It was a very full weekend! My Mom and Aunt visited and we shopped and ate all weekend long! It was a lot of fun! :)
I squeezed in a little time to sew up this mini quilt featuring Lizzy House fabrics from 1001 Peeps and Outfoxed. It's pretty small at 10" square. I knew that little foxed needed his own project and I can't say no to another mini! Sometimes it's nice to just have a quick project that you don't need to think much about!
Snatched up a super cute mini Hoppel made by the talented Isa, which arrived last week! He is SO cute! And so tiny :)
I may have gone overboard. Enough voile to make a LOT more scarves! ;) Glad you all have enjoyed the tutorial from last week!
Made a batch of mini ham and cheese muffins for dinner tonight. I use this recipe as a base but use cubed ham steak, mozzarella and cheddar cheese instead!
Good few weeks of thrifting! Updated the shop with lots of new prints! :)
Finally, finally found a turquoise vintage fan! At an antique mall, but still! It's mine now. And, it works!
Happy Halloween! From George & I!
Today I love the..
Smell of: Dinner
Sound of: My Name is Earl
Taste of: Fresca
Sight of: Fall leaves
Feel of: Comfy PJs
Good Things about Today:
- Productive day!
- Ham & cheese muffins!
- It's Halloween!!
- Creamy Pumpkin candle
Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
This Week
It's been a busy week! But, thankfully I was able to get caught up on my bee blocks. It always feels good to be caught up! Jen asked for drunk love blocks for the Twice Around the Block Bee. I also finished up my block for the Beebolt charity quilt from The Sewing Summit! :)
Have you guys heard about Stockings for Kids? It's a charity drive being run by Lyanna of Purple Panda Quilts. This is a little sneak peek of the tutorial I'm sharing there on Tuesday! :)
I've been baaad. Fabric candy has been arriving. Snatched up some Prince Charming from my friend Amy's new online shop, The Fabricologist, Outfoxed from Sew Fresh Fabrics, and a stack of stripes and other lovelies from my LQS. Oooops! :)
I got lucky with vintage Pyrex this week! Found these three bowls all in dismal condition, but felt the need to save them. They all cleaned up pretty well. I already have a turquoise set, but it's my favorite so, why not? Hehe.
Thrifted this vintage fabric today for $1!
Working on my simple cowl! I'm on Ravelry now, trying to help keep myself motivated!
George :)
Today I love the..
Smell of: Fresh night air
Sound of: Harry Potter 6 audiobook
Taste of: Chicken Tortilla soup
Sight of: George
Feel of: Flannel quilt
Good Things about Today:
- Apartment is clean!
- Happy mail!
- Tortilla soup leftovers!
- Watching George run around!
Have you guys heard about Stockings for Kids? It's a charity drive being run by Lyanna of Purple Panda Quilts. This is a little sneak peek of the tutorial I'm sharing there on Tuesday! :)
I've been baaad. Fabric candy has been arriving. Snatched up some Prince Charming from my friend Amy's new online shop, The Fabricologist, Outfoxed from Sew Fresh Fabrics, and a stack of stripes and other lovelies from my LQS. Oooops! :)
I got lucky with vintage Pyrex this week! Found these three bowls all in dismal condition, but felt the need to save them. They all cleaned up pretty well. I already have a turquoise set, but it's my favorite so, why not? Hehe.
Thrifted this vintage fabric today for $1!
Working on my simple cowl! I'm on Ravelry now, trying to help keep myself motivated!
George :)
Today I love the..
Smell of: Fresh night air
Sound of: Harry Potter 6 audiobook
Taste of: Chicken Tortilla soup
Sight of: George
Feel of: Flannel quilt
Good Things about Today:
- Apartment is clean!
- Happy mail!
- Tortilla soup leftovers!
- Watching George run around!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Quick Scarf Tutorial
As promised, today I have a quick and easy scarf tutorial for you! Using voile and flannel, this scarf is SUPER snuggly! Perfect for the coming winter and would make a great gift! I hope you enjoy this little tutorial! I took a video which is at the end, of how I like to tie mine!
For my scarf I used the print Four Square in lilac from Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks collection paired with some cream flannel from JoAnns.
I like to use my walking foot whenever I'm using fabrics that are no regular quilting cotton. The voile can be a little slippery, but it plays really nicely with the flannel!
