Hard to give away

Henry went off to his first day of school for this year, so I thought I'd try blogging again.  I'm behind on everything around the house, but why not procrastinate a little bit longer?

I have drastically cut back on my sewing bees and swaps--because I'm low on sewing time, my WIP's keep piling up, but mostly because it is stressful to sew for other people and equally stressful to send it away in the mail after working so hard on it.  Recently I saw the ice cream swap on instagram and I thought I'd give swaps another try.

The ice cream block comes from the 318 Patchwork Patterns book by Kumiko Fujita.  This book was recently release again in English and is for sale at the link (and I have no ties with the vendor).  I have loved that ice cream block since I first saw Penny's block (back in 2010!) and now I've finally made one.


 

I used a bag construction technique found in a Suzuko Koseki book but then changed the dimensions to suit the pencil bag I wanted to make.  You quilt the front and back panels but use a separate lining and then you quilt a zipper gusset with the lining fabric.  Then when the gusset is sewn into the bag there are exposed seam allowances. 

 

Then you stitch binding tape above the seam allowance by hand and then stitch it by hand again below the seam allowance but without wrapping the seam allowance.  This way the seam allowance is tucked down and that gives the bag more shape while making the inside cleaner. 




Here is a picture of the quilted gusset.




The finished zipper gusset,




and the finished bag.  Yet again, I love the finished product so much that I really didn't want to send it off in the mail.  I'll probably be taking another break from swaps.  Call me selfish, but I don't seem to find time to make cute ice cream bags to stay here at home and I'll never will if I keep signing up for more swaps.

Confirmation that I'm a geek

(As if you needed it.)

I sent this mini quilt off to a friend last week.  It is a Patchwork Death Star.




The inspiration for it started when my friend, Blair, sent me this most fabulous embroidery hoop.




Perhaps, more accurately, it started much earlier when we started talking about how smooth Lando Calrissian is.  Once it was determined that we were both Star Wars fans, the pins and tags just kept flying.  She is super sweet and talented so she made me that hoop of awesomeness up above.

It is really, really hard to craft for awesome crafters.  It took me a l-o-n-g time to decide what my theme would be.  And then I was stuck on making the Death Star all in florals.  It turns out that I didn't have enough small scale florals for my idea and getting the right value changes was going to be impossible.  But I have gray fabric up the wazoo.  Once I decided to do the pattern with English paper piecing things went pretty smoothly.  Some advice from Melissa and Jessie helped, too.

I really didn't think that there would be many people who would want to make a Patchwork Death Star of their very own.  But the requests for a pattern have been pretty insistent.  I still need to finalize how to print the pattern out, but I hope to have it up tomorrow. 

Have you ever shown your geeky side in your quilting?

Digging, finding, sewing, packing, etc.

I'd like to start by thanking all of you for sending me good thoughts about packing and moving.  Henry is adapting fairly well so far, though we can see the effects of the change of routine.  We are making steady progress on the house, but Friday is coming up very quickly.

The very hardest room to pack up has been my craft room.  I tend to have too, too many ideas.  I make a lot of piles of random supplies with big, big plans in my head.  And then the piles beget more piles.  I feel like it was an archeological dig down in my basement to some of the ideas I had when we moved in six years ago (or before).  Anyway, in order to tie up some loose ends, I ended up sewing and cutting a lot more in the past two weeks than I had planned on.


I cut up all of the fabric for Ben's quilt and then packed it up.

I cut up some squares for a patchwork muted red, white and blue quilt.  I've had this idea swimming around in my head for 3 years and I finally collected enough fabrics for it.

I had one starter block received from the 3x6 bee (mrssorrells2009 on flickr) and a stack of fabric that this block inspired.

I started by cutting the fabric into strips to make one large log cabin block. Then, instead of folding up the strips and putting them away, I just sewed them all into a quilt top.

I look forward to getting a batting and backing on that after the move.

I also dug up some quilt as you go squares from the Mother's Day retreat with crazymomquilts and I finished quilting all of those.  I hope I can get some of them sewn together on the car ride.

As I've been packing, the mail has been coming in with ornaments in the Trim the Tree swap.  I'm a lucky, lucky swapper this year!

