selvage.

I separate out the selvages that don't fit this bill - those that are either cut too close to the selvage edge or those that are too colorful and don't have a single overriding color. My collection of these selvages has been growing and I've been meaning to clean out that bin and do something with these selvages.

Voila. A few pincushions later, and my bin is nice and empty for the new year - just waiting for my next selvage trade.

Finishing up the Year - The Selvage Quilt

2010-12-29T06:58:00.000-08:00

Okay, so this one isn't done yet, but I did work on it a lot this week. I added 14 more squares, which brings my tally to 49 completed squares. And here it is, in it's current glory.

My original plan was to make it a large throw with a final size of 63"x81", which would require just two more rows, or 14 more blocks. However, certain people have been urging me to make it twin size. Their logic is that this is a once-in-a-lifetime quilt. It's taken a lot of effort to amass so many selvages and who's to say when or if I'll be able to do this again. So why not make a more functional quilt; with a twin quilt, I'd still be able to cozy up with it on the couch, but could also use it on a bed. This would require an additional 17 blocks *beyond* the aforementioned 14 - one more row and one more column. Finished size will be 72"x90", which will be the largest quilt that I've made.

So 49 blocks down and 31 to go. That's a lot more selvage I still need. Should you have extra, please let me know - I'm happy to trade fabric for selvage.

Finishing up the Year - The Mona Quilt

2010-12-28T06:47:00.000-08:00

I started this quilt back in February and it's been folded neatly for months just waiting to be bound. I finally got around to it. Poor little neglected quilt...

This quilt feels a bit more graphic than what I typically make, though I do think I like the end result. Certainly I am groovin' on the colors, which are so bright and cheery. It's made with Alexander Henry's Alphonse and Mona character print, as well as the coordinating floral and is matched with Amy Butler's Full Moon Dots and Wallflower. The solid is Kona Coral, which is a pretty spot-on match for Amy Butler's Cherry.

The back, which I possibly like more than the front, is constructed of stripes of fabrics from the front of the quilt on a solid white background.

Finished quilt size is 36"x49". Now I just need to find a little girl to gift this to. Somehow it seems that there are a lot of little boys in my world these days...

Finishing up the Year - Sprinkling of Hexagons

2010-12-27T06:44:00.000-08:00

Up next in my "finally finished" pile is this baby girl quilt. Hexies seemed to be all the rage this summer and while I couldn't imagine doing a whole quilt out of hand-stitched hexagons, I did want to join the hexie bandwagon - just a little. A summer trip to visit family during which I wouldn't have access to a sewing machine (what's a girl to do?) seemed like the perfect opportunity to do just a bit of hand-stitching. This quilt was inspired quite literally from Ashley's quilt. Ashley is such an inspiration - she consistently creates amazing work.

The back of the quilt was made using some extra strips that had already been pieced for this quilt. I really liked this color combination the first time around and I once again find myself loving on it. It's girly without being cloying - perfect for the modern baby girl.

As for the quilting, I was really hesitant going into this project, as I knew I'd have to use a pale, contrasting thread. If I used a grey to match the background I'd have had unsightly grey lines running through my hexies. But by using a lighter thread (a very pale pink) to do the quilting, I knew that the contrast stitching would be very prominent and any mistakes would be quite visible. That said, the sewing gods seemed to be on my side, I made very few errors, and I'm really happy with how the quilting looks.

The finished size of the quilt is 33"x42" and the binding is hand-stitched. Now listed in the shop.
UPDATE - Quilt has sold!

Finishing up the Year - Couch Pillows

2010-12-26T07:02:00.000-08:00

With a week left to the year, I realize that I have a huge stack of half-finished projects from 2010 (no comments from my husband about half-finished projects, please). I'm trying desperately to finish some of them up so that I can start fresh(er) in the New Year.

After I finished this quilt top, I realized that I had a lot of scraps left, so I decided to make some matching pillow covers. They were made months ago and the completed tops were added to my (large) WIP pile. This week, I dug them out, quilted them, and added envelope backs. I wish I had the patience or foot to do invisible zippers - maybe another day.

