Stitches in Play

a bit of sewing and a lot of playing

I am interrupting my day of play to bring you a quickie tutorial for this randomly pieced pillow.

I apologize in advance for these dark photos but there are really two things to keep in mind when piecing in this manner.

THING #1:  Cut your background fabric 2 inches larger than you want your finished pillow top because the edges will not always line up and the edges will need to be trimmed after piecing.  For this 24" pillow top, I cut a 26" square of fabric.

Then randomly cut fabric and insert 2" strips.  Do not cut the strips fabric on the diagonal.

Then cut the fabric again and insert another strip.

THING #2:  If you want the first strip (green) to line up when you are inserting the second strip (red fabric) then you have to match up the points where you want the fabrics to intersect and pin.  Do not try to line up the outside edges - these will remain uneven and will be trimmed at the end. 

Next cut the fabric again and insert a third strip.  Do this several more times.  Trim the outside edges and you're done.  I don't have time to finish this right now but you get the idea.  Time to return to playing with my family.

 

I can fly planes with the boys...

lounge with the kitty....

pick cucumbers with ezra...

 

scooter down the road....

discuss important matters with david and abigail...

or catch a praying mantis!

 

Decisions, decisions!  Happy Wednesday everyone!

Log cabin blocks and honest things

I so did not intend to be gone so long but my husband had several days off so we took advantage to every minute.  Beaches, museums and amusement parks were visited, much junk food was consumed, and many belly laughs were had.  Today, the kiddos and I are taking it easy. 

My log cabin quilt top is complete and I will be posting tips on measuring for the backing, sandwiching a quilt top, basting, quilting and binding as I go.

But first here are some tips on sewing together your log cabin blocks:

1.  Before you begin sewing the blocks together, take a minute to make sure they are square and uniform in size.  If they are not, use your ruler and rotary cutter to trim them so that they are uniform.

2.  Next lay your blocks out onto the floor or a "design board" so that you can arrange them in the pattern that is most pleasing to you.  My board is made up of a thick piece of foam core from Home Depot that I covered with quilt batting using a staple gun. 

3.  Always sew your blocks together in rows first. 

4.  Iron the seam allowances of the even numbered rows to either the left or the right.  Then iron the seam allowances of the odd numbered rows in the opposite direction.  

5.  When all of the rows are complete, sew the first two rows together, then the next two rows, and so on.  Finally sew the pairs of rows together to complete the top.  It is much more difficult to sew one row at time onto a growing quilt top.

6.  Admire your quilt top, call the kiddos into the room to give you even more compliments, and begin planning the quilt back!

Oh, and remember this pillow top that I pieced using some extra strips.  Well it is now a much loved, and much used, pillow.

Stay tuned for a tutorial on improvisational piecing so that you can make one of these for your own kiddos.  It's a great project for practicing your free motion quilting before you begin to quilt your large quilt - and who doesn't love a pillow project that you can't mess up because anything goes!

Several days ago I was so moved to be awarded with the Honest Scrap Award by Heather of Shivaya Naturals.  I was so honored to receive this from Heather because her blog provides me with such inspiration and insight.  I especially enjoy her posts on crafting with and homeschooling her kiddos and her amazing healthy and kid friendly recipes.  And don't even get me started on her gorgeous hand dyed yarn.  Thank you Heather for the honor.

Now I have to divulge ten honest things about myself.  So here goes:

1.  I can't follow a recipe if my life depended on it.  I always end up throwing in some extra ingredients I have on hand or altering the cooking process in some way.  This is also why I don't bake much as my cooking method is only conducive to quick breads such as banana, carrot, craisins, chocolate chip bread - yes, I made this last week.

2.  I love that the kiddos are home with me all summer but I really miss exercising at the gym.

3.  Scouring the house, especially the kids rooms, for stuff to donate is one of my favorite pass times.  I walk around the house with a large bag and toss in anything that isn't getting use.  I especially enjoy dropping the bags off at their destination, the thrift store.

4.  My favorite time of day is morning.  I begin each morning at 6:30 am by walking my dogs down our road.  Watching them run and frolic off leash in the cool of the morning reminds me that happiness really is in the little things.

5.  I have to knit and sew, or at least plan to knit of sew, something each day in order to be truly happy.

6.  My husband is my best friend - and has been for over twenty years.

7.  For years I have watched almost no TV.  But over the past few weeks I have discovered, and become slightly addicted to, two TV shows - which I Tivo and watch in the evening when I knit.  I watch Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives and  Rate my Space. 

