Patchwork Death Star Pattern

I was hoping to post this a couple of days ago, but it turns out that I'm not very tech savvy.  Thank goodness I finally pulled it together.  Here is the link for the pdf file for the free pattern and some instructions.

I have a couple of pictures that I took along the way that I'll post here.  If you do make a patchwork Death Star please please please post a link for me to see.  If you are on IG, please tag it #patchworkdeathstar.  Thanks!  I can't wait to see different versions.  I originally dreamed of this all in tiny Libery florals.  Wouldn't that be cool?

Well anyway, here is a shot of a few of my pieces after glue basting.



And here is a picture of the top half pieced and sitting on top of my first drawing of it. 


The final pattern will make an 11x12" block.  The perimeter fabric can easily be made larger by extending the paper pattern.  The Death Star itself could be made bigger by bringing the pdf printouts to a copy store and enlarging them.

May the force be with you. 

the itsy bitsy spider

Erin asked for a nursery rhyme themed block for her month in the Cocorico Bee.   I have always wanted to make a spiderweb block and this seemed like a great opportunity.  For awhile I was stuck on the imagery of "down the water spout."  As soon as I decided to skip the water spout in the block, the rest came together. 

I had initially planned to do raw edge applique for the raindrops with some dark blue fabric and then embroider the spider. But then I decided to carve stamps for them both and I'm happy with how they turned out. 

 

The spider looks a little misshapen, but believe me when I tell you that it is hard to carve a realistic looking spider without it looking creepy.  Since this block is going in a new baby's room, I opted for blobby spider vs. spooky spider.

 

You can see that I carved a few other stamps for an upcoming block (on the right in the photo above). If you can guess what those stamps represent, you get bonus points and a fabric scrap pack from me.  Or, if there are no correct guesses by Tuesday at 5pm Maryland time, I'll pick a random commenter for the scrap pack.

Mustache

I have Tamiko as a partner in two bees and she asked for Magnum P.I. or Hawaii-themed blocks for both bees.  I've already sent her the aviator sunglasses block.  I also signed up for a mustache block.  I've wanted to make this block since June.  I really have been pondering this one for that long.  

My dad is a tall guy with naturally wavy red hair that has only gotten darker with age and he's had a mustache for nearly all of my life (for a short time he had a short beard, but then he went back to the 'stache).  I had this specific picture in my head of a big, textured mustache that I had the hardest time translating into a block.  I’ll tell you, Tom Selleck’s mustache is a tough one to depict by itself without it looking like a turd.  I knew I could never depict a face in fabric and starting with flesh-colored fabric gave me the willies.  So, I thought of my dad's super short jeans shorts from this era and chose a similar fabric as a background.  Then I used some thread to show where the nose and lower lip might be to ground the rest of the block.  I hope it looks right.  I asked my husband what he thought and he said, "It looks very Selleck-y."  Good man.  

I encourage you to check out the other blocks made for Tamiko in the Ringo Pie Bee by Kerry, Leila, Charise, and Amber.  And here is a selection from the Cocorico Bee by Leila, Kylie, Muriël, and Amy.  It is a very creative theme, even if I couldn't tolerate watching the show for very long.

Do you have a favorite show or movie that you'd like to see translated into quilt blocks?

2012...

...was a challenging year for me.  Henry's autism diagnosis, starting early childhood school, therapies, fixing up our house, moving to Maryland and then selling our house--whew!  It was a year of personal life growth for sure.

But, it was also the year of creative growth, too.  I feel lucky to be among such talented company in the Cocorico, Pastiche, and Ringo Pie Bees.  The monthly themes challenged me to my limits, but my sewing skills kept growing to match what I imagined for my design. 

You'll notice that these mosaics are a little thin for bees that I've been in all year.  I still owe 4 bee blocks for 2012.  Luckily my bee-mates are patient with me. 

This was also the year of the Farmer's Wife quilt. I wish I could say that I've finished it, but that is not the case. Maybe I can finish it by spring?

 I did a little knitting this year. Most of it was very tiny, but I do have the one big shawl to warm me up.

I finished a couple of quilts to cuddle up in, but I did gave them all away except for one (my AMH voile quilt is covering my lap as I type this (bottom right).

And, lastly, there are some other sewn items that I'm proud of from the year.




2012 was supposed to be the year of the finish.  I had nine items from 2011 that I wanted to complete.  Unfortunately I only finished of those nine!  So, I officially declare that 2013 will be the year of completion.  All projects from 2011 will be done this year as well as some from 2012.
Really.
I mean it this time. 

I'm grateful for this space to share my adventures in sewing.  Occasionally I need a space where I am a mom but I'm a person, a designer and a sewist first.  Thank you all for joining me over the last year.

Please, take a minute to tell me what you made this year that you are most proud of.  Do you have any specific plans for 2013?

Struggling with a theme

I am ridiculously behind in bee blocks (I think I have seven to make? or more??), but I hope to fix that starting with this block.  This is an accordion block for the bohemian/gypsy theme for September in the Pastiche Bee.  This theme stumped me for the longest time.  I just didn't even know where to start.  Then I finally sat down with wikipedia and looked up both terms.  That was less than inspiring.  I tried google images and got nowhere.  Lastly I tried searching everyone's uploads on flickr with the term "gypsy" and I stumbled on this image.  Finally, it clicked.  I had to do an accordion. 

Incidentally, this block was sitting on the floor last night (my craft space is already covering my dining room table so I've been cutting fabrics on the floor) and Henry came up and tried to play the keys on this accordion a couple of times.  Then he called it a mandolin.  I guess we need to review his folk instruments again.

