A Blood Recollection

A Finish! a Catch-Up, and a Few Starts/Stalls

2012-02-10T17:03:00.000-08:00

First, the finish! I wrangled all bazillion square inches of the Stack and Slash quilt and got the back on, batting in, and all tied up! It's not going to win me any technical awards or anything but it's snuggly so it's perfect in my little opinion (which is really the only one that matters in this case since it's for me :).

It's backed with a couple of super soft sheets my mom sent.

And it's tied with some variegated pink thread which makes cute little x's on the back.

No picture of it hanging because it ginormous and would drag the ground (here's a photo of the top). And where it will normally live (although I do normally fold up the quilts when not in use).

Now catching up on the photos a day.

Photo-a-Day Challenge:
02-09-12: Front Door--Our front door is actually orange, not quite *this* bright but close. I like it but it wasn't my choice (we live in a complex). I do like that we have a mail slot even if the mailperson scares the bejesus out of me on a daily basis using it.

02-10-12: Self Portrait--You get my eye dark circle and all :)

Month of Craft Photos:

02-09-12: My Hands--I didn't want to reprise the photo I took of my hands last week so I took a photo of the other hand that is mine. The one tattooed on my forearm.

02-10-12: Craft Bag--I got this vintage suitcase at the Melrose Swap Meet and use it to store some sewing stuff. Stuff that should probably be completed instead of living in a suitcase but you know how that goes.

A start: string blocks from scraps of the stack and slash for nothing in particular. One is finished (quilted) and one isn't. Not sure what I'm going to do with these yet but I wanted to use the strings for something or another.

Another start . . . that was immediately stalled: I ordered pillow forms from Crate and Barrel today that I was intending to just pick up at the store across the street--I ordered online so I wouldn't wander around the store and pick up lots of other things (fail--came home with a little garlic pot and the end of bolt of some Marimekko that was seriously reduced). They seriously have the cheapest forms I can find! I'm making a few throw pillows for the bed. I want to re-do all of our linens/curtains/etc. in there (slowly so as to not break the bank) so this will be a start. But . . . the stall . . . . I went to pick them up well after the designated time to find the order wasn't ready for me. Sigh. Not a huge deal because it is almost literally just across the street and I had other things to pick up over there. But, what did I find on my phone at about the halfway point of the walk home? A notice that my order was ready. BIG sigh. But I couldn't find it to turn around and go back (I had other bags and still one more stop) so I'll wait until tomorrow and take J with me to carry stuff :)

And a stall: the DWR while I'm waiting on the Kona Coal to arrive. That shouldn't take too long since I ordered from Fat Quarter Shop. But, I did choose the Coal so that's progress!

Auditions

2012-02-08T15:31:00.000-08:00

I cut six more sets of arcs for the double wedding ring this morning so now I have nine, one of each fabric (since I just decided one of the ten fabrics I started with is too dark). So, it's time to audition background solids.

Kona Coal

Kona Ash

Kona Snow

Kona Medium Grey

I *think* I like the Coal best . . . I *think.*

I also *think* I'm going to change the layout a bit. Originally, I was going to do a full double wedding ring with twenty rings. Playing with the rings today and thinking about the recipients, I *think* I'm going to do nine rings as the center of the quilt with two skinny borders within a larger border like this quick drawing. Either way, I hate it when the rings are cut off at the edge so I'll modify the centers to rectify that so there are only complete circles included.

Isn't it a little more modern and a little more "hotel chic"? A little cleaner? Or am I just delusional? I don't mind making 20 rings and I'm not the least bit scared of a dwr but this seemed more streamlined.

P.S.: My photos of the day

Photo-a-Day Challenge: Sun--This sun spot is usually Mo's but Zooey claimed it today.

Month of Craft Photos: Challenge--Ok, so this might be stretching "craft" but I need caffeine to craft . . . And making Southern sweet tea is something of a craft and definitely a challenge in SoCal where "sweet tea" often means unsweetened tea and a packet of sugar or bit of honey or agave syrup which will NEVER be the same. You have to dissolve the sugar in hot tea. And Southerners take it as a challenge to dissolve as much sugar as possible in the hot tea before cooling it. I won't even tell you how much sugar I put in this batch (mainly because I didn't measure so much as dump straight from the bag).

Leftover from Yesterday

2012-02-08T08:19:00.000-08:00

A few things that deserved attention from yesterday :)

My photos for the day:
Photo-a-Day Challenge: Button(s)--a jar of vintage buttons from Anthropologie.

Month of Craft Photos: Materials--pencils and grid paper for creativity.

My sister sent me two cute necklaces.

And my parents sent this super fun little Zen Buddha cat. (I have a collection of Buddhas).

My family is kinda awesome.

Mo was checking out the printer while I printed the grid paper . . . .

to design my DQS12 idea. This round we have to use one of a few traditional blocks (I chose Shoo Fly), use at least 6 of those blocks, and use at least 1 solid other than white. My idea is that the blue will be grey (or shades of grey) and the white will be shades of orange to yellow to cream so that it looks like a star for reasons I'll reveal later . . . I think. All of this could change.

I have close to no idea about how to actually piece this thing. I have an idea of an idea but each of those squares is only an inch so . . . . yeah. Tininess. We'll see if my secret partner bites. Then I have to pick fabrics so I have a little while to figure out how to pull this off :)

Swoooooooned

2012-02-07T19:28:00.000-08:00

The Swoon-ish baby quilt is finished! Finally!

I started out by just outlining the center star and outer ring with a variegated thread. I liked that and should have listened to myself and stopped there. Instead I tried free-motion quilting in the Paperweights sections . . . I should have listened to my gut. The tension was off. The stitches were very uneven. The pattern was terrible. All much more terrible than my free-motion quilting normally is. So all of that got ripped out.

I gave it a simple fold-over binding that's zig-zagged down.

Did I say how much I love the backing? It's kind of perfect (and I got it straight!)

It just needs a label but that will probably wait for a baby name and whatnot. Yay! for a project marked off the list--and I'm kind of smitten with the huge Swoon!

This, That, and the Other

2012-02-06T20:55:00.000-08:00

Today was super gloomy outside and I had an annoyance with work so I was a tad "eh" all day. It took a bit of motivation but I did finally sit down to quilt Swoon-ish. Of course, it was gloomy and basically pitch-black by the time I was done at 5ish so I'll have to share photos tomorrow. But, that means, of course, that the backing arrived!

Isn't it super?! MUCH better than the one I'd originally chosen from the store we won't talk about anymore :)

And I got a few things for myself . . . .

These are from Jenean Morrison's Silent Cinema line. I really wish I'd gotten a fat quarter bundle (or more) of the whole line while it was out.

This is Parrot Jungle from the Pernilla's Journey line--another one I managed to miss but like a lot.

Teardrop Paisley. Don't they look like koi?

A little Bryant Park Floral.

Make Do and Mend Scissors.

Timber Trees. I have a serious thing for the Arts & Crafts movement and these reminded me of that.

Rivoli Floral which is not something I think I'd usually buy but really like nonetheless.

And, to wrap up, today's photo-a-day photos:

Photo-a-Day Challenge: Dinner--I made this Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes. Not super pretty to photograph (and probably more Mexican than Spanish what with the chorizo I have access to) but pretty damned yummy.

Month of Craft Photos: Color--I found one bright pink thread on my shirt. I wasn't even sewing with bright pink thread today.

Ok, that's it for today. Ending a lot happier than it began :)

Stood Up

2012-02-05T13:22:00.000-08:00

It seems I was stood up by my Friday night date. The backing for the Swoon-ish is still not here. Apparently it was delayed in Texas and will be here on Monday. I don't quite understand why that quilt has some sort of curse . . . So, I cut a few of the rings for the DWR and watched some Downton Abbey (I wonder how much of the show is lifted from old movies, season 1 episode 5 is all Mrs. Miniver with the flower show . . . ).

I took my daily photos late yesterday and already today:

Photo-a-Day Challenge:
02-04-12: Stranger(s)--I took this one of people in line at the movies (we went to The Woman in Black). I didn't want faces because that seemed not-so-nice without permissions since I'd be posting it online. Now that I look at it, the carpet is terrible in color but interesting in pattern.

02-05-12: 10am--I was either still asleep or reading the news on my phone in bed but I didn't see/remember the prompt for today until it was well past 10am, so, here's where I was.

Month of Craft Photos:
02-04-12: Outside Inspiration--If this was meant to be "outdoor" inspiration, I have the paving bricks at The Grove (where we went to the movies).

If I could bend it to be anything outside of my house, this is a photo of a bookshelf at Barnes & Noble. I think I'm going to have Bee Happy make me bookshelf blocks in March.

02-05-12: Notions--My pin cushion that lives next to my sewing machine.

I'm hoping to get another ring or two cut today but people are coming over to watch the Superbowl--yay, team with the most interesting color palette? Probably, more like yay! chips!

Well, That's Not Gonna Work . . .

2012-02-03T14:02:00.000-08:00

I'm about to go take a nap and am hoping that when I wake up the day will progress with a little common sense.

I already started over once because the TV repairman was over 2 hours early and I wasn't up, dressed, showered . . . nothing. Luckily he was quick but I had to deal with some trivial and annoying work. So, after that I showered and started the day over, planning to finish the pillowcase binding and tie my stack and slash quilt. I'd done something stupid so getting one side lined up was a pain and took forever. Then I got to the point where I should flip everything, I opened the down-alternative comforter I was planning to use as batting and . . . it's about half the width I need. *Sigh* Not the end of the world but end of productivity on this today as I do not feel like going out in search of an appropriately sized fluffy comforter. Plus I'm a little almost-cold-ish foggy so I'd probably just get the wrong size again. Nap it is so maybe I can ditch the almost-cold.

But, I took my daily photos. This time with the real camera instead of the iPhone and Instagram because I can't not hold the phone and take a photo which posed a problem for the first one . . .

Photo-a-Day Challenge: Hands--Mine, on the ironing board (with a new cover!). My dad's mom always wanted me to take piano lessons with those spindly fingers (which I couldn't have been less interested in doing) but the actual construction of my hands is the same as my mom's grandmother who quilted and crocheted and cooked . . .

Month of Craft Photos: An Old FO (Finished Object)--This is a corner of the bedroom by my side of the bed. Stacked from the bottom are my "This is an example of that" quilt and two quilts my great-grandmother made. And, hanging on the wall is my Lotus quilt. So, 4 FOs in all :)

The backing for Swoon-ish is on a UPS truck as I type so I *should* be able to get that quilted tonight along with the last obligation block. I need to get that one done at least because my to-mail pile is stacking up!

02 02 12 Photos

2012-02-02T20:48:00.000-08:00

Photo-a-Day Challenge: Words--My friend Tracy and I have a blog for which we're making our way through 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die called Docs On Film. Today was our chat for Out of Africa so I'd looked up why the book said we should see it.

Month of Craft Photos: Craft Tools--I had a lot of plans for today: stitching a back to a quilt top for a pillow-case binding, making the last of the secret blocks, starting to cut rings for the wedding ring quilt . . . I thought I'd take just a little nap after I chatted with Tracy and then I'd get going. And then I woke up groggy and sort of yicky three hours later. Sigh. Looks like I might have the beginnings of a cold which wouldn't surprise me because the weather has been a tad odd lately. Anyway, that means these are the only craft tools I've looked at all day--and that's just because they were right by the bed and I grabbed them specifically to take the photo. This is the Hawaiian quilt that I'm excited to finish but it's all hand work so it'll take a while longer :)

Otherwise, I created my mosaic for Doll Quilt Swap 12. Sign-ups just closed so now I'm just waiting to see if I'm actually in the swap. I'm allowing myself ONE swap at a time this year and that's it!

Habits

2012-02-01T17:51:00.000-08:00

This is going to be more life-y than craft-y, just fyi :)

I'd decided in November or so to make the turn of the new year a way to get back into old good habits and to create some new ones. I'm not usually a new year's resolution sort of person but I wanted to make some changes and a new calendar seemed an easy way to do it considering January would be the next time I had any free time what with the holiday craziness.

Old Habits:
1. Write Again: I write here but I used to write much more. I was really turned off of writing after completing my dissertation and having a horrible job market run. I'm just now missing writing and thinking of ideas and whatnot--a sign I should maybe open a Word doc or two. A friend and I are remedying this together. Nothing to show for it now but maybe soon :)

2. Read More: It used to be nothing for me to read 30+ books in 15 weeks because I was taking higher ed. English classes from the time I was not-quite-18 until I was not-quite-28 and a novel a week per class is average for a 15 week term. And I'd have to read for research, my own teaching, and fun so we're actually talking more like 45+ books in 15 weeks. I don't think I'd pull that off again without taking classes (although I have a stack of un-read books big enough to give it a go should I desire) but I do want to actually take time to read again because I miss it and reading makes me happy (and a better person and etc: insert my English Professor speech about reading that I give to my students here :). I got a later start on this than the first of the year but I'm keeping track on a Pinterest pinboard here.

3. Be Organized: This is both old and new as I was so incredibly organized once upon a time that I could tell you most of my friends' schedules. But I never quite got completely organized after graduating a few years ago because I now have many many fewer things scheduled by other people. Without a plan, though, I wasn't getting anything accomplished beyond those few scheduled things. Happily, this was easily remedied with a planner even if most of the contents are completely voluntary and not scheduled, like "read" :)

New Habits:
1. Exercise: My 30-something butt needed to move. Luckily, I'm naturally small and have a metabolism to rival a hummingbird but, well, I'm 30-something, not getting any younger, and not getting the run-around to teach exercise I was used to before I started teaching online. And, of course, "small" does not equal "fit" or "ready to age gracefully" or "able to walk around without breaking my toes because I'm just that clumsy." I don't think I'll ever be super excited about exercising or spend a lot of time on it but I've gotten to the point that I feel guilty if I don't exercise for at least a little while. I managed 5 days a week every week but 1 in January (then I got in 4 and some activities that probably should count). If I can pull that off for February as well, I get a prize. Not sure what this prize will be yet but it will be a prize nonetheless. Yes, I am 4 years old and motivated by prizes :)

2. Cleaning Plan: I have a bad habit of only frenzy-cleaning when the house is so bad I can't stand it anymore or someone is coming over. This ends up being a whole-day or two day affair and I usually injure and exhaust myself. And I live in a city-desert with a boy and two cats so nothing stays pristine for long. I'm not a natural housekeeper so I needed a sensible plan to get things done and to get them done the way I do them (so the 30 minutes a day plans popping up all over weren't going to work for me). I'm still working on this but, so far, I'm doing a bit of cleaning everyday and it's ok. I don't like it but, again, I feel guilty if it's on my calendar and I don't do it.

