A quilt collaboration

Last Spring I joined the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild in order to meet like-minded creative people and to be inspired.  As it turns out... it worked!  I've met some great people who are doing similar, and also different, things than myself.  And now I'm actually working on a quilt (in fact, I'm working on two at the moment)!!

Pictured here is about one quarter of a charity quilt that I'm collaborating on with three other CMQG members.  It's made up of scrappy log cabin blocks cut into quarters and then randomly re-pieced -- very similar to the Scrapper's Delight pattern from Sunday Morning Quilts.

I'm also finally putting the binding on my quilted Mondrian table runner which has been a work-in-progress for an embarrassing long time!  Since I volunteered to put the binding on our charity quilt and... ahem... haven't actually bound a quilt before... you know, where I have to turn corners and stuff... I decided I should practice!  I machine stitched the binding to the front of the quilt and am enjoying the somewhat meditative process of hand-stitching it to the back.  I'll post photos soon of that finished quilt.

In the meantime, I'm plotting a bit of selfish sewing this week.  This seriously could not be happening at a better time.  I've been pretty overwhelmed with a new, big volunteer job I've taken on at my kids' school this year.  I've been feeling absolutely sewing-deprived... and, now, the perfect excuse to sew (for myself, no less!) has come along.  Here's a peek at some of the fabrics I recently splurged on in anticipation of sewing for myself.  Yes, sewing... for me.  I won't feel guilty.  Nope, not at all.  Okay, maybe a little.  But I'll get over it when I put on my brand new sewn-by-me duds!

A bag... and a book!

I finally got around to making another 241 tote, this time for myself... and it just makes me so very happy.  Really, though, how could these fabrics not make a person cheerful?!  You can see my first 241 tote here.

It's my new everyday bag for summer.  I made the handle extra long so I can wear it across my body, and I added interfacing to the handle, so it will hold up well to everyday use.  Other than that, I just followed the lovely pattern instructions.

Fabrics are Echino insect in Natural by Etsuko Furuya cotton/linen, Bella Mini Dot in Sunspray by Lotta Jansdotter, and, of course, a bit of Robert Kaufman yarn dyed linen/cotton (this time in Black).

And (here's the "book" part), I'm so excited to finally share this news!  I'm a contributing author to a book called Sew Gifts!  Yes, an actual book, folks!  It will be released this October by Martingale Press / This Patchwork Place.  I discovered the Martingale wholesale catalog in my mailbox recently with this preview of the book, including a photo of my bird-on-a-branch pillow project.  I haven't seen the actual flip-through-the pages, bound book yet, but I was able to review the proofs of my project pages and was super happy with how they turned out.  Once I have an actual book in my hands (can't wait!), I can promise there will be a giveaway... or two... or more!

Press, cut, sew, press, sew {repeat}

I've been busy, busy, busy following the steps above, but wanted to pop in here for just a moment.  I'm stitching up as much as possible for an art fair that I'm participating in this weekend.  And crossing my fingers for lovely weather (the forecast says possible rain) and lots of sales (pretty please?).

This shoulder bag is one of the things I've been making.  (Forgive the cluttered background and bad lighting -- I don't have time to stage a proper photo right now!!)  I designed the bag around this amazing architecturally graphic fabric I found at IKEA recently.  It's called Bjornloka Figur.  Cool, huh?

{image from ikea.com}

It was screaming out to me, "I want to be a bag!!"  Don't you see it?!  The colored "Y"s on one side, and the white "Y" on the other?  Plus the fabric has just enough of the black field in the middle to cut the shoulder straps from.  I managed to find solids fabrics from my local Joann's to match the mustard and blue for lining the bags and straps.  Here are some bags with the blue lining on my cutting table (aka dining room table).

I'm fortunate to have my sewing machine in our sunny back room and so have been enjoying the sun and warm breezes of this beautiful almost-summer while I work.  Speaking of my sewing desk, I'd better get back to the process of pressing, cutting, sewing, etc. before I run out of time, but I wanted to share this last image, because I love it for so many reasons.

This was taken last weekend.  My 9 year old son is in our backyard fort with the laptop, working on a research project for school.  I like the view of him, concentrating, through the "window" of the missing board.  It's a cool-ish, but sunny, spring day, and our Prairiefire Crabapple is in full bloom.

Covert Robin: what I made

Anna Graham (Noodlehead) has a lot of really great bag patterns in her shop, and I've been wanting to try out the 241 tote pattern for a while. So, for me, the Covert Robin mystery swap was the perfect excuse to do so.

