Patchwork Notes

Lucy-Proof Sock Knitting Bag

2012-02-19T23:42:00.000-08:00

Meet Lucy.

She's pretty much the best cat on earth. She doesn't meow, scratch, bite, or claw. Probably because she doesn't have an evil bone in her body. She answers to her name and is never more than a few feet away. In fact, sometimes we wonder if she knows that she's a cat at all because she mostly acts like a dog .

Except, like most cats, Lucy loves to quilt.

And has an affinity for FMF.

But her true passion is knitting. I took this picture after she tuckered herself out trying to help me knit a beret for my bestie.

In an effort to control her help with sock knitting, I decided that it was time to protect the goods.

Enter the Lucy-Proof Sock Knitting Bag!

It's the perfect size to hold your sock or small knitting project. A ball of yarn, needles, stitch markers, measuring tape, and other necessities fit nicely in the bag. The bottom is round instead of squared off because I think that round adds to the cute factor :)

But the BEST part about the bag is that the lining is secured to the bottom, with no seams showing. I get so irritated when I pull something from a pouch and the lining comes right out with it. Then I have to stuff the lining back and it's always bunchy and lumpy. This pouch solves the problem.

Specs:

Size: Approximately 20" circumference and 10" tall

Time: You should be in a good mood

Seam Allowance: 1/4" throughout

What you need:

Outside
40 squares 2.5" x 2.5"

1 rectangle 3"x 20.5" linen

1 circle 6 3/8" diameter

Inside

1 rectangle 10.5"x20"

1 circle 6 3/8" diameter

Other

30" of drawstring cut in two equal pieces

Optional

Beads for the drawstring

Embroidery Floss for hand stitching

Process:

Arrange your squares in a 4x10 grid . Keep in mind that the row on each end will touch.

Chain stitch your squares until you have ten strips of 4 squares. Once all your strips are finished, press the seams (however you like) and join by the long edge.

When all the strips are joined, press the long seams open.

Flip over and press again. Pin the 3"x 20.5" strip of linen to the bottom of the bag and sew. Then press the linen with the seam towards to the linen side.

At this point add the hand stitching, if you want it. Hopefully you stitch a straighter line than me :)

Fold the fabric right sides together along the short edge and sew. Then press the seam open.

Decide where to place the openings for the two drawstrings. Place one on each side, which splits the bag into 5 squares across the front and 5 across the back. Make a buttonhole or do the following...

Mark 1/2" down from the top edge of the bag. Then mark about 1" down from the top of the bag.

Seam rip the stitches between the lines. Then stitch a box around your opening, reinforcing the top and bottom seams. Now you have a simple opening.

Join the tube to the linen circle for the outer bottom. The easiest way is to divide your circle and your tube circumference into four quarters by folding. Pin the tube to the circle in quarters then sew.

Now take your lining rectangle and sew in half along the short end. Press open the seams and attach to the lining circle in the same manner as the outer portion of the bag.

With WRONG sides together, pin the bottom of the lining circle to the bottom of the outside circle. Take time to make sure that none of the bag sides get caught in a pin. A smooth join is key.

Carefully sew the two pieces together following the stitch lines from joining the tube to the circle. Keep the outer side of the bag up to eliminate puckering on the outside of the bag. Go slow and continually check that the lining side is not puckering. Clip the seams to help create smooth curves.

Next, seam rip about 2" or 3" in the center of the lining seam.

Now things get a bit complicated and I didn't take a picture (bad!). You are going to sew the top of the lining to the top of the outer bag with RIGHT sides together. When finished, you will pull the bag through the seam ripped section that you just created and the bag will miraculously be right side out with the lining inside. Ready?

In awkward fashion, twist your lining section around until you are able to line up the right side of the lining to the right side of the outer bag, in the correct spot. Pin all the way around. Your item will look a bit hour glassish, with the bottom joined, the middle twisted, and the top pinned. Sew around the top. The finished piece will look something like this.

Now find your seam ripped section and start pulling the bag out through the hole.

Until it looks like a bag!

Take time to press the whole bag smooth. Then sew up the seam ripped section by hand using an invisible stitch.

The lining is now firmly attached to the bottom and won't bunch up or come out.

Top stitch close to the top edge of the bag and again about 1/8" below the drawstring bag opening to create the drawstring casing.

Thread one piece of drawstring through one of the openings. Bring the drawstring all the way around and back out the opening that you started with. Add a bead, if desired, and tie a knot. Then, starting with the OTHER opening, thread the second piece of drawstring all the way around and out that opening. Add a bead and tie a knot.

Now when you pull the drawstrings at the same time, the bag will close tight.

All done! Enjoy your {insert pet name here} Proof {Insert project here} Bag! If you decide to make a bag, please let me know. I would love to see it!

Feel free to use my tutorials for gifts or charity but please give credit where credit is due.

THANKS!

Modern Minis

2012-02-09T07:43:00.000-08:00

How did I end up the next stop after Lynn on the Modern Mini Quilt Challenge blog hop? Hopefully you can still find some inspiration here after seeing all the amazing work at Lynn's blog yesterday.

I love mini's because they are an easy way to try something new. The first quilt I have to show you was meant to be a big quilt but I wasn't feeling the look after finishing the first block. It turns out that, while I'm obsessed with this colour combo at the moment, I think that it's too much for a big quilt. I decided to bind it and hang it in my sewing room, where it makes me very happy.

One of my most favourite mini's is the one that I made for Ayumi.

I also really like this mini. Technically, it isn't even a quilt but it is small and combines fabric, sewing, and batting, and could be hung on a wall. So I'm calling it a mini quilt. I made it for a swap but someday I will make one for myself too.

This mini was for another swap and was a great way to try a new idea. I didn't even know that the pattern was a courthouse steps.

My first and only Dresden hangs in my sewing room. Dresdens make such cute minis.

Finally, I love me some simple patchwork. This was also a swap quilt. All my swap partners have really had a thing for turquoise and orange!

Are you feeling inspired to make a mini quilt? If so, join the challenge and try experimenting with your mini quilt because you could win a complete fat quarter pack of FMF! Here are the details...

The Modern Mini Challenge is a 5 week series that starts with inspiration from bloggers and ends with a quilting challenge.  Here’s how it will work:  

2/6/12 - 2/19/12 

Weeks 1 & 2 - Inspiration Weeks - Modern Mini Challenge Blog Hop  

Bloggers share their modern minis and kick-start your creativity. Get inspired, get creative, get those ideas flowing!

2/20/12 - 3/4/12 

Weeks 3 & 4 - Sew. Sew. Sew! 

Work on those minis and create your Modern Mini Challenge piece. 

3/5/12 - 3/9/12 

Week 5: Enter the Contest!

Link  up your Modern Mini Challenge piece at Ellison Lane Quilts. Voting  begins that week and winners are announced on March 9th.  

 

Five fabulous prizes are all being sponsored by the wonderful Kimberly at the Fat Quarter Shop 

Contest Requirements:
1. Create a modern mini quilt or mug rug - only one entry per person
2. Enter your mini quilt or mug rug in the linky party at Ellison Lane Quilts on Monday, March 5. You do NOT have to have a blog to enter. You may link a picture from your Flickr account.
3. Your entry (blog post or Flickr description) should include the size of the item.

Modern Mini Challenge

2012-02-01T23:31:00.000-08:00

First of all, thank you for all the nice comments and emails about my pattern. I like the pattern a lot and I'm glad that there are other people who like it too.

If you've been over to Ellison Lane's Blog in the last couple days then you already know about a fun challenge that she's hosting. 

The Modern Mini Challenge  is a 5 week series on mini quilts. You'll gain plenty of inspiration, learn some new techniques and maybe even get a little push to cut into that special fabric that you've been hoarding. 

The hope is that you will try something new, fun, or different in the form of a mini quilt!  Mini's are the perfect platform to try out those complicated patterns that you just can't imagine dedicating to an entire quilt. 

Details:

2/6/12 - 2/19/12 - Inspiration Weeks - Modern Mini Challenge Blog Hop(I'm February 9th)

2/20/12 - 3/4/12 - Work on your mini

3/5/12 - 3/9/12 - Enter the Contest

Get a load of one of the five prizes you could win by joining the challenge...A FQ pack of the FMF reprint generously donated by Fat Quarter Shop.

I know, right! Head over to Ellison Lane to get all the details about the challenge and contest.

Blog Hop line up:

2/6: Stitchery Dickory Dock

2/7: Fairy Face Designs & Amy's Creative Side

2/8: Lily's Quilts

2/9: Patchwork Notes

2/10: Don't Call Me Betsy & Flying Blind on a Rocket Cycle

2/11: Sukie, Don't You Know Who I Am?

2/12: Freshly Pieced

2/13: From the Blue Chair & Poppy Makes

2/14: Needles, Pins & Baking Tins

2/15: Mon Petit Lyons & Felicity Quilts

2/16: LR Stitched & Random Thoughts of Do or Di

2/17: Life's Rich Pattern & Twin Fibers

2/18: Cut to Pieces & Sew Sweetness

2/19: Swim Bike Quilt

Thanks for stopping by and I look forward to seeing your quilts. And sorry about the tiny font. I tried to make it normal size but blogger just wasn't having it.