3. Photo-a-Day: Given my somewhat natural drive toward completing things, organizing things, and documenting things, the photo-a-day challenges really appeal to me. I wanted to start one in January but then my world was turned a tad sideways so February it is! I'm not putting any pressure on myself about this so if it doesn't stick it doesn't stick. I'm trying out two to see which I might like better (or both): Fat Mum Slim's Photo-a-Day Challenge and Untangling Knots Month of Craft Photos (although I think the latter is just Feb. now that I really look at the post and not just the list . . .). So, here are my photos for today (I may not post every day but I'm going to try to take the photos):

Photo-a-Day: My View--Today was my big work day (we start a new unit on Wed, I grade the old unit, post grades, often have student chat appointments, and I teach live) so most of my day was spent at my desk which looks out on a courtyard. That tree is where the hummingbird has her nest. Yes, that's Pinterest up on my laptop. I haven't actually looked at it today though; I just switched so I didn't take a photo of federally protected private student or corporate information to post online :)

Month of Craft Photos: Me in Action--Well, my thumb and lap . . . those are parts of me. I didn't really do any crafting today so I just picked up the crochet beside my chair for a bit. It was a good mini-break though so I should do it more often especially since it is within easy reach of my desk chair.

4. A "No-Obligations" Day": I am super talented at over-extending myself. Just last week I actually had a conversation in my head about whether I could design, get fabric for, and complete two big quilts for February events. One of which is mid-Feb. Um, no. I talked myself out of that one but my planning streak can get out of hand and I will over-extend and over-schedule myself without thinking twice. So, Saturday is my no-obligations day. I already don't have to work (I am required to log-in every other day of the week); I don't have to exercise; I don't schedule cleaning tasks; and so on. I have to take a day off. It's a strange, foreign land that blank space in my planner.

Those are my basic goals and, hopefully, within a few months they'll all be second-nature (probably not the exercising or cleaning but those at least should be accomplish-able evils that I've seen results from and understand the need for). And, the best part? Doing all of this actually results in getting more sewing done. If I have all of the free time in the world, I won't get anything at all done. If I have a million things to do, I'll get two million done. I'm a strange bird, I know :) Hopefully some sewing to show tomorrow!

Secrets and Geeks

2012-01-31T17:53:00.000-08:00

In the past few days I've made 3 secret blocks for various projects . . . . so, can't show you those . . . I still have one more to do and it's a block that I'm not fond of making. I love the end result and am more than happy to contribute to the project for a lovely wonderful person. But I find the block tedious. Sigh. I want to get it done so I can pop everything in the mail in one trip but I don't know that I have it in me tonight.

(the pixelated versions would make pretty blocks :)

Something I can show! I also have a bunch of small projects that need completion so I finished one today. J and I had seen these Japanese Star Wars "towels" at Kinokuniya bookstore in Little Tokyo (where I usually get all of my quilting magazines) and he wanted them but didn't buy them about 4 times. So, finally, when we were there a few weeks ago, he bought them. They're not cheap but I persuaded him to indulge as a celebration of his new position at work. They aren't towels the way we'd use the word but are instead just a thin cotton panel--maybe a blend (I can't read the label). They're also available on this site (which is in Japanese and I've never purchased from them).

The color doesn't have a mottle to it--they were uber wrinkled and they were still damp when I photographed them. Anyway, J decided he wanted these sewn together to make a curtain for the closet door in his home office (we took the door off). Easy enough. I only used 6 and it ended up being the right size. Even easier.

Two are left over. The blue R2D2 I think I'll hang in our bathroom and I might see if maybe I can steal the pink and grey Darth Vader for my girly grey quilt :)

Lots more to do so hopefully I can get more done this week!

I might actually faint

2012-01-30T14:08:00.000-08:00

I don't quite believe:
1. that the Swoonish top is d.o.n.e. done
2. that it was so easy
3. that 99% of my points line up for those HSTs and only one was eaten by a seam allowance

4. that I also got the last of the batting up on the design wall (I'm leaving the top bare to ease roll-up)

The backing for Swoon-ish should be here Friday. If J goes to aikido, quilting this will probably be my Friday night date. Which gives me until then to figure out how to quilt it :)

I've got some more sewing to do today but most of it is secret so I won't be able to show you. First I have to run to the store for tomato paste. I really hate that I have to go to the store for something so freaking tiny.

Supposed to be . . .

2012-01-29T13:30:00.000-08:00

I'm supposed to be grading papers right now . . . but it seems like I've graded a million already and I still have more to grade. *Sigh* At least I have a new cd to listen to.

So, I'm taking a little break to show you that I got the fabric for the baby Swoon-ish quilt top! Hooray! And I started sewing it together last night (to avoid grading papers--unfortunately they're due today so I can hide no longer).

I also got the needed Kona Snow (and I labeled it!) and a little treat for me (because I saw these made by Brooke).

And I finished this little skinny scalloped scarf the other day based on this tutorial (and bought new jeans yesterday).

Ok, {hangs head}, back to grading.

Angry Shopping

2012-01-27T14:18:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Hancock's of Paducah all of the following are on hold:

1. The Swoon-ish Baby Quilt: waiting on bit of fabric for front and the backing

2. The Grey Wedding Ring: waiting on the Swoon-ish Baby Quilt to be off the design wall so I can cut rings and audition background solids (and then order said background solid)

3. Secret block: waiting on Kona Snow

4. Design Wall: waiting on the Swoon-ish Baby Quilt to be off the design wall so I can add the last bit of batting (don't want spray adhesive on the fabric)

5. Anything else I might want to do because I have 4 active projects on hold!

I placed an order with Hancock's of Paducah and it took a full week to ship (problem #1, especially when they over-charge for shipping), they didn't inform me of shipment until a full 2 days after the fact (problem #2), they failed to inform me that an item was back-ordered (the backing for Swoon-ish and problem #3) and then they told me, only when I complained and a full 3 days after shipment that the item wasn't actually back-ordered; it was completely out of stock and would not be re-stocked (problem #4). And, the fabric is still listed as back-ordered on my account page. So I could have been waiting and waiting for yards of fabric that would never arrive. Lovely.

Supposedly, the order should be here tomorrow so I can at least *hopefully* finish the Swoon-ish top and get it off the design wall. But I'm not counting any chickens here. Hell, I'm not even counting eggs.

Because of the start of this problem, I'd played around in Fabric.com the other day and left a ton of stuff in my cart. As a result, they sent me a 15% off coupon today for everything but sewing machines so I did a bit of angry shopping. I found another (BETTER!) backing, grabbed the batting while I was at it, and found quite a few lovelies for my stash despite the fact that I declared the other day that I was going to try to deplete my stash (ha!).

So, yeah, that's the update I have. Not much of anything but that's where I am and why I haven't posted this week.

Snitch!

2012-01-22T21:34:00.000-08:00

My friend Nicole l.o.v.e.s. Harry Potter so when I ran across Fandom in Stitches' Harry Potter section, I knew I'd have to make something from it for her birthday earlier this month. I decided on a paper piecing pattern that is a stack of books with a snitch atop them from their "Project of Doom" quilt pattern. And, it seemed to make sense to make that block into a bag for books and whatnot so she can carry it to work (in the English department of a University).

I decided to make the block the pocket of the bag so I added a little covered button and elastic closure to keep it from flopping open. You can see that I changed the paper piecing pattern a tad--some of it was on purpose and some of it was not-so-intentional :)

All of the fabrics are from my stash and scraps! It was fun to dig out good fabrics for books :) The only quilting I did was a few book pages for each book. I think I'll have to make myself something with a stack of books because I kind of love them.

The back is pretty simple with just a HP lightning bolt fused on the back. The bag is lined, bottom corners boxed, and I used nylon webbing for the straps.

I think it turned out pretty cute even if I was late getting it to her but she says she loves it so that's all that matters :)

Lack of Supervision

2012-01-21T12:36:00.000-08:00

If I don't have something to do, I (more often than not) invent something to do. I have to have a "project" of some sort. J likes to say that he supports my quilting not only because I like it but because it prevents me from moving the furniture every day. So, what's a girl to do when left unsupervised, with free time, with a few projects on hold and a secret project that is a less-than-desirable block to make? Work on those WiPs? Noooooooo. Of course not :) She starts a brand new project!

Armed with a brand new rotary cutter blade last night I cut up . . . . oh . . .71 fat quarters from the now-extinct Pink Chalk Monthly Solids Club. That would be all of them except the 9 I swiped for the stack and slash quilt top I just finished. I managed to get 6 6.5in squares from all but 2 of the fqs (I cut wrong because one edge was short--*sigh*--and only got 4 squares from those 2) so that's 422 squares . . . .

The plan is to use this method to make HSTs so that will be a mere . . . oh . . . 844 HSTs that I'll have to trim and sew together . . . I'm going to promptly forget that number and proceed in blissful ignorance :)

Resting on Laurels

2012-01-20T15:47:00.000-08:00

No sewing today yet. I suppose I'm resting on my laurels (or not pushing my luck) after those pretty perfect points for the paper pieced block (how many "p" words can I use in one sentence?) but, more realistically, I worked all day yesterday and did laundry for the better part of today.

I did manage to snap a couple of photos of the hummingbird in the nest though! Fuzzy because I'm taking the photos through the glass of the window and the sun was right in my face/lens and then I cropped so you'd have any hope of finding the tiny bird.

She's still fluffing up her nest. These photos were taken the second time I saw her there. The first time, she brought some white fluff to add but flew away before I could focus my lens.

I also bought myself some flowers during a mid-laundry store run :)

I *might* sew some later as J is taking a Friday night aikido class but I may also just watch Downton Abbey or something . . .

Return of the Bee

2012-01-19T12:55:00.000-08:00

Bee Happy took two months off for winter holidays but we're back for January with two blocks for Janice. She asked for a 12.5 inch block with triangles, the only stipulations being non-wonky and use of two or more of the fabrics she sent, and a set-in circle with the circle being whatever we wanted.

For the triangle block I chose Fresh Lemons' Starry Night Block. Pretty and easy, except mine somehow did not come out to size so I added a little border to two sides. I really like the block in prints!

For the circle, I pieced together a lot of the scraps from the triangle block into the circle and then held my breath as I tried the new-to-me set-in circle. It went ok! It's not perfect and is a *tad* off square but not enough that it can't be caught up in the seam allowance. Pretty proud of myself there!

Otherwise, I have the batting to finish off the design wall so I just need to actually *DO* that and I ordered the Paperweights fabric and a backing to finish off the baby quilt. It will probably take a bit to get here but that's ok because I have 4 secret blocks to make (well, one is waiting on Kona Snow with that fabric order because I'm pretty sure I have some Snow but I didn't label it and now it's mixed in with White and I don't know which is which *sigh*) and a curtain for J . . . not to mention ANY of those WiPs stacked around here :)

Stalled Mid-Swoon

2012-01-17T14:56:00.000-08:00

When I saw this post over on Lily's Quilts I immediately pinned it and knew I'd make a baby quilt from it. I liked the Swoon blocks but heard murmurs of precision and difficulty and backed away. I'm also just not a pattern-buying girl. I mostly figure things out for myself. So, with a little nudge from Lynne's post, I plotted out my squares and HSTs.

I got the fabric Saturday from moment+ and started chopping 'em up yesterday. I *almost* got a full Swoon but stopped short of the fainting couch because I ran out of the Kaffe Fasset Paperweight fabric for the corners. *Sigh*

Luckily, that was one of the fabrics that had a selvedge (no clue what the grey is, for example) and is one that is easily ordered online. So I'll order a bit more and continue my Swoon. I *may* add a border but I'm not sure yet . . .

from momen+

2012-01-15T15:17:00.000-08:00

Right down to brass tacks! I grabbed these for a baby quilt:

I *was* leaning toward a super girly flowery quilt but ended up with this stack that I'm quite happy with.

J got the black in the background (that I bet you can't really see) and insisted that I get a full yard of the Melody Miller typewriters (I was going to behave and get only a bit)! He's a keeper :)

I snagged these two indigo-based fat quarters that I'm in love with!

And these pretties that I think will be the start of a pretty girly grey quilt for me (J actually tossed the pink print in there). All of momen+'s fat quarters are just $2--including those Melody Miller tea cups!

These two are for a baby boy just for stash.

We ran a lot of errands yesterday and also ended up at Mitsuwa in Culver City so I grabbed these two magazines, too :)

And, fun discovery of the day: there is a teeny tiny itty bitty hummingbird nest right outside the window--the window I *just* moved my desk to face. If you can't find it (it's hard!) just click on the photo to see it in Flickr and mouse over the photo--I put a note to surround the nest.

I saw the hummingbird there the other day but thought it was just a safe place since it's in a really thick tree. I can't see in the nest without moving some things (I will later) but I'll try to get a photo (or twelve) of the hummingbird there.

That's all--I'm off to watch pretty dresses on the Golden Globe red carpet (from my living room :)

Why I Wasn't a Math Major

2012-01-14T13:42:00.000-08:00

My first year of college, because I had a ton of high school credits, I was offered a deal: take one math class, for 1 term, 5 days a week, at 8am, and never take another math class for the 4 years. I took the deal. I didn't do well but I passed and never took another math class. Of course, the fact that I transferred schools the next year and that school wouldn't have required ANY math from me is super annoying but, alas, win some lose some. The main point is that I'm not good at math. I use tools to average grades for my students so I don't screw up the math.

