Jennifer Can Quilt!

January Sewing Goals - Recap

2012-01-29T13:08:00.000-08:00

Sewing goals review time! Here's my initial list. And here's my final list:

~~Piece the 36-patch quilt top~~
~~Complete 24 Christmas wonky 9-patch blocks~~
~~Complete Hocuspocusville block #3~~
~~Sew and install drawstrings for my drawstring bag~~

In a previous post I talked about how great the goals were because they gave me a direction for my sewing. There were many times this month when I was bored or agitated and the sewing list gave me a fool-proof plan-- I didn't have to waste time deciding what to do. Instead, I just did it.

What I didn't realize at the beginning of the month was how much work I had assigned myself. Each of these goals took a lot of time and effort to meet, but I managed to do every single thing on this list and then some. I don't think I've been this productive since the summer!

So what did I learn?

I learned that I didn't need to approach the list in order. Instead, I worked on bits and pieces of projects throughout the month. Doing it this way kept me from getting bored and frustrated but it also allowed me to accomplish quite a bit.

I also learned that I need direction. This list kept me off the internet. I didn't spend as much time browsing flickr and reading blog posts as I normally would have. I haven't talked much about it here, but the inundation of blog posts, photos, tutorials, quilt alongs, swaps, giveaways, and popularity contests is absolutely draining. For me, the internet creates a stressful amount of pressure and sucks the fun right out of sewing. Setting these goals gave me a purpose and allowed me to once again enjoy my hobby.

I learned that success is a powerful motivator. Crossing items off the list motivated me to keep moving to finish more projects. Obviously that worked for me. With direction and motivation I finished one huge project, almost finished another, and completed two small projects. Pretty soon I won't have anything left to work on.

What's next? I have a few goals in mind for February. Stay tuned.

PrOgress

2012-01-20T15:49:00.000-08:00

Things are going pretty smoothly with the January sewing goals. I've accomplished a couple and worked on all of them!

Here's a picture of some of the progress I've made on my Hocuspocusville block; since last night I've stitched that whole area including branch, cat, and part of the trunk. I'm ready to attack the treehouse tonight!

There's the final layout of my 36-patch quilt. Yes, that is my classroom floor. I brought the blocks to school with me today so that I could finally work on the layout-- it was the only place I knew with a large enough surface to lay out all of those blocks!

* * *

Often, when feeling the desire to sew, I'm left with no direction because there are so many projects to work on. I will stand listlessly in front of the sewing closet, unable to decide what to work on. Sometimes I will even set up materials and equipment only to put it all back in the closet without even having sewn a stitch.

I thought I would regret setting these goals, but I really don't. The goals give me direction for what to work on; having set multiple goals ensures that I have plenty of direction, even after having achieved one of my sewing objectives. The decision of what to sew is already made for me; no more listless pondering required. Also, having an agenda makes me more likely to sew and more likely to finish a project. Lastly, the blog posts have created some sense of accountability-- people are checking in on my progress!

I don't know that I will be 100% successful on this month's goals; even so, I've already enjoyed a considerable amount of success! It feels good to say you're going to do something and then get it done. I know that I will definitely do goals again in February.

Alpha Xi Delta

2012-01-16T18:13:00.000-08:00

Pictured here is a commissioned quilt comprised of many Alpha Xi Delta tshirts, all from the University of New Hampshire chapter. Leah, the recipient, and asked only that the purple tshirt be featured in some special way. She also relayed that she is currently into gray. Beyond that, I was given free reign.

The finished quilt measures 79" x 95" (somewhere between full and queen) and is quilted with a large meander pattern in a gray thread called oyster shell. As usual, the quilting is done by Rebekah of Kept in Stitches Quilting. As usual, I can not speak highly enough of her customer service and skill.

I elected to use two grays, darker for the sashing and lighter for the border. They are both Kona cottons, but I did not note the specific colors. The darker gray is the same gray I always buy-- it is so luscious-- and the lighter gray seemed a good complement. Because of the extremely bright sunlight and shadows, the colors look more purple than in actuality. Trust me, though-- they are just gray.

On the back I have placed two of the tshirts, as I usually do. I like these on the back because they sort of brand the quilt. Sadly, I forgot to put on one of my labels! Leah promised that she would tell all her friends and admirers that this creation came from me, so I'm satisfied with that.

From start to finish this quilt took me 21 hours to complete. Seven of those hours were spent on attaching and hand finishing the binding. I'm told that's too long, but I'm not sure I agree; 348 inches is quite a lot of binding to hand stitch!

I think Leah will be delighted. The solid gray fabrics pull the tshirts nicely together, the quilting is immaculate, and the finished product looks fabulous. Though Leah was expecting a much smaller quilt, I elected to make a large quilt for several reasons, chief among them that I think small quilts are somewhat pointless.

(Please note that I used a heavier interfacing for this quilt. I have previously used Pellon sheerweight fusible interfacing; this time I used Pellon lightweight fusible interfacing. I noticed a slight difference in the effectiveness, but not much. The glue still didn't stick as well as I'd like. However, the lightweight interfacing makes this nice and heavy-- good for New Hampshire winters.)

Sewing Goals - January

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

Happy New Year! 2012 looms ahead of us, and what better way to approach it than with a good old-fashioned list?

My sewing goals for this month are as follows:

Piece the 36-patch quilt top
Complete 24 Christmas wonky 9-patch blocks
Complete Hocuspocusville block #3
Sew and install drawstrings for my drawstring bag

These goals are simple and straightfoward. That makes them easy to measure-- either I've met them or I haven't. The official check-in date for these goals is January 31; at that time I will revisit my list and see what I've accomplished.

Moving Forward

2011-12-31T08:00:00.000-08:00

Instead of doing a big year-end post like most folks, I'm into looking forward this year. 2011 was fine, sewing-wise; I made three bed-sized quilts, lots of progress on my Aunt Millie's project, and had several small finishes. The problem is, I didn't really do anything new, and I still have a couple unfinished and neglected projects hanging around my head.

This recent realization about my lack of sewing progress has led me to think about what I want to be doing. There are so many answers to this question, I don't even know where to begin. So I won't try (not here, anyway).

I recently saw 365: A Daily Creativity Journal in a bookstore and became intrigued. I've always found the 365 projects admirable, but unapproachable. They seem constraining and keep a punishing pace; what if you fall behind?! But the accountability of these projects is appealing. They set an expectation about what will be done, and when. This is a lot different than making as you go-- it's pretty easy to leave an unfinished project in the closet for eternity, especially when there's no deadline to finish.

I'm not promising to undertake some kind of 365: Sewing challenge. Like I said, I find those projects to be too regimented and maybe even impossible to accomplish. Instead, I plan on setting small, manageable goals for each month of 2012. Posting them here will give me the accountability that I appreciate and the short time line will be motivating and approachable.

Here's hoping this process will be motivating, not taxing. Stay tuned for my January goals.

Name Books

2011-12-30T14:40:00.000-08:00

You wouldn't believe it by reading the internet, but making handmade gifts for babies is difficult! Most of what I find on the web (that's something cute and something I would actually want to or could make) is for toddlers. So this year, I was wracking my brain, trying to think of something to make for Daniel and Nickolas (last written about here).

Then, I went shopping with my girlfriend, Karina. We talked about soft books and Daniel's incessant desire to chew on things. We talked about how many baby gadgets Daniel owns already. We talked about how Karina didn't purchase any books for Christmas. Enter my bright idea!

Faithful readers, I give you the name book. This personalized book measures about 5" square and is made entirely of scraps, including some of my precious Jay McCarroll stash. Each page is dedicated to one letter of the child's name. I tried to choose bold, bright prints for my letters, and I'm pretty sure I was successful.

I used an iron-on adhesive in order to attach the letters to the page and top-stitched around each one for durability. In order to keep this book truly soft and satisfyingly puffy, the pages are stuffed with fusible fleece. Every page is neatly top-stitched.

These name books are based on an alphabet instruction concept commonly known to instructors of early and emergent readers. When learning letters, it's a great idea to start with a child's own name, since those are the most interesting letters of all (it turns out that reading your own name is pretty motivating)! Many teachers will help students create alphabet books using a child's name (and the names of their family or classmates) to help enforce alphabet recognition.

Books like this are excellent toys because not only do they enforce letter recognition, they enforce print concepts, too! When children play with books (and when we read to them), they learn that books start with a cover, that letters are found on the page, that we read from left to right. Although this book is a little simple, it's a great introduction to print concepts like turning pages and seeing print on a page.

Although I made a soft name book for Nickolas and Daniel both, what you see in this post is a custom product created for a client. Okay, not a client. Karina asked me to make one for a coworker as a Christmas gift, and I obliged (And then she obliged by paying me. Cha-ching!).

I have future plans for other soft books and am considering creating a tutorial and pattern with templates for the name book and others. Any interest?

Drawstring Backpack

2011-12-19T14:09:00.000-08:00

Long time, no see! There's been lots of sewing but not a lot of blogging going on these past few months. I'm not pressuring myself to blog, or have lots of followers, or be high-profile enough to receive a free Panasonic 360 Cordless Iron to review (like everyone else). Instead I'm just quietly going about my business, meeting with my stitching group weekly (they're more awesome than a free cordless iron), and sewing on whatever projects I want.

Recently, my school hosted our annual holiday celebration and silent auction. In the past, I've offered whatever fun teacher-activity the PTA asked me to do. This year, I suggested my own donation: a sewing lesson/workshop. The winner had two project choices: drawstring backpack or the Keyka Lou Camera Case Wristlet.

The auction was won by the super-sweet Abigail, daughter of an awesome colleague. She chose to work on a drawstring backpack and insisted that the bag include a zippered pocket-- cue Noodle Head's drawstring backpack tutorial (thanks, Amy!).

This tutorial is great! I'm not a bag-sewer and three-dimensional objects are often out of my league. I had to read through it a couple of times to get comfortable with the process, but once I started working it was smooth sailing. Although it took me a minute to get comfortable sewing in 3D, this tutorial is simple and straightforward, and easy enough to make with a beginning sewer. And the bag is cute! And lined! And has a fully finished zipper pocket! To me, this is all very impressive; it doesn't seem like any of that should be easy, but it was.

After I made my practice bag, I invited Abigail over for an afternoon of sewing. She loves purple, so I pulled a gorgeous purple Alexander Henry print from my stash. Instead of using cording for the drawstrings, I purchased some pre-made double-fold bias tape in a coordinating color. Before she arrived I cut the fabric pieces needed for construction and prepared the zippered pocket portion (for the sake of simplicity). I also marked seam lines along each piece for Abigail to follow as she sewed.

Abigail was very excited to sew and got the hang of operating the machine right away. We sewed several lines on scraps to practice guiding the fabric without pushing or pulling, and then began construction on the bag itself. She did a fabulous job! Clearly, this chick is a natural. Her bag turned out pretty much perfect, despite some mistakes made by (and fixed by!) yours truly.

I've got to say: I'm extremely proud of this bag. Not only was I able to successfully create a bag, but I was able to successfully help an 8-year old do it! I feel extremely accomplished and I know Abigail does, too. She even asked if we could sew together again!

God, Country, Notre Dame

2011-10-27T20:15:00.000-07:00

Long time, no see. Mostly, I'm busy. Also, I couldn't post about this until very recently!

Christopher and Lauren finally tied the knot, and I was able to give them their t-shirt quilt! It was a big hit (Thank God!) and it was even halfway a surprise! As usual, my favorite longarm quilter at Kept in Stitches Quilting did a fabulous job.

Sadly, I didn't get a picture of the back. Solid blue, with a strip of gold across the middle. In the gold section I had several ND logos taken from the sleeves of the t-shirts. Very cool looking, I promise.

My apologies to the bride for the above photo. Laser eyes look pretty good on her, though.

2011-09-12T20:23:00.001-07:00

"A child asks if he has brought any stories. Kimeli nods. He has brought with him one story. It has burned a hole in his heart."