Fat Quarterly

2012-01-30T22:59:00.000-08:00

I have a pattern in the current issue of Fat Quarterly! It is a take on the fondue pot i made last year but much less complicated! Although my pattern is a little on simplistic side, it's a super first project for someone new to paper foundation piecing. I think it would be a good warm-up or practice project before moving onto the amazing projects in this paper piecing issue.

The finished product has been very popular with my non-sewing friends, which leads me to believe that a pair of these would make a great gift. Not interested in the potholder? The pattern is very versatile an would be great for a pillow, placements or table runner too!

Gratuitous Instagram shot.

Please let me know if you make one. I would love to see it. And, as always, contact me if you have questions! I did not treat the pattern as a tutorial so images are limited.

Yay! How exciting! Thanks for reading :)

finally, some sewing.

2012-01-20T08:52:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to get caught up on the bees that I fell behind in last year. First up is Annabel's orchard themed block for Cocorico. This one was SO hard for me, even way back in October when I first started drawing up ideas. For some reason, inspiration never really struck. Dont' get me wrong, orchard is an awesome theme.

Having spent all my summers and many of my winters at the farm and apple/peach orchard, I thought I was going to be full of ideas. Then if finally hit, a U-Pick sign! U-Pick is the next best thing to having your own tree...or orchard. I made the apples last fall but never got around to piecing the letters until this year. Annabel asked for a rather large block, hence all the white space (I didn't do the math quite right). But I like it.

Next up is Amisha's block for Patchwork 318, the Kumiko Fujita Bee. Hosting this bee has been a good lesson - I am bad at hosting bees! enough said. Amisha asked for sewing theme blocks for her sewing room.

Finally, a couple pics from last fall! This is a pouch I made for Jen for the Pretty Little Pouch Swap. She asked for neutrals and a frame pouch. To be honest, I cringed when I read frame because I didn't want Jen to be my guinea pig.
The frame and glue were ordered off Etsy (Guterman glue). The finishe pouch was super long and narrow with pointy ends. I couldn't figure out how I made an 18" wide and 5" high purse. I'm embarassed to say how many days it took for me to realize that I never squared the corners! Since I had already sewn and glued the whole thing, I had to pull the pouch through the frame and square it off. The seams are visible inside, which bothers the perfectionist in me, but the pouch no longer looks like a clown purse! The letters are leftover from the potholder that I made Ayumi. They are the first letters of Jen's kids names because I wanted to personalize the pouch without making it too cheesy.

I wish I was a photographer because then I would avoid taking photos with the light behind the subject.

Eeee!

2012-01-07T01:06:00.000-08:00

Imagine my surprise when I opened up Flickr and spotted this in my recent activity stream! Anna Maria Horner favourited my plus + x quilt! It's 1:04am and I have no one to share the excitement with. Well, no one who understands how exciting it was to see this on Flickr.

It was a nice little boost to my wavering creativity, as well as a reminder that I haven't worked on that quilt in eons! I might have to revisit that quilt as soon as I get some other ideas out of my head and onto my sewing machine.

In other news, like so many other people, I love Instagram. Since crafty/sewy/quilty/knitty pics look so great, I'd love to follow you. If you want share your pics with me, send me a message or leave a comment with your name so I can find you. You can find me at @percellt. One day I will actually unify all the names I have floating around the interwebs and apps.

This might be old news, but have you seen the dessert of the month at Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery? I can't remember the last time I cross stitched but it's time to start again. How could anyone resist a new one of these every month? And it's currently only $10 for the whole year!

It's the happiest time of the year...

2011-12-25T12:09:00.000-08:00

For everyone but the cat

The last couple months have thrown some curve balls over here at PatchworkNotes but I plan to start sewing and blogging again very soon. Thanks for sticking with me while I get my pom-poms together.

Wishing you much happiness and relaxation on this beautiful Sunday morning.

XOXO
PatchworkNotes

do you tell people that you sew or quilt?

2011-11-09T19:07:00.000-08:00

I don't. It's generally kind of a secret, to be honest. It's not that I make an effort to hide my hobby - when someone asks if I know how to sew - I say yes. But I don't offer up the information. I'm not sure why. I'm not ashamed of my aesthetic point of view and I don't think I've made many items that are worthy of a Regretsy mention. I'm also not ashamed of my skills - although my FMQ leaves little to be desired. Obviously I'm embarrassed and don't want to be judged - dumb, I know. And I'm actually kind of ashamed of myself for being embarrassed about my hobby! Now that's messed up.

Sewing, and quilting in particular, still have that "old lady stigma" sort of like knitting 10 years ago (even though I don't actually feel that way). Perhaps that's my hang up. There's so many people in my life who know my hobbies....then there's this other side who have no clue. All that said, sewing is clearly heading down knitting's path to "cool" for lack of a much better term. Still, I've kept it to myself.

Until today.

Instead of feeling liberated, I feel at little insecure - thinking about all the information out there about me. I also feel bad, like I've been hiding something. As my husband would say, "you over-analyze everything!" He's right. It's done. And it's not a big deal. And they are my friends. And now my two worlds collide.

Hi guys!

In other news: this baby is flinging it's way around the world as we speak.

Want to make your own? I made a foundation paper pattern in inDesign. Feel free to download it here. As usual, there's a per day download limit so if you aren't able to download, try again the next day. Or shoot me an email and I'll send it to you.

The template makes a 6" finished block (6.5" with seam allowance). I added one inch on each side of the pillow to bring the finished size to 20". The binding was an after-though because I sewed wrong-side to wrong-side then cut the corners before I noticed. What was I saying about not being ashamed of my sewing skills? hmm. Anyway, The thought of picking it apart and matching my crooked-corner-cuts made me feel a little nauseated. So, I decided to add binding instead - and I think I prefer the look! It adds a nice finish. Perhaps I'll use it more often.

So, back to the original topic. Do you tell people that you sew? Only select people? Only those who find out by accident? Only those who Google you? I'd love to know.

recent inspiration

2011-11-03T18:39:00.000-07:00

Real sewing content coming soon. But for now, we're on the third round of flu in our home, in three weeks. So here's some of the interesting stuff that I've seen from my bed. All I can say is thank the techno gods for iPads and Pinterest.

Source: vanessachristenson.com via Jennifer Mathis on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Tamiko on Pinterest

Source: cloth-ears.co.uk via Tamiko on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Tamiko on Pinterest

As it turns out, that last pillow was actually sent to me by my PTS6 partner! How lucky am I? I had already pinned it a while ago and the next thing I know - it shows up at my door. If only ice cream worked that way.

A long mish-mash

2011-10-10T15:55:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the nice feedback on the pillow. I have to admit that I was pretty sure the pillow tutorial would never be used because it's so labour intensive. Then Lorraine made a really nice version, which made it all worthwhile!

Things have been slow on the sewing front because I had surgery on my knee. The first few days were awkward, painful, and boring (because I couldn't concentrate on hand sewing or knitting) so there was a lot of this:

But here we are, just ten days later, and I'm almost walking without a limp. I still can't crouch, kneel, turn, twist or stand still for too long. But I am walking short distances so I am happy.

One week after surgery was my birthday. This was the first birthday in about 18 years that we haven't gone on a mini vacation. Chicago was the original plan but after I received my surgery date, I knew we couldn't go anywhere. Instead, my amazing husband made me a cute breakfast in bed complete with weeds from our garden, soggy hashbrowns and bacon that turned to dust with one bite.

It couldn't have been more perfect.

After doing some birthday shopping online, icing my knee, and chatting with friends and family, we headed over to our closest Apple store to pick up my gift. While we were there we mulled over the Steve Jobs Memorial. (anyone else see a quilt in this?)

And his impact on the world. I was surprised how many post-its were written by people from other countries. But, we were near Stanford so that might be why.

After Apple we headed to my favourite lunch spot and had the heirloom caprese salad with the most perfectly ripe and delicious heirlooms. YUM. I'm still thinking about those tomatoes.

Then it was home to ice and elevate and dream about sewing projects! What a great day.

But, this is a sewing blog and I have three months worth of string blocks to show you for the Modern String Quilt bee. Since I can't crouch down, I wasn't able to get pics of these blocks in formation.

First up is Jessica, who had September and chose orange, gray and cream with a turquoise center strip. Although I finished these blocks on time, I didn't get them mailed before surgery. I feel really bad especially because everyone in the is group is SO punctual.

Next is Jennifer, who chose aquas and greens with splashes of yellow, pink, gray, and orange. I think I was a little heavy on the orange splashes.

Finally, I sewed Melissa's blocks today. This is the first sewing I've done since the pillow! Yay! Melissa chose pink, aqua, green, neutrals - her inspiration is the Farmdale chicken fabric.

Seeing all the months together makes me realize that I use rather uniform strips and I don't mix things up much! I'll have to work on that for the final two months.

Now it's off to read about Sewing Summit adventures!

Thanks for stopping by!

