Trillium

{not so} heart-shaped whoopee pies

2012-01-22T17:20:00.000-08:00

My daughter and I decided to bake today. We thought we'ld get in the Valentines day mood...

... so we made these whoopee pies that seem to be all the rage. They aren't very heart-shaped but they are tasty!

Meanwhile, I have been making these swoon blocks with

gals. The first one is for Bek for the Aqua and Red bee

The next one is just for fun. I think it will become a centerpiece for my kitchen table once it's all quilted because this block is huge!!

Happy Sewing, knitting, cooking ~ whatever!

When not sewing....

2012-01-21T19:43:00.000-08:00

When I'm not sewing, I'm most likely knitting. I have been doing a lot of knitting since the winter started - it seems appropriate for cold evenings by the fire.

This winter I have managed to finish
Brooklyn Tweeds Ashby shawl

A Cladonia shawl

A couple of Hannoki cowls

And of course I had to make a Multnomah 'cuz I live just south of there

Miss Imogen for Mom

MadTosh’s Embers cowl

And a few other odds and ends.

If you are on Ravelry, please join me! Happy Knitting!

Some cozy sewing

2012-01-19T19:30:00.000-08:00

As we embark upon the snowy slopes of Mt Bachelor in search of endless powder and hopefully some fun turns, it's still awfully chilly outside ~ So I thought some coziness was in order.

I have been collecting these fun flannel prints for a few weeks and was inspired to dress up the pillows with fun pillowcases by Miss Katy's blogpost (I'm a ginger Monkey) just prior to Christmas. You just can't help but smile when you see a fun pillow like this.

I debuted them for my kids as we left for the Mountain Passes, our car piled high with gear. Usually they aren't too inspired by new pillowcases but these were an exception. They were commenting on how soft these were and kept showing them off. So all in all, a big hit!

Thanks for the inspiration Katy! Happy Sewing Everyone!

SWAP season

2012-01-18T01:00:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again when I get heavily involved in Flickr Swaps. Why? 'Cuz it's just darned fun that's why. I am currently working on the Potholder Pass (a new swap for me). I figured this was the size of project that wouldln't be too daunting for a busy schedule. I'm signed up for a spring themed potholder set. Hmmm now to figure out what to make my partner...

This swap is soon to be followed by the Pillow Talk Swap round 7. PTS is always fun and inspirational and you just never know what people will come up with - but whatever it is, it's sure to be incredible!

You may notice some similarities between those mosaics. I guess i'm feeling the need for bright cheery colors as the rain comes down in buckets and threatens to flood our little valley.

Now off to figure out what to make for my partner...
Happy Sewing!

Happy 2012

2012-01-08T19:29:00.000-08:00

Happy 2012 Everyone! I've been neglecting the blog recently due to lots of knitting taking the place of my sewing.

But for a new year, I've started a new quilt.

Sunshiney and happy to brighten up those rainy January days:

Here is the progress so far ~ all the blocks are done and now also assembled. Hopefully it will be sandwiched and quilted soon. I'm using the Retro Flowers Quilt Pattern from Christina (the Sometimes Crafter). I just love the retro look of these quilt blocks.

That's all for today my friends ~ Happy Sewing!

Bee block time

2011-11-03T23:11:00.000-07:00

I've decided to join in a quilting bee - this is my first ever bee and so far it sounds like a lot of fun. As it turns out, November is actually my month - trial by fire I guess.

So here is the block I've chosen for my partners this month

This is the stargazing block designed by Angela Pingel (cut to pieces) from the book Modern Blocks.

I've done my block up in a palette of Aqua and Red on a natural linen background! Hey it's the Aqua and Red bee after all.

So far I'm liking this palette a lot. You might notice a little holiday inspiration in there. I figured it was a good way to get myself and hopefully everyone else, in the holiday mood.

I can't wait to see what my partners come up with.

Happy Sewing!

Hello November??

2011-11-01T06:16:00.000-07:00

Really? November already? Where has the time gone? I have not been blogging much due to the fact that I have not been sewing much. October has come and gone and aside from some Halloween costumes, I've barely gotten any sewing done. Hence the blog hiatus.

So you probably don't know that the Pillow talk Swap was on again, and today was actually our mailing deadline. This pillow has been a month or more in progress but it’s finally done and off to it’s new home. I hope you like it partner! It's kind of anthro-inspired. I had fun making it and I even got to try some creative paper piecing, a little hand embroidery (ok haven't done that in years)

EDITED 12/7
By now my partner John, QuiltDad has received his pillow and he likes foxes which is why I chose that theme. I used Sonja's (Artisania) paper pieced fox pattern to make the fox on the back of the pillow. You can find her patterns here.

Back to work tote

2011-09-13T06:47:00.000-07:00

I did mention I was taking a blog break didn't I? Back in August. Well Summer has come and gone but i'm still in vacation mode apparently. I am not ready for the kids to be back to school, not ready for summer to be over, not ready for the warm weather to leave, not ready, not ready….. Isn’t that always the way? Seems like every year goes by faster and faster.

But it is time to go back to work and time to get this blog back up and running. The first stop on this crazy train will be the “For the love of Solids Swap” item. I’ve finally, (practically down to the wire this time) gotten my project done for my partner.

It’s a tote bag, ok you could probably tell that by looking. I have had this circle piecing idea in my head for at least the last 5 years and finally there was a project to try it on. The circle piecing I used exposes the raw edge on the outside of the fabric, creating a textural fabric. The circles are pieced as squares leaving a circular seam allowance and lending this circular feel to the final fabric. That’s what I was going for. I hope my partner is ok with this look, because it’s a bit ‘un-orthodox’ shall we say? The colors conform to my partners preferences. I think the final project turned out as I planned it. The main body of the bag is Kona Charcoal offset with various selections from the Kona fat quarter bundle in grape. Lining is Michael Miller. Off to make a little extra and then it will be shipping its way across the pond?? Continent? Region??......

Happy Sewing!

For the love of solids Swap

2011-08-02T19:55:00.000-07:00

With the Pretty {little} pouch Swap project done, I've cleared the way for the next swap - For the love of solids.

My inspiration mosaic

My palette for the partner assigned to me - which I quite like myself as it turns out...

I think I've got the design plan all wrapped up but you'll have to wait and see what comes of it in a few weeks. Meanwhile, I'm taking a blogging break for a few weeks. See you at the end of August.

Happy Sewing!

Along the road to a new design

2011-07-31T20:54:00.000-07:00

Introducing the Audrey pouch. A new design ~

This starts as an idea and gets (~~chicken-scratched~~) sketched.

Then it goes to a full-sized pattern trial.

It gets cut out and stitched and the final piece is subjected to my scrutiny to be sure that it looks like I intended it to look. If not, adjustments are made to the pattern and it goes back to the sewing stage.

This one miraculously managed to work out the first time.

That rarely happens.

Then it goes to the make up a bunch more stage.

One for my kiddo

and one for my Swap partner for the Pretty {little} pouch swap on Flickr.

And finally, it goes to the pattern which you can download here. A big Thank-you goes out to Yeechi who digitized the pattern for me. Thanks Yeechi!

I hope you like it. If you do make this pouch, please share your pics in the Trilliumdesign ~share it Flickr Pool. Let me know what you think! I would love your feedback.

Happy Sewing!

Fun with purse frames

2011-07-26T07:09:00.000-07:00

On my previous post, I showed you my first pouch made with a purse frame. Let's just say that working with these frames takes some getting used to. Seems like they are all the rage in the sewing world right now. They are fun and they are addictive - so fair warning! Ok now that the legalities are out of the way, let's get started.

I wanted to show you the test pouch I made in getting ready for the Pretty little Pouch swap on Flickr. Purse frame clutches/pouches/bags are super easy to make - you just make the bottom half of the bag essentially, the top half gets inserted into the frame and glued, so you don't have to be super careful about what the top looks like since you won't see it anyway. And that's where it might be prudent to think about the insertion into the frame. The tutorials I've seen all say to poke the top of the bag into the frame with a pair of scissors/screwdriver/whatever kind of pointy object you have around. This is all well and good if you are just making a plain old single fabric bag. But if you are a tweaker like me, and have to go all fancy and patchworky, it's trickier than it sounds. You don't want the top of that bag to be thicker than the frame will accommodate. For example for this patchworked pouch, there are lots of seams around the patchwork, plus there is fusible fleece interfacing and heavy duty interfacing on the lining plus the fabric of the seams themselves. This mess was all too heavy to go into the frame easily even with a pointy object assisting. Plus you are working against the clock, putting the glue on the edge of the bag and inside the frame, it's not the easiest thing to poke all that in there without making a huge mess (course, it doesn't help if you tube of glue is leaking out the wrong end). Ok, so having said that the first time I tried inserting this it was a royal mess - the seams and all that interfacing where just too thick and it was tough to insert. After gluing only one side and barely getting the fabrics in there, it looked like crap! I let the glue cure and then decided to rip it all out again. I then undid the seams, trimmed off all the excess interfacing and the bulkiest seams from the patchwork and trimmed the whole shebang down. This time I just basted the tip of the bag shut and then glued that right in. This considerably reduced the thickness of the bag at the top and made insertion much easier. So that's just a tip if you are making a fancy patchwork bag that you want to insert into a frame. A plain old regular bag made of solid fabrics was easy peasy. Just so you know.

I got my frames from various places off etsy, including whilebabynaps (who has lightening fast shipping by the way) 3Dpatternpaper and AmericanPurse. All orders were fine for me.

The bag itself is made of tiny half square triangles assembled into a chevron shape. The squares were 1.5" when I started and are about 3/4" finished - so they are tiny but they were fun to make. I then added on the extra linen and used my bag pattern to cut out the shape of the bag. I added some handstitching, some fun lining and then proceeded to assemble the bag. The basics of my procedure are outlined here on the U-handbag site. I just changed up the bottom shape of the bag to suit my purposes. I wanted something small enough to serve as a sunglass case.

So now that that's accomplished, off to make a few dozen more. These are fun, I won't lie to you they are super addictive and quick to make. Why not get a head start on Christmas prezzies. ;)

Happy Sewing!

Summer Swap Season

2011-07-13T19:09:00.000-07:00

It seems like summer is a busy time for swaps for me which is kind of funny because I have way less time to sew in the summer. But this time I opted into the Pretty {little} Pouch swap just for fun. I like making purses and pouches so I thought I would give it a go.

Here’s my inspiration mosaic – really anything goes with a pouch ~ I mean it’s just a pouch! You can always find a use for one and it’s pretty hard to go wrong.

Test run 1 with a purse frame.

Turns out this isn't the right kind of pouch for this frame - but live and learn - that's why it's a test run. Framed purses are fun to do though and super quick!

So far so good, now onto test 2.

Here is a little trial run pouch I’m making for myself to see if this works out.

Then I’ll move onto this palette for my partner and the rest will have to wait until the grand reveal.

Happy Sewing!

Scootin' around town tote

2011-07-07T20:59:00.000-07:00

I had to sew up another bag - I just love these multi-tasker totes and I thought it would be nice to have a new one for our summer vacation travels.

Here's my Echino version:

I modified this one w/ magnetic snap closures for more travel security and added a zip pocket.

Happy Sewing!

PTS5 Swap pillow has arrived

2011-07-06T19:11:00.000-07:00

...So it's the end of a long but routine work day.
I'm tired.
I trudge down to the mailbox to retrieve the days deliveries.
Oh there is a key to the larger box for parcels and this immediately lifts my spirits. Parcels are like Christmas around here.
I open the large box where the parcels are kept.
I glance at the label.
Royal Mail.
Again!
Who doesn't love getting 'royal' mail? That must be extra special mail.
I feel all Queenly.
I contemplate waving to my subjects.
I remember they are all inside playing video games.
I think, "what's this?" Oh it must be my swap pillow!
I immediately shred into the package right there in the street in front of my house.
Eeek!
It IS a pillow. And a lovely pillow to!

Don't you agree?

Yes this lovely pillow plays very well with it's fellow couch mates.

And look a mug rug to boot!!!

My desk at work needs one of these, so this is extra special.

Thank-you Fiona!! These are perfect for our home and will be enjoyed for years to come!

Tumbling blocks with aqua and linen

2011-06-27T20:05:00.000-07:00

Yet another tumbling blocks pillow, but this one will live in my house.

After the last pillow talk swap, the boys in the house were really loving the tumbling blocks design - they like everything that looks 3-D, so I decided to make another one.

This time I chose natural linen and aqua colors because they fit in well with the living room sofa and coordinate with the other existing pillows. I also used a gray linen and lots of different prints of aqua fabric.