Each pillow is different - a different pattern and also different quilting. The string top is quilted with a meandering stipple, the Chopped Vegetables top is quilted with dense straight line quilting in the negative space, and the HST top features diagonal quilting. I *think* the matching prints keep them unified enough.

They also feature a matching band of green fabric on the back of the envelope that you can see in the below photo if you squint and cock your head just right.

Lovely Gift Packaging

2010-12-21T07:01:00.000-08:00

I came across this brilliant idea late last week on the Woman with Wings blog by way of Ohdeedoh. I am so hooked, and spent the greater part of my Sunday afternoon scouring the house for paper bags and digging out my old scrapbook supplies.

I love these gift bags. They can be made to exactly the size of your gift or you can make a bunch of them ahead of time in various sizes. It's a good way to re-purpose some of those extra paper bags ~~that I shouldn't even have in my house since I always remember to bring my cloth bags~~ that always seem to by lying around.

I'll be offering gift wrapping in this style through my store for a small fee, but from now until the end of January, enter "giftwrap" in the Notes to Seller and your item will ship wrapped up in one of these upcycled and reusable bags.

Sunday Stash - On Saturday

2010-12-18T08:33:00.000-08:00

I'm way too excited to wait to post this one. Yesterday, Aneela posted on her blog that precuts of her darling Sherbet Pips were available for a very limited time before the line officially launches in the spring. I've been eyeing these beauties since she first introduced them and sprang at the chance to start working with them while the weather is still chilly (by April it'll be downright toasty in these parts).

Image courtesy of http://soggybottomflats.blogspot.com

I did a quick Etsy search and found a charm pack here. Of course I snatched it up, but was left wanting more. Another search later in the day yielded me a FQ bundle from Elaine's lovely Etsy shop. It's the first time I've ever bought an entire line. I am so excited to start playing with it... What to make, what to make?

Image courtesy of http://soggybottomflats.blogspot.com

The Love Quilt

2010-12-12T08:05:00.000-08:00

I finished the quilt I made using Downy's Quilts for Kids kit. While it's not the fabrics nor the pattern that I'd ordinarily use, it turned out to be a sweet little quilt.

This was a lovely little project and I'd highly recommend that my quilty friends participate in this program. While I've never kept track of the time it takes me to make a quilt, I do know that this one came together much quicker than most, in part because all of the fabric was pre-cut.

All together, this quilt took 170 minutes, or just shy of three hours. The breakdown is as follows: 80 minutes to piece the top; 70 minutes to baste, trim the batting and backing, and quilt; and 20 minutes to bind.

There are many ways to bind a quilt. I always use a double fold binding and hand stitch it for a clean, polished look. That said, I tried something different this time. The paperwork that came with the quilt kit suggested that one way to bind the quilt is to double fold the extra backing forward and topstitch it. It further suggested that a zig-zag stitch helps prevent the binding from getting caught on IV lines. I decided to use both of these techniques, both to save time and increase the durability and function of the quilt. It's not heirloom quality, but it's fine for this quilt.

Once the quilt was done, I took a few extra minutes and used free motion quilting to write the word "love" in a continuous loop around the border. I think it makes a sweet addition to this quilt.

I provided 3 hours of my time and $5 or so worth of batting; now a sick child has a new quilt. How great is that? I'll be sending away for another free quilt kit sometime very soon and I hope that you do, too. You can see some of the other quilts that have been made for the Quilts for Kids project here.

Quilts for Kids

2010-12-10T07:12:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, I was thumbing through a copy of Ladies Home Journal and saw a little blurb about Downy and how they participate in the Quilts for Kids project. Their goal is to create lovely handmade quilts for hospitalized children. By going to their website, you can sign up to receive a quilt kit - nearly everything that you need to create a quilt. The only thing you need to provide is the batting and the time. They ask that you return your finished quilt in 4-6 weeks. That is all.

I wasn't sure what kind of fabric to expect, but was surprised to see multiple prints from a single line. As it turns out, the fabric provided was by Robert Kaufman and is totally cute for a little boy. It seems that Kaufman has a relationship with Quilts for Kids, as the fabric line is of the same name.