That Special Friend Pillow {Tutorial}

2011-09-26T01:32:00.000-07:00

So, I ran into a little problem. It turns out that, when making a tutorial, I'm not so great at remembering to take pictures! I guess this is really more like a cross between a process and a tutorial. Hopefully it's somewhat helpful.

If you can remember very far back, this pillow is named for that special friend who is so proud to show off anything that you make her/him. She's worth the extra time and effort (or maybe that person is you!).

Name: *That* Special Friend Pillow
Finished Size: 20"
Credit: ~~Japanese Magazine (I'm assuming Cotton Time or Quilts Japan)~~ A sketch I made after seeing a pillow in Quilts Japan September 2010 (Thanks Doe!)
Sewing Style: Foundation Paper Pieced
Labour Level - Best Friend Status
Skill Level - the tutorial assumes you already know quilting basics, problem solving, and how to use a foundation pattern. If you haven't used a foundation pattern, this tutorial is a good start.

Supplies:
Courthouse steps template - 9 copies (there's a daily download limit. If you can't download, try the next day or email me (see profile) and I'll send it to you.)
20" pillow form
thread
22" square batting

Fabric:
Nine 1" squares

Dark Fabrics: 8 prints each at least 1" x WOF
Medium Fabrics: 8 prints each at least 1" x WOF
Light Fabrics: 1-20 prints each at least 1" x WOF

Inside border (solid): two strips 16.5"x1", two strips 17.5"x1"
Outside border (solid or print): two strips 18"x2", two strips 20"x2"

Backing: Depends on the back you choose. I used made an envelope back and used one piece 20"x15" and one piece 20"x10".

Step 1: Choose Fabrics

You will need four fabrics per block. The general idea is to have a light background, dark "star points," and medium corners. I'm not the best with values so my dark and medium run a rather blurry line.

The very astute will notice that I didn't use many of the fabrics in my picture. Once I got going, I realized that some just weren't working for me. Pretty common among, quilters, I think!

If you don't like to use foundation piecing, then head over to Kerry's blog and use her method. She is also in the midst of a (awesome) courthouse steps pillow tutorial and is not using foundation paper.

Once you have an idea of the fabrics that you want to use, you can either cut all your strips up front or cut as you go. I cut all my strips up front but didn't use a lot of them. No biggie - they are perfect for string quilts.

Here are my strips after they were cut.

Step 2: Construction

Hopefully you downloaded the template that I made. And hopefully it works for you. This is my first time drawing a foundation pattern template. Even though it's just a log cabin, it was still sort of hard for me. Let me know if you find mistakes. I tend to fix mistakes as I go then forget to record them for future use.

The first thing you'll need to do is decide where your fabrics are going to go. I marked the location of the light, medium and dark fabrics in the following grid.

In my pillow, I used one print per section but you could certainly make it more scrappy by mixing up your lights, mediums or darks. But make sure to keep lights with lights and darks with darks, etc.
Group your fabrics into sets according to which are going to go in each block. Then start with whatever block you want. I sewed all the outer blocks first and the center block last. But it really doesn't matter. I also chose my combinations as I went.

If you are using regular printer paper, make sure to set your stitch length to something very small. I go down to at least 1.8. This makes it much easier to rip the paper off without pulling out stitches.

This is the first place that I forgot to take pictures. But, since each strip is numbered, it should be fairly straight forward. I Googled log cabin paper piecing and found this tutorial, that looks pretty good. If you don't understand how to paper piece this block, follow that tutorial using my template.

Place your 1" square, right side up, over position "1" on the back side of the template. Then, allowing for 1/4" seams, place your medium print right sides together with the square and sew along position 2. Trim and press the position 2 strip. Your light print goes over position 3, then a medium over position 4, and so on. follow the order, paying attention to the light and medium and the block should turn out fine. I use an "add a quarter ruler" to trim every seam allowance and also press each seam. I would make a comment about being type A but I'm really not. I just like flat blocks ;)

Once all your blocks are sewn, remove the paper

You will be left with these:

Lay your blocks according to the chart then sew them together in rows.

Pressing the seams open, as you go

Now choose your 1/2" inner border. Here are some of the colours that I tried before settling on the turquoise Moda Crossweave.

The inner border uses the 1" wide strips for a finished size of .5". If you want to make a larger pillow, this would be a good spot to increase the size. Plus, a larger pillow would allow more of the borders to be viewed, which I think would look very nice.

Sew the shortest border strips to two opposite sides. Press the seams toward the border then sew the other two strips and press towards to the border.

Next, choose the outer border. I spent a lot of unnecessary time choosing this fabric! You can barely see the border in the finished pillow! If you are going to make a larger pillow, by increasing the border width, then you should probably spend time choosing the fabric. If not, just choose something that looks ok, but don't worry about it.

Here are some of the fabrics that I tried:

Step 3: Quilting and Assembly

Once the outer borders are attached, square up your pillow to 20". Do as I say, not as I did :) Sandwich your pillow top, just like you would any other quilt - spray or pins.

And quilt it it. I used random straight-ish lines.

In the original pattern - there was an appliqued flower in the center of the pillow. Applique is not my strong suit but I remember loving the look when I saw it. I really can't remember what the flower looked like, now. So I attempted to come up with some ideas. None of them made the cut. In the end I decided that I liked the pillow naked compared to my sad attempt to put something in the center. If I was to do this over, I might consider a dark center for the pillow. But I plan to keep playing with the applique.

Square your top to 20" then make the back of your pillow. Here are some tutorials for pillow backs:

Freshly Picked: Envelope Back
Sew Mama Sew: Zipper Flap Pillow Back
Sew Katie Did: Invisible Zipper Pillow Back

Once the back is finished, sew it to the front and trim the corners.

Turn the pillow right side out and stuff with your pillow form.

I really love this pillow and hopefully you, or whoever you make it for, will love it too. If you do make a version, please let me know - I'd be tickled pink to see it!

Thanks for stopping by,

Favourite Fabrics

2011-09-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

After I read Kerry's blog post about her five favourite fabrics, this morning, I got to thinking about whether I could choose just 5 favourites. Nope. So I challenged myself to really think about those prints that might cause me to shed a tear or two when I use up my last piece. Since I haven't taken any stash photos for quite some time, I thought I'd join the linky.

1. Suzuko Koseki floor plans in pink. This is one of my most favourite fabrics. Ever. I love the scale of the print, the bit of text, and most of all the colour. The coralish red colour is my favourite right now and seems to go with everything that I sew. This scrap is my last piece and I am sure that I'll cry a little when I use it up.

2. Another SK print. I love all her flour sack prints but this one with the linen and blue is especially appealing to me.

3. The black is Kumiko Fujita and I have no idea what the green is. I want to put the green print in everything. The black was a "just because" purchase that turned out to be a favourite when it arrived. I only have 30cm so I'm saving it for just the right project.

4. Vintage strawberry fabric on a nubby cotton. It's no secret that I love all things strawberry and this fabric makes me so happy. I have 1 meter and hope to stretch it out into a quilt.

5. Mister Donut and cute suitcases. These came from Ayumi. They are hard to use (the Mr. Donut in particular) but they make me so happy to look at. I put a little piece of the Mr. Donut in my plus and x quilt. I'm saving the rest of the piece for something very special. I love that these came from a friend and that they remind me of Japan.

I'm definitely someone who uses all my fabrics, so I won't be hoarding any of these but I will be waiting for the perfect moment to finish off each of the pieces. And it will be bitter sweet, for sure :)

For the "on display friend"

2011-09-13T01:40:00.000-07:00

**The full tutorial is now available here**

Thank you for your patience! I've had a rough couple weeks. We went away for a few days over the long weekend then things just went downhill after we got back. I can tell by the number of people who have unsubscribed recently, that maybe I need to get myself together and post something. So, I've decided to start my first gift tutorial even though my pillow isn't finished. A couple posts probably makes more sense because this is a long tutorial.

This tutorial is based on a pillow that I saw in a Japanese magazine last year. I couldn't afford the magazine at the time so I made a quick sketch of the pillow. I feel bad that I never wrote down the name. At the time, I didn't know that it was made from courthouse step blocks! I didn't even know what courthouse steps block were until I made this quilt for my dqs10 partner and someone told me the name in the comments! Yay! I love to learn. If you know where to credit the design, please let me know!

I think this pillow would be good for the type of friend who likes to display your handmade gifts year-round. It's a strange mix of fun/traditional/modern and will end up a generous 20 inches. I have more planned for this pillow but this is the main part of the design:

Name: On Display Friend {Pillow}
Finished Size: 20"
Credit: Japanese Magazine (I'm assuming Cotton Time or Quilts Japan)
Sewing Style: Foundation Paper Pieced
Labour Level - Best Friend Status

Step 1: Choose Fabrics

You will need four fabrics per block. The general idea is to have a light background, dark "star points," and medium corners. I'm not the best with values so my dark and medium run a rather blurry line.

The very astute will notice that I didn't use many of the fabrics in my picture. Once I got going, I realized that some just weren't working for me. Pretty common among, quilters, I think!