I've been seeing versions of this bag around the web, and remember seeing at least a couple (or maybe a dozen?!) at Sewing Summit last fall that I coveted.  I especially like this version, and this one.  Oh, and this.  Really, I could easily link to a handful more, but I think you get the idea.  I love this tote design for the opportunity to play around with color and pattern.  Plus, the pattern itself has a bunch of options included for different types of pockets, etc., so the varieties and possibilities for this bag are pretty much endless.  And did I mention that it's the perfect size for an everyday bag?

I used fabric from Ellen Luckett Baker's Stamped line for Kokka, a red text print my mother-in-law brought me from QuiltCon (bless her!), and some of my favorite Robert Kaufman yard-dyed linen/cotton.

I snapped these quick photos then shipped the bag off across the world to my swap recipient at the end of March.  I can't reveal who she is... because I'm not sure if she's received it yet!  If not, I really hope she does soon.  Needless to say, I have plans to make one of these for myself in the very near future.

Handprinted fabric

My fat quarters have been printed and sent for Handprinted: a fabric swap III.  I tried block printing this time, and, in the end, was happy with how it turned out.  This was a new technique for me, though, and the design truly evolved through the process from my original intention.  I'll post soon about the printing and design process.

The photo above shows the colors best.  I selected Kona solids in a soft blue, soft green and chartreuse, then printed with white screenprinting ink.

Here are the fabrics all folded before I mailed them out.  Hope my swap partners like them!

A few things

First: what's on my cutting table (otherwise know as my dining room table):

Newly received fabric ordered from SewMamaSew!  Isn't it lovely?  I have purposes for some of these, but not all -- for now, I'm just gazing at them.

Making Ellie this Emerson tunic.  Tutorial and pattern from luvinthemommyhood.  It was fun picking out the fabric from my stash with Ellie.

Making the cover dress/tunic (Style E) from the Stylish Dress Book for myself.  I'm thinking of using the text fabric for the neckline facing, and maybe the pocket lining.  What do you think?

And this is an in-progress secret project for a book.

Next: a couple of swaps.  I've really been enjoying swaps!

There's still time to sign up for Handprinted: a fabric swap, hosted by Leslie of maze & vale.  If you've ever wanted to experiment with any kind of printing onto fabric, plus get some amazing handprinted fabrics in return, then this is for you.  I participated last year and am very much looking forward to doing it again this year.

Sign ups are also open for the Covert Robin mystery gift exchange.  This swap has multiple hosts, including Rachael of imagine gnats. Make a gift, get a gift, and blog about the gift you made or received for a chance to win fun prizes.  I didn't participate last year, but wish I had.  So I'm excited about taking part this time!

Finally:  here's a sneak peek at two projects I recently sent off to Stitch magazine for their Fall 2013 issue.  I also have a project in their soon to be released Summer issue.  More on that soon.

What's on your cutting table today?

Giveaway day!

It's Giveaway Day once again at Sew, Mama, Sew!, and... once again, I have something to giveaway!  Details on how to enter are at the bottom of the post.  Also, be sure to check out all the other giveaways being offered.  Click the image below to link back to the official Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day posts.

On this overcast, slightly dreary, late fall day, it seemed appropriate to offer up this cheery little rainy day pouch, designed and made by yours truly.  It's a hot pink mini wale corduroy zipper pouch with a cloud and raindrops applique.  The lining and raindrops are from one of my favorite fabric collections, Lotta Jansdotter's Bella.

To enter to win, simply comment on this post anytime before Friday, December 7 at 5 pm EST.  You can write whatever you'd like in your comment.  If you need some inspiration, I'd love to hear about what you're making this holiday season, whether it's handcrafted gifts or decorations, or home baked goodies.  I'll use Random.org to chose the winner of this handy dandy (and cute!) little pouch.

Please be sure I have a way to contact you if you're a winner!  If your email is not connected to your blogger profile, please include it in your comment.

This giveaway is now closed; the winner is announced here.  Thanks so much to all who participated!

A bag... for me!

I really should be working on my inventory for the craft shows I have coming up in November (particularly this one), but, instead, I keep making stuff for me.  Can I just tell you how rare that is?!  Invariably I tell people about what I make and then they say something like, "Oh, did you make your purse?", or "...your scarf," or "...your hat."  And I have to look down at the ground and mumble, "Um.  No.  I bought that."  Because the truth is I could have made it... but I didn't.

So, why this sudden urge to make for me?  Well, it's really quite simple:  peer pressure!  Next week I'm attending Sewing Summit, a modern sewing and blogging conference in Salt Lake City.  In addition to all the learning and sewing, I'll be hanging out with extremely talented quilters and stitchers, many of whom will be carrying and wearing their own fabulous handmade creations.  And, apparently, that's the motivation I needed.  (The alternate title for this post, by the way, is "More Sewing Summit sewing.")