In addition to asking for their completed quilt back in a timely fashion, Quilts for Kids suggests that you also include an extra quilt, made from your stash, to double their efforts to provide sick children with a handmade quilt.

I'm planning to work on this quilt over the weekend and will report back soon - It'll be good to get this quilt out in time for Christmas.

Work In Progress Wednesday

2010-12-08T20:55:00.000-08:00

My quilting funk seems to be over, as I'm finding inspiration again and am once again having fun sewing.

Holiday Gift Bonanza

2010-12-02T13:44:00.000-08:00

A month ago, I won some lovely Innocent Crush charms on Joree's blog. They were just so pretty, but I was having a hard time deciding what to do with them.

And then the holidays rolled around. It's gift time and I decided that there was nothing more appropriate to do with this lovely gift of fabric than to use it to make some gifts.

Bean and Sprout's teachers are in for a treat this year, if I do say so myself. Some will be getting little baskets made using Ayumi's tutorial.

Others will be getting potholders that were all made using different paper foundation patterns. They each have two layers of cotton batting as well as a layer of insul-brite inside, are 8" square, and could also be used as a mug rug.

I'm so pleased with how the orange colorway matches the orange and pink colorways of the Hope Valley scraps I had laying around. These are going to be hard to part with...

Craft Fail

2010-11-12T19:33:00.000-08:00

I've been so uninspired lately. I feel like everything that I sketch is just blah - hardly worth making. And when I finally do complete a project, it's not what I want it to be. Some projects look perfectly fine, but not exciting. They just seem bland. Pedestrian. Sometimes they are downright wrong or ill-conceived.

I've been working on round two of the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap for the past week. My partner created a wonderful inspiration mosaic to help inspire me, but nothing seems to be clicking. I created one mug rug that I liked, but knew not to be her style, which by definition, makes it a fail. I worked on two more that didn't even make the cut to be photographed. Fail and fail. And then there is this one - my fourth attempt.

I love it and I know that she will too, but it such a literal translation of something that I've seen before; I wish it was more original. Not only that, but I forgot to shrink the pattern before using it. So what should be a small mug rug is now a hot pad the size of a dinner plate. Fail.

In the midst of repeated failures and a total lack of inspiration, I decided to make a new cover for my ironing board as a kind of palate cleanser. There are oodles of tutorials for a project like this - I think I used a combination of three different ones. Just Google it.

I used some of my beloved Swell for this project. Part of me thought it crazy to cut into such a large piece of out of print fabric for a project like this and part of me thought about how lovely it would be to see that Swell print every time I sewed. The second part won.

And while I have no regrets about cutting into my rare(ish) fabric, I'm totally peeved at myself for not thinking about the direction of an ironing board. As I was cutting, I was thinking that an ironing board is pretty non-directional. Until I stood it up to store it. And now my birds hang upside down. Ugh. Even though my husband thinks that I'm bananas for saying so, I know the truth. This project fails.

I just wish I knew how to get my groove back. Hubby tells me to walk away from the sewing table for a bit, but I'm feeling the pull to keep on crafting in the hopes that something clicks, even though it seems that nothing is. Which is frustrating.

Ginko the Quilt Cat

2010-11-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

The Studio Cat phenomenon is well known within the quilting community and my little studio is not without some feline love. I introduce to you Ginko, lover of all things quilts.

We adopted Ginko as a wee kitten - he was part of a litter of feral kittens living under my neighbor's house. I have no idea what would have happened to Ginko had we not rescued him. I imagine that he'd be wandering around the neighborhood with a yen for quilting cotton in his soul. It's as though he was destined to love on my quilts.

Ginko can be on the other side of my house in a deep sleep, but as soon as I start fiddling around with fabric, he comes running. The second I lay out a quilt top, there he is. Stretched out or curled up, he stakes his claim immediately.

And when there are no quilts to cozy up with, Ginko improvises. After a morning of running errands, it is not uncommon for me to come home and see this.

If he can find a lone scrap of fabric that I've left out, it's enough for him to nap on. He'll make do knowing that before long, I'll lay out another quilt for him to cuddle with.