Tremor Tuesday

2011-08-23T16:04:00.000-07:00

Today I experienced my first (and hopefully last ever) earthquake. At first it was confusing and then became utterly terrifying. My house was shaking so badly I thought it would collapse. I ran outside as fast as I could and left the cat to fend for herself.

I'm not sure what's proper emergency protocol for earthquakes, but many of my neighbors came out of their buildings as well. There was an older gentleman standing on the sidewalk across the street when I came out and I shouted over to him, "What was that?!"

He said, "I reckon it was an earthquake."

Finished Cushions

2011-08-15T15:46:00.000-07:00

Here's that photo of the finished, stuff cushions I promised so long ago. They look even better than I remember!

Sewing Machine

2011-08-11T19:35:00.000-07:00

I have sworn off all forms of virtual bees, swaps, and quilt alongs for 2011. Most of you reading probably already know this. Over the past couple years, I have found that those types of activities suck all the fun right out of sewing. It goes back to that quilting with obligation thing, no?

But, I’m a sucker for plain-old, straight-up, old-fashioned patchwork. Especially if it's made of cute little squares. If it's cute little squares, I’m there.

Which is how I find myself in a contradiction.

I’m sure you’ve seen the 36-patch quilt-along over at Crazy Mom Quilts. And you see how I might be enticed. Those blocks are adorable. Not only are they adorable, but they are also easy. Strip-piecing? Check.

Make no mistake: I am not quilting along. So let’s just get that straight. I am, however, making 36-patch blocks because they are cute. I’m not going to stay on any kind of schedule or add photos to the flickr group, because those are the things about quilt-alongs that stress me out. Instead, I’m going to be inspired by Amanda Jean’s idea and I’m going to make some sweet, traditional patchwork blocks.

Now that’s out of the way.

I am strip piecing these blocks using fabric from my stash: one neutral and one print. As of now, I am at a standstill because I am out of neutral fabrics! That’s really too bad, considering I was on a roll; so far, I’ve got 37 blocks complete, and that’s after only three (four?) sewing sessions.

I used the Robert Kaufman QuiltCalc to figure out how much yardage I’ve used. (It’s pretty easy to do this using the “pieces to yardage area” calculator.)

Sessions one and two yielded a combined 10 blocks (six strips per block, 2.5” x 16.5”, 60 strips in all) and used a total of 2 1/8 yards of fabric from my stash.

Session three (and four?) spanned two days and yielded 27 blocks! That eliminated another 5 5/8 yards of stash fabrics.

Total destruction? 7 ¾ yards of stash busted and I’m already nearly halfway to a queen-sized quilt top.

It’s okay; you can clap.

Overpaid?

2011-08-05T12:28:00.000-07:00

I've always thought Matt Damon was cute, especially in Good Will Hunting and the Bourne Identity movies. Maybe even in The Talented Mr. Ripley, where he was also extremely creepy. I'll admit it-- I wanted to kiss Matt Damon.

Now I want to kiss him for real. A great, big sloppy one, right on the lips!

Wishlist Wednesday

2011-07-27T16:15:00.000-07:00

Wish I was back here, pina colada in hand. No worries, no responsibilities. No online classes. Just me and my man. And the pina coladas.

Aunt Millie's Update 5

2011-07-16T14:42:00.000-07:00

I'm smoking on this project! Not only have I finished another block, but I also remade the center medallions for all the previous blocks and sewed them on. Like I said, I'm smokin'!

This block was quick, easy, and fun to make. A few of the fabrics in the kit weren't to my taste, so Kristal passed along some batiks to substitute. The batiks add some charm. I will definitely be doing some substitutions on block six because some of those unfortunate fabrics have repeated themselves.

Speaking of Kristal, we went to Quilter's Corner today where I found the perfect dot for upcoming scrappy hexagon project. More on that later.

Block Six, coming up!

Aunt Millie's Update 4

2011-07-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

I adore this block, probably because of the cute little medallion in the middle. I've been told that most of the folks who participated in this block of the month (organized by Quilting Adventures) didn't sew the medallions. Some folks made yo-yos and others used fabric to mimic the look of the striped medallion. I must say, actually sewing the real thing makes the block look a thousand times better!

At first, appliqueing that thing seemed impossible, but after I actually sat down and put my mind to it, the process is fairly simple. The pattern calls for a circle of fabric with colorful wedges appliqued on, topped off with a smaller circle in the very middle.

First, I traced the circle and the lines on the background fabric. I didn't cut it out; instead, I left it on a large square of fabric to make handling easier. Look closely and you can see the traced outline.

Next, I appliqued all the wedges to the background. It was a fairly straightforward process; I left a bit of overhang in the center and off the edge. Once the wedges were on, I appliqued the teeny tiny circle in the middle (not pictured here).

After applique, I trimmed the background fabric into a rough circle. Using a running stitch, I sewed around the outline and cinched it around a plastic template. Press, remove template, then press again. Voila! Circle!

Hand Dye Redux

2011-07-12T13:13:00.000-07:00

Remember last time? I know I said I wanted to make sure I fully understand the process behind mixing dye baths and making colors before trying resist techniques, but I just couldn't resist getting in on Kristal's batik adventure. (See what I did there?)

Over the weekend, Kristal convinced me to let little loose and just experiment. I used my 50% off coupon to purchase 5 yards of prepared for dye Kona cotton-- it cost me less than $20, people!-- and helped make a huge mess on Kristal's patio.

We used several tools to apply the wax, including cookie cutters, cardboard tubes, carrots, and paintbrushes of different types and sizes. First we waxed the fabric, then we dyed it. After completing the dye process, we followed Malka's directions for removing the wax (found in her fabulous book). I dyed five quarter-yard cuts of fabric.

First, I created the stripes you see above. I used a large, bristled paintbrush to apply these streaks of wax. Everywhere that is white-- not really white, per se, but you get the idea-- is where I applied the wax. The bristled paintbrush holds wax well, and allowed me to apply a long streak of wax. You can see slightly where the wax overlapped. The selvedge shows where I began my streak.

The pattern and color on this piece of fabric closely resemble a big-top circus tent, therefore I have named this "print" Circus Stripes. Look closely at the photos to see the subtle variations that come with all hand-dyed fabrics. The gradations and lines that the dye left behind create a unique texture; no two pieces ever look the same.

This pattern, Pebble Doodle, was created using a foam paintbrush. I painted the circles onto the fabric, one after another. It was quite time consuming, but the end result is pleasing. This piece of fabric particularly shows variations, especially where wax was not adequately applied to the fabric. Overall, this is my favorite piece; I am looking forward to recreating it in several different colors, though I know the final products will each be different.

I loved the look of Pebble Doodle against the bricks of my building; brick is a beautiful pattern all its own. Perhaps I will attempt to recreate that look and texture in my next experiment.

This fun dot was created using a carrot grown in Kristal's garden. After waxing about 3/4 of this piece the carrot was cooked and it began leaving orange streaks on the fabric! We used a powder called "azure" to create this color-- an appropriate name, considering the pieces dyed in that particular bath look like the exact color of a summer sky.

There are many drip dots on this piece, and although it was frustrating at the time, the end result is pleasing. I love the look of these irregular dots, and the small splashes of wax between add the character that you just don't get in printed fabric.

This piece gave me fits from beginning to end! I used a toilet tissue cardboard roll to stamp this pattern in an attempt to create a fabric spotted with rings. The wax foiled me, however, and dripped just about each and every time I attempted to stamp the fabric (perhaps this was due to my shaky hands).

Although it was frustrating at first, I embraced the lack of control and ended up with a beautiful piece of fabric. This color is produced using a powder called "reddish purple" and is probably my favorite color of all the dyes we used. The pattern-- called Coffee Rings-- is one that I will definitely reproduce again.

Everything did not go exactly perfect, which I struggle with. I still don't get it with the dye bath creation and color mixing, but I guess that's okay for now. Experimenting with wax and creating my own beautiful patterns on fabric was immensely satisfying, and so I guess all the knowledge and perfection can wait. I will get there eventually, and hopefully will have more successful experiments along the way.

Aunt Millie's Update 3

2011-07-05T18:57:00.000-07:00

Here are the photos of my currently finished blocks, from beginning to end. See my previous post for hand applique tips.

I purchased the pattern and a kit for each block in this project. Additionally, I attended one group meeting (and paid the class fee) dedicated to this block of the month. Each kit was $19.99; I also purchased a finishing kit that includes materials for the appliqued border and patchwork sashing. Let's just say I've sunk several dollars into this project, and so no matter how tedious it becomes, I must finish it!

The first block took me about a year to finish. I did use the freezer paper method for this block, which probably took quite a bit of extra time. In retrospect, this method doesn't create any better results than plain ol' turning under.

I've come quite far; when I look at that block, I want to redo it! All those points made me crazy, but of course it gave me quite a bit of practice in making nice points. Additionally, I attached some of the pieces out of order because I wasn't paying attention. I haven't fully decided if I will redo the block, but it is nice to compare this block to the others and to see how far my skills have come.

The second block was never photographed and today I only took one; perhaps that is a subconscious way of saying I don't really care for it? I do like the block, but only a little. Perhaps I will like it more after I redo the center medallion (more on that later). Can you see how much nicer this block is than the previous?

I finished this at the prodding of the ladies in my sewing group; they really helped reignite my excitement for this project. It's only because of them that I'm on my current finishing streak! Hopefully they'll keep me excited about it. (Do you like how I'm giving them all the responsibility for making sure this project is finished?)

The project sat for quite a bit before I began the third block. This one is probably my favorite so far; I love the little yellow dots all around the flower heads and although I waffled about sewing them on (I was feeling burnt out), I'm glad I did.

I deviated from the original pattern to make things just a bit simpler for myself. Each flower head is supposed to be composed of eight petals; instead, I joined the petals together to create four, preserving the shape but removing the complication of perfectly lining up eight pieces. The overall design doesn't suffer-- it's still plenty cute!

The fourth block was completed in only about a week's time. I did some of the sewing on my honeymoon-- in the airport on the way home, duh-- but finished it over the past weekend. The petals here are absolutely beautiful and they were fairly simple to applique because they are large and have gentle curves. I did have some difficulty when appliqueing the centers to the flowers-- I wasn't able to easily cover all raw edges-- but some pushing, stuffing, and stretching solved all that.

This block has the beautiful appliqued center medallion, unlike the others. Although the striped center medallion looks cute, it was not easy nor simple to make. (More on that later.) Despite its time-consuming difficulty, I will definitely be doing the other blocks to match. Perhaps not right away, but over the course of this project.

When comparing the first block to the most recent, the difference in skill level is obvious. My hands may turn arthritic and gnarled, but I will be an applique expert when I finish this project (someday). Overall, I am enjoying the applique experience. Perhaps later I won't say the same thing, but for today I am quite satisfied. I can't wait to finished the next block-- another simple one with large pieces and curves-- and see the fruit of my newfound skills.

Aunt Millie's Update 2

2011-07-05T18:23:00.000-07:00

As we speak (type), I have finished exactly four-- count them!-- Aunt Millie's Garden blocks. The first I finished in summer 2010. The second was finished sometime between then and now; I'm unable to pin a timeframe on that one because I never even took pictures of it until now. The third and fourth were finished two weeks ago and last week, respectively.

The vinyl overlay method has been slow but much less tedious than using freezer paper or hard plastic templates. I don't follow this exact process, but at least that link gives you some idea of how I applique.

1. Less seam allowance is more. It's scary to trim a scant seam allowance when doing applique because one slip and you've wrecked your piece. Also, fraying is a concern. However, I've found that smooth curves are easier to create with less seam allowance, and there is also typically less fraying because you have less fabric you are trying to turn under.

2. Use the lightest marking pencil tint possible. Early on I used a black marking pencil. The line markings are just visible on the edges of those pieces, and it makes all the applique look very dirty around the edges. Currently, my tint of choice is pink. It is working out really well.

3. Pulling stitches too tightly makes them more visible. At times, when we tighten our hand stitches they disappear into the fabric. During the course of this project, I've noticed that sometimes tightening stitches makes them more visible, rather than less. Take care not to pull too tightly, otherwise you will get a ruffly edge around your piece, and the finished product will not be as smooth as you'd like.