8.  I didn't speak English until I was five years old.  That was when my family emigrated to southern California from Russia.  We were able to emigrate because we were not allowed to practice our religion in the former Soviet Union.  Both my grandparents were Holocaust survivors and were very proud that they were instrumental in "bringing" their children and grandchildren to America.  Growing up, we had very little but I always felt special that I was fortunate enough to grow up in the US.  

9.  For the last ten years we have lived in the country.  Our only non-grocery store is walmart so we drive about 45 minutes to shop at Target, Trader Joe's, and the mall.  We also drive the 45 min to go to parks, museums, or the beach.  I don't mind all the driving because it gives me the opportunity to talk with, sing songs, and laugh with my kiddos without the distractions (and occasional bickering) present when we are home.

10.  I have a masters and a doctorate degree because my family encouraged education (see #8) and because I love school.  But despite my degrees and my love for school, I could not be happier with my choice to be a stay-at-home mom. 

I leave you with photos of our first cucumber and pickle harvest...

and consumption.

May you find happiness in the little things today. 

in small increments

Summer is in full swing around here.  We are busy driving from swim team practice to taekwondo classes to the library for fun reads and back again - literally.  That leaves very little time for crafty endeavors but I did manage to get this pillow top quilted. 

I'm posting this today even though I did not have the time it takes to sew the six seams that would make it into an actual pillow sham that I could stuff with an actual pillow insert.  But I figure it's summertime and the kiddos are home and my sewing space is super hot - so I can post in small increments.  Just the little bit that was accomplished; and then the bits will come together and add up to a whole lot of completed projects.  A girl can hope!

I'm not so sure that the stipple quilting works so well with the strong lines of the piecing but I like it.  Maybe it's that the curvy lines of the quilting compliment the straight lines of the piecing - hmmm.

Here's a close up of the quilting:

Enjoy your weekend and give yourself permission to work in small increments.  Completing an actual project this early into summer is so overrated!

summertime and log cabin blocks

"To me, every hour of the light and dark is a miracle.  Every cubic inch of space is a miracle."
             Walt Whitman

We have been enjoying every hour of summer around here.

And marveling at the beauty of the weeds in our little space.

There has also been a bit of quilting going on.

When the piecing of the log cabin blocks was complete, I realized that all the primary colors in these fabrics make this quilt quite bright.  To tone it down a bit, I added a white fabric border (2 inch strips) to half the blocks.  Here are some of the blocks on my felt board.

There are lots of ways to arrange these scrappy log cabin blocks into a quilt.  The simplest is to trim the blocks so that they are the exact same size and sew them together - first into rows and then to sew the rows together to complete the top.

You can also add a border to every other block like I did.  Just be sure to go back and make the remainder of the blocks larger so that all the blocks are the same size.

Another option would be to border all of the blocks in a complimentary fabric (or white) like so.

Finally, the blocks can sewn together with sashing in between.  Simply sew the blocks together in rows with your sashing strips in between.  Then sew the rows together with horizontal sashing strips in between the rows. 

 

And while I was sewing, and the boys were putting together an airplane model, abigail was busy sorting and labeling.

I think I will choose one "plain" and two "sassy" buttons!

Here's to enjoying every hour of the light and dark!

Highlighted in yellow

Years ago, while browsing in the bookstore, I spotted this little book.  Highlighted in Yellow, a short course in living wisely and choosing well is a book made up of inspiring quotations and short stories on the key points of living a good life.  I loved this book so that I sent it to friends and family and I still keep my tattered copy in the nightstand and refer to it often - who doesn't need an book of fun and uplifting quotes nearby? 

This week has been nutty with awards assemblies, parties, a science fair, an emergency tooth extraction for the 10 year old, and numerous taekwondo sessions in preparation for tonight's color belt testing. 

But today is the first official day of summer vacation and this quote from Highlighted in Yellow jumped out at me as I was flipping through:

"It is a gift to be able to paint a particular picture or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look.  To affect the quality of the day - that is the highest of the arts."   
                                                 Henry David Thoreau

I know that if I choose to be positive and enthusiastic each day that, with the kiddos older and more independent, these ten weeks will be the best ever!

With that in mind, we flew remote controlled planes as the sun came out early this morning.

I have most of my log cabin blocks pieced and will soon be sharing a tutorial on various ways of sewing the blocks together into a quilt.  With all these primary colors this quilt is going to be bright - but the 8 year old loves it and that's all that matters.

And I will soon revisit my abandoned rusted root sweater because I received these in the mail yesterday.  Thanks for the tip Lisa.