I-Spy Quilt

2010-10-25T21:21:00.000-07:00

I had been given some adorable little I-Spy squares in an ALFALC swap earlier this year. I'd been seeing adorable I-spy quilts all over Flickr, but most of them felt a bit busy for my tastes. That said, I really was feeling the urge to make one and the arrival of these squares in my mailbox kind of sealed the deal for me.

And then I saw this made by Laura, and I knew what my quilt was going to be. I used a bunch of cute fabrics from my stash - it's amazing how many I-spy fabrics you can find in your stash if you take a look. Mushrooms! Rulers! Fish!

And this how my quilt turned out.

There are 20 little houses, all with grey roofs, all with different fun things "living" inside. The back is pieced in the same colors as the front and seven more squares to spy.

The solid green binding is binding is hand stitched and the finished quilt measures 32" x 41."

Sunday Stash

2010-10-17T14:57:00.001-07:00

The Possiblities are Endless

2010-10-15T21:05:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a set of three coordinating pillows. The first and third are done - one is a string block pattern and one uses Elizabeth's Chopped Vegetable pattern.

The middle one is a conundrum - I've but together a bunch of half square triangles, but I didn't realize how versatile they are, and now I'm overwhelmed by the possibilities. Here are just a few options - suggestions welcome.

WIP Wednesday

2010-10-13T09:19:00.001-07:00

Pretty pieced binding, just waiting to be attached.

Take That, Mother Nature!

2010-10-04T13:59:00.000-07:00

Fall is upon us - it's drizzling and is a chilly 65 degrees outside. I promise you, I'm not complaining about this gross weather - I do love it. But it really is dreary out there. It was the perfect day for my mailman, by way of the Flickr community, to leave some sunshine on my front stoop for me. After running morning errands, I came home to FOUR packages. Oh, Mr. Postman, I could kiss you. On the mouth.

My mug rug from the Swappy Mug Rug Swap was delivered today. There were so many amazing rugs made for this swap, and this one by Meg was definitely one that had caught my eye. She embroidered two little bees sharing a tall glass of lemonade with curly straws. Totally darling. I love the colors that Meg chose - pinks and yellows, and her fabric choices totally match my sensibilities. Meadowsweet! Flea Market Fancy! And, brilliantly, a print with tea names printed on it.

It is so lovely and her attention to detail is well-honed. Her concentric square quilting is perfect, her embroidery is gorgeous, and her hand-stitched binding the perfect way to finish this piece.

But Meg didn't stop there. She included in her package a recipe for chocolate chip cookies (I know what I'll be doing with the kids this weekend), a handmade tea envelope, and a lovely collection of scraps (it's as though the universe is ordering me to make more tiny mug rugs!). Thank you, Meg, for such a gorgeous mug rug and for an amazing swap.

The other packages were filled with fabric. Kelly's local quilt store was having a crazy deal on Swell. Since Kelly (who is maybe one of the nicest women in the world) knows I love Swell, she offered to do a shopping run for me which is so nice since, um, she doesn't even really know me. But here it is in all it's glory. Nearly 4 yards of Swell. *Swoon*

These prints came from Dar, with whom I traded away some of my stash. I love these prints and chose them not realizing how nicely they work together. I am in love.

I also traded some of my stash with Jenny, who in return sent me this pile of selvages for my selvage quilt. There are some great pieces in this pile, including a big piece of FMF dotted leaves.

It might be chilly and blustery outside today, but there's a smile on my face as I enjoy an afternoon snack at my sewing table - decaf chai and a few chocolates. Mmmm... Thank you to my great Flickr friends.

Kid's Clothes Week - Day 5

2010-09-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

Ahhh... the home stretch. Today is day 5 of the Kid's Clothes Challenge over at Elise Marley. I had planned to make both kids new sunhats today. It's bright and sunny here nearly year round and they've both outgrown the ones they wore all summer.

I had the fabric all cut out and ready to go according to this pattern from Etsian Sewselly. I was totally ready to go. And then I kind of lost steam. I guess I've been sewing too much this week, so I only managed to get Bean's hat done. Poor Sprout. Maybe I'll make hers this weekend.