I used 2" 60 degree triangles this time, so my blocks are a bit bigger. I also got to try out my new free motion quilting design which I've been practicing for the ORBC FMQ QAL ~ translation: Old Red Barn Company Free-motion Quilting Quilt-along led by Debbie Brown. ha! That's a mouthful! Here's a close-up...

And on a completely different note: I made key lime cupcakes using a recipe recommended by Emily of Crazy Old Lady quilts - I made cupcakes instead of a cake because we are on a cupcake kick at our house. OMG! So Yummy!! I modified the recipe by adding some lime zest to both the batter and the frosting oh and I used regular white cake mix because my store didn't carry lemon. Delish!! Try it out!

Happy Sewing and Baking!

Summertime!

2011-06-24T19:18:00.000-07:00

Summer! It's officially here! And it calls for a new beach tote, don't you think?Well, yeah! And all things beachy and water-related and well, you know, summery!

I really love large-scale prints, and I thought this new Loulouthi print from Anna Maria Horner would be perfect for summer.

I used the laminate version for the outside of the bag to help keep it from getting soiled/wet. I don't think I've sewn a bag with laminate before and I will say it was a bit of a challenge but more on that later. I used the multi-tasker tote pattern for this bag which I have made many times and it's the perfect all purpose tote-about and a great size for just about everything. Plus it whips up super fast, what's not to love?

So I guess if you are going to sew laminate you really need to get one of those teflon coated feet or roller foot to help the foot glide over the plastic. I don't have one of those feet, so I made do by placing a sheet of paper over the seam and sewing on that to help it glide which worked pretty well. The paper rips off easily afterwards, but I really should've used something more like tissue rather than standard computer paper. Some of my top stitching is a bit wonky where the paper pulled the stitches a bit - so I'm not going to show you any close-ups. It's a pool bag so I'm gonna roll with it - drink another margarita and forget all about my wonky stitching. It's summertime right? ~ no stress allowed!

Happy Sewing!

PTS 5

2011-06-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

It's that time again in Flickr-land, time for the ever popular Pillow Talk Swap, round 5.

This is a quickie round without the full compliment of usual cohorts, but quite fun nevertheless. Partners were given out a few weeks ago and I've just finished up my pillow for this round. I hope my partner likes it! My partner is a bit more of a traditional quilter from what I can tell, so I hope that this choice reflects their tastes. I chose to go with english paper-piecing of 60 degree diamonds into these tumbling block shapes.

The Y chromosomes in my house both liked it but then again, they are always eyeballing things with Escher-esque overtones, so that was no surprise.

Lots of bright colors which my partner seems to prefer and paired with starkly contrasting black and white. I used some of Carolyn Gavin's Spring street line as the border/back and added some gathers to give it more texture.

Off to other parts of the union she goes....where will she surface next?...

Happy Sewing!

Free-motion QAL

2011-06-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

Are you interested in learning more about free-motion quilting? Well, I certainly need some more practice in this area, so I joined the Stop, drop and roll QAL hosted by Old Red Barn Co and Debbie Brown quilts. Won't you join us?

My progress so far...

I put together this quilt top,

but so far we are just practicing with scrap sandwiches..

What the final quilt will be is a mystery even to me!

Stay tuned and Happy Sewing!

Birthday Celebration ~ Sale on Fabric!

2011-06-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

June is my Birthday Month at Trillium Design. So in celebration, I am offering 20% off in the shoppe for the remainder of the month. Enter the code BIRTHDAY20 in the coupon box when you checkout and you will get 20% off your total purchase price. Lots of great and hard to find goodies in the shop, so please check it out. I'm closing the shop after the sale for the remainder of the summer, so get your fabric while you can. Let's go fabric shopping! Just click on the shoppe logo:

And afterwards, let's go eat some cake! Happy Sewing!

Rogue River rapids

2011-06-10T19:49:00.000-07:00

Quite a few months ago, actually I think it was before xmas, I purchased an Accuquilt Go Baby cutter. This little cutter is useful for cutting out quilt block pieces and applique shapes. I purchased it with an eye to using it for cutting out circles and other shapes that are more difficult to cut out quickly. I confess I didn't really buy it for quilting of all things, but I did buy the drunkard's path die to go with it.

I finally had the chance to pull this baby out of the closet and give it a spin this past weekend and rapidly produced hundreds and hundreds of curved block pieces. Hmmm, now to piece them all. That might be the Go Baby's biggest drawback! You can cut out many block pieces quite quickly and get yourself into big trouble in no time.

Now I have this quilt design all ready to go

and lots and lots and LOTS! of curved seams to sew

- can you see where this went wrong?

Yeah, curved seams although not impossible, are more time-consuming to sew and require a bit more care shall we say? So I have been slogging away all week at piecing these little quarter circle blocks and have now pieced around 3/4 of the 280 blocks needed. Yup 280.

I would say that if you have the money to purchase the full-sized Accuquilt cutter, then do so, because you could then at least purchase dies for larger blocks and therefore not have to sew quite so many of them. For example the larger cutter has a drunkard's path block that is 7" finished, or double the size of the go baby's die. The smaller curved pieces are also harder to piece because the curve is much tighter. Something to keep in mind for anyone who is thinking of going in this direction.

A quickie test layout of the progress.

The drunkards path die for the go baby produces a 3.5" finished quarter block, so it will take quite a few to get up to a lap quilt size. But I'm working away at it and cutting out the pieces is a breeze. It wastes less fabric then I would've thought because those cutters are laid out with minimum waste on the die and because you can accordion fold the fabric to cut multiple layers at a time. I also discovered that you can use charm squares (5" squares) and if you lay them carefully on the die, they can be used to cut out the two halves of the drunkard's path block with virtually no waste.

I'll post more on the progress of this quilt later on...

Happy Sewing

Introducing Little Miss Chloe

2011-05-13T19:13:00.000-07:00

First adventure outside ~ here she is just testing her little legs on the moss....

Oooo are those pretty pink flowers I see over there?...

Isn't she sweet? She is made entirely out of felt from a Pattern book called Felt Friends from Japan by Naomi Tabatha. This little book is loaded with fun little patterns. I bought it for my daughter who is really into sewing these little felt guys, but I'll confess the cover was cute enough that I wanted to make my own little four-legged friend.

I added some red checked Farbenmix ribbon to offset her Aqua coloring. Who doesn't love red and aqua together? Ok some of you probably don't, ssshhhh!

And where should miss Chloe live? Perhaps she'll keep me company at the sewing table when I'm cutting out fabric...

Happy Sewing!

Join me at the Eugene Modern Quilt Guild

2011-05-10T19:09:00.000-07:00

If you are in the area, please join me at the monthly meeting of the Eugene Modern Quilt Guild this Wednesday evening, 5/11 7pm at EWEB. This weeks topic will be hexagons and I will be demonstrating how to make these popular paper pieced components. More details are on the EMQG blog.

Should be a rockin' good time! Come get hex'd!

A Rainbow for the Table

2011-04-26T21:21:00.000-07:00

Napkins!! At our house we have been in dire need of new napkins - reusable ones. So in keeping with my home dec initiative, I made some new napkins for dinnertime. Lots and lots of them ~ 24 which sounds like a lot but really when you use them 4 at a time, that doesn't last so many days. After sewing these puppies all weekend, I'm tired of sewing napkins for now, so these will have to do for a bit.

A sunny rainbow of color for the table.

Notice they are gray in color because that's pretty much the color they are going to end up anyway - no point in slaving over the laundry just to get rid of the spaghetti sauce stains. Nope. Less stress this way! ;)

I roughly followed Penny's napkin tutorial (SewTakeaHike) if you'ld like to make your own napkins.

Happy Sewing!

The Atomic Firecracker

2011-04-18T21:06:00.000-07:00

I have no idea what that is either ~ Seemed like a fitting name for this quilt. I have been playing with half-square triangles lately and I wanted one that was a riot of reds. I love the modern feel of this HST when all the triangles are arranged in the same orientation. So here it is, the atomic firecracker.

Lots of reds, plums, deep pinks and some oranges thrown into the mix. The solid fabric is Japanese Echino in a solid natural tone. This fabric has the appearance of linen but is actually a cotton linen blend with a nice tight weave and a soft hand. Love that stuff ~ it’s great for quilting and nicer than anything I’ve found in the domestic fabric market. I think the Echino really offsets the colors nicely.

I played around with some new quilting techniques in an effort to move away from stippling. This pattern was traced onto the quilt with a template and then free-motion quilted in rows. I’m not sure I’ll do this again, it was a lot of work and I’m not sure how much the quilting really stands out from afar.

The back is just a solid piece of Andalucia by Patty Young.

This HST quilt is really the 2^nd one I’ve done. The first was made for the Japan Modern Relief effort but that is currently on hold at the moment so more on that one later.

Picnic quilt finish

2011-03-25T19:55:00.000-07:00

Presenting the Picnic quilt ~

All done! And ready for use - now we just need some sun and warm days....Well it's only March, gotta' reconcile myself to the fact that it's going to be a while yet...

This quilt was done as part of Aneela's Pickledish QAL. It was a fun project and used up a nice set of fat quarters and some other added fabrics from a set Elizabeth put together for Sew Mama Sew.

I think I like the back more actually - I think that's because I like things pretty simple and this quilt is pretty busy. Since it's destined for outdoor use I decided just to go easy on the quilting and do some free-motion allover quilting.

It'll be perfect for summer outdoor concerts, festivals and the like.
Just in time for a sew-n-tell Friday finish.

Happy Sewing!

Stepping stones quilt finish

2011-03-16T20:00:00.000-07:00

My goodies arrived from the urban homes goods swap (UHG3) the other day. A lovely set of placemats and a hotpot/centerpiece from Stacey aka peaknit. She got my color palette pretty well. Aren't they gorgeous?

Check out all the modern prints - right-on Stacey! Thank-you!

After a marathon weekend during which I quilted 3 quilts in one weekend - yes three!! I finally finished up the Stepping Stones quilt: a modified String X quilt I started - ohhhh many many months ago.

I couldn't decide on a super modern quilting approach that didn't involve a lot of tracing of lines onto the quilt (I hate that part), so I just decided on a random meandering stipple. I chose a red thread to accent the color palette and I'm pretty pleased with the end result.

A little Moda Bliss on the back which happens to go perfectly and it's done!

This is the quilt to help warm the chilly summer nights in Oregon. No doubt it will see many days on the porch swing out front.

And I had to share this picture because even though it's still raining buckets, you'll notice that some plants don't seem to mind. A little blooming goodness will warm any soul.

Happy Sewing!

Bluebird Day

2011-02-28T09:21:00.000-08:00

About a month or so ago, I joined in on the Single Girl support group (quilt-along). I've always loved Denyse's single girl quilt style and wanted to sew along. I haven't had much of a chance to blog about it up until now so I give you the finished product.

The Bluebird Day Single Girl Quilt.

In skiing or snowboarding, a Bluebird Day is a perfect day, gorgeous sunlight and clear blue skies. If this happens right after a snowfall, it's a bluebird day! That's where this Single Girl Quilt got it's name.

Imagine the blue color of a deep fresh snowbank or the clear glint of the sunlight sparkling through an icicle, that's what I wanted the colors of the quilt to evoke. A perfect day, lots of snow, the hush of the snow between the trees and a little bit of silver sparkle. I used Kona Ash as my background.

After much debate and even a trial run of hand-quilting, I decided to machine quilt it. Hand-quilting was just taking too long and it wasn't really looking the way I wanted it to. So after hand-quilting a few rings, I decided to pull out those stitches and head to the machine. I transferred the quilting lines using a series of plastic templates that I made tracing along the quilting lines from the pattern. It's not perfect, but it'll do.

The Back utilized one of my most fav fabrics ever - this blue chair print from Laurie Wisbrun. Her chair fabrics were the inspirational jumping off point for this quilt. I knew I had to use this print somehow... it has that perfect blue bird shade...

Isn't this chair fabric perfect?! I love it!

Unlike this quilts namesake, today's weather has been far from perfect. It's been raining buckets and I don't anticipate a break anytime soon. Witness my back patio, that's a lot of water for us when the pond overflows - even in Oregon.

If you're interested, this quilt along is still going on. Katy, Megan and Nova have put together step by step blogposts which are very helpful if you need guidance. They are sweet gals too so go check out their blogs even if you aren't doing the quilt-along.

I've been a bit of a keener on this one and finished up early which is amazing considering how little sewing time I've had in the past month. The Single Girl goes together very quickly and is really super fun once you get going.