Summer

I have not disappeared off the edge of the Earth.  It is just full-on summer here, complete with heat and visitors and water play.

But there has been plenty of sewing, too.  Here is the landscape themed block for Lucinda in the Pastiche Bee.

I have two more bee blocks in process as well as a tutorial coming up soon.  And, of course, there is lots of sandbox play, splashing in the pool and one person in the household is practicing his tricycle!  I hope you are enjoying the season no matter which hemisphere you are on.

Scissors

Have I ever mentioned here that I was invited to join the Ringo Pie Bee? When I got the invite back in November I actually squealed and jumped up and down---more than twice (but I won't admit how many more). Ringo Pie is full of some of the most talented block design and paper piecing ladies on the web.  The first round folks wanted a break so we began again in March.  And...

...then I promptly got too nervous to make Ayumi's block.

So now it is June and I'm finally finished with one block for my dream bee.

Amber requested sewing themed blocks.  After just seeing all of the lovely designs to come out of the Sew Out Loud group, I wasn't sure where to start.  I had considered making my design for Sew Out Loud, but I wanted Amber to get a new design from me.  Then late last week I had a brainstorm while using these scissors that have been handed down enough times that I don't know who the original owner was.  They are heavy and sharp and huge and I don't often grab them, but they feel so good in my hand.

I drew the design on June 8th.  I picked fabrics on the 10th and finished the block yesterday.  When the right inspiration strikes, I can move mountains!

I used a stamp for the screw and I did some thread sketching around the top blade of the scissors to differentiate it from the background.  There are a few curved seams and y-seams thrown in there for good measure.

I was SO nervous to make my first block for this bee.  Now that I've finished it I love it so much.  I've already warned Amber that it may take a few days to find the heart to put it in an envelope.  I really love this block and I wish it was staying here.

What is your favorite thing that you've made and then given it away?

Pippi and a Bike

My poor friend, Muriël, has been waiting and waiting for her Pippi Longstocking themed block since February.  It is sometimes hard to be in such a group of talented ladies when they keep on churning out one gorgeous idea and design after another and my brain can't always keep up.  My idea finally came at the beginning of May (then I stalled for another 3 weeks on finishing the hand embroidery).



But now Pippi's shoe and stocking are done.  The washi tape fabric seemed like the perfect mix of stripes and patches and hodgepodge colors for Pippi.  Her shoes may have been black in the books, but I'm certain that she wouldn't pass up on navy plaid shoes with purple soles.  Unfortunately this shoe is falling apart.  Maybe she'll add some duct tape next week? 
 


The shoe was paper pieced, the calf was curve pieced, the shoe stitching is embroidery floss and the shoelaces are ribbon embroidery with some thread tacking.


In another tiny bit of news, I was in a key fob swap in May.  This is what I sent out in the mail yesterday (yes, the absolute last day to ship--at least it wasn't 4 months late).  I used the Heather Ross bike fabric and added some machine thread sketching on the bike frame and some hand embroidery on the bike seat.  I hope my partner likes it!



I still have a ton of Farmer's Wife blocks to post but they'll have to wait for another day. Today was my husband's birthday (babysitter + sushi date + mini golf + arcade games) and then we meet up with my brother and niece tomorrow for a visit for Henry's birthday (Monday).  You've gotta love a fun and busy summer.

Sweet

These will be my last blocks for the do. Good Stitches bee.  I like that bee very much, but I need to trim back from commitments where I can.  My little guy needs a lot of my energy now, and four bees is just too much.

I finished this block for the Pastiche Bee.  I tried a some embroidery in the rose and I couldn't get it to work.  If I was using this block in my own quilt, I'd use quilting to define the rose better.  But, I did a bit of machine stitching to complete the paintbrush.

And the sweetest thing of all, last night Henry spontaneously said, "I yuv a Bert.  I yuv a Ernie."  He has been having a hard time expressing himself, especially without prompting.  These two sentences made my week.

My first finished block for the Pastiche Bee

Marilyn's theme for January was An Ode to John Keats. We chose quotes from separate poems and designed blocks using the poem's imagery. Marilyn plans to stitch lines of the poem directly into the quilt.

This is my portion of "Fancy" by John Keats
Freckled nest-eggs thou shalt see
Hatching in the hawthorn-tree,
When the hen-bird's wing doth rest
Quiet on her mossy nest;

I did a little thread sketching on this one.  It took a long time to find the motivation to make it, but I did savor daydreaming about this block.  I'm excited to see what Marilyn does with these blocks.  You can see some of the other Pastiche Bee creations here.

Cocorico bee block for September

Lauree asked for "kitchen couture" blocks for her month of the cocorico bee. 

I started with a pencil sketch.

Then I used this tutorial to thread sketch the wire whisk attachment.
I also used foundation paper on the back and drawing paper on the front while I stitched it.
I had to use a tweezers to get some of the paper out but it turned out okay.

To make the mixer paddle I used this tutorial to piece the background fabric into the gray and then used it again to piece the gray into the background again.  (does that make sense?)  I hadn't planned on thread sketching on this portion of the block.  But, the gray needed to stand out from the background fabric more and the sketching did secure the piecing better.

I paper pieced the dough hook. 

Then I improv pieced the tops of all of the attachments and improvised connecting them all into one block.  Lastly, I did some thread sketching on the dough hook to tie it all together.

Sooooo...that was my process for the September block. October's month is "all things orchard". I've got some ideas brewing. Stay tuned...