Saturday, September 25, 2010

A Girly Birthday Pillow

Initially I wasn't sure what I'd use these fabrics for. I liked them, but they weren't my usual 'style' (whatever that is!). This week I knew I had to make a birthday pillow for a very special (and girly) 7 year old. As I was going through my stash looking for pink and purple I came across this stack (I believe it's Remix by Robert Kaufman Fabrics), and I knew this is what it was meant for.


I didn't have a plan when I started this, and I didn't have much time. I just started sewing random widths of the print strips to 1" white strips. When I finished that I wasn't in love with it, so I started cutting that up and sewing it back together all flipped around, and this is how it ended up. I actually really like it and think it's a pretty fun pattern.

I almost free-motioned it. Almost. I chickened out though. I really need to get back to Christina's free-motion quilt along so I can boost my confidence a bit. I decided to just do diagonal lines at random distances apart. I like it, I think it works for the pillow, and it went REALLY quick.

The back is a simple envelope closure. I love the striped binding on this. I just love striped bindings in general. Well, it's a sunny day here in P-town, probably not many of those left, I'd better go enjoy it. Or clean up my garden...

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

A lopsided pincushion...

I had a great time at the September meeting of the Portland Modern Quilt Guild last Thursday. Elizabeth did a great presentation about beer cup fabric dyeing and Jen did a cool presentation on pincushions. As usual there was a great show and tell.


Well, it turns out that at next month's meeting there will be a pincushion swap. So I decided that since I have not made a pincushion before I should try early in case I have to re-do it. Well, I have to re-do it. I named it the color wheel pincushion, and I like the overall look of it, but it turned out all lumpy and lopsided and not quite round. Oh well, back to the drawing board.

At least I now have a pincushion, I didn't have one before. This one should be happy on my little sewing desk. This is the bottom of it - reversible!

Monday, September 13, 2010

Not a Baby?


I can't believe that this sweet, tiny little baby has grown into this little boy, who is starting preschool tomorrow. Seriously, can it have been 3+ years already?


Well, he had to have a special new backpack for the start of school. I had been saving this awesome Japanese train fabric for something special for him, and it was perfect for a backpack!


I did buy a pattern for this because I needed to get it done quick and didn't feel like I had time to think about designing a pattern.


It's fully lined in a bright lime green Kona, and I did buy the piping instead of making it (like I said - super quick).



He loves it, and he can't wait for school to start...


...the little one loves it too. I really hope she kind of forgets about it soon, I don't think I can make another one right away, it was a bit fussy to sew. Tons of layers!

Friday, September 10, 2010

A Challenge? I'm Always up for a Challenge...

Well, I'm always up for a challenge that can be completed in 1 toddler naptime...



Last Friday I was at Jen's house with Megan and all of our kids (6 in total) having a little (Mommy) playdate. Jen bought a 3 pack of Moleskine gridded notebooks and gave one each to Megan and I. We gave ourselves a challenge to give the notebooks a fabric cover in our own 'style'. Then we could each post about them and compare what we came up with. Here's what I came up with. I don't know if I really have a style, but I definitely have a philosophy about 'crafting' and creating. Do it quick, get it done, and (hopefully) make it look good.


It's pretty simple, I decided to sew right to the chipboard cover of the Moleskine, there's no quilting and no batting, and it can't be removed without totally destroying the book. I had originally thought I'd do a removable one, but then, I like the idea of making a new one with each new notebook, and since I store my old sketchbooks to reference, this will let me easily recognize the one I'm looking for. I totally raided the scrap bin for this one. I did simple wonky log-cabin-ish piecing (very technical term), and finished around the edges with some selveges.

I added a little strap with a velcro closure to keep it from flying open when I dump my diaper bag, and a little pocket for a pencil and scraps to match or inspire. I think it's pretty cute, and I'm looking forward to a lot of sketching!

Monday, September 6, 2010

To Quilt Along, or Not to Quilt Along, that is the Question


I've gone back and forth on this one for awhile. On one hand, a lot of the fun of making something is designing it. But, on the other hand - won't I learn a lot by following someone else's expertise? Well, I've decided 'to' quilt along. Two 'quilt alongs' in fact. The first one I'm going to do is Christina's from A Few Scraps. She's doing a free-motion quilt along, and this is something I really want to get better at. Plus, the top was a cinch to piece. So there it is, in all it's glory, in the pic above. Ready to quilt along with Christina! (I swear I ironed it before I basted it!)

The second quilt along I'm joining is Elizabeth Hartman's Tokyo Subway Map Quilt Along. You all know her from Oh Fransson! I really like Elizabeth's bold, graphic designs, and feel like this is a quilt I will really appreciate for a long time. Also, what I'm finding about these quilt alongs is that sometimes it's nice for someone else to do all the thinking and math for you. Especially since I can't seem to shake this baby-brain thing. Does that ever go away? Anyhow, I have gathered the fabric for this one, but have not even started cutting. That's how I'm going to roll on these things, I'll always be a few steps behind.

Which online quilt alongs have you all participated in? Doing any right now?



Well, happy holiday everyone. We're heading out to Pacific City today, to spend a few days on the beach with these little beasties before the 'freedom' of summer ends. I'm not bringing my machine, but I am bringing all that fabric to cut up for the Tokyo quilt. Maybe I'll have some piles to show you later in the week. Cheers!