So, in my last post I asserted that with 36 blocks I would make a 5 x 6 block top with one left over for the back . . . . What I was going to do with those other 5 blocks is a mystery :) I didn't figure out the error in my plan until I was getting ready to lay out the last row and thought, hey, didn't I already sew row 6? Yes, yes, I had. Easy enough to fix luckily!

But, yay!, I trimmed all of the blocks yesterday and then pieced the top last night. The stack and slash quilt top is done and done! A kind of ginormous 6x6 block square--roughly 93inches square.

The design wall did actually come in very handy as I tried to mix up the slashed blocks (there are 3 different sorts of blocks) and arrange them so they make those pretty pinwheels.

I really have no clue how this is going to be quilted. I think it's too large a venture for my machine without me getting all sorts of frustrated and I'm really not sure how I'd machine quilt it anyway . . . But, the goal was finishing the top, not finishing the quilt so I can think on that :) I think the quilt top did what I wanted though--getting me back into a sewing/creativity groove--which is super because I have bee blocks and three (or four?!) other pairs of blocks to make for super secret surprise collaborative quilts that need sending off soon.

Meanwhile, I'm off to momen+ for Japanese fabric goodness! Show you what I get tomorrow!

Things Happening

2012-01-13T14:09:00.000-08:00

So, this happened last night:

Apparently, I was feeling motivated :) That's all of the 36 stack and slash blocks sewn (not trimmed obviously). Today I'm trimming them down to 16inch squares (down from fat quarters squared to about 20x17 pre-slashing and stitching). I'm not sticking them all up on the design wall, obviously since they're huge, but here are the first four. So far, I'm loving it.

Trimming may take me four years because so far the process is: trim one, wander off, come back and remove Mo from the pile of blocks, trim another, check the computer, play with the Pandora settings, trim another, pester one of the cats . . . But, it will eventually be 5 blocks by 6 blocks with one left over for the back with all of the wide strips from trimming pieced in somehow. I don't know what else I'll use for the back yet.

There is also napping going on: Zooey

(that's her foot through the curtain)

And, being restless. I couldn't get a non-blurry shot of her today so here's another of her the other day when she was still: Mo

And flowers from friends (saved from gorgeous bouquets sent last week) in their last flowery hurrah on my desk. I'm thinking I'll have to keep flowers on my desk now--I've been spoiled.

Now, off to trim and block and then maybe see about this gadget my mom sent yesterday . . .

Getting back into the Swing of Things

2012-01-12T16:17:00.000-08:00

Last week pretty much knocked me on my ass so this week has been mainly about trying to get back into a normalcy and back into creative swing. Before the new year my grand plan was to drag out all of my WiPs, photograph them, list them here, and pledge ever so earnestly to complete a bunch of them. Yeah. So, I don't so much feel like doing that anymore. So I'm not. Maybe later but not now.

What I did do was purge the house of a lot of junk--down to J's sock drawer--and rearrange some furniture. That furniture rearranging left my blackboard more open and available for me to hang a~~n old~~ vintage roller shade that was left in the apartment. I covered most of it with batting (just need a bit more to finish the job) so I have a design wall. I can just roll it all up when I don't want to look at it any more and it looks a little school-house-y with the blackboard under it. I also repainted part of the blackboard to cover chalk marker marks that were permanent--don't use Uchida chalk markers unless you plan to erase immediately!--which is why that middle part looks so clean :)

I think the design wall is going to be an absolute MUST for the double wedding ring I'm planning. I could probably manage a normal dwr without a design wall but I'm going to try to make the design a bit more modern by making the circles solid pieces instead of patchwork-y (so each circle will be made up of one print each). That means I have to be super careful of which pieces I join together. My mom was a crazy lady and ordered a whole ton of grey fabric for me (thanks again, mom :) so I'm basically set to go once I figure out (and buy) which Kona grey I'm using for the background. So, all of that to show you the fabrics (ooooh ahhhh) and say I'll show you what I mean by the above when I start cutting and sticking stuff on that design wall.

This may not be the final set--the two Konas on the left are auditioning for the background--because I may add/subtract some once I can get my brain around it a little better.

I am excited to get going on the dwr so I can pace myself and not make the project painful (it's not "due" until the fall), but before I start that project, I'm going to finish one I started last week. I needed a fairly mindless, easily put together, but satisfying project just so I was DOing something. So I grabbed the stack of My Folklore and Just Dandy I'd set aside, added a few solids from my Pink Chalk Solids Club (ahem, yeah so NINE--I got carried away), stacked, and slashed. I'm a little over a third of the way through the blocks now. I want to get the blocks finished and the top put together before starting something else. I'll probably leave the quilting for later because I'm not sure if I want to tie it like the book shows (Denyse Schmidt's Quilts) or machine quilt it.

Those aren't trimmed or squared or anything. Just hanging out waiting for me to make decisions. I might work on sewing some of the others together tonight and tomorrow--or not, this is the no-pressure project after all.

I should, at the very least, have a birthday present to share next week (it's sewn, just needs to make it to the mailbox--well, into an envelope first) and probably some fabric. J wants a curtain for his office and he's decided that the place to get fabric for it is the Japanese fabric store near(ish) here, momen+. I, of course, am not arguing with a plan to go to the Japanese fabric store :)

Heartbroken

2012-01-03T14:58:00.000-08:00

This is not a blog post one ever wants to write and I'm sorry to my readers because this sort of post always makes me cry. But, it's what's pressing on my soul at the moment and I write. It's just what I do. So, here goes. My family had to make the decision this morning to let my/our Basset Hound, Stella, go. The likely culprit was stomach cancer but the deciding factors were that she had not eaten in almost a week and was losing weight rapidly while not responding to any treatments. She was incredibly sick before Christmas and then never quite got better.

Stella was a bit of a nomad thanks to me. She was a Christmas present to some acquaintance of someone my mom work(s/ed) with. But, reason #1 not to give pups as surprise Christmas presents: the recipient didn't want a Basset Hound. So, I got one in February of 2002; my first dog as an adult. Stella made her first move from Charlotte NC to Raleigh NC (where I was in grad. school for the MA) and howled in the way only Bassets can the whole 3 hour car ride. We got to my apartment and she did this:

And this:

And, this, every single time she wanted something:

She usually got what she wanted.

As she got older, we moved once within North Carolina and then twice in South Carolina. Luckily, Stella loved people and was convinced that anyone who came over was there to see her, including the mail man and any animals. And, all packages, boxes, or bags must have contained something for her and she would search any purse for peppermint anything if given a slight opportunity. But she still did this:

And this:

And, this, every single time she wanted something:

She usually got what she wanted :)

Stella loved a nap. In the bed. Under the covers. With her head on a pillow. Or my butt. She did not like a made bed and would promptly toss all of the covers on the floor if you deigned to make the bed.

Stella also loved certain cats. She adopted two strays. Salmon was the first so she used him as a pillow (see above).

When I moved to California in November 2008, Stella went to live with my parents in NC because we couldn't have dogs in our apartment. She loved them so it wasn't a hard transition but what was supposed to be temporary became permanent as Stella aged and our financial situation did not include winning it big in the lottery or robbing a bank. My sister's dog Max also lives there and Stella loved Max. I'm sure he's lost without her because, despite how fiercely Stella loved everyone, Max loved her more.

Stella was also very proud of how pretty she was. Bassets usually get fat. Stella stayed at a low weight her whole life, while being free-fed and making adjustments herself when she stole food. There's a funny story: in grad school my group of girlfriends frequently had a potluck at one or the other apartment. One friend (who didn't stay the course in the end) repeatedly only brought bread (and store-brought bread at that, not made it herself bread that might have taken an ounce of effort). We had a fancy dinner party one night at the carriage house another friend and I shared (split into 2 apartments) and that friend again only brought bread. She tossed it on the counter of my kitchen and went outside (where we'd set up a big table). Ten seconds later, we're looking for the bread but can't find it. I found the wrapper under the bed and a mischievous hound looking sort of full and self-satisfied. And, of course, there are a million stories caused by the trouble-maker because she was incredibly smart. She knew what she should and should not do; but it was always a toss-up as to which she would choose.

She was a one in a million girl and I could not have been luckier that some crazy lady didn't want her as a Christmas present.

Goodbye, sweet babydog.

Ending with a Bang.

2011-12-31T14:16:00.000-08:00

I *thought* I might be able to get one more finish in this year but I didn't want to promise anything because it's a strange in-between week with no plans and nothing to do that is welcome after a year a go-go-going. Despite my inclinations, I've not taken down Christmas decorations or done a deep cleaning of anything this week. Lunches and dinners have been simple but at home for the most part and we've watched a lot of movies. So, I didn't want to promise I'd do work when I just might watch TV or take a nap :)

But, I did finish and it's been a long time in the making! I put the last stitch in the Bee (a little bit) Japanese quilt today. I got the piecing done yesterday (qayg so it was already quilted) and did the binding this morning plus a few little patches and a label. J helped me get photos because this one is l.a.r.g.e. and h.e.a.v.y. and would not hang from my clothesline.

The front is made from bee blocks from ladies all over the place with a soft soft soft chocolate fabric on each end. Nothing is centered (on purpose). I LOVE these forest blocks and am so happy with the creativity everyone put into her block(s).

The back is muslin (like the backgrounds of the blocks on the front) with scraps of the prints pieced in.

I also added a few patches of prints because some of my qayg seams didn't *quite* work (this was my first attempt at this method despite finishing Jo's Hideaway quilt first). But, you know what? I love the patches added at the end. It reminds me of the work quilts SillyBooDilly has done and that works well with the heavily quilted straight-ish lines that also remind me of a work quilt (specifically a moving van quilt). And, I want to be able to use this quilt and not have it be put away for fear of damaging it. With patches already in place, it won't be a big dilemma to add another one or two.

(forgive the strings! It's not been through the wash yet)

The label was set as one way in my head for months and months. I was going to print a label with all of the ladies' names and locations in order of the blocks on the front. But then I fell in love with the simplicity of the back and didn't want a big label. So I free-motion wrote the name of the bee in a variegated thread (gifted by my parents for Christmas) and patched it on the back. It's hard to see from far away (try to find it in the photo of the back above; hint: top right) but it's cute up close. And I'm getting better at free-motion writing! The start/stop button and the speed control on the new machine make it SO much easier!

And, finally, the binding is a simple natural colored binding. I, per usual, curved my corners :)

And that's it for 2011! I have some ideas for 2012. The double wedding ring I mentioned in the last post and a baby quilt for spring-ish are definite. Otherwise, I want to play more and finish more of what I've started. Hello, year of pulling out WiPs and finishing them :)

I'll end with this; Neil Gaiman wrote this wish years ago and I loved it:

May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.

Then he revised it a few years ago and I loved it:

I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you'll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you'll make something that didn't exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind.

And, this year, he's revised again and it seems perfect:

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.
Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.
So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.
Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.
Make your mistakes, next year and forever.

I hope you have a wonderful new year and make a few mistakes; I know I will :)

Girly Greys

2011-12-30T20:07:00.000-08:00

Quokka Quilts is hosting a little giveaway party that's super fun! To enter you simply create your own Fat Quarter Shop Blogger's Choice Bundle and link up. Of course I couldn't resist putting together a pretty bundle of 12 prints and 3 solids! I'm working on a quilt palette in my head for a pretty special double wedding ring I'm going to make this year. I'd pinned a few palettes from Design-Seeds earlier today . . .

My brain was already in the grey with a tiny pop of soft color mode (the double wedding ring will be shade of grey for reasons I can't divulge right now) so, when I went over to FQS to pick fabrics, I gravitated toward the greys (which really isn't anything new at all--especially given the fact that I'm currently wearing a charcoal top, lighter grey pants, and light grey socks with pink argyle . . . ). I added a soft pop of girly pink roses because I'm also leaning toward a really soft floral quilt for me :)

I haven't decided about whether I'll use prints or all solids for the double wedding ring but these are definitely the tones I want--minus the pink (I'll probably go with a teeny bit of yellow like in the cereal palette above) but I'd totally make myself a quilt from these fabrics! Grey is too often defined as "masculine" and associated with grease. I love it and think it can be quite girly and pretty!

No promises at all but I *may* be back before the new year with a final finish :)

Well, NOW I'm Exhausted

2011-12-28T21:57:00.000-08:00

Ever had one of those moments where you suddenly feel old because a neighbor kid (whom you remember being brought home from the hospital) suddenly has a baby of her own, or a friend's child is suddenly 7, or someone you think of as only slightly younger than you casually mentions his birth year which is a full decade (ok, more than a full decade) after your birth year? You didn't feel old before and probably won't feel old in an hour or so, but for about half an hour all you can focus on is your own age (and probably how that was so so O.L.D. when you were in middle school.

Well, I don't feel old but I do feel tired. I've seen end-of-year posts pop up all over the place with mosaics and whatnot, and I did some last year so I decided to repeat them for this year. I thought the whole thing would take me half an hour (ok an hour because I revise a lot) because I hadn't really done so much this year. Yeah. Right. Hours--yes with an "s"--later, I have my mosaics and good God did I sew this year!

They were hard to keep track of so some photos made it into the wrong mosaic and I probably missed something(s) but most of it is here. I omitted WiPs that were left over from 2010 (ugh, but, yes, there are some of those!) and my bee quilt WiPs aren't included but, otherwise, if I blogged about it, it's here.

First, a tiny bit of embroidery. Some embroidery is in other mosaics because it was for bee blocks or something.

All of the bee blocks! They took 2 mosaics! (and Liberty's Christmas bee blocks ended up in another mosaic somehow).

All of the swaps I sent out:

And quilts! Lots of quilts!

Miscellaneous stuff

Pillows (with a clutch and crochet ornaments in there by mistake)!!

And WiPs

And, goodness, now I think I need a nap! That's a LOT of sewing! I doubt I do any more sewing this year with J home so this is likely a pretty accurate picture of the year. A little rest this week and I'll start again in the new year!

Christmas Presents: Wonderful Goodies for Me!

2011-12-28T08:56:00.000-08:00

We all had a pretty great Christmas, cats included :)

And I was quite spoiled!