Meanwhile, the shoppe destash is still underway. Thanks to many of you, together we've raised over $100 for the American Cancer society. Way to go! I plan to keep the destash up and running until most of it is gone. In the next few weeks I'll be listing lots of knit fabrics for those of you who are interested in sewing with knits, this is your chance! Please keep checking back.

Happy Sewing!

Fabric Anyone?

2011-02-24T22:41:00.001-08:00

Things have come to a head around here. There is no more room in my house and so I simply must get rid of some of my fabric. I'm running a Major, and I mean MAJOR shoppe destash at the moment. It's taken me most of a week just to list everything I need to purge. Please help me out! Go visit my etsy shoppe and see if there is anything that you need/want. I have listed lots of out-of-print and hard-to-find items, so grab yourself some deals and score some goodies.

Click here to go directly to the shoppe or use the etsy link in my sidebar.

As a bonus, I'm donating 25% of all the proceeds to the American Cancer Society. Why not help out a good cause and feed your fabric stash at the same time?

Happy Sewing!

Urban Groceries

2011-02-23T19:20:00.000-08:00

Whew! Well it’s been a while hasn’t it? February has just flown by for me and I haven’t even had a chance to post about any of it! So let me catch you up a little bit.

I’ve been working on a few different things. A nice long President’s day at home alone meant I finally got to sandwich a couple of quilts – one of which has been waiting since July for that task. I have to take over the entire kitchen floor when I do that, so it’s best to wait until the house is empty of potentially hungry mouths to feed.

That done, I moved onto the Single Girl Quilt along aka Single Girl Support Group which I joined at the start of the month. But more on that later…

I also finished up my grocery tote for the Urban Home Goods Swap round 3 (I think).

My partner was a little harder to get a handle on this time, so I hope they like this item. My motto ~ Just because you are carrying groceries doesn’t mean you can’t do it in style, right?!

I present to you the Urban Grocery tote.

It has all the capacity of this ugly little number that lives in the trunk of my car

Attractive? Not so much. The new tote has way more style and function. I’ve added a little zip pouch on the side for a cell phone or a wallet.

The scarf around the top also serves to cinch in the tote in the event that you might want to use it to tote around something more precious than just your groceries or you need a little less capacity.

It’s made of natural and brown linen and appliquéd with leaves/petals following loosely on Elizabeth Hartman’s Little Leaves pattern from A Practical Guide to Patchwork.

I hope my partner is pleased with it. It needs to leave my house soon because my other grocery bags are starting to develop an inferiority complex. Ha!

Happy Sewing!

...and the lucky winner's are...

2011-02-07T21:31:00.000-08:00

True Random Number Generator Result: 86

Nellie put the kettle on said...

congrats on 3 years of blogging and to think I only started this January! Anyhow, just lovin it!

February 5, 2011 5:52 PM

True Random Number Generator Result: 13

Heather A said...: Congratulations on three years to sharing your talent and enthusiasm with the world! I, for one among many, are grateful. Thanks!; February 1, 2011 8:25 PM

True Random Number Generator Result: 8

Creative Mom said...: Congratulations! I've loved reading your blog!; February 1, 2011 7:49 PM

Congratulations ladies! I will be emailing you shortly.

Thanks to everyone for participating in the giveaway and helping me celebrate the blogiversary. I really enjoyed reading all your comments!

Happy Sewing!

Here's to three!

2011-02-01T19:00:00.000-08:00

It’s party time!!

I’ve been promising you a little blog-celebration and the time is now!! As of January, this blog turned 3 years old! Hard to believe! I have been blogging about sewing and such for that long! And even harder to believe, you guys have been reading for that long! Hmm maybe I do have something useful to say after all. But this would not be without my faithful readers who steadily continue to grow in numbers!! So go ahead and give yourself a round of applause.!! Wooohoo!! To all of you I say thank-you!

Ok so now it’s time to par-tay!!! What better way than with a little free stuff!!

I’m giving away a few little goodies from my stash to some lucky winners.

I have on hand and just in time for Valentines Day, these beautiful fabrics.

First up we have some hugs and kisses from Deb Strain and a few matching hearts all pretty in pink!

Then a little more love from Patty Young's Andalucia line which happens to be an all-time favorite of mine. Here's a little set of Fat quarters of almost the whole line in the fire colorway.

Finally the some more fat quarters from Patty Young's Mezzanine line!

How cool is that? Lots of fabric love! Just comment here to win.

Three winners will be picked at random and announced on February 7th. Contest is open to anyone and everyone no matter what country you chose to call home!! Good luck!

Thank-you for reading and Happy Sewing to each and every one of you!!

Single girl

2011-01-31T20:12:00.000-08:00

So I’m a single girl again! Ha ha!! No, not really, but I am going to be working on the Single Girl Quilt-along organized by Nova and Katy and making Denyse Schmidt’s Single Girl quilt. So at the moment I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of the pattern for this quilt (currently winding its way across the country – probably on a brown UPS semi) and while the pattern is on it’s journey, I figured I might as well audition some fabrics for the quilt. So here are some stacks I pulled out as possible candidates.

Here’s the first, very Tula and Pink! No, really! ~ and maybe a little too pink. I’ve used her owl fabric as inspiration and pulled out some colors from that including a café latte brown for the background and some bright aqua accents.

While I love this combo I can’t help but think it’s a bit too pink for me. I don’t usually do pink, certainly not in décor and my daughter is too old to appreciate it – so I think these fabrics will probably go back in the stash. Who knows, - I might make up a test block when the pattern arrives and hope that someone has a baby soon so I can have an excuse to use these colors.

Second audition uses Laurie Wisbrun’s fabric for inspiration. I LOVE this fabric a LOT so I’ve pulled a stack of fabrics that kind of go with it.

This one is a bit more me and a lot more functional within the house color-wise, but I’m not totally in love with these potential fabrics just yet.

I think the stack needs something else? Usually I go with my gut and my gut isn’t quite happy with this just yet. Again I think I’ll have to make up a swatch block first just to see what it might look like. Any thoughts?

Yes, I know I’ve promised a blog-i-versary celebration and it’s coming – promise.

In the meantime, happy sewing!

Pickledish-ing

2011-01-30T19:45:00.000-08:00

At long last my Pickledish quilt top is complete! I participated in Aneela's (Comfortstitching's) Pickledish Quilt-along and started this back in ??? well it was many months ago. It's been bugging me lately, 'cause I don't like to have unfinished business to attend to - so I spent this lovely warm sunny weekend inside. Yeah I know, I was kind of lamenting that myself, especially in Oregon, but I was in a mega work-mode, so I kicked the kidlets out into the sunshine and I just rolled with it.

I'm so glad the top is done. I'm piecing the back at the moment. Hopefully it will be done soon, but I'll need another sunny winter day in Oregon to sandwich it - a ha ha ha ha ha ha ~ sooo yeah it should be awhile.

I should've gotten my hubby to hold this one up - it's BIG!!! 80"x60" which is possibly the largest one I've ever made. This one is going to be the new picnic quilt - planning ahead! Yes, I know we are going to set it on the ground and sit on it - but, hey why not picnic in style?!!

Happy Sewing!

Back in Business

2011-01-27T19:20:00.000-08:00

Well after much worrying and wondering just how much my sewing machine repair was going to cost me, hubby managed to fix it when he got back into town! Yeehaaaw!! I'm so thrilled that my baby is back and it didn't cost me a thing to fix. So, with my machine working again I was able to finish up another project in the dedicated to decorating series.

We redid the kids playroom recently and turned it into more of a den/hangout for the kids. When we did that, we moved the game system in there and it's been in a bit of a disarray ever since. I'm not sure if this is because it's mostly a kids room or just because we don't have the right furniture in there yet but it needed some help. Here is the before shot:

Yeah, kind of a hot mess. So I made another storage box for that area. This one is 12x12x8". That size fits perfectly under that tiny table holding the components. Now all the games and controllers are all neatly organized in the box instead of sprawling themselves all over the place. Much better!

I had a lot of questions on the last post with the scrap boxes about just how I made these boxes. So I'm planning a quick tutorial in the next post along with an upcoming blog-i-versary celebration. So stay tuned.

Happy Sewing!

Disaster Strikes

2011-01-23T20:02:00.001-08:00

Disaster has struck. No it's not fire or flood or sickness or anything really bad. Just, you know, disheartening, frustrating, bewildering...

My sewing machine is broken! Just the other day, midway through the seam no less, my baby just stopped - dead - she functions no more! Quick call the whaambulence. I didn't even know what to do. I didn't believe it at first - I was in full on denial mode. This cannot be, surely she has just become unplugged - but nope! Nada nothing! She has never failed me in all of her thousands of hours of sewing, so I guess she just needs little vacation. Sooooo, off she goes to see Mr. Repairman, hopefully her stay won't be too long. I will miss her. Let's hope she has a speedy recovery.

AACCK!!! Now what? --Can't sew-- What to do with myself? See, I'm a bit of a work-a-holic. I'm always working on something. Always. I never feel quite content unless I'm multitasking several things at once.

So, as always when faced with a sewing hiatus, I turned to another of my crafty endeavours. I have been knitting a lot lately and decided that i needed some fancy schmancy stitch markers. So I pulled out all my old beading bits and baubles and went to town.

Hmm, how many stitch markers can one person really need? Well, back to knitting...

Happy Sewing!

2011 ~ Dedicated to Decorating!

2011-01-09T13:29:00.001-08:00

I don't usually make new year's resolutions. Here's why: I personally feel that you should and can make a change in your life at any point during the year and that you don't have to wait for the new year to reflect on necessary changes. But this year, I'm going to make an exception. I've officially unofficially dubbed 2011 - a year dedicated to decorating. I'm going to attack the many aspects of this house that never quite got to where they were supposed to get from a home decor point of view. Here's the thing, we moved into this house 8 years ago. At that point I had 2 very young children. We got the rooms painted and moved in and we put everything where we wanted it but I never quite got all the little touches done on this house. There is this stack of picture frames sitting in a pile in my front room that have lived there for around 7 years. Yes, 7 years! I know it's shameful really. But there you have it! There was just quite never enough time in the day and after awhile I just plum forgot about them. So I'm going to eradicate that this year. In 2011 I'm going to attack a room every month (some rooms will take more than 1 month) and finish all the final touches. While I'm at it, I'm going to share the process and the journey with you here. Want to join me?

Job 1: Sewing area
Scraps, scraps and more scraps.

Seems that when there is sewing there are always endless, growing piles of scraps. Know what I mean?

My scraps used to live on my floor under the cutting table, in paper bags no less - not very attractive or functional and really an awful place to store them. So I decided to make them their own little bins, color coded to correspond to the fabrics inside.

Voila! I love this solution and I made them big enough that they should hold scraps for a few years to come. Phew! Much nicer looking. Here they are living on top of the fabric stash.
You can make these to! They are just fabric boxes reinforced with Peltex fusible interfacing. There are lots of tutorial on making storage boxes online if you google it, so I'm not going to describe the process here. Plus these use up a few scraps as well - yes! Now I just need to make a couple more.

Much better! I feel better already! I think this year is going to be very fulfilling.

New Year, new sweater!

2011-01-01T18:00:00.001-08:00

It's 2011 now! How many months of writing 2010 on my checks before I finally remember it's 2011?? Usually takes me about 2 months. ha!! We'll see. But, it's 2011 now, Happy New year everyone!!

At Christmas time, I usually switch over to knitting for a few weeks. Largely because my sewing area is shutdown once the tree goes up and partly because I want to spent more time hanging with my family. So my stitches have been keeping me busy over the holidays. I haven't made myself a sweater in years and years - probably quit that right about the time my kids were born. But now that they're older, I have time to think about knitting bigger projects again. I discovered this Madeline Tosh dk merino yarn just a few weeks ago and it was love at first sight! This stuff is so soft and squishy that it's heavenly. So I decided to call this sweater the my Blue Heaven sweater named for the lovely soft yarn. The pattern is Cable Yoke Pullover by Norah Gaughan from the Vogue Knitting 2010 holiday issue.

So happy with how this sweater turned out. The project was supposed to last me a wee bit longer though, so now I'm dreaming up the next project.

Happy New Year Everyone and happy Sewing!!

10

2010-12-30T18:00:00.000-08:00

Another year comes to a close. Bye Bye 2010.....hello 2011.

The year in Quilty Review:

10! I made ten quilts this year. Hey, that's not too shabby!! I'm pretty proud of myself. Who knew this quilting thing was going to stick around that long? I guess I can't count myself as a newbie quilter anymore?

2010 was also productive in other ways ~ there was plenty of swap sewing, and gift sewing, some new home decor things and other fun stuff I sewed just because ...

