Raggie Girls

DQS 12 The Countdown Begins...

2012-01-25T15:20:00.000-08:00

That's right it's almost time for the 12th round of Doll Quilt Swap to begin! I can't wait! I'm dying to know who I'll get as a swap partner and plan their quilt and package. (And I can't tell you more than that right now, but stay tuned...)

As some of you know, I had to drop out of round 10 due to extreme illness, and that was a huge disappointment for me. I love DQS--lots of talent, both old and new, and great camaraderie. The women (and a few men) are so funny and positive and creative. It really is unlike any other swap out there.

So, keep an eye out for notice of sign-ups and then join us in the fun--and yes, there will be beginners who are accepted too, so don't be afraid to sign-up and see if you get in. DQS is not about being perfect or an expert--it's about sharing a love of quilting and pushing your abilities higher!

Mooshy Belly Bunny

2012-01-18T06:47:00.000-08:00

Or, as I like to call it...the It's-so-squishy-I'm-going-to-die bunny! Seriously, you hold this little guy and think "squish, squish". You...just...can't...help...it.

This little bunny is a pattern from the Chez Beeper Bebe blog. I used a scrap of oh-so-soft striped jersey knit from my scrap pile and a clean old white t-shirt for the inner ears and tail. Speaking of tail--check out this softie's cute one!

How fast is this bunny to make? Well, I found the pattern, dug for scraps and cut and sewed him all in one part of an evening. That's pretty quick. The tutorial is easy to follow too. Here's a look at his little hand embroidered face. My mom saw him and claimed him right away. This was almost a year ago. It took me a bit to get him back long enough for a few photos and she stood right there the whole time--guess she really likes this little guy.

What a great way to use up scraps and old t-shirts! Now, I just need to make me one. But first, I need to go play in the snow that finally arrived--yeah!

Finishing My UFO's

2012-01-17T22:47:00.000-08:00

Well, that's the goal for this year anyway. I know I'll get distracted by new patterns, sew alongs and swaps, but I'm determined to get some of these been-sitting-in-the-to-do-pile-forever projects out of my sewing area.

First up is this scrap quilt. It's not quite a twin, but larger than a lap-size. I just think a quilt should be able to go around you when you're cuddled up reading. This one finally was handed over to my younger sister (I'm pretty sure she thought I'd never get the binding on.) at the beginning of 2012. I used denim upcycled from old jeans and homespun plaid scraps with the brushed side out so it feels like flannel. The batting is Warm and Natural. I used some Kona (sorry, can't remember which yellow) for the binding. I knew I'd be quilting this monster myself so I used a lovely lavendar colored sheet (I'm sure there's a long-arm quilter out there cringing right now) for the backing. This is one very durable quilt.

I admit, I put it back in the "pile" because I was not happy with the quilting. Probably my second free-motion attempt ever and I really should have had a bigger space to work because the quilt is heavier from the use of denim and it just kept sliding off the small table and pulling while I was trying to quilt. VERY frustrating. Anywho, I was going for something that looked like water on the beach as a wave pulls out because the colors of the homespun reminded me of some of the soft colors on shells. Probably missed that mark by a mile, but, hey, there it is, right?

So what does a quilt like this cost. Well, the denim was free as I used old jeans I already had, the homespun I got at a garage sale for $2 a pound from a lady who used to be a quilt shop owner, bought the Kona at 40% off and the sheet was on sale for around $6. Add that to the batting and thread (both bought on sale) and I think this total quilt cost me around $30.

Another little UFO I found sitting around was this small quilt. I'd say it's a small lap quilt or maybe a large crib size. (I've got to start measuring these before I hand them over, because it is kind of tough to get them to hand the quilt back!)

Made entirely of leftover scraps of minky (which I count as free seems I had to buy them already for another project) and some flannel scraps bought at the $2/pound garage sale. Originally, I'd planned to using batting and flannel, but the quilt sandwich just didn't have the snuggly drapey-ness I wanted, so...I found one of those 60x60 cuddle blankets you can find in stores like Fred Meyer in orange. Perfect! I just cut the edging off and then attached it to my quilt top pillowcase style. It's so thick I didn't need any sort of batting layer and the weight of both the backing and quilt top combined with the fabric textures keeps the layers together on a quilt this small so I didn't need any quilting or tying to hold it together. Topstitching around the edge completed this very bright beauty. It is totally cuddle-ready. My older sister claimed this one. Drat.

So there's two down, woohoo! I've got some more small lap/kid-sized quilts I'm still attaching rows for, but the pile has gone down....a little.

Flippo the Hippo

2012-01-01T23:18:00.000-08:00

Introducing....Flippo the Hippo!

Flippo is the latest softie coming from my sewing room. This cutie is made from McCall's pattern M6484 and is 7" high and 15" long. I made Flippo using some light weight home decor fabric. This softie got brown safety eyes and a winter white satin ribbon bow. This hippo is also squeezable as I didn't stuff completely full--after all, who wants to hug a rock!

Here's Flippo's other side--don't you just love that fabric! Flippo has a cute little fringe tail made from the coordinating fabric also found on the belly. So what's the secret for getting such a smooth looking body--fusible fleece (ah, if only it was that easy for humans, lol) which was ironed to all pieces except the tail.

Flippo's belly is also a pink home decor fabric. I like the smaller print contrasting with the larger motif of the upper body. It also hides the closure seam very well! Overall, I love how Flippo turned out and so does my sister, the recipient of this little Christmas gift.

Here's to a Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T23:30:00.000-08:00

I hope each and every one of you had a wonderful Christmas season filled with loved ones and great times. And, even more, I hope this coming year is better than the last. Happy New Year!

All Finished!

2011-12-26T18:44:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally caught up and finished off the last of the bee blocks--whew! Then it was straight into Christmas presents and holiday celebrations. So, the photos have piled up in the last few months. Here are the last of the bee blocks (in no particular order) along with my mini quilt from the STUD (Swap Til You Drop) Disney themed swap. I've tried to put links to any tutorials or patterns just in case you want to give one of these blocks a try.

First up is a modified bento block or quartered squares for Bee Scrappy member Meg_kay77. We were asked to make the square in primary or bright colors and then we could cut it into quarters or ship it and then she would cut it. The group followed this tutorial from Film in the Fridge.

This one was actually my last one finished for Sew Buzzy member Patchwork Queen. She sent all these fun fabrics and a list of books for her "library" and we created the books and embroidered the authors and titles on. I tried to match up fabrics with titles when possible--I just love the alligator fabric! Here are her basic instructions for the block.

Moody Blues member Lindseykron asked for an asterick block using this tutorial from Lollyquiltz.

Another Moody Blues member, Susanpiluk, also wanted an asterick block. She sent patriotic fabrics to everyone. These asterick blocks are very easy and have been quite popular this year. If you haven't tried one yet, you should give it a go.

Bee White Black member Lollydo asked for blocks using curves or circles. This one here is the Chubby Dresdan designed by Lily's Quilts. This block went together quickly and is not a bad one for those just trying out circle blocks. I will be making this one again.

Here's Lollydo's second block. I used the Rubber Band Ball block pattern out of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 3. It's a great block for using up those strips and scraps sitting in the pile.

This wonky star went to Moody Blues member SeaSteph. I used the Silly Boodilly tutorial as usual.

Brakmack, another Moody Blues member, asked for wonky log cabins using these fabrics for a quilt for her father-in-law. We could choose between curvy or straight wonky log cabins. Here's a tutorial for sewing wavy seams and one for wonky log cabins.

JodiLynn85 had the same month for both my Bee Scrappy and Scrap Happy bee groups and asked for the Oh, Fransson! Mod Mosaic block for both. That meant four blocks (two for each group) of mosaics.

Linda (November's member for Moody Blues) asked for the jewel box--also known as a square-in-square--block in these fabrics. For those who've never seen a finished one, here's one to give you an idea of how they can look.

Sew Buzzy's member InnerPiece asked for house blocks of either our house or a place we'd like to live. Obviously, the blocks are heavily stylized--I mean, who actually has a floral roof--but the first one is of one of my grandparents' house. They had a big two story white house with columns, a balcony and tiered steps out front.

This one is my home, only I forgot to flip the design for paper piecing so it's backwards. I'm thinkin' it might be cool to have a star studded roof with a polka dot chimney.

These last two are BOMs (block of the month) designed by Carol Doak. She designs gorgeous paper pieced quilt blocks and offered these free to her yahoo group members. However, using them for Bee White Black member Sew Vivid, they are done up in solid black and white.

And finally...a swap. The last swap I participated in was for the STUD (Swap Til You Drop) group and the theme was Disney. My partner LOVES the Disney parks. She actually went to one for her honeymoon and she and her sweetheart like to visit the various parks (I hope she gets to go to the Shanghai one someday). She also loves classic Mickey Mouse. Well, when I think of Disneyland, I think of those images of the castle with fireworks shooting off, so I designed this quilt to imitate that scene. I also included some little Mickey bandaids and a Pez ('cause who doesn't love Pez) along with some fabric.

This was my first time using those metallic mylar type threads which actually worked out pretty well in giving a sparkling firework effect. I also echo quilted the fireworks and appliqued castle. I used Kona for the solids and a marbled green for the bushes. The bushes have an extra layer of batting to help them stick out from the castle and keep the whole image from looking flat.

I had this fun fabric in my stash which always made me think of fireworks, so, of course, I had to use it for the back with my Mickey Mouse label.

Here is the finished quilt complete with dimensional bushes, sparkling fireworks and of course, one magical castle!

More Blocks and a Swap

2011-06-27T01:17:00.000-07:00

Okay, as you know, I've been working hard to catch up on bee blocks after being sick. So here are a bunch with links to tutorials whenever there is one. These are already out and to their new homes, and there will be more to come as I finish. There are quite a few, so be prepared for scrolling (you can oh and ah too if you want).

First up, I've got to show off what I received in the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap. This came from Miniaturequilter (Lisa). She sent this wonderful pile of goodies with fabric and cute paper clips. Even the envelope to the card was decorated--see that awesome folded seashell--wow!

Here's a close up of the mug rug Lisa made for me. Paper-pieced tulips with some decorative stitching. Didn't she do a lovely job? And I love blue and flowers, so this fits me quite nicely. Too bad its so pretty it will never see the hint of a mug!

And now for the blocks...

Two bento box quarters, also known as a quarter square log cabin block. These were made with some lightweight upholstery type fabrics. Those figural ones have a very Ikea type look to them, not sure if that's their origin or not. I often use denim and twills and corduroy with flannels for a heavier quilt, so this was right up my alley. Made for Locodowo in the Bee White Black group for April.

These two were made for Sewgentle in the Bee White Black group for March. She asked for black and white blocks of any sort with the red fabric used for an appliqued bird. This first one is from the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks volume3 (I redrew it in EQ6 so that I could paper piece it) and is called Good Time Charlie. I found a line art drawing of a swallow and used its siloheutte for the bird.

This one is from Quilter's Cache and is called Snowblossoms. For the bird, again, clip art. You can find a lot of great images by using Google Images.

These are the hourglass blocks for making the Double Hourglass block. These were made for Nora303 in the Moody Blues Bee in February. The tutorial is from Lovely Little Handmades, a great blog you should check out.

Next are the two blocks I made for Felicity in the Sew Buzzy group for March. No tutorial, but here's a link to her inspiration gallery. Here fabric was so lovely, and felt very smooth. Loved the color combination she picked for us to work with.

This block was made for Fran in the Moody Blues Bee for March. It is called Stacked Whatever Block and you can find the tutorial at The Sometimes Crafter (another great blog you should check out). She used a lovely assortment of batiks, reminding once again that I really need some in my stash!

This one is called a Wagon Wheel and I hand appliqued the circles. I made this one for Chocolate_isthe_best_medicine in the Moody Blues Bee for April. You can find the tutorial at 3KF (also known as Three Kitchen Fairies, another great blog).

Last, but certainly not least, here are two Wonky Log Cabin blocks made for Bee Scrappy's Ittakesavillage03 for April. The tutorial comes from Tallgrass Prairie Studio. (Another blog to check out sometime.) She asked for black, white and mint green.

For some reason, this one photographed the green as much more bluish, but it really is minty!

So, there you go--several easy blocks and few a wee bit harder (but really not too hard, or I wouldn't do them, lol). Maybe you'll try a few of these. I'd love to see them if you do!

Need a Worthy Summer Project?

2011-06-10T20:58:00.000-07:00

School's out, summer's kickin' in--what's a quilter to do?!

How about a charity quilt? Check out 100 Quilts for Kids and consider participating---you could use some of those orphan blocks or maybe you have a work-in-progress that's never going to get done (yeah, you know you do that too) or maybe you just need to cut that stash down a bit. It really doesn't take much to make a small toddler-sized quilt and best of all, you can choose where to donate it--so it can stay in your local community, or go elsewhere! Oh, and not that you need incentive to make some cute little one a blankie, but there are prizes--so go check out the rules and then dive into the fabric!

Mug Rug Swap 2011

2011-05-20T09:31:00.000-07:00

I decided I needed a bit of a break from quilt blocks--so, I decided to add a swap to the mix. Just in time, the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap started a new round.

I chose an applique from a Piece O' Cake book. I used Kona in Bahama Blue for the background and a mix of prints for the flowers. The design was machine appliqued after fusing with some Steam A Seam. Here it is prior to quilting.

I chose to quilt the mug rug with some lovely white metallic Sulky thread that I've had for awhile now (paid an outrageous $14 for the spool, but it is so gorgeous!) and just been waiting to try out. Sadly, you can't really see the sparkle of the thread in the photo. I used some navy bias tape to bind the whole thing. You'll probably notice the lack of mitered corners. I started off to do a traditional mitered style binding, but the corners just looked weird--perhaps due to all the different angles already in the design. So, I tried a frame style binding and that just looked right. I guess, sometimes you just have to go with it, even if it doesn't make sense.

To complete this cheerful little mug rug, I used some bright floral fabric for the back. I like how it is vibrant and visually interesting without hiding the quilting too much.

I included two pin toppers for my partner to enjoy--a little owl and a bluebird. These were made by my very talented sister.

I can't tell you who my partner is, but I can say she's an international partner. That made it tough to pick out extra goodies, because I had to watch the weight of the package. I ended up cutting out the yummies and stuck with just the essentials--the mug rug, two pin toppers and the newest Quiltmaker's 100 blocks magazine (Volume 3). I hope everything makes it through customs and shipping alright.

So there it is--my first swap after being sick. I hope my partner likes it.

Pay It Forward

2011-05-19T22:12:00.000-07:00

Ever seen this icon before? Well about a year ago, I did on another crafter's blog. The idea behind it is that you receive a handmade item and in exchange, you commit to creating and sending three handmade items out within one year. It can be whatever you want to make and send. Spreadin' the crafty love. Sounds pretty cool, doesn't it?

Well, I'd just about forgotten that I had signed up to be a receiver--that's a long time ago! Then the other day a white envelope from Norway arrives. Marit, owner of the Quilt It blog, had sent her round of the Pay It Forward. Such a fun unexpected surprise! Here is the lovely handmade item she created and sent to me--a wonky star mug rug! How lovely--such beautiful craftsmanship and fabrics!

So now it is my turn--I've got 365 days to make and send out some crafty goodness to three people somewhere in the world. If you would like to be one of the Pay It Forward receivers, just leave a comment. I'll choose three. Be sure and leave me an email to contact you with so that I can get your address! Remember, if chosen, you are committing to send out three handmade items to three people once you receive mine sometime in the next year. If you know anyone else who might be interested, please feel free to let them know.

Hmm, now what to make...

Tea Towels

2011-05-19T21:31:00.000-07:00

Just a quick look at some appliqued towels I made for the raffle at our local historical society Spring tea (now completed its 11th year!) which I also attended--very delicious food. The decor this year was in tulips and butterflies, so I went with it. The designs were machine appliqued onto flour sack towels.

Butterfly designs were from clip art and EQ6. Antenna were hand embroidered.

Tulip design from some clip art. Circles were cut out of the fabric design.

You can see the additional circles in the opposite corner.