As I mentioned before, my parents bought me a new sewing machine for Christmas. It's fancier than my other machine and I've only played with it for a few minutes but I'm already besotted! I think free-motion quilting is going to be much easier with the start/stop button and speed settings. I played a bit as you can see on the purple fabric.

They also tossed in a couple of feet I'd need.

And a LOT of thread!

My sister, Jordan, gave me a yummy stack of Kona solids! (and I got that Santa tree holder thingamagig at Whole Foods). These are going to be fun to play with!

Jordan also got me glow-in-the-dark thread from Sublime Stitching. Fun!

And she gave me two pairs of scissors (the two on the left); Leo gave me the Gingher pair on the right. Yay for snippy things!

Nicole gave me a necklace, bracelet, and brownie mix that give money to charities! Lots of wonderful-ness there! The bracelet has a quote from Emma on it: "Where shall we see a better daughter or a kinder sister or a truer friend." 'Cause Nicole is sweet :)

J got me a variety of things! First, he found the last unicorn in the series of Unicornos I was missing--apparently it was quite difficult to find and there are very few of them. The new one is on the far left with the crown. (Don't mind the tilted books, one is out somewhere or another). I have a lot of the dreadlocked ones from trying to complete the set. I think Nicole's daughter Arina may get a few reggae unicorns :)

When we went to see The Muppets, I saw a Jim Shore Statler and Waldorf figurine thing that I adored at the Disney store attached to the theatre. J went back and got it for me :) Aren't they wonderful?! I'm going to sit them on my desk and imagine they make snarky comments as I work.

J also managed a major coup with this necklace. We chatted with the woman who makes them (and earrings) at a craft fair in early November and I was really impressed with her work. She makes them from antique lace with silver somehow without molds. J tracked her down had her make this one for me and then arranged to pick up the necklace from her--luckily she works close to where we live! The chain is even the perfect long length!

Finally there's a stack of gifts from a few people!

J gave me the Amy Winehouse CD, the little ninja and Domo guys, the Martha Stewart Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts, Quilting Line + Color, and Material Obsession 2. Lots of ideas already (which is good because I have two quilts to plan already)!

Leo gave me Unpacking My Library: Writers and their Books and The Night Circus. Super excited to read these!

And my parents continued with Japanese Taupe Quilts and Serendipity Quilts. As my mom put it they "went overboard" :)

I'm so so so very lucky to have such wonderful family and friends who support my ~~addiction~~ hobby and spoil me with such goodies! I can't wait to play with all of them. I may be back here this week but I'm not sure since J has the week off, But, here's to a wonderful new year full of people and projects you love :)

Christmas Presents: J's Haul

2011-12-27T20:34:00.000-08:00

Leaving J's presents until December was probably a mistake. Between being out of town for 7 days, losing three days to being sick, and J being home sick for two days, I was scrambling to finish everything in the twelve remaining days! But it all worked out just in time (I finished on Thursday before Christmas).

He got a variety of sewn things but it started with this quilt. I made a Civil War Union soldier cot quilt for a family friend (very well received just this past Friday--VERY late but not because of me!) and J said he was a little jealous of it. So, no-brainer!

It gave me a bit of trouble in that the old machine just did not want to quilt it. I had to pick out quilting on about a third of the quilt before I tried a few lines again and then just switched to the vintage machine. The SewMor quilted like a champ but I still haven't resolved how to get the foot pedal on the ground so it was a tad awkward. But, it worked out well and is super soft!

I also stitched a spider on some plaid flannel for a scarf (found the spider on . . . Pinterest, of course).

I made a camera strap for our camera because J wants to carry it cross-body and the standard strap length is just not comfortable. But it had to be adjustable because I will need it shorter for me to carry the camera. I took what I knew from various online tutorials and made it up as I went.

Finally, a sword bag. J practices aikido and works with swords so he has to transport them with some frequency. He's talked about me making a sword bag for him before but can never quite settle on a fabric when I ask him. So I just made the bag with Alexander Henry's Heath (same as the camera strap). The heavier weight was wonderful! I basically made this up as I went, basing it partially on a bag he already has. Definitely stretched my brain :) It needs a 1-inch tri-glide instead of the 2-inch one I had but that's an easy replacement.

And, goodness, that's what I made for Christmas! I'm sort of astonished at all I managed to sew :)

Christmas Presents: Leo's T-Shirt Quilt

2011-12-27T19:36:00.000-08:00

Could you tell that the Christmas posts thus far were pre-written and set to post? I have three more posts--this one, what I made for J, and what I received (lucky me!)--but I'm writing them as I get photos and time :)

Leo works with J and is frequently at our house. And when he's at our house, he frequently requests that he be able to snuggle up with J's T-shirt quilt. So, another no-brainer gift: I made Leo a T-shirt quilt. My mom and sister gathered about half of the shirts in NC, and J and I gathered the rest in LA, all from thrift stores.

The funny part about this quilt is Mo. She L.O.V.E.S. this quilt. As in sittin' in a tree, wants to hug, kiss, and marry the quilt. At every single stage of the quilt, from cutting to getting ready to put it in the wash, Mo was on top of it. She got mad if I moved it or moved her in order to work on the quilt. It came down to me having to put the quilt in a box immediately after getting it out of the dryer. And then the ONLY present she tried to attack and open was the box with the T-shirt quilt.

And, strangely, this is a good sort of last hurrah for my machine. The first quilt I made was J's T-shirt quilt and the last one on that machine was Leo's. Because . . . . my parents got me a new sewing machine for Christmas :) More on what I received for Christmas in a bit and then what I made for J (once I get photos of all of it!)

Christmas Presents: Mom's Pillow Covers

2011-12-25T14:00:00.000-08:00

My mom was very specific about what she wanted for Christmas: six pillow covers for her living room. They just remodeled the living room so new pillows make sense. I made her 7 pillow covers because that's what I could get out of a layer cake :) One extra is always good (as is an odd number)!

I made a Dresden pillow:

The other six are all some version of a stack and slash block--just slashed different ways--and they're all quilted to go with the design of each pillow cover. This pinwheel one might be my favorite.

A sort of soundwave one:

Stripes:

Zig zags:

Classic stack and slash a la Denyse Schmidt:

A nine patch:

And all of them laid out together--I didn't have 7 pillow forms to show them all stuffed. You'll see that some of them have extra strips of patchwork on one edge or another; I took DS's advice (if it's too big, cut it; if it's too small, add to it) to heart and I love how it worked out.

Mom's couches are a kind of harvest gold so I think these will look pretty!

Christmas Presents: Jordan's Totes and Lantern

2011-12-25T12:00:00.000-08:00

Deciding what to make for Christmas presents started with Dad's wall-hanging and Tracy's advent calendar. I knew I wanted to make those. What I made for everyone else was up for debate so I asked those people what they'd like. Jordan's answer was "tote bags." She wanted one for work because she often takes lunch with her and she wanted one for the pool because it was the middle of summer when I asked this (not really--but close). So I made her totes. These are the first totes I've ever made so I gathered inspiration and potential patterns for a long time (yes, on Pinterest) and then I just decided I could make a basic tote with the components I thought she'd like based on my own common sense. And it worked! Not to say I didn't rip any stitches but I did end up with two totes that can, in fact, tote things.

So, the work one. I opted for all prints all the time here--the Central Park I ordered for this project, the others came from my stash and I forget what they are now--and white nylon webbing for the handles. The front has two big pockets for whatever she'd like to stash there.

My favorite part about this bag has to be the little key fob built into the front (that's actually missing the jump ring in this photo) . . .

because it can hide in the pocket. Little things amuse me.

The back doesn't have a pocket.

But it has another D-ring so she could loop/hook something from/to it if she wants.

And it has a little embroidery.

The inside is another print (#3!!). I didn't put any pockets on the inside because, although Jordan is not at all organized in most instances, her purse has to be the most organized bag I've ever seen. She had zipper bags for every sort of thing--and keeps them neatly sorted. It's super bizarre to me because I'm the organized one in all other areas but my purse (when I actually carry one) is a deep dark hole of a disaster.

And it has a removable insert to keep the bottom flat.

I also got her these little silverware boxes from Little Tokyo to go inside.

The other tote gave me more trouble because I decided to make it water tolerant--I doubt it's full on water proof. It's made almost the same way as the other one except the pockets on the front are shallower and divided into more sections.

The corners are boxed (as are the corners of the work tote) which allows for a ribbon to be threaded through each corner to hold a rolled up towel under the bag--should have done that and taken a photo!

The inside is lined with water resistant fabric.

And there is a little key fob deep in this bag along with a piece of uncovered plastic whatchamacallit stuff to enforce the bottom.

And those are the totes! Before Jo requested those, I'd already decided to make her this lantern (and, yes, I'd pinned it). True to me fashion, I just did what I wanted to produce a similar end result :)

Sorry for the cluttered photos! It was raining so I couldn't take photos outside.

I just glued cardstock butterflies to nylon string and tied the string to the bottom of the lantern. Then I braided the ends of string and wrapped (and glued) the braid around the metal.

And I'm sending a bunch of extra butterflies in case any fall off in transport or she wants to glue some butterflies to the actual lantern--I didn't because I needed to mail it flat.

Easy and cute! For a house that doesn't have cats, that is. Mo and Zooey were super helpful while I was trying to string the butterflies and take photos :)

Christmas Presents: Dad's Wall Hanging and Scarf

2011-12-25T10:00:00.000-08:00

My dad loves music. All sorts of music. He's the one who handed me NIN in high school (middle school?) with the comment "just don't let your mother hear you listening to this" and I'm pretty sure I've only told him about one cd he didn't already know about since then. Yep. My dad is cooler than me :)

So, when I saw this on Pinterest (how many times can I link to Pinterest lately?!) I knew I had to pin it even though it broke my pinning rules (no original source, only Tumblr).

I blew it up, traced the outlines of the irregular letters with the aid of my lightbox, stitched the center part--cutting out the snakes and fiery car/smoke--and made it into a wall-hanging quilt with a little Alexander Henry Heath for the back and foldover binding.

I think it's pretty damned cool even if I do say so :)

Then I saw this on . . . wait for it . . . Pinterest! and knew something had to be made with the "What Would Batman Do" abbreviation for dad. I settled on a scarf and made this one from some plaid flannel and a some red that already had fusible web on it.

It seems comic book-inspired gifts (scarves especially) are a Christmas staple!

Very merry to you!

2011-12-24T09:44:00.001-08:00

Here's hoping you have a happy everything!!

I'll be back tomorrow with some presents posts--finally get to show you what I've been working on for months!

I promise I'll be back!

2011-12-12T13:30:00.000-08:00

I wish wish wish I had something to share! I've finally gotten rid of that nasty stupid cold that took three whole days away from my Christmas sewing! So, now I have less than two weeks to get two pretty big things and a couple of smaller things finished for LA people! Eeek! So I may be missing from here until Christmas because I can't share progress on presents *sigh* Unless these projects are miraculously speedier than I think they will be and I can sneak in some non-Christmas stuff :)

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season! I'm off to sew . . .

sniffle

2011-12-09T11:50:00.001-08:00

A little sniffly because:

1. I'm back home after visiting my bestest Tracy in Colorado and she didn't smush herself into my suitcase. Sigh.

2. I totally caught a cold because it was freezing in CO and I'm so not used to temperatures below about 40. It was ZERO at 8pm one night! WTF?! So then it was waaaaaay below zero in the middle of the night. And, add in an airport, a plane ride, and a return to warmer temperatures and I'm piled in bed with a book and DVR'd TV.

But, we did get a little crafty while bundled up! First we made little vases filled with sticks (that we stomped around in the snow to collect) with sparkly ornaments (inspired by this pin) and an Indie Fixx Fox garland that turned out super cute.

(not sure what's going on with the color there; this photo is more true to color but doesn't have the finished projects)

We also made, but I forgot to photograph, little twig candle holders--but they seriously look JUST like the ones in the blog post. Super pretty! And I drew a tree in silver marker on craft paper like this one except we decided on no ornaments.

We started a snowflake garland and these minimal silver nutcrackers but didn't get them finished. I found a sewing nutcracker at JoAnn's that I brought home to make silver :)

We also made these super cute sort-of snowglobes. There isn't any liquid because the lights work. But, they're like Narnia in a jar :) I didn't get a photo of Tracy's but it's similar (just a different lamppost) but I did make another one (the larger one with the tree) yesterday and I love love love them!

We found the stuff for the ones made in CO at Joann's. I found the materials for the one I made here at KMart of all places but the lamppost was a set of two. I just snipped off the other lamppost that didn't go straight to the battery pack--I'm not sure that would work with all sets though! Just be prepared to lose both lampposts if you do snip!

Otherwise, I took a lot of photos of snow and whatnot (starting here on Flickr) and we watched a lot of movies for our blog. I didn't do any sewing because I was dim and forgot to pack an embroidery hoop. *sigh* So now I'm 9 days behind on the planned snowflake advent quilt. Being that behind and being sick, I'm debating scratching the whole thing for now. I *might* pick it up once I have staying-in-LA-Christmas presents finished. Hopefully I can zap this cold away today or I'll be sniffling over the sewing machine tomorrow because I have other stuff to do and am impatient to get going with only 15 days to go!

BRRRRRRRRRRRR!

2011-12-04T07:46:00.001-08:00

Last Thursday I went from Los Angeles' comfortable 60s (although blustery) to Colorado's this:

I'm cold, needless to say (an LA wardrobe doesn't exactly prepare me for this) but having a lot of fun :) Tracy and I are getting crafty to decorate her place for Christmas so I'll show you photos of that later. Right now I have to bundle up to go out in the almost single digits (it's 10 outside. 10!!) to go shopping for more stuff and meet her mom and aunt for lunch.

Neither wind nor snow nor two hours of sleep

2011-12-02T08:40:00.000-08:00

I flew into Colorado yesterday to visit Tracy despite some serious winds in Los Angeles and a snow storm in Denver--and only a couple hours of sleep worrying about both. But everything seemed to calm down for a bit and I was able to get in just fine, have lunch with Melissa (from Bee Happy) and her cutie daughters, and make it to Tracy's house--and all without freezing to death! Hooray!