If you read the specs, then you know that I foundation paper pieced the blocks. I made a template and will share it with you in part two: construction (only because I have no idea how to share a pdf, yet). For now, here is a rundown of the colour layout for those of us who work better with schematics (note: I forgot to add "light" to the top middle image) (double note: "light" reminds me of bud light. Not sure why).

If you don't like to use foundation piecing, then head over to Kerry's blog and use her method. She is also in the midst of a (awesome) courthouse steps pillow tutorial and is not using foundation paper.

Once you have an idea of the fabrics that you want to use, you can either cut all your strips up front or cut as you go. I cut all my strips up front but didn't use a lot of them. No biggie - they are perfect for string quilts.

Here are my strips after they were cut.

You will need to cut the following fabrics:

Dark Fabrics: 8 prints each at least 1" x WOF
Medium Fabrics: 8 prints each at least 1" x WOF
Light Fabrics: 1-20 prints each at least 1" x WOF

Stay tuned for the next post on constructing the blocks and pillow, as well as updated pictures of my finished pillow! And this time there won't be such a lag.

Happy Tuesday and Thanks for reading.

Today's mantra

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

Source: iamthegirlanachronism.tumblr.com via Amy on Pinterest

I hope to be back tomorrow with a tutorial. In the meantime, check out this wreath and tree! I haven't made holiday decorations since I was a teenager but I'm pretty sure that wreath will break my dry spell!

Source: blog.betzwhite.com via Tamiko on Pinterest

{long} thoughts on gift-giving

2011-09-02T01:01:00.000-07:00

This morning I walked into the kitchen only to be overcome by a weird mix of sadness, giddiness and horror because I had to do something I haven't done in a long time.

I had to turn on the light.

A dark morning is the surest sign that fall is upon us. I'm a little sad to say goodbye to the long summer days, giddy that my birthday is around the corner, and horrified by the thought of rising before the sun.

But the change of seasons signals the start of a sometimes fun (though often stressful) time for a lot of sewers/knitters/crafters, which is, of course, gift making. As I was looking at all the gift ideas that people had pinned, this morning, it got me thinking about the gift making and giving process.

I think that we (creative people) tend to get caught up in making or wanting to make gifts for everyone we know. We are willing to overlook the fact that the recipient might not get the same joy from receiving as we get from giving. It's hard to believe but...

Some people don't like handmade gifts. (gasp!)

And we shouldn't judge them for it. We also shouldn't place our precious time and energy into making gifts for those people. Even if they are relatives or best friends or other people who really *should* like what we make.

Most of us can recall that moment we gave a gift, that took an absurd amount of time and money, only to have the recipient say "oh thanks" and put it aside. There's no greater buzz kill than an insincere thank you. It's a hard reality because these are the gifts that delight our souls and elicit warm fuzzies.

Last year's winner for least liked handmade gift. Not my best work. But still.

But here's the thing. We all have THAT friend who loves our handmade items to pieces. The one who will use your reject potholder until there's a hole in it. The one who will show every house guest that plaid chicken tea cozy with the glitter glue embellishments, the one who thinks that quilted stars don't have points. Maybe you're lucky and have too many of those friends.

Those people should be given fabulous handmade gifts.

This year I plan to reflect on the people who really deserve my time (my crafting time) and creativity. Then put extra effort into making them extra-special handmade presents. I hope you'll consider doing the same. Buy the rest a (handmade) card. They won't know the difference.

To get the juices flowing, I have some tutorials planned. The first of which will be posted after the long weekend. The tutorials won't be quick-and-easy gifts because they are meant for that special friend who deserves your extra time. They will be a little more involved but just as special. And I hope that one of them will inspire you to shorten your "to-create-for" list so that you have more time for somebody special. Maybe there will be a give away in it for you too.

Have a safe and happy weekend.

p.s. thanks to Verykerryberry's blog for teaching me how to add a signature today!

***I didn't mean to imply that people who don't like handmade gifts, don't deserve anything, including your time. My post is strictly about our crafting time. The gift of time spent with a person, helping a person, etc, is even more important and on a very different level***

Learning the hard way

2011-08-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

A couple months ago I was flattered to receive an invitation to join Cocorico {A Patchwork Bee}. For lack of a more acceptable description, it's a Ringo-Pie knock off. A creative bee for those of us who are in awe of the talent in Ringo Pie. Despite my better judgement (it will be stressful, challenging, hard...) I decided to go for it. And I'm glad I did because the girls in this group are amazing!

First up is Lauree who chose "anything from the kitchen that goes on a shelf...especially if it has special meaning to you or your kitchen." I'm crazy for vintage cookware - namely CatherineHolm. I dream of owning a shelf full of pieces. But mostly I want the fondue pot. I will never use it - all that melted cheese/fat/chocolate is too much for our 30-something bodies. But oh how I love the look of the fondue pot.

And it reminds me of my dad.

My dad could cook only three items: fried tomatoes, scrambled eggs, and beer fondue. He loved that beer fondue. We would have it every new year's eve when I was growing up. And sometimes other "special" occasions.

I don't know why I thought a fondue pot would be a good first go at designing my own paper pieced pattern. It took an embarrassingly long time to draw the pattern, then to figure out how to put it together, then to sew almost every piece incorrectly.

In the end, it's lumpy, some seams are a very scant 1/8", much of it is hodge-podged together because I couldn't make certain sections work the way I planned. And the wallpaper. Oh the wallpaper. I had to cut my idea of a set of matching fondue forks because I ran out of wallpaper. The wallpaper was also a hard lesson in learning to think carefully about sewing order.

I showed the block to my engineer husband who said it's "nice" followed by "somehow this doesn't work, like it needs to be upright to make sense." while pointing to the obvious...

Clearly not a sewer.

Despite the imperfections, I am totally in love with the end result and want to make one for myself. Or maybe keep this one and make a better version, with cleaner lines for Lauree. I wouldn't want to bring down her quilt with my crooked wallpaper and haphazard seams but I so hope that she loves it anyway!

all in one year

2011-08-13T20:08:00.000-07:00

Here we have the first quilt that I started AND finished in the same year! And it's only August. And the fabric was free (thank you Robert Kaufman Fabrics!). And this is a do-over. Go figure.

This quilt was made for my local Modern Quilt Guild's Kaufman Kona challenge (a few months ago!). We were each given one charm pack in the brights colourway and told to make a solids-only quilt. No prints and (I think) just one colour for the background.

It. Was. Tough.

I love Kona and the variety offered but man that's a lot of colours in one little charm pack. The mix of primary's and, what I would consider, pastels was a real challenge for me (that's the point, right!). I tried so hard to come up with a design that used all the colours but couldn't do it. In the end, I left out the 3 purples, a couple primary greens, and a pink. Oh, and the white charm.

The background and binding is from my stash - Kona bone, I think. Perhaps not the most wise choice, considering I was thinking baby while making this. The quilt is backed in some random print from my stash. I'm sure there was a name on the selvage but I forgot to read it before tossing the scraps. I love the cirlcey-dotty nature of the print. Pretty.

Specs:

Size: 40"x47"
Fabric: 1 Kona charm pack in the brights colourway, 1.5 yards Kona in bone.
Batting: Warm and White
Thread: pieced with Aurifil 50wt in off-white, quilted with Mettler 40wt in off white.
Backing: Some random print from my stash
Happiness Level: Surprisingly good!

I wish that charm packs were available in the colourways of the fat quarter solids bundles. I'd have a use for those.

Random Crap

2011-08-11T22:07:00.000-07:00

The hubs is out of town tonight so I thought I'd walk down the street and get some Chinese. I got side tracked at the bookstore...and the clothes store...and the miscellaneous stuff store. An hour later I was at home eating leftovers while perusing my random crap.

The Pantone notebook (Chronicle Books) must have been designed with quilters in mind. It's cute, portable, and check out the inside.

3/4 of the page is graph paper and the bottom quarter is blank. It's almost like they envisioned someone sketching block or project ideas and jotting down notes on the bottom. Love.

Happy Thursday!

A Pouch

2011-08-10T18:50:00.000-07:00

For someone who despises installing zippers in my sewing, I sure do put myself in a position to make a lot of pouches! I was very excited when I got my partner for the Pretty Little Pouch swap because she's one of the first people I ever met on Flickr and I really like her a lot. She likes bright colours and linen and wanted a large pouch. I hope this makes her happy.

The pouch is approximately 9"x6"x2". I had one 9" zipper in my stash so I set out to make a pouch that would fit. To make the blocks, I started with a small square for the center then sewed triangles onto each edge and trimmed to a 1/4", of the point, on each side and repeated. Much to my amazement - it worked!

The linen is thick and nubby, and new to me. I was a little surprised to see how out of control my needle felt during the top stitching. But I think the wobbly lines add some character. The back is more linen and I top stitched various lines to add a pattern. I like how it turned out.

I doubt that I can recreate this pouch but I think I'm going to try to make something similar for myself because even though I sew a lot, I still keep my work toiletries in a ziploc bag!