These were fun to make---I think I may have to make a few more sometime.

Squished Nine Patch

2011-05-03T21:33:00.000-07:00

I'm calling this block the Squished Nine Patch. I'm sure it has an official name--maybe two or three like many traditional blocks--but, I don't know any of them, so you get this one. :) My quilt will end up being queen sized with a border, which will require 72 squares, but you don't need to make one that big. I hope you like this block--I do. It's quick, easy and not something you have to think over--you can just sew away!

Original vintage block on the left. My version on the right.

This block was created off of a set of vintage/antique hand sewn blocks I mentioned earlier in the blog. Those blocks measured 9 3/4 inches--not exactly an easy number to start figuring piecing from. So my version measures 10 inches finished. Way easier! You can piece each part individually, but I chose to strip piece for a quicker version. I'll give you measurements for individual pieces though, just in case you're working with smaller scraps. Warning: This tutorial might seem long and involved, but really...it's just a lot of photos taking up space. But, I like to make sure you can see exactly what I'm explaining, so no worries--it really, really is quick to put together!

For this block you only need two different fabrics. I chose dark navy and indigo blues contrasted with a salmon pink.

Each block starts with these pieces.

Strip piecing measurements:
2 blue strips 4.25 x 9 inches
1 blue square 3 inches
2 pink strips 3 x 9 inches

Individual piecing measurements:
4 blue squares 4.25 inches
1 blue square 3 inches
4 pink rectangles 3 x 4.25 inches

All seams are a scant 1/4 inch. I used a navy thread, but any neutral or matching thread will work fine.

Step One:

Take one of the pink strips, lay it horizontally and cut in half. You should now have two 3 x 4.5 inch rectangles.

Step Two: Match the blue square to one pink rectangle, right sides together, aligning them on the 3 inch side of the rectangle. Take the other pink strip and one blue strip, right sides together, aligned along one of the long sides.

Step Three: Sew along the short side of the rectangle/square combo and along the long side of the strip combo. You can see my dark thread line below.

Step Four: Set seams by first pressing flat and then press open. Press seam allowances towards the blue fabric.

See how the seams go towards the blue fabric--this will be important later for accurate alignment.

Step Five: Now attach the other pink rectangle to the other side of the blue square. Also sew the other blue strip to the other long side of the pink strip.

Again, see the thread line below--it clearly shows you which side to sew along.

Step Six: Set seams and press seam allowances towards the blue fabric.

Your seam allowances in each section will be opposite because you've pressed them towards the blue fabric on each one.

Step Seven: Set the skinny strip aside. Take the larger section and cut in half vertically. You will now have two matching fatty strips that are 4.25 inches wide each consisting of two blue squares with a pink rectangle in the middle.

Step Eight: Space the two fatty strips apart with the skinny strip now in the middle like this.

Step Nine: You will now place the skinny strip, right side down, on the fatty strip to the left. Align the strips at the seams (where the white arrows are pointing). They should just settle right into place because of the seams being in opposite directions.

See how they just line right up and kind of nestle in place. This will help you get nice, accurate points on your corners. Very important. I like to add a couple of pins to the sides of the seam to hold them in place until I sew them.

Step Ten: Sew down the vertical length of these strips like this.

Step Eleven: Set seam and press seam allowance towards the fatty strip.

Step Twelve: You should now have two sections--a big fat one and one of the remaining fatty strips (the one that was on the right of the skinny strip earlier.) Take this remaining fatty strip and attach it to the big section, aligning it on the right side of what was previously the center skinny strip. Set seams and press seam allowance towards the fatty strip.

Once pressed open, your block should look like this. It's almost finished. Can you see the "squished" squares of the nine patch?

Your block should line up so that the center, where all the corners meet, is all aligned with all corners at ninety degrees and level--no wonkiness or overlapping desired! (See the white arrows below.)

Look at those perfect corners and center square--that's what you're looking for! My seams really are straight, despite the photo. Take your time to get great results.

Step Thirteen: Your final step is simply to square up your block to 10.5 inches. Align from the center of the block in order to assure that your center square is in the actual center of your block and not slightly to one side.

Ta Dah! Pretty quick wasn't it? I'll bet you can sew these blocks up faster than you can read this tutorial!

Have fun making the Squished Nine Patch!

Reproducing the Civil War--In a Quilt

2011-05-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

Awhile back, my mom was sorting through some vintage and antique quilt blocks. Some to keep, some for an auction and a few she gave to me. Amongst the ones I received was a set of seven made of the same pattern and fabrics. All had the same pink crossbar fabrics, but there were three or so different blues used ranging from navy to indigo. They are all hand sewn and I do not know the exact age of them.

A simple but effective block. I really liked the combination of the dark blue with the pink. The pink is not too babyish, not too bright. I thought wouldn't it be cool to be able to make a quilt that incorporated these seven vintage pieces. Well, that started it--off I went to research fabrics that would fit the look I wanted.

To be honest, I hadn't even thought of the Civil War reproduction fabrics, but when looking for navy colored blues with white designs that were similar to the seven, that is exactly where I ended up. It just so happens that the best pinks to fit the design were also from various Civil War reproduction fabrics. Originally, I'd planned to go with a mix of blues and just one pink, but changed my mind to a mix of blues and a mix of salmon-toned pinks. The use of the reproduction fabrics allows me to match the pink tones better and gives me the dark blue with white motifs in a large variety. Mixing allows me to purchase some now and then others later with each paycheck without having to worry about finding the same designs months from now.

These were my first selection of fabrics:

I still need another yard's worth of blues and about 1.5 yards of pinks, plus border (considering a sage green), backing and binding, but what a start, eh?! I like the range here of blues--dark navy to indigo. I'll be using these blocks for both my months in the Moody Blues Bee and the Sew Buzzy Bee. That should put me on the road to a lovely queen sized quilt (which requires at least 72 blocks) and give my bee groups a quick and easy block. The original vintage blocks will go on the back of the quilt. I'll be posting an easy strip piecing tutorial this week.

Sun Rays Quilt Blocks

2011-05-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Another set of quilt blocks done and sent to their new home--I'm slowly but surely catching up!

These two are from a Twin Fibers tutorial and are called Sun Rays. These ones were made for Jordan (bjsmurthwaite) over in our Bee Scrappy quilting group. She requested a scrappy mix of blues, aqua, turquoise, green, and purple with a white center.

These blocks were pretty simple, although I think mine took longer because I kept checking my angle alignment on the borders as I went. It's pretty easy to get the angle off or to not have the strips lined up so that they cover the entire way, but go slow and follow all the tutorial steps for the first one and the second will be twice as fast.

Fortunately, I have quite the stash of blue fabrics. I made one with strips slanting right and one with strips slanting left as she plans on alternating them. I think this quilt will be quite striking when finished.

The first one:

The second (the blue-greens seem to show more blue-ish here):

Overall, despite the time it takes to cut all the strips, align, sew, press and repeat for each strip on each border, I think this block is very attractive and would make a lovely pillow showcasing some applique or embroidery. An entire quilt would be phenomenal, but definitely would take some dedication!

My New Mug

2011-04-30T21:51:00.000-07:00

The principal at the local elementary school where I work gave all the staff an appreciation gift recently--a lovely handmade mug with our names on the back! The mug was made by Mitch & Michelle Deaderick right here in Oregon. The blue has a lovely undertone of cobalt and it is a perfect size and shape for holding. Isn't the handle beautiful? I just love the little thumb rest on it!

Pretty cool isn't it? Somehow, yes, my cocoa does taste better in a handmade mug with my name on it. (Guess I'll have something gorgeous to put on my mug rugs now.)

Drunken Love...

2011-04-21T09:37:00.000-07:00

...quilt blocks that is! (Really, what did you think I'd mean?!) lol

Here's a couple of blocks for Scrap Happy member Amy (scruffycat1970) in purples and grays as requested. She gave us a lovely inspiration gallery as a guide.

The drunken love block is inspired by Denyse Schmidt's Drunk Love in a Log Cabin quilt. Lots of possibilities with this style!

One Very Long Month

2011-04-11T21:36:00.000-07:00

Wow, can I say that March (and the first bit of April) has been one long crazy month of sickness. I started working a part time job back in October at the local schools. It's nothing fancy, just a food service position--but, its fun and non-stressful as I get to help with food prep and serve breakfast to the kindergarten through third grade age group. Plus, it gives me extra money for fabric and quilting bee postage--can't fault that, now can you?! Well, since I started, I've been sick with one thing or another. Apparently, this is fairly normal for your first year in a grade school. The other staff and teachers can all tell you about their first year run of sickness. So, I've suffered through my run of sinus infections, colds, bronchitis, mild eye infection and such despite constant hand sanitizing and such. But really, it wasn't so bad--until March.

What started out as a few days of flu then became a cough with breathing problems (found out later that would be the pneumonia phase). This then rotated into a very severe case of bronchitis and sinus infection--we're talking major amounts of green...yuck, and then came the severe sore throat with the cough that kept me up all night. Just when I thought I had that mess licked, round two decided to kick in. Oh joy.

After sitting for a few hours in urgency care (which was still faster than waiting two weeks for a regular doctor's appointment), I was given cough syrup, an inhaler, and some antibiotics and told I had walking pneumonia. Well, the antibiotics made me throw up within 10 minutes, so the LNP gave me a different prescription, which btw conflicted heavily with the cough syrup--way to check, doc. That one made me throw up within an hour. Between the two, my poor stomach had, had enough. Two and a half days of vomiting everything including water left me exhausted. I didn't opt for a third round of antibiotics. Good news is I am recovering and went back to work today. Sure, I needed a nap afterwards, but I was well enough to go and the coughing is almost gone.

Why am I telling my woes of disease--because being this sick shows you things about your life and those around you. Individuals from my various quilting groups stepped up to cover me in the bees I run. In all my bees, members have been super understanding about me being behind. And, when I was just too wiped out to finish my DQS quilt, another person made an angel quilt so that my partner would still get a beautiful quilt. I was really disappointed when I realized that I wasn't going to be able to finish my quilt--and I hate failing a commitment like that--so it was a huge thing for me to say I just can't get it done. Knowing that someone else stepped up for me was important. These lovely ladies all helped without hesitation so that I could focus on getting better--and they are people I've never met in real life. Some even sent get well cards! People from work checked in to see how I was doing too. And, of course, my family really took great care of me (even did my dishes for me when I was too sick for my turn) the whole time. Funny thing is, there were a lot of people who've known me my whole life, or for many, many years, who didn't seem to notice when I stopped showing up or communicating for an entire month. Being sick really shows you where your friends are at--and its good to know I have so very many wonderful friends.

Japan--Our Thoughts and Prayers are with You.

2011-03-11T10:08:00.000-08:00

I hope you are keeping up on world events, particularly the news of Japan. The tsunami/earthquake is generating a great deal of damage and loss of life. I'm keeping the people of Japan in my thoughts and prayers and hope you do as well. Here on the West Coast of the US, we're keeping an eye on the ocean, just in case, but it really hasn't amounted to much so far.

After watching the devastation in Japan and knowing how bad things are there, well, my week of flu and bronchitits just doesn't seem like such an ordeal (and I was really, really sick too). Hug your family and be grateful for your safety. If you have an opportunity to reach out and help those in Japan, do.

DQS10

2011-03-04T13:14:00.000-08:00

Well after lots of brainstorming, I've decided on a pattern and fabric for my secret swap partner. I'll give you a peek:

Mmm...I just love Kaffe Fassett fabrics. And so does my partner.

Okay, I admit, I didn't always. The first few times I saw some of his fabric designs I thought they were kind of obnoxious. But then my dad decided to give me some charm squares of the stuff. I guess it just grew on me and now I really like the prints. I plan on making myself a huge Kaffe quilt, but first I need to make a doll sized one for my partner. If I stick with my design then I'll have at least 50 different Kaffe Fassett fabrics in it--that's a whole lot of Kaffe. I'm still waiting for some to arrive in the mail, so I'll work on what I have as well as a few fun extras to include in the package in the between time.

Some of you may remember the tree quilt I did for DQS9--very simple fabrics but lots of work on the shape of the tree and the quilting. Well, this time, I'm kind of going the other way with simpler blocks and quilting and lots of busy fabrics. Stay tuned.

Vintage Liberation Quilt Block

2011-03-03T12:30:00.000-08:00

While looking at vintage quilts, blocks and patterns on Ebay recently, I came across a particularly interesting vintage quilt. Despite the fabrics being obviously older, the pattern actually reflected similar designs now called modern. Now this quilt (which seems to contain every fabric she ever came across in this one quilt) was made lovingly by someone somewhere long ago, but she would have related well to all the wonky and liberated quilters out there. So in honor of that early quilt maker, I'm naming this block inspired by her quilt, Vintage Liberation. I had a lot of fun making this block. It's quick, easy, requires very little measurement and even less pinning. This is a great 12.5 inch block to use up all those little scraps that were too short for a string quilt and too narrow for squares. Here she is:

I'll be making my quilt blocks in Spring and Summer tones, so no blacks, navys, autumn hues, icy blues, etc. We're talking warm, cheerful, happy colors!

Warning: I actually worked on two blocks at the same time, so you will see some photos from each. Don't get confused by this, they're the same steps, just different fabrics.

For supplies you will need: rotary cutter, quilting ruler (I used my 6.5x24 in, 4x14in, and 15 in square ones, but you really don't need that many, just something to measure at least 5.5 inches and something to measure around 14 inches), pencil, tweezers, 4 pieces of regular printer paper (or thinner if you have it), one piece of print fabric measuring at least 6 in x 13 in, assorted scraps some of which should be at least 9 inches long. Your scraps can be a mix of prints and solids, just use what's in your scrapbag. Of course you'll want your sewing machine (so much faster than hand sewing), 75/11 or 80/12 universal or sharp needle, neutral colored cotton thread (I used a light gray) and a cutting mat.

Let's get started!

First, you'll need to cut four (4) 5.5 inch squares from the printer paper. Be accurate. The neater job you do here, the better results you'll see at the end. Once cut, you can draw lines at varying angles across (these will be stitching lines like in foundation piecing) or you can leave it blank and just work as you go. I did a little of both. Lines might be easier if you aren't very familiar with wonky or liberated style blocks. (Hey, don't mock security blankets, they keep you from getting frustrated until you are ready to let go!) Remember when drawing your lines that you will want 3-6 sections for best results and you don't really want them all even--we're being liberated!

You'll also want to draw in your 1/4 inch seam allowances. You can always wait and do this part later, but it is easier when the paper is flat and doesn't have fabric sewn to it!

Now you can begin attaching your scraps. Start anywhere on the square--corner, middle, off-center--it all works! I base my starting point on my fabric piece size. Smaller piece? Start at a corner. Wherever you start, the fabric must cover from one edge of the block to the opposite at whatever angle you've chosen. Be a little generous with yourself on estimating needed sizes and you'll find yourself a lot less frustrated with pieces that don't quite fit after being sewn, believe me, I know! (Tip: Shorten your stitch length, it will make removing the paper later much easier.) Each piece you sew down should have at least one straight edge to follow when stitching, after all, you want liberated/wonky not curvy. As you add each piece, be sure and trim, press to set the seam, then fold open and press again. I prefer a dry iron when working with paper foundations. I only pin the first piece down to hold it in place. The next piece is place right side down on top of the first. You will stitch either along your pre-drawn lines (double check that you definitely left yourself a seam allowance) or use the straight edge of the second piece as a guide. Use 1/4 inch seams. Lay pieces down at varying angles as you work across the block.

If you're working without pre-drawn lines, you'll work from the fabric side. Again, use the straight edge of each piece as your sewing guide. Don't try to just wing it and sew across your fabric without a straight edge to guide you, it is way too easy to start getting a wobbly line and you will be disappointed in your results. Here you can see that the bottom fabric piece sticks out and doesn't line up with the current top piece. That's normal! I'll show you how to get rid of the excess as you go in just a moment.

If you are sewing following drawn lines, you will sew from the paper side of the square. I like to hold the paper up to the light so I can see the fabric through it and adjust my angle and seam allowance before stitching down.