I had decided to use up some of my larger scraps for this project rather than cutting into some new or larger cuts in my stash. This is the end of my Dewberry chestnuts and while I'm sad to say goodbye to them, Bean does look adorable in his new hat. The underside is a plain sky blue, which really brings out his eyes.

A huge thanks to Meg for hosting this great challenge. It was inspiring to see all the great work that was created this week and was just the kick in the pants I needed to attack some projects that had been brewing in my head for a while.

Kid's Clothes Week - Day 4

2010-09-23T21:02:00.000-07:00

The last time I had to go fabric shopping, I had to bring the kids with me. As soon as we walked into Michael Levine, the kids were greeted with a huge display of Halloween fabrics. In an effort to get all of my shopping done, I ~~bribed them~~ told them that they could each pick out a print and I'd make them pajamas.

The bottoms are so easy - I used New Look #6847 for Bean's pants and Burda #9772 for Sprout's. They're constructed exactly the same - the only difference is size. The tops were from Target - Cherokee girl's t-shirts (don't tell Bean, but the slim fitting girl's shirts are just so much more flattering than they boxy boy's shirts) that I appliqued.

Don't you love Bean's shirt? I used the Jolly Roger pattern that I got at Crap I've Made. When sewing with knits, even doing applique on a t-shirt, please don't forget to use a ball-point needle. I can't tell you how many shirts I've nearly shredded using a regular needle on knits.

They love their new jammies - it's a rare, rare day when I can get Bean to pose for me, so I know he's pleased. And now, some gratuitous photos of the kids, who were being totally cute today.

Kid's Clothes Week - Day 3

2010-09-22T20:45:00.000-07:00

Last year I made the cutest jumper for Sprout using Kaufman's Cool Cords Ladybugs and New Look #6576. It was the perfect little jumper in so many ways - easy to get on and off, a dream to sew, totally darling, and very versatile. I really loved it.

Sadly, Sprout has outgrown it, but it has found a new home with a darling little girl (ahhh, hand-me-downs). I have some leftover Ladybugs, but not enough for a new jumper, though they'll find their way into a skirt sometime very soon. I took Sprout out to shop for some new corduroy and as much as I tried to steer her to a different pattern, her mind was set on these peace signs as soon as she saw them.

She has a good eye - this print is perfect for a little girl. The jumper is slightly large now, but will be perfect in a few more months when our weather starts to get chilly. I'll pair this with a long-sleeve T and jeans.

The fabric is from Jo-Ann's - their own label. The pattern is New Look #6578, which is the same dress I made last year but in the larger sizes (1-4 years).

Kid's Clothes Week - Day 2

2010-09-21T20:24:00.000-07:00

It's LA, so even though it's becoming autumn, it's still hot here, so I decided that Sprout needed a new dress for her wardrobe. It needed to be something light enough for our 99 degree heat, but dark enough so that she's not pulling a "white after Labor Day" faux pas.

I love this little dress. The fabric is darling, but the pattern holds a special place for me, which is why I love it so much. Two years ago, when Sprout was born, I decided that I wanted to start sewing dresses, but was so clueless to sewing from patterns. At that point, I had been primarily sewing baby blankets, which were not much more than simple squares. I bought this pattern, Burda 3026, which was labeled as sewing level 1. With my limited sewing skills, it wasn't, and my mom ended up sewing a dress for Sprout with the pattern. Two years later, here I am, sewing a dress from the exact same pattern. And it really was very easy.

I do wish my model was happier about posing, but I guess I should be thankful, seeing as Bean wouldn't pose for me at all yesterday. You can see why I opted to make her a matching diaper cover.

The dress is slightly big now, but I like that it will take her through the winter season and will provide enough room to but a long sleeve tee-shirt underneath. It'll look adorable layered with a tee and jeans.

Kid's Clothes Week - Day 1

2010-09-20T20:41:00.000-07:00

Meg over at Elsie Marley is hosting a Kid's Clothes Week - just in time to make my kids a new autumn wardrobe.

Bean is in desperate need of new pants. He insists upon pants that have elastic waists - no buttons, no snaps, no zippers. The only thing commercially made that fits that bill is track pants. I cannot tell you how sick I am of seeing my kid in track pants.