And a few much needed clothing items...

All in all, 2010 was a great year for our family!! Thanks to all my blog readers for providing feedback and well wishes and for just being there! Without you there would be no point to this blog!

Here's to a fruitful and fun 2011. Happy New Year everyone! Hope all your fiber dreams come true.

Christmassy blogging ~ part deux!

2010-12-24T18:30:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas! Happy Holidays to all my friends in blogland!

A little holiday cheer from our household. This is what happens when you leave Dad in charge of the gingerbread house making ~ You get some serious construction and I wouldn't be surprised if power tools were involved somehow! The kids had fun designing and building their Christmas farmland!

Meanwhile, now that Christmas is here, I can write about my other Christmas gift sewing adventures. Here's a little homemade goodness for my mom who is also a knitter....

This bag follows the same design I used for the Holly’s bag for the Urban Home goods Swap. I added in a notions case and a needle roll for straights and double-pointed needles. Fabrics are some Amy Butler Nigella from my stash paired with some lovely Italian Linen (also from the stash). Linings are Bijoux from Heather Bailey and ta dots from Michael Miller.

Then a case just for circular needles.

This one is mostly made of Echino fabric which I have been dying to use.

Echino circular needle case based on a tutorial over at Wonderland and the Bone Rome

Happy Holidays and Happy Sewing!

Christmassy blogging

2010-12-22T20:00:00.000-08:00

It is so difficult to blog about what you are sewing, when they are Christmas gifts! Especially when the recipients read my blog! I think I need to institute a blog ban for them and hope they don't peek!! Some people are sneaky about their Christmas gifts, you know? he he

Well, here is the first set of gifties. Little mug rugs for my lovely work-mates.
I had fun making these because I got to try all sorts of blocks without the commitment of having to turn them into a full-fledged quilt!

I really enjoyed paper-piecing the geese in a half circle ~ and I learned a valuable lesson ~ I will never make an entire paper pieced quilt! Waaaaay too much work and not enough instant gratification for moi! S'ok, sometimes it's good to know your limitations.

Hope your holiday season is going smoothly. Happy Sewing!

PTS4 Received!

2010-12-21T21:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Winter Solstice!

Yes I know I have been absent in Dec - and I had such grand plans for you as well! Ah well sometimes things just get away from you. Just wrapping up a few last minute christmas ends around here and then I'll be ready to par-tay.

Meanwhile, check out these babies!
My fabulous swap partner from the Pillow Talk Swap round 4 was my homeboy John of QuiltDad fame his'self. How lucky am I? I had suggested some pillows for our newly renovated den might be nice and John delivered!

Are they not fabulous!! And 2, count'em TWO pillows!

John definitely went above and beyond. Don't they look lovely on the sofa? Now I really need to get my skiing posters framed and on the walls.

In their new home

And he also sent some other goodies, not all of which are captured here because my children had already absconded with them. Thank-you John!! Everything is fabulous!

Happy Sewing!

Stocking Advent Calendar Tutorial: Part 2

2010-11-30T20:06:00.000-08:00

Are you ready to finish up your advent calendar? My apologies if you have been waiting patiently for part 2. The holiday weekend kind of got the better of me.

To see the first installment of this tutorial, go to Stocking Advent Calendar part 1 here

Materials:

Approximately 3/4 yd of linen

3/4 yd backing fabric, batting and extra for binding

24 1" miniature wooden clothespins (find in any craft store)

Spray paint to match your design if desired (IO used Rustoleum enamel paint)

Black thread

Washable marker

20" ribbon for hanging

1/4" wooden dowel cut to 20" length

Glue gun and glue sticks

This part of the tutorial is going to be very free-spirited and short. You can finish up the back of the calendar any way you like. I have already shown you one option where the stockings were laid out in a circle.

That won't work for a wall hanging obviously, but works well as a table topper or centerpiece. In that case the background fabric was a square about 25x25". I sewed buttons in a circle and attached the stockings to the buttons by the loops.

Another simple option would be to stop here, find a nice velvet ribbon and simply string the stockings up on the ribbon and use it to adorn your fireplace mantle. Simple, easy and you'ld already be done! Sometimes simplicity speaks volumes! Especially around the holidays when you have a million other things to do.

Another option and the one I'm making here, is going to be hung on a wall, so I'm going to show you how I made that version.

I've chosen a linen backing mostly because I'm loving the linen these days. I've laid out all my stockings in a pattern that I liked. In this case I chose a three-tiered curve that is supposed to represent a washing line. My background pieces measures about 23" by 28"which includes 1/2" seam allowance for binding. I have chosen not to do any patchwork on the background of this piece, because I really want the stockings to be the focal point.

Once your background is cut, you'll want to layer it with batting and quilt it. I've done some basic meandering stipple quilting here, but you could just as easily do straight line quilting in random directions to keep this very modern and simple. There are lots of good online tutorials for making a quilt sandwich and for adding bindings so I'm not going to cover those parts here. Use whichever method appeals to you. Here are some examples:
Making a quilt sandwich 1 Making a quilt sandwich 2 Making a quilt sandwich 3
Binding 1 Binding 2 Binding 3

Before you sew on your binding, if you are planning on hanging this on a wall you might want to add a little sleeve onto the back of the quilt so you can hang it. I've done that here. Take 2" by 20" rectangle and finish the short edges with a narrow seam. Then fold in half lengthwise and sew it into the binding seams. Pin in place matching up the straight edges. You'll be attaching the sleeve to the quilt when you sew on the binding.
Again see the binding tutorials linked above if you need to reference that step. I've chosen a contrasting red print for the binding to liven things up a bit and because I really like the contrast of bright reds with linen. Use a long wooden dowel (mine is 1/4" diameter) to hold up your quilt and add some fishing wire or pretty ribbon to hang it on the wall later.

Next, lay out your stockings again on your finished quilt background.
I get them all situated in the way I like them, then mark about 1/2" above the stocking tops on the loop side using a water soluble marker.
Then I just drew in a line between the dots, to get a smooth curve.
This line will be the stitching line. I attached my walking foot to my sewing machine and sewed 3 lines of stitching over marker line with black thread.

I've sewed miniature clothespins onto the background at the 'washing' line and then attached the stockings to clothespins. Clothespins don't come in aqua, so I had to spray paint these first.

And you are done with the sewing!! Put and wooden dowel in the sleeve on the back of the quilt and glue a piece of decorative ribbon to the dowel at both ends. Hang on the wall and enjoy!

Doesn't it look fabulous? Don't you wish you could be a kid again? You can always keep this calendar for yourself, I won't tell ;)

You could use any layout, it doesn't have to be this one. Just arrange the stockings any way you like them. It's up to you!

Now, I'm going to fill my stockings with little chocolates and other treats since tomorrow is Dec 1st!

If you make this advent calendar, please post your pics in the Trillium Design Flickr group. I always love to see your creations. Happy Holidays and Happy Sewing!

Stocking Advent Calendar Tutorial:Part 1

2010-11-21T21:56:00.000-08:00

It's snowing outside!! How appropriate then for me to share with you my stocking advent calendar tutorial. If you have a snow day coming your way soon, you can stitch up one of these in time for Dec 1st.

The one I'm making will look a little different but here is the one I made for the Savvy Season's swap.

The one we'll be making here is identical in size.

Ready? Set? Here we go...

You will need:

48 5" Scraps of various fabrics,

1/2 yd of lining fabrics or more scraps

rick rack or ribbon

thread

quilting template plastic

1 yd of background fabric

1 yd of backing fabric

extra fabric for binding

24 buttons

All seam allowances are 1/4"

First off, you will need to create a template using the stocking pattern shown here. Print this out so that the guideline measures 1" For me that's about 100% but it might vary for you, depending upon your printer settings etc.

I traced the stocking onto a piece of plastic quilting template then cut it out. You can find this plastic at any place you buy quilting supplies. However, you can also use a piece of paperboard or cardboard, or even cut it out of a plastic lid. Whatever, works for you.

Trace the stocking pattern out 48 times. I double my fabric, press so it's flat and then trace and cut - that way I'm cutting out 2 at a time and they are exactly opposite orientation. You will need 24 with the stockings facing left and 24 facing in right. I like all my stockings facing the same direction on the final piece, so I make sure I trace them all in the same direction when fabric orientation is important.

I lined all my stockings, so I also trace 48 stockings out of a lining fabric. You can use anything for this since you won't really see the lining. I used some Kona white.

First off you will need to add numbers to the stocking fronts. I used embroidered numbers, but you can do anything here. You can use a fabric marker, or hand/machine embroider the numbers or applique them on. It's up to you!

Now we are ready to sew them together. Place the pieces together so that you have one stocking outside and one lining piece. You will be placing the lining such that right sides are facing.

Then sew a 1/4" seam along the top of the stockings.
Now iron open all the top seams as shown.

Once all your lining pieces are attached. Take two corresponding stocking sides and line them up so that the right sides are facing.
Like so...
Take a 2" piece of ribbon or rick rack and fold it in half. Align the rick-rack along the top seamline towards the back of the stocking. The ribbon is going to be inserted into the side seam of the stocking when it's sewn.

Now sew a scant 1/4" seam around the outside of the stocking. Leave a small 1" opening towards the top of the lining section as shown~
Clip the corners of the curved seams, taking care not to clip the stitching! This will help the curved seams lie flat in the final stocking.
Turn the stocking right-side out as shown~
Here I have pinned closed the remaining opening . You will then stitch this opening closed using a very narrow seam.
Pop the lining inside the stocking and voila! You have completed a mini stocking!! Now do this 23 more times....!! ;)
Ok, that's it for today. Stay tuned for the finishing part of this calendar.

Stocking Advent Calendar part 2

Sunday Sewing ~ Riverbend

2010-11-21T18:43:00.000-08:00

Another day, another pillow. Introducing Riverbend! ~ which is similar to the Earth and Sky pillow revamped back to my original color scheme.

I like this one a lot - probably the colors. This one will live happily on my living room sofa. It looks quite content in it's new home. Just in time for Turkey day company.

I decided to change up the pebble quilting using a contrasting thread - looks better like that. I also increased the gathers on the curved section, also improves the look to me.

Stay tuned for a little mini tutorial on how to make an stocking advent calendar wall hanging for the holidays ~ coming up this week!

Happy Sewing!

Of Earth and Sky

2010-11-14T09:52:00.001-08:00

Here is my entry for Pillow Talk Swap round 4 ~ going to ?? someone, somewhere....who could it be?

I have had a version of this design in my head since PTS3 but it was nixed in favor of the Circular Logic pillow at the last moment. Originally this pillow was supposed to have an aqua/blues color palette but my partner wasn't really an aqua kind of person, so I have changed the design somewhat to better suit their preferences.

The pieced portion of this pillow was made using the Hexagon string piecing process written by Malka Dubrawsky in the winter 2010 issue of International Quilt Festival Quilt Scene magazine. After piecing together those lovely hexies, I proceeded to cut them up again (I seem to always do that) to create the curved sections necessary for the design.

I used Radiance (Kaufman) in Chocolate which is a silk/cotton blend for the gathered section. A little piping to accent the curves and then finally pieced in the linen section to complete the pillow top.

I was able to try a few new techniques for this pillow. I thought the design called for some fancy quilting and I had been wanting to try some pebble quilting. So the linen section has a progression of pebbles, going from large to small across the linen.

As the title suggests, this pillow represents a sort of Earth and Sky theme which is where the pebbles come in. The color palette represents a beautiful sunset.

Kind of a fun project that sewed up very quickly. I like it when it works like that.

I hope you like it Partner! It's flying your way tomorrow.

Happy Sewing!

Harvest Softies

2010-11-07T22:01:00.000-08:00

~ A beavy of cucurbitaceaus softies~

I felt a little fall decorating was in order now that Halloween has come and gone. This was a fun little project. Squash and Pumpkin pattern from PortabelloPixie

They will look great on the mantle once I make a few more. Maybe I'll add in some fall leaves to round things out.

Fabrics are an assortment of Sandi Henderson prints, some Erin McMorris and Sis Boom basics. Fabulous felt from Heather Bailey to round it all out.

What are your fall decorating plans?

Happy Sewing!

Happy Halloween!!

2010-10-31T20:37:00.001-07:00

Don't OD on too much candy!

Blogger's Quilt Festival ~ Fall '10

2010-10-30T12:49:00.000-07:00

Quilting is everywhere these days. Quilt market is just wrapping up in Houston as I write and the Blogger's online Quilt Fest is back too! How fun!