May you choose to partake in the art of affecting the quality of your day this Friday!

first day of summer vacation

Today was abigail's first day of summer vacation.

So we spread an old blanket under our river birch tree and watched the leaves shimmer in the sunlight.

I wished I could read and knit at the same time because last night I stayed up way too late reading this amazing book that I highly recommend. But I so wanted to work on my cavern cardi.

When abigail became bored of listening to me talking about my reading and knitting we brought out the piggies, ella and lucy.

We fed them lettuce leaves left over from lunch.

Remy thought we were fattening them up so that he could have lunch.

Then one piggie went exploring...

And remy assured us that he would keep an eye on her!

After their walk, the two little piggies went home for a snack.

Abigail had her snack too.

Yum.

I received a question regarding how to quickly tell which way the blocks need to be rotated and which side to piece next.

Answer:  always sew onto the edge that has 3 fabrics exposed.  For example, in the above photo all the blocks need to be placed on the next strip so that it is sewn to the BOTTOM  ( where there are 3 fabrics exposed)

Here they are, placed correctly, onto the next strip.

Hope you're savoring these first days of summer.

quick hints for easy peasy log cabin quilt blocks

Thank you so much for your kind comments to my last log cabin quilt post.  As I slowly progress on the piecing  I realize there is more I want to share.  Here are some helpful hints:

1.  If this is your first quilt don't make it too big.  30 ten to twelve inch blocks will give you a nice 4ft x 5ft quilt.

2.  You will need a half yard each of  8 - 10 coordinating fabrics.

3.  remember to PRESS the squares each time you cut them apart and always press the seems out AWAY from the center.   This will allow your square to lie flat and ...well, square.

4.  For piecing, choose any color neutral thread.  The thread does not have to match your fabrics as it will not be visible - any of these would be fine.

5.  To keep the blocks looking random, keep all of your squares in a pile to pull from and place on your next strip.  These have already been cut apart and pressed:

6.  Keep a garbage bowl nearby when cutting the squares apart.

7.  Most importantly, find something to occupy the kiddos so that you can sew.  Mine made many airplanes out of foam plates and drinking straws.   The ones pictured flew the farthest.  (ezra took this picture)

My power is currently out and it is storming outside.  I'm going to go cuddle with my girl and watch my veggies perk up in the rain - so much better than me going out there to water!  Now let's just hope the power comes back soon - definitely not one of the perks of living in the country!

easy-peasy log cabin tutorial

I absolutely love the katie jump rope fabric line by denyse schmidt and I have slowly been collecting prints, several yards at a time.  I will be making a scrappy log cabin quilt and posting my progress with tutorials as I go along.  Follow along with me and use your favorite fabrics to make your own log cabin quilt.   Here's how:

Edited to add:  More posts featuring these log cabin blocks can be found here, here, here, here, and here.

I will be making approximately 42  - 10 inch blocks for a large lap/twin quilt size.  This tutorial uses the chain piecing method so there will be no need for measuring fabric fabric pieces, making precise cuts, or perfect seam allowances.  Because there are no points to match this is perfect for a first quilt.  In fact, you can make the squares a little big larger and then use a ruler to cut them to the 10 inch size.

First, cut 8 - 12 of your favorite coordinating fabrics into 2 inch strips, selvage to selvage.  The number of strips of each fabric will depend on how many squares you will be making, but 4 - 6 strips of each fabric is a good place to start.

Press the fabric strips well.

Cut 2 x 2 inch squares for the center of the log cabin blocks. 

I chose to cut 42 white squares for the centers to unify all of the various fabric patterns.  You can use a coordinating color or pattern or make the centers in different colors.

Next, choose a 2 inch strip and place it under the presser foot of your sewing machine.  Lay the 2 inch center squares - ONE AT A TIME - on the strip and sew it down.  When you get to the end of the 2 inch square stop sewing, lift the presser foot, and place down the next square, lower the presser foot.  Sew it down, stop sewing, lift the presser foot, and place down the next square, lower the presser foot, and sew.  Do this until you have ten center squares in the strip.  Do not pin.

This is what the strip looks like when it comes through the machine.  There are no points or fabric edges to get caught in the machine, no cutting of thread, and no matching of two small squares - it is much easier to place the small squares on a long strip of fabric.

Here is what the strips will look like.  Notice that there is room left on the strip but I chose to only sew 9-10 center squares on each strip in order to vary the patterns of the blocks.

Note: leave as little room as possible between squares so as not to waste fabric.

These strips are lots of fun to piece - and super easy!