Today I made him a pair of Oliver + S Sailboat pants. The this is the second Oliver + S pattern that I've used and they are consistently so easy to follow - a total joy to make. For these pants, I used a fine-wale corduroy in a nondescript purple-blue (oh how I wish I had a name for it). I made a few modifications to the pattern to make the perfect pants for my boy.

I lengthened the pants to full length and got rid of the vents at the hem. I also nixed the buttons - I realized that if I stitched the front of the pants closed, they'd still be stretchy enough to pull on and off and really, buttons are just a bit too preppy for my kid.

I'm really pleased with how they came out. I also added a few little details - I rotated the corduroy 90 degrees before cutting the side-front panels, so the nap on the them is perpendicular to the nap of the rest of the pants. I also used Alexander Henry's 2D Zoo as the inside facing to give a pop of color and fun to the pants as my boy puts them on.

I wish I had gotten a photo of him wearing them, but he *hates* to model clothes and as soon as we agreed that they fit, he yanked them off.

Edited to add that Bean finally agreed to model for me in the below picture. I wish he wasn't making that face, but I guess beggars can't be choosers.

Sunday Stash

2010-09-19T21:20:00.000-07:00

Oh, look at this beautiful fine-wale corduroy I found today. I see lots of dresses in my daughter's future.

September Bee Blocks

2010-09-16T19:25:00.001-07:00

I had a great time with the September Bee Blocks. All of my blocks went together really quickly and was fun to make.

In Sew Bee It, Lynette sent a palette of grey solids and stripes with a tiny bit of maroon and asked for squares-in-squares. Can I be honest and say that I really am not a fan of stripes? I love the look, but I'm kind of too persnickety about them. I don't like when they go in different directions around a square like this. And it's so hard to line up the different pieces to get the lines going in one direction like this. In the end, I decided to use the stripes to make mitered corner squares, as seen in Passionate Patchwork by Kaffe Fassett.

Though Lynette only asked for two blocks, I made her three, since they were easy and I was having fun with those mitered blocks.

Here's a close-up of the three centers, as well as the signature block for the back of her quilt that the participants of this bee agreed upon.

April from the Scrapbusting Bee sent some precut (thank you, April!) blue and green fabric and asked for two blocks using Oh! Fransson's Birthday Cake Quilt tutorial. These blocks went together so fast and look so pretty. April is going to have a great quilt when she gets all of her blocks. I really enjoyed making these and anticipate doing a whole quilt using this pattern in the future.

Mug Rug Mania

2010-09-16T06:43:00.000-07:00

I'm officially on board with these ultra-mini quilts designed to hold a cup of coffee and maybe a cookie to go with it. I was invited to join the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap and thought that a little mug rug would be the perfect small project - in, out, and done.

Oh, how naive I was... These are totally addicting - one is simply not enough. Though each one comes together in not more than a couple of hours, I find myself making more and more of them. I'm not only loving the instant gratification of these small, quick rugs, but they are an amazing scrap-buster. Because the finished product is about 5" x 8", they use the tiniest bits of fabric, so I'm finally getting to use the tiniest pieces of fabric that I've saved in my scrap bin.

For this swap, we were given the name and preferences of the person we are to create for, but are unaware of who is creating for us. It's fun to see how my partner reacts (or doesn't) to each rug.

My partner's preferences were for bright colors offset by grey. I'm apparently groovin' on rainbows lately - they've shown up in each version of my rug. I'm still not sure what version I'll send off to her. Regardless, I hope she likes it!

The Summer Bounty Quilt

2010-09-12T21:36:00.001-07:00

Once upon a summer ago, I was inspired by a bowl of produce. I knew I wanted the quilt to look like a bowl of veggies, with little bits of each color popping up here and there, but wasn't sure exactly how to piece my quilt. Charm squares? Bento box? Half square triangles? Eh... I love 'em all, but nothing seemed quite right.