Amy Ellis runs this bloggy event every year and it's a chance to share your quilty creations and the inspiration behind them. And, it's a great way to discover new online quilters.

Click on this logo

to see more

Here is my contribution ~ Regular readers have seen this quilt before. It's really hard for me to pick a special quilt - maybe because I've been quilting for such a short while that I haven't gotten favorites yet. I still feel like every new quilt is a favorite child until I move onto the next. Still, I like this one a lot - it's special to me because I designed it specifically for its recipients - my parents - who are obviously quite special to me. My mother was and is a huge sewing inspiration. She has never quilted (I don't think) but she has mad sewing skills and I still turn to her for help and advice if I run into a sewing dilemma. She and my Dad, are also super creative people, always working hard on new projects and beautifying their lives. They rock!!! Ok so without further adieu and before the tears set in, here's my submission

Right before I designed this quilt, I had been making a lot of english paper pieced hexagons after learning about them in the spring. This project just screamed hexagons to me, so I put a big curvy swath of them across the front as the focal point of the quilt and left the pieced parts of the quilt fairly simple. There was a lot of hand sewing in this quilt, but in the end, it turned out just exactly the way I wanted it to!

So there you have it! My BQF submission. Enjoy! And please go check out the other submissions. So many beautiful quilts all in one place!

Happy Sewing!

Pillow Talk Swap round 4

2010-10-29T18:15:00.000-07:00

Here we go again! It's time for round 4 of the Flickr-based Pillow Talk Swap put on by master swap officianadittas Heather and Kerri. I had seriously considered skipping this one. With the holidays approaching and so much going on with the kids schedules, I had kind of unofficially decided I wasn't going to do anymore swaps for a few months at least. But this swap is so much fun, I just couldn't pass it up. So I'm officially in, and I already have an idea in mind. Partners haven't been assigned yet, so I hope that my idea meshes up with the person. But that's ok, usually ideas are plentiful around here, it's the time to execute them that's in short supply.

So here's my inspiration mosaic for the current round:

There are so many fabulous pillows to chose from, it's really hard to narrow it down. Modern design being a key element here.

Should be a fun swap!!

Happy Sewing!

BOO!!!

2010-10-28T18:30:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for the haunting hour?

Lace hat embroidery design by Urban Threads

Happy Sewing!

Prickly Pear Pincushion

2010-10-24T19:49:00.000-07:00

Here's a prickly little pincushion. I had so much fun making these apples and pears for the Savvy Seasons Swap, I decided to make another one. This one is filled with emery sand, to clean the needles and keep the pins sharp. Let's hope it works.

The fabric is Heather Ross' Far Far Away 2. I really wanted to use this fun fabric for something whimsical. I really like working with this cotton/linen blend. Very nice weight and hand for sewing something like this.

This was a fun quick project. But I think I'm full up for pincushions for now.

Hope your weekend was productive. Happy Sewing!

A Mystery Package arrives...

2010-10-19T19:55:00.000-07:00

What could be in this Mystery Package???...

There is no return address...

...further sleuthing reveals that this package traveled overseas...

....all the way from the United Kingdom via the Royal Mail. We Yanks think that Royal Mail sounds pretty fancy indeed!

...perhaps my long lost Tiara is inside?? Wait, even better, could it be my Savvy Seasons Swap goodies??

...but it is!!

~~What a pretty package...

...with even prettier things inside!!

...as you can see, little hands could hardly stay away while pictures were being taken...

Ta Da, the grand reveal!!!

I love it all - thank you so much Mandy!! These are perfect for our home and already well loved!!!!

Check out the Ghastlies! I love these creepy guys!

Yes, I am weird.

A Halloween lover, through and through. Our newly adorned kitchen table (sorry, horrid lighting in that room).

That's all for today ~ happy sewing!

Tuesday teeny project

2010-10-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

Here's a new pincushion for my cutting table.

This was made from a pattern in Anna Maria Horner's Seams to Me book. I goofed on the center interfacing and used heavy weight instead of peltex. Ooops As a result the inner storage area puffs inward from the stuffing making that area considerably smaller than intended. Next time I'll make it correctly, but for now this will do for my purposes.

That's all for today - Happy Sewing!

A little Christmas Cheer - already!

2010-10-10T15:28:00.001-07:00

Christmas decorations are starting to show up in stores around here. Ok I will admit I am in no way ready for this just yet. But the fact remains that the holiday season approaches.

I haven't even dug into my Halloween decorations yet, but I have made up a little Christmas cheer for my Saavy Season's Swap partner. This little package of goodies will be going their way soon.

After much deliberation, I decided to make an advent calendar out of little stockings. They are big enough to pop in a little chocolate or other Holiday treat.

The stockings can be removed for easy washing. This calendar is sized to fit on your table and doubles as a table decoration. I added the festive fruit to adorn the center. I hope you like it partner.

Now that that's done, it's back to Halloween sewing for me. I have to create a ghoul costume for my son.
Happy Sewing!

Fallish Quilting along

2010-10-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed a new button on my sidebar ~ the Pickle dish Quilt-along which is being run by Aneela of Comfortstitching. I have always wanted to make a double wedding ring quilt and this one is very similar to that, so I decided to join in. Mine is going to be in very non-traditional? or at least very current colors. It's a palette of black and citrus and gray.

I have absolutely no plan for this quilt at the moment. Picnic quilt? Xmas gift? No clue.

So far I've made 27 pairs of these arches - you need 8 arches for a block and I'm going to be making at least 12 blocks (possibly more, haven't decided yet), sooooo I've got a long long way to go.

Here's a jist of what the blocks will look like ~

Should I be working on a new quilt when I have umpteen higher priority projects to do? Nope! But sometimes you just have to go with the flow of your creative juices.

Happy sewing!

All in a days work

2010-10-01T19:09:00.000-07:00

Just a little something for a new baby. Not mine, another new little one who will be coming along soon ~ a long-time coworker and all around sweet lady is finally expecting her first child at the end of the month. She and her hubby will make great parents, I just know it!

This little baby quilt will do nicely for the upcoming shower which is next week.

It's sort of a Munki in the middle-inspired quilt, but I expanded past Heather Ross designs to just about anything cute and childlike.

I finally dug into those Kaufman Kona roll-ups which I have been otherwise admiring on the shelf for a few months. They came in handy for this project. Don't ask me which color is which because I certainly can't tell you. I can tell you they are all from the bright palette. The sashing is Kona Ash which is a nice light grey and lovely in this quilt. For the backing/binding I choose a Riley Blake dotty print which had been in my stash and happened to match perfectly. Did I mention I love using up stuff in my stash?

One baby gift down, I still have one more to make - this month! And it's October, which means Halloween sewing is on the agenda plus Swap goodies. I better get crackin'!

This also constitutes another Friday Finish for Sew and Tell - Happy sewing!

(almost) Friday Finish

2010-09-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

Remember this random red and aqua quilt which I started for no particular reason other than I felt like it? The top is finally finished after having started it a couple of months ago. I really don't like projects hanging around like this. I'm always worried they'll end up in project purgatory, so I'm glad the top is done.

The quilting will be next but since that's my favorite part, it won't take long as long as I can carve out some time in the schedule. Famous last words, right?

As it turned out, It was quite a bit of work to piece all those strips together since I needed 80 of them and that was only half the work for the block. I like how it came together though. It's been named the Stepping Stones quilt by my son.
Appropriate I think since it will live on the patio in the summer.

Happy Sewing!

My turn....UHG Swap

2010-09-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

Check out these fantabulous goodies from my UHG Swap partner, JenniferLGB.

Didn't she do a great job? These Orla Kiely inspired placemats are so perfectly suited to my tastes - I really love that design and I love Jennifer's execution. The colors are perfect for our home and, well, I just love them all the way around. She even made matching napkins and coasters! ACK I love it all.

You can't really tell from the pictures, but the cream fabric is linen - which totally lends a luxurious feel to the whole set! If I haven't said it enough, I'm pretty smitten!

She even included a couple of pieces of Amy Butler fabric - I've already commandeered the pink one for the next project ;)
Thank-you Jennifer! You totally had me pegged. And thanks again to Heather , Kerri and their many swap helpers (who I can't name) for running another awesome swap! You ladies rock!

Happy Sewing!

Urban Home Goods Swap goodies

2010-09-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

As you may know, I have been stuck on participating in Flickr based Swaps for the last few months. It has been a blast and I have met many wonderful sewists and crafters. This latest completion is for the Urban Home Goods Swap, round 2. As the name suggests, the range of items to make is pretty wide open. My partner gavemany specific suggestions, but still left the range pretty wide. So after stalking her a bit, I decided on this little set of goodies.My partner knits, and had suggested a knitting needle case among other things, so I decided a knitting set would be in order.

I designed this bag specifically with the knitter in mind.

It's large enough for a single project to take on the go. Long enough so that straight needles will fit in the bottom plus there is some extra room for the pouch.

My knitting bag always has lots of little things like darning needles, rulers and snips floating around in the bottom. So I thought a little pouch to contain all those things might be useful.

To be honest, I could really use a new knitting bag myself - my current bag is about 15 years old and is really a gardening bag that I re-purposed. So it's with some reluctance that I am sending this one off to my partner.

I used colors that my partner likes and paired that with some linen for a modern feel. Fabrics include Sandi Henderson's Ginger Blossom, Sis boom basics, Amy Butler prints, Joel Dewberry, Anna Maria Horner and Michael Miller's antiquities, all paired with natural linen. I added a little quilting on the linen to tie things together.

I really love the bag, I'm going to make myself one, one of these days. The flower on the front adds the finishing touch and I used this tutorial from sewritsytitsy . Love this flower - I'm going to have to find an excuse to make myself a few more...

The knitting needle case was made following the same directions as the case in the last post. I think it all comes together for a fun set.

I hope you like it partner, because it should be in your neck of the woods any moment now!

Happy Sewing!

Lazy Sunday afternoon

2010-09-12T17:18:00.000-07:00

Check out my kiddo's new quilt in action ~ yeah she has a rough life. This is how I found her out in the yard enjoying the last warm summer days. When I offered to feed her grapes she took me up on it! Ha - silly girl. She had to settle for sliced apple, she can feed herself though. What a life!

And new Bliss yardage in the house, I so love this fabric and had to gobble some up as soon as it was out. It's fabric in search of a project...

Happy Sewing!

A Visit to the Royal Ontario Museum

2010-09-09T21:09:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I took the kids on a trip to visit my hometown of Toronto. My parents still live there, so it was a fun trip filled with family, old friends and a little sightseeing. We spent one day at the Royal Ontario Museum in downtown Toronto, locally known as the ROM. The Chinese Clay Warriors were on display there but the kids were more impressed by the many giant dinosaur skeletons and natural history displays.

Us 3 girls, my mom, my daughter and I, managed to sneak away for a bit to visit the textile display up on the top floor. There were many wonderful handmade items. Some, like the clothes, were quite old.

Full of incredible detailing...
I am so glad I never had to dress like this. And an obligatory shoe pic, just because, well, it's shoes! Need I say more?

The quilts were pretty impressive especially when you consider that these were made prior to the days of sewing machines - I shudder to think about the hours involved in all that hand sewing.

There were plenty of modern textile examples as well....

Ah yes, Marimekko! Love it! A fun trip into textile history.

Happy Sewing!

Stick sleeve

2010-09-05T19:33:00.000-07:00

I have been doing a little holiday weekend sewing. I'm working on my super secret Urban Home goods swap stuff for my secret partner. That's still hush hush for the moment.

While I was doing that I decided to make up a knitting needle case for myself. I used the tute over at multicrafty.

I have been meaning to make one of these for years. My current needle case has long since been outstripped by my needles. So now I have one that fits all the straight needles. I used fabrics from Kelly at Banana Showcase and the Stitch n Lounge. I love these fabrics and was so happy to see how well they matched when they arrived. I used some Meadowsweet II from Sandi Henderson and paired it with Farmdale from Alexander Henry.

I even made a little pouch to put in all those little knitting supplies that usually troll around in the bottom of my knitting bag.

Speaking of knitting bags, that one's next on my list. I really need to replace the ancient gardening bag I have been using as a knitting bag for the last decade.

Happy Sewing!

ORBC Quilt-along finish!

2010-09-01T20:02:00.000-07:00

A while back, in this post, I laid out the plans for my own version of the hexagon quilt led by Julie (Jaybird quilts) and the Old Red barn Co.

The hexagon quilt is finally finished. It has been pieced for awhile, but last month in the blazing heat I finally managed to stitch up a quilt back and this past week I finally got it quilted and bound.
I am totally loving the end result. The colors are speaking to me, so cool and calming and well, blue is my favorite color anyway, so it was hard to go wrong here.