Sewing Level: Beginner Friendly
Materials:
- 1/2 yd Voile fabric
- 3/4 yd Flannel fabric
- 1/2 yd Pom pom trim
- Coordinating thread
Seam Allowance: 1/4" unless otherwise noted
Finished size: approx. 8.5"x104"
1. Iron your flannel and voile. Cut three 9" strips from your flannel.
2. Fold your voile in half, matching the folded edge to the selvedge. Cut two 9" strips.
3. Trim the selvedges off both the flannel and voile.
4. Sew all three flannels pieces to each other to create one long strip. Do the same with the two voile pieces. Press your seams open.
5. Cut two 9" pieces of pom pom trim. On one end of the flannel strip, pin in place on the right side, along the edge, with the poms pointing in. It's helpful to cut off the first and last poms so that they don't get caught in the side seams.
6. Baste trim in place using an 1/8" seam allowance.
7. Pin the voile, right sides down, only on the edge with the trim.
8. Begin pinning along both sides, all the way to the opposite edge, stopping about 6" from the end of the voile.
9. Trim away the flannel where the voile ends.
10. Repeat steps 5 and 6 to baste and pin the pom pom trim on the other end.
11. Finishing pinning up the sides, leaving a 5" opening for turning at the end.
12. Using your zipper foot, sew along the edge with the trim. Backstitch and start and end. Repeat at the other end.
13. Using a walking foot, stitch up both sides, making sure to leave the opening for turning. Backstitch at the start and finish.
14. Clip your corners.
15. Turn your scarf right sides out, pushing out the corners. Press. Be sure to pin your opening closed.
16. Finally, using your walking foot, topstitch around the entire scarf.
Voila! You're done! :)
Quick Scarf Tutorial a video by jenib320 on Flickr.
Okay, don't laugh! Here is a dorky video of me tying up my scarf!
Enjoy!
For my scarf I used the print Four Square in lilac from Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks collection paired with some cream flannel from JoAnns.
I like to use my walking foot whenever I'm using fabrics that are no regular quilting cotton. The voile can be a little slippery, but it plays really nicely with the flannel!
Sewing Level: Beginner Friendly
Materials:
- 1/2 yd Voile fabric
- 3/4 yd Flannel fabric
- 1/2 yd Pom pom trim
- Coordinating thread
Seam Allowance: 1/4" unless otherwise noted
Finished size: approx. 8.5"x104"
1. Iron your flannel and voile. Cut three 9" strips from your flannel.
2. Fold your voile in half, matching the folded edge to the selvedge. Cut two 9" strips.
3. Trim the selvedges off both the flannel and voile.
4. Sew all three flannels pieces to each other to create one long strip. Do the same with the two voile pieces. Press your seams open.
5. Cut two 9" pieces of pom pom trim. On one end of the flannel strip, pin in place on the right side, along the edge, with the poms pointing in. It's helpful to cut off the first and last poms so that they don't get caught in the side seams.
6. Baste trim in place using an 1/8" seam allowance.
7. Pin the voile, right sides down, only on the edge with the trim.
8. Begin pinning along both sides, all the way to the opposite edge, stopping about 6" from the end of the voile.
9. Trim away the flannel where the voile ends.
10. Repeat steps 5 and 6 to baste and pin the pom pom trim on the other end.
11. Finishing pinning up the sides, leaving a 5" opening for turning at the end.
12. Using your zipper foot, sew along the edge with the trim. Backstitch and start and end. Repeat at the other end.
13. Using a walking foot, stitch up both sides, making sure to leave the opening for turning. Backstitch at the start and finish.
14. Clip your corners.
15. Turn your scarf right sides out, pushing out the corners. Press. Be sure to pin your opening closed.
16. Finally, using your walking foot, topstitch around the entire scarf.
Voila! You're done! :)
Quick Scarf Tutorial a video by jenib320 on Flickr.
Enjoy!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Kona Challenge Quilt
As a part of the Madison Modern Quilt Guild, I was able to participate in the Kona Challenge. We were each given a charm pack (I think this one is the classic palette), and told to only use solids to create something. Naturally I wanted to make a quilt but that charm pack sat around for a while before I decided on a pattern. Lucky for me, I received another charm pack in the same palette in my Sewing Summit swag bag. I originally planned on using both packs to make tons of half-square triangles and go from there.