Now, each time you stitch some fabric down, you'll have some excess beyond the normal 1/4 inch seam allowance. This is normal because you are sewing in a wonky style. But, you won't want to keep that excess, so you will want to trim as you go. Keep your rotary cutter and a small ruler hand for quick accurate cutting.

First, flip the block to paper side up and fold back the paper that is under the excess part--you don't want to cut your paper! The sewn seam will provide a nice fold line.

Now flip back to fabric side up and line your ruler up along the stitched seam so that you have a 1/4 inch seam allowance allowed and trim off the extra fabric.

Now fold the paper back to its original location. Continue pressing and adding fabric until you've covered the entire 5.5 inch square.

Once your square is finished, use your straight edge ruler and rotary cutter to carefully trim off any fabric sticking out beyond the paper. Be careful not to trim into the paper!

Move your blocks around until you find an arrangement you like. Here are two blocks worth that I've sewn up. You can see I've arranged one in almost a diamond shape and the other in an X shape. I like both equally well. You don't have to form these patterns, you could have them going any direction really. Find what is most visually appealing with the fabrics and lines that you have. This also lets you see the variety to the wonkiness of the fabric scrap strips.

Take your 6x13 piece of print. You will cut two 2.5 inch strips from this. Next, taking one strip, cut two 6 inch pieces. (These strips are a bit longer than what you'll need. This gives you a bit of wiggle room when sewing down the first side which can sometimes "adjust" itself on you.)

I like to lay out my blocks and strips to preview what the final block will look like. It can get a bit crazy with all those prints, so you want something that gives interest, not eye-strain! I went with a pink print for one set which had more Spring-like tones and a blue print for the more Summer-ish set of squares.

At this point, I often take a quick digital snapshot so that I can remember my block layout once I start picking up and sewing pieces. This is especially helpful if you're making more than one block at a time!

You are now ready to sew on the strips. Start with the shorter ones. Place right sides together. Match up the longer edge of the strip to the edge of the square. Let the small extra length of the strip hang off both sides. If needed, use a pin or two to hold the strip in place. You want to line up the edges of the strip, the fabric strips and the paper square.

Now flip the square over and stitch along the lines you drew earlier to form the 1/4 inch seam allowance. The lines, you will find, allow you to focus on keeping the edges lined up without worrying about a consistent seam allowance which is important for best results. You may find that you also sew a bit faster as you only need to follow the line!

Press open so that the seam allowance goes towards the strip. This helps cut down on bulk. Trim the strip so that the edges are now even with the square.

Repeat the process with another square and the other long edge of the short strip. Again press the seam towards the strip. Do this for each short strip. You will end up with two "paired" squares like this.

The long strip is the last sewing part! Line up the long edge on the edge of one set of paired squares. I like to work left to right, it helps me keep things straight, but feel free to work right to left. Let the extra length hang off each end. I recommend using a few pins to hold the strip in place. Flip to the paper side and sew along your lines (just like you did for the short strips). Press seam allowance towards the strip.

Trim the long strip so that it is even with the paired squares. This view of the back shows you all the seams at this point. You can see how quickly the bulk would build up if you didn't press towards the strips! Sew the second pair of squares to the other side of the strip and press towards the strip.

Your block should now look like this from the back. I like to give the whole block a good press prior to removing the paper foundation. I find the paper comes off easiest if I start with removing the paper in the outer edge seam allowances and then work from an outer corner towards the middle. Fold each paper section (not the fabric) back before tearing away and then carefully tear off paper. This is not an exercise in brute strength. Take your time and work gently to avoid distorting your carefully made blocks or pulling stitches. I like to work on paper removal during mindless television moments like commercials or the Oscars. But this block is pretty quick. Use your tweezers to snag little bits that get caught--just be careful not to snag some of the seam's thread too. Remember, really tiny bits will wash out when the quilt is laundered at some point in the future, so don't go blind trying to get microscopic bits of paper out of tight corners!

If you were neat and careful in your cutting, trimming, pressing and seam allowances, you will probably not even need to do further squaring up. Here are my two Vintage Liberation blocks:

I plan on joining my blocks with a 2.5 inch strip sashing with 2.5 inch squares at the meeting points. I haven't decided if I'll use a print or a solid--I'm still having fun with blocks. And best of all, my scrap pile is getting smaller! Go get your scrapbag and make yourself a quilt!

Squared Away Quilt Tutorial Part 3

2011-03-03T03:47:00.000-08:00

Okay, by now, you've gone through Parts 1 and 2--cutting and sewing the blocks--and are ready to arrange them.

The first step is to lay out all your blocks alternating print and solid blocks, get them arranged into the number of rows/columns you want, mix up the prints so you have a nice layout variation. Be sure and set all blocks the same way (so you have the little off-centered square towards the same side). Now to rotate the blocks. You've got four sides (I know, duh.) so leave your very first upper left corner block as is. Take the block to the immediate right and rotate it one quarter turn clockwise. Repeat across the row, each time rotating on quarter turn clockwise from the position of the block to its left. Next row, begin by rotating block one quarter turn clockwise. Then rotate the blocks down the row like you did before. Repeat with the next row, with the first block rotating one quarter turn from the position of the block immediately above it. Clear as mud? Here's what it will look like:

You'll now sew the blocks together. I like to take one row at a time, so as not to mix up my block placement. Right sides together, stitch, press. It's really that simple.

Here's one row, I had six blocks per row, so it made for nice even pairs sewing across.

Once you've sewn the blocks in pairs across, then start joining the pairs. (If you had an odd number of blocks in your row, be sure and sew the "extra" block on at this point. It's much easier than waiting to the end of a long row!) Don't forget to press.

Keep joining sections of the row until the row is complete. (Because I don't have a dedicated sewing room or design wall, I have to pick up my quilting sometimes. If you're like me, then be sure and label each row so you can put them back in order later. I use a small post-it note with the number pinned to the first block in each row. That way I always keep the rows in order and right side up!)

Because I was using white for my solid squares, I pressed the block seams towards the printed blocks for less show through (not that there's a lot when using Kona). This also means that for each row, the seams will be going in opposite direction from the one above and below it, so, when sewing the rows together, you should get them to abut together nice and tight making your corners all meet up nicely. Win-win!

Once your quilt top has been completely sewn together, squared up and pressed, you are ready to quilt. Select you backing fabric and batting, stack your quilt sandwich and baste in place. For this quilt, I simply pin basted the layers together. Be sure and give yourself some extra batting and backing beyond the edges of your quilt top--sometimes with a lot of quilting the batting and backing can sort of shrink on you!

Because I knew this was going to be a little girl's doll quilt, I wanted to keep the quilt very soft and flexible. So, I kept the quilting very simple--just stitch-in-the-ditch between all the blocks. For a larger quilt or larger blocks, you may want to quilt a bit more.

When the top is quilted, trim and bind. Here's another look at the finished Squared Away quilt, now residing in the bedroom of a lovely 7-year-old girl in Colorado.

Another look at the quilting between the blocks.

And the back, a bit of vintage fabric my mom passed on to me that I've been hoarding for a few years. It was good to share it finally!

Catch Up Wednesday

2011-03-02T13:24:00.000-08:00

Okay, when my computer decided to have its little diva moment, I wasn't able to keep up on posting photos of all the quilt blocks I've been making for bees (most were even sent on time too!), so here they are. Well most of them. Unfortunately, I forgot to photograph the lovely shot cottons used for Sew Buzzy's January blocks--I was sent a lovely soft green and blue to work with, very nice. I also forgot to photograph my last embroidery swap piece before it was sent off to Europe. Sadly, this piece never arrived at its destination. (Cry with me.) I will however be making Susi a new piece, because its just too disappointing to not get a swap! Fortunately, I did get the rest so you can see them.

Not in any particular order:

A blue asterick block for January's Moody Blues Bee (Tracy) person. She is using various blue solids for the backgrounds. They look fabulous with the gray print centers. Here's a link to the tutorial.

Two miniature house blocks for Jennifer (November) in the Scrap Happy group. These will go towards a child's blanket so she can have one at grandma's house when visiting. How fun is that? I just made up my patterns. Added the cat and bicyclist for a bit of whimsy.

Two railfence blocks for Jenifer (February) over in the Scrap Happy bee group. She asked for bright and scrappy--I think I got that one in the bag! Railfence is a great block for beginners. Here's a link to a pattern (but really, its just strips sew together, cut in blocks and rotated--been around forever!). Here's a example of one with more strips. So lovely!

These snowball blocks went to Christina (November) in our Sew Buzzy group. She sent a pattern and lots and lots of fabric for us to cut and sew--giving us the option of just a few, or if we had the desire, more. As we currently have an MIA member (bah!), I went ahead and sewed up all the snowballs. This is just one possible arrangement. Here's some easy instructions for those who've never made one.

Two Square-In-Square blocks for Gwen (January) in the Scrap Happy group. She asked for bold colors, prints or solids, and peekaboos in the centers were okay. Here's the example image she gave us to go with. We could do as few as one square-in-square within a block or a hundred. I did one with four and one with nine. Okay, so I am in desperate need of solids in my stash (sadness), but I did have plenty of fun prints including a couple of squares with these little scottie dogs. Hope she likes them.

Two Starburst blocks for Lori (February) in Bee Scrappy. She asked specifically for yellows, oranges and pinks. So summery! Where's my lemonade? Even though this is for a scrap bee, I actually had to go buy a few fabrics--I'd cut up just about all my orange fabrics this last summer for a quilt I'm working on! While I was there I picked up a couple of pinks and yellows too--hey, why not? Here's the tutorial, because you know you'll want one too!

String blocks are pretty popular right now--and if you haven't tried one, you should. Here's the instructions. They're very easy and look great whether scrappy or all coordinated. These four (the extras to make up for the MIA member) belong to Mika (October) in our Sew Buzzy group. She sent almost all the fabric and asked if we'd put in some of ours and in trade keep some of hers. I contributed the striped fabric. It has a bit of a shimmer to it on some of its stripes that worked perfectly with the shimmery orange and pink fabric she'd sent along. I'd been saving that fabric for a couple of years for something special--this must of been it, because it couldn't have been better matched! In trade, I kept a small piece of Valorie Wells Sole fabric (you can see some of it in the top left block, third stripe from the bottom right corner--yum!). It will be cool to see where these blocks end up in the quilt!

Another set of string blocks (I told you they were popular), this time for Eileen (February) of the Sew Buzzy group. Eileen sent this lovely combination of fabrics to work with--go ahead, oh and ah! I did extra to again make up for the MIA member (don't get me started about bee members who just stop communicating and keep fabric, grr)

Last, but certainly not least, a String-X block for Jenn (November) in the Bee Scrappy group. I'm sorry I don't know all of the fabrics she sent, but I included some Nicey Jane for my part and so I do recognize some more of it in what Jenn sent. This is really a striking block, not too difficult either. Just take your time with careful cutting and sewing to line up the seams! Try one--you can always make it into a pillow!

Whew! That's a lot, and I still have a couple of February ones (and now March) plus one really, really late set of Harry Potter blocks (and yes, I will be sending an appropriate amount of chocolate to make up for tardiness).

Something Funny

2011-01-29T22:47:00.000-08:00

This one, sent to me in an email, always makes me laugh. Hope you enjoy it too.

Bees for Me

2011-01-13T10:02:00.000-08:00

Well, seems my computer hasn't let me edit photos for a bit, I can't show you my latest stuff. However, I can show you what I'm choosing for my months in two bees.

I have the month of January in both the Bee White Black and the Bee Scrappy groups! So, in between sewing bee blocks for others, I've been cutting up fabric and sending out packets to others.

For the Bee White Black group, I had originally planned to do a traditional block pattern, but couldn't get the fabric I wanted for the blocks. Searching on ebay (love that site), I came across some cool looking black and white fabric, but unfortunately, there was only a yard of it. I bought the fabric (well, duh) anyway because it gave me a great idea for quilt blocks.

Here are some scans of the fabric:

Pretty awesome looking isn't it? So my idea was that each member make a block that looks like one of the squares on the fabric. I sent out a fat quarter each of white and black Kona with instructions to make one of the squares or something similar ending with an outer border of black (any width as long as the finished block ends at 12.5 inches). I plan on sashing them altogether with more black so it will give that slightly off-centered look that all the squares have. Already some of the blocks are done. You can check them out as they appear at the Bee White Black group page. I'm getting pretty excited for this quilt. This will be my first all solid quilt. (I'm blaming Cherri House for this, but then after you check out her City Quilts book you'll start looking at solids too!) The coloring is simple and I think would translate well into many other color choices. Make some up for yourself!

The block I chose for the Bee Scrappy quilting group is a wonky, scrappy block designed by Sarah Vee over at the Sew Joy called Liberated Churn Dash. She's got a great tutorial and very generously gave permission for me to link to it for my group members to use (and for the rest of you too!). I really like her idea of combining wonky and scrappy into an otherwise very classic traditional block. This will be my first wonky quilt, but after making all those wonky houses and stars and such for everyone, I just had to have one for myself. I chose to go with black and white prints and white background for this one (guess I just had black and white on the brain) which I think will give a fun look to the block. Each member is getting an 18 inch white Kona square and few needed some black and white prints too as they didn't have quite enough in their stash. (I know, tragic isn't it!) You can check out the blocks as they are created on the Bee Scrappy group page. I may have to make this block up in a colored version sometime because it is just too cute of a way to use up scraps!

I can't wait for my lovely blocks to come pouring in! Try some of these blocks--and let me know, I'd love to see your work!

Off to the post office now--hopefully some packages are waiting!

Squared Away Quilt Tutorial Part 2

2011-01-11T16:18:00.000-08:00

Now that you have all your blocks cut apart and center sections swapped, you are ready to begin sewing. You will want to press your seams open as you go, so have your iron and ironing board near your sewing machine to save yourself a lot of back and forth. (Personally, I like to assembly line blocks like this--sew all of one set of pieces, press all, then on to the next set of pieces, etc., it's just easier to keep track of everything that way and I can have music going without worrying about distractions. ) I've included lots of photos, so hopefully no one will get lost--this really is an easy quilt to make!

Here's where we left off:

To begin sewing, take the center square and that small piece directly to the right of it and sew using a 1/4 inch seam allowance with right sides together. (By chain stitching the blocks, the sewing will move along faster, just keep track of which ones go where.)

Press each piece by setting the seam first (this is where you simply press the sewn pieces as is--without opening them up) and then pressing open. I like to have my seams pressed towards the darker fabric, especially when working with white, but it really doesn't matter as long as you are consistent!

See how my seams are opposite between each partner block--it will help reduce bulk later and keeps the seams from showing much with the white fabric.

Here's what it will look like with the other pieces:

Next, sew the center square section to the piece directly above it, right sides together. I like to keep the center square section on top so that I can make sure the seam allowance doesn't get turned funny and sewn that way. Be sure and line up the bottom and left edges of the pieces so that you'll have an even inner edge.

Sew with the same 1/4 inch seam allowance. Again, chain stitching will keep things moving right along.

Press as before, with seam allowances towards the darker fabric. You can see how this piece sticks out beyond the center section, don't worry about it, that extra will be trimmed off later.

Now repeat these steps with the piece directly below the center square section. Line the pieces up so that the top and left edges are even--you want the inner edge to be straight and even for attaching to the last piece.

Sew and press open, so that you're pieces look like this:

Here's a quick peek at the backs, so that you can see how I've pressed the seam allowances:

You are now ready to attach the final piece of each block.

Flip the center square section over on to the left side piece, right sides together. Line them up so that the top and right edges are even. (Sorry my photo is sideways, the top of the image is the left.)

Sew and press as with the other pieces. You will now have blocks resembling the letter "F".

Using a ruler and rotary cutter, trim off the parts that stick out from the main block--you're in the process of squaring the block, so try to straighten the edges so that the center square piece looks like it is straight and not tilted.

Square up the rest of your block by trimming away any excess or uneven sides.

Now, square up each of your individual blocks to the same size.

Once all of your blocks are sewn and squared up, you are ready to begin laying out the quilt--that will be in Part 3!