And then one day, I came across this on Flickr. It was made using the Chopped Vegetables pattern by Oh, Fransson! In hindsight, I recall seeing the pattern when Elizabeth introduced it, but wasn't inspired by it until I saw Jen's 3x6 block. For the record, I didn't use Elizabeth's pattern - the way I structured my quilt may or may not be the way that Elizabeth instructs in her pattern.

And voila! Here's my Summer Bounty Quilt.

It's got lots of orange, green, and yellow, with a touch of red for visual interest. I used a solid orange (I have no idea which Kona it is), a solid green, which is a cut up IKEA sheet, and a solid yellow (Kona corn). Additionally, it's got Multi-Pez in orange, Wild Thyme Seed Pods in orange, Girl Friday Alphabet, and some unnamed red and orange dots from my scrap bin.

It is bound in an orange Picnic Parade print and the backing is a single piece of the Girl Friday Alphabet, which incorporates all of the colors of the front of the quilt. Finished size is 40" x 49". You can find it listed in the shop. UPDATED - Quilt has sold!

Sunday Stash

2010-09-12T20:53:00.000-07:00

Mmmmm.... Kokka....

WIP Wednesday

2010-09-08T08:42:00.000-07:00

What seems like a lifetime ago, but was really only the beginning of the summer produce season, I was inspired by this loot that I brought home from the local farmer's market.

Bright green fava beans, firm yellow globe squash, and the loveliest, juiciest satsumas available. Yum. This bowl of goodies was practically begging to be made into a quilt.

And now, just a few days after Labor Day, our weather has turned cool and grey, as though by a switch. My summer quilt is nearly done. As I prepare to bind it, I smile as I remember the bounty of the season that is suddenly gone.

The Swastika Quilt

2010-08-30T06:26:00.000-07:00

Did you see this article in the LA Times a few weeks ago? A 90 year old man came across an heirloom quilt - probably made in the 1910s or 1920s. It was meticulously crafted and still in excellent condition. He ended up donating it to a local museum, who's mission is to "preserve and interpret" the history of their town. To date, the museum has yet to display this work of art.

The pattern of the quilt in question has been called many things, including "Whirligig." But this whirligig isn't the same whirligig that you and I know and love. This type of whirligig also goes by the name "Swastika."

(Photo courtesy of latimes.com)

My Jewish heritage typically makes me recoil from such a symbol, but this quilt was made long before the swastika became a symbol of the Nazis. It was made artfully and, most likely, with a pure heart.

And even if it was made with ill intentions, why shouldn't it be displayed in a museum? History is history, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Who's to say what the current en vogue quilt patterns might represent in 100 more years? Might our current whirligigs or spiderwebs one day have sinister interpretations? Possibly. But will that future interpretation negate the time and love that goes into the quilts we create today? Never. Art is art and should be displayed, regardless of the context in which it may or may not have been made.

Sunday Stash #4

2010-08-22T16:21:00.001-07:00

Look what arrived on my doorstep last week, all the way from Australia. I imagine that this is what Christmas morning feels like.

A huge shout out to Amy, who has a wonderful store filled with lovely and rare fabrics.

The Evolution of a Quilter

2010-08-12T06:57:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time ago, I started sewing - mostly basic baby blankets and the occasional bib. I'd turn a yard of fabric into a project, trash my scraps, and start the whole process again. As time passed, I started quilting. But even then, I didn't immediately start collecting scraps. I couldn't put together different colors and patterns and instead relied on full collections from designers rather than mixing different prints myself. I had no concept of using solids to break up a bunch of busy patterns. I didn't know about sashing - the word wasn't even in my lexicon. I exclusively backed in a single print. I didn't own a rotary cutter or a cutting mat. In short, I was a mess.

After I had made one or two quilt tops, I created this one. Oh, I loved the Bleeker Street line and couldn't wait to create with it. And this is what I came up with.

I found this monstrosity folded up in the bottom of my WIP bin. To say that this quilt is busy doesn't even begin to do the word justice. Wow - there is a lot going on here. While I do see that I added some Amy Butler and some Joel Dewberry, this quilt is nothing more than a lot of busy squares with an even busier border. This quilt hurts my eyes on many levels, not the least of which is that some of the stripes are vertical and some are horizontal. I am glad that I didn't quilt it. Had I, though, it would have been very simple straight line quilting. Without a walking foot. Gah!