4. Using a light box to trace is much more helpful than tracing on the window or using the television. I recently purchased one for myself. More details coming soon.

5. Trimming and snipping leads to crisper points. Points, of course, suck. Ugly points suck even more. It has been much easier to create satisfactory points by trimming and snipping at the vertices, then folding and tucking. I snip right up to the point, just a few threads from the fold line. Then, I tuck and fold the seam allowance in, trimming extra where necessary. If I had five hands I could take a video or pictures and show you.

6. Sew right to left. I am right-handed, and sewing right to left makes it much easier for me to turn and sew, turn and sew. Perhaps southpaws should sew in the opposite direction?

7. One thread does not fit all. There is not a universal color that will work with all fabrics-- if the thread does not disappear just right against the fabric, then the stitches are visible and that is crazy-making. And before you tell me to try that invisible thread stuff, know this: it is impossible to get a good knot with invisible thread.

DS Sweaters?

2011-06-21T11:11:00.000-07:00

Doth mine eyes deceive me? Is that a sweater printed with a famous Denyse Schmidt print? Why, yes! Yes it is!

My coworker, Rosa, wore this sweater to work last week and I immediately honed in on the print, recognizing it almost immediately as a print from Denyse Schmidt's fabric collection, Katie Jump Rope. This sweater is factory-made out of some kind of thick jersey sweater material. Rosa stated that she bought it at JC Penney a few years ago.

I know that Bed Bath and Beyond sold some towels with hallmark Amy Butler prints, but I didn't realize Denyse Schmidt had licensed any of her prints to be used commercially.

Tornado Giveaway!

2011-06-20T08:47:00.000-07:00

No, I am not giving away tornadoes. What a terrifying concept!

Jeanne over at The Learning Curve is hosting another tornado relief giveaway to raise money for the Red Cross of the Ozarks and provide relief for St. John's hospital in Joplin, Missouri.

The hospital endured extensive damage in the recent tornado storm, and Jeanne is challenging us to help them rebound. You can earn entries by blogging, tweeting, following, and (most importantly) donating and making. The hospital's newborn care unit needs receiving blankets, newborn hats, and baby gloves. Jeanne and her group have pledged to make 100 of each item!

Each donation, item made, blog post, and tweet will earn you an entry into this generous giveaway. The prizes available are an awesome haul-- gift certificates to fabric stores, yards of Sis Boom fabric, Tula Pink patterns, and more.

Just like before, I urge you to donate either time, money, crafts, or supplies. It could have been your community, you know...

Winner!

2011-06-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to announce the winner of my Tornado Relief fundraiser giveaway is Jeanne. She received the quilt today and reported great surprise and happiness. Honestly, I was glad to send the quilt to such a kind woman; she deserved it!

Keep an eye on Jeanne's blog; she is launching another Tornado Relief giveaway pretty soon. There will be awesome prizes, included patterns from the illustrious Tula Pink!

Aunt Millie's Update

2011-06-07T18:56:00.000-07:00

I spent some more time today working on my third Aunt Millie's Garden block. Surprisingly, I'm making some progress! Pardon the lack of contrast on the photo above, but that's my block. Since taking that pictures I have appliqued the second petal into that final quadrant.

This is what my applique looks like close up. It looks much better from far away! Although I have appliqued what feels like a million pieces at this point, I am still not that great at it. My curves are not always smooth, and many times my points are still extremely bulky (and sometimes not that pointy).

This block calls for 8 petals in each flower head. I decided to combine the petals into four groups of two in order to make things simpler on myself. This way, I trace two petals as if they were one, and applique them in place. Because I am using different fabrics, I still have a scrappy look. But, because I have fewer pieces, I have less concern to perfectly line the petals together, and less worry that there will be too little or too much space around the petals.

Is that cutting corners? Is cutting corners bad? Honestly, I think it looks just as cute, and I can't bear the thought of appliqueing 32 pointy little pieces after all those leaves. Not to mention all the circles I have to fuss with next...

Aunt Millie's Garden

2011-06-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

Not much is going on around here. We're just chugging along until we get to the wedding, which is in three weeks!

Life has been stressful (to say the least) around here, so lately I've been trying to just relax. Today was especially relaxing; I spent a good part of the day working on the third Aunt Millie's Garden block and watching The Tudors on Netflix (see photo above). Have you seen this show? Every other scene shows someone in flagrante delicto, to steal a phrase from the show. Very spicy!

I also applied some retail therapy last and this weekend. Can you believe I was able to find almost the entire line of Punctuation by American Jane? This is one of those lines that I always wish I'd bought but never did. Today, I rectified that situation and bought 15 prints for my stash. I don't usually stash, and although I was tempted to purchase every fabric available for a complete set (gotta catch 'em all!), I bought only the prints I truly loved. Best thing? I had a gift certificate, so it cost me considerably less than it might have.

By the way, if you're wondering about the quilt giveaway, you're going to have to keep wondering. I'm not ready to announce yet. But I promise you'll be the first ones to know when I do!

Announcements

2011-06-01T19:55:00.001-07:00

The giveaway winner will be announced soon!

Tornado Relief

2011-05-23T15:30:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the news lately? The Southern United States has been ravaged by tornadoes. Mississippi, Alabama, Virginia, Arkansas, and now Missouri.

Last month, when tornadoes devastated Arkansas, I was sure I would find a deluge of craft auctions, giveaways, and events dedicated to raising funds for tornado victims. As the destruction continued across the Southern United States, I knew that the craft community would band together to provide relief for the families and communities affected. Then, when FEMA denied funds for VA tornado victims I started to wonder when people were going to help.

I'm not innocent here. I haven't donated funds for relief; I can't, but I'll spare you the excuses. Where dozens of bloggers offered support to raise earthquake-relief funds in March, I've only seen one fundraiser for tornado relief.

I don't want to sound like a bleeding-heart patriot, but come on people! This is America; the land of the free and the home of the brave! We killed Osama bin Laden (Joking! Sort of...) I read about so many people shelling out their hard earned money to help others in another country-- what about helping those suffering within your own country and communities? Where is all the buzz about that?

I don't mean to be on a high horse, I just want to shed light on an area that seems to be badly neglected within our crafting community. Perhaps all of these tragedies have been overshadowed by the buzz about quilt market. Perhaps we are just disastered out.

It's time to get off my soapbox and get to the point: I want you to donate to the American Red Cross. You can donate money, you can donate time, you can donate effort, or you can donate blood. The Red Cross badly needs disaster relief workers and blood donations; can you do either one? If not, can you spare a few bucks to help fund shelters for those in need?

Go here to donate money.
Go here to find volunteer opportunities.
Go here to find where to donate blood.

In exchange for your donations of time, money, and bodily fluids, I will offer you a giveaway. Anyone who donates in any of the aforementioned manners should leave a comment, including valid email address, here. You will be entered into a giveaway to win this quilt. I will use random.org to select a winner on May 31, 2011.
If you aren't interested in my giveaway, I still urge you to donate. Having experienced the terror of tornado disaster, huddling in a dark hole, hoping that your house is still standing when you come out, is a feeling I know all too well. As a child growing up in Texas, I would stay up all night listening to the weather radio during severe storm and tornado warnings out of fear of being crushed in my sleep. The sound of the tornado siren instills fear into my heart to this day, and I will never forget the sight of a tornado bearing down on our family vehicle or tearing through pastures adjacent to our house.

Please, I beg you, donate.

Hokie Pokey

2011-05-15T15:28:00.000-07:00

For my entry in the Spring 2011 Bloggers' Quilt Festival I am revealing my latest creation, Hokie Pokey. It is my second ever t-shirt quilt, made for Josh's brother, Tyler, as a graduation gift. Obviously, he graduated from Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources & Environment with a major in Fisheries Science. Pretty cool, right?

To create this quilt I used t-shirts and fabric provided by my mother-in-law to be. There were about 10 tees total, and I was able to use the front and back of only a few of the shirts.

This quilt measures 54"x88"-- I'm calling that "skinny twin." I would have loved to make this quilt larger, but the number of t-shirts dictated the size and shape of the quilt. I chose a 3x5 layout so that Tyler could easily use this quilt to lounge on the couch in his post graduation days. All but one of the shirts were used in the top; the last t-shirt was saved and used for the pieced backing.

Altogether this project took about 15 hours to complete, counting time spent finishing the binding. It took two hours to prepare and cut the t-shirt blocks, six hours to piece the top (including cutting of sashing), and two hours to prepare the backing. Attaching and finishing binding took five hours across various sessions. Yes, I kept track.

With this being my second finished t-shirt quilt, I have some tips to share. Forge on, fearless readers, for my enlightened wisdom.

1. Fusible stabilizer smells terrible when ironed, but it is completely necessary. I suggest that people cut the shirts, stabilize them, and then trim them down to the desired size. My iron did not slide easily across the stabilizer; when I tried to iron everything stretched and stuck to the plate of my iron. Therefore, it is essential to press, not iron.

2. The t-shirt blocks will stretch anyway. Handle with care.

3. Piece using a walking foot. This is necessary considering Tip #2 from above. The walking foot, combined with the stabilizer, really minimized any stretching that I experienced.

4. Steam causes the stabilizer to unfuse. Don't steam, even though that makes it impossible to press the seams into submission.

5. Pinning is essential. I am not a pinner by any means, but I did so for this project and it made a huge difference. Though it took more time, this quilt came together much more easily and nicely.

6. Your seams will pretty much go whichever way they feel like. Do not try to control them. I always pressed seams away from the jersey fabric and toward the cotton sashing; this helped to better tame the seams.

7. Try not to let your hot iron touch the screen print on the front of the t-shirts-- the ink will smear across the fabric. Never fear! If this happens, rub the smudge with the tip of your iron. You will be burning/wiping the smear away. I don't know what to do about the smear on your iron plate; don't ask me.

8. You can't quilt this thing yourself. Don't even try. My longarm quilter is the best!

Almost Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-03T21:10:00.000-07:00

Trying to get stuff done, but things just keep getting in the way.

Hand Dyed

2011-04-23T19:16:00.000-07:00

During some of my days off this week, I dyed! Kristal, too!

Photo courtesy of dawnkristal

Kristal had some hand-dye kits that yielded 30 fat eighths each. There are several stages in the process, but most of them are not active stages. Mostly, after mixing and applying the dye, there is a lot of waiting around. At the end of the process-- spread over two days-- we had 60 fat eighths of beautiful fabric plus a few pieces that we experimented on.

I think my favorite are the reds and pinks, but the purples are not bad either. They are all so vibrant! Some of the pieces are more mottled-- those cups were not stirred as vigorously, and therefore the dye did not saturate evenly. Others are fairly solid with natural variations one can expect from a hand dye.

Photo courtesy of dawnkristal

The dye process is not very intuitive for me, but I did enjoy the experiment. Now that I have learned the underlying process to hand dyeing, I'm interested to experiment with mixing different colors of dye baths and dyeing yardage, as well. I'm not fully comfortable with the process-- I'd like to master a few color recipes before trying anything too crazy-- and I'd like to do more hands on experimentation.

Once I'm comfortable with the general process of mixing dye baths and dyeing the fabrics, I'm going to start experimenting with wax resist techniques. I have several patterns that I want to try and many color combinations, as well. It may take a while to get there, but I'm okay with that. I've got time.

Most of what I know about this process comes from Kristal, but I've also watched Malka's Quilting Arts DVD and read her book, Color Your Cloth. If you're interested in the topic, I highly suggest you start there!

Wedding Quilt Update #1

2011-04-05T18:59:00.000-07:00

Things are chugging right along on the wedding quilt. I can't believe that I am lucky enough to have friends willing to do such a special thing for and with me. Check out all the stars hanging on Kristal's design wall!

I must admit that most of those stars are from Kristal, but a few of them are mine! If you roll over the above photo in flickr, I've made a note about which blocks are mine.