So, I finally stitched up this Madeleine bag from Imagine Gnats, with a Jessica Jones home decor weight cotton on the exterior, and Joel Dewberry quilting weight cotton on the interior.  I've had these two fabrics stashed together for a while now... planning to make something with them.  The fabric (with the text) for the folded pocket is, I think, a Japanese import fabric.  This was such a fun bag to make.  Plus, I made an interior zippered pocket and inserted a magnetic snap, both for the first time, and with no tears or swearing.  The only modifications I made were to enlarge the pattern for the bag by about twenty percent and to lengthen the strap.  This made it just the right size for me.

I also needed a business card holder to carry in my new bag.  I followed this tutorial from the Crafty Cupboard.

Finally, I just have to show off my new knit fabric that arrived in the mail yesterday from Girl Charlie Fabrics.  I'll be using the one on the left in my Maxi Skirt workshop at Sewing Summit.  It'll be my first time using a serger -- I hope it turns out well!  The fabrics were all so fabulous that I couldn't order just one.  I'm thinking the stripes will become a t-shirt or two, and I may use the peacock blue solid for screenprinted jersey scarves (to sell, this time -- NOT for me.)

I have to admit that all this sewing for myself does make me feel a little guilty.  But I know it will also feel good the next time someone asks me if I made my bag and I can proudly say, "Yes.  As a matter of fact, I did!"

Go do/make something for yourself today!

sewing summit sewing

I expect to do a lot of sewing at Sewing Summit, but I hadn't really considered that I'd need/want to be sewing for (and before) the conference.  Well, it turns out that I do.  I made this little zipper pouch for a swap at Sewing Summit.

And, lest you be fooled, this is not just any old zipper pouch.  It is, in fact, my very first, actual, sewn (and finished) quilted project!

Yes, I cut little teeny tiny strips of fabric and improvised a little bitty wonky log cabin.  Then I made my very first, actual, quilted sandwich!  I know I'm a sewing nerd, but, man, was this exciting.  And it didn't hurt... not even a little bit.  I'm not quite sure what I've been afraid of for so long.  I can see now how this quilting thing could become addicting.

Here's the finished product.  I even added one of my labels to the lining.  I sure hope the recipient likes it!!  It was so much fun to make, I'm hoping I have time to make a couple few more before Sewing Summit both to keep and to give away.

I stitched up this little sewing kit from the Zakka Style book, too.  I've been pouring over this book lately.  I only have a copy from the library right now, but there are so many great projects in here, the book will, without a doubt, be going on my Christmas wish list.

I used prints from Lotta Jansdotter's first fabric collection, Echo.  I think they go nicely with the natural linen. (Of course, I have a tendency to think every print goes well with linen.)

Next, I have plans to sew a new bag for toting all my things around the conference.  I'm thinking of making the Madeleine bag, tutorial courtesy of Rachael at Imagine Gnats.  Well, I'd better get started and go pick out my fabrics!

Berries and cukes

We've got a bumper crop of blackberries this summer -- the most we've ever had by far.  I think this is due to my careful desperate pruning at the beginning of the summer.  Really, after only moderately trimming them for the past nine years, the blackberry plants were taking over the backyard.  I hacked them way back just so they wouldn't swallow us up.  I guess it turns out that they really needed a good pruning.  Who knew?!

Other than eating them by the handful or topping tapioca pudding with them, I'm absolutely loving this Blackberry Gin Fizz recipe from Smitten Kitchen.  Of course, I haven't yet made anything from Deb's wonderful food blog that I didn't enjoy.  This cocktail, though, is especially delicious.  Next up, blackberry pie and syrup for pancakes.  Yum!

And check out our cucumber plants this year!  I really don't understand how we can have such an abundance with so little rain -- I don't water them much, I swear!  We've got both the pickling type and regular slicing kind for eating raw.  On Sunday the hubby set up an outdoor kitchen for me with the propane burner he uses for brewing beer, and I made a batch of bread and butter pickles.  I've made these pickles every year for at least the past five years, and they go over pretty well in our house.  We're still harvesting several cukes a day, though, so I think I'll be putting up dill spears this year, too.  What else?  Maybe a big batch of tzatziki sauce to freeze?

Ellie likes to help with the harvest... and to goof off for photos.  Here she is with a couple of the scant green beans we've had so far, (They don't even make it into the house before they're eaten raw!) and a yellow carrot from her own tiny garden.

Hope your gardens are flourishing as well!

Back to Blogland

Have I really not posted since the beginning of June?!  Geez.  I guess I've been on a bit of an unplanned summer hiatus.  I didn't plan to stop posting -- it just kind of happened.  I also lost my camera (!) and had to purchase a new laptop (after my daughter accidentally spilled an entire glass of water on the old one!!).  That might have something to do with it... Other than that, I've been hanging out with my kids and trying to stay cool, mostly.  Then we went on a real vacation last week... to a family lake house.  It was a relaxing week full of cousin-bonding, lake swimming, fishing, catching frogs and other wildlife, more hot and humid weather, yummy late dinners of fresh local food, and even later bedtimes.