After much debate on the final layout, I decided to go with the pointed edges following the hexagon lines and I really like the result. Usually when I design a quilt, I have the end product in my mind, so it was a bit strange to have all these blocks made and then figure out how to put them together. I think this layout works ok though.

Sewing on the binding was a bit slower because of all those points, but not too bad. This one has already been claimed by my daughter ~ no surprise there ~ green and aqua are her favorite colors.

The fabrics in this quilt are from all over and include Sandi Henderson, Heather Bailey, Valori Wells, Patty Young, Paula Prass, Tula Pink, and others.

I decided to venture out from random stipple quilting and quilt on this curvy leaf pattern. Not sure how much i'm loving this approach really. It was a LOT of work and i'm not sure it was worth it really. It looks okay but you can't really see it well on this type of quilt. Probably would've worked better on a quilt with more solid fabrics. Live and learn.

That’s the 3rd quilt finish this summer – phew!

Happy Sewing!

Swaps, swaps, swaps

2010-08-28T20:35:00.000-07:00

There are some more goodies in the house. Check out my new clutch sent to me from MichelleSews through the gathered clutch swap. Isn't it awesome? She did such a great job on it. I love it, thank-you Michelle.

I'm participating in two more swaps at the moment. First: the urban-home goods swap round 2. I'm hard at work on my projects for my secret partner. No sneak peaks on that yet, but it does involve lots of little squares, again. Not sure how it happens, but it seems all my swap projects involve little squares. Yeah. Here's my inspiration mosaic for my partner.

It will be fun to see what evolves.

Next up is the SavVy Seasons swap. Here's my inspiration mosaic for that Swap. Partners haven't yet been given out.

I chose Halloween for my season. I think Halloween might be my favorite holiday. Even if it is only a one day event, I love decorating the house for halloween. Before the kids were born, we used to have huge halloween parties that took me a month to plan and prep for. Nowadays, life is too busy for big parties, but we still love to decorate, plan costumes, carve pumpkins and visit the pumpkin patch.

Happy Sewing!

Stash enhancement alleviation program

2010-08-26T10:01:00.000-07:00

A simple 8 step approach to preventing more fabric from entering your house, garage, storage shed or wherever else you hide it.

Step 1: Do not visit a fabric store

Step 2: Do not take your wallet

Step 3: Donate all your assets to charity (oh who are we kidding, you'll probably take a job at the fabric store and work for fabric).

Step 4: Throw away your sewing machine (or donate to a good cause)

Step 5: If you bypass step 1, take your hubby along. While this might not completely alleviate your acquisition of more fabric, it will likely put a damper on the quantity you take home with you. Note ~ If you happen to have a super supportive hubby who lets you buy fabric like there is no tomorrow, skip to step 6

Step 6: Waste some of your shopping time reading this - no really!

Step 7: Realize that reading step 6 only made you feel more justified in visiting a fabric shop

Step 8: If all else fails, enroll in a 12-step program.

Hexie Redux ~ Take 2

2010-08-11T03:00:00.000-07:00

Some history ~ I've been planning a trip to visit my parents and I wanted to bring along a little something for them to have in their home. I have not seen my mother since I began quilting at the start of the year, and seeing as she lives 3000 miles away, I thought that a quilt would be appropriate. My Mom is the driving force behind my sewing skills ~ were it not for her I would not be here today to blog about my sewing adventures. She is the most amazinging sewist ever! But, she doesn't quilt, so this one's for you Mom!

I chose this fabric (Martinique from Moda) ~ primarily because the colors are perfect for my parents home and include both my Mom and Dad's favorite colors. I think it will look lovely in their living room.

Originally, hexies were not part of this quilt plan at all. I wanted to use these pretty traditional quilt fabrics in a very modern way. I had been looking at simple shapes - squares outlined simply in a narrow solid frame and quilted in a modern parallel lines approach. Then a bolt of inspiration hit me (as they sometimes do) - why not add a spray of hexies to the squares just to mix it up a bit? I like to mix things up a lot actually, in case you haven't noticed. So there you have it, the idea behind the final design. Here's my sketch-up if you are interested in quilt process.

I used hexies of various sizes to lend a feel of movement to the design. I think the redux is perfect and modern and I am very happy with the end result.

I have also been converted into the quilt label camp ~ this newest quilt is the first to feature the Trillium label which I had printed over at Spoonflower.

After being a Spoonflower member since the earliest Beta days, I'm glad to have finally taken the plunge in printing my own fabric. Thanks to Julie (jaybird quilts) for some instructional info on how to get a quilt label ready for printing. The Spoonflower FAQ was very helpful in this regard as well.

The back ~

I hope Mom and Dad like this quilt as much as I do because they will be receiving it very soon.....

And with that, I should point out and the kids and I are now on vacation. We will be visiting Toronto for a week, so I'll be off blogland for awhile. See you in another week!

Happy Sewing!

The really Big Ass Bag!

2010-08-08T17:45:00.000-07:00

I'm wrapping up things around here, getting ready to go on vacation in a few days. We're flying, and taking my laptop and I needed a bag that both fit the laptop and a few other things and was secure, because I don't want my items rolling around on the plane floor. So this is what I came up with ~ A really Big Ass Bag, henceforth known as the Cycle Around Bag.

I have made messenger bags before, but this one is really huge. Doesn't help that my laptop is a wide screen, hence the larger sized bag. But this also needs to hold a book or two, passports, tickets, snacks, a sweater, DVDs for the kids, etc etc etc. So there you have it.

And a few accessory pouches for random other things.

The bicycle fabric in this bag is an Echino print. I thought the bikes were perfect for a messenger bag, plus I love biking anyway. The lining is Park Slope fabric which coordinates pretty well. The bag also has a divider pocket to keep the laptop in place. Test run coming up in a few days!

Just so you know, Hubby is staying home, he has to work, poor guy and take care of the pup.

In the meantime, happy sewing!

Quilting outside the box

2010-08-04T19:00:00.000-07:00

This quilt is for my son - he's an outside the box kind of kid. He loves to build things. He'll build anything, out of any material. I'm not really sure if his brain ever stops building even when he's sleeping. If all he has is dirt and sticks, he'll build with that. Give him some legos and he'll build the most amazing creations. Lately he's been building transformers out of legos. Creations that fully transform from one visible entity to another - it's amazing to me that his young brain can even dream up these things, let alone bring them to life. He's an awesome kid.

He rarely benefits from my sewing skills, there just aren't a lot of things a fabric lovin' mom can make for an 11 year old boy. But when I started quilting, he added his name to the waiting list. Well wait no more kid, here is your outside the box quilt.

This quilt follows the pattern from Modern Quilt Workshop.

I used an assortment of guy-ish fabrics in his favorite color, blue. I'm pretty happy with the result and so is he!

The back ~

The dog likes it to!

and this guy,

Can you spot the mistake in this quilt? I set all the blocks in sideways in the long view. Ooops, oh well, it's a lap quilt and we'll just call that part, charm.

Now on to finish the other 2 quilts I have on my sewing table.

Happy Sewing!

IKEA score

2010-08-02T20:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we trekked up to Portland to take my daughter to OMSI camp for the week. The lucky girl gets to canoe off the San Juan's and spot Orca's. Yes it's a tough life when you are 8. Meanwhile, the rest of her family, that's us, decided to make a trip to IKEA. I convinced hubby we needed barstools (we do) and I figured we should head on over there and check out the fabric offerings, well, among other things, that may have been my modis operandi.

I managed to score some really awesome large scale prints in grey tones which will be perfect as new tablecloths for the kitchen. These prints are right up my alley - really modern, which I LOVE. These are REALLY large scale, those top flowers are about 24" across. These prints will be great for the kitchen table.

And did you know, that you can get really cheap down/feather pillow inserts at IKEA? Well, I didn't but I was sure glad to find that out since I have a multitude of pillow outsides here that need stuffing. So as a result, I managed to finish and stuff my fade to blue pillow, which was originally slated for PTS3 until I decided it wasn't up to snuff enough for that swap.

So now we have another new pillow in our living room. Still have a few to make, but this is a nice start. Also the new pillow inserts should solve the pillow lumpies - you know when your family members leave the pillow wedged between the sofa and the sofa cushion and this, somehow over time, results in a lumpy pillow indeed? At least the feather ones are re-fluffable.

And lastly, my trip to Portland would not be complete without a visit to Bolt. It was my first trip to the 'famed' fabric shop in Portland's Art district. I did enjoy seeing the organic and japanese fabrics in person. However, I came away empty handed, which has to be a first for me, and I'm not sure but it might be because hubby was along. He thinks we have enough fabric in our house - silly!

Happy Sewing!

And the winner is....

2010-08-01T20:19:00.000-07:00

Ms Ritz Young, of Glitsie Ritsie boutique! You have won your own copy of the Fat Quarterly, Issue 2. Please contact me directly at cascadeskids at gmail dot com so I can get you set up with your free issue. Congrats Ritz! And big thank-yous to everyone who participated in the giveaway.

Now for a little peek at the pouch I made for my hexie swap partner

I hope you like it partner! It's off in the mail tomorrow along with a stack of hexies.

Happy Sewing Everyone!

Friday Wrap-up

2010-07-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

Some fun new arrivals at my house this week. It was an exciting mail day.

First off my hexies arrived from the {Handsome} Hexies Swap round 2. They were made for me by the Northwest's own, Jill of Madeonmainstreet. She not only sent hexies, but a pouch made with Laurie Wisbrun's Tufted Tweets line which is one of my faves! She also included these nifty hexie templates which she sells in her etsy store. You can bet I'll be using these to make my next batch of hexies! A very rockin' swap partner she is!! Thank-you Jill. I do hope to make it up to PMQG one day.

Next up are these darling leaf pins, from Lupin on etsy.

I love these pins ~ ok I know they are just pins, but when you stare at pins all week, you start to appreciate the pretty ones a lot more than the plain jane stick pins. These are lovely and nicely made. I need to make up a new pincushion to put these beauties in.

And soon to leave my house are these hexies, for my swap partner.

They aren't flying anywhere just yet though, they still need a pouch for this round and I'm running a little behind.

Finishes this week include 3 quilt tops/backs, which are now sandwiched and awaiting some quality time on the machine. That'll have to wait for next week though. My youngest leaves for camp early Sunday morning and we still have to pack up her gear and drive to Portland.

That's it for today

Happy Sewing!

Gathered Clutch Swap

2010-07-28T21:03:00.000-07:00

It's SWAP time again. No not those fun Swap meets they have in warm climates where people sell all kinds of interesting stuff. I used to love going to those when we were in Florida. This is an organized Craft Swap. This clutch was made for the Gathered Clutch Swap over on Flickr and organized by Penny (Sewtakeahike). The clutch follows a tutorial written by Anna at Noodlehead. You can actually buy her clutch pattern if you like to have your patterns ready-made.

If you're familiar with the tutorial I will say that I did make a couple of adjustments to the original directions. I made my pieces 10" wide instead of 9.5" so that I would have a full 1/2" of seam allowance. For purses I like to have a bit more wiggle room in my seam allowances since there is usually more bulk in the seams than with quilts. I also cut the gathered piece to 16" (not 13" as directed). This gives me a little more fullness and thus more gathers which I like. Finally, beacause I used linen, I interfaced the back of the linen with lightweight fusible interfacing prior to cutting out the pattern pieces. Linen tends to shift when cutting and it has a lot of spring in it. The interfacing helps counter that and makes the linen more amenable to sewing. I love how the linen gave some heft to this clutch. It's nice and stiff and not flimsy - perfect for a little wallet or wristlet.

My partner left it pretty wide open with their requests, so I hope that this is something that they will like. My Swap partner doesn't know yet that this clutch is for them and i'm certainly not going to spill the beans ;) shhhh

I had a blast making it. These paper pieced hexagons are pretty addicting to make and were a great scrap project. I thought they would pair well with the linen and the linen really shows off the gathers on the clutch. I like it so much that I'm going to have to make myself one. This was so fun to make and the clutch itself whips up pretty quickly.

My hexies are about 0.65". Hexagons are measured on one of the six sides. So these are just under 1" in width. Making them 0.65" gave me the layout that resulted. I had to put a few hexies on the back too.
'cuz, ya know....you can never have too many hexies.

I added a inside divider and card pockets.

I added a wrist strap and this piece marks the debut of my own Trillium logo which I had printed on ribbon so I could incorporate it into my purses and sewn items. Ok that's probably not too exciting to you, but I'm pretty tickled by it.