Using a ruler and rotary cutter, cut the squares apart.  Cut out and discard the little bit between the squares.

You will have 42 pieces.

Open them up and PRESS with the seam allowance away from the white center square.

Now select another long strip (cut selvage to selvage), place it under the presser foot and begin sewing the pieced rectangles to it.  Lay them down ONE AT A TIME and sew.  Stop when you get to the end, lift up the presser foot, place down another pieced rectangle, lower the presser foot, sew.  Repeat until you get to the end of the strip.  Do not pin.

Here's the strip right after it comes out the machine.

Cut the blocks apart and PRESS them open with the seam allowances away from the center white square.  This is as far as I got, but for those of you who want to work ahead...

Choose another strip, lay down the pieced blocks as pictured above and sew.  Lay and sew the blocks ONE AT A TIME - the picture above is for demo only to show the orientation of the blocks.

More tutorials coming us as I progress with the quilt.  Please ask any questions in the comments - this piecing is so simple to do but kinda hard to describe. 

Enjoy your weekend  - and remember to play some!

 

Edited to add:  More posts featuring these log cabin blocks can be found here, here, here, here, and here.

how to piece perfect points - every time.

Hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day.  My day was great until a certain middle child caught the stomach bug.  He got to stay home with mom today and is finally feeling a bit better.

Several of you commented on how precisely the points matched in these blocks.  So I'm going to show you how simple it is to have perfectly matched points...

First, piece squares to make triangles like so.

Then cut the squares in half on the diagonal.

Choose two triangle units to piece together.

MOST IMPORTANT STEPS: 

Iron the seams in opposite directions.
Place the triangles right sides together.
Align the center seams.
Abut the two seams against one another - use your fingers to do this.
Do not concern yourself with aligning the corners or edges of the triangles. 
The fabrics will "hinge" together.  There is no need to pin, but you can if you like.
Sew.

Open.  Press.  It's that simple.  And it works every time!

I went outside - in the rain - to clean up and assess the length of our grass/weeds and spotted this...

May you find beauty in the mundane this Monday!

tirangles - helpful in the evening, helpful in the morning

Last night I got home from a PTA meeting at 9 pm.  For 2 1/2 long hours I sat in a chair and listened to some very important issues and many not so important ones - the lengthy discussion as to whether to spend an additional $95 to place our school logo on six umbrellas for the teachers to take to the buses seemed silly as it has rained every day this week and the teachers won't be getting these umbrellas for another month.  Nonetheless, I feel it is important for me to take an active role in my kid's school - I also volunteer there every tues and thurs.  Until this year my kiddos attended a private montessori school and I am very happy with their transition to public school - both my boys have excellent teachers.

When I got home I was feeling both tired and restless and looking for something to 'make' that requires little attention span.  Normally I would turn to knitting, but I have nothing on the needles since I finished abigail's sweater .   Then I spied this stack of Amy Butler prints that I purchased months ago.

I knew right away that I would cut the fabric into squares to sew into triangles.  I find chain piecing triangles to be relaxing - draw a line, sew, draw a line, sew...

Before I knew it, I had lots of triangle squares and the sewing helped me unwind before heading off to bed.

Then, this morning while I was on the computer reading blogs and checking out ravelry I suggested to my daughter that she assemble the triangles into a "quilt" on the batting covered board.  She worked on this dilligently for nearly half an hour - I tell you, these triangles have proven themselves to be extremely helpful.

This is what she came up with - not bad, huh?

And so I leave you with these words of wisdom:  tired?  need to unwind?  need an engaging and creative activity to occupy your kiddos?  piece some triangles tonight - and see what happens.

for Valerie

I had so much fun sewing these two blocks for Valerie.  They are a huge 14 inches.  I really enjoyed working within the constraints of the fabric  she sent.   Valerie's inspiration photos were comprised mainly of log cabin-y blocks and of blocks with a large center focal point so I sewed one of each.

This is the log cabin-y block using the courthouse steps pattern.  Here I juxtaposed the blues and browns against the pinks.

Since most of the fabric was already cut into strips, I chose to take advantage of the two fabrics that were square shaped and I pieced them into a 4 patch which I surrounded with more of the strips.  I ended up using nearly all of the fabric she sent and I added a few strips of my own. Oh, and did I mention how much fun I had piecing these!

I hope she likes them.

knitting completed and quilting yet to come

Today I finished this cute sweater for abigail.   She usually loves it when I knit and sew for her and can't wait to show off her new wares - but not today.   It was dark and stormy out and she said she was too sleepy to have her picture taken.  So I took this shot of the back.