Trim the Tree Handmade Ornament Swap

2010-12-11T18:05:00.000-08:00

Here's a look at the three ornaments I sent out for this year's Trim the Tree swap. One is still on it's way--it has a long way to go--but the other two are happily in their new homes! Each is based upon that partner's favorites in Flickr and their inspiration collage, so each is very different from the others. I like that, keeps it interesting.

Made with homespun, quilter's cotton, some vintage ivory satin piping, three vintage buttons and some simple applique, this little house ornament is my own design. You can make one easily too. Just cut two rectangles for the house, two triangles for the roof, one rectangle with fusible for the window and one for the door (I rounded the top of my door and fussy cut so the flower works for a doorknob.). Fuse the window and door to one of the house rectangles and applique with a straight stitch for outlining. Next sew one roof to one house and then repeat for the other (if you're adding a trim, simply sandwich it in the layers and sew). Now attach a ribbon or, like I did, a sewn muslin loop, to the top of one roof for the ornament to hang from. Next, sew the two layers together, being careful to tuck the loop inside and not catch it in the sewing, leaving a few inches on the side for turning and stuffing. Turn, stuff to desired fullness, and stitch the side closed (I used a ladder stitch, but any non-visible type closure stitch would work fine.) Done! For this one, I made a small loop and included one of those metal ornament hooks, but you could make a larger loop to go over the branch of the tree. Easy peasy.

For this partner, I decided to make a bird--specifically a dove. So I used two different tone-on-tone white fabrics for the body and some white satin ribbon for a long loop. I also cut a simple leaf from some green felt which I sewed to the beak at the end. The ribbon is also handsewn to the top. For a pattern I used this fabulous one from Spool Sewing. The pattern is very simple with very pleasing results. Definitely one to try!

This final ornament is made entirely of felt. I was going for a retro handmade ornament look and the red, lime (I know, I know, the photo shows a different shade of green--the camera lies!) and white is the combo for retro Christmas. The white and green layers are attached using embroidery floss in a blanket stitch. I used this fun reindeer pattern, added to the Hoop Love Vintage Transfer Flickr group by Doe-c-Doe, to create the siloheutte seen--warning, all those curves on the antlers involves a lot of handstitching, not hard, just a lot. I then cut the green and red pieces to outline the reindeer in a larger less detailed shape. I also added a 1/4 inch seam allowance to the red as I machine sewed the red layers. I used some white satin ribbon for the loop. This one is not hard, but does involve some handstitching.

I hope you make at least one handmade ornament this year--and have lots of fun!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T08:56:00.000-08:00

Today is our day to reflect upon all that has been given to us--all the good things in our lives. It's true, we often get caught up in the things going wrong with our lives, the economy, jobs and such. Today, though, is different. Sure we hide the holiday behind piles of mashed potatoes and slices of pumpkin pie, scoreboards and parades, but there is more to it--and we all know it! We surround ourselves with friends and family (at least as many as we can stand for the day) and we do something many Americans have become woefully slack in doing--we talk to each other. We're actually face to face talking, not tweeting, not texting, not IMing. For those who live far away, we pick up the phone and use our voices to reach across the distance. We interact with each other in person, whether it's in the kitchen, playing football (or watching it), or any other number of terrific traditions.

To me, Thanksgiving is the most appropriate beginning to the holiday season. We pause before the hectic shopping, the parties, the stress of finding gifts. Here is our moment to review our lives, our year, and find the good. Then will begin a season of giving, hopefully with the spirit of love and generousity. Hopefully, not so much materialism, but rather giving that truly makes a difference in the life of another. And after a month of trying to put some of that good into the lives of others, we face the new year where we evaluate ourselves and make goals to change. Thanksgiving is the beginning to a season where we try to be better individuals in this world. Sure, tomorrow will be crowds and insanity as we try to save some money, but today--today is good.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Squared Away Quilt Tutorial Part 1

2010-11-23T09:31:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd share my method for making my Squared Away quilt. Perhaps you remember the little doll quilt I made for Aurora?

I call the pattern Squared Away. There are many variations on this design out there, but this is my easy, no-pattern-necessary way. You can make the blocks any size you want and if you want a larger quilt, just add another row or column. The quilt pictured above begins with 5.5 inch squares, but if you don't want a larger quilt to take forever with lots of little squares, simply increase the starting size to 10 or even 12 inch squares. (Really, any size will work.) If you don't like doing a lot of math, I recommend picking a size that is easy to divide by 2 and 3--such as 6 inches or 12 inches. I didn't do this and it led to some really funky measurements, so just make it easy on yourself!

Tools you will need:
rotary cutter
cutting mat
quilting ruler (I have 3 rulers I use for all my quilting: 4x14, 6.5x24, 15x15)
sewing machine (well, you could hand sew if you really wanted to)

For fabrics, choose a variety of coordinating prints that are at least as big as your intended square size and at least one coordinating solid fabric for the alternating squares. (I chose white as that went with the particular prints I was using, but feel free to bring in another color. I tend to like contrast, but you could certainly go for something more subtle.) The greater the variety of prints, the more scrappy your quilt will look. You could also have a variety of solids for a really scrappy quilt!

Fabric Prep: I prefer to prewash my fabrics to remove the factory sizing and to make sure there is no unexpected shrinkage or bleeding. This is really more of a concern if you work with vintage fabrics than with modern good quality fabrics which don't tend to bleed dyes. I also press all fabric to be used. It really will make a difference in the accuracy of your cutting and the squared-ness of your blocks. Wrinkled or unpressed fabric can lead to squares that aren't, well, square.

Next, carefully cut your starter squares. You will need one solid square for each print square. The doll quilt shown above uses 18 print and 18 solid squares.

Now to begin the cutting. Take one print and one solid and layer them, right sides up, one on top of the other. (I like to put all my pairs together at the beginning--the more you make the process like an assembly line, the faster it goes!) Your first cut will be to cut vertically straight up the middle of the blocks. (Measure the width, or across the square from left to right, divide by 2. Whatever you get after dividing, use as the measurement to measure from the left towards the center and cut.) You should have two equal sections like this:

Slide the left half to the side so that you don't have it in the way. Next, take the right half and make two cuts so that you have three equal pieces. To do this, measure the length (from top to bottom) and divide by three. Cut each piece horizontally using this measurement. You should have three pieces on the right like this:

There is one final cut to make. Take the middle section from the right column and cut vertically once. Whatever the length is, use for the width--you are cutting a square! Your block should now look like this:

Now separate your layer of print from your layer of solid. You should have two block sets that look like this:

Now, take the center square from the print and the center square from the solid and swap them! Easy peasy!

Cut all your sets this way. Part 2 will cover sewing the blocks. Have fun and feel free to ask any questions!

Bee White Black October & November

2010-11-17T10:19:00.000-08:00

I'm catching up quick with blog posts and bee blocks. Here's a look at the Bee White Black projects for October and November.

For October, we were requested to make a block with hearts or flowers using the colored fabric and the black and white fabrics for the rest. I went through like a bajillion ideas (anyone else that way?) before I settled on this block which I love.

Isn't it pretty? I love that the hearts make a flower. I first saw this pattern at the Heart Circle Quilter's Retreat webpage. Do go look and see their stunning quilt using this block. All I can say is "WOW!" The pattern comes from a book called The Signature Quilt: Traditions, Techniques and The Signature Block Collection by Pepper Cory & Susan McKelvey. Something for the Christmas wishlist perhaps?

I did a simple nine-patch piecing for the back with the center square being a square on point. You can't really see that the center has different corners than its middle, which was fine. I really did that because there wasn't a piece quite big enough for that last center block. But, hey, that's what being a quilter is about, right? Creativity and making do with what you have on hand! The hearts and leaves are appliqued using some Steam-A-Seam Lite and a zig-zag stitch (sadly, no fancy blanket stitch on my machine). I really like how this one turned out--and so did the recipient who told me it was one of her favorites! (Doesn't that just make you feel good when someone says that?!)

November's bee member didn't want a block, she wanted lots of little blocks. She's making a quilt for her daughter (lucky kid) involving a Sawtooth pattern--which means LOTS of half-square triangle sets. Wisely, she decided to preserve her sanity by splitting up the job amongst her helpful bee group. Each of us only needed to make 36 blocks.

She gave great instructions too. Take two 3-inch squares, one light and one dark. Put them right sides together. On the lighter one, draw a line with pencil diagonally from corner to corner. Sew a scant 1/4 inch seam on each side of the line. Cut on the line. Press open. (She also opted for the seams to be pressed open as well.) Trim to 2.5 inches. Doing this 18 times gives you the 36 squares.

You're probably wondering why my pile of squares looks bigger than 36, that's because there are more. I was filling in for one of our sweet members who's recovering from surgery this month, so I did enough for two. Plus, there was enough extra for 12 more sets, so I did them as well. (In my mind I was just thinking, "oh, its only 12 more", in reality, that makes 24 more squares, oops! I'm blaming my math on the Benadryl that I had taken for my cold. LOL I really didn't mind though.) In all, I made 96 squares, which I'm sure she will be happy to have. If you chain piece, and assembly line the tasks of cutting and pressing, it's not so bad, but I definitely think she was smart to divide it up--a whole quilt might be a little much all at once! I can't wait to see the whole thing put together though!

Hoop Up! Project 1

2010-11-11T22:19:00.000-08:00

The first of my three swap projects for the Hoop Up! Stitch & Send Swap was sent off to its new home a few days ago. This one goes to Lydia who request a mandala type design and sent along a particular green to be used somehow in the design. This was a fun design request as it allowed for lots of color options and embroidery stitches.

Here's my design still in the hoop:

The design comes from Eye Pop Art. I chose one that had an organic feel to what is otherwise a very symmetrical geometric style. Kind of reminded me of flowers. The blog has quite few lovely designs to try out, I'll probably do a few more. I think a white worked one would be lovely!

Here's a closer (although not very good) shot of the stitch work.

You can see the satin stitching in the green floss. I also used a backstitch for the pink and the orange points. There are lavendar circles of palestrina knots and the dots were made like cross stitch. The majority of stitching, such as the blue stitching and the "floral" parts, is the stem stitch--my personal favorite for outlining.

For those who could use some stitch options, try Sarah's Hand Embroidery Tutorials. I find her work to be well photographed and easy to follow.

October Fun Remembered

2010-11-08T20:43:00.000-08:00

I never posted a photo of the October block I made for Sabrina in our Moody Blues Bee. She requested wonky stars out of her fabric. I think it turned out quite lovely--she had such good choices of fabric. I used the Silly BooDilly tutorial for any of you who haven't made one of these popular blocks.

While I was being sick in October, one of my sisters made some spooky cookies--yum! They are a peanut butter cookie with candy decor and so adorable that I just had to show them off.

Some creepy spiders.

Some frightening ghouls.

They tasted good too! Who knew I'd like eating spiders?! ;)

Marvin the Elephant

2010-11-07T10:15:00.000-08:00

I've been sick lately, hence the lack of blogging. But, I didn't want you to miss what I've been up to, so the next few entries will be for catching up on projects and swaps from October and November. I also have some new block patterns and a blanket tutorial coming up for you to enjoy.

I recently purchased a new toy pattern, Simplicity 2613, to try out. I loved it. It was so quick and easy--perfect for last minute gifts! JoAnn's was having their typical pattern sale for $1 and this was one of the ones I picked up, so worth it. I'd recommend everyone have this one in their stash. My full review is over on Pattern Review, but here are just a couple of quick photos of the elephant I made using some vintage cheater cloth fabric sent to me by a friend.

He's been named Marvin and has black plastic safety eyes (very easy to install), vintage fabric body and a navy blue grosgrain ribbon. Marvin is the perfect size for hugging and carrying around. My sister loves him, so Marvin ended up with her as part of her birthday present (hey, you're never too old for an adorable lovie).

I plan on trying the giraffe from the pattern next with some more vintage fabric from my stash. The cost of Marvin was 1.50 because I was given the fabric, stuffing and ribbon, so I only purchased the eyes (.99 for two sets) and pattern (.99 on sale). He's only around 13-14 inches tall, so this softie really doesn't take much for stuffing and fabric supplies, most of you could probably make him out of your stash. Marvin would also be super cuddly made from a minky fabric.

Free Pattern & Tutorial Guidelines

2010-10-26T22:24:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've had a few questions concerning my free patterns and tutorials, so here is the answer for everyone. If I get any additional questions, I'll try and update this post so any future inquiries can find the info in the categories link. I hope to provide many, many tutorials and patterns for others to enjoy, so this is important to keep it fun and fair!

I am excited to provide free patterns and tutorials to home sewers everywhere. I know how much I enjoy when others share with me. I hope that you'll enjoy using these, after all, I spent sewing time working up the instructions, step-by-step shots and patterns just for you!

Please keep in mind that I reserve all rights on my photos, patterns, tutorials and blog posts, all of which were created by me, Shayla M. Sharp. These materials may not be republished or distributed without my express written permission. Tutorials and patterns found through links to other sites that I provide are copyright protected by those individuals and cannot be used without their permission. Sorry, I can't give it for them either.

Please DO any of the following:

Sew! Use the patterns to make loads of projects for yourself, your family and friends. Post photos of your work online. Tell others about them. Link to my blog posts.

Please DO NOT do any of the following:

Do not republish material from my blog on other sites. Do not distribute hard copies of patterns or tutorials to others. Do not distribute electronic copies of patterns or tutorials via e-mail. Do not resell my patterns or tutorials (including as part of a kit). Do not use my patterns or tutorials to mass-produce items for sale on Etsy, Artfire, at craft fairs/bazaars, or in any other commercial venue.

Instructors & Shops:
•Instructors and shops do not have permission to sell or distribute my patterns or tutorials. Instead, please include my blog address in your kits and class information, along with instructions telling your customers/students where they can download the free pattern
•Apart from a supplies list, materials from my patterns and/or blog may not be used to promote your class or kits. This includes photos, pattern excerpts, and blog posts.

Quilting Bees:

A few things to keep in mind:
•Please don't hesitate to link to my blog or my Flickr photos, but please don't copy/republish them anywhere.
•Please refer your bee members to my blog, rather than e-mailing them copies of a pattern.

Thanks for being willing to respect my work!

Hidden Diamond Mug Rug

2010-10-26T21:40:00.000-07:00

For the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap, my partner was Laura. She is a mom who lives in Canada and loves all things scrappy, pink and chocolate. So, I designed a mug rug just for her. It was as scrappy and pink as I could make it. In fact, I used a bit of every pink in my stash!

I designed the pattern (yes, there is a pattern for you to use) with tiny one inch squares and half squares--tricky little buggers to work with too! I used a foundation pattern to help with keeping everything in the right place. I chose not to put a binding on this one. Instead, I sewed the layers pillowcase style, turned, stitched closed the opening and then topstitched along the interior border line to create a faux binding effect. (Don't know how to make a faux binding--here's a great tutorial already created by my quilting friend Andrea!)

The gray used to offset the pink is Kona charcoal. For the backing, I used some more pink fabric from my stash which had a fun kind of stitched look to the design. The batting was just some cotton Warm & Natural batting. I quilted around the diamonds and inner side of the pink border with some Sulky premium 40 wt. rayon thread in Light Silver that had a nice sheen to it.

This mug rug made a fun scrappy gift that has endless coloring possibilities. I've named the mug rug pattern Hidden Diamond because of the center design. Below are three PDF files. A color sheet and the foundation patterns, in case you'd like to make your own scrappy Hidden Diamond mug rug. (Please remember that this pattern is for personal use only.) When printing, individual squares should measure one inch on the sewing lines. You may have to scale your printing depending on your individual printer's settings.

Hidden Diamond Mug Rug Color Sheet

Hidden Diamond Mug Rug Foundation Pattern A

Hidden Diamond Mug Rug Foundation Pattern B

Instructions:

To sew this little mug rug, first, precut your little squares and half squares triangles. When I'm working with such small pieces in foundation quilting (also known as paper piecing), I'm more generous with my cutting. So, give yourself a bit more than the typical quarter inch seam allowance, especially on the half square triangles. If you want, print out the color sheet and color in your design plan so that you know how many of each fabric you need and where to place them.