So, the first Christmas gifts of the season from me are in recipients' hands today because I made advent calendars! I LOVE LOVE LOVE freaking LOVE advent calendars--take a look at my "Christmas" Pinterest board and you'll see a lot of the pins are advent calendars. So I shared the love with family friends John & Gayle (you can see their advent calendar here and my parents filled their calendar with goodies so I'm not quite sure what's in there) and my bestest Tracy. I showed a sneak peak of Tracy's calendar earlier but here it is in all of it's hard to photograph glory--I swear, this thing is cuter in person!

I texted Tracy forever ago and asked what colors she decorates with for Christmas. I *think* she said blue, silver, and red--that's what I went with anyway :) You can't tell in the photos but the blue fabrics have a bit of silver sparkle to them that's really pretty for this application (and I'm normally anti-sparkle fabrics!)

I cut the numbers and the "Merry Christmas" with the Silhouette and that pompom trim is hot-glued on (sorry, Tim Gunn! I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to sew it on with the machine!).

I sewed on the pockets with everything sandwiched so that stitching creates the quilting you can see on the back. None of it, of course, is square but how would anyone know I made it if it were straight? :) Goal for next year: straight.

Here's a shot with lollipops in one of the pockets. Her calendar is filled with goodies--not lollipops--but I can't show you what those are because she hasn't opened them yet. Although she might open them all as soon as I leave on the 6th and am not here to keep her honest :)

All of the other presents have to wait until Christmas. I don't have my machine with me in Colorado but I have some hand-sewing/embroidery to do so maybe I'll be able to post about that. Otherwise, I'll write when I get home next week.

Breakin' the law

2011-11-29T13:22:00.001-08:00

Ok, so not really breaking any laws at all. But I am going to show a Christmas present early--that's kinda like breaking the law? Right? If you're a generally law-abiding quilter? Anyway :) I'm a little too proud of myself about this one not to share and the recipient already basically knows what she's getting so it's not going to be a huge surprise or anything.

Nicole loved the doe/buck I made for Tracy's birthday and wanted one too. That I had the "negative" from the cut-out of Tracy's pillow and I had not yet decided what to make her for Christmas and made it an easy "yes." I decided the pillows had to be different though. Tracy's was meant for her and goes with her dancing bear pillow. I didn't want to make a twin of Tracy's and I wanted each of them to have something original. So, first step: offset the doe/buck image.

Second step: get a little crazy and try free motion quilting writing! Ohmygoodness! It's not the best writing in the world (I could do to buy an old-school cursive primer because I couldn't really remember how to make some of the letters and just made up what I wanted) but it's not bad! *Most* of the stitches are the same length and everything! It says "Expecto Patronum" if you can't read it--it's a tad hard to read in the photo. If you *really* want to see it close up, click on the photo to see it in Flickr and then view it at its original size--you'll see exactly which stitches got too large :)

Third step: try to get photos without Mo being on the pillow cover . . .

The pillow got my preferred envelope back in a light light blue.

And that's it!

I *may* have decided that this is the last of the Christmas presents that need to be mailed away. The one thing I remembered yesterday is sliding down my list of priorities as I have to do laundry and whatnot to prepare to travel Thursday and it was an extra thing anyway . . . we'll see.

Getting it done

2011-11-28T14:48:00.001-08:00

This morning I took photos of all of the pillow covers for mom, wrote a few blog posts for Christmas presents so I'm not bogged down in finding all of the photos and whatnot mid-holiday, and finished one of the remaining presents to be mailed out (took photos and etc). . . so, nothing I can show you. Again. *Sigh*

But, per my fear that I was forgetting something, I remembered something else I need to make for Christmas that needs to be mailed. Nothing huge so that's good. I just knew I was forgetting something! So, now I have two-ish Christmas presents to make before everything that has to be mailed is finished. Mind you, I still have presents to make that are staying in the LA area. And, I'm VERY good at coming up with more I need to do if I have any extra time; there is never any "done early" for me :)

I can show you these:

I made a few crochet ornaments from this pattern that I found via Pinterest and, of course, adapted to do what I wanted and for smaller rings than called for. Not sure what I'm doing with them yet but I liked making them and still have a bunch of little rings so I may make some more.

Post Thanksgiving Stress Disorder

2011-11-27T12:07:00.001-08:00

Turkey Day went off with only three tiny hitches: my mashed potatoes refused to cook in the crock pot (easily fixed) and I burnt myself on the wrist getting the turkey out of the oven. Otherwise, everything was super and we stayed up past 2am playing Monopoly. But it's a tad hard to come down off all of the prep and cooking so I was awake until at least 5am and woke up promptly at 9:30am. Sigh. But, before all of that, I got up a little more Christmas decoration.

The third tiny hitch was that in the middle of putting together the vases with greenery, I discovered I'm allergic to this evergreen, whatever it is. Not a huge surprise--I'm allergic to a lot of evergreens--but not lovely nonetheless.

So Black Friday was a little bleary--lunch at a new restaurant that was just ok (a MUCH better burger place is just as close to us), buying a coat on mega-sale that might keep me from freezing in Colorado, and Puss in Boots (also just ok).

Saturday night we went to see The Muppets at El Capitan which was fun because El Capitan stands in as the "Muppet Theater" in the film and they had a sing-a-long before the show. I'm not a sing-a-long girl but I liked seeing Kermit and Miss Piggy "live." But, more pertinent to this blog, Saturday I finished up the pillow covers for mom's Christmas present! They all got simple chocolate brown envelope backs except one that got a deep purple because I didn't quite have enough brown. Of course, I can't show you more than this sneak peak until later.

Today I'm just catching up and getting everything sorted for Christmas presents and traveling on Thursday. Perhaps painting my nails with some Muppet OPI nail polish :) I've got to double check but I'm pretty sure I only have two small things to complete before I can package Christmas gifts to be mailed--exciting!

Cats, and Pies, and Creepy-Ass Elves, Oh My!

2011-11-23T14:33:00.001-08:00

Mo decided to help quilt mom's pillow covers last night. She stayed there for HOURS; didn't even go upstairs when I went to watch TV. Despite Mo's help, they're all quilted and ready for envelope backs!

I've also made 48 mini pumpkin pies. And I still have half of the pumpkin pie filling left. *sigh* J just got "pie crusts" added to his last-minute pick-up list. But, aren't they cute?!

I also made 12 mini apple pies (but about 4 times as large as the pumpkin pies so I'm not making any more of those). And I almost made some pumpkin ice cream but I forgot to freeze the ice cream maker crock. Oops. Oh well, worse case scenario, the ice cream maker runs tomorrow. No big deal. Now I just have to clean the house :(

J put the creepy-ass elf in the etagere this morning! It's really not nice to find him in the Q-tips when I go to grab my toothbrush!

Ok--back to Turkey Day prep for me! I hope you all have a wonderful day tomorrow, holiday or no!

It's Raining, It's Pouring

2011-11-20T13:51:00.001-08:00

It's been raining all day here--an actual, serious almost East Coast rain; none of this sort of rain for 15 minutes SoCal stuff. We're huddled inside and I'm baking and filling crockpots for dinner so I can stay under my quilts as much as possible.

But, I thought I'd show you our Christmas tree! We got it yesterday and ended up with a much smaller one than usual because we wanted this particular Hoop's Blue Spruce. And then we ran around for decorating materials for the rest of the day. In October, J came up with the idea to use these candleholders and these candleholders and these bud vases from CB2 to create little terrariums to use as ornaments. We added in some small ornaments from Crate and Barrel (and I just realized how much this sounds like an ad for C&B and CB2--how I wish they'd paid for what we bought! They just happen to be super close to us) and hung them with sturdy hooks along with the pompom garland and frosted color-changing lights. Simple but cute! I just have to put the skirt on it.

J put that damned elf on the tree this morning! We're not sure of a topper yet--the elf may stay there just so I know where he is :) I love the way the pompom garland came out--definitely a Pinterest win!

I hate that this photo came out fuzzy! Between the rain and Christmas lights . . . He's the one with the lights here (although the store wasn't selling any of the ornaments as sets) and I think that's some sort of thyme.

This one is a succulent of some sort and this guy.

Another succulent.

An air plant in black sand.

Another air plant and one of these.

Another gnome and some sort of plant--I should have bothered to look at the tags instead of just picking the pretty ones :)

Another succulent and one of these.

An airplant and this owl.

An airplant.

A succulent and another silver glass ornament.

A succulent.

A succulent and three snowmen.

Another airplant--the only duplicate plant because we thought the bloom was so pretty.

And, I put the left-over pompom garland on the windows. Don't mind the odd bunching of the fabric; there's a Mo napping in the pool of curtain on the shelf.

I need to find the tree skirt in our stored decorations but, otherwise, I think the tree is set--minus the fact that I have to water the tree and every single ornament on it :)

It's beginning to Look a lot like {a Pinterest} Christmas

2011-11-18T16:21:00.001-08:00

I put Christmas present making on hold the past two days to get a little cleaning and holiday decorating done. We're getting our tree tomorrow (that's the plan anyway) so I wanted a few things up just to get ready.

I pinned this

{all photos from pins will take you to original source with a click! except the one above because whipup.net was down when I hit "publish"--I'll try to add a link later but if you want to try to find the post now, it was published on Oct 30 titled "Guest blogger series/Pompom garland"}

and made these--they just need to be strung--to go on the tree

I pinned this

and drew this on my chalkboard. I may still add a few ornaments. Or I may erase it all because the freaking supposed to be erasable but are clearly non-erasable chalk marker marks are driving me mad and I want to repaint the whole damn thing.

I pinned this

and made this

and this. This one wasn't as successful but I think I still like it.

They're not staying here (this shelf will move to make way for the tree) but I have to find a good place for them.

I pinned this

and made the laziest Christmas tree pants ever (just cut a slit and a circle in a layer cake square--but the pinked edges were cute!) for my three tinsel trees.

J put that creepy elf in my tinsel trees this morning! Isn't it just the creepiest thing ever?! That's why he bought it by the way--because I think it's creepy.

I also hung some rope lights on the stair rail

and some twinkle-y ones in the kitchen

All while fighting this cat's urge to do this every time I sat down for a minute (take a wild guess where she is right this very minute?)

Besides stringing the pompoms to make them into an actual garland and figuring out what to do about the pot of the potted Christmas tree we'll be buying, I *think* that's all the Christmas decorations I want to make. So, back to the Christmas present making!

Calm

2011-11-16T14:45:00.001-08:00

Everything is falling into place--which makes me NERVOUS because I'm certain I've forgotten something because what is the holiday season without me in the floor amongst a pile of crafts freaking out? Tracy reminded me yesterday that I started MUCH earlier this year--but still. At the rate I'm going, I'll have all gifts that need to be made and mailed finished before I go to Colorado. I am making a few things for J but if that's all I have to make between Dec 6 and Dec 25, I'm on board.

So, I can't show you much, of course.

I finished these.

And was yelled at by this one for taking photos. She also yelled at me for not answering the phone--apparently she missed a call or something. And she kind of demanded a photo session--when you see the photos of the above projects later, you'll be able to see at least her feet in ALL of them :)

Are you done taking photos of those things?

'Cause I'm prettier. See my profile?

Wait! Is that a bird?

Maybe it's a chicken!

It *could* be a chicken!

Bye, mom!

I worked on these.

This came in the mail. It's a Christmas gift for someone.

But look at the projects! I *almost* got out the sticky notes to mark a few :)

And now I'm researching slow cooker dishes for Thanksgiving because my mom sent me this.

So no frantic Thanksgiving either? What--is my holiday season going to be relaxing or something? Strange :)

Winter Is Coming

2011-11-14T14:46:00.001-08:00

Signs that it's almost winter:

1. Zooey sleeps through me bringing a rotisserie chicken in the house and taking it to pieces for Chicken Tortilla Soup. Sorry, girlie, it's covered in fire-roasted tomatoes and chiles now!

2. I start to crochet more. I added two more scallop chains to my crocheted necklace--love! I think I'll have to make some more necklaces! They're super quick and easy.

I also made this. I think it will be a bracelet but I need more clasps.

3. And need more yarn as a result--actually this yarn is for a pom pom garland for our Christmas tree. Those buttons? That's what fabric.com thinks pine colored yarn looks like apparently :) Ooops!

3. I sort and stash. Ok. I do that all year round. But I forgot to show you this sewing box we found at Melrose Trading Post while mom was here. I think J wanted to bargain with the guy a bit but at $25 ($30? I forget), I just said "sold!"

I made little inserts to fit each compartment because there was some not-so-pretty vintage contact paper already there (but I didn't want to rip it out).

I think I want to replace those decorative knobs--maybe a little something from Anthrolpologie?

4. Christmas presents are worked on daily. A TINY peek at one.

5. Advent quilt supplies await December. The solids will be the front of the blocks (with embroidered snowflakes) as a nod to the designer thinking it would be pretty in navy and the print will be the backing. Lovely thing about Quilt as You Go? You can buy on-sale super cheap craft-sized batting instead of a big sized one!

6. And, finally, as you're putting your new Christmas cactus in a pot outside, you accidentally dig up a peanut. I assume the squirrel is using my former garden as storage :)

Don't tell anyone . . .

2011-11-11T17:52:00.001-08:00

. . . but I'm three whole days ahead of my Christmas present making plan! We need to keep that a secret because I'm sure I'll be behind before I know it.

I finished Tracy's present today but I can't show you, of course. I'll show you the label :)

And I finished another small project that has nothing to do with Christmas but I can't show you that either.

So I've nothing to show! I'll try to work on something I can actually blog about next.

Just Because I Was ahead of the Game

2011-11-09T17:12:00.000-08:00

So today I've done a bunch of stuff:

1. I finished the advent calendar I started yesterday. It's for friends of the family that I'm pretty sure don't know I have a blog so I think it's safe to share. I just won't give a lot of details in case they do read :)

2. Took some photos of Dad's Christmas present. I can show you the back now but the front kind of rocks!

3. Re-potted my blood orange tree (or at least I think that's what it still is--it's never actually produced an orange, or not an orange that the squirrel has let get big enough for me to notice) and bougainvilleas. Cleaned up the rest of the patio's Halloween aftermath and hung some Christmas lights outside.