It seems like a lot, but it's not really much, or at least that's what everyone else is saying. This is supposed to end up a queen sized quilt-- as of right now Kristal maintains that we've only got enough for a crib sized quilt.

No big deal, though, because I am really enjoying making these blocks. I've dug into my stash for grays-- I hoarded a million a couple years ago during Fat Quarter Frenzy at Quilting Adventures-- and am trying not to mooch too many beautiful batiks from Kristal. I've had to buy a few blues, and have swapped a few, too.

The wonky star is much easier to make than I thought it would be. Now that I've done several I hardly have to think about the process anymore. Of course, that's how I've always felt about "improv"-- it's not as improvisational as everyone would have you think. There's actually a fair bit of planning and consideration that goes into it. Or maybe that's just my brain. Thoughts?

Rainbow Baby Quilt

2011-04-03T13:31:00.000-07:00

The photo above shows Nickolas chilling out maxing relaxing all cool on the quilt I made for him recently. Is he not the cutest almost-nephew baby you've ever seen?

I made this quilt using the block that Solidia chose for her month in The Incredible Shrinking Quilters' Bee. I have no idea where that block pattern came from, but when I saw this I knew I had to use that block to make a baby quilt.

I'm especially proud because I made not one but two quilts like this, and almost all of the materials came from my stash. I had to purchase one or two pink prints and about four orange prints. Kristal gave me a few black and white prints from her stash. I pieced the batting out of scraps and made backing and binding from several yards of fabric I had in my closet. I did, however, buy some nice thread for quilting.

Overall, I'd call the project a success. Cute!

Sew Productive

2011-03-22T18:28:00.000-07:00

Behold, some ingredients for a quilt! It's what I'm working on. And really, I'm almost finished! Best of all? Almost everything in this quilt was from my stash or someone else's-- including the batting!

Wedding Quilt

2011-03-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

A week or so ago, I was chatting with Kristal about wedding quilts. Basically, I lamented that I would love to make a wedding quilt for Josh and I, but that I just won't have the time to get it done.

Then, Kristal started snooping. And then my friends offered to make us a wedding quilt! Because I love star blocks, the group had decided to make wonky stars in various sizes.

Above is my inspiration for this quilt. We saw a lot of snowfall this winter, and perhaps my favorite sight to see was wet, black branches weighed down by snow. The color scheme comes from the winter landscape.

I can't wait to see this quilt!

Man Vs Quilt

2011-02-08T08:40:00.000-08:00

Well, folks. I'm here with some sad, sad news today. I'm allergic to my favorite quilt. Yes, you read that correctly. I'm allergic to it; it makes me sick. How can this be?

Well, since the beautiful, wonderful, snuggly quilt in question is bound and bordered in a very dark black fabric, I'm assuming I'm having a reaction to the fabric dyes used to color the cloth. Each time I touch or use this quilt, I end up with angry red welts all over my body, focused especially on my hands.

Strangest of all, perhaps, is that I never experienced any difficulties of this sort while I was handling the fabric to make the quilt. Bizarre, no?

Anyway. Now I'm at a loss. Wash it, of course, but what if the spots return?! I worked so long and hard on this quilt-- a year, by hand!-- and it is the first and only quilt I have ever really made for myself.

Just like a teenager, it has turned on me with lightning quickness.

DQS9 Reswap

2011-01-02T10:12:00.000-08:00

Remember my DQS9 swap quilt? I wasn't very happy with the overall experience, and I think my blog post made that clear. Unfortunately, I made my partner really sad.

Not my intention, please believe me. But, I understand her feelings. I was pretty negative about the whole deal, and I can see why she would think I was pretty negative about her, too.

I was always taught to make my wrongs right, and so I begged Michelle to let me reswap with something I love and am proud of. Essentially, she gave me another chance!

Michelle has a really fun sense of color and uses beautiful fabrics in all her projects. The items she's made for swaps are extremely cute! So, I decided to use one of my favorite, fun color combinations-- orange and pink.

The patchwork top is piece entirely of 2.5" hexagons; I used the English paper piecing method, which I think is easy and fast. The fabric is an excellent cheater cloth that someone sent me in a swap-- perfect for this task!

I quilted this top three times-- yes, three times! The first two attempts were ugly and sloppy looking, so I picked them out. Instead of doing something complicated and cutesy, I settled on a diagonal straight line grid. Personally, I think this quilting is immaculate. The stitches look beautiful and the overall pattern is simple but visually impressive. I've never done this pattern before, but I will definitely do it again, and probably on another hexagon project.

The backing is a print from Riley Blake's Summer Song-- once again, another perfect fabric for this project. Honestly, with this print and the quilting, I think I like the back more than the front!

Lastly, I bound the miniquilt in my favorite pink fabric-- Lakehouse Antique Dots in Berry. I have a limited supply left from my fabric crisis search, so it was a sacrifice to give this up. But, it was too perfect a match, so I bit the bullet. Looks good, right?

I made Michelle quilted hex needlebook with some more of my Timber stash. I love this calm, botanical line. Very opposite of my miniquilt, but I'm sure she'll love it all the same.

Of course, now that I've finished all these goodies, I realized I don't have Michelle's mailing address anymore. Bummer. I sent her an email; hopefully she'll respond. I really want to give her these goodies!

Finished Objects - 2010

2010-12-30T10:24:00.000-08:00

This year has been a busy sewing year. In addition to everything you see in my list and mosaic, I have completed countless blocks for The Incredible Shrinking Quilters' Bee and the Modify Tradition project.

1. Luke's Quilt, 2. Cushion Covers, 3. Stuffed Toys, 4. Modify Tradition Top, 5. DQS9 Swap Quilt, 6. Geometric Pillow Cover, 7. Sea Glass Quilt, 8. Quilted Hexagon Needlebook, 9. Yellow Bricks Mini Quilt, 10. MT Swap Quilt, 11. Black Eyed Susans Quilt, 12. HEN ATC Swap, 13. Bow Tie Quilt, 14. Embroidered Valentine, 15. Embroidered Valentine, 16. Embroidered Valetine

I have plenty of goals for 2011, but if I don't post them here, I don't have to be accountable to them. Wink, wink. There are, however, many exciting things happening in the coming new year. Mainly, I am getting married-- what fun-- and shall continue to approach graduate school with diligence (did I mention I've gone back and am now a UVA student?)-- I want to keep up with my 4.0.

What will the new year bring to you?

Luke's Quilt

2010-12-26T15:47:00.000-08:00

I've been long promising pictures of this finished quilt to Lesly. So here they are!

The quilt was made especially for my brother, Luke. Luke is quite particular in his taste, and I was very nervous that he wouldn't like this quilt! He has been noisily complaining about not having a quilt from me for a while now, and he was very surprised when he opened the package. He even cried.

The patchwork design is inspired by the City Green pattern in Cherri House's book, City Quilts. I used my own measurements and a similar layout to come up with an equally beautiful quilt!

Fabrics used include Carolina Chambrays by Robert Kaufman and a Timeless Treasures black dot print. The chambrays are difficult to work with-- they consistently stretch and fray, leading to much need of squaring up.

I pieced the back with fabric leftover from the front. The quilt is quilted by my favorite local long arm quilter, Rebekah Richardson. She chose an awesome geometric edge to edge design and quilted in a variegated thread that exactly matches the colors on the front. View it large to better see the quilting motif. It's wonderful!

Baby Crafts

2010-12-19T19:31:00.000-08:00

I finished a few projects today, just in time for Christmas! First was a set of cushion covers for my aunt. They turned out beautiful, but I'm waiting until they arrive to show pictures. This is mostly due to the fact that I didn't take any myself; instead I'm going to let my uncle do it. He is an illustrious photographer with many talents, one of which is capturing action shots of furniture. For now, feast your eyes on these cute packages!

The bows are fabric strips cut from the same material I used for the covers. Look at that perfect bow.

Also completed today are some baby toys I for Nickolas-- the baby of my fiance's cousin. No relation to me, right? Oh well! I have claimed this baby to love and spoil, nonetheless. It will be handmade toys until he's old enough to read, and then I'll load him up on books.

I made this adorable puzzle ball [mostly] from the instructions in Joelle Hoverson's Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts. I say mostly because that book is heavy on text and light on pictures. I had to rely heavily on intuition, and even got help from the local quilt shop.

The ball itself is only about as big as a tape dispenser. Excellent for little hands to grasp (and then shove directly into mouth). This project only took about 5 hours to complete, though I didn't work on it all in one session. It was very easy to piece-- I used the machine for most of it and finished by hand. Oh, and for the record: you don't need a fancy stuffing fork. A chopstick works just fine.

I also made Nickolas a cute little fabric ball with a rattle inside. I stuffed the ball mostly with filling, and then inserted a cat toy similar to this one. Then I finished stuffing and closed up the opening with a [very ugly] ladder stitch.

Now I have finished all my wrapping, including my fiance's stocking stuffers and the gifts he got for his secret santa. I'm feeling pretty good about Christmas! In fact, compared to many, I think I'm ahead of the game!

My Precious...

2010-11-19T16:06:00.000-08:00

Forget my two front teeth; I want this for Christmas:

photo courtesy of imagingermonkey

These are the new fabrics from Sarah Fielke's new Lecien line, From Little Things. I want every single one, and I want to use them all in one single quilt.

Christmas Future

2010-11-16T18:33:00.000-08:00

That's really what my Christmas quilt is right now-- a ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. It will not be done in time for this Christmas. It will, however, be amazingly cute and festive. I think it's worth the wait. And when it's finally finished, I will throw open the windows and yell down into the street, "You, there! What day is it?" Upon finding out that it is Christmas Day, I will purchase a huge turkey for Tiny Tim and his family. Then I will become a beloved old man and a legend of classic literature.

Until then, these off-kilter nine-patch blocks.

Blogger's Quilt Festival Entry

2010-10-29T18:48:00.000-07:00

I decided to share something a little different for the fall 2010 Blogger's Quilt Festival. This quilt never truly fulfilled its purpose. Originally, I had planned to give it to my sister, Katie, as her birthday gift. I ended up loving it, and so I decided to keep it for myself. Until now. Now it's slated for auction. Read on.

My littlest sister, Gloria, needs your help. She's part of an aid organization called Student Partnership for International Medical Aid. The group travels to Ho, Ghana each year to provide medical care and supplies for people in rural villages. Gloria returned from Ghana this year with many exciting stories, and an even greater desire to help than she had when she left. The clinic only runs for a week each year and can't possibly meet the needs of everyone.

Student Partnership for International Medical Aid (SPIMA) is a nonprofit, medical service trip organization run by students and alumni of the College of William and Mary. The organization works alongside local doctors and nurses in Ho, Ghana to provide free medical care to community members of nearby villages. The group sets up and runs various temporary clinics and hands out prescribed medicine at absolutely no cost.

SPIMA hopes to become a greater player in the access of medicine within the next decade. Currently, the organization is a one-week-a-year medical resource for the poor farmers and residents. These Ghanaians often experience no other medical assistance during the rest of the year. By working with the Life for Living Medical Center in Ghana and with the guidance of a William and Mary professor, the group strives to research and understand the weaknesses of Ghana’s current medical system.

In order to raise money for this year's trip, the SPIMA volunteers are holding a community-wide auction at the William and Mary Alumni House. Their goal is $25,000! Gloria asked me to donate one of my precious quilts to be sold at the auction, and I agreed. If I can do it, so can you! Please consider donating a crafty project of any kind to be sold at the auction on November 11, 2010.

If you'd like to donate, please email me at jennifer.hadlock@gmail.com. I will pass along the mailing address and information that you need. Donations must be received by November 8, 2010.

13.8

2010-10-10T14:03:00.000-07:00

No, 13.8 is not the distance I ran this weekend. It's the number of pounds I have lost since July 26, 2010. Not bad, right? In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that I have lost this weight by following the Weight Watchers program. Don't stop reading-- I'm not here to tell you to join. I really did make a craft.