If you are looking for a fun sewing adventure, try a Swap sometime - they are fun to participate in and you tend to meet lots of cool like-minded folks who share your craft enthusiasm.

Don't forget, the giveaway for Fat Quarter Issue 2 is still going on, you can enter here.

Happy Sewing!

Did you know?... Giveaway

2010-07-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

....The next issue of Fat Quarterly debuts today? Yes Indeed! I'm thrilled to tell you that I was lucky enough to have been asked to write up a piece on the Circular Logic Pillow I made for PTS3. If you were wanting to know how to make your very own Circular Logic Pillow - head on over to Fat Quarterly and grab yourself a copy.

This article is a milestone for me because it is the first time I have been published in the crafting world. Exciting stuff.

But wait there's more!! Fat Quarterly and I will be giving away a free copy of Issue #2 to one lucky winner. Just comment on this blog before July 30th and you'll be eligible to win.

Fan TrilliumDesign on facebook, you'll be eligible for another entry.

If you follow me on twitter, you'll be eligible for yet another entry.

That's 3 chances to win! The winner will be chosen randomly, and I'll announce the winner on August 1st.

I think you'll really like the 2nd issue, it's chalk full of fun projects to use up the ever growing scrap pile.

If you do make your own Circular Logic pillow, don't forget to add the pics to the TrilliumDesign flickr pool.

Happy Sewing!

Hexie redux ~ Take 1

2010-07-19T21:50:00.000-07:00

Hexagon shapes have hit, swept (and mopped up?) the online quilting world ~ they are everywhere these days. People, including yours truly, can't get enough of making these little paper-pieced shapes.

For me, they are a relaxing way to spend the evening with my family, much the same way as knitting used to occupy my time. But, as much as I enjoy making them, there is always the question of what to do with them in the end? Their classic use isn't for me - it's great, but not for me ~ too traditional.

So the question remains, what to do with all these little hexagons? I wanted something that would lend a modern feel and a fresh perspective? I have been thinking about this problem for a while now and have come up with a few answers to my own question. Here is the first one ~ a little hexie redux, Version 1.

You have already seen the beginnings of this project in this post. Here is the final version. All my hexies sewn up together and ready to be made into a pillow ~ the Walking in the rain pillow

Why a pillow? ~ Because I'm on a mission to redo all the toss pillows in our house. The Pillow talk swap was impetus enough to retire our boring plain pillows and come up with fabulous replacements. Reason two is because these are half inch hexies! That's a finished hexagon about 1" across and believe me, after hand-piecing 400 of these babies, I'm ready to be done. A pillow was about a big as this project was going to get.

It's black and white and grey as you can see, which is a "color" scheme I'm fond of in our house. Seems to be everywhere.

See?...

Fit's right in.

I threw in a little splash of color to stir things up a bit by appliqueing the little person walking in the rain and used some free-motion stitching to attach the applique.

Add some quilting and a back and it's a throw pillow!

Looks nice next to the Cathedral Mod pillow and the Mid Mod Quilt, no?

So there you have it! Hexie redux, part 1. Stayed tuned for part 2, coming in August.

Happy Sewing!

Nifty Notion

2010-07-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

Check out this nifty little gadget. It's a needle threader. Not one of those little wire doo-hickeys that breaks the first time you use it either! A real needle threader.

I have been doing so much hand sewing lately, and therefore threading of needles, I decided to pick up this little guy at the fabric store. Ok and I will admit that threading needles in my apparently advanced age (ugggh) is getting a little bit trickier than it used to be and that may have contributed to my purchase (maybe, possibly, but I'll never tell). This needle threader is super easy to use - I mean seriously! Why even bother trying to thread a needle the other way? - this is a just plain no-brainer.
You put the needle in the hole on top, you lay the thread in the groove and press the button. Takes all of 0.9876 seconds.

With hand threading, you have to trim the thread sharply to make sure that those little fine strands of thread are really clipped so they don't misdirect the thread away from the eye of the needle - know what I mean? Yea. No worries with the threader. It even has a handy thread cutter built in. I'm sold on this gadget. Go check it out.

In the meantime, I have two quilt tops done and a third nearly complete. So I’m making a lot of progress but no piccies until I get them quilted which will be awhile because we will be busy all weekend at Da Vinci days doing this

And this

and watching this

yes that's mud...

there is also water...

and sand...

and oh yeah - solid ground is allowed too.

Happy Sewing!

Shameless thread grubbing post

2010-07-09T10:44:00.000-07:00

Sew Mama Sew is doing a giveaway for the new Amy Butler and Kaffe Fassett thread collections. Check it out here. My answers to the questions are at the end of this post.

And because I feel a wee bit uncomfortable using my blog to just win a contest, I'm going to show you my latest quilty project first. Still in the works mind you ~ I'm currently making the "Outside the Box" quilt from Modern Quilt Workshop for my son.

He doesn't often benefit from my sewing skills, so I'm glad to be making something for him for a change. Very guy-ish so as not to embarrass the poor kid and very appropriate for him, because he is definitely an outside the box kind of person.

What follows next is my shameless attempt to win some thread and oh yeah, my answers to the questions Sew Mama Sew had posted ~ read on if particularly interested in my thread preferences or have some spare time on your hands.

* How did you select colors for your personal thread collection?

I pretty much pick the colors when I need them for the project I'm working. I don't typically stock thread without a project in mind but of course I have lots of leftover thread from old projects. The exceptions to this would be basics such as white/black/brown and maybe navy and red, those I do stock because they get used so frequently.

* Do you always match the color perfectly to your project?

That depends. If I'm sewing internal seams on purses/bags, then no because that isn't usually seen. However, for garments I'm pretty careful about matching the thread to the fabrics. The same holds true for any topstitching where both sides of the stitching will be seen.

* Do you ever use contrasting thread?

Yes, definitely. Particularly if I want to accent a purse or garment - I do that a lot with knit tops and jackets. I have a cover stitch machine and use that often to introduce decorative stitching to the outside of garments and specifically use contrasting thread for that.

* Do you use the same color in the bobbin as the upper thread?
If the stitching will be seen from both sides, as in topstitching, or in a garment seam, then yes, I almost always use the same color bobbin thread.

* What if a fabric has big areas of very different colors?
Typically, I pick a thread color that I think will accent the fabric well and go with that.

* Do you have any tips or suggestions about choosing thread?
I personally prefer to use polyester in garment sewing for strength and have been using it also in my quilts. However, I'm new to quilting and have certainly heard the case for cotton thread in quilting, so I'm undecided about that. I'm quite partial to a few brands.

* Can you show us a picture(s) of your thread collection?

Umm ok, if you insist. Really kind of a jumbled mess. I need to get this better organized ~ that's still in the planning stages at the moment...
* Do you ever buy thread because you fall in love with the color (without a particular project in mind)?
Sometimes I will do this for embroidery threads, but typically I'm project oriented.
* Do you “invest” in thread?
If you ask my husband he'll say I invest in everything sewing related. Certainly with the price of thread these days, you are putting an investment into it. But since it's kind of essential to sewing, I figure it's worth the investment to use good thread considering the time and effort you are putting into creating a garment, quilt or other sewing project.
* What types of thread do you have? (elastic, quilting, all-purpose, wool, etc.)

I use mostly polyester threads since they work up well on my machines and are strong and durable over time, in the wash etc. I use polyester threads for sewing and quilting. I'll use polyneon (a high sheen polyester thread) from Madeira for embroidery projects and I'll use maxilock or wooly nylon in my serger. I always use wooly nylon when sewing knits. I do have some elastic thread, a few rayons, and a few leftover spools of variegated thread, and that's about it.

This was kind of fun. There you have my thread wisdom in a nutshell. Go over to Sew mama Sew and perhaps grab yourself a chance at some thread.

Happy Sewing!

Happy 4th ~ a little late

2010-07-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

... If it's July 6th, I kind of a blew right by the Independence day celebrations. We were a little under the weather this year with some sort of weird dizzy viral bug at our house. I managed to escape so far, so instead I cleaned out my daughters room - really cleaned it out as in, purged it big time. Well, it's done now and while it probably wasn't the most exciting thing for the 4th, I'm very happy that it's finished and all the random clutter is gone. You know how kids rooms just manage to accumulate - ummm - stuff? It's all gone - many many bags worth. Her room actually looks bigger now, although it's not. She loves it to! Hopefully this will be incentive for her to keep it clean for awhile – yeah right, I know that’s not going to really happen, but a girl can dream right?

Aside from getting a peace/love tote bag done this weekend, I did manage to finish off my July 4th hexie napkins. The first version was a little bland,

so I spiced them up a bit with red rickrack (instead of blue), and used a coordinating print fabric for the backs - much better this way.

The Hexies were made from a Red, White and Bold charm pack (Sandy Gervais, Moda) and the backs are assorted fabrics from my stash including Amy Butlers Love.

Much better this way.

Hope you had a great 4th! Happy Sewing!

Flowerchild

2010-07-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

Remember the 70s? Peace, Love and all that other groovy stuff. As a kid growing up in the 70s, I detested those jeans with the giant white daisies on them. I was pretty glad to give up my bell-bottoms for the much cooler and narrower skinny jeans that were popular in the 80s. Wait wait, what's that you say? Skinny jeans? Sound familiar? Yes, all that's old is new again. The 70s, 80s and probably even the 90s are back again although this time all these decades have been melded into one. And back are peace signs, giant daisies, skinny jeans and even those neon paint splashes on clothes - that was definitely a place I didn't need to revisit. But it's back and it's everything a girl could want - well if you are 8 anyway. So now the next generation gets to 'enjoy' these things again. My daughter is "all over it" as she would say. If she had her way, there would be peace signs on everything.

So here is a little summer tote bag just for her, in her favorite colors and embellished with so many of her favorite things. Yes I live in Oregon. NO, I don't drive a VW Van, nor do I want to - this is as close as she's ever going to get with us. That's Oregonian and you kind of have to live here to appreciate just how hippy this place is.

The bag is a basic Anna Maria Horner Multi-tasker tote - proving just how multi-tasking this tote can be. Really works perfect as a pool/beach tote which is where you'll find my kids most days this summer.

I have made quite a few versions of this tote and it's still a proven winner. This one is embellished with lots of embroidery designs from all over really.
All made by me and patched or directly embroidered onto the bag prior to assembly. I did shorten the straps on her version, since she isn't quite adult size just yet.

A little farbenmix and assorted ribbons for fun and added to the embroidery is some much needed bling - a girl's gotta have her bling, right?

Check out the lining fabric from Michael Miller - how perfect is that? Groovy man!

Embroidery designs include Love/Peace, Mirror Forest, and London Calling from Nic Hildebrandt (Luzia Pimpenella I really love everything she does) and Panda from Mymaki .

WIP Wednesday

2010-06-29T22:53:00.000-07:00

A totally just because I wanna, for no particular reason, fun new project

I'm using the Nittany Block ~ tutorial here

This quilt will include some of this cuteness that Kerri had designed for her shop,Sew Deerly Loved

Along with many of my favorite red and aqua prints...

Not sure where this will live when it's done. Perhaps on the front porch - we need a quilt out there for chilly Oregon Summer Evenings.

Happy Sewing!

~ practicing for swap 3

2010-06-25T07:30:00.000-07:00

I'm doing another Swap. Yes, I am. This time it's this cute little gathered clutch from Noodlehead sews. The swap is being run by Penny, SewTakeaHike. I decided to do a little practice clutch the other night partially because I have been meaning to make a simple little pouch for some time. I need something to store my hexies in on the go, and they are just generally handy little things for who knows what. So here is my practice run using some scrap Flights of fancy from my stash

I left out the card wallet holder because I don’t intend to use mine as a wallet. But the divider pocket is a great idea. Scissors on one side and hexie templates on the other don’t you think?

~ The Back

And wouldn’t you know it, as soon as my daughter saw this one, she immediately requested one of her own …like I didn’t see that one coming…. She is a purse girl for sure.

So I made her this one embellished with lots of Farbenmix Ribbons in her favorite Peace/Love theme.

And while I was at it, I made simpler zipped pouches for the pool.

One as a wet bag to put in her soggy swimsuit and the other just for storing small personal items in her pool bag. The pool versions are both made of laminate so they stay dry. These are so fun to make and whip up so quickly.

I need to make a bigger one for my on-the-go knitting projects ~ so the needles don't keep poking through the ziplock bag I am currently using ~ I know, pretty pathetic huh?

So all in all, a fun project, quick to sew up and plenty useful. Try it sometime! I’ll have to make another one for my swap partner soon.