After printing out both foundation pattern sheets, cut out the individual strips (the cutting line is the lighter outer line, the sewing line is the darker inner lines). Strips are easy to foundation piece. Just start at one end and work towards the other. (Here's a great tutorial for those not familiar with foundation piecing.) Use a shorter than normal stitch length for easier removal of the paper later. Press as you go. Once each strip is done, trim along the cutting line. Then sew the strips together. Press as you go. When everything is together, carefully remove the paper backing.

Cut out backing and batting a bit larger than desired final size. If you plan to put a regular binding on, then quilt the layers first, trim square and bind. If you are using the faux binding method, follow the tutorial link listed earlier. You're done! Make a few and give them to friends for holiday gifts, they'll love you!

Strings, Gnomes and Birds

2010-10-18T19:58:00.000-07:00

Here's a peek at the last of September's bee blocks (I know, posting way late).

First, a string or strip block for neshamamama in the Moody Blues quilting bee. Check out those lovely batiks she sent to use. All strips were sent pre-cut, we just had to pick where they went and sew them in. A couple of my center strips were not quite the full 2-inches which caused them to end up not quite as wide as the others, so not lining up as nicely. But, I think once the block is in with the others it won't be super noticable. Careful cutting gives best results, but in the end, quilting isn't about perfection, its about art and creation of something loved.

The last two blocks for September both went to Kendra in the Bee Scrappy quilting bee group. Kendra is making a quilt for her 9-year old son and requested scenic blocks with white backgrounds and images of houses, gnomes, birds, woodland and whimsical. She made this inspiration mosaic for us as a guide.

My first block is a forest with a gnome based on one of the quilts she had in the mosaic (she actually had it twice, so I figured she really liked it). The pattern is my own version, created with the use of Electric Quilt 6, and it is a paper-pieced one. It was actually really easy to do. I like how it turned out.

For the second block, I created a whimisical bird block. This one is my own design, also made in EQ6, and paper-pieced. It needed lots of tweaking, even made me feel a little bit crazy, but I think in the end, it works.

I'll be putting both block patterns on the blog for everyone to try later. I want to make another one of the bird ones with all my adjustments to make sure it turns out perfectly. (Don't you just hate spending time on a block only to find out part way through that something doesn't work out like you were hoping?) So, keep an eye out for them--then you can start your own whimsical woodland quilt!

More Flying Geese Blocks

2010-10-09T00:09:00.000-07:00

Another request for flying geese quilt blocks--this time with some color! In my Sew Buzzy quilting group, Melinda (quirky granola girl) asked us to make her flying geese blocks--our choice--using her gray fabric as the background and the various colors for the geese. She sent a lovely assortment of blues, greens, yellows and oranges. Because one of our group members went MIA on us, I decided to make her two, so she wouldn't lose a block to someone else's failure. (Don't worry, we found a great replacement--although we are still waiting for the MIA member to return 3 months worth of blocks/fabric. Not cool!)

My first block is from the pattern Tradewinds found on Quilter's Cache (an excellent source of free block patterns, BTW). I actually drew it in EQ6 (Electric Quilt 6) so that I could play with colorings as all of the pieces sent were smaller, so I needed to plan out where I put each fabric in the block. (You could do the same basic thing with graph paper if you didn't have the software.)

The second block I chose was the Starshine pattern, also from Quilter's Cache. I did add some fabric, the yellow, from my own stash simply because at this point I didn't have enough of one color for all the needed parts (Melinda was only expecting one block after all). I chose a yellow that had tones coordinating with the other yellows she had sent. I also ended up adding a thin gray border because the block printed out to only 11.5 inches instead of the 12.5 inches, despite setting the print choice to 100%--sometimes printers are just obnoxious. This one didn't have a 1 inch square on it to check measurements, so I didn't know this until it was finished, grr.

I really liked these colors together, and I admit, the gray trend is slowly growing on me. Both blocks ended up looking pretty good, although, I would not recommend them for beginning paper-piecers, particularly the Starshine block.

Pincushion Swap

2010-10-03T19:41:00.000-07:00

The Scrappy Pincushion Swap just finished up with a deadline of October 1 and I got mine sent off on time! My little pincushion has quite a ways to travel, not to mention traversing the dangers of customs officials, so it won't arrive to its new home for a bit.

I used the Wendy the Bird pattern I found from LollyChops for the main body and altered the wings. The blue fabric is a Robert Kaufmann fabric that I thought had a feather sort of look to it. Eyes are made with silver sequins and small black beads. The wings have blue hand stitching and rows of sequins for a little extra sparkle. They are made from felt, with the backs of each wing having wool felt. Perfect for holding needles!

I filled this one with poly-fil stuffing to avoid any possible conflicts with customs over things like walnut shells or shavings. This had the added benefit of being much lighter--always a plus for international shipping. I used a small stone inside on the bottom to help weight the bird down so it doesn't tip forward. The bird is big enough to fill my hand, so not too tiny of a pincushion.

I also sent three pin toppers created by Marla Sharp. They are on 1.5 inch sewing pins--so very tiny! I love the cute little birds and the delicate petals of the flower--oh my!

A fun little pincushion for my partner to enjoy--I hope she likes it!

Halloween Fabric Postcards

2010-09-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

I was invited to join a fabric postcard swap awhile back--and, having never heard of making fabric postcards, I just had to check it out--and then, of course, I just had to sign up for a round of the swap! (It's like that book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.) I was intrigued over the idea and with the theme of Fall or Halloween, I thought it'd be a perfect chance to use some of those cute Halloween ideas I've seen, but never really gotten around to. I know back East, Halloween is a pretty big deal, but around here, not so much--guess we're just not that into trick-or-treating in the rain! LOL

The swap was three postcards, each one to a different partner. All three of my partners said either Fall or Halloween as a preference, so I went with Halloween for all three. I had a lot of fun trying out some ideas on these. Each one has a different front, but the backs are all simple muslin with a quick message to my partner and their address (which is why I won't be showing the backs). I would have loved to use some of my Halloween fabric on the back, but we were supposed to write on them, so prints were out.

All three have a border of varigated quilting thread and an interior of a very stiff heavy Pellon interfacing--no one wants a floppy postcard. I used adhesive photo spray instead of an iron-on as that was what I had on hand. It actually worked quite nicely and I definitely would use it again. I knew I'd be mailing them in an envelope rather than straight through the mail (wanted to keep them clean), so I had some fun with a couple of simple embellishments.

The first one I made was the pumpkin face. I found a goofy pumpkin in one of my mom's tole painting books by Gaye Shoell that was just to funny to pass up. His eyes, nose and tooth are appliqued. I sewed shell beads for the center of each eye. The rest of his face is hand embroidered. I did add a bit of blush to his cheeks with a colored pencil and a few black lines with a pen. Makes you smile, doesn't he?

The second postcard I created was the ghost. I used a patterned fabric for the background and appliqued the ghost body (another Gaye Shoell design) down with a bit of batting underneath so he's a little puffy. His eyes are French knots and the cheeks are colored with colored pencil and a few small embroidery stitches. The star and square are raw edge appliqued--the black square says "Boo!". I also sewed an pale orange mother-of-pearl button on for added dimension. He's a sweet little ghost.

For the last postcard, the little witch, I wanted to do something a little more detailed. She is from a vintage embroidery pattern. I raw-edge appliqued her hat and dress with a fun fabric that had holographic stars on it. The main coloring is with coloring pencil (ironed) and a black pen. Her broom straw, eyes and hat band are hand embroidered. I gave her red hair like me (okay, mine is not literally red like that). Who could be afraid of a cute little witch like this?

So, there you have it--probably, the only Halloween crafts I'll get to this year. I definitely had fun making these postcards. They are quick to make and I'm sure I'll make more in the future!

Monkeys, Elephants, and Babies--oh my!

2010-09-24T21:44:00.000-07:00

So how do you decide what to give for a baby shower gift? Well, for me, I have a division of two main categories--bought and handmade. There are a lot of baby shower invites constantly coming through, but some people get lazy and cheap about it and just send out a mass email or mention it to you in the grocery store. Really? A new baby and that's it, a two line email sent to everyone in your address book? Hmm, I always think babies are more special than that. So for the lazy, I give lazy--I go buy something. Oh, don't worry, its something nice--never jip a new baby. But for those who actually bother to mail out an invitation to me, I make something. Quilts, toys, booties, who knows, but I make it. Sure it takes more time (and money), but obviously these moms are really into having a baby--so I put the effort in. I usually like to make a snugly blanket with flannel and minky. Mmm...

This time, for a baby boy, I decided to do something different--toys! I've been hearing all about how wonderful those crinkle toys are, so I just had to make some. I made two. First, a softie toy monkey. I used the Millie the Monkey pattern from Bit of Whimsy Dolls but added some crinkle to its body. I figure this toy will grow with the baby until he's much older.

Bright and cheery isn't he? (He's been renamed Charlie because I didn't think he looked like a Millie, BTW.) I used luscious flannels for this monkey so he's soft and cuddly. His face is hand embroidered (no buttons for babies!) and inside this monkey's tummy is some extra crinkle material (McDonald's coffee packet wrappers in this case) so that when Charlie is squeezed he sounds fun and crackling.

I used orange minky-type fabric for the backs of his ears for a little fun texture. I also embroidered a little heart on his bum!
I also made a flat crinkle toy; something that could be taken with the baby easily. To go with the monkey softie, I had some great jungle flannel and some fun orange plaid flannel. (I know, how perfect is that--and I didn't even preplan it!) I decided an elephant would be best, so after searching for a great shape for an elephant, I came across this adorable quiltie pal made by Kim Burley (quiltinkimmie). She, being a completely awesome person, let me use the shape for my elephant.

I lined the inside with cleaned wrappers from protein bars (my border collie loves the sound, so it must be good) and a cough drop bag. (I've also heard of moms using the wrappers from diaper wipes, but not being a mom, I didn't have a spare one on hand.) I also used a grosgrain orange polka dot ribbon for the tail which will also act as a loop for the plastic accessory ring so mom can attach it to the baby car seat or a pacifier or whatever.

You can see where I stitched the shape of an ear and top stitched around the edge of the elephant--this not only adds to the finished look, but also helps hold the inside wrappers in place. (His name is Peanuts.)

Now all these cool toys need is a baby to scrunch them--but that's someone else's part! :) Enjoy your new home Charlie and Peanuts!

Landscape Received

2010-09-21T00:10:00.000-07:00

Before I get all distracted with showing you some stuff I made for a baby shower gift, I absolutely must show off the landscape quilt I received in the last swap round for S.T.U.D. (Swap Til You Drop). My partner was quiltedoma (Andrea) and she made me this little lovely:

Pretty gorgeous, I know. She used an assortment of lovely batiks which not only gives some landscape-ish design but also a watercolor sort of feel to the whole quilt. Oh, and she hand appliqued it all down too! There's also some small beads sewn on for embellishments and a touch of hand embroidery for added texture. Plus (as if that wasn't enough work), she hand quilted this with teeny tiny stitches! Here's a closer look at some of that hand work and embellishment.

Makes you want to run out and buy batiks, doesn't it? The little beads add just a glint here and there when the light hits it just so. The quilt is so much lovelier in person than what the photos can show. The scene kind of reminds me of parts of Eastern Oregon that I traveled through on my way back and forth to college so many years ago (we won't discuss the number).

Andrea also sent along a bunch of goodies for me to enjoy. (I know, I'm totally spoiled!) Included in the box was some black and white fabrics (she's in my Bee White Black group, so she knows how I love bw), some fun rainbow rickrack for embellishing, lovely blue floral magnetic bookmarks with Oriental designs (love blue, love flowers, love Asian design--bingo), embroidery floss (she found out I like to hand embroider), and some European chocolate (enough said). Even the tissue paper wrapping it all looked pretty cool--and inspired a quilt design!

Okay, so the chocolate didn't last long (although, in all fairness, I did share...some), but I will be enjoying the other goodies, and most especially, the lovely miniature quilt for quite a long time to come! Thanks Quiltedoma, I love it all!

Sunset Quilt

2010-09-18T19:16:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I never posted about my sunset quilt! Oops!

I chose to do the landscape theme in the last swap for S.T.U.D. (Swap Til You Drop). This was my first landscape quilt--and the only applique I'd done was the basket on the Wizard of Oz Toto quilt. I did practice a little machine applique first making four pink bunny blocks, just to build up my comfort level first. At the suggestion of some of the Flickr members, I quilted at the same time as I did the machine applique so that the shapes showed on the back like a drawing. I'm still not 100% sure I like that look, but it is an interesting effect and I'm glad I tried it.

Here's a look at the back:

I used decorative stitching for the machine applique for a little added texture to the piece (and way more fun then just plain zigzag stitching). For the label, I made a little house shape and instead of putting the label in a corner, I put the "house" into the scene. The purple border is the actual binding. I know, you're wondering what the binding is doing on the back--its called a knife-edge binding. This is a sneaky way of putting a binding on without it showing on the front at all--think of a gallery wrap canvas print. Perfect for art quilts.

Here's the goodies I sent with the quilt:

My partner, Andrea (quiltedoma), is a cat person (no one's perfect), so I included a cat pattern called Nana's Pretties and a piece of cat Laurel Burch fabric. I literally had one little piece of cat fabric in my entire stash--maybe I should have sent some dog fabric instead for a little chaos in her sewing room, lol! I also sent some fabric with dots for her dot fabric drawer. (This woman has a fabric stash that makes me drool--think small fabric store!) I also included some goofy lighthouse/seashore fabric, because, afterall, it is a landscape theme. There's also a bag of tiny beads for use in quilt embellishments, some vintage rose piping, a cooling neck wrap (New York was having really hot weather at the time) and one of my reproduction hankie dolls. There's also a bag of herbal tea which is my own blend of lavendar mint. I also included a print out of the paper pieced pattern for a block I made in the Bee White Black group that Andrea loved so much--now she can make one too!

Alright, enough stalling! The front of my sunset quilt:

I wanted something vibrant and just a little artsy. I think I accomplished it. I did not have a pattern, just an idea in my head and I cut it out as I went. The quilt is pretty close to what I was envisioning, so I'm quite happy with the results. I love that there is no binding showing so it is more like an art canvas. This is made entirely with fabrics from my stash and scrap bin, so I also followed my "no buying" rule (self-imposed until I finish all signed up swaps through November). It was fun to try something new--and everyone here who saw this little quilt fell in love, so I may have to make another one sometime!

Bee Blocks

2010-09-18T00:13:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of quick and easy bee blocks for September to share.

First, for Bee White Black, Crystal (LemondropDezigns) asked for asterick blocks with her fabrics. She sent enough for two just in case we messed up on something, but I didn't, and they were easy (I think I finished both in just a couple of hours--and that was with interruptions from Stars), so I went ahead and made up two for her--because who couldn't use an extra block, right!

Simple, yet effective. Want to make this block yourself? Here's a great tutorial from the Selvage Blog on how to make an asterick block. The only thing I did differently was to make this block 10.5 inches as requested.

The next set of blocks were created for Sara (chickentracksetc) in the Scrap Happy Bee. Sara requested cheerful fabrics in a four patch pattern made with 5 inch blocks. (This is a great beginner block, btw.) Super simple to make, these buggers whip up in no time. Later, Sara will be sewing all her blocks together with a solid color sashing.

There is an easy way to get that center corner to match up. Sew your squares into sets of two. Press the seams to one side and make sure that when your blocks are open and laying flat, one set has the seam pressed left and the other set is pressed right. Then when you lay the sets together to sew the center seam, they'll butt up together at the seam fold thus creating that perfect line up! Try it, it really works!

And, of course, I had to use some yellow--it is the cheery color!