Well, once I was through one charm pack, I did not want to make any more half-square triangles! So, I decided on some variation of the traditional Bear Claw quilt for my project since it uses 4 HSTs and a large square. I used this method to create my HSTs! I played around with a lot of layouts but liked this one the best! It rounds out at about 33"x47" :)
I was really tempted to pick up some yardage of a single color for the backing, but decided instead to just use what I had on hand. So, I just pieced a bit of rainbow together!
I first quilted it on the diagonal, but didn't feel like it was enough once I was finished. So, I went back and quilted on either side of the major seams. I like the effect, it's especially noticeable on the back!
I machine bound the quilt in Kona stone, despite my strong urge to add a print! I behaved! :)
This was a fun quilt to put together and a good exercise for me, since I rarely use a lot of solids. I'm not sure if I'll do anything with all solids again soon, picking out the prints is my favorite part of the process! However, I'm happy with the result and happy that I played along! Plus, Michael likes it well enough for me to hang it in our hallway, so, YAY!
Happy Quilting!
Well, once I was through one charm pack, I did not want to make any more half-square triangles! So, I decided on some variation of the traditional Bear Claw quilt for my project since it uses 4 HSTs and a large square. I used this method to create my HSTs! I played around with a lot of layouts but liked this one the best! It rounds out at about 33"x47" :)
I was really tempted to pick up some yardage of a single color for the backing, but decided instead to just use what I had on hand. So, I just pieced a bit of rainbow together!
I first quilted it on the diagonal, but didn't feel like it was enough once I was finished. So, I went back and quilted on either side of the major seams. I like the effect, it's especially noticeable on the back!
I machine bound the quilt in Kona stone, despite my strong urge to add a print! I behaved! :)
This was a fun quilt to put together and a good exercise for me, since I rarely use a lot of solids. I'm not sure if I'll do anything with all solids again soon, picking out the prints is my favorite part of the process! However, I'm happy with the result and happy that I played along! Plus, Michael likes it well enough for me to hang it in our hallway, so, YAY!
Happy Quilting!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
The Weekend
Why oh why did it take me so long to finally make Anna's 241 Tote? Well, the actual reason is because I kept changing my mind on what fabrics to use! Every time I thought I was ready to start, a new fabric combination tempted me away! Yesterday though, I got a brainwave staring at this stack of rainbow Lizzy House goodness. Of course, patchwork!
Between my stash and the scraps I received last week, I used prints from all five of Lizzy's current fabric lines: Lizzy Dish, Red Letter Day, Castle Peeps, 1001 Peeps, and Outfoxed! They play very nicely together!
To calm the patchwork a bit I used Quilter's Linen for the sides, Kona stone for the interior, and Pearl Bracelet in brown for the side pockets. There is a little 1001 Peeps as the inner pocket too! Still not convinced? Check out all the other beautiful bags in the Noodlehead Flickr Group! :)
I am SO happy with the way this bag turned out! It really is a great pattern and I can see myself making more for sure. There are just so many fabric possibilities, which of course is my favorite part, hehe! It came together really quite quickly, I started and finished it yesterday!
Finished up my Kona Challenge quilt today! It's in the wash. Shall share tomorrow!
Planning a few more scarves! Will write a little tutorial up next time I make one. Hopefully next week sometime!
These could very well be the cutest scissors ever. They're so tiny! Little Gems, purchased from The Workroom's online shop! Now I feel the need to collect tons of embroidery scissors! Need to start embroidering again to rationalize it! :)
Another George + diet coke photo, hehe!
Today I love the..
Smell of: Fresh laundry
Sound of: George running about!
Taste of: Shortbread cookies
Sight of: George's Pummelvision
Feel of: Comfy clothes
Good Things about Today:
- Finished up a quilt
- The sun is out!
- Productive day so far!
- Chocolate!
Between my stash and the scraps I received last week, I used prints from all five of Lizzy's current fabric lines: Lizzy Dish, Red Letter Day, Castle Peeps, 1001 Peeps, and Outfoxed! They play very nicely together!