All of that got me caught up (and a little ahead) of my get Christmas presents made plan! So I also:

4. Got the Fat Quarter Shop order to finish Tracy's present and revised my plan--again--slightly.

5. Came up with another present I need to make. It's kind of cool so I can't just ignore the idea. *Sigh*

6. Decided that my new mini tinsel trees from Target need tiny tree skirts.

7. Decided on an advent quilt idea for this year. I'm going to make a version of this--a block every 2 days because the embroidery is more demanding that last year's Santas.

8. Booked my flights for Dec 1-7 to visit Tracy in Colorado.

Because we can't having me be ahead this early, that'd be too easy :)

Pacing

2011-11-08T16:05:00.000-08:00

I did some sewing this morning/afternoon until I burned some cookies and thought I should stop doing things that could 1. get me hurt, 2. ruin a Christmas present, 3. cause me more work because I have to undo what I've already done. Seems like a smart plan :)

I started an advent calendar--it's not as wonky in person--but left it about a fourth of the way finished. I may go back to it later tonight, we'll see.

And put a fancy clasp on a crocheted necklace. While she was here, mom showed me the basic scallop and I, of course, changed it to fit what I wanted it to look like.

I took the idea from this etsy listing that I'd pinned. I don't blame her one bit for charging $18 for 4 necklaces but I know how to make them and can buy several of cheap skeins of yarn for that price. What I mean is, I'm not her customer.

Doesn't look half bad on either :)

And now I've pulled out some yarn to make more.

Because that's totally what I need to be doing instead of cleaning the house :)

Motivation

2011-11-07T16:47:00.000-08:00

I finished my dad's Christmas present on Friday and started on Tracy's--sorry no photos :) Of course I revised my plan accidentally in a way that required me to order some more fabric so that one's on hold until I get my Fat Quarter Shop order. I did a tiny bit of sewing today. But it wasn't planned at all.

I fell and hit my knee on a concrete planter so now, like a 4 year old, I have a scraped knee but, unlike a 4 year old, my 32 year old knee isn't taking it as nicely. I had laundry in when I did it so I couldn't just immediately put my knee up and ice it so I distracted myself by making a hot/cold rice pack. I also added in a bit of dried lavender because I thought that might be nice when I inevitably have to use it as a heating pad.

Nothing like a bit of motivation. Luckily it's my left knee so as soon as the initial pain wears off, I can sew--probably leave that to tomorrow in hopes that the clumsiness wears off a bit :)

Hey! I Made That!

2011-11-03T10:51:00.000-07:00

Or, in most cases, helped make that! I don't have any new sewing to show (took yesterday off from everything but cheesy TV and today I've actually got to put away a lot of Halloween stuff to make room for me to work) so I thought I'd share some photos of things I've made for other people and bee quilts that I've contributed blocks to.

First, quilts I've made in their entirety. Here's my sister asleep on the couch under the quilt I made for her (my parents renovated their living room and she was sleeping in the middle of the final steps).

A link to the Doll Quilt I made for Ryan of I'm Just a Guy Who Quilts hanging on his studio wall (over the fireplace to the left).

Nicole's Bronte quilt

Kayli's baby quilt

And now quilts and tops I've contributed blocks to--I've been lucky to be in a lot of awesome bees with super talented people!

Here's Janice's sweet baby girl on her Bee Happy Auntie made quilt.

(all photos by quilt owners--click through to Flickr for more)

Liberty's awesome neighborhood quilt from Bee Happy.

Yolanda's Bee Happy pineapple quilt--love those colors!

Yolanda's Bee Outside the Box spiderweb--she gets bee quilts done!

Marie's tetris quilt from Solid Bee Block

Christine's transportation quilt from Bee (a little bit ) Japanese

Kristy's fairy tale mod mosaic Bee (a little bit) Japanese quilt top

A link to Jennifer's Bee (a little bit) Japanese squares quilt top

Kaelin's scrappy spiderweb quilt from Bee (a little bit) Japanese

Deidra's color block quilt top from Bee Outside the Box

And Linn's wonky house quilt from Bee Outside the Box

I'm positive I'm missing some--probably some obvious ones--but these are what I could round up today. It's especially fun to see bee blocks made into something larger! And makes me want to move my ass to get my bee block quilts finished!

No break for me

2011-11-01T22:07:00.000-07:00

It might look I took a little break but noooooooooo. I've been busy busy busy and busy some more and then add some busy on top of all of that just for good measure.

First my mom came to visit for a week and we ran all over the place--it was her first time in LA. We also finished a quilt she'd been working on and started another but I didn't get any photos (they are Christmas gifts).

Mom left Saturday morning and then J and I started prepping for Halloween and that continued right into Monday night with the trick-or-treaters showing up on the patio. LOTS of screamers this year including one girl who just informed us she was going to start screaming and scream the whole way up the stairs to me to get her candy--and she did, better than any scream queen you've seen on film. Hilarious. The best part may have been the dad who told his kid that you have to take the chance that you'll get scared if you want to get the candy, that's just Halloween. We do make sure to have age-appropriate scariness--little ones just get a wave and maybe a high-five (they're always the least scared anyway)--while the big ones get bigger scares :)

There are more photos over on Flickr if you want to see how we decorated our patio. We're getting quite the reputation as the "haunted house" :)

Today was clean-up and tomorrow I'm just taking the day off. I'll read some books/magazines or watch some tv and get my bearings back. I know I bought and looked through Stitch but I have no memory of what's in it so I think I'll give it another go!

And then we're off to the holiday races! I just made a calendar with all of the presents listed so hopefully I can get everything done on time! I'm also going to get that Japanese Bee quilt done soon if it kills me! I'm just waiting on some natural thread that should be here next week. I'm also a bit desperate to make my version of Denyse Schmidt's Any Way You Slice It quilt from her Quilts book (that's the one mom started while she was here and that made her order her own copy of the book) from this pile I showed the other week.

I think I'll add in a few solids just so I can make the quilt a tad larger--and we all know I have a problem with solids. So, fingers crossed, I'll be back soon with something to share!

I'll get you next time, Gadget!

2011-10-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

No clue what depths of my brain THAT came from :) Anyway, I've been thwarted. I had all but 6 lines of quilting done on the Bee {a little bit} Japanese quilt last night! Right? Yay! for progress. And today I woke up early to this

And then I was up and showered and doing a million loads of laundry and finished those lines of quilting and was pinning the hell out of the quilt-as-you-go seams to put all of those strips together between switching loads of laundry--go go go! Well, I got one set of panels joined (in addition to the set that was already joined) and stitched the fronts of the other two sets together. I'd pinned the back of one set and this happened!!

So, I'm not quite out of natural thread but my I'm almost out--between that top spool and the almost-empty bobbin, I just stopped when the thread went wonky on my stitching this seam because one or the other was bound to run out before the end of the seam. Sigh.

Now I have this pile that will sit here (or somewhere) until I get more natural thread (probably Saturday) and I have a chance to join the rest of the quilted panels together.

Super annoying. But I happened to see that I think these two sets of fat quarters go together pretty well (and with the rug, actually).

I'm going to look through a few of my quilting books (first stop, Denyse Schmidt's Quilts) and Pinterest and whatnot now to see if I can find a simple idea because my mom wants to make a quilt while she's here and me making one like it could show her how to make her's. At least that's my theory :)

Still Working

2011-10-19T12:33:00.000-07:00

I didn't get as much done on the quilt yesterday as I would have liked but I did get one section done. The rest of the day was lost to my knowledge that I was getting a new iPhone once J brought it home after work and that I wanted a case . . . and then playing with my new toy (including the Instagram app I'd not gotten earlier because of the camera quality of the iPhone 1).

I got another section quilted this morning so I'm caught up to where I wanted to be yesterday.

But now I need to look over a few papers for a friend and possibly take a nap so I'm ready for a Portishead concert tonight. I may sneak in a little time for another section--only two more to go!!--but, otherwise, I'll get them done tomorrow while I do laundry.

We're all mad here

2011-10-18T11:42:00.000-07:00

So, I quickly discovered/remembered why the Japanese quilt was shelved. I was (and still am) quilting it at 1/2 inch lines horizontally. It takes an hour and about two and a half bobbins to quilt one section. There are eight sections (three are now done). And that doesn't even finish the quilt! The sections have to be joined and then I'll have to trim and bind! But I'm in it to win it! Or just finish it really. Here's what I did yesterday after piecing the top and back strips

Cut all of the batting strips:

Quilted 2 of the sections (4 left to go):

Emptied an absurd amount of bobbins:

I'm hoping to get as much done today but, goodness, sewing almost 80 inch long straight lines at 1/2 inch intervals is not exactly the most fun thing in the world. Good thing my mom will be here at the end of the week and there is the promise of fabric stores and other fun--although right now MORE fabric doesn't sound like so much fun if I choose to do crazy things like this :) Now, to go wind bobbins and get going again!

Closed

2011-10-17T18:54:00.000-07:00

I'm finally declaring my half of the 80s swap closed. Yes, the deadline for mailing was Aug 1 but with overseas shipping, it's a waiting game to see if the package actually makes it over those seas. One package made it's way to the UK (for the second time--long story) today and I sent an angel package that also arrived today. There is still one swapper who may be without a package but I've not heard from her and I have to draw a line somewhere. ANYWAY, here's what I sent for the angel package.

Michelle at i like orange, too! had a pretty awesome mosaic and REALLY wanted an Espirit bag--and she's super nice and patient and talented to top it off. Well, I've never made a tote much less one with specifications so I opted for a tool storage hoop (idea from Stitch Magazine but I never looked at the pattern) inspired by the tote :)

I added in some My Little Pony stickers, a rainbow of glitter pencils, and a couple of Ring Pops just for fun.

So, there, done and done and closing the door on the 80s Swap!

Goal for the Week

2011-10-17T14:15:00.000-07:00

I'm a schedule kind of girl so working from home and only working part-time drives me a little mad sometimes. And, without a schedule or at least a goal, I tend to wander around and not get much of anything done--this morning, for example, was entirely wasted. But then I gave myself a goal for the week and all is well in the world again :)

I randomly decided that I needed to finish my Bee {a little bit} Japanese quilt. Don't remember that one? That's probably because my month was LAST October and I started quilting-as-I-go in February. Sigh. Anyway, I decided this one HAS to be done rightnow. It should be done--I have 3 other bee quilts sitting and waiting for me to finish blocks or piece them together. My goal may be to get those done before my month in Bee Happy (March 2012).

I got the other six front and back strips pieced and I just need to iron the backs before cutting batting and starting the quilting again.

I'll report back tomorrow with progress--I'm making you keep me honest :)

Playing

2011-10-16T18:26:00.000-07:00

As a self-taught quilter, I have to play with things to see how they work. And, as J says, I have a "fuck it and see" attitude--in other words, let's try it and if it doesn't work so what (which is greatly opposed to his let's research it for four years strategy--we balance each other out pretty well!). So today I played with the Dresden ruler a bit--smaller petals and various seam allowances--and then worked that into a zipper pouch. I tried a different zipper method and it *almost* worked for me :)

For the Dresden, I used the ruler with 2.5 inch scrap squares and then used a scant 1/4, a 1/4, and scant 1 inch seams to join the petals.

I used a few solid scraps for the front and back of the pouch.

See? The zipper's not bad!

But I decided at the last minute that I *had* to line the pouch despite not really having any clue how to add a lining at that point in construction.

The lining worked out just fine but it caused me to not notice that the end of my zipper had pulled stitches. *Sigh* I think I can just hand-applique something over the problem area.

But, overall, it worked out well! Here is the pouch with some stuff in it to show how it sits. I didn't think of the Dresden going under the pouch. And it's kind of clutch-sized :)

I do still love those Dresden petals though!

All in all, it was a good day of playing around with no deadline or consequences if it all went to hell and it didn't go poorly at all! A good reminder to play with things I know nothing about more often :)

Just a Little Tipsy

2011-10-15T14:21:00.000-07:00

For Bee Happy's "Blocktober," Lori asked for Denise Schmidt Drunk Love blocks that weren't so drunk and sent a really pretty range of zen-like fabrics. So I made a slightly tipsy block :)

When I was packaging her block and the leftovers, I was a tad upset to see that I'd somehow not used the two fabrics I loved most. *Sigh*

And that's all of the bee obligations for the year! We're taking November and December off since things can get a little crazy :) I don't know if I'll have any sewing to show for this weekend or not. We're trying to get everything ready for Halloween and for my mom's visit so I've got a plate full of random things like building a mini space ship and buying a fan and the never-ending cleaning--but hopefully I get to put a stitch or two in something!

Just a little tidbit

2011-10-14T19:00:00.000-07:00

I've sewn a bee block for Lori--for Bee Happy's "Blocktober"--but I haven't gotten a photo of it yet so, unless you can read my mind, you can't see it just yet :) I do have a tiny bit of info to share. I grabbed the fifth issue of Mollie Makes at Barnes and Noble the other night and I was unhappy to learn that I was missing 3 issues--I like complete sets of things! But, I learned that you can download digital copies from the Zinio website. You have to download a little reader but it's an instantaneous service so you get an e-mail asap:

The pros:
No stalking Barnes and Noble for the issue.
Instant gratification.
The $6.99 digital price is definitely cheaper than the $11.99 +tax B&N price.

The cons:
No little project kit.

I think I'll get over not having the project kit especially since the directions are included in the magazine and I can source materials if I feel the need.

Plus, Zinio has a couple other magazines I might need . . . .

I always need Stitch

And look at that kokeshi doll quilt!!!!

So, see? I had to share the trouble I might get into :)

Dresden Daisy

2011-10-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

I specifically bought the Dresden ruler for this project but was a little wary because I've never made a Dresden anything (despite being a member of Delicious Dresden Plates on Flickr--I'm guessing I was invited by someone I know). One project done and I'm in love with Dresdens! They're super easy (with the ruler at least) and look so pretty!

Anyway, today I made the partner to the Mountains pillow I made yesterday. It's keyword was "daisy."