Then abigail hid under the covers and I suggested that she take a nap.  (It's been two years since her last nap.)  Upon hearing this my daughter threw down the covers, slid down them and landed with a thump on the floor.  She said I could take one picture - just one.  I asked her to fix her skirt.  She said no.  I snapped this photo.  She took off the sweater.  Enough said.

This is a quick and simple knit.  Although my sweater looks larger, I did follow the the pattern.  The only modification that I made was to add 6 rows of 1x1 ribbing to the bottom to prevent curling.  If I make it again I would bind off 32 stitches for each sleeve rather than the 40 called for in the pattern because the sleeve openings are a bit large.

On the quilting front, I just received my first fabric packet from  Valerie and I can't wait to get started.

Several weeks ago Megan and  Valerie asked me to join their quilting bee and I jumped at the chance to work with the twelve amazingly talented women in this group.  I'm enjoying playing with the great fabrics Valerie sent and will post the blocks when they're done.  This blogging thing is so much fun!

Thank you so much for stopping by this space.

a stack pack quilt for baby

I made this baby quilt for a very special, very pregnant teacher.  This was so much fun to sew because I used a stack pack of 100 five inch squares - full of very cute 1940's reproduction children's fabrics.  I just had to cut the white fabric squares and piece the squares into triangles that I assembled into this pinwheel pattern.



Here's a close-up of the adorable fabrics.



I used the squares remaining for the quilt back.



I almost never work with pre-cut fabric because I perfer to wash the sizing, dyes and chemicals out before I spend hours in very close proximity to the fabric.  But here I have yet another concern - I haven't had a chance to wash this quilt yet and I don't know how the prints will shrink up in relation to the pre-washed white fabric and purple border.  Has anyone had this come up - how did you handle it?  I'll post and update with any information that may be helpful.  In the meantime, here's yet another gratuitous shot - I took lots of photos because this quilt will be going to its new home very soon.



On the knitting front, I am taking a short break from my too large diminishing rib cardigan.  I started a small sweater for abigail after reading kristyn's post - i'll get back to it once I figure out how I am going to decrease some of the sleeve stitches.



Thanks so much for reading and for letting me share my thoughts - you all mean so much to me.

Spring cleaning

It's Spring and I feel the need to clean.  Today the kiddos and I cleaned closets and drawers, toy bins and bookshelves, and packed bags of clothes and toys to donate.  While cleaning out my sewing space, I came across this quilt top that I started back in January. 

The top wasn't really big enough and with my need to "clean, complete, or get rid of" in high gear I decided I would add a quick border rather than cut and piece more squares for the zig-zag design. 

I cut random sized rectangles and strip pieced them together.  I'm not sure if I like it but it took less than two hours to complete - even with three kiddos running around.  And the top is now about 65" by 62" inches  - which is the perfect size for a lap quilt...

or for an impromptu spring picnic blanket.

I'm still not sure how I feel about the rather large border - but I love that it's complete! 

Now I just have to find the time to quilt it!

this is how I piece triangles

I love making quilts.  I love selecting fabrics.  I love the sound the rotary cutter makes when it slices through layers of fabric.  I love the hum of the sewing machine.  I love dropping the feed dogs and quilting the layers together with 'squiggles.'  I love watching my kiddos snuggle under quilts that I made.  And I love instant gratification!   

The triangle square is my favorite block to work with because it can be arranged in many  different  wonderful  configurations. What I don't love is working with the bias edge and triangle points that are constantly being sucked into the throat plate of my machine.  So I always piece my triangles using squares.  Using squares makes the piecing fast, accurate, and eliminates working with bias edges and points.  (This method is by no means unique - it can be found in many books as well as on-line.)  

This is how I piece my triangles:

First cut contrasting fabric into squares (these are 6.5 inch squares & will yield  5.5" triangle units)

Next select one square from each stack and place them right sides together.  Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of one square.  I use a regular #2 pencil and a ruler to do this. (I used red here for demo)

To save time, I mark and pin up to fifty squares at once.

Line up the left edge of the sewing machine foot with the pencil line and sew the squares together using the chain piecing method illustrated in the next photo. 

Do not cut the thread after each square.  I often chain piece 20-30 squares before I stop and cut the threads connecting them - this saves a lot of time and thread. 

Then flip the squares around, line up the edge of the sewing machine foot with the pencil line and sew a quarter inch seam on the opposite side of the pencil line.  Each square will make two triangle square units.