Little Girl Quilt

2011-08-03T19:15:00.000-07:00

64"x68" 5 charm packs Dream On by Moda

One year and one month. That's all it took to finish my first charm pack quilt! Actually, that's how long it took to get around to quilting it. I finished the top last June. This past weekend I was looking for fabric to back Swoon, and came across my Dream On quilt top. I decided to quilt Dream On so it didn't risk being in the same bin at this time next year.

I also tried spray basting for the first time - something I don't plan to try again for a very long time. What a nightmare! I know that spray basting is crazy popular but I had The. Worst. Experience. Ever. In fact, if there was ever something that could make me stop quilting forever, spray basting would be it. But I digress. I don't doubt that it was a toxic combo of user error, brand and a dash of bad juju.

So, I grabbed my trusty basting pins and started over. Lucy was excited.

You can tell that I made this quilt top a year ago because back then I had no idea that every seam should be pinned in order to get the points to match. The points are as much as 3/4" off. Yes, you read that right. On a 5 inch charm, I managed to be off by almost 1/5!

This was my first time using (semi) straight lines on a big quilt. Straight lines are FAST! Now I see why they are so popular. I also really like how the quilt is softer than the quilts that I tried stippling.

The binding is a random Kona (I think) in a fuschia-ish colour.

Dream On is a really cute line. I'm hoping that a recipient at Project Linus will think it's pretty too. Even if it is a year late.

I have no idea what happened to all my photos

2011-07-21T10:22:00.001-07:00

Thanks for all your emails letting me know that all my photos disappeared. I have no idea where they went but I'll look into it. Anyone know why this happened?

summertime versus sewtime

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

Summertime always wins.

But the weeks are not without progress.

I got a little carried away making some blocks to add to the blocks that the great girls in my bee are going to make. The bee (and my month) don't start until August but I had to feed my need to start new projects. My colours are neutrals with a little colour.

These were my test blocks that I was really happy with.

Then I made a bunch more...

And put them together...

It's busier than the version in my head (surprising because my head is pretty busy!) but I still like where it's heading. Some neutral heavy blocks in the mix should do the trick to calm it down a bit. I'm aiming big with this quilt. That doesn't mean that the quilt will get finished. Just that, in a world where quilts get finished, this would be a biggie.

This month, also marked the end of the Spicing up the Kitchen swap. My partner (who I was somewhat intimidated to create for because she seems to have great style) wanted lots of potholders. I don't know what constitutes lots but apparently, to me, lots is three. She desired fairly specific colours and style but I had to throw in one that was a little bit more me. Scrappy and black, to leave my mark.

I love black in quilting and sewing projects. But if fabric had a billboard top 40, black probably wouldn't make. In fact, at my local MQG meeting a couple months ago (because I can so rarely actually make a meeting), we went around the room and named our ONE favourite colour. Ya, I know, right? Just one? I said black and, at once, the room seemed to be both silent and full of gasps. So, ya, not a popular choice but I think my partner is hip and cool enough to make black work in her kitchen. If not, I also made a simple towel.

Don't forget to check out my interview with Jennifer. Happy Monday! Thanks for stopping by.

2011-07-10T19:02:00.000-07:00

Do you read Ellison Lane's Blog? If not, you should because on Friday I was part of Jennifer's Chat feature! I feel so awful that I didn't have computer access to blog about it until now because she was so nice to include an unknown, like me, among popular bloggers like Erin of Two More Seconds and Darci of Stitches and Scissors.

Thanks Jennifer! I too, wish we were close enough to hang out!

Now head on over and see what else she has cooking - there's always something fun happening at her blog.

goodbyes and pretty things

2011-06-27T20:12:00.000-07:00

(Sorry about the gigantic photos. I'm having issues with Blogger right now - most likely me, not them.)

Right about now my dear friend Ayumi is on a plane headed for Tokyo. And this time she won't be coming back. I'll certainly miss her but I'm also really excited for their new adventure in Japan and very happy that she gets to be back with her family.

It didn't take long to decide what I wanted to make for her going away gift. A few months ago we had this plan to make matching potholders, from one of Kumiko Fujita's books, and applique our initials in the center of the flower (Ayumi's idea - I'm not that creative). Like all Kumiko Fujita's patterns - the potholder pattern is tedious and without much in the way of directions. And we talk...a LOT. So, the potholders fell by the wayside.

I decided to take another crack at the pattern and I'm glad that I did. They turned out cute - although the one I made Ayumi is so so so much cuter. Even she said that :) Gotta love a friend who tells the truth! Mine was used as the test run and what a good idea that was because I messed up the center. As luck would have it, I did not have to attempt to monogram or applique our initials because I found fabric with large letters. YAY!

Now for the good part. Even though she's the one leaving, she still made me the cutest wall hanging. After we tried our hand at image transfers she told me about an idea she had and it sounded so cute. How lucky am I to receive it? Also, as my husband said, "it is the perfect gift for someone with an unhealthy relationship with taffy." true true. I'm working on it. I love this wall hanging to pieces.

Can you believe all the details? I'm not surprised by the details but definitely amazed. So. Darn. Cute. I have a fairly vintage-y kitchen so this wall hanging is a perfect fit! However, it's not going in there because I don't want to risk getting it dirty. Instead, it's hanging in my sewing area - I spend more time there anyway! I almost died when I saw the cute little strawberries and the heart cut out on the bird is just darling. I could go on.

If the amazing wall hanging wasn't enough, I was also gifted with her famous scrap bin, which will obviously be put to good use.

Thanks Ayumi! I will miss you and I'm already excited to see you in January.

Week 3 and some other news...

2011-06-17T09:02:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to report that I'm still keeping up on the Farmer's Wife quilt along. In fact, this week I jumped ahead a bit and made four blocks! The other day I was looking at my schedule and realized that there are at least 8 weeks that I won't be able to make blocks and that doesn't include all the weeks that I won't feel like it! So, I need to do some doubling up whenever the inspiration strikes because I'd love to finish this on schedule with everyone else. If you haven't checked out the group yet, you should. Amazing blocks are posted everyday!

Unfortunately I didn't take pictures of the single blocks and I'm blogging from work so I have to use the pictures from my flickr stream.

Block #? (I'll fill in later)
Fabric: the pink recipe fabric is by Kumiko Fujita and is just the cutest! It also comes in aqua, which I don't have. If you have some you'd like to swap, please let me know! The stripes in that block are by Suzuko Koseki and the brown dots are Lecien medium in brown.

Block #1(?) Attic Windows (I think)
Fabric: The greenish fabric is Lecien (my folklore, I think), pink heath, the macaron was fussy cut from Yuwa's super cute pastry fabric, and I used those brown dots again because I love them.

Block #?
Fabric: The apple fabric is Clothesline Club Sweet Treats #7775 by Robert Kaufman. I don't know what the dots are but I'd love more! The fabric was a random fat quarter at my LQS.
This block was a nightmare for me. You can read about my attempts on my flickr picture.

Block#?
Fabric: The dots are those coral-y red ones from Joann's that I used in previous blocks and the floral print is vintage. I bought it for curtains in my kitchen. It's a poly blend and was a slippy pain to sew with. But it's cute.

Other News...
I was so flattered (shocked!) when Jennifer at Ellison Lane Quilts contacted me to ask if she could feature my Japanese + and x quilt on her beautiful blog for her Flickr Friday Inspiration post. She wrote such nice things about my quilt (in progress) and makes me think that she must be the sweetest person. Check out her cute pin cushion tutorial too!

In reading her post, I realized that I haven't even blogged about my progress on that quilt! So, I will have to make it my mission to take some pictures this weekend and write something up. That is another quilt along that should not be missed! It's also a no pressure go-at-your-own pace QAL. Love.

Thanks Jennifer, you totally made my Friday :)

Week 2

2011-06-07T19:49:00.000-07:00

I'm on a roll. The blocks for week two of the Farmer's Wife quilt along are supposed to be posted tomorrow but I know I won't have time so I'm posting them tonight. What a joy this quilt has been to work on so far...of course, I've purposefully been ignoring the difficult blocks.

Block #71: Puss in the Corner (hmm)
Fabric: Moda Authentic dictionary print and two more prints from Denyse Schmidt's line at Joann's.

Block #4: Basket Weave
Fabric: Some random coral/red/orange polka dot print, Lecien strawberries, and one of the Denyse Schmidt prints from Australia (love - why oh why didn't Joann's choose it?).

Never having to repeat a block is a lot of fun - and a good learning experience. I am looking at sampler quilts in a whole new way.

I hope you had a lovely Tuesday and have an even better Wednesday!

Me? A Farmer's Wife?

2011-06-04T09:24:00.000-07:00

Nope. Our community garden is built on a Superfund site and our neighbours city chickens were hit by a car. But my bookshelf is full of books on tiny homesteads, food preserving, and raising Alpacas. So, when a friend suggested that I join the Farmer's Wife Quilt Along, being hosted by Angela and Amanda, I was intrigued.

I said yes. Blindly. While at lunch. Without looking up the book on my phone.

She warned me that the quilt and book don't look like something we'd normally pick up. But I admit that I still fought off a small curl in the corner of my lip when I finally saw the cover on Amazon. Yes, I judge books by their covers. I shouldn't. But I do. I'm working on it.