Ever wonder how to pick fabrics that work well together? Well, you could go buy an entire fabric line. But, what if you're working on a scrappy quilt like Sara is? Here's my tip: pick a print that you like with a few colors in it, then pick other fabrics that have the same colors. From there you can pick out other prints that coordinate much easier by just continuing to match colors. The first block has that cheerful donut circle pattern--the other fabrics each feature a color that was somewhere on the print (might have even been a color from some of the shading). You could also find prints with white, yellow, turquoise, or that reddish pink from the stripes on the pink block or even some different greens from the dashed lines on the green block. The second block, I picked that fab yellow with purple tulips fabric and coordinated another slightly different yellow, the green from the stems and a purple from the flowers. I could have also pulled in some white or a pinkish violet to match with the other parts on the flowers. I could also pick a different shade of any of those colors and prints with those colors. Then, use a neutral color for the solid such as white or gray to tie it all together without competing with the prints. The possibilities are really endless with fabrics, so go ahead and try your own scrappy quilt!

Doll Quilt Swap 9--Finished! (Big Sigh)

2010-09-10T10:47:00.000-07:00

After all the planning, the fusing, the cutting, the placing, the applique, the fussing and stressing---it's finished! The lovely quilt I created for my secret partner for the Doll Quilt Swap 9 has been carefully packaged in its Priority Mail tube and shipped off to its new home (wipes tear from eye) along with some extra goodness. What did I include in the package? Well, hopefully it's all stuff my partner will like (otherwise I'll feel bad that I spent the extra on postage instead of eating the vanilla Goldfish crackers like I was tempted to do). I included some metal embellishments (one says "cherish" and the other "love"), a pin cushion, pin toppers, a mug rug and before mentioned vanilla Goldfish crackers, which, btw, if you haven't tried you absolutely must. Really, I mean it. Go, right now and get some--then come back and finish view the world's most awesome quiltie. (Don't worry, I'll wait.)

Well you don't really need a closer look at the Goldfish crackers, just try some (and get the chocolate ones too while you're at it). But here's the little pincushion I made. One point didn't line up right, argh! Otherwise, a perfectly cute little 4 inch pincushion made with some Hoffman Meadow Dance fabric (my partner loves green) and some Kona Coal, another partner fav. I found the most perfect matching button in my vintage button collection--doesn't it look like Kona Ash and Coal! And while I am often loathe to part with my buttons (it's an obsession really), it was just too perfectly coordinated with the pincushion and quilt to not use it.

Here's the pretty back--some of the Westminster Fibers fabric that I used on the quilt back. (Won from Bearpaw in a blog giveaway! That fabric has been from New York to the UK to Oregon and now back to the East coast. The fabric is more traveled than I am!) Another vintage button--the photo really doesn't show the color right it's actually closer to the fabric pink in color. I'll tell you, sewing those buttons on so that the center indented was a big pain in the neck, but the results are worth it.

My partner, without knowing that she was my partner, mentioned that she was so busy that she'd regrettably had to turn down being in the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap. (Horrors!) We can't have a sad little mug with no rug (hmm, that sounds a bit Dr. Seuss-ish). So, of course, being the completely sneaky partner I am--I made her one. And, of course, I matched it to her quilt. I did use different fabrics for the birds just so it wasn't totally the same. I did a little free-motion drawing with the thread to make branches and leaves (some got cut off when the binding was added, but I like the effect.

Here's the back. You can see how the applique stitching and thread drawing create the picture on the back.

I needed to come up with something else that was fun to add to the goodie pile and then I saw pin toppers. Adorable customized sewing pins with cute things at the top--like the old hat pin toppers, only much, much smaller. I traded one of my sisters some seamstress work for her to create me some to give to my partner. Sure, I could make these, but why--she's already a genius talent with fimo clay (she makes miniature dragons and such), so why not let the expert do it. Of course, she could not find her little tools, packed away somewhere, but being the artist that she is she adapted with a straight edge razor and a bamboo skewer. (What can I say, the girl's got skills.) My sis took a look at the quilt and then made these three pin toppers--how cool is that?! These are made using glass head sewing pins that are only 1.5 inches long--we're talkin' uber tiny toppers! Note the pearlescent nature of the toppers, so fabulous!

And now, what you've all been waiting for...drumroll please... may I present... Leafy Treetops, my Doll Quilt Swap 9 creation! (And the crowd goes wild! Okay, so there's no crowd. If there was a crowd though, it would be going wild right now.)

Just for a quick recap on fabric: the background is Kona Ash, tree is Kona Coal and binding is Kona Black. Sorry, I have no idea what the fabrics for the birds and house are, the selvedge is long gone. I appliqued the edge and echo quilted the entire thing (took forever, but with these results, I can say it was definitely worth it) using Sulky premium 40 wt. rayon thread in Light Silver (number 1236) for the top and a Mettler thread (color 623) on the back which blended perfectly with the Kona Coal. The rayon added a little sheen which glints here and there as the light hits it which I love. This combo also quilted beautifully without any problems.

Where'd I get the name? From a children's song that I learned as a small child (luckily, you don't have to hear me sing it) that goes "In the leafy treetops, the birds sing good morning. They're first to see the sun. They must tell everyone! In the leafy treetops, the birds sing good morning."

Some of you have asked if I drew the design. Sadly, no. My drawing skills are fairly limited unless you're talking drafting or perspective or a garden landscape plan. It would take me far to long to draw this tree. I used three different vector images which I combined and altered to get what I wanted. You can find these kinds of images by going to websites that sell royalty free stock images (such as istockphotos or fotolia or shutterstock) or you might find some by Google searches. Just be sure and get permission if its from a private source and follow all copyright laws.

Check out that quilting! This was not done free-motion despite the appearance. (I so wish my free-motion quilting was that good. Nope, I'm at the same skill level as kindergarteners doing division. So sad.) I used my applique foot and meticulously (and slowly) went around and around and around. So, see! You don't have to have advanced quilting skills to get great results on a project. Just be willing to put the necessary time in and you can have something wonderful! Then, keep working on those skills.

My younger sister thought the lines reminded her of those Japanese sand gardens with the rocks--you know that have the lines rippling outward from each rock. Yeah, now you're feelin' the Zen. Okay, last quilting shot.

And finally, the back of the back of this quilt. I love the texture the quilting created on the back. It reminds me of those antique whole cloth quilts--except those where completely hand stitched which is a completely other level of skill that still amazes me. Guess I'd be more accomplished if I'd turn off the tv and stay off Flickr...not happening.

I know you've all been wondering who got this little work of insane art. The big reveal: Dolores Goodson, also known as DeeRoo G! Yep, this little quiltie has traveled completely across the country to Lovetsville, Virginia. I thought the little snails were cute--and fitting as I took so long to make this. They're from a vintage embroidery pattern that I colored in with colored pencils and then outlined with a Pima pen.

One last look at the quilt before I move on to the next project. Sigh. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. Enjoy your new home Leafy Treetops!

Update (I thought you all would enjoy reading my partner's emailed response too):

I'm feeling faint.....I mean....I have no words! Hold on...some are coming to me....OH MY FREAKING GOSH!!! Shayla...I am tearing up here while I type this....wait...let me get a tissue. Sniff.

Ok...I'm composed. I really,really don't know how to express how much this means to me. This is definitely going into the livingroom WHEREVER I live!! You lady are a truely talented person....Counting the ways....

1. Colors, perfection

2. Stitching, amazing

3. Subject, spot on

4. Continution of the theme...mug rug, mini pins...brilliant

5. Pincushion...in green and grey...my too favorite colors...guess I'm an open book that you read perfectly!!;)

6. I LOVE goldfish!

7. The label, another mini piece of art

8. The back, splendiferous

9. Fabrics, Now that's what I'm talking about!

10. Bragging rights....you got them and I'm going to continue them!!!

Yep....time to get another tissue....now my husband seriously has to get our house finished so I can put this in a place of honor....ALWAYS!

Thank you sooooo much Shayla....I'm even keeping the card!

xoxoxo dolores

ps...I'm going to blog about this and use my 10 ways of loving this package!;)

Doll Quilt Swap 9

2010-09-08T23:28:00.000-07:00

While I was busy with house painting, canning, quilting and all sorts of stuff, I little package arrived in my mailbox all the way from Riverdale, Maryland. It was my doll quilt (the one I was receiving) from the Doll Quilt Swap 9!

In the package was an adorable, cheerful quilt and some cool vintage fabrics. I'm sure those will be put to good use sometime soon! The card she included is adorable with button flowers--how creative!

My partner (not the same one I'm giving too) was KatieJeanBags (Katie). Here's her little quiltie:

The binding is in Kona Coal with a white background and Coal for the centers. The rest of the fabrics are from a mix of designers. I love how she created some dimension by pairing coordinating fabrics of more solid/dark with more open/light. I do love a good scrap quilt, always have. It's fun to look at the fabrics and pick out favorites. My favorite fabric in this quilt is probably the orange snail fabric, it is just so funny and cute!

On the back is a lovely orange polka dot fabric (sorry I don't know which fabric line). You can sort of see the quilting creates a star pattern.

This quilt is such a joy to have with it's cheerful colors and patterns and it's clean white background! Katie's life is so busy and full of other people and things that are more important, but she took the time to make this doll quilt specifically for me. I know I'll treasure it always.

DQS9 Update

2010-09-04T23:50:00.000-07:00

Just a few pics to quickly update you on my Doll Quilt Swap 9 quilt--and then its back to work for me!

Here it is with all the pieces fused down and ready for stitching:

Then I stiched everything down with a simple straight stitch in matching thread but it just didn't seem to really pop. So...I went over everthing again with black thread which gave what I was looking for. (Kind of like when an artist adds outlining to a drawing.) Doing this did have the unfortunate effect of causing some of my stitching to be a bit wonky, but on the whole it's good and hopefully my partner will overlook its flaws.

It's a bit wrinkled looking from all the handling as I moved the quilt around for stitching around all those little leaves. I'm not yet very good at free-motion stitching, so I just used a regular applique foot and worked slowly.

For the back I used Kona Coal with a wide strip of some Westminster Fibers fabric I won in a blog giveaway (more on that when I get a chance to actually catch up with blogging). You can see the stitching from the applique as I did sandwich all the layers prior to stitching--this way the stitching acts as quilting and gives a nice little puff to the applique helping it to stand out more.

All in all, I think its turning out well. That's all for now--more pics when the quilting and binding are done, but right now its work, work, work to get it finished and mailed with goodies by the 8th!

The Plaid Scottie is Having a Giveaway!

2010-08-31T13:00:00.000-07:00

You know what I love about giveaways? Okay, besides the chance to get fun free things. It's discovering a new blog that is interesting to me. Sometimes the only time anyone mentions their blog is to announce a giveaway and that's how I've found some really great ones.

Well here's an announcement I just saw today--but you'll need to hurry as the giveaway is only open until September 7th.

Right now a blog called The Plaid Scottie is giving away some gorgeous Meadowsweet fabric and a cool zipper pouch (perfect for those sewing supplies you need to take with you to classes and such). You know you want it! So head right over there and leave a comment to enter. And while you're there, check out her cute little helper, Sir Whiskers MacTavish, an adorable black Scottie dog. (You know I just had to promote the giveaway on a blog of someone who has a four-legged--I mean, what would Stars say if I skipped it!)

Hoop Up! Stitch & Send Swap

2010-08-20T22:35:00.000-07:00

Well, the waiting is over and Round 2 of the Hoop Up! Stitch & Send Swap is starting. Each of us choose a theme and then embroider an inspiration piece. Then our other group members create us a piece based upon the theme. I chose a theme of songbirds in cages. Nothing metaphorical about the choice, just cages as opposed to birds on branches or something. So here's a peek at my inspiration piece, its a work in progress.

I'm working with bright summery colors and have requested that all the cages be in some shade of gray. I can't wait to see what everyone creates for me!

If you like this pattern, I got it over at Bustle and Sew--you should add this one to your collection!

Doll Quilt Swap 9

2010-08-13T14:05:00.000-07:00

Just a quick look at the beginnings of my doll quilt swap quilt (okay, I'm a bit behind on posting, but I'll catch you up quick). Here's the Kona Coal being cut out by hand using a rotary cutter and straight edge blade. It took quite a long time and made my hand a bit sore, but I think the end result will be worth the trouble.

Moody Blues Log Cabin

2010-08-10T21:07:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I hadn't posted about the first block in the new Moody Blues Bee! We received a mix of navy blue, pistachio, turquoise and a bit of tan fabrics. This one goes to Samilou1 (Sandie) who requested a log cabin style block where we choose various widths of fabric around a center white square (which did not have to be in the center of the block).

Here's mine:

I really thought her fabric choices worked well together and I like the mix of floral and graphic designs. Can't wait to see what blue focused block will be next!

Right Angle Blocks

2010-08-10T20:58:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to show off a couple of blocks for Simone in the Sew Buzzy quilting bee. She sent out a lovely selection of pink and yellow fabrics with the instructions to make a block with right angles. This quilt will be for her little four-year old (who is totally adorable btw) and included some fairy princess fabric that was to be included in each block. Normally, I just make the one block, but this time I was sleeping in the living room while my grandma stayed in my room where my fabric stash is (now that's trust!) and so I couldn't work on some of the other blocks and quilts that I normally would at night. Luckily, Simone had included plenty of fabric so I whipped up a second block rather than channel hop.

Here's the first one:

Here's the second one:

This will be one cute "big girl" quilt!

Pick 5 Monday on Quilting Bee Blocks

2010-08-03T18:40:00.000-07:00

I was asked to contribute to Quilting Bee Blocks' Pick 5 Monday. What's Pick 5? I simply pick five favorite blocks from the thousands of block photos added to the Quilting Bee Blocks photo pool on flickr and tell why I like them (yeah, even I can handle that). I went with a theme of strip or string quilt blocks. Go check it out at their blog!

Jaybird Quilts Fabric Giveaway

2010-08-02T09:40:00.000-07:00

There's a great giveaway happening over at Jaybird Quilts (great blog btw) that you need to check out--stack of Sandi Henderson fabric! Now who doesn't want that?!

Just look at that Meadowsweet goodness! Quick go to Jaybird and leave a comment to enter! Sign-up for the newsletter at Above All Fabric and comment on Jaybird for a second entry.

Come on--you know you want it!

Dream Catcher

2010-08-02T00:45:00.000-07:00

Sliding in at the end of the month is my block for the Bee White Black quilting bee group--whew, made it! This month belonged to quiltinkimmie (Kim B.) who requested that her fabrics be turned into a block with flying geese in it. Nope, not talkin' real birds here. The flying geese block is simply a rectangle shaped block with a triangle in the center and smaller half-square triangles in the upper corners, usually in a contrasting color. (Here's a quick tutorial for one method of making the flying geese block.)

She chose not to add a touch of color, so the fabrics were strictly black and white. The fabrics sent in my packet were strong graphics, no floral types, with dots, lines and such. I love these kinds of black and white fabrics, but they definitely require some careful thinking, cutting and placement to get the best results out of them.

The pattern chosen for her block was the center of a mini quilt pattern called Dream Catcher by Sue Bouchard. I redrew it in EQ6 to get the sizing I wanted and to give myself printable templates for paper piecing. I also changed the coloring layout to maximize the effect of the strong black and white fabrics. What do you think?

These fabrics really played into the layout and design of this block giving a striking image. When finished, this will be a 12 inch block. Here's a closer look at the center section of the block:

You can see the flying geese surrounding the center--they almost blend in! This block would look great in multi-colors or in other two-color combinations. Give it a try!

Enjoy your block Kimmie!

Charming Mini Quilt Sent

2010-07-28T22:07:00.000-07:00

Whew, a few moments to give a quick update in between everything else. The miniature quilt I sent for the Charming Mini Quilt swap arrived at its new home, so I can show it now.

This quilt went to momcindy (Cindy R.) in Colorado. Cindy sent a fat quarter of a white tone-on-tone with her 30 charm squares. The fabric was a lovely Christmas fabric in deep reds, greens, creams and black. It really wasn't overly Christmas-y so that made it quite easy to work with.