Part of what ensures consistent weight loss is vigilance about portion control and points tracking. Points are based on nutritional values, and WW gives each member a handy book chock full of nutritional information, including a scale used to determine the points values of any given food.

It's all about making good choices; that's why I have been known to pull out my WW book at the grocery store. I gotta admit-- I feel a little self-conscious when I pull the book out in front of all God's creation. For some reason, I think everyone is going to automatically realize what I've got in my hands and know all about my fat-girl problems. They might even start pointing and whispering.

Since Lesly sent me a fat quarter recently to celebrate one of my losses, I decided to use that fabric to make a book cover for my WW book. It turned out so cute! I even made a slip through pocket so that I can easily access the points slider. Now it's not so recognizable as a WW book; it looks just like a day planner or notebook.

Quilt Top Sweat Shop

2010-10-09T15:24:00.000-07:00

Today's session of Quilt Top Sweat Shop was very successful. I finished the Opulence quilt top today! It looks pretty good, if I do say so myself. Though I am usually against pinning, I was vigilant about it this time. All my corners and rows are perfectly matched!

I laid the finished top over my bed to see how big 98" x 89" really is. Well. It's big. This quilt will be a very generous queen making it perfect for use as a bedcover.

Unfortunately, the pictures are kind of terrible. I'm not sure how Cherri does it. Houston must be a much prettier city than Richmond, because I can never manage pictures as beautiful as Cherri's.

Opulence, I has it

2010-10-03T07:27:00.000-07:00

You know this commercial? It goes right along with my current quilting project-- both the concept and the person!

The colors for this project were supposed to be "rich" and "royal"-- the types of colors preferred by the recipient. I chose the Carolina Chambrays by Robert Kaufman because they have such a rich quality to them. The iridescent shimmer created by the cross-woven fibers, the silky-smooth texture, and the jewel-toned colors all scream expensive without actually being that expensive. ("Opulence, I has it. But I also like savings the money...")

Here are some sneak peek photos of one of the first blocks I've made for the completed quilt. My layout inspiration for this project comes from Cherri House's quilt City Green. The pattern is published in Cherri House's new book, City Quilts.

In order to keep track of which squares belong where, I have devised an ingenious labeling system. Because my layout is 18x18 squares, I decided to sew my patches together into blocks of 9 squares-- how easy! Each row on the y-axis was labeled with a number 1-18. The x-axis was a bit more complicated. I lettered the patches in threes-- the first three were "A," the next "B," and so on. This way, when I stacked my squares, I knew that row A1 was to be the first three blocks on the first row of the quilt. Row B1 would be the next three blocks in the first row. A2 and B2 would be the three blocks directly below A1 and B1. To get my first block, I would have to sew A1-3 together-- 9 patches in all. Make sense?

Anyway, it's coming together nicely, and I better get off blogger and onto the machine. I have to drop everything off for the quilter to pick it up Oct 8-- that's Friday, in case you were wondering. Quilt top sweat shop here I come!

Sneak Peek!

2010-09-26T18:30:00.000-07:00

I've been working on the layout for a very special quilt today. Since I don't have a design wall in this teeny tiny apartment, I stripped all the sheets off my bed and used the bare mattress as the design wall. The nightstand worked perfectly as a prep table for my cut patches.

The fabrics are Carolina Chambrays from Robert Kaufman. They are a pain to cut (the fabric never stays square!) but they look gorgeous. All fabrics in this top will be chambrays with the exception of the sashing, which is the black Razzle Dazzle dot from Timeless Treasures.

Here's hoping I can work on this all week and finish up next weekend. Then, I can send it out to the longarm quilter and get it back with plenty of time before Christmas. Cross your fingers for me!

Modify Tradition

2010-09-20T16:47:00.000-07:00

Finally! I have completed my sampler quilt top from Modify Tradition Round 1. This top sat in a drawer for quite a long time, ignored and forgotten, and-- dare I say-- unloved!

I like it much more having seen it sewn together. I didn't love my blocks from the first round-- I blame that one some of the fabric choices I made. But, the money was spent, and starting over would be costly, so I continued with the original plan.

The quilt top is quite large-- 90"x90". That is why the picture is so terrible; even Josh couldn't hold it up so I could see the whole thing.

I set my blocks in four rows of three, with wide horizontal sashing. The rows alternate justification to the left and right and overlap just a bit in the middle. Fabrics include some Robert Kaufman Carolina Chambrays; the background fabric, in particular, comes from this fabric line.

Thankfully, I have several 50% coupons from Joann's, and so I will be purchasing several yards of fabric and batting for this quilt. I have decided to undertake the perilous task of quilting this myself. It will be my largest self-quilted project to date. We will see how that goes...

Snail Trail

2010-09-18T11:51:00.000-07:00

I finally mailed off all those old bee blocks! Not old, really, just late. Super, super, super late. Some were late by several months. I don't think I should ever participate in another bee, since I'm so bad at getting to the post office on time.

These are a couple pictures of Lesly's block for September. She sent the cutest red and aqua prints and asked us to make a Snail Trail block. Looks kind of complicated, right?

It was surprisingly easy to make, with the cutest four patch in the middle. Basically, this block is made with the square in a square method-- you sew quarter-square and half-square triangles to the four patch in the middle, building the block out. The alternation of solid and prints create the swirling effect.

I would have made Lesly an additional block with my extra triangles and fabric, but I realized that the second block would look exactly the same as the first. In the interest of visual variety and scrappiness, I chose to save the squares for Lesly and allow her to make the remaining blocks.

Can't wait to see this quilt!

Digital Design

2010-09-09T21:16:00.000-07:00

I've finally gotten EQ7 installed onto my Mactop! That means I've begun designing a lot of different quilts. Not many have gotten past the layout stage. Some have gotten color. Some have gotten out of control.

Which is what I'm here to talk to you about today. Keep reading.

I've long been inspired by Cherry House and all of her beautiful quilts. One of my particular favorites is Sliced Fruit. This quilt is simple yet graphic, and has wonderful candy colors. The following designs, though not my color choices, were heavily inspired by this quilt.

I knew immediately that my quilt would incorporate a variety of grey blender batiks, and so I chose I filled my blocks with a variety of grays from the color palette. I then went straight for the greens so I could find my favorite shade of chartreuse. A single shade seemed boring to me, so I tried several greens in a variety of tones and saturations.

The first rendition turned out too green. I elected to eschew the greenest green and replace it with something more yellow in tone, and felt that the design had changed for the better. At this point, the quilt top was not too green; it did, however, become decidedly masculine after that color change. Not necessarily a bad thing, but not the look I was going for. I had set out to create a gender neutral quilt design that I might use for coworkers or family members who are having babies.

My girlfriend, Jessica noted that she felt the quilt would look great with soft purples. Since EQ makes it so easy to tweak and save all the permutations of my quilt design, I went ahead and tried them. Some of the purples were pinkish in feel, and some were blue, but they blended together to make a pretty, feminine quilt. I thought the design was nice enough but it lacked drama! Perhaps two colors would punch this up a bit.

I thought it would be daring to blend the purples with orange, and so I began adding orange to the quilt top. This is when things started to get exciting. The two colors complemented each other so beautifully! More importantly, this quilt top did not look like a festive Halloween decoration; to me, it looked exciting and different than anything I had ever seen in the online quilting world.

Speaking of the online quilting world... so many folks are loving orange and aqua right now, so I figured I should try my hand at designing with that color combination. I chose some saturated shades of aqua, but used mostly pale shades, focusing on the relationship between dark and light. What resulted was a fun, trendy quilt top with a simple design.

The orange and aqua were fine, by all standards, but I was still left wanting more. I played with the oranges for quite some time, and found that the design was far more striking (to my eye) when I added yellow-orange to the mix. The design became immediately more modern and pleasing to my eye.

Because I loved the orange combinations from the previous design, I decided to test this particular orange palette with purple. It was difficult to settle on the right balance of pink in my purples. This design felt too pink. I couldn't manage to work the pinkish-purples the way I wanted, and so I decided to move on and try other darker shades of purple.

The final rendition uses my favorite palette of oranges with darker, bluer purples. The resulting design is reminiscent of a water color painting. The contrast between the orange and purple is striking and elegant.

Because of the magic of EQ I was able to create several different designs in just about an hour. What's great about the program is that I can save every single design into my worktable, and come back to it later. That means I can go back to a previous design to use it as a springboard for a color or placement mutation. Doing this allows me to make a zillion permutations of a single design, and I can view them all and decide which ones I like best.

It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend you pick one up.

DQS9 Reveal!

2010-09-08T13:26:00.000-07:00

Been a long time. Shouldn't have left you (without a dope beat to step to).

Seriously, though, it has been a long time. I read all those posts about quilting without obligation, and I started to feel a little obligated myself. So, I spent time doing the things I really wanted to do all summer long. Things like go to the beach and watch baby sea turtles go out to the ocean, fly to Chicago, see my sister get married, take a class and grow professionally. You know... me stuff.

Anyway, one of my quilting obligations from this summer was a swap quilt for the Doll Quilt Swap 9. I participated in round 7 and received a beautiful quilt, and enjoyed my making experience, so I decided to go ahead and participate in round 9, too.

It turned out to be a big fat regret for me. My partner was pretty silent for the most part. She seemed nice enough, with similar taste to the rest of the blogging world, but her silence left something to be desired. So many women were participating in discussion conversations, posting sneak peaks, and talking about favorite quilts in the pool. I was hoping to observe from afar, see what she was making for her partner, and learn more about what she liked. But, since she added only half a dozen pics to her flickr for the duration and virtually never blogged, not to mention made no comments in the flickr group, I felt that I didn't know anything about her.

I put off the making of the quilt for as long as possible, hoping to catch a glimpse of my partner around the internet. No such luck. So, I went ahead with the little direction I had. My partner said that she liked "trendy" fabrics, so I chose a red and aqua color scheme, put the prints with white, and tried to make something cute. It turned out cute, alright, but it's also fairly generic.

During the sewing process I became frustrated and disillusioned with this quilt. I couldn't figure out how to properly use the blanket stitch on my machine, and couldn't even do raw-edge applique! In the end I just left the circles fused to the background without any stitching holding them down. Instead, I basted and quilted over the pieces, praying that the quilting stitches would be enough to hold the fused circles on.

I quilted a grid-- straight lines all one inch apart. The quilt is backed in an awesome red print I bought about two years ago; I think it could be a Kaffe Fasset print, but who knows. The binding is pieced with red solid and the same fabric as the backing (I think that is my favorite detail). I failed to add a label with the swap information; it doesn't really matter now because it's already in the mail.

The pictures were taken while I was in line at the post office. I think that shows exactly how I felt about this quilt.

Seeing Spots

2010-07-27T16:10:00.000-07:00

I finally started my DQS9 project; my partner hasn't posted much-- maybe once or twice-- but I think she will like this! My partner has a lot of bright colors in her favorites, and almost everything she seems to love is on a white background.

Personally, I've been obsessed about dots lately. I even consider stashing every time I see a dot I like. Today I bought 17 dot prints. Don't judge me.

I used the die-cutter at Quilting Adventures to cut four circles from twelve prints. Then, I laid them out when I got home. They're stuck on with spray adhesive; I didn't want to mess with fusible this time around. Last time I had a hard time stitching through the fusibles. Of course, I won't do hand stitching this time, but it was nice to skip the extra step and cost of iron-on fusible.

Geometric Pillow Cover

2010-07-25T18:43:00.000-07:00

I finished this quilted pillow cover today. There were so many problems with this! My machine was having some tension problems, and so on the underside of the quilting there were loops-- the stitches weren't taught and the bobbin thread knots were visible on top. I adjusted tension to no avail, and finally pulled off the throat plate of my machine. Lo and behold, there was practically a whole pillow stuffed in there (including in the bobbin mechanism)! After cleaning that out, my quilting looked perfect.

Somehow, when trimming, my quilted section was always 1/8" larger than I thought. I would trim meticulously in an attempt to make it square, only to measure and find an extra 1/8" in there (I felt like I was in the house on Ash Tree Lane).