The wonderful thing about quilting (or almost any hobby) is doing your own thing. Learn the history and tradition then do it your way. The Farmer's Wife quilt is very traditional but that doesn't mean that you have to use traditional fabrics or colours. So far 92 people are in the quilt along and, in the end, there will be 92 different interpretations of the quilt. Some will look like the original, some will be solids, many will use modern fabrics and you know that at least one person will come out with some sort of eye-popping version that no-one imaged possible. All be great!

I'm impulsive - no Vegas for me. So I purchased the kindle version of the book. Be warned that the digital version does not come with templates. Don't worry, the math is simple. I downloaded the book and read most of the letters, which I highly recommend. Perused the blocks. Imagined the blocks in my fabrics. A couple hours later, I was really excited to get started! I certainly have enough projects on the go but this quilt along is pressure-free and only requires you to make two 6" blocks per week. The labour intensity varies by block so you can choose based on your available time.

My plan of attack is to choose my fabrics when I choose the block. No surprise there since scrappy is at the heart of my sewing. I don't want the FW to compete with my Japanese + and x quilt so this one won't be too bold or busy. But that's about as much as I know right now. Here's what I made for week 1 (last week, I think).

Block #31 - Evening Star. Ok, so I'm a little slow and didn't grasp that it's called evening star because it should have a very dark background.
Fabric - the green polka dot is by Lecien and currently one of my most favourite fabrics in my stash. I have no idea who makes the cherries. I received a small piece with a fabric order from Japan.

Block #21 - The Contrary Wife
Fabric - The pink text is a Suzuko Koseki print, the yellow woodgrain is Aviary2, and the tiles are from Denyse Schmidt's line at Joann's.

I hope you decide to join. If you do, be sure to join the group.

My Creative Space

2011-05-22T02:01:00.000-07:00

Few people have seen my sewing space. Maybe it's because I don't have many "real" friends with hobbies. Maybe it's because I'm embarrassed to tell people that I sew; or maybe still it's because I like to sew alone. Whatever the reason, even fewer people have seen my space in the middle of a project.

Yes, this really is how I sew. I want to be one of those people with a perfectly clear sewing area, lots of light, and organized sets of fabric. But I'm not. And I think I've come to terms with the fact that I'll never be *that* person.

I'm the person who has had to stop a project for no other reason than not being able to find it. I am the person who competes for space with bicycles and bicycle parts. The person who hangs her design "wall" over the closet then complains when her husband lifts the wall and knocks off half the blocks.

But I am also a lucky person. I am lucky to have the time and resources to sew when I want. I am lucky to have a husband who will give up his workspace so I can have sewing space. I am lucky to use the start/stop button by choice, not necessity. And I am lucky, as my husband pointed out, to have grown up in a home where creativity was never stifled by the need for organization, tidiness, or a clear workspace.

Although it would be nice to have a place for everything and everything in its place, I'm grateful to my parents for not stifling my creativity in the name of organization.

And the winner is...

2011-05-06T23:44:00.000-07:00

#2, Angela! Congratulations. I know that you're moving soon so I can hold on to this until you're settled, if it will make things easier.

Does anyone know how to post a picture of the number generator? I just did a screen shot but I've seen images on other blogs that lead me to believe I can download or link it somehow. Not a big deal, just curious.

Also, it turns out that I'm not kookoo, I actually came down with a stomach bug last night!

Have a great weekend.

Longest.Week.Ever

2011-05-05T19:18:00.000-07:00

It shouldn't be. I haven't had to work late one night this week. In fact, I've left early 3 out of 4 days. I'm not driving, so there's no commuting headache. I'm getting lots of exercise from taking my bike. We broke the daily monotony with a Cinco de Mayo day at work. I have eaten home-made most days - so, in theory, I should *feel* healthier and more energetic. But I don't. I also went from feeling a renewed sense of creativity on Sunday to feeling like death today.

This week feels like Ground Hog Day.

My mind wants to sew but my body just wants to lay on the couch and watch Gray's. Even this fun fabric isn't enough to inspire me to create something tonight.

A half yard of vintage Campbell's soup fabric. The other day, I mentioned wanting Campbell's soup fabric. Who knows why? It just kinda popped into my head. When I got home I decided to check eBay. What are the odds that someone on eBay was selling this? The scale is a little larger than I would normally find useful but I think I can do something fun with it.

Next, a set of cute vintage mugs from Etsy. There was so much crap in my kitchen that I couldn't find a spot big enough to take a picture of both mugs (the recipe box is hiding junk behind it) so here's one mug. Cute, right? Well, it is if you like thrifty finds.

It's kinda small. By today's standards, it would probably be considered a large shot glass but I'm pretty sure it was full size - back in the day :)

Hopefully this weekend I will have something more crafty to show. Here's to almost making it through the week! Have a great night and don't forget that you still have time to enter my little give away.

Thanks for stopping by.

Little Successes Give Away

2011-05-03T00:16:00.000-07:00

Oh ya, took my lunch to work today. Woke up late and still took the train. Didn't buy dinner (but did buy bubble tea on my walk home). Got some sewing done tonight. Make it in May is off to a good start.

Tonight I made this little pouch based on Malka's formula in Stitch Magazine (and book). I like her's so much more.

Apparently I need to start wearing my glasses because I was sure that the thread I used was orange! Seriously. I looked at it under light. It's not orange. What was I on when I bought it?

It's my first time using variegated thread and I like it but I think it belongs on solids, not prints. But then I also think that dark linen belongs on darker fabrics too. It's all about getting outside the comfort zone.

So, in the name of experimentation and little successes, this week's Make it in May give away is a copy of Stitch Magazine from April 2010 and a few strips of fabric so that you can play around with a scrap-busting pouch of your own (if you want).

I know the magazine is old but it was a really good issue. It has Ayumi's super cute plastic bag dispenser and apple coasters (still need to make those) and Kevin Kosbab's awesome Hello My Name is placemats (also on the to-do list). And, I accidentally bought two because I have short term memory problems. I'm even going to give you the copy that I didn't drop in the pool!

So, if you don't have it yet leave a comment and tell me what month of the year (if any), inspires change in you. You have until Friday May 6 at 5pm to leave a comment - and I bet your odds of winning are really good! Really really good! Please make sure that I have a way to contact you.

Thanks for reading.

Make it in May

2011-05-01T13:48:00.000-07:00

There's something about May. The days are longer, everyone in my department pledges to leave the car at home for the entire month, we often have our first heat wave of the year, and my allergies make me feel like I have the worst cold of my life - everyday. But the biggest thing about May is my overwhelming desire for change.

It never fails. I'm usually desperate for a spring vacation because I've (almost) stuck out the long dry spell between winter vacation and summer vacation. I also have the urge to purge - the closets, fabric, clothes, dishes. You name it, I'm ready to use it or lose it. May is my January 1.

Enter Make it in May - my chance to get a little focus and change things up in a public forum. It's sort of like telling people you're on a diet. Once it's out there you need to stick to it. As with any successful change, you should really have specific, measurable, attainable goals. These are mine:

Creating - Sew/craft/knit/create at least three times a week. And no, fabric shopping doesn't count. Neither does looking at fantastic items on Flickr.

Eating - I will make my lunch and dinner 3 times a week. I used to cook all the time but somewhere between work and living walking distance to everything, we fell into a bad habit. Currently, I make lunch approximately 0 times a week. My dinner record is far superior coming in at about 2 times a week. Although my blood pressure isn't high (yet) I imagine that it's only a matter of time given how much sodium I consume. It will also help me get ready for Warrior Dash. And think about all the extra money that will be available should my craft fund need a boost! I will not, however, give up my morning soy chai latte. It's my guilty pleasure, makes me immeasurably happy, and starts my day just right.

Blogging - And, because things are better in threes, I will blog. More.

So, why do you care? Because, I figure that this is the perfect time to do my first blog give away (I don't think the Japan one counts). Tune in tomorrow to find out what you can win by helping to keep me on track!

Today's success? I made a casserole to have for lunch and dinner for the next few days. Now i just need to remember to pack it! Doesn't everything look better in pyrex? even 9pm photos.

I also tried making some Japanese + and x quilt blocks for the QAL (not starting until June). I love the center block in the top row, not so keen on the others. But, I'm experimenting with colour, so it's all good. Love them or not, the quilt will be awesome. When I first saw the original quilt back in January, it never crossed my mind to copy it! What a novel idea ;) I thought drooling was the only option. Here's hoping that my experimentation with colour will eventually pay off.

Wordless Saturday...because this couldn't wait until Wednesday

2011-04-30T13:24:00.000-07:00

Hoo-Ha Pouch Tutorial

2011-04-25T22:06:00.000-07:00

Well, it's better than what my husband was calling it.

I've struggled with how to post this tutorial because, honestly, I made this up as I went along. No measurements were involved, the lining had to be redone 4 times and I went through two zippers. It was a bad experience. Translating that into a tutorial has proven difficult. So I decided to assume that if you're reading this you 1) already know how to make a zippered pouch or, 2) know how to google it :) Instead, this is a formula of sorts - with lots of pictures.