And while I'm on the topic of swaps, check out this lovely pillow and keychain I received from my Pillow Swap Partner, Liz of ollie.kate, from Pillow Talk Swap 3 ~

Isn't it gorgeous? And works perfectly on my sofa see? ~

These pictures don't really do it justice, it's so much nicer in person ~ I'm thrilled.

Happy Sewing!

Circa 50 in the house

2010-06-09T19:42:00.001-07:00

I don't usually gush about the fabrics that cross my threshold, they are all amazing in their own way. But this latest fabric is Circa 50 from Monaluna/Birch Fabrics and it deserves an exception - even it's very own blog post. It's awesome quality fabric.

Reminds me a lot of the munki munki fabrics in quality. You Munki Munki devotees will know exactly what I'm talking about. Tight weave and a smooth finish. Awesome colors and adorable prints - all retro-like - very cool.

I love all things that are 50s and 60s retro. Check it out! Cute little squirrels and owls. I'm sure this is going to end up in a baby quilt. Yes there are more babies on their way soon - not here, at work. Apparently, the fresh Oregon air is good for fertility ~ or something. I have to make at least 2 more baby gifts this summer and a Munki Munki quilt is definitely in the works. Might have to add in this Circa 50 too.

Look at this innovation! Finally!

Excellent idea Cynthia, keep up the green innovations.

That's all for today. Happy Sewing!

More Hexies

2010-06-03T20:00:00.000-07:00

I did it again - I joined yet another swap. This time it is

{ Handsome } Hexies - THE SWAP

organized by Heather (a la mode fabric). The Pillow talk swap was so much fun, I thought I'ld do it again. My swap partner was none other than the Hexie Queen herself, Heather. The pressure was on...

So here are my hexies for Heather ~All Christmas themed as per her request...

And here are the ones I received from Brooke ~ aren't they cute? I love these. It was so fun to receive a little surprise package of hexies in the mail.

I guess I'll have to come up with a plan for these next...

In doing this I noticed a few things. I cut my one inch paper hexagons out of printer paper and basted onto those. Some people are using precut hexies from a couple of online vendors. The paper of the precuts is much thicker and therefore the finished hexies are much sturdier and crisper looking. Both types of paper work fine but if you want a really crisp looking hexie, you are probably better off buying the precuts. I am using them on my half inch hexies because I didn't want to cut out that many tiny hexies and the precuts look a lot nicer than my printer paper hexies. Plus the precuts are probably a bit more accurate in size than the hand cut ones.

Check out some swaps on flickr if you are interested in this sort of thing. They really are a ton of fun to participate in.
Happy Sewing!

Taking the Process pledge

2010-06-02T16:29:00.000-07:00

About a week ago I took the Process pledge. This was started by Rossie and basically is a committment to include all the parts that go into making a quilt or quilted project in your blog instead of just showing the finished piece. The idea being that we can all learn from each others design processes. Often times the process ends up achieving something quite different than the original design idea. You can read more about the process pledge here.

So I took the pledge and I did show you quite a bit of the process that went into the PTS3 pillow but I couldn't quite tell you everything about that process because my swap partner still hadn't received her pillow and some of the process was a dead-giveaway. But now that she has happily received her pillow, I can say a few more words about that process and then show you the next project.

The PTS3 pillow was inspired primarily by this quilt in Ruth's inspiration mosaic. This amazing quilt was done by Jody of Because i'm me. I love how the colors in this quilt blend from one side to the other. Lately, I have been very interested in recreating the idea of color fade-in/out and fade from one color to another in my quilt projects. So when I saw this picture, I knew immediately what I wanted to do.

My mission was to create a piece of fabric that would achieve the same effect as this picture but there was one caveat. Since the final project was a pillow meaning that my size limit would be somewhere around 20 inches - I had to achieve the same quilt color fade effect in a very small area. That meant that the pieced squares would have to have a final size of around 1/2" in order to give me enough squares to produce an obvious color change. This was a bit of quilt piecing that I had never done before. The small-squares piecing approach using fusible interfacing made the entire process doable. I'm pretty sure I would never have gotten all those tiny squares to line up otherwise.

On to the next process.. Here is my current project

This the design plan for a hexagon pillow made with half inch hexagons. The idea was inspired by this photograph.

This is going to require around 400 hexies ~ my current count is around 360 so i'm getting there.

Hexie pile so far...

That's it for today - happy sewing!

PTS3 ~ The Evolution of a pillow

2010-05-25T20:55:00.000-07:00

Partners were handed out for the 3rd Pillow Talk swap. A totally fun event whereupon you are given a partner (they don't know who you are) for whom you are to make a pillow according to their specifications (if any) and then you in turn receive a pillow from someone else (who you don't know) etc etc. This swap is run by the fabulous Heather (a la mode fabric) and the amazing Kerri (Sew dearly loved) and hosts a whole cast of amazingly talented quilters and sewists.

This whole process was a complete blast! I highly recommend it.

So after partners were handed out, it was time to do a little cyber-sleuthing/stalking? I had received my partner and checked them out from afar. Feels a little weird to be trying to figure out someone I don't even know. But stalking commenced, I checked their blog, checked their photostream on flickr, and tried to get an impression of their tastes. Then, I had some ideas ready to try out.

The Palette ~

My partner had specific requests, but also left it pretty open. Taking some inspiration from their mosaic I came up with this design. Influenced, by circles, colors, and modern art ~ cubism. This is my spin on all of those elements in pillow form.

The basic design ~ although the final version was a little different

I decided to do a specific grid of changing colors for the pieced fabric going from one color to another because I'm all about color fade-in and fade-out lately - I don't know why, I just am. It's a kick I'm on. I decided to try this out on paper first...

So I embarked upon an entirely nutty adventure in quilting. This is in part because I'm not really a quilter, I figure out a design first and then try to make it happen in fabric and I always try to do this just a little bit differently probably because I think of fabric more as a pliable construction material than anything else and I really like to make things challenging.

This time my endeavor involved using lots and lots and lots.....

of tiny squares of fabric. Over 1600 of them actually. Eventually when all was said and done, the squares ended up creating a 1/2 inch grid - yup, that would be where nutty came in, insane, deranged - pick your adjective.

Luckily, I remembered Elisabeth (Oh Fransson!'s) tutorial for Sew mama Sew on small squares piecing and that saved me. Phew!

The colors come together ~So, after this lovely mosaic was done, I then proceeded to cut it up again - yes you heard me correctly.

Tools of the trade ~

I followed this with a little circle piecing for the final design to emerge. The circle piecing was a little challenging because the pieced fabric was very thick and I paired it with Linen which has it's own challenges. I decided to beef up the linen with some lightweight interfacing and in the end, it came together pretty well. Add some straight line quilting and....

...it's done!

I hope you like it partner because it is coming your way. I'm a bit nervous about this actually because this design is really kind of out there, the colors are wild, it's beyond my comfort zone ~ but there you have it, the evolution of a pillow.

The pillow talk swap was totally a rad thing to do. Stretched my design ideas, got me thinking in a totally different direction than normal and made me realize just how pathetically boring most of our throw pillows are around here. Really, I need to do something about that next...

Happy sewing!

Blogger's Quilt Festival 2010

2010-05-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Friday edition! This week: The Blogger's Quilt Festival. What is this you say? Click on the button above to find out more.

This is a new event for me and particularly a milestone because, as some of you already know, I'm new to quilting this year, 2010. So I don't have a whole lot of quilts to choose from. Nevertheless, it's still super hard to choose because as you quilter's all know, they are all like children. How can you pick just one favorite? Right? Tough!

But here is my entry ~ I'm going to have to pick this Mod Blooms quilt because it is the first one I have done that is completely my own design and in fabrics which I really love. Very Mod - that's me! ~ and I love the colors.

I would love to be able to pick one I have made for my children, but they are still WIPs. The quilts that is, not the children ~ although the children are eagerly anticipating when theirs will be done. I guess they like my quilts to!;)

What fun this Blogger's Quilt Fest is! Actually the whole world of online quilters and sewers that I have met through Flickr and other venues has been great! What an awesome bunch of peeps! And what better way to peruse the great creations of other quilters that at an online festival! And it's Friday! Which is movie night for our family - so I will be sharing the sofa with my children and our new quilts, a movie and cruising the BQ festival with my laptop. What fun! Thanks Amy for sponsoring this event! Be sure to check out the other fun quilts on her site.

Happy Sewing!

Yet another skort variation

2010-05-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, it's time for the final installment of Skort Stack 2010. Really, it is endless the number of possibilities you could come up with to vary a skort. Here's another skort following along the lines of Tuesday's tutorial.

This time the construction is the same as the original tutorial but I've added some details. This skort is a solid fabric which highlights the pintucks made along the bottom of the hem. To make this skort you should follow the details listed here. There isn't much to this, I just added an extra 3/4" to the width of the bottom tier to account for the 3 ~ 1/4" tucks I made. I also added a bit more to make the hem a bit wider on this version. You can do the same, just double the width of your tucks and multiply by the number of tucks to figure out how much to add.

I marked lines on the skort before gathering, folded along the lines and sewed my pleats 1/4" wide.

After pressing, I ended up with this ~

Adding in some pretty Farbenmix ribbon to the hem adds the final touch. In this case, I also appliqued an embroidered bird which matches the ribbon because I happened to have that handy. The bird is from the Helen's friends embroidery set from Huups by Helen Dardik. The white fabric I used was Kona snow white which isn't quite a true white, but slightly off white.

Pretty simple but effective ~ the possibilities are endless.

I've started a Flickr pool for this and other tutorials. If you decide to make your own skort, please do share and add it to the pool - I would love to see it!

Happy Sewing and Happy Mother's Day!

A little facelift

2010-05-08T23:46:00.001-07:00

You might have noticed that things look a little different around here. I did a little revamp of the blog - it was much in need of some good old-fashioned housekeeping.

We now have tabs! Yes, ok, I realize that is probably not such a big deal for most people ~ but the blog was getting a bit unruly, and the tabs will help keep things organized and make it easier to find things. If you are looking for the popular Feliz sew-along, don't panic! It's still here along with all the other sew-alongs - just check out the sew-along tab at the top. There is also a tab for the tutorials I have written up. They should be much easier to find now. Some of the tabs are still under construction, but mostly it's functional.

I have got to thank Miss Heather (a la mode fabric) for so kindly offering to guide me through this as she gave me a bit of her precious free-time one morning. Thanks Heather! You Rock!

Ok, as promised, part 3 of the skort tutorial will be up tomorrow. Happy Sewing!

hexagon madness

2010-05-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

See these hexies? Paper backed, hand-basted and then (supposedly) hand-sewn together (haven't done that part yet). Hand sewn anything is usually something I avoid like the plague. Why am I doing it? I have no idea. It's a disease. Really, it is! Lady Harvatine even named it ~ and I have it ~ apparently. I have no clue what I'm going to do with these things.

I blame this all on Heather (a la mode fabric) because she introduced me to them via her flickr group {Handsome} Hexies. And I, having no willpower whatsoever, was immediately sucked in.

These are made of Tanya Whelan's Darla fabric which I really love and never seem to have a purpose for. So pretty.

I know I promised another skort variation, that'll but up in a day or two, promise. I got a little side-tracked with spring cleaning last night instead.

Carry on and Happy Sewing!

And another thing...

2010-05-05T17:00:00.000-07:00

I've been going a little crazy with this skort thing - once I get the creative juices flowing it's a bit hard to stop sometimes.

Here's a knit version of the skort. This one is just a little bit different. I decided to cut a circle skirt instead of doing a gather of the bottom tier. (See yesterdays skort stack post for all the nitty gritty). The circle skort sews up about the same as the gathered skorts we did yesterday and uses the same measurements, so please refer back to that post for details.

If you want to copy this version you will need to do a little geometry. Remember the formula for the circumference of a circle? It's 2(3.14)r. (Sorry, I can't figure out how to do the pi symbol

on blogger. Silly blogger.) So to figure out how large to make the circle you calculate backwards solving for 'r'. You already know that the circumference is going to be the measurement of the top tier which was 37" on my skorts. So I need to figure out 'r' in order to draw out the circle. In my case it comes out to approximately 6" if I round up. That's the inner circle. Then I decided to make the skort length 12" and just added an outer circle at 12" to make my pattern.

The resulting half donut pattern ~

Place the pattern along the fold of the fabric and when it's all cut out, we end up with this (folded in half)

All the other parts of the skort are cut out just the same as yesterday. Now you can sew the top tier of the skort onto this circle just as in the skort tute.

Sew it all together following the rest of yesterday's tutorial.