The flat view:

And the back:

I used many of the same fabrics as the Mountain pillow (for a reason) and, again, pulled them all from stash. I've had feedback on Mountain and it made the grade :) so I'm sure this one will, too!

I wish I had two pillow forms so I could show them stuffed side by side--something else to go on my shopping list :) Meanwhile . . . I wonder how many Dresdens I can work into my to-make Christmas list . . .

Purple Mountain Majesties

2011-10-11T18:05:00.000-07:00

Today I made a commissioned pillow cover that was all about mountains. I was heavily influence by Josee's bee blocks that I'd pinned forever ago. But I went with *gasp* ALL prints! That's quite daring for me :) Anyway, the person who wants the pillow (for a gift, hence the secrecy) gave me free reign to do whatever I wanted with a few key words--"mountain" being one of them--so I just went for it.

Because it's hard to see the stuffed pillow well--the flat version. I used greys and purple for the top of the mountain because those are the colors I think of (plus a little snow cap). AND! This one is perfectly square! I did a little dance--it may be the only time anything I make is perfectly square :)

And the back.

I'm pretty pleased with it! I used some prints that I wouldn't normally use but I think the recipient will like it. And I love a free-pieced chevron even if this one is a little less free. And, an extra plus, I used only fabrics that were in my stash!

I have one more commissioned pillow to go with this one. Key word: daisies. Hopefully I can make that one tomorrow!

Let's Play Pretend

2011-10-06T16:06:00.000-07:00

Mainly that it's still September and I'm not actually late with Yolanda's Bee Happy Blocks :)

We're a lovely laid-back bee so it's not a problem but I like to be a little more on top of things especially when she asked for pretty straight forward blocks with such wonderful, rich colors!

I had to fussy cut in order to get the hula dancers and little guitarist--love them!

And the other one had to have Hanauma Bay in the center because it's one of my favorite places! I went snorkeling there forever and ever ago--when we used film cameras or I'd show you a picture :)

All of the blocks will fit together very handsomely I think! It's for her pre-teen surfer nephew and just seems perfect!

Oh--we used this tutorial but enlarged the center square to be 6.5.

While we're playing pretend, let's pretend this new rug I made for the hallway always lies flat on the ground and the cats most certainly do not crumple it up every chance they get :)

We should also play pretend that I just wanted a pretty rug instead of trying to conceal where I let loose a bottle of liquid foundation mid-shake and stained the carpet! Anyway, the rug is made from two charm packs of Rooftop Garden with a solid yellow on the back.

And, finally, let's continue that long-standing delusion that I'm going to do anything with this newest installment of Pink Chalk Monthly Solids Club any time soon other than stack them with the others.

*Sigh* I really do need to make use of these! I have a plan for most of the stack (probably without this or last month's stacks) but I just need to do it!

Button Up

2011-10-06T12:51:00.000-07:00

When J did the big closet clean-out from which I got the pile of boxers to make a quilt, I saved some button down shirts that I thought I could "do something with." What that "something" was, I wasn't sure but I thought the prints of some of them were interesting.

And then that pile of shirts sat there. And sat there. And sat there. So, while cleaning this weekend, I decided that the "something" had to be made now or those shirts had to go--we don't have the room for a pile of shirts waiting on "something." So, I made a quick throw out of them yesterday. I also made a pillow because despite counting them several times and coming up with 8 shirts, I actually had 9.

It's just the fronts and backs of the shirts cut as large as I could without the arms or collars. and then the fronts sewn together for the front and the backs for the back. Easy peasy.

It was sewn all together and flipped through one of the button panels--yep, you can still open those--so there isn't any top stitching or batting (why I called it a "throw" since there isn't anything about it to make it a quilt). But it's a good lightweight lap-sized throw that, if nothing else, the cats will be sure to sleep on :)

The pillow is just that leftover shirt's panels sewn together with the buttons as the closure. It just happened to fit the 18inch pillow form I have.

The boy (and the camera, obviously) is back from Boston! He brought me a sewing related present I'll have to show as soon as the camera battery charges--I just managed to get these photos before it died. He took quite a few photos of historical geekiness :)

Pinterest: It Really Is Useful!

2011-10-05T11:24:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago I saw this on Pinterest:

It's made by Jodi at Pleasant Home. Of course! Why wouldn't a heating pad get a pretty new cover?! Especially when mine looks like this plus cat hair. That fabric looooooves to collect cat hair.

So, last night I made a cover for my heating pad and it's so much better! Again, so so so sorry for the poorly lighted iPhone photos--not only are we working with an iPhone here, we're working with the iPhone 1. That's right, it's OLD. (a new one has been promised though :) Anyway the colors are SO SO SO much better in person! The print is this one and the orange is a Kona (School Bus maybe?) and I love the combination. And the ribbon is just one I had that has a little orange and yellow stripe.

Of course I had to use the Silhouette to cut out letters. I'm not sure what was going on but it didn't cut all the way through the interfacing this time. That wasn't a problem--I just removed the paper and popped out the letters--but it wasn't as easy as the birds.

Now I want to make more! Too bad I only have/need one heating pad :)

Not the Boss of Me :)

2011-10-04T19:41:00.000-07:00

Tracy and I have been friends for eight-ish years now. She knows me very well so I doubt she's going to be super surprised by my actions at this point :) I made something for her and told her NOT to pay me for it or ignored her every time she brought up paying me. Tracy decided to pay my protests no mind and sent a Pink Chalk gift certificate as payment. So . . . . . I used that gift certificate to buy fabric to make something for her. Ha!

I got a Pink Chalk Monthly Solids Club bundle called "Sea Gem Studio" (yes, I already had the bundle from when it was sent out for whatever month but that's for another project already). Tracy loves blues and greens and the ocean so that was perfect.

I decided to do a pogaji panel so she could hang it in a window. And then I decided to cut some birds with the new Silhouette (it's first fabric outing and it did spectacularly!) and fuse those on. I put the birds on the "finished" side because I left the raw edges of the pogaji on the back instead of folding them under. But, the "back" could easily be the front if it's in a window because the light will show the silhouettes of the birds.

I wish I could 1. show you better photos (but the camera is still in Boston and I can't find the charger for my point and shoot so iPhone it is) and 2. show you the sun shining through the panel (but we have weird shadows and a LOT of wind today *sigh*)

Using uniform squares for the pogaji was MUCH quicker than the way I did the bathroom window so I *might* rip down our living room curtains and give it a go. *Maybe*

And, just to appease her, there is actually quite a bit of the sea glass bundle left over--but I may just toss it in the "fabric to make stuff for Tracy" box (yep, there is one of those)--AND I got these two fabrics just for me :)

So, thanks very much, Tracy, and I hope you like your panel ;)

Cut Out and Keep

2011-10-04T17:31:00.000-07:00

So, I've cut a few things with the Silhouette :)

Skulls for a wreath (standard cardstock)

Bats for a garland (standard cardstock)

A crow for the window (vinyl)

Spidery things for the front door--which coincidentally is awesomely painted orange! (vinyl)

Birds for a sewing project (fabric with ultrahold heat-n-bond ironed on the back--not the stuff sold by Silhouette)--I'll show you those later

Some kokeshi dolls just because I liked 'em (standard cardstock)

A "flourish" for I don't know what (vellum)

A pumpkin for something or another Halloween-y (standard cardstock)

And some ghosts for the lamp shade (standard cardstock)

(We kind of love Halloween around here!)

Overall, it's freaking awesome. When I was thinking about getting one, I was talking to Mom about what I could use it for in terms of sewing since it can cut fabric. She came up with William Morris appliques (hell, yeah--that's totally happening) but I thought of some of the projects I've completed recently . . .

That's a quilt, four pillow covers, and a cat mat all in the last few months that could have been made easier with the cutter. So, yeah, I just bought it. Plus, once Mom put William Morris applique in my head there was no turning back.

It works wonderfully. There is a bit of a learning curve and I'm still not sure how to cut images larger than 8.5 x 11 as it is supposedly capable of doing and I haven't tried making my own designs (only using and slightly altering their $0.99 designs). But, overall, it cuts what it says it cuts with little to no problem as long as you pick the correct settings. Sometimes it needs a little help in areas but it mostly cuts everything super cleanly--it cuts fabric better than the Go! Baby (I had to help it less) and the Go! is designed for fabric and not designed for such intricate designs! It is a tad loud and I can already see I'm going to need replacement cutting mats sooner than I'd like (on par with the Go!'s destruction of mats). But it's tiny and lightweight. All in all, a good addition for me to my sewing tools and gadgets. So, get ready--I'm going to get my money's worth :)

Stuff!

2011-10-04T14:51:00.000-07:00

Once again, I didn't mean to be gone for so long!

My Saturday cleaning marathon took over Sunday as well and seeped into Monday and today as I rearranged a lot of things and did a lot of organizational stuff that needed to be done. And, every night once I made myself stop, I was just exhausted beyond the point that I should sensibly play with anything that could take off a finger :)

But I have lots of stuff to show! J took the fancy camera to Boston with him (it *is* his even if I use it more!) so squint your eyes and pretend these iPhone photos are better focused :) From my parents' beyond generous birthday gift card I got:

a Dresden ruler that is already destined for a daisy pillow project

a bunch of pearl cotton, some of which have projects already

a bigger straight ruler because I keep nicking my other one with the rotary cutter and I wanted one more than 4 inches thick

a bobbin holder (much needed!) that will get a bunch of white wound bobbins soon :)

a template/ruler holder thingy (didn't know I needed it but I did!)

some glass head pins (no photo but you know what those look like)

a book

a set of tarot cards (I collect them)

AND!!!! a Silhouette cutter! I know a new one is coming out some time soon but I'm beyond impatient when I decide I want something and I had it in my head to use it for Halloween decorations (which I have already). I also got a few things to go with the cutter: magnet paper, vinyl, and pens. I'll show you what I've made with it soon :)

Also arriving on my doorstep was my fabric.com order for dog bed materials! I forgot what colors I ordered and was confused when I first opened it thinking I must have ordered fabric for a project for Tracy and forgotten about it because these are totally her colors :)

So, lots of projects on the horizon! I have actually done a few things that I'll show in a bit.

Nothin'

2011-09-28T13:52:00.000-07:00

This week is probably going to be another wash sewing-wise. Well, everything-wise really. My allergies are having loads of fun with the slight change in weather which just makes me a tad "blah." I'm giving myself the rest of the week to be done with it, regroup, and then make sure to get some sewing done. Saturday is an all-day clean-a-thon (J will be out of town = easiest time to clean). But Friday I should be getting some sewing-related goodies of all kinds in the mail (does UPS count as "in the mail"?) because I emptied out my birthday gift cards: fabric, and notions, and gadgets, oh my! I also need to get Yolanda's cute bee block done for Bee Happy--I really can't wait to sew it (but I will wait lest I sneeze all over it--yuck!). And, of course, my perpetual to-sew list. So, I'm going to go snuggle up with a movie, book, or a couple of cats (or all three) and I'll be back soon :)

Dog Days

2011-09-26T13:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I made the tiniest of dents in my Christmas sewing. I made a bed cover for Max the Doxie. He and Stella the Basset Hound sleep in crates; Stella is particularly thankful for this as Max would literally sleep on top of her if he could (he is madly devoted to loving her). A standard pillow fits in Max's crate as a bed so I made a simple stripe-patchwork cover with a zipper. Max's has to have a zipper because he'll burrow and you'll literally have to shake him out of the bed every. single. time.

This is Max sleeping in his toys (he's a bit of a goober).

Today I made the mate for Stella's bed. She has two standard pillows in her crate so I basically copied this (the original link doesn't seem to be active). I put zippers on her's just for the hell of it. She won't burrow in something so small; a freshly made people bed is another story though :)

This is Stella sitting on my dad:

Now that I see this, Stella probably needs a new bandanna. She LOVES her bandannas and collar and will get upset if you take them off.

(Oh, and to explain who these dogs are: Max is my sister's and she lives with my parents; Stella was mine before I moved to CA and we left her with my parents for what was supposed to be a temporary stay until we moved to a dog-friendly place--things didn't work out to bring her to CA but she adores my parents (as you can see), sister, and, though she won't admit it, Max :)

As I was making Max's bed cover yesterday, my friend Nicole posted this video to her Facebook page:

Nicole's husband, Scott, made Quinby that little wheelchair the other day! Nicole has been fostering dogs for a little while and (hilariously) writing about her adventures on a blog, Fostering Chester. So, as I was making Max's bed and being enamored with the clearly handi-very-capable Quinby, I thought I should make some dog bed covers for Nicole's fosters. I asked her if she needed dog beds/blankets and she responded "Always!" I doubt she realizes I mean to make them and I bet she'll freak out a bit the first time a dog pees on one or rips a hole in one but that's what I'm making them for :)

Anyway, I decided some of my birthday money would go to dog bed covers for cute foster dogs. I filled a fabric.com cart with 10 zippers and 10 yards of various colors of solid cotton broadcloth--and then promptly paid with my normal card rather than my birthday card--*sigh*--but that should make 8-10 dog bed covers since most of them will be smaller (1 standard pillow) since most of her fosters are smaller dogs and even the bigger dogs seem to like smaller beds. But, of course, I have to wait for the fabric to arrive. In the meantime, I suppose I'll sew something for humans.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2011-09-23T19:50:00.000-07:00

Getting it together for my mom's birthday this year seemed impossible for some reason! I was cutting it super close but everything got there safely and a bit early--thank goodness. It all started when she requested a plane ticket to come see me as her birthday present. Easy enough when I got my sister and dad involved since we had enough lead time to find a cheap-ish ticket. Except then my dad paid for the whole ticket! So, Jo and I decided we had to get other presents--my mom won out big time :)

Anyway, she asked for an iPod because she's gone crazy in her old age and is doing a bunch of 5k walks and training for said walks with more walking :) Apple was nice enough to make one in an orange I think she'll like. But I couldn't just send her an iPod--I sew afterall! So I made her a luggage strap because she's coming to LA in October. I used this tutorial by i like orange, too! with the only modification being that mine is 1 inch thick instead of 2 (just going with the buckles I could find at Joann's). I used some jelly roll strips of Prayer Flag (hence the even strips as opposed to the more scrappy look of the original) because these are colors my mom likes a lot.