*pictures of the finished pouch can be seen in my previous post*

Materials:
Fabric for the outside of your Hoo-Ha
Fabric for the peek-a-boo portion of your Hoo-Ha
Lining fabric
Zipper based on the size pouch you want to make.

1. The hoo-has are made from bias strips of any size. Obviously the wider the bias strips, the bigger the space will be between rows (or the bigger you should make your hoo-has). I used 1" bias strips for my pouch.

2. Decide the width and height of your pouch. Decide the width of the bias strips you want to use. It might be easiest to make your pouch like I did, with one piece of fabric that, when folded in half, forms both sides of the pouch.

3. Get out your calculator or your favourite 7 year old and figure out how many finished bias strips you will need in order to lay them side by side across the width of the pouch. Multiply that number by the length of the pouch. Make that much flat-fold bias tape.

4. If you have never made flat-fold bias tape just cut bias strips that are twice the width of your finish bias tape. Feed the strips through a bias tape doohickey, like the one in my picture (don't mind the trashy ironing board cover). Press down the folds as you pull the bias tape doohickey along and - voila - flat fold bias tape. The doohickey is totally worth the few dollars at Joann's on a sale day.

4. Lay your pressed bias strips, folded side down, over your peek-a-boo fabric.

5. Pin down your strips then draw lines every so often from end to end. My lines are 1.25" apart. If the bottom of you pouch will have a larger/flatter bottom, add more space between the lines at the half-way point.

6. Stitch across all your lines.

7. Stretch those fingers and break out the Ben-Gay because it's time to do some hand-sewing. Lots of hand sewing. The method is just like a cathedral square. Ok, I say that with no prior experience making cathedral squares. But I've seen pictures. It looks similar. So I'm sticking with "same." You're smart, you know if it is or not.

8. Starting at one end, fold back one of the openings to create half a hoo-ha. Stitch that baby down. Since we're using bias tape, a natural curve occurs in the center. Just follow the natural curve from beginning to end, tacking down every so often. I placed a stitch every 1/8 inch. But, if you've read all eight blog posts, you might have noticed that I am not good with eye balling ASE increments. Keep going. And going. And going. Until you reach the other end. Then make your way back down the other side. Continue across every strip.

This is the only progress picture I have because I would sew one segement here or there until it was finished.

9. Woohoo, all done! Trim up your fabric and make youself a throw pillow or a centerpiece. You might want to frame it because you spent so much time on this part that you don't think you can go on. But if you do, go to step 10.

10. Start making the pouch. Measure your fabric. Write it down. Fold the fabric right sides together along the short edge and sew up the sides. Square off the bottom (sorry, I forgot to take a picture).
Sew a leftover bias strip around the top raw edges of the pouch.

11. Fold up the edge and press flat.

12. Fold over and pin down. At this point, things started to fall apart. I stitched down the binding. Nothing fancy, just top stitch. But, the lining also had to be top stitched into the bag so it looked a little sloppy. Next time I won't top stitch at this point . But it's totally up to you.

13. Cut a piece of lining fabric slightly smaller than the outside (hopefully you wrote down the size in step 9). Cut in half width-wise. The zipper is going to be inset in the pouch, which requires sewing the lining to the wrong side of the zipper.

14. Sew the sides of the lining together (I hope you opened the zipper first). Sew across the bottom.

15. Square off the bottom, with the same amount you used on the outside of the pouch.

16. The following pictures have a different lining than the previous pictures. Remember I said I had to redo it? Don't be confused. It's the same pouch.

17. Place your lining inside the pouch, matching the zipper head to one side of the pouch and the tail to the other side. Then top stitch around to hold it in place (I stitched on the outside binding). I didn't take any photos at this point because it's hard to do when your middle finger is busy.

But this photo shows how it sits inside the pouch and where I stitched.

The stitching ends up just below the edge where the zipper meets the lining fabric. Much like where you would top stitch when you are making a zippered pouch the normal way.

18. All Done! Zip it up, hope that it doesn't twist because your zipper ends were slightly off, and stuff with fabric.

Then go out and show everyone your Hoo-ha!

Long Overdue

2011-04-18T21:20:00.000-07:00

I know that I owe you a tutorial and it is coming. But first, I have some long overdue thanks.

Over a week ago I was flattered to learn that Ali and Bry both nominated me for a stylish blogger award. I'll be honest, I don't know what the award is but who cares - Ali and Bry and totally sweet and talented flickr friends and bloggers and I'm totally flattered that they would think of my blog when asked to pay it forward. Check them out - the girls can create!

As part of the award I am supposed share seven things about myself and pay it forward to six recently discovered bloggers. Here goes nothing.

About me.
1) I am Canadian but have been living in the US for the past 8 years.
2) I have an uncanny ability to block out all noise/light/movement/people around me at any time. A juicy conversation could be going on in the seat next to me and I'd have no idea what so ever.
3) Except if the noise is the sound of someone eating. I can hear that two or three cubicles away and can't finish any work until the person stops eating.
4) I doddle. I could wake up an hour earlier than usual and still arrive an hour later than usual to work.
5) I'm lucky to have a very flexible schedule.
6) I'm the reason the man down the street nails a "no trespassing" sign to his orange tree every year.
7) I've asked my husband for a second cat every Sunday for the past 4 years.

Six recently discovered bloggers. Boy that's a lot!

1) Mand-a-lin
2) This Portlander
3) Providence Handmade
4) Maggie Makes
5) Lulubloom
6) Jaceycraft

deadlines deadlines deadlines

2011-04-04T22:21:00.000-07:00

Deadlines are good. They get the blood pumping. They give you a reason to buckle down and accomplish some work. They also approach Way. Too. Fast. The Make Mine Modern swap deadline will be here next week (eek!). Luckily I managed to muster enough energy to finish an item for my partner - something to let her know that I didn't forget about her, while I try to finish her main item. Boy do I hope I finish that main item.

My partner and I have very different tastes in fabric and colour but I tried to find a happy medium that I would be comfortable with and that she would love. I really hope she loves this pouch.

Here's what it looks like with a couple of Parisville FQ's inside (those are headed your way too!).

Okey dokey pokey. I hope this is enough eye candy for now because I'll be working until the last moment to finish item #1.

And for those who are curious - yes, a tutorial is on it's way (complete with step by step evening photos). If you become a follower you'll know when it's posted!

Finally - A winner!

2011-04-03T15:01:00.000-07:00

I know I said I would raffle the FQ of fmf gray seeds on March 30 but I just haven't had the time to do anything but work and sleep, with the odd Flickr check in while I have moment at work. Thank you for your patience!

This was my first time having a giveaway and I didn't think it through in advance. I should have had everyone leave a comment here but, since I didn't, I just made a list and gave each person a number for every $10 spent and called it good. Lesson learned.

And now what you've all been waiting for. The winner is #34, Bethany G! Your gray seeds will go out in the mail tomorrow. I hope you use and enjoy them!

Thanks so much everyone - good fabric karma to all!

Amazing!

2011-03-26T17:58:00.000-07:00

My destash fundraiser was a huge success thanks to all of you amazing fabric lovers! The fabric is packaged and U.S. destinations were sent today. International will go out on Monday because I arrived at the post office close to closing time. When they saw how many packages I had they wouldn't let me stand in line.

After shipping, shipping refunds, etsy fees, and paypal fees the total raised was $860.00!! Can you believe that? A little fabric and some nice people can make a big difference. Only 3 items are left in the shop. 3 items! I know I said that everything had to sell for the gray seeds raffle to happen but I'm thrilled so I am still going to raffle the FQ on March 30. I also have that "ooo, so close" feeling with the amount raised so I plan to add a few more items to the shop to try and bring the total to $1000 even.

Thank you so much to everyone who purchased something. I hope that you are happy with your purchase and have a lovely time sewing. It was very cathartic to let go of so many favourite pieces. While I was packing them, I only felt a pang of regret twice. It was really hard to let the multi-coloured buttons on cream and the swell charm packs go. But, I pressed on and it's for the better.

If you decide to do a destash fundraiser in the future, please let me know. I would love to support you!

Destash for Japan

2011-03-22T00:33:00.000-07:00

I love Japan. I would love Japan even if I wasn't half Japanese. I would love Japan even if my family didn't come from the traumatized Tohoku region. So when my friend told me about his fundraising efforts to create kits that will help those who lost everything to get back on their feet, I knew I had to help him out.

What better way than destashing my precious fabrics. A disaster of this magnitude is an excellent reminder that I shouldn't be so attached to my fabric! All proceeds will go to relief efforts in Japan so please consider buying something.

If you're on a fabric diet there are other ways to help Japan or Haiti or any other country. Here are five ideas to get you started.