It was fun and refreshing.  And now I'm getting back to work.  I've got new stuff to work on and old stuff to tell you about.  For one, near the end of June I sent off my hand-printed fat quarters for the Maze and Vale fabric swap -- and received some really awesome ones in return.  More on that soon.  These are my prints, pictured below.

A few days later, my kids and I watched a crazy storm roll in.  There was this amazing dark cloud that looked like a giant ocean wave in the sky -- and it was moving fast.  In just a matter of minutes, we watched it roll over us and then out of view.  My son said it looked like a horizontal tornado.  None of us had ever seen anything like it.  I can't even remember now if it actually rained or not.  If it did, it only lasted for a few minutes.  Have you seen this type of cloud formation before?  Or a similarly wild one?  Do you know if it has a name?

Birds on the brain...

This is my entry in the Feather Your Nest contest, put on by the folks at Stumbles & Stitches blog.  I committed to making something about two and a half weeks ago, but I wasn't sure what I'd make.  The first requirement is that the entry be something for myself, for my own home -- since I don't make much for myself, I thought the contest would be a good motivator for that.  Secondly, it must be made with stitches -- easy peasy (at least for me)!  And third, it must use repurposed or upcycled materials -- even though I generally use a lot of upcycled materials, this part was harder than I thought!

I thought and thought about what I would make.  I considered a throw pillow of felted sweaters as I've made in the past, but that seemed to "Winter-y" to me.  I also had an idea for a wool pillow covered in red felted sweater hearts (something I've sketched in the past), but that, too, didn't seem to fit the season.  I wanted this pillow to be about now -- about Spring!  I bought an inexpensive ($1.99!) tea towel with birds and flowers on it that called out "Spring" to me (see below), but I just wasn't sure how I'd use it for this project... so I kept thinking.

Then yesterday, it hit me.  I have two pairs of white wool trousers that once belonged to my grandmother, and I've been wanting to repurpose them.  Then I came across some of the Joel Dewberry wood grain fabric in my stash (I love that fabric!), and had the idea to use it for a branch.  The idea of using my sweater stash for a bird and leaves came next.  After all, my daughter's been talking about birds in preschool all week and the contest is titled "Feather Your Nest." The bird's shape was inspired by the birds on the tea towel.  I even found a slightly-coming-apart pillow form in the basement that just needed a bit of reconstructive stitching.  So, yesterday I applied the fusible backing to the applique fabrics and cut everything out.  I was so proud of myself -- all I had to do was stitch it up the next day.

This morning I woke up and all of a sudden, Duh!, it hit me.  Hadn't I seen a similar image before?!  I went back to the Stumbles & Stitches blog and found the image they're using as an icon for the contest and coordinating stitch-along.  See for yourself.  Here it is:

Yeah, I know.  Pretty similar!  I now realize that the image was subliminally in my head all along as I designed my pillow yesterday.  Still, it is not exactly the same (my son pointed out that mine doesn't have a nest... or a feather!), and I did really like my design... so I stitched it up anyway and am entering it in the contest.  I'll definitely use it in my house, even if the base color is an impractical white.  I like the Spring-like feeling it evokes and the fact that it repurposes so many materials.

Here's to Spring!

Fabric, fabric, and more fabric.

I'm obsessed with this new line of fabrics by Parson Gray (aka David Butler, also known as husband of textile designer extraordinaire, Amy Butler).  It's called Curious Nature and is full of lovely muted, earthy colors.  It could be perfect for my first quilt, don't you think?

Or I could wait until August, when Lotta Jansdotter's newest fabric line, Bella, will be released.  Such happy colors and motifs!  Of course, I love pretty much anything by Lotta.  If you're at all interested in how a line of fabric gets created (as I am), Lotta has a great post on her blog about the process of designing and producing this line.

In the meantime, while I decide which of these beautiful fabrics I need (How about both?!), I picked up these new home dec fabrics from Joann's for making aprons and bags.  I like the scale and colors in their Modern Essentials series... and they were on sale for 50% off.  I'm preparing for fairs in May and June, so I gots to be makin' the goods!!  You may see some of these prints in the shop soon.

Finally, I would really, really like to enter this fabric design contest, sponsored by Robert Kaufman Fabrics and Spoonflower.  But other than thinking about it a lot, I haven't actually put anything on paper... or computer... and entries are due tomorrow.  I'll let you know if I manage to pull something together.  I also have a magazine deadline this week, as well as party favors, decorations, and at least one ambitious cake to make for my baby girl's 5th birthday!