I loved Bleeker Street when I purchased these prints and I do still love it now, so rather than walking away from this quilt, I decided to dismantle it and start anew. And this is what I came up with.

Today's version is a coin quilt, sashed in Kona Snow. It is light, bright, and modern. It is not overly fussy. It features a pieced back and fun pebble quilting.

I love this quilt so much for what it is, but even more for its history. I'm so pleased with how my eye and techniques have improved over the past few years and am so looking forward to seeing how I continue to improve going forward.

What Every Little Girl Needs

2010-08-10T07:22:00.000-07:00

Sprout's BFF is turning two tomorrow and we're off for a lovely morning of playing, crafts, and birthday cake. The birthday girl is the youngest of three girls, all within four years of each other. I couldn't imagine what she'd want or need that she didn't already have, so I asked her mama what was on her wishlist. Mama complemented the crayon wraps that I had given as party favors for Sprout's birthday party earlier this summer, and asked simply for "anything handmade by you."

I'd been itching to make this darling little doll by Emily Martin at The Black Apple and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. And of course, a little girl needs a dress to match her doll's dress. So I came up with this set.

The doll was so easy to make, and since both Bean and Sprout covet that little doll already, I see a lot of them in my future. I didn't enlarge it 150% like the pattern instructed - it was made at the size it printed and resulted in a 9" doll, which is perfect for chubby toddler hands. I haven't stitched in her face yet - I'm lousy at embroidery and am worried about ruining her. Maybe I'll just leave her face blank? Too Amish?

Sprout generously agreed to ~~love on the doll~~ model the dress for me. It's a pattern created by Varenia at Whole Grain Baby that I love and use often. As for the print, I do love the calico but it's not typically something that I would use to make a dress. That said, I think that the print will be warmly received by the birthday girl and her mama.

From Three to Insanity

Private Swap with Jacey - Part II

Private Swap with Jacey

Winter Gardening

Out With the Old, In With the New

Sprout's Quilt

Teacher Gifts

New Placemats

Papa Joe

Habitat Quilt Challenge

Whirlwind October

Saying Goodbye

The Hope Quilts

Thank You Pie

Puttin' Up

Pretty {Little} Pouch Swap

Featured on The Name Game

Garden Progress

Humbled

Finish It Up!

Giveaway Winner

Paying it Forward - A Giveaway!

First Harvest

Summer Sorbet Quilt

Please Vote!

She Turns Three

Eating Well

Selvage Table Runner

Gardening with a Brown Thumb

Teacher Gifts

Single Fold Binding - Tutorial

Giveaway Winners!

Selvage Goodness Giveaway!

[My House is a] Wildlife Preserve

Swaps Recieved

Bloggers’ Quilt Festival :: Spring 2011

Blogging Haitus - Over

Featured!

Circle of Geese Quilt

The Selvage Quilt - Finally Finished

Goodbye, Old Friend

WIP Wednesday

The Citrus Quilt

I was Featured!

To Benefit Japan

WIP Wednesday

To Benefit Japan - Part 1

Palate Cleansers

The Confetti Quilt

Pippy Goodness

Modern Relief - Japan

WIP Wednesday

Sunday Stash

The Rainbow Quilt

WIP Wednesday

The Painbox Quilt

The Seam in the Fabric

WIP Wednesday

The Valentine's Day That Was

Stashbuster Playmat

The 3x6 - 1Q11

The Birthday Cake

I *heart* Swapping

WIP Wednesday

All Paths Lead Home

More on Resolutions

Cleaning Out the Scraps

Finishing up the Year - Making Things Harder Than They Need To

Finishing up the Year - More Selvage Love

Finishing up the Year - The Selvage Quilt

Finishing up the Year - The Mona Quilt

Finishing up the Year - Sprinkling of Hexagons

Finishing up the Year - Couch Pillows

Lovely Gift Packaging

Sunday Stash - On Saturday

The Love Quilt

Quilts for Kids

Work In Progress Wednesday

Holiday Gift Bonanza

Craft Fail

I heart Swapping