Cindy is this really amazing woman that I wish you could all get to know. In October, Cindy will have reached her first year of being cancer free after undergoing some major treatment for bladder and uterine cancer--yay, Cindy! She was a nurse and then became a lawyer who represents abused children in court. Cindy also has a lovely 7-year old adopted daughter--and, as if she doesn't already sound like a saint--she's been married for 20 years to the same sweetie! (I just hope I'm not standing behind her on judgement day. Really, how would anyone look good following that kind of woman!)

For Cindy I chose to make a quilt with the block known as "Morning Star". Why? The Morning Star is also known as the Evening Star. In reality, its a planet--Venus, which was named for a personage that represented love and beauty. This "star" shows brightest as the long darkness of night begins, shines through the night and then brightens again as the new day dawns. Can you think of a better symbol for someone like Cindy?

I paper pieced the center to get all those points just right. The border was rotary cut. I added from my stash a tiny bit of white tone-on-tone to the outer row of points as it ended up taking a bit more than a fat quater for all the white areas, something to note if you decide to make one of these yourself. The dark green border was from my stash--it worked so perfectly with Cindy's charm squares.

Because so much of the quilt was made up of these lovely points into a star, I decided to use the stitch-in-the-ditch method for quilting. I sewed in the seam along all the points, corners and border. Yes, it was a bit tedious to do that, but the effect was great and the star pattern then showed on the back. Here's some closer looks at the quilting which was done in white.

The backing fabric I found at Craft Warehouse here in Oregon and it was just perfect. Not only were the colors spot on, but all the words were so fitting for Cindy and her life.

In lieu of the typical box of goodies sent along with a mini quilt, I made Cindy's daughter a doll quilt of her own. Her favorite colors are purple, blue and green. I kept the quilting light so that the little quilt wouldn't be too stiff if she wanted to play with it. All the fabric was in my stash, including the vintage fabric I used for the backing and a few of the squares on the front. I'll be doing a tutorial on this quick mini quilt a bit later, so for now I'll just show you a pic of the front. This 22" quiltie is now hanging on a lavendar wall in Colorado.

And finally, one last look at the mini charm quilt which measured around 19" square and has 140 pieces in the top, 132 of which were in the center block!

Enjoy your quilts Cindy and Aurora!

Coming Up Roses

2010-07-27T19:08:00.000-07:00

This month's scrap blocks for both Bee Scrappy and Scrappy Happy Bee were for the same person, Alysowl9 (Alice), who is is both quilting bees like me. Alice chose hexagon shaped rose blocks created in a wonky log cabin style with the outer row being some type of green. Two bees, two blocks each--so I made four "roses" this month.

I think the key to making these blocks look more rose like is lots of narrow strips with a variety of light, medium and dark tones. When you look at a real rose bud, all the petals together create interspersed lights, darks and midtones and are thin and delicate. I also picked a real rose variety for each to match the overall colors so that I had an inspiration image to work from.

Start with a paper hexagon (ours were 8 1/8" from side to side and 9 7/16" from point to point, side measurement was 4 11/16"). Put a scrap in the center and then start sewing on strips like you would for a log cabin block. I found that wonky squares and rectangles gave good starter shapes. Vary the sizes, tones and angles of your strips and your petals will have a more rose-like look.

My first one was made entirely from fabric in my scrap bag! This purple rose is based on the rose variety Florence DeLattre, although mine is a darker more intense purple than the light lavendar of the real one.

The second one was made from about half out of my scrap bag and half from strips cut off of stash fat quarters. The fabrics were peachy pink tones (the photo looks more reddish orange) and were used to imitate the Tropicana rose variety.

The third rose I made was yellow after the Marco Polo rose variety. Again about half scrapbag and half fat quarter stash. I also did a bit of variation of the green border for this one. I kind of like the effect, like leaves that have different amount of sunlight on them.

My final rose was a white rose after the variety called Queen Mary 2. Some white roses have a slight pink blush to them and some a bit of ivory. This one was the later kind and I used all scraps of creams, whites and darker cream/tan fabrics.

I had a lot of fun making these (maybe that's just the horticulturalist in me coming out) and probably could have kept going with a few more. My one suggestion would be that if you plan on making a whole quilt worth by yourself, consider using a fabric foundation instead of paper--it's a time consumer to pull out all the paper (although not horrible and would give you something "useful" to do in front of the tv).

So if you want a garden indoors or just seem to be missing a green thumb, this block is a fun way to use up scraps and have a lovely bouquet of roses!

Wonky House Block

2010-07-23T19:39:00.000-07:00

Okay, time to start showing some of the July blocks from my quilting bees. Here's a wonky house for Muriel in the Sew Buzzy bee group. She sent out her fabric so that everyone has the same sky, a mix of house fabrics and a variety of grass fabrics. She'll be making a little village with all her blocks! We have a tall pine tree next to our house, so I put one in the block for fun--I designed my own wonky house pattern. I made a two-level house which was originally going to be all plaid, but there wasn't enough of the fabric so I went with the lovely pink polka dot fabric for the upper level. (I actually think it turned out better this way.)

I know, I know...nothing in the windows! Hey, the lights are on, but nobody's home!

Charmingly Mini Quilt Received

2010-07-22T22:42:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'll catch you up on my insane last couple of weeks later, but I wanted to share the miniature quilt I received from Cindy Rangel (momcindy) for the June/July swap in the Charmingly Mini Quilt group. For the swap we each had to send 30 charm squares and one fat quarter to our swap partner and they would make us a quilt. I sent 32 bright, crazy Kaffe Fassett squares and two fat quarters (one dark blackish and one white-ish tone on tone, I wasn't sure which would work better, so sent both). Cindy, being the artist that she is, took it and ran with it. She stalked and snooped and discovered what she could about me, including that I absolutely adore my border collie Stars. Cindy then used one of the photos of Stars to recreate him in an applique design! She also read about how he loves to run through my flowers (blows the petals right off!) and sample berries and veggies from the garden. So, she brilliantly created a dream garden for Stars--with him in it! Check it out:

Doesn't that just blow you away?! I love that she has his smile in there, it is so Stars. I love how she used the Kaffe to make the flowers. (There is quite a few fabrics that are from her stash, so generous to add what was needed to make it so perfect.) Also, she didn't fight the Kaffe, which can be a little much sometimes, but went with it and gave the quilt a kind of modern art/Picasso feel--love it.

You can see the beading on the tips of the flower petals here and the lovely applique work that Cindy did. Also, the "Paradise Found" tag in the corner with the dog bone--too cute! I love the pieced binding.

There's a row of briolite beads along the bottom pieced section which really adds movement to the piece--something that is quite fitting for an image with a border collie in it.

Cindy even took the time to add piecing to the back so that it would be pretty too! Here you can see the pieced binding better too--it really adds to the overall look of this quilt.

One last look at this beautiful quilt. I really, really LOVE it! Cindy made a work of art that I will be keeping forever. Thanks, Cindy! (Oh, and in case you were wondering, Stars loves it too!)

Wizard of Oz Quilt

2010-07-06T10:19:00.000-07:00

For the movie themed S.T.U.D. quilt swap, I was partnered with Quiltinkimmie (Kimmie). We each picked a favorite movie and then the other created a mini quilt inspired somehow by their choice. Well, you already saw the adorable mini based on Alice in Wonderland that Kimmie made me, so here is the one I made her. Kimmie's all time favorite movie is Wizard of Oz--lots of inspiration off of that one!

I created my own design and threw in lots of hints at the story of the Wizard of Oz.

The center is hand embroidered with the basket base appliqued. I used two vintage patterns combined plus some drawing of my own to get the design. Of course, being the person of a four-legged myself, I had to feature the lovable hero of the movie--Toto!

The borders were a brick layout using three different yellow tone-on-tone fabrics (Yellow Brick Road, duh)and the corners were created using one portion of the heirloom block named Kansas Star. For a little Oz fun, I used two different poppy fabrics to create each corner. The binding is in a dark green, hinting at the Emerald City.

For the back of the quilt, I found some of the official Wizard of Oz fabric with the blue gingham of Dorothy's dress. I also opted to make a label that looked like a postcard.

Of course, when you're in the world of Oz, you have to do a little shopping for treats. Here's what I sent along with the quilt for fun.

That's a lollipop from the Lollipop Kids, a package of poppy seeds so Kimmie can start her own poppy field, a copy of a vintage Wizard of Oz quilt with embroidery patterns, a tin of Good 'N Bad witch treats (pink and green jelly bellies for choosing which witch you'll be), pink strawberry marshmallows with a copy of Glinda's Magical Puffed Rice Treats recipe (rice krispie treats) and some official Emerald City Dust. I made up the last three myself which was a lot of fun. (Yes, I regularly make souveniers to places that only exist in the imagination--you should have seen the Vulcan gift shop tag and toy I made for my sister to give to a friend that's a Star Trek fan!)

The only problem of the whole thing--I had way more ideas than I could make or send for this one swap! Guess I'll have to hope for another Oz fan in a swap where the theme is open.

Enjoy your package QuiltinKimmie!

Fabric Folded Pinwheel Quilt

2010-07-03T14:52:00.000-07:00

Finally, the postal service has delivered my swap quilts to their new homes, so I can show them to you. The first one was for the Swap Til You Drop group (also know as S.T.U.D.) in the Anything Goes category--we got to pick what we wanted to send.

My partner was Caryquilter (Suzanne). She lives in North Carolina where she helps care for her ill mother, sews quilts for wounded soldiers, participates in making quilts for Project Linus (quilts for kids in hospitals), has a family including a puppy and still somehow has time to make swap quilts and blocks. She is amazing--I feel like a total slacker. :)

For someone so fabulous, I wanted something to cheer and brighten her days (because when you work that hard, you'rsome down dayse going to have ) the way she cheers and brightens so many other lives. I designed the mini quilt in bold vivid summer colors with a pinwheel pattern (there's just something happy about pinwheels). For added interest, I created some 3-D pinwheels with fabric folding. I used this tutorial, but cut the measurements in half. And, for that little extra color pop, I added round yellow vintage buttons to the centers of the 3-D pinwheels and a matching yellow binding. I quilted around each 3-D pinwheel (somewhat tricky) and wave lines through the rest (trying to give the feel of wind). Here it is, in all its 12 inch glory:

For the back I used a white with orange flower fabric. The flowers kind of reflected the pinwheel shape and looked like they were blowing through the air.

Here's a closer look at the 1/4" binding--very tiny to work with, but the scale fits the miniature quilt size better than half inch. (Still working on getting those corners perfect.)

A better view of the 3-D pinwheels. They really are quite easy to make, just watch your fingers when ironing something this small!

Of course, you don't just send a miniature quilt by itself in a swap (well, you could, but where's the fun in that?) and so here's a look at the goodies I sent along to Suzanne.

Two fat quarters of quilt shop fabric from my stash. Stars's favorite treats for her new puppy to enjoy. A postcard from Oregon so she can see the mountain I see everyday from my town. A cooling neckwrap that I made for her--North Carolina gets hot and humid!

The hankerchief doll is one I made as a reproduction of a vintage one I saw in a book. A little notepad for jotting all those great quilting inspirations in. Little citrus candies because, sadly, it's already too hot in North Carolina for mailing chocolates. (Truly tragic in my mind.) Pretty floral binding clips, quilters use them to hold bindings in place while handstitching them to the back of a quilt and on minis they also can help hold the layers in place while basting the quilt sandwich together. And, finally, a little magnetic needle book with 3 John James #10 Betweens needles (love these, they are so nice to sew with).

It was a lot of fun to try fabric folding and paper piecing the regular pinwheels helped to ensure accurate points on these small blocks. I hope this mini quilt brings her happiness everytime she looks at it!

Blog Giveaway--Bearpaw

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

A Flickr friend is having a giveaway! Don't you just love the generous nature of quilters? Really, if you haven't become a part of the online quilting community on Flickr, you're missing out.

Go visit the Bearpaw blog and leave a comment to enter. Yep, it's that simple. You can become a follower for another entry. Here's what you'll win:

(I ~~stole~~ borrowed the photo from Bearpaw so you'd know how great this is.) You know you want those yummy fat quarters or the cute pincushion--not to mention the book! Three prizes means three chances. Now, click the link and enter yourself to win--hurry, you only have until July 9, 2010.

A Little Treasure

2010-06-30T20:55:00.000-07:00

Today I received a little package from my 7 year old cousin, Paige. (Okay, cousin once removed, but really who says all that all the time, and try explaining that to a 4 year old!) She's adorable. She loves to dance. Miss P also loves to collect treasures. In fact, the first day I met her (I think she was 4 then), she was finding special treasures to keep. It was September and so the current treasure was fall leaves. Miss P loves to collect little bits of "special" found in unexpected places. When I visited last time, she showed me her rock collection. So, of course, I sent her and her sister, Ashley, who also collects rocks and treasures, each a polished jasper stone, a black stone and an Australian coin.

Although both told me thank you on the phone, after singing me "Happy Birthday", Paige also sent a note and a treasure for me to keep in return.

It says: "Dear Shala thank you for the butfll pakig you sent me. I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is for you! " (That's "beautiful package" for those who don't read 7-year-old.) The arrows pointed to the right for me to turn it around where a small item wrapped in kleenex and plenty of tape was attached. Inside was this piece of what looks like lampworked glass.

The piece of glass is clear with lovely blue striping inside. A true treasure given to me by an even greater one! Thanks Paige--I'll keep it forever!

DQS 9 Fabrics

2010-06-27T14:20:00.000-07:00

Well, as you know, I was accepted into the Doll Quilt Swap 9 this year. While I can't say anything about who the quilt will go to (top secret), I can show the quilt as I go. So, here are my fabric choices after reading my partners blog (the whole thing), looking at her favorites and comments on other quilts, etc.

Left to Right: Kona Solids Coal and Ash, 2 Cara Collection Gelatos

Pretty right? The idea right now is a miniature double wedding ring quilt, but we'll see as we progress. I'll begin cutting right after I finish up a couple of mini quilts for two other swaps. Photos to be shown after they are received as those are swaps where partners are known, but results are secret until received. July blocks coming up as fabric arrives.

Enjoy the sunshine everyone!

Mine, All Mine!

2010-06-25T13:17:00.000-07:00

Today, after slaving away canning cherries (which I might add are delicious this year, but way overpriced), I got a package in the mail! Wohoo! It was my Swap Til You Drop (S.T.U.D.) package from quiltinkimmie (Kim Burley) who, awesomely enough, lives right here in Oregon too (the chorus to It's a Small World runs in the background).

Want to know what I got? Of course you do. Well, too bad.

Just kidding! Here's a pic of the package:

She also included a package of delicious smelling herbal bath salts (I may just carry these around and sniff them randomly), notecards that say "cute as a" with an image of a button, and embroidery transfers of day of the week images with little turtles.

The miniature quilt has a pieced border in vibrant floral fabrics--kind of like the enchanted world Alice finds herself in--and a hand embroidered scene from the story. In this case, the tea party. Kimmie didn't know it, but that was my favorite part of the story as a child. How cool is that?

Check out her embroidery work! She also quilted around the scene so that it really stands out on the quilt.

The colored portions were tinted using crayons (I'm pretty sure anyway) for just the right touch of color. Here's a shot of the back, again vibrant flower fabric that fits right in with the enchanted world of Wonderland.

Lovely work Kimmie! Thank you so much.

I'm dying to show you hers, but mum's the word until its finished and sent. The other swap quilt should be arriving at its new home shortly so I can show you that one soon.

Kona Solids Giveaway!

2010-06-21T09:13:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't want to add to their fabric stash? And 22 fat quarters of Kona solids would definitely do the trick! Well, head on over to my Doll Quilt Swap friend's site (Lily's Quilts) and leave a comment to be added into the drawing. Hurry, the drawing is July 2, 2010--you don't want to be left out.

And while you're there, become a follower and enjoy a great blog from the UK.

A Great Week!

2010-06-13T23:09:00.000-07:00

Well, this week has been full and eventful. Here's the fun I had--in no particular order of awesome.
For starters, we finally had warm summer weather here in Oregon--and my golden potatoes are growing nicely! I am so looking forward to finally being able to get in and garden after all this rain (not complaining about the rain, because it saves me from lugging the hose around, so that's a good thing--just need a few breaks so that I'm not out trying to dig in the mud).