Give up a yard of fabric a month to sign up for monthly donations to your favourite disaster response charity. We are all eager to give when disaster strikes but it's the year round donations that make it possible for organizations like the Red Cross or Shelterbox to be on the ground within 24 hours. They need funds in the bank at the moment a disaster strikes.
Sign up for Modern Relief Japan and either donate a quilt to the raffle or buy a raffle ticket. EDIT: http://www.quiltersnewsletter.com/blogs/insideqn/2011/03/18/call-for-quilts-for-japan/ a call from Japan to collect comfort quilts.
Got time? Sew a quilt for Mission of Love. I heart their mission and guidelines.
Volunteer your non-sewing skills. Most professional organizations have a volunteer unit similar to Doctors without Borders. I am an Urban Planner and have been asked to volunteer my GIS skills to perform analysis on the quake/tsunami stricken area. Engineers, earth scientists, counsellors, etc will be needed by the numerous NGO's on the ground.
Scrounge up the money to buy something from my destash :) It's going to a good cause, is easy as clicking a few buttons, and will hopefully help some elderly and families get back on their feet.

As an added incentive, if everything in my destash shop sells by March 30, 2011, then I will raffle off a FQ of FMF gray seeds. You will receive 1 raffle entry (random number generator) for every $10 you spend in the shop. But only if it all sells. You can do the math. There won't be more than $1000 worth of items so there won't be more than 100 chances to win. In fact, there probably won't be more than $500 worth of items. Those are pretty good odds for a piece of lovelyness.

Details:
Many nice people sent me messages telling me not to destash below market value. I have taken their advice and raised my prices a little. I have still tried to keep the prices below the going rate on etsy but I've decided that, given the cause, I should try to get more than just retail. I hope you understand.
I will try to post all the items at 10:00 am on March 22, 2011
My shop Don't laugh at my store - this is tiring :)
If I think you're a reseller, I will have no problem cancelling the sale.
Shipping will happen on the weekend.

Thanks in advance for whatever you do to help people in hard times. It doesn't go unnoticed!

One post a month blog

2011-03-07T15:05:00.000-08:00

That seems to be the trend. I feel like I have nothing crafty to blog about but, when I think about it, I really do.

I just finished my Urban Home Goods swap item for my partner. I don't know what it is but I love it and I hope my partner does too. Is it a center piece? table mat? candle mat? hot pad? my partner can decide. Whatever it is, I'm just glad it's finished on time! It was a pretty close call as I didn't realize that it would be such a time consuming project.

The pattern was picked up at Satin Moon Quilt shop (a cooler shop than their website would lead you to believe) in Victoria, BC while I was home for Christmas. Because of that, I have no idea if I can post a tutorial. It doesn't require any pattern pieces, it's really just a couple pages of typed instructions. As you can see it's a pretty basic pattern (I added an extra row so the one I made it larger, maybe 14.5").

This leads me to believe that free tutorials abound on the interwebs. But what is it called? I've found lots of the styrofoam christmas balls that are made the same way but none for a flat item. As soon as I find one, I'll post a link here. I also plan to post some tips so you don't have to learn the hard way.

Edit: Here's a tutorial with a different folding method that results in a different but lovely hotpad!

All that said, it is totally worth the time and effort. I love it so much I can barely part with it. In fact, if I hadn't left it so close to the deadline (hours), I might have kept it for myself and made something different for my partner.

Alas, it's headed to it's new home where it's destined to be...something.

Another 2010 UFO finished!

2011-02-13T14:59:00.000-08:00

Last year I had this great plan. I would use scraps and make a series of monotone scrappy quilts. In theory, it seemed like a neat idea. In reality I didn't enjoy much of the process. I'm a process crafter through and through but, for the first time, I have completed a project that was all about the finished product. The only enjoyable part of the quilt was he fabrics.

Now that it's finished, I love it. Love. Love. Love. It's green and cheery and scrappy and I'm so glad I didn't let it fall too far into the UFO abyss.

The quilt is a basic spiderweb. I used a template based on a tutorial found online. It's been so long that I honestly can't remember where I found the tutorial but I remember the tutorial used a lot of civil war scraps.

I used most of my favourite green scraps. Mostly fmf and kjr with some others thrown in because I had them. The centers are made from gray polka dotted fabric.

The back is green gingham-like plaid with large scraps left from the front.

The finished block size is about 10" so the finished quilt is around 50" square. I wish it was larger, I really do. But I just wanted the darn thing finished. Apparently I lack perseverance because I could not get myself to make two more rows. We've still been using it on the couch at night and, of course, it's kitty approved.

How to: Basic Kanzashi Flowers

2011-01-30T19:02:00.000-08:00

When I was young, I spent my summers at Camp Grandma. From pretty much the day school let out until Labour Day weekend my parents shipped me off to my Grandma's house and had, what I imagine was, a glorious 2 months of sunshine and silence.

My Grandma had a lake front home on a small farm that was the backdrop to many of my best memories. We would spend our days picking cantaloupes, making pickles, cutting flowers to take to my Grandpa's grave and doing crafts. Lots and lots of crafts. But these crafts weren't your standard macaroni-glued-to-an-empty-soup-can kind of crafts. We perfected our origami, practiced Ikebana (Japanese flower arranging), created beautiful dolls, worked on temari, and so many other Japanese crafts. One of the activities we would do is make Kanzashi flowers with chirimen fabric from her old kimonos.

I had actually forgotten about Kanzashi flowers until I saw this book while I was home for the holidays. Kanzashi flowers come in many shapes and sizes but this tutorial will show one of the easier flowers. I call it the basic flower because it teaches the basic process of putting a flower together. Plus it seems like the standard crafty Kanzashi :) You can find it in Etsy projects, in other tutorials, on Japanese trinkets and so on.

Once you know how to make this flower, you can find other petal patterns (or make them up!) or use origami patterns to take off in any direction. There's a slew of tutorials on the internet that are probably better than mine but here's the way my Grandma taught me.

A few notes about the basic Kanzashi flower:

As a general rule, your finished flower will be the same size as the starting size of your petal squares. So, if you start with 2" squares, your finished flower will be 2" in diameter. This is only a general rule but it works most of the time.
The larger the flower, the more petals you will need.
The smaller the flower, the more difficult to manipulate.
The basic flower seems to work best with an even number of petals.
Kanzashi's are forgiving so don't worry if your squares aren't perfect.

Supplies for 3" basic flower:

8 - 3" squares of fabric (one for each petal). If you want to make a 2" flower you only need 6 squares.
needle and thread
scissors, glue gun
magnet, brooch pin, push pin, pipe cleaner and floral tape or whatever else you need for your intended purpose.

This flower works best with an even number of petals. I happened to only use 7 in this tutorial. As I go, I'll show you why 8 is a better choice for the 3" flower.

1. Take one square of fabric and fold in half to form a triangle. Next fold the two outer tips down to the center tip to create a smaller square (I'm sorry, I took this photo with the triangle pointing in the wrong direction).

2. Flip over the square with the "open" end toward the bottom. Fold each side into the center.

3. Now fold the fabric in half, encasing the two little flaps, that you just created, inside the fold. When you flip the petal over it will look like this.

4. Stick a pin through the flower about a third of the way down so that all the folds of the petal are caught by the pin. Repeat steps 1-4 for all your squares (petals).

5. Cut off the bottom of each petal at the point where the folded edges end, so that the petal has a flat bottom. Try to cut them about the same size but it's not a big deal if some are larger.

6. String all your petals about an 1/8" from the bottom, center edge (I actually strung about a 1/4" from the edge because I'm not good at eyeballing). I use a double thickness of thread.

7. Once all your petals are strung together, pull the two ends of the thread and tie a knot to lightly hold the petals in place. Tip: the shape of the current petal makes a nice flower but you will need to start with several more petals (and will have a larger hole to cover at the end - not a big deal).

We are going to make the petals more "open" or round. Stick your finger into each petal to press it open. This will sometimes cause the folds on the back side of the petal to come undone, but that's ok. That's what glue guns are for. You are more likely to encounter an unfolding backside if you don't have enough petals, like my flower. The tension from an extra petal is usually enough to hold the folds together.

In my flower, below, you can see some of the petals have a sort of "wing." One more petal would push those wings in.

On the back side you can see that some of the folds are popping out. With a sufficiently dense flower you can push the folds back in. In my flower I will use a drop of glue to hold down the rogue folds.

8. Cut a small circle of fabric to cover the hole on the back. The fabric also hides raw edges, helps hold in the folds, and gives a little structure to the flower. If you are going to turn your flower into a brooch or attach a stem for a vase, you might want to use felt circle instead of fabric.

If you used more petals, your petals should look more like the two petals at the bottom of the flower in the image below.

When you flip the flower over it will look like this:

9. Glue a button to the center and whatever accoutrement you need for the back and you are finished. To get the hand-stitched look, I wrapped the thread through the button holes then glued the button to the flower.

My finished flower came out less than 3". I suspect the size is because I didn't use 8 petals (fewer petals = smaller hole in the center). I probably cut them slightly short as well. The image below shows two 3" flowers. The blue one has 7 petals and right has 8 petals.

I hope this tutorial is useful for you! Please let me know if you use it - I'd love to see what you make!

Some uses for your flowers: napkin rings, decorate an embroidery hoop, magnets, push pins, "fake" flowers, brooches, barrettes, ponytail holders.