Sorry for the not-so-great photos! I had to use my phone because I took out the camera and found that it had been switched on during out trip home from Vegas so it was deader than dead and I needed to pack this up and get it in the mail quickly. The strap was nice enough to basically perfectly match the iPod and offer it a little cushion in the box :)

I tied a little piece of a Prayer Flag jelly roll around the box and mailed it off.

And I think I'm finished with birthday presents for the year (*I think*) which is good because I need to get a jump on Christmas!

Where?

2011-09-23T15:53:00.000-07:00

I'm not quite sure where this week went. I know I took a few naps trying to stave off what feels like a cold creeping in (and to make up for much lost sleep in Vegas). I know I watched movies for the other blog. I taught and graded as usual. And watched a few new TV shows. Today I tried to make kale & edamame pesto (because I'm not supposed to have basil) but both my food processor and blender suck (guess I get to buy a new one). Oh, and I failed spectacularly at a restriction diet--lasting a whopping two meals of plain rice and chicken before I had a coke and cupcake at 11pm Monday night because I was hungry and angry. So, I'm back to a be-careful-diet rather than a deny-myself-everything-I-love diet. I made a tiny present for mom's birthday tomorrow (to be shown as soon as she gets it). But there are still quite a few hours missing!

I did order and receive my fabric from Pink Chalk that I bought with my birthday gift card from my sister, Jordan! Love love love Pink Chalk :) I bought 2 charm packs of Rooftop Garden (not a line I've heard anything about but I liked the colors):

A fat quarter pack (on sale!) of Josephine Kimberling's Just Dandy Petunia (another line I've not heard about but love):

The fabric above doesn't have a project yet. But I also bought some of Laura Gunn's Painter's Canvas in Terracotta, Mustard, and Creme to go with my Farmyard charm packs. I was originally going to get Moda Grunge in 4 colors (Chiffon, Fandango, Kelp, and Lemongrass) but one was sold out and the Painter's Canvas was on sale and in similar colors.

I think they go together pretty well--certainly not a perfect match but the same sort of color story :)

And all of that fit perfectly within the card amount! Love that! I still have some gift cards to use. I already used part of the one from my parents but it was on basics (pearl cottons, a ruler, a bobbin holder . . .) from Joann's and that box is not expected to be here until Oct 1! I'm happy I had .99 shipping because a week and a half is a tad absurd for shipping I actually pay for. But I still have most of that gift card and another one! Goodness :) So, hopefully, I can get to sewing something soon to use all of these goodies!

Accidental Blog Break

2011-09-19T13:55:00.000-07:00

I didn't mean to be gone a week! Well, I did but just gone from LA, not the blog :)

We were in Las Vegas all last week, just got back late-ish last night, and I didn't do one crafty thing. Not one! I packed a whole little suitcase full of stuff to keep me occupied the 3-ish days J had to be at the convention but I only opened it to put the camera in there.

After errands, we drove there on Monday (I don't ride well, especially in traffic, so I can't sew in the car--plus it was dark for a good bit of the drive); I was sick on Tuesday (which is resulting in a salicylate restriction diet this week); Wednesday I had to grade papers (and I *might* have gone shopping and come back with some shoes and tops); and Thursday I ate with a friend from J's work, worked, and taught. And then the convention was over so J and I did the Vegas thing Thurs night through Sunday afternoon. By "Vegas thing" I mean spending 10 minutes at a slot machine since the friend from J's work had never gambled at all, shopping (plus lots of window shopping in the spendy casino shops), eating a lot of good food, and seeing the Elvis Cirque du Soleil (disappointing) and Absinthe (excellent if you don't mind a lot of language). We did go to a work thing at 2 separate clubs one night and I can safely say (not that I doubted this before) that I am not a Vegas club girl.

But, now we're home and I can shop with my birthday gift cards (I didn't want anything arriving while we were gone despite a very diligent house/cat-sitter) so hopefully I'll have some sort of sewing-related thing to share once I get back into the swing of things :)

Early Bird

2011-09-13T18:21:00.000-07:00

I decided to mail Tracy's birthday presents early; I love to tease about presents but I'm also incredibly impatient to send presents. And, I knew we'd be out of town this week and I didn't want travel and post-travel to screw up me mailing anything. J has a work convention in Vegas this week so I tagged along. This is what we saw on the way here (middle of the no-civilization desert). That's the moon--it was really gorgeous.

I clearly need to learn to use the camera when the car is moving :) And this is what we get to see from the hotel room.

Anyway, more on that tomorrow maybe (including the crafty suitcase I packed!). Tracy got everything in the mail today so now I get to share :)

Non-sewing related, I got her this little journal at the last minute because I saw them and wanted one and thought she'd want one, too. You answer a question each day--today's was "Write down a minor, but chronic, problem" and I answered "internet connection" with a few details--and it circles for 5 years. So, today next year, I'll answer the same question.

But the sewing related stuff! I decided to make two pillows because she's in a temporary place right now and a lot of her stuff is in storage. I wanted her to have a few more homey things around that belonged to her and were more her style. I picked out this stack of fabrics from FabricWorm

And I came up with these

Which probably beg for a little explanation! The first one is a dancing bearTracy loves the book Blood Meridian and it has the line "Bears that dance, bears that don't" (which you'd have to get her to explain because I've tried to read the book at least three times but it and I don't get along very well so I've never actually made it to where the line appears in the book). So, a dancing bear made from a papercut pattern by Scherenschnitte. I just cut the bear out of fabric with fusible web (without the squirrel and stand) and stitched it down.

The back is a simple envelope and has a tag with two QR codes.The one that shows all of the time reveals the line "Bears that dance, bears that don't"

And, on the flip side, "Happy 34th Birthday, Tracy! Love, Nat"

The second pillow is two deer--the doe is formed by the inside of the buck. The image is the result of a lot of Google searching and I forget where I finally found it (I think it was a bumper sticker). Do you know how hard it is to find a clean silhouette of a doe? (I was originally just looking for a doe).

I made this one because Tracy loves Harry Potter and Snape. So, Harry's whatever-you-call-it (I've not read the books, can you tell?) is a buck; and Snape and Harry's mom Lily's whatever-you-call-them's were does. Snape loves Harry because Snape loves Lily--I think that's how it goes anyway :)

This one was made a tad differently. I stuck fusible web to the grey fabric and used an Exacto knife to cut out the deer shape while the fusible's paper was still attached. Then I fused the back of the grey to the green and stitched it down so it's actually reverse appliqued. The QR code on the back of this one reads "'Always,' said Snape" from whichever Harry Potter book.

And the reverse of the tag has the same birthday greeting as the other pillow.

So, there! Birthday present sent and received! One more to go (my mom's) and I'm done with birthday season and on to Christmas!

Proof of a Good Time

2011-09-11T14:49:00.000-07:00

This is gonna be a long one but it's my birthday and that's how I roll :)

I looked up from the sewing machine yesterday, realized it was 8:30pm and that I'd not even thought about eating dinner. I'd had waffles around 11am and a cupcake around 3pm but otherwise my head was stuck in the machine or ironing board or bucket of dye. Once I got some dinner (thank goodness I'd made extra pasta Friday so I could just re-heat once I realized I was starving) and sat in the arm chair instead of the sewing chair, I knew I had to call it a day. Just exhausted; but in a good way. I actually had to go upstairs away from the machine so I wouldn't keep sewing and hurt my back :)

So, I obviously got a bit done! I stitched down all of the letters for the billboard-ish quilt. It's nowhere near perfect (or even really good) but the free-motion foot and I are still new acquaintances and I have to learn somewhere. I used two fonts for the letters. The capital T is Hadley and the lower-cased letters are all Discoid; both fonts are from dafont.com.

I pillowcase bound this one, too. That's quickly becoming my favored method--especially as I get better at the little technicalities of binding this way.

I used another twin sheet for the back--I love the combo of blues (thanks, mom--she sent them to me) and the simplicity of the whole cloth. I also like the juxtaposition of fancy schmancy designer fabric against the "make it work" flat sheets. It's really not this wrinkled in real life.

And the quilting. I marked this out yesterday before I basted and bound it but had to remove myself from the situation before I powered through it into the wee hours and burgeoning back pain. So I quilted it this morning. It's pretty simple and I kept it that way on purpose. The batting is actually attached to the edges twice. Once when the front and back was attached wrong sides together. I spray basted the batting to the back before stitching the edges together and caught the batting in that set of stitches. Then it was attached again with the top stitching around all of the edges when everything was right side out. Anyway, all of that to say, I wasn't worried about keeping the quilting in the middle minimal because everything would stay put.

The quilting is actually a sound wave of me saying "This is an example of that." I recorded it, enlarged the sound wave image, and traced it onto the quilt at each side of each line of words. The quilting is also not perfect. It's done with the aforementioned free motion foot and I had a time wrangling the length of this quilt. But, lucky for me, all of those little bloops and blips in what should be straight lines between the sound waves are just background noise in the recording--I do live in a city where nothing is ever really silent after all :)

I especially like how the quilting shows on the back of the quilt.

So, "This is an example of that." actually came from a student paper forever ago. It makes me laugh because that sentence says absolutely not a damned thing because of the ambiguous pronouns. What's "this"? What's "that"? But, it also works in this context (don't tell my students!) because this (quilt) is an example of that (quilting). And it combines my teaching (and my pet peeve of pronouns with no noun antecedents) and my quilting along with a color palette I love, a fabric line I love (made by a designer I love who was on a TV show I love), typography (which I love) reminiscent of an art style I love (art nouveau), and my beloved solids and whole quilt aesthetic. It's a very "me" quilt.

I was so excited about it being finished that I did laundry on my birthday!

So, that's a finished project!! Exciting! It's good to have an idea I've had in my head for a while out of my head and actually in fabric. I also finished my blue gel glue dying experiment. The sugar skull on muslin is really the only keeper. I'll be using all of the shirts I tried out for sleeping or cleaning. I think it may have had more to do with me trying to use black dye (notoriously a pain in the ass) rather than the method itself. C'est la vie. But, I have a fun sugar skull now! I think I'll make him into a pillow.

This peony isn't terrible but I hate the color of the shirt--hence the problem being the dye, not the method. I may try again at a later date with an easier to regulate color dye.

I also made this little coin purse from this tutorial. I didn't have a snap so I improvised with a covered button and strings swiped from the button kit packaging :) I'm going to make a little needle holder to slip in there with my crane scissors to toss in my travel sewing stuff.

I might make another and adapt it a bit to work as a card holder. I think it would be cute as a gift card holder, too.

Now, for the birthday run-down :) J came through again yesterday afternoon. CUPCAKES! A dozen cupcakes--SIX different types of chocolate cake! My favorite :) Hooray for awesome boyfriend!

I ate this one first :)

These two were VERY interested in photographing cupcakes! You'll note their lines of sight are toward the cupcake.

And today he led me to another of my priority mail boxes with a present--a pretty pebble necklace from jennyhoople.com (who included a super mix tape!)

My parent spoiled me with a gift card so I can buy whatever goodies I'd like (hello, fabric stores!). My sister sent a few vintage stick pins and vintage hat pins. A little confusion about what I can use for sewing :) But now I have a little collection and I'm certain I can use those hat pins for something--I have a few ideas percolating. She also spoiled me with a Pink Chalk gift card! Hooray for awesome family!

And my bestest friend Tracy sent me this cool piece of art (she says it reminds her of us--we switch angel and devil roles--and I think she's right!) and this gorgeous pendant. I'm going to get a loooooooong chain for it because I'm digging the layered chains over v-neck t-shirts look. Hooray for awesome bestie!

My cats have gotten me an early start to the day and a demand for food. Hooray for cats being cats :)

I'm off to do whatever it is I'm going to do on my last retreat day! I'll try to post an update tomorrow but I may be scrambling because we're leaving to go to Las Vegas once J gets home from whatever-you-call-it-Japanese-thing and I have to do a little laundry, a little cleaning, a little errand running, and a lot of packing! I *could* do that today but I don't think I'd like that :)

A Blood Recollection

A Finish! a Catch-Up, and a Few Starts/Stalls

Auditions

Leftover from Yesterday

Swoooooooned

This, That, and the Other

Stood Up

Well, That's Not Gonna Work . . .

02 02 12 Photos

Habits

Secrets and Geeks

I might actually faint

Supposed to be . . .

Angry Shopping

Snitch!

Lack of Supervision

Resting on Laurels

Return of the Bee

Stalled Mid-Swoon

from momen+

Why I Wasn't a Math Major

Things Happening

Getting back into the Swing of Things

Heartbroken

Ending with a Bang.

Girly Greys

Well, NOW I'm Exhausted

Christmas Presents: Wonderful Goodies for Me!

Christmas Presents: J's Haul

Christmas Presents: Leo's T-Shirt Quilt

Christmas Presents: Mom's Pillow Covers

Christmas Presents: Jordan's Totes and Lantern

Christmas Presents: Dad's Wall Hanging and Scarf

Very merry to you!

I promise I'll be back!

**sniffle**

BRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Neither wind nor snow nor two hours of sleep

Breakin' the law

Getting it done

Post Thanksgiving Stress Disorder

Cats, and Pies, and Creepy-Ass Elves, Oh My!

It's Raining, It's Pouring

It's beginning to Look a lot like {a Pinterest} Christmas

Calm

Winter Is Coming

Don't tell anyone . . .

Just Because I Was ahead of the Game

Pacing

Motivation

Hey! I Made That!

No break for me

I'll get you next time, Gadget!

Still Working

We're all mad here

Closed

Goal for the Week

Playing

Just a Little Tipsy

Just a little tidbit

Dresden Daisy

Purple Mountain Majesties

Let's Play Pretend

Button Up

Pinterest: It Really Is Useful!

Not the Boss of Me :)

Cut Out and Keep

Stuff!

Nothin'

Dog Days

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Where?

Accidental Blog Break

Early Bird

Proof of a Good Time

sniffle