Oh gosh.  I'd love to chat more and show off more fabric and quilting and project pictures but I really have to get back to cleaning and painting and bubble-wrapping everything.  I have big craft plans for the drive and for the first couple of weeks before the boxes arrive by moving truck.  Cross your fingers that all of the knitting and hand sewing projects I have in my head will fit in our tiny little car.

Quietly Busy

I've been puttering away in the sewing room, pondering my next big project and trying to finish some of the smaller things on the list.  I've been planning for weeks to try to whittle my WIP's down to single digits by the new year.  That just isn't happening so far, though.  For instance, this past week the holiday workshop had to open up for the Trim the Tree Handmade Ornament Swap. 

These are made with linen, some favorite fabric scraps and extra thread for the details. 

I'm even working on a Halloween decoration because I found a kit that I just couldn't pass up and couldn't leave until next year.  You'll have to wait a bit to see that one, though.  

Thankfully, I'm not planning on any turkey-themed projects.  

What about you?  Are you completely done with Halloween sewing?  

Anything for Thanksgiving?  Have you started on the gifts yet?

Potholder Pass

If you are interested in joining any sewing swaps, I highly recommend the Potholder Pass swap 

run by the talented Amy.  This group has been branching out beyond potholders to 

occasionally include tea towels, sewn shopping bags, and now coasters.

This round also had a theme of "My House to Yours for the potholders. 

I had two separate partners as you can tell by the differing color schemes. 

It is nice to sign up for a small project challenge every now and then.

Today we got a ton of apples from a local orchard, so I know what my handmade challenge 

will be tomorrow--canning applesauce!

Swaptastic 3

My last mid-May deadline was for the Pretty Little Pouch swap.  

I was inspired by this book and my partner's colors.

front

back

I should have taken a photo of the inside of the pouch.  Since both sides are quilted before constructing them into a pouch, the seams on the inside are covered with binding.  I found the corners to be difficult to deal with.  And hand stitching the binding took some time, but I'm happy with the final result.  I do love the quilting and the gusset. 

.........................

Swaps are such a great way to stretch your abilities, try new techniques and find new inspiration. But now I'm looking forward to finishing up a couple of my own projects that have been on hold. I hope not to sign up for any new swaps for awhile. We'll see how long that lasts....

Swaptastic 2

For the seventh round of the Potholder Pass Swap, there was an option to make a shopping bag rather than another set of potholders. I chose the Wrap it up bag pattern from Penny of sewtakeahike.  I used a bottom weight brown fabric and home decor weight County Fair from Denyse Schmidt.

(Sidenote: this pattern is great.  It calls for quilting weight cottons which are much lighter than the fabrics I chose.  I struggled with turning it right side out and with getting the strap to fit to snap it up.  That was all because of my fabric choices and not the bag pattern.  Word to the wise: do as the pattern says and not as I do.)

Then I wasn't sure what to send as a package extra.  My partner did have quite a few tree quilts in her favorites, so I thought I'd try one out.  I originally planned on making a mug rug, but it ended up too big for that.  At around 7 x 14" it counts as a small wall quilt. 

I hope she likes it.

Have you ever participated in a secret swap? 

It is a challenge to make something that inspires me but that also fits in the tastes of my partner. 

And, having never met my partner in person, am I getting the right "read" on her? Do you ever get nervous when you send out a swap package? Or any other handmade gift for that matter?

Swaptastic

I had deadlines for three swaps in mid-May.  The first one is part of the 3x6 Bee.  In that bee, the participants are split up into groups of seven with one caretaker and six others.  You then make six of the same block in each person's preferred colors and you receive six different blocks in your colors.  The people in that bee get shuffled around each quarter but the caretakers never get blocks from the other caretakers.  So, this is the first quarter that the caretakers are making one special block for another caretaker.  I pondered the design for a month.  And Penny taught me the skills at her workshop in April.  So, here it is:

I also sent some fabric scraps in my partner's preferred colors.