To calm the patchwork a bit I used Quilter's Linen for the sides, Kona stone for the interior, and Pearl Bracelet in brown for the side pockets. There is a little 1001 Peeps as the inner pocket too! Still not convinced? Check out all the other beautiful bags in the Noodlehead Flickr Group! :)
I am SO happy with the way this bag turned out! It really is a great pattern and I can see myself making more for sure. There are just so many fabric possibilities, which of course is my favorite part, hehe! It came together really quite quickly, I started and finished it yesterday!
Finished up my Kona Challenge quilt today! It's in the wash. Shall share tomorrow!
Planning a few more scarves! Will write a little tutorial up next time I make one. Hopefully next week sometime!
These could very well be the cutest scissors ever. They're so tiny! Little Gems, purchased from The Workroom's online shop! Now I feel the need to collect tons of embroidery scissors! Need to start embroidering again to rationalize it! :)
Another George + diet coke photo, hehe!
Today I love the..
Smell of: Fresh laundry
Sound of: George running about!
Taste of: Shortbread cookies
Sight of: George's Pummelvision
Feel of: Comfy clothes
Good Things about Today:
- Finished up a quilt
- The sun is out!
- Productive day so far!
- Chocolate!
Friday, October 21, 2011
Favorites
1. Color Wheel Quilt, black and white, 2. Big Dresden Pincushion, 3. sewing summit 2011., 4. DWR Hand Quilting Detail, 5. QD Springtime (6), 6. Spiderweb baby quilt, 7. improv, 8. miss As finished quilt, 9. Roe Baby Quilt
1. Fall Pillow, 2. doll towerall, 3. Experimenting...., 4. Robert Kaufman Kona Solid Challenge, 5. Hoop Swap from Casey!, 6. Sherbet Pips back view, 7. feathers, 8. Innocent Crush Star Quilt, 9. quilting detail
1. Fall Pillow, 2. doll towerall, 3. Experimenting...., 4. Robert Kaufman Kona Solid Challenge, 5. Hoop Swap from Casey!, 6. Sherbet Pips back view, 7. feathers, 8. Innocent Crush Star Quilt, 9. quilting detail
Thursday, October 20, 2011
The Sewing Summit: Final Recap
For my first recap of the Sewing Summit, see here! And now, onto a very long post (apologies), with tons of photos! I borrowed lots of photos but made sure to link them up properly to everyone, however if you'd like yours taken off, please let me know, no hard feelings! I simply took no photos of people, hehe!
So, let's get on with it! :)
I struggled for a while, trying to decide how I wanted to run my class, Creative Fabric Selection. In the end, because there were so many students and limited time, I went with a straightforward lecture style. However, I wanted to make sure that there was plenty to see other than my powerpoint presentation. This is where all that crazy sewing I did in the two weeks or so leading up to the event comes in. I made sure that everything I spoke about had an example! As the dust continues to settle around here, I'll make sure to visit each example again in better detail!
We covered a lot of topics in a little over an hour, hopefully it wasn't information overload! From color to fabric to finding inspiration, we barely scratched the surface! There is just so much to say about the subject! I could talk fabric 24/7, hehe!
I didn't realize until I saw these photos of my class, (most taken by the lovely Amanda by the way!) how much I talk with my hands! My hands are blurry in almost every photo! Anyways, back to the class! Here I am speaking about one of my favorite things I've ever made, my Sparkling Cider quilt made from vintage sheets. We briefly discussed a fabric's intended purpose, and not letting your possibilities for a certain fabric to be limited, and I jumped at the chance to bring along this quilt!
I was very excited at the end of my class to give away Kona Color cards courtesy of Robert Kaufman Fabrics (thank you, thank you!)! Thank goodness I didn't have to hold in the secret too long, it was so exciting being able to surprise my students with these. They were VERY excited! :)
I ended up going with my original outfit choice for my class, including my 1001 Peeps skirt made using Karyn's awesome tutorial!
My lovely friend Angela, just so happened to also be my class assistant! She was fabulous! :) It was comforting to have a familiar face up there with me!
Saturday Night we attended an awesome dinner put on my Jennifer of Ellison Lane Quilts and Elena of Breakfast for Dinner! This was one of three tables filled with sewing peeps! From left to right: Rachel, Angela, Jessica, Amanda, Me, Faith, and Elena!