Next, cut the squares apart on the pencil line to make two triangle units.

Press each triangle unit open.

Use scissors to trim the dog ears of the seam allowance.  And viola, perfect triangle squares!  Easy-peasy!

I hope this inspires you to try these.

And look at what's inspiring me today.  This amazing fern platter that I scored from this talented blogger and potter.  Go check out her etsy shop to see more!

Have a terrific weekend!

new nine patch quilt and binding-by-machine tutorial

I'd like to share this very bright, very easy nine patch quilt that I finished for Abigail. 

This quilt top came together quickly because I strip pieced the blocks.  Abigail and I chose the fabrics.  Next, I cut the fabrics selvage to selvage into 4" strips.  I then sewed the strips together using this method.   Once the blocks were complete, we arranged them on the floor and sewed them together.

Here's the pieced back of the quilt.

For this quilt, I attached the binding by machine. 

While I love the look of numerous tiny, barely-visible hand stitches that serve to personalize a quilt, I must admit that hand sewing binding is not my favorite part.  So given that this quilt will be used daily and washed often, I chose to sew the binding by machine.  Not to mention the fact that my finger is still sore from sewing the binding on this quilt last week.

The following is a mini tutorial on how I attach binding by machine:

Cut binding fabric into 4 1/2" strips.  Attach the strips end to end by placing fabric right sides together at 90 degree angle.  Sew, trim, iron seam flat to one side.

Press entire strip in half lengthwise:

Using a walking foot, sew binding to the quilt using 1/4" seam allowance and mitering corners:

Then fold the binding to the back of the quilt and machine sew it in place.  Sew very close to the edge of the binding strip.

The trick here is that the binding is wider on the backside than it is on the front of the quilt.  Thus you will not catch the front of the binding when you sew.

However, this method does create a seam (bobbin thread) on the front of the quilt all the way around, about 1/4 inch from the binding edge.  See photo below.

If this bothers you, you can make the binding a bit narrower, causing the seam on the front to be closer to the binding - but you take the chance of actually catching the front binding as you sew, causing wrinkles and puckers. 

Caveat - this technique is not for special, heirloom quilts that take weeks to piece.  Those bindings need to be sewn by hand.

But this method is quick, neat, and produces none of the puckering that you get when you wrap the binding around the quilt and sew, trying to catch both sides at the same time.  

Done:

In use:

I spy ten happy toes.
 

Call me girl friday

I had a dozen errands that 'absolutely needed' to be accomplished today.  (well not really, but I like to check things off the list on Fridays so I feel I had a productive week).

Up at 6:00 :  brush teeth, get dressed, walk dogs.  Check.

6:30 - 7:30 :   serve breakfast, pack lunches, and drive three kiddos to two schools.  Check.

8:15 - 9:00 :  fill car up with gas, stop by bank, drop tax docs off at accountant's.  Check.

9:00 - 10:30 :  go to gym, work out, shower in not-so-clean locker room, dress again.  Check.

10:30 - 11:30 :  drop overdue books off at library, pay late fine, stop by grocery store for milk and dog food.  Check.

11:30 - 12:30:  unload groceries (yes, I brought a few extra items), feed dogs, make salad by dumping anything that looked good enough to eat into large bowl, eat.  Check.

12:30 - 1:00:  remember that I joined the red shoes club flicker group so I spend nearly thirty minutes looking for, finding, and photographing red shoes.  I spend the remainder of the minutes asking myself if this is normal behavior for a thirty-eight-year-old mother of three.

And just as I decide that taking photos of ones feet in red shoes is completely normal, fun even, and that more people should try it, the kitty looks at me as if I have lost my mind.

I spend the next few minutes with a big smile on my face because I am so glad that I started this blog.

 

Then I remember yet another great benefit that comes along with blogging - blog friends!  Like the very kind and thoughtful Lisa of Stitching Under Oaks who sent me this beautifully crafted mole skin that I am keeping right by my computer because it makes me smile every time I look at it.  Life is good.

1:00 - 2:00 :  Pick up first kiddo from school, feed her lunch, set her up with paper and scissors for cutting snowflakes.  Check. 

2:00 :  Try to finish up the three pillow covers I cut out yesterday only to find that the serger has somehow become unthreaded and now looks like this... ouch. 

Remember how I promised a 'how-I-sew-on binding by machine' tutorial and go cut and iron fabric for binding....

for this quilt, which I quilted last night while watching bad tv shows on this channel (it took a little over two hours).  Check.

But my daughter needs me to play 'magnet dolls' with her.  I am the ballerina to her fairy princess.  Check.