Finally, after the whole thing was just about done, I noticed an inch long gash-- yes, gash-- in the front of the pillow. I have no idea how it got there; it could have been there, it could have gotten there during my aforementioned trimming session, who knows? At any rate, after I got over the urge to give up, I used tweezers to put some fusible interfacing in there, and I just ironed it down. Hopefully that will hold up.

The pillow has an envelope style back and is about 17" square. I used a King Tut variegated thread for the quilting, which is just straight lines spaced 1" apart-- not wonky, just good old evenly spaced lines. I did increase my stitch length to 4.0 for the quilting; longer stitches makes for nicer quilting!

It was very difficult to photograph this pillow. I have a red couch-- I'm talking about red. It was very difficult to get a decent photo, and even then I had to edit them quite a lot to make them acceptable. This was the only decent picture of the bunch, and it's terrible! I'm going to have to practice photographing items inside the house. Tips?

Jem, Scout, Atticus, and Dill

2010-07-11T18:22:00.000-07:00

50 years ago today marks the publication date of the timeless American classic, To Kill a Mockingbird. You can read all about the history of the novel here at NPR.

Thank you, Harper Lee! You gave us one of the most wonderful stories ever written. I hope daily that I will find a box with chewing gum, or a pocket watch, a ball of twine, or soap figurines in a knot hole in a tree outside my house. I can't see a wardrobe closet without calling it a chiffarobe-- and wanting to chop it up for firewood. I never see camellias without wanting to chop off the flower heads. In the oppressive heat of summer, I can't help but feel like "a soft teacake with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum."

If you haven't read it, read it. If you read it a long time ago, read it. If you reread it every year, read it. Then come back and tell me all about your favorite part.

Windows

2010-07-06T17:43:00.001-07:00

St. Mary's Squares
Originally uploaded by Todd Klassy
Here's some inspiration for my next quilting project, which will remain a secret. I'll give you the only hint my mom ever gave me about secrets: windows. You can view a gallery of inspiration here.

Sea Glass

2010-07-03T18:04:00.000-07:00

Today I hand-stitched 252 inches of binding. My hands are feeling a bit gnarled. But, I finished the Sea Glass quilt, just in time for the heat wave coming next week. I slaved myself over the binding for hours today just so that Lesly could see it before she hops a plane to Berlin.

The finished quilt measures 60"x66" and is made entirely of half-square triangles. I used my tried and true method to get gorgeous half-square triangles. All you have to do is cut squares 7/8" larger than your finished size, draw a diagonal line from corner to corner, stack, and sew 1/4" from either side of the line. When you cut it in half, you'll have two perfect half-square triangles!

My inspiration for this project comes from this quilt. I loved the purple-brown solid she used and the collection of vibrant blues and turquoise prints. When I saw it I knew immediately that I had to work with that color palette! I must admit-- I pretty much copied her quilt but I don't feel terribly bad about it.

This quilt is stuffed with bamboo batting, which is soft and silky and easy to sew. Of course, bamboo fibers also attach to everything, so this quilt is covered in fuzz. I didn't have any single pieces large enough for this quilt, so I stitched to large scraps together. You can't even notice in the quilting!

I quilted this in a grid pattern following the seam lines. The quilting lines are 1/4" from the vertical and horizontal seams, but there is only one line for each seam. After I quilted the vertical grid, I started having problems with fabric pushing and puckering, so I decided to stop after one set each of horizontal and vertical lines.

I used a green variegated thread (King Tut #923) on top and a yellow 50 wt thread in the bobbin (Wonderfil KT403). The top thread looks gorgeous and the bobbin thread blends beautifully with the background. The only problem is that I can see the knots from the top thread on the back. Anyone know how to solve this problem?

Fabrics used include a bunch of random prints I found at my LQS, some Alexander Henry, some Kaffe Fassett, and two Lantern Bloom prints (Tile Mosaic in turquoise and citron), as well as a beautiful brown Kona cotton. The quilt is backed with citron Tile Mosaic from the Lantern Bloom collection and bound with the same Kona brown from the front.

Overall, I'd say it's gorgeous. It definitely has some flaws-- my quilting hasn't reached the quality level that I desire, but that can only change with practice. As the ladies at the LQS say, "better finished than perfect." Except my binding is perfect. For the record.

Prairie Chic

2010-07-01T15:18:00.000-07:00

I've done it. I've finally finished Alison's bee blocks. In case you were wondering, her month was May. I feel awful.

Alison sent us all several prints from Denyse Schmidt's recent fabric line, Hope Valley.

The fabrics themselves are so soft and thick, and they cut like butter! The request was to make a block made of 36 2" finished patches. She sent plenty of fabric; I was going to sew three blocks to make up for being late, but I figured I'd better just send back the scraps instead of holding this fabric hostage.

After I finished putting this task off-- you know, for months-- these blocks came together very quickly. Much more quickly than I originally expected. Alison asked that we press the seams open; this was the most time consuming part.

My blocks followed two color schemes-- pink and blue, and yellow, green, and blue. That's how the fabrics grouped themselves in my eyes, and so that's how I sewed them. It seems that everyone else is pretty much thinking the same way!

I hope Alison likes these blocks; I've made her wait long enough. At least I got them finished before she had her baby. If you can grow a baby faster than I can make two quilt blocks... well, that's saying something.

Quilted Hex Needlebook

2010-06-30T15:03:00.000-07:00

It seems that everyone has taken The Process Pledge. This pledge basically states that pledgers will share and discuss their process of creation, rather than just their finished products.

Usually I do talk about my process and share photos of what's in progress. In some cases, however, I just don't feel like doing all that work to share the process-- I'd rather enjoy it! Agree or disagree?

I finished my quilted needlebook last night. I used a few different prints from Jessica Levitt's line Timber. These calm colors and botanic prints have been calling to me for a while, so I decided to answer.

The patchwork cover is made of 3" paper pieced hexagons. The book, unfolded, is about 8"x10". In order to get this size, I needed to piece together 11 hexagons.

I quilted 1/4" inside the edge of each hexagon. I don't like to stitch over or do heavy backstitching on quilting, so instead I pulled my bobbin thread up to the top at each starting point. Doing this allowed me to bury the thread tails when finished, creating a nice, clean quilting motif.

After quilting I trimmed the hexagon edges to make an 8"x10" rectangle. Then, I attached binding as I normally would, making sure to get perfectly mitered corners. For this size quilt I only needed to cut one binding strip-- how easy!

This needlebook is really just a tiny quilt folded in half, with needles stuck into it. I chose to make it this way, rather than with pages because of a needlebook that Amy has. Hers doesn't have pages and I love it, so I chose that form for my needlebook.

Now I've got cute on-the-go storage for my needles! This project was so quick and easy, I can see myself making several more as gifts or for swaps. My only regret is that I didn't put a Jennifer Can Quilt tag on it. Ah, well-- next time!

P.S. This is what I was using to store my needles before; a scrap of batting with fabric stuck to it. Sad.

Summertime...

2010-06-30T14:35:00.000-07:00

...and the living is easy! I've already been to the beach! Now I'm home and there are a million unfinished projects staring me in the face. Want to see the list?

Sea Glass Quilt

baste
quilt
bind

May ISQ bee block

piece
mail

June ISQ bee block

piece
mail

DQS 9 needlebook

piece
quilt
bind

The worst of it is that the bee blocks aren't even that complicated; I've just been putting it off for who knows what reason. I'm posting this list so that someone can hold me accountable for these items. Go ahead, hold me accountable!

Humility Blocks

2010-06-19T16:47:00.000-07:00

Remember this quilt? And the messed up blocks? Well...

Thankfully I noticed this when piecing rows together and was able to fix it, unlike last time. The quilt top is now pieced and error free!

Joy in the New Year

2010-06-15T13:49:00.000-07:00

I finished! I finished all my goals for the new year! Only six months late! I'm so thankful to be done with all these projects-- some of them had been hanging around forever. Now I've only got one unfinished object, and that's really more of a work in progress. Yay!

Updated List

~~Black Eyed Susan~~

finish top
~~quilt~~
~~make binding~~
~~bind~~

~~Go Navy T-Shirt Quilt~~

~~make top~~
~~drop off for quilting~~
~~make binding~~
~~bind~~

~~French Braid Quilt~~

~~quilt~~
~~make binding~~
~~bind~~

~~Alexander Henry Cars Quilt~~

~~quilt~~
~~bind~~

~~Ugly Eye Spy Quilt~~

~~quilt~~
~~make binding~~
~~bind~~

Brick Road

bind

Yellow Bricks

2010-06-14T16:44:00.000-07:00

I did it! I finally finished this quilt-- you know, the one that I started January 18, 2009.

As discussed in the previous post, I was big time inspired by The Silly BooDilly to make this quilt. She made some extremely bold, graphic mini quilts that really grabbed me!

So, I decided to make my own. All these fabrics are Kaffe Fassett prints (I'm pretty sure). I used two different prints, in two colorways each. This mini is quilted in one direction with straight lines about a quarter inch apart. The thread used is a dark red King Tut variegated thread.

I'm sure you know, this quilt was on my Joyeaux Noel, or Joy in the New Year list. Like so many of my quilts, this one stalled in the binding attachment stage. I just didn't want to sew it on! Once I finally did, it stalled for several months in the hand-finishing stage.

I finished it this weekend while Josh was playing some disc golf in Albemarle County, outside of Charlottesville. Of course, the picnic area was deserted (save for me) and I kept getting creeped out by random nature noises and the occasional grounds maintenance worker. At one point I developed a plan about how to use my embroidery scissors as a weapon. Hilariously enough, Josh suggested the same plan when he came to check on me!

I haven't decided on where or how to hang it. Framed or not? In the bathroom, above the bed, or somewhere in the living room? Suggestions?

Neon Houses

2010-06-13T16:02:00.000-07:00

My Modify Tradition Swap quilt is finished and out the door. I mailed it on Thursday; hopefully it has already arrived (because I'm revealing it right now)!

This quilt measures 13.5"x13.5" and is constructed of four paper-pieced house blocks. Fabrics used include a selection of batiks and Kona cotton solids. I machine quilted this quilt in an orange peel (also known as pumpkin seeds) pattern over each block.

After a binding mishap (cutting it too small, attaching it, realizing it was too small, and ripping it off), I hand-finished the binding in one short sitting. The corners are perfect, if I do say so myself.

To create my label I used the Electric Quilt Co. printable fabric in premium cotton lawn. I first used a word processor to design my label. Then, I printed it on printable fabric and cut the label in one long strip. Finally, I pinned the label into the corner of the quilt and trimmed it down to a proper size. I attached it when I finished the binding.

Sunday Stack

2010-06-06T13:40:00.000-07:00

Half-square triangles-- 108 to be exact. I love stacking up cut fabrics and seeing the color patterns that emerge. These look a bit like stained glass, don't you think?

Reasons to EQ - #1

2010-06-05T22:35:00.000-07:00

I finished my Modify Tradition swap quilt top! It's very cute, and I knew right away that it deserved a cute quilting motif. But what motif? Diagonal lines didn't seem quite right and neither did stitching in the ditch (Which ditch? There's a million!).

Luckily I've got Electric Quilt 7. Did you know that you can print quilting stencils with this program? It's so easy! All you have to do is search through the stencils (they're in the blocks library) and add your choice to your project sketchbook. Then, drop it into the appropriate layer of your quilt. The program will size the stencil as necessary!

I decided on an orange peel pattern and printed four copies of the stencil. Just cut them out and use spray adhesive to attach them to the quilt. Then, stitch along the quilting lines. Go as fast or as slow as you are comfortable.

Once you've finished quilting, carefully rip off the paper. Use your fingernail to hold down the stitches and gently rip away the edge of the paper. If you pull some stitches up, just tug on either side of the stitch and it should go right back.

After you peel all the paper away, you may have some tiny specks caught in the seam. Use tweezers to pull them out. Voila, you are done, and you have perfect quilting!