Then, I got to go see my little cousin dance in her ballet recital--talk about adorable and precious! (And the grilled salmon sandwich at Red Robin with strawberry lemonade was pretty good too.) Afterwards, I got to help tuck both little girls in and tell them stories and pretend that we were "really trying" to be quiet and not giggle. Yeah right. I'd keep 'em if their parents would let me. :)

I've been having fun working on my S.T.U.D. (Swap Til You Drop) quilts--can't wait to post pictures for you to see!

I received a sweet little mini quilt from one of my S.T.U.D. partners (see earlier post). Still admiring it with ohs and ahs. I just can't get over how tiny some of the pieces are!

I found some great old quilting magazines and interesting stuff at the local thrift store. Check out my haul of awesome:

I'd say more, but some of it has to do with swap goodies, so my lips are sealed. I will however post photos and give information about items once they've been received and I can be sure of not spoiling the surprise.

A friend came down for her birthday and my sister and I made her a cut-out cake (I think her first one ever). She likes to hunt mushrooms so it was a big mushroom! (Okay, okay, we got a bit crazy with the sprinkles--but it's a cake after all!)

Oh, and the little holes were where the candle were--which, by the way, she blew all out on the first try. (Hmm, wonder what she wished for...)

Let's see, what else. Oh, yeah...

I GOT INTO DQS9!!!!!!

Here's the calmer version: I was selected to participate in the elite virtual doll quilt swap for the ninth round.

Go me, go me! Oh, you're wondering what it's all about?

Well, besides being the swap to be in for doll quilts (and we're not talking things you wrap a five-year-old's toy in, we're talking mini works of art), it is also a group of really talented and fun ladies (and gents) who have secret swap partners who they send a lovely little quilt to (and usually some other goodies too) after working on them for a few months.

I just got the email letting me know who I will send to---sorry, can't tell--it's top secret! (No, really, it is--you can be thrown out for blabbing!) But I will give sneak peeks as I create. I don't know who has my name so I can't tell you that either.

Now is the part where I "cyberstalk" my ~~victim~~ partner for ideas about what he/she likes in order to gather inspiration for my creation! (insert evil scientist laughter) Basically, reading blogs, checking out Flickr favorites, etc. to find out who they really are and what they might like--honestly, no real criminal or psycho behavior will take place, promise!

This coming week, I've got fabric all over the place, three mini quilts to finish this month, dehydrating bananas to rotate, vegetables to plant in a garden that needs to be cleared and historic photos to restore! But, Stars has been a good sport through all the busy craziness of the week--time for something special for the border collie. (I wonder if he'd want some fat quarters...oh wait, that's me.)

Have a great week!

Something Delightful from the Post Office!

2010-06-11T15:41:00.000-07:00

Look what arrived today! My first ever swap package--awesome! All the way from North Caronlina, this pretty envelope arrived from CaryQuilter filled with goodies and a sweet mini quilt!

CaryQuilter is my swap partner for the June Anything Goes category in the Swap Til You Drop (S.T.U.D.) group. And she filled the envelope with sweetness. Check it out!

Of course, the real treasure is the adorable mini quilt that she made! Here it is (the photo doesn't do it justice--blame it on a dying camera!) with lovely burgandies, rose, cream, tan, black and gold. She used the miniature decorative stitching for decoration and quilting.

Such a lovely itty bitty wonder! Wow, can you imagine working with such tiny pieces? The whole quilt is only 5.5" x 8.25" so about half a sheet of paper! (And for those of you new to quilting, the blocks are in what's called a crazy quilt style.) Here's a closer look at those tiny blocks.

And of course, the back is super cute too! I just love the fabric she chose.

Pretty awesome! I'm sure you're wondering what CaryQuilter gets from me--but I can't show you yet! I have to keep it a surprise until she receives it from me. But don't worry, it won't be too much longer!

Four and Twenty Blackbirds

2010-06-05T22:27:00.000-07:00

No, it isn't the nursery rhyme. It's a paper pieced quilt block! This one has been sent on its way to the lovely quiltedoma (Andrea) of the Bee White Black quilting bee group. She sent us lovely black, white and gray fabrics for her black and white quilt with the only instructions being to use the cat fabric and make whatever block we wished.
I debated between three different blocks, but I kept coming back to this one--it's just so cool in black and white!

This pattern was designed by Marcia Hohn of Quilter's Cache. It's a free paper piecing (or foundation pieced) pattern called Four and Twenty Blackbirds. (Tip: When printing out the templates, check the sizing square to make sure it really is one inch! On my computer two of the pages printed just fine as is, but the third one needed the right and left margins to be reduced to .45 to print out at exactly the correct size.)

Here is the result:

I think it turned out rather well. In fact, I may just have to make some up for myself!

1930's Wonky Stars

2010-06-03T20:30:00.000-07:00

One of the quilting bees I admin over on Flickr is called Sew Buzzy. Our first month is this June and AntiqueRoses (Kristin) has started us off with a request for wonky stars made in 1930's reproduction fabrics. Each person in the bee was mailed some white Kona cotton and a mix of 1930's repro fabric in one color--I received purple. Everyone was assigned either one 12.5 inch block or two 6.5 inch blocks. We could make additional blocks with the extra fabric if we wanted. (You might be wondering who'd do the extra work, but you should know that we quilters are not only very helpful but very enthusiastic about quilts--so yes, most actually would!) I completed mine over the Memorial Day weekend and they are already on their way to their new home.

Here is my 12.5 inch wonky star block in 1930's purples:

There was just enough extra white for a little 6.5 inch wonky star--I couldn't resist! (Isn't it a cutie.)

Another Wonky Block

2010-05-30T16:17:00.001-07:00

For those who love wonky blocks, here are a couple made for thewendycity (Wendy) over in the Scrap Happy Bee group.

Wendy sent us the center fruit fabric and asked for a scrappy wonky log style block. Hope she has fun with these.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend everyone--and take some time to sew!

Wonky Stars

2010-05-26T23:18:00.000-07:00

Just sharing a couple of blocks made for 1toefeather1, a member in the Bee Scrappy quilting bee. She chose scrappy wonky stars. I rather like them. Might have to make my own wonky star quilt sometime.

Here's the other one. She chose an off-white/light cream base Kona cotton to send out and then we used scraps and fabrics from our own stashes to create the stars. A fun way to get more variety to the blocks in a quilt then depending on your own stash for choices. As you can see, I like bright fabrics. They're so cheery and the total opposite of the gray overcast weather we're having in Oregon at the moment!

Feel like making your own wonky star? Here's a great tutorial (its the one I used to make these) from the Silly BooDilly blog.

The Virtual Quilting Bee

2010-05-18T22:37:00.000-07:00

Ever joined a virtual quilting bee? Well, if you're like me, you may have never heard of such a thing before.

Back in the days of no televisions, blogs or iphones, women weren't all that different--they liked to get together and talk with their friends. And with no Facebook or Twitter, this was how you kept tabs and got the juicy gossip. Well, they were also an industrious group and not likely to sit idle, so they usually brought something to do at the same time as chatting. The best of these get togethers were the quilting bees. Women would trade blocks, sew and help quilt finished quilt tops. Later in the evening, often the rest of the families would gather for dinner and fun. Many lovely heirlooms were created with the help of many hands.

Today, that tradition continues with a modern twist--the internet. A virtual bee is the same as an old-fashioned quilting bee only members don't gather at a house--they gather online. Today's quilting bees involve blogs, digital images, Flickr and the postal service. Men are even getting involved with quilting through these bees (and they are some of the better quilters!) and having a great time.

How does it work? First, someone decides to form a bee and decides on some guidelines. Usually, there are twelve members--one for each month of the year--although there is no rule that says a bee can't have more members and just have longer rounds of exchanges. Then, months are given out for sending fabric and choosing blocks. If its your month, you pick a block and send enough fabric to create the block to each member of the group. They sew up the block that month and mail it back. The type of block depends on the Bee. Some are senders choice, some focus on a specific color or technique and still others are scrappy. By the end of the year, each member has 12 lovely quilt blocks (if they made one for themselves) for a quilt. Everyone shows off their blocks and finished quilts (or at least the tops) online with the group. The fun is in the sharing, communicating online and friendships that develop with people you might never otherwise meet--and of course, in having some help finishing a quilt top!

If you're into quilting consider joining a virtual bee. You'll push yourself to try new blocks, make friends and even get some "work" done. So now when you're chatting online and your spouse complains, you can answer, "Honey, I'm working on a quilt right now!"

Here is a website to get you started--be sure and check their Flickr group for the "I want in" thread to see who has openings.

Quilting Bee Blocks

And here are two that I belong to and two that I host.

Bee Scrappy
Scrap Happy Bee
Bee White Black
Sew Buzzy

Just for fun, when you're there, check out the Master List thread to see hundreds of quilting bees. Many are currently filled, but you can still check out what the group is working on and see how a virtual bee goes. Members are very helpful and enthusiastic--but be warned! Quilting bees can be quite addicting. :)

Batman vs Superman

2010-05-14T14:23:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had to sit in a room while two people argued out a rather pointless thing. You know, the kind of argument that won't change anything, doesn't make one wit of difference, the subject of the argument will never know, keeps going through snarky little comments said just loud enough for the other to hear and, in the end, only leaves everyone giving each other the silent treatment. (Yeah, those grown-up type arguments.) And, if you're unlucky enough to be stuck in the room with them, you get to feel indigestion sit in slowly while irritation mounts, until finally you yell "Shut-up!" because the alternative reaction involves duct taping their mouths and locking them in closets while you try to bring back the Zen you had, had all day until that moment by sipping cold lemonade. At which point one of the arguers says, "You can't tell me to shut-up." (Hmm, funny, just did.)

So what was this grand argument about? It was the age-old "my friend is better than your friend".

It goes something like this (names and subject matter changed to protect the insane).

Bob says, "I think Superman is the one super hero who's done the most for humanity. He sure puts a lot of hours into stopping bad guides and reversing the spin of the Earth, you know." (Now this is where a sane fellow would respond with "yep, he sure is super" and let it go, but of course you know that can't happen, now can it.)

Larry jumps in and says, "I don't know about that. Batman has been working at it longer and he's much more of a hero. He actually punches out the bad guys, while Superman only ties them up." Now you have to understand that Larry has met Bruce Wayne, even worked a bit with him and would really, really love to be the next Robin the Boy Wonder. Thus, Larry responds aggressively out of a sense of loyalty for his old friend Mr. Wayne.

Bob, responding to the aggressive attack to his hero, says, "Superman can fly and has laser vision. And he did turn back time once. Superman also fights injustice around the whole world, while Batman just stays in Gotham."

Larry, incensed by the attack on his mentor, responds with, "Yeah, well, Batman works with the powerful and elite. He also has his awesome utility belt full of tools." (Elite? Really, lets keep a perspective on reality here.) At this point the tension mounting, George steps in to add his comment of "yes, Batman has really made a difference, like when he stopped the Joker from releasing a supertoxin that would have killed half of Gotham." (The Georges of the world need to learn to stay out of things.) This of course fires up the argument that otherwise might have died down after a couple more snarky comments. But no, it now must continue--honor is at stake.

Larry and Bob begin slinging out the comments. "My hero can fly." "Mine has a better car." "Black is more slimming." "Superman's cape has a symbol on it." "Batman has a better hero costume." "Superman is not afraid to show his face." "Yeah, well, Superman's fans are so stupid they can't tell its him with just glasses on." (Now Larry, we don't say stupid.) The volume continues to rise.

Finally, as the dog is barking and the yelling gets louder (hard to believe that was possible), Sam says, "Guys, knock it off. It really doesn't matter." (But, apparently it does matter, because now Larry is mad at Sam for interrupting.) Larry begins to snark at Sam. Bob, feeling that Sam had helped defend his hero, jumps in. This brings George in for more commentary. No one is listening whatsoever, but everyone keeps on talking. And finally, Sam just can't take it anymore. "Just shut-up! Stop making comments. Who cares!"

Larry responds with, "You can't tell me to shut-up!" The snarky comments continue until finally Walter emerges and demands to know what is going on. Everyone stops arguing and separates rather than say. Larry sneaks off to talk to Walter separately because, well, he knows he's right. Bob talks to George about something else while slipping in his points and Sam puts on a movie to ignore everyone with. Thankfully, the dog stops barking.

Really? Yep, really.

Larry. Bob. Get a grip! Both Batman and Superman are superheroes. They've both reached the level of awesomeness that has little boys dressing up as them for Halloween. They're both in the Justice League for heaven's sake! One works strictly in Gothman--his focus is the city's over-abundance of psychotic bad guys (see Larry, not elite, psychotic). More than enough to keep one hero busy for life without trooping out into the world. The other works from Metropolis but, being a journalist, knows how to get better coverage so he can reach more people to help promote justice and the American Way. By working with so many "regular" folks, Superman feels he can help keep them from becoming part of some psychotic bad guy's band of wacky followers. (Look at the damage Harlequin did as a follower of the Joker--nip that in the bud.) Both are awesome. Both are needed to keep the evil of the world at bay. Batman and Superman would want you to fight evil, not each other.

Besides, we all know Wonder Woman would kick their butts!

A Quick Doll Blanket

2010-05-14T10:17:00.000-07:00

I finished sewing up a little doll blanket from leftover scraps of another project. It's all flannel--front and back. Just a nice super-easy little project. A lazy day project--you know, those days you feel like you ought to do something constructive, but can't motivate yourself for that hand applique quilt or tailored jacket. This also is the perfect little beginners project.

(Thanks sis for holding it for me--I was feeling too lazy to set up a nice shot.)

Want to make one yourself? Here's how:

1. Cut 3.5 inch squares of fabric (I used flannel because that is what my scraps were, you could use cotton, silk, whatever.). You don't need them to coordinate--mine do because I had been working with a bunch of pink flannels at the time. I also add in a few vintage pieces from my stash to increase the amount. You'll need 56 for this size doll blanket.

2. Arrange in a pleasing way (really, whatever looks good to you). You'll want 7 rows of eight squares.

3. Sew squares together. I go row by row and then sew rows together. Press each row before sewing it to another row. I like to press the seams in opposite directions for each row (so odd numbered rows press all seams to the left, even numbers to the right). When all rows are attached, press the entire thing--flannel stretches a bit so, while you don't have to baby it, be a bit careful not to stretch it out of wack.

4. If needed, clean up any edges that need to be evened back up with a small trim. You want nice straight edges.

5. Cut out the backing. For this one I used a 22 inch x 25 inch piece of flannel. When working with flannel, because it does stretch, I like to give myself a little extra wiggle room and then trim the small excess off.

6. Sew the backing and front together--right sides facing in. Leave a 4-6 inch opening on one side--doesn't really matter which (if you have bigger hands you'll need the 6 inches). Once sewn, turn right side out. Push out corners with a non-sharp item like a turning stick, bodkin, crochet hook, etc. so you have nice corners. Press.

7. At the opening, turn in the seam allowance and pin closed. At this point you can sew the opening closed with something like a whipstitch, slipstitch or really any one that you prefer. I use a kind of running stitch that goes between the layers so it doesn't show as much. Mostly, you just want the edge sewn closed without stitches showing on the top and bottom.

8. Topstitch around the edge of the blanket. Give it a final press and done!

See how easy it was! If you use scraps like I did, it doesn't cost much either. I spent less than $4 at Walmart for the backing flannel (hey, this is a kid's doll blanket, not an heirloom) and only used part of the yard. The rest was fabric from the scrap bag and thread I already had on hand.

This makes a great little gift for a child to wrap their baby doll in or for little ones a carry around blanket for themselves, and if you're just beginning to sew, don't worry--children don't notice if it isn't perfect, they just notice that you gave them something wonderful.

David Coffin Workshop Cancelled

2010-05-12T21:46:00.000-07:00

Sadly, there was not enough interest to hold the David Coffin workshop this May. We needed 15 attendees and were not able to get this, so it has been decided to cancel the workshop.

Hopefully, in the future, another workshop can be planned that will allow for better attendance.