And.....you'll have to be patient to see the other two swap packages :)

1 out of 4

I bookmarked a few "I Spy" quilts when Henry was tiny.  I loved the idea of sitting down with him and poring over the pictures in fabric and telling a story about them together.  Over the last year, I've been collecting bits of cute, modern prints for the quilt I'd make him.  Then, I found the I Spy fabric swap in January and was able to swap to get 200 different prints by trading fabric with other people.  I've also found personal swappers to exchange novelty prints with.

Well...somehow.... my original idea of one I Spy quilt has turned in to four.  

Henry's still isn't finished yet, but this first one is.  

It is for the son of my friend in Finland.  I usually like to send books as gifts for little ones, but the pictures in these fabrics are perfectly translatable. 

I chose to do solid white checkerboard pattern in between the other blocks so it would look more cohesive and brighter. I did diagonal straight line quilting through the white squares to add texture and interest to the solid and to leave the prints uninterrupted.

Henry was fascinated almost immediately. 

And here is the label. 

I hope you enjoy it Suvi and Jäppinen!

........

Also, can anybody tell me that I'm not the only one to take a simple idea and multiply it 

into something four times bigger?

What's happening...

I'm watching spring take over our yard,

teaching the boy how to hug trees,

and starting a project for the Pretty Little Pouch Swap.

So, what is happening with you?

Swap Fun

I just sent out a swap package to my partner in the Apron Extravaganza Swap.  I had some hexies laying around that were begging for a good home.  So, I designed a tea cozy to put them on.

I added a gusset and hand stitched the edge to make it stand out a bit more.

And, a pieced lining.  The batting is doubled to keep the tea extra cozy (but the gussets are single layer so they would fold better).

My swapee has a young baby, so a bib seemed like the perfect kitchen swap extra (this is JCasa's Best Bib pattern).  The blue gingham ribbon is awfully cute...

...and the cards are stamped with my carved sewing machine stamp.

Whew! I have some exciting things coming up next week, so it is a relief to get this swap done early. I'll be sure to post a pic of my swap items when they get here.


P.S.--If you want to get in on some sewing swap fun, I just joined the Pretty {little} Pouch Swap on flickr. It is full of talented ladies and sign ups close April 8th.

Deadline for Inspiration

Recently I joined a couple of holiday handmade/quilty swaps on flickr. The first swap was round 5 of Potholder Pass. This was a blind swap for one partner in which you send two holiday potholders and a handmade ornament. The catch was that there was only one month in between getting your partner's name and sending out your package.  I found myself smack dab in the middle of a bunch of highly talented quilter's without a clue for what I'd make.  Square in square block?  Wonky star?  Tree?  Snowflake?  eh.

Finally, I had a single spark 8 days before the deadline.

Here is my partner's inspiration mosaic.   I stared at it off and on for days.  Suddenly, the apple fabrics and the pear shapes and the leaves struck me, and I thought, "pear tree."  That immediately led to singing a part from the Twelve Days of Christmas, which led me to "partridge!!"  I knew I wanted details.  I didn't want to fit a vague bird on top of a tree on a small potholder.  

We've been doing a lot of reading to Henry about the alphabet and that led me think about alphabet books featuring one simple picture and a letter.  I then exchanged the letter "P" for a strip of pieced squares instead.  I thought the squares would tie the two potholders together best.

Then I drew my designs, and traced them onto freezer paper.  I heavily starched my fabric choices, ironed the fusible webbing on the back, ironed the freezer paper shape on the front and then carefully cut out each shape.  After that I peeled off the freezer paper, placed the pieces on the background fabric and ironed them to fuse. Lastly, I carefully appliqued each piece, adding the stem and the eye last. 

The bigger block was cut and the strip of squares was sewn on.  I used a square of recycled felt sweater for the insulating part of the potholder. Wool felt works great to keep your hands safe and it is flame resistant. I also love the texture of wool inside a potholder as opposed to the standard crinkly Insul-Bright.

To complete the potholders, I did some simple machine quilting around the designs and some hand quilting in the ditch between the design square and the pieced border.

Sometimes I just have to wait for the creative inspiration to strike and then roll with it.  I'm really glad I did.  These were hard to let go of. 

Next time I'll have to tell you about the ornament design that I made up and completed in just three days!  I might just pull together a tutorial for it, too.