I think about this sweater that I have been working on for way too long because I am not sure I love it.  I decide to finish it before I cast again.

3:30 : Other two kiddos are home from school and I am done with errands and crafting for the day.  It is now time to cook dinner and spend time with my kiddos because the days go by so fast.  And I do not want to miss one single moment.  Check.

short-term solution or four new pillows

Dilemma -  Super dark corner of family room AND ugly orange couches purchased years ago by deranged pregnant woman in nesting mode (that would me)

Solution -four large pillows...

Sewn from absolutely gorgeous Anna Maria Horner fabric, these need no further embellishment. 

Fabric chosen specifically because it needs no further embellishment, thus making this project super quick. (2 1/2 hours to make 4 covers)

Kiddo approved.

The back is sewn with two overlapping flaps. 

To make super-quick, super-simple pillow cover:

1.  Cut front piece of fabric the exact size of the pillow you want to cover - when it comes to covering pillows bigger is not better.

2.  Cut 2 pieces of fabric for the back.  These should measure the width of the front and about 3/4 of the length.  (for example, my front measured 25 x 25 inches and the back pieces measured 25 x 18 inches)

3.  Fold the long side of each of the back pieces under 1 inch and then turn under 1 inch again and press.  Topstitch along the edge of each hem.

4.  Lay pillow front fabric right side up and lay 2 back pieces on top, right side down.  The back pieces will overlap by about 3 inches.  Pin and stitch down all four sides, reinforcing the corners.  Trim corners and turn right side out.

5.  Admire.

Do not skip step 5 - this is the most important part!

 

These pillow covers were so quick, I had time to strip-piece a bunch of nine patch  blocks for a fun lap-sized quilt requested by my very persuasive daughter.

Quilt completed.

I love quilts...

I love their crinkly goodness...

I love their bright and cheery colors...

I love that they serve to keep little toes all warm and snugly...

I love that they are made out of fabric - well, because I love fabric...

I love that they produce smiles on the faces of those I love...

I love to see my children all wrapped up in them while reading on the couch...

I love the hum that the sewing machine makes when I run quilts through it...

I love that quilts allow me the opportunity to make something that will stand the test of time...

I love that quilts don't have to be perfect - they just have to be completed.

I love that I finished this Amy Butler quilt last night.  I used triangles to create the traditional 'barn raising' layout.  This pattern is usually accomplished using log cabin blocks, but I wanted to see if I like the configuration and triangles are much quicker to piece.

here it is on my 'design wall'  (foam core covered with batting)...

this is what the back looks like...

binding definitely inspired by 'yellow week'...

I used an all over stipple to quilt it on my machine.  (free motion foot, lower the feed dogs - you know the drill)

The binding is hand sewn.

Without a doubt, my least favorite part of making a quilt, is hand sewing the binding.  I seem to never have enough patience for hand sewing.

I've come up with a method to sew on binding using the machine that doesn't produce all the bunching and puckers.   I did not use it on this quilt because I really like the look of the tiny, barely-visible hand stitches that work to personalize the quilt.

That being said, hand sewing takes much longer (it took me 2 1/2 hours to sew on this binding) and is not all that much fun.

Later this week I will post a mini tutorial for my method to sew on binding by machine - I first need to get the quilt ready for binding.

yellow week - i will miss you

I have always loved the color yellow.

I recently painted my sewing area yellow (see photo below) and i enjoy yellow food - think lemon meringue pie, saffron rice, and Lay's potato chips.

At an art auction last year, I bought this fun art piece titled "man walking chicken." It sits in my sewing area and reminds me each day to enjoy all that I have and not take myself too seriously. 

This reminds me, yellow also makes me smile.

Smiling comes in handy when picking up the kiddos toys from the floor...

  

And I'm positive that yellow week had a lot to do with my choice of binding for this quilt...

I've even been sipping my favorite beverage - Lipton Spiced Chai - out of yellow teacups...

Thank you Erin for hosting yellow week!

 

Note:  Home is a beautifully written novel and I highly recommend it.  However, you should probably read it's prequel Gilead first - also very good.

'finishing up' Thursday

I am trying to finish up all the projects that I have started before I move on to all the fun stuff that I have planned.  Unfortunately I have so little alone time these days.  Last night I finished piecing and sandwiching this Amy Butler quilt.

now it's patiently lying on my table, waiting to be quilted...

and i also finished knitting this buttony sweater .  I still need to weave in the ends, sew on the buttons, and block it.  Right now the stitches look uneven - I should have used smaller size needles because i am a very lose knitter.  Oh well, we'll see how it looks after blocking. 