Swap Progress

2010-06-04T13:36:00.000-07:00

Something is happening with my Modify Tradition swap quilt. You know there's a swap going on, right?

I've paper pieced these blocks with templates from EQ7. I have to say, the program is amazing! The block I chose (from what seemed like hundreds of blocks) isn't even intended to be paper pieced. However, the program allows you to print any block in foundation piecing format. It will even section and number the pieces for you!

My swap partner likes house blocks, and I've always wanted to try them, so I decided to go for it. I went through several virtual mutations in layout and eventually settled on some kind of combination of all of them.

The blocks are about 6.5" square and I think they are super cute! I love the fabrics I chose. Originally I had picked a pink Kona solid, but decided to use a bit of pink dotted batik from my stash instead. I'm glad I did; these pink houses are adorable. The background is a natural colored Kona solid, and the roof is also another Kona solid. I don't really pay attention to the colors; maybe I should get one of those whacked out color cards. Or just check the bolts when I buy.

Look, Mom!

2010-05-31T15:36:00.000-07:00

Today my friend Jenny came over to play. We stuffed our faces, saw a dead possum, and I taught her how to make a quilt! Well, sort of. I taught her how to make a quilt block. A Sawtooth Star to be exact!

We dug into the old stash (which is really just large pieces of fabric leftover from finished projects, since you guys know I don't stash) and chose some cute fabrics, including some Amy Butler and a nice batik. I showed Jenny how to use the rotary cutter and grid ruler, and I also taught her about 1/4" seams and pressing seams between steps.

The whole thing is only 4.5" square. What a tiny block for a first-timer! She did a great job, and I was quite proud of my teaching, too (I should be good at that, though, right?). Next time I'm going to have to teach her how to do binding.

Here's Jenny and her finished quilt. Don't you love this picture? She looks pleased as punch! Actually, Jenny looks like this pretty much all the time, except when she's really furious. She's the happiest, smiliest person I know.

Blogger's Quilt Festival Entry

2010-05-22T10:57:00.000-07:00

This year, I decided to enter my piece de resistance, my modern opus, my masterpiece-- my hand pieced grandmother's flower garden quilt. I was inspired to create this quilt by an enormous patch of coneflowers that blooms in front of the Virginia Fine Arts Museum every year. The museum is just down the street from my apartment, so I get to enjoy the flowers all season, every year. The flowers are so colorful and full, and I get sad when they burn up and wilt each summer. Now I can have those flowers all year long!

The quilt measures approximately 93" x 67" finished and unwashed. I used a cotton-poly batting had it professionally quilted by Rebekah Richardson of Kept In Stitches Quilting (Richmond, VA).

The center of the top is entirely hand pieced by me. I followed the English paper piecing method seen here. Each piece is whip-stitched together using waxed or glace thread. For the flowers I used batik cottons, and the path is created with my favorite pink fabric ever, Lakehouse Antique Dots in Berry.

I created a pieced back using leftover pink squares and Cufflink in the Leaf colorway from Summer Soiree by Paula Prass. The quilt is bound with a really cool dot designed by Faye Burgos for Marcus Fabrics. It's super black, and it turned my fingers grey while I was finishing the binding.

I love this quilt and can't wait to use it for many years to come!

Serious Conversation!

2010-05-17T14:13:00.001-07:00

Serious Conversation!

Originally uploaded by McAzadi

I love this photo. There is clearly some serious conversation going on here. She looks absolutely crazed with purpose! What she is saying is clearly important.

I patched Disqus (a commenting management tool) onto this blog to help me reply to everyone's comments. Those no-reply bloggers really bug me, because sometimes they have awesome contributions but I can't respond. Disqus allows us to discuss in threaded comments, which will be super helpful.

You don't have to have a Disqus profile to comment; just fill in the info and comment as a guest, just as you would have done before. Hopefully it works!

Aunt Millie's Flower Garden

2010-05-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

So far, I have completed one of twelve Aunt Millie's Flower Garden applique blocks. One lone block. I started it over a year ago. That's pathetic!

I will finish appliqueing all these blocks before September 1, 2010. That gives me three and a half months to finish. This means I will have to complete 3.14 blocks each month. Quite a lofty goal. Check my progress in the blog sidebar.

HEN Swap

2010-05-16T16:03:00.000-07:00

I signed up for the Hand Embroidery Network swap a month or so ago. Apparently I hate deadlines because I didn't even start until this weekend (which is way late, let's just say).

The swap's theme is spring time. My favorite part of spring time is how everything is so full of blossoms, fresh, clean, and green. So, I let that feeling take me away while stitching. And of course, I got inspired by beads and fabric.

Hopefully my partner likes this. I still have another to make for my partner, since we agreed over email to make two. I don't know much about her; she only uses facebook (and I don't!) so I haven't seen any of her work.

Gnome Homes

2010-05-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

I finally sat down to sew Sharon's block for the Shrinking Quilters' Bee.

Sharon's month was April (oops!) and she asked for pink, wonky gnome homes. She sent a bunch of cute pink fabrics, in addition to a lot of white fabric, and a little bit of Heather Ross's pink gnomes print. I added in my favorite pink polka dot ever, and also a bit of green for the grass.

I've never done wonky before; I'm not sure if I like what I came up with. I tried to recreate my neighborhood here in Richmond. The final product is quite different than my idea drawing, but that's because there were certain elements that I just couldn't bring myself to attempt to create (like stairs, porches, and columns).

Compared to others, my block seems like a failure!

Mail!

2010-05-13T12:41:00.000-07:00

Look what Reba brought! I immediately stopped talking with Conky about the Secret Word of the day, sat down in Chairry and opened this package. Lo and behold! My very own copy of EQ7. (Holy @#$#%!)

Thanks Sarah and all the folks at the The EQ Blog. I'm so utterly lucky.

And don't forget you can still pre-order at an awesome price until May 21st!

The giveaway is over!

2010-05-11T10:57:00.000-07:00

I've been receiving a lot of comments asking to be signed up for the EQ7 giveaway. Maybe new visitors missed the last few posts, but the giveaway closed a while ago and a winner has been chosen. I love your comments, but please do not leave any more asking to be signed up for the giveaway (it's over!).

Instead, feel free to read about my quilts and leave comments there!

EQ7 Giveaway Winner!

2010-05-05T18:13:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone for participating in this awesome contest. I really enjoyed reading all of your comments; so many people are unlucky like me, and others have won (or know someone who has won) amazing prizes! Some people were just plain thankful for another day on this beautiful creation (those comments made me smile).

Without further ado, the lucky winner! Congratulations to #39, blueberrymoon, who said: "Wow, Awesome win Girl!!! I won a case of Foldger's coffee when I was eight, In a raffle. How funny is that. Hmmmm.. Maybe that's why I am a coffee addict."

I'll be emailing the winner shortly. If I don't hear back from her by Friday at midnight, then I'll choose another winner.

If you didn't win, you still have several chances to win the software.

Thanks for stopping by. You came for the giveaway, but I hope you stay for the quilts. :)

MT Swap Inspiration

2010-05-04T15:34:00.000-07:00

I love quilts! There's something about all that patchwork that just makes me absolutely giddy. My favorite quilts are bold and geometric. Quilts that exhibit brights against a pale, neutral background are especially gorgeous. I really love star blocks (couldn't you tell by my Round 2 picks?) of all types. Flying Geese are some of the coolest traditional blocks I've ever seen; I love them en masse or just a few sprinkled over a solid background fabric. Right now I'm really digging quilts that use the same block in multiple sizes, like these two.

There are no colors that I hate, but I'm not a fan of dusty colors or a shabby chic look. I especially love chartreuse, magenta, and gray. Prints, batiks, and solids are all acceptable fabrics in my book.

Perhaps the only thing I really hate is when a quilt isn't squared up properly. I think it makes the overall piece look badly done, no matter how nice the piecing and quilting may be. Any shape is fine, but I particularly love equilateral square quilts.

I can't wait to see what my partner makes for me! I wonder if I'll be able to pick it out of the flickr pool...

EQ7 Giveaway

2010-05-03T17:42:00.000-07:00

As you know, the Electric Quilt Company announced a contest on their blog offering 10 lucky bloggers the chance to win two copies of EQ7-- one to keep and one to give away.

Imagine my excitement when I got an email on my Blackberry stating I had won not one but two copies of EQ7. I literally got out of my car and did a dance in the street!

Normally this is where a blogger would post a picture of the flesh-and-blood object to be given away. Instead, I have an email (Click on the picture to go to flickr and see the original size.). Sarah from the Electric Quilt Company will be mailing the loot directly to the winner after the giveaway (I think she is trying to keep me from selling the software on the black market of quilting).

To get a chance at winning my extra copy of Electric Quilt 7, simply comment here. If you need something to say, tell me about the best thing you've ever won. I will use random.org to choose a winner at 9PM EST on Wednesday, May 5, 2010.

(For the record, this is the best thing I've ever won. Josh, however, won $400 on a Virginia Lotto scratcher ticket! That was lucky.)

Foot in Mouth

2010-04-29T19:32:00.000-07:00

Just when I said I don't stash...

They were calling out to me! Plus I had a coupon for a free yard at Quilting Adventures. What wonderful thing shall I make for myself?

Electric Quilt 7

2010-04-27T18:10:00.000-07:00

Okay people. The Electric Quilt Company is getting ready to release Electric Quilt 7!

I covet this program! There are so many excellent tools that I really wish I had. I love that you can print blocks in any size and that you can test layouts and import fabric swatches. I also love that this doesn't include doing math by hand or drafting on graph paper.

Martha Washington Star

2010-04-26T12:56:00.000-07:00

Check out my Martha Washington Star Tutorial at Modify Tradition. It's the last block tutorial for Round 2! Don't worry-- there's still one more project left this round.

Bow Tie Quilt

2010-04-11T15:34:00.000-07:00

This has been finished for a while. Sorry it's taken so long for me to blog it!

The Bow Tie Quilt was originally supposed to be my sister's birthday present. However, I fell in absolute love with the fabrics and the quilt during the construction process and decided to keep it for myself. Good thing, because Katie says it's a little too shabby-chic for her.

She's a bit right; I didn't realize that until after she'd said so. It's not normally my taste either, but I just can't help myself this time. The whole thing is very sweet. I love it!

Fabrics are mostly from Hope Valley by Denyse Schmidt, but there are some favorites from Freshcut by Heather Bailey as well as a brown print that is recent (but I can't remember where it comes from). Bound with the Prairie Rose print in the Piney Woods color way. Backed with a pink damask from the Promises line.

It measures 70"x70" and is perfect for napping on the couch. I quilted it in mostly evenly-spaced mostly-straight lines. Try not to notice those incorrectly placed blocks in the corner... I didn't notice them until after the whole thing was basted, quilted, and bound. Too late to fix, otherwise I would have done so.

Magic Cross

2010-04-11T15:19:00.000-07:00

I've got a new tutorial over at Modify Tradition. This week's block is the Magic Cross. Very easy to prepare for and very easy to make. Not to mention, very cute!

Shrinking Quilters - March

2010-04-11T15:14:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit behind, but today I made my bee block for The Incredible Shrinking Quilter's Bee. March was Suzanna's month.

We made an off-kilter Shoo-Fly block inspired by a project in Liberated Quiltmaking by Gwen Marston. Suzanna sent jewel-toned fabrics and requested that we use a black background. My final block has a pretty Amish look, which I'm digging. I couldn't resist the light blue blender fabric that she sent and so I decided to use that as my focus fabric along with some funky purple print for the border. I love my block! I have plenty of scraps left over and so I think I may make some extra blocks for Suzanna to make up for being late. I'd also like to make some of these for myself! If you'd like to know how to make this block, surf over to Modify Tradition to learn how to view the Shoo Fly block tutorial. Then, add some borders and trim at an angle. You're done!

Engaged!

2010-04-09T06:59:00.001-07:00

Engaged!

Originally uploaded by jenamoured

Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got, I'm still (I'm still) Jenny from the block.