Most nights were filled with chatting and handwork, some worked on knitting projects, some on embroidery, paper piecing, etc. Glad we got this fun shot thanks to a willing passerby! Such fun ladies! From left to right: Erin, Megan, Holly, Amanda, Angela, Amanda, and myself!
The lovely Darci & Erin! I have no memory of this photo being taken, but I'm sure glad it was! :)
Karyn worked her photo magic right before we all left and got some really rad photos! Top left to right: Amanda, Kait, Karyn. Bottom left to right: Amanda, Katherine, Me.
My partner in crime (and roomie!) Amanda and I! :)
Quite a few of you at Sewing Summit did not realize how tiny George bunny is! So, I took some "for scale" photos of George today next to a standard diet coke can! :) He really is tiny, I swear!
And finally, the fun bloggy news I promised! I think I may have mentioned this in my last Sewing Summit post, but not in detail. The Art of Choosing is back! I'm going to go in depth about a wealth of new subjects, most especially color! For those of you who came to summit, you'll recognize some of it, but I'll be going into more detail (hopefully!). If you're new here, feel free to catch up on past posts here. I'll have the first post, on the color wheel, up next week!
Phew! Okay, now I need a nap! :)
So, let's get on with it! :)
I struggled for a while, trying to decide how I wanted to run my class, Creative Fabric Selection. In the end, because there were so many students and limited time, I went with a straightforward lecture style. However, I wanted to make sure that there was plenty to see other than my powerpoint presentation. This is where all that crazy sewing I did in the two weeks or so leading up to the event comes in. I made sure that everything I spoke about had an example! As the dust continues to settle around here, I'll make sure to visit each example again in better detail!
We covered a lot of topics in a little over an hour, hopefully it wasn't information overload! From color to fabric to finding inspiration, we barely scratched the surface! There is just so much to say about the subject! I could talk fabric 24/7, hehe!
I didn't realize until I saw these photos of my class, (most taken by the lovely Amanda by the way!) how much I talk with my hands! My hands are blurry in almost every photo! Anyways, back to the class! Here I am speaking about one of my favorite things I've ever made, my Sparkling Cider quilt made from vintage sheets. We briefly discussed a fabric's intended purpose, and not letting your possibilities for a certain fabric to be limited, and I jumped at the chance to bring along this quilt!
I was very excited at the end of my class to give away Kona Color cards courtesy of Robert Kaufman Fabrics (thank you, thank you!)! Thank goodness I didn't have to hold in the secret too long, it was so exciting being able to surprise my students with these. They were VERY excited! :)
I ended up going with my original outfit choice for my class, including my 1001 Peeps skirt made using Karyn's awesome tutorial!
My lovely friend Angela, just so happened to also be my class assistant! She was fabulous! :) It was comforting to have a familiar face up there with me!
Saturday Night we attended an awesome dinner put on my Jennifer of Ellison Lane Quilts and Elena of Breakfast for Dinner! This was one of three tables filled with sewing peeps! From left to right: Rachel, Angela, Jessica, Amanda, Me, Faith, and Elena!
Most nights were filled with chatting and handwork, some worked on knitting projects, some on embroidery, paper piecing, etc. Glad we got this fun shot thanks to a willing passerby! Such fun ladies! From left to right: Erin, Megan, Holly, Amanda, Angela, Amanda, and myself!
The lovely Darci & Erin! I have no memory of this photo being taken, but I'm sure glad it was! :)
Karyn worked her photo magic right before we all left and got some really rad photos! Top left to right: Amanda, Kait, Karyn. Bottom left to right: Amanda, Katherine, Me.
My partner in crime (and roomie!) Amanda and I! :)
Quite a few of you at Sewing Summit did not realize how tiny George bunny is! So, I took some "for scale" photos of George today next to a standard diet coke can! :) He really is tiny, I swear!
And finally, the fun bloggy news I promised! I think I may have mentioned this in my last Sewing Summit post, but not in detail. The Art of Choosing is back! I'm going to go in depth about a wealth of new subjects, most especially color! For those of you who came to summit, you'll recognize some of it, but I'll be going into more detail (hopefully!). If you're new here, feel free to catch up on past posts here. I'll have the first post, on the color wheel, up next week!
Phew! Okay, now I need a nap! :)