More updates on these tomorrow.  I'm  off to help the kiddos finish up Valentine's day gifts, cards, and snacks.  Phew!

my path to the present

I began quilting, quite by accident, four years ago.  I had just had my third child and was looking for a creative outlet.  Then, on a trip to the bookstore with my kids I stumbled onto these three
books, each chalk full of examples, instructions and inspiration.  The next day I ordered hand dyed fabric and began cutting and sewing and cutting and sewing some more.  Soon I found two great blogs with instructions on dying fabric and randomly piecing 'art quilts' - or quilts not meant to be used on the bed.

Within months I started dying my own fabric and it was at this point that I decided that I, too, was making 'art quilts.'  To assure that these were indeed 'art quilts' I attached hanging sleeves to their backs and declared them too precious to be used by my family.  Trouble was, that while I enjoyed the process of making these, I did not really love the results.  The colors were not as bright and happy as I would have liked, the designs too busy, their size too small for practical use.

Then I followed a link to this super blog and everything changed.  I read Kathy's blog and followed her 'places i visit' to find numerous moms like myself who sewed, knitted and created at home while raising families.  I saw beautiful quilts using commercial fabrics and knew that it was time to switch gears - I did and I never looked back. 

Until now.  I would like to share just a few of the art quilts that I made over a 2 year period - I no longer really like them but they served their purpose in bringing me to where I am today. 


This is the first one made..


this is the last one I completed, binding and all...

above quilt is just the top...

this blue and yellow is about 4 x 5 feet...

this one is about 4 x 3 feet...

and I never got around to putting the binding on these two because I wasn't happy with them - the super dense quilting (every 1/4 inch or so) took forever. 

Tomorrow, back to the present with fun stuff I am working on.

 

starting anew

Why do I see the need to begin new projects when nothing seems to be nearing completion?

Several months ago I purchased a stack of Kaffe Fassett fabric squares which I immediately pieced into triangles arranged in a zig zag pattern.   When I ran out of squares the quilt only measured 3 ft by 3 ft so I abandoned it and moved on - this seems to be my MO.  Last week, i decided that I needed to purchase some matching fat quarters so that I can make the quilt bigger.  The fabric arrived yesterday so I spent last night cutting  and sewing it into strips for a border.




This is the quilt sans borders...



but I soon tired of the above mentioned strips and decided to work on making this Amy Butler fabric quilt bigger - for it too measured 3 ft by 3 ft.



It just dawned on me that maybe my quilts would be bigger if I had a larger batting-covered surface.   But it's hard for me to get a larger board because the walls in my sewing room have such a steep slope that the board cannot be attached but must lean against the wall (which is really the ceiling).  Anyhow, you get what I'm saying. 

So here it is.  I added an extra row to both the top and bottom and a extra square to either end.



And because I am only able to sew late at night when the kiddos are asleep, I started this sweater to keep my hands busy while my littlest kiddo reads to me or asks me how to spell the names of her friends while she writes valentine's.



Stay tuned because one day some of these projects may just be finished -- or who knows, maybe some yummy new fabric or yarn will arrive and I'll start something new.

When mom gets distracted

The nine year old boy who sleeps in this room desperately needs a duvet cover for this bright orange blanket.  At first, I wasn't in a hurry to cover it because he likes the color and frankly, I think the jolt of orange is kinda nice in his overly blue room.  Except that in a house full of kids, dogs, guinea pigs and now a new kitten this blanket is quickly becoming not-so-clean.  So with exactly 90 minutes to spare before I pick up Abigail at 11:30am I head for my sewing room and ...

become very distracted by the fabric that arrived just the other day.  Half yards of Amy Butler's Daisy Chain.

And on a whim and without a plan I cut these into 6.5 inch squares - because that is the size of my smallest square ruler - and begin piecing them on the diagonal.

I then arrange them in a classic log cabin pattern (I am aware that these are not log cabin blocks but these are much faster to make).  Here they are on my design wall - aka foam board covered with batting.  They are not yet sewn together and I am going to have to make lots more - this is only about 3 x 3 feet.  So far, I think I like how it's turning out. 

 

But no more time to sew or quilt today because Montessori preschool is ending and Abigail and I have lunch to eat, books to read, and castles to build.  So the boy who sleeps under the bright orange blanket will have to do so for a little bit longer while mom chooses his fabrics and sews a duvet.  More to come on Ezra's duvet and on progress of above quilt.