Hexagons

2010-03-21T06:59:00.000-07:00

A few people have been blogging about paper piecing with hexagons this week. I know I'm not widely read, but I figured I'd chime in with a tip of my own, since I recently finished my full-sized quilt top made of 3" hexagons.

Instead of cutting your paper pieces, purchase them from Paperpieces.com. They use a die-cutter and heavy card stock to cut their paper pieces. You can order all different sizes, all different shapes, and all different amounts. Their customer service is great and they have super-fast shipping.

The great thing is, you can reuse your shapes since they are cut from such heavy paper. I ordered a package of 300 3" hexagons and spent around $20. This was plenty of hexagons and I still have them for the next quilt!

Hmmm

2010-03-14T08:37:00.001-07:00

Hmmm Originally uploaded by jenamoured
Something is happening! Sorry for the radio silence, folks. We should be back to regularly scheduled programming. Anyone interested in a quilt pattern?

Corner Star

2010-03-08T20:27:00.000-08:00

Hi! I know it's been quiet around here, so I thought I'd direct you over to Modify Tradition, where most of my sewing is being posted. This week you'll find a Corner Star tutorial written by me. It's such a cute block. Give it a try!

Valentines!

2010-02-13T11:10:00.000-08:00

I decided to stitch up some Valentines for my sisters. These photos were taken after the embroideries had already been framed. Each valentine has a combination of embroidery and bead embroidery.

Eight Hands Around

2010-02-07T18:15:00.001-08:00

Check out my Eight Hands around tutorial at Modify Tradition.

Modify Tradition - Round 2

2010-02-01T11:37:00.001-08:00

broken dishes quilt block
Originally uploaded by sonnetofthemoon
Modify Tradition Round 2 has started. We're still focusing on teaching you how to make traditional blocks, but instead of a sampler quilt, each block will feature a special project tutorial and a giveaway.

Head over to see how to make Broken Dishes now!

Black-Eyed Susans

2010-01-24T08:08:00.000-08:00

I finally got the nerve to try to baste and quilt my finished grandmother's flower garden quilt. So, I cleared furniture out of the dining room and painstakingly basted to back to perfection (I use spray baste, remember?). Then I turned it over and painstakingly basted the front. When I flipped it to check the back, there were wrinkles and puckers everywhere. So I re-did it. When I flipped it to check the front there were wrinkles and puckers everywhere.

So, I pulled it all apart, folded it neatly, and put it back in the closet. Looks like I'll be sending that quilt out to Kept in Stitches.

Anyway, here's the finished top, if you're curious.

2009-12-25T02:36:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! On Christmas Day my family always awakes to Handel's Messiah and eats breakfast while listening to gorgeous music celebrating the birth of Christ. Then, we get to the presents.

Here's hoping your day is more than you expected. Maybe you'll even be as surprised and grateful as this kid.

Another Finish!

2009-12-24T17:07:00.000-08:00

I finished the Go Navy! quilt today. I hand-finished the entire binding today while watching endless episodes of Super Nanny. Thank God for television marathons!

The Go Navy! quilt spans my entire mattress, which is queen sized, with no drop. It's the perfect size for two people to cuddle up or for one to take a cozy nap.

This quilt is made up of t-shirts that belong to my sister, Gretchen. For those readers who don't know, Gretchen graduated from the United States Naval Academy in May. She took her oath of office and accepted her commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. While at the USNA, she participated on the women's crew team, rowing on the varsity eight scull (that's an eight seat boat, each woman with one oar, for you crew newbies).

Participating in this varsity sport allowed her to compete in many huge regattas against various teams, including Australia's Olympic team! The top of the quilt incorporates some USNA shirts as well as many shirts of teams she competed against at Eastern Sprints-- tradition dictates that you trade your team shirt with those of competing teams, including the Army team (ew!). See my favorite block?

The front is cool and all, but I think the back is my favorite part. I included uniform t-shirts from plebe summer, which is like basic training for midshipmen in their first year at the USNA. This is an extra special quilt that includes memories from four years of hard work, lessons learned, leadership, and accomplishments. I'm so proud of my sister and I hope she loves this quilt!

***

Here's a picture of the finished Ugly Eye Spy quilt with Kelsey, the momma to be! She loved it.

Updated List

Black Eyed Susan

~~finish top~~
quilt
make binding
bind

~~Go Navy! T-shirt Quilt~~

~~make top~~
~~drop off for quilting~~
~~make binding~~
~~bind~~

~~French Braid Quilt~~

~~quilt~~
~~make binding~~
~~bind~~

~~Alexander Henry Cars Quilt~~

~~quilt~~
~~bind~~

~~Ugly Eye Spy Quilt~~

~~quilt~~
~~make binding~~
~~bind~~

Brick Road

bind

Updated List

2009-12-24T06:05:00.000-08:00

Sorry, no pictures. I already wrapped up the French Braid (forgot to snap a photo) for gift-giving and I gave away Ugly Eye Spy yesterday. I'm sure there will be some photos from the recipients-- I'll see if I can post those.

Updated List

Black Eyed Susan

~~finish top~~
quilt
make binding
bind

Go Navy! T-shirt Quilt

~~make top~~
~~drop off for quilting~~
~~make binding~~
bind

~~French Braid Quilt~~

~~quilt~~
~~make binding~~
~~bind~~

~~Alexander Henry Cars Quilt~~

~~quilt~~
~~bind~~

~~Ugly Eye Spy Quilt~~

~~quilt~~
~~make binding~~
~~bind~~

Brick Road

bind

Progress Pics

2009-12-20T10:20:00.000-08:00

I haven't quite mastered the hidden art of photographing whole quilts. Here's the French Braid quilt artfully displayed on my bright red couch. It's all quilted and trimmed-- see the quilting?-- and I've just spent what felt like forever ironing about 500 inches of quilt binding. Now, I must attach it. Ugh! But I do love hand finishing the quilts, so at least there's something enjoyable in my future.

Sadly, I cut up about a half yard of one of my Amy Butler Daisy Chain prints into 2.5" strips. It was the wrong fabric-- not the one I had purchased for the binding. I figured I'd go ahead and use it, but I didn't even have enough! Oh well, I'll just save those strips for future binding or some other strip-necessary project.

Also, I picked up the Go Navy! quilt from the quilter on Friday. Rebekah Richardson, of Kept in Stitches Quilting, did a gorgeous job on this thing. Here's a sneak peek.

Most of what's gotten done are things I can't cross off my list. I have cut the binding strips for the Go Navy! quilt and the Ugly Eye Spy quilt. I'm going to sew those together after I attach binding to the French Braid.

Updated List

Black Eyed Susan

~~finish top~~
quilt
make binding
bind

Go Navy! T-shirt Quilt

~~make top~~
~~drop off for quilting~~
~~make binding~~
bind

French Braid Quilt

~~quilt~~
~~make binding~~
bind

~~Alexander Henry Cars Quilt~~

~~quilt~~
~~bind~~

Ugly Eye Spy Quilt

~~quilt~~
~~make binding~~
bind

Brick Road

bind

Getting There!

2009-12-15T19:04:00.000-08:00

Today was a productive day in my workshop, which is actually the dining-room-slash-kitchen.

I quilted the Ugly Eye Spy quilt in less than one episode of Law and Order. Daniel V, the new sewing machine, is wonderful! I tried free motion quilting on the Alexander Henry Cars quilt and did a not-so-bad job. Today, I continued with free-motion and did a pretty good job! Far fewer tension problems on the back, wonderful looking loops, and I only quilted myself into a corner twice! Having the extension table makes a huge difference, even though I'm quilting on a table the size of a postage stamp. I definitely need to get some of those grippy quilter's gloves!

Additionally, I made made the backing for the French Braid quilt and also made a pieced backing for the Black Eyed Susans quilt. Those items are hanging up in the closet waiting to get basted and quilted-- just gotta buy some batting for both. I also cut the strips for the binding on the Go Navy! quilt.

Getting somewhere!

Updated List

Black Eyed Susan

~~finish top~~
quilt
bind

Go Navy! T-shirt Quilt

~~make top~~
~~drop off for quilting~~
make binding
bind

French Braid Quilt

quilt
bind

~~Alexander Henry Cars Quilt~~

~~quilt~~
~~bind~~

Ugly Eye Spy Quilt

~~quilt~~
bind

Brick Road

bind

Joy in the New Year

2009-12-13T12:36:00.000-08:00

I never posted on Jacquie's Joy in the New Year challenge post, but I have been keeping a mental list of the items I would like to have finished before the start of 2010.

Original List

Black Eyed Susan

finish top
quilt
bind

Go Navy! T-shirt Quilt

make top
drop off for quilting
bind

French Braid Quilt

quilt
bind

Alexander Henry Cars Quilt

quilt
bind

Ugly Eye Spy Quilt

quilt
bind

Brick Road

bind

As you can see, there's a lot of quilting and binding that needs to be done. I can finish tops with no problem, but I usually get paralyzed at the quilting stage. I get nervous about wrecking my work in the quilting stage, and so the tops languish in their unfinished states.

I feel a renewed dedication to finishing these projects and have worked on things, finished things, and also taken things from storage so I can stare at them and feel guilty about not finishing them. Feast your eyes on the updated list!

Updated List

Black Eyed Susan

~~finish top~~
quilt
bind

Go Navy! T-shirt Quilt

~~make top~~
~~drop off for quilting~~
make binding
bind

French Braid Quilt

quilt
bind

~~Alexander Henry Cars Quilt~~

~~quilt~~
~~bind~~

Ugly Eye Spy Quilt

quilt
bind

Brick Road

bind

Go ahead. Congratulate me on some progress.

PS-- I went to the Handmade Holiday craft show, saw Krystal, bought some cute junk, and had a lot of fun. I will definitely go again next year. I love craft shows!

Crystal!

2009-12-11T20:58:00.000-08:00

Crystal of Quilting Adventures is one of the indie crafters taking part in the Richmond Handmade Holiday.

While I was surfing the event website, I found a crafter spotlight post about Crystal! This means she is officially famous.

Yay!

I'm going to the Handmade Holiday with Katie tomorrow. I will report back about how awesome it is.

Tree Skirt

2009-12-01T16:36:00.001-08:00

Tree Skirt
Originally uploaded by mamacjt

Absolutely wonderful. I would love to put this round my Christmas tree. I wonder if there's any chance of a pattern or tutorial...

Gorgeous

2009-11-29T18:34:00.000-08:00

What a gorgeous dress!

Just something I wanted to remember.

Embroidery Scheme

2009-11-17T19:02:00.000-08:00

Tonight was the Young People's Sit and Stitch at Quilting Adventures. I love going to this once-a-month meeting.

For a few meetings now we have been talking about doing some sort of swap, block of the month, or bee. Since most of us (at least, the ones that always attend) are hand embroiderers, we figured it should be an embroidery event.

Tonight we decided to do a block of the month (or something like it), but we can't decide on any patterns! We all love the Melly & Me Once Upon a Time BOM. It's only nine blocks, but each block costs $13. Kind of pricey, but they are so cute! I secretly wish we would do this one, and I think everyone else does, too.

But...

This Wee Wonderfuls Four Fairies Stitchettes Pattern is also really cute. Of course, there are only four real blocks, with some small additional designs included for each fairy.

I looked on Etsy and found tons of awesome patterns, including a couple I have seen around the internet and wanted to try for myself. Here's a run-down:

-1109 Poplar House Pattern from juneatnoon.

-Bird and the City and all other patterns from revi1001

-Christmas Embroidery Set from Badbird

-F Fox and all others from the Alphabet set at penguinandfish

-Princess and the Pea by kloin

-Tree of Life and others by polkaandbloom

-Little Houses, Cakes, and Cakes 2 by The Floss Box (plus These bunnies!)

-OWLSTRAVAGANZA by LaurenReeser

-Sadie and Oliver has some cute, weird patterns

-Acorn Cap Pattern by Cate Anevski

pastry.line.hues

2009-11-11T16:45:00.001-08:00

pastry.line.hues
Originally uploaded by annamariahorner

Little folks. Delicious. Must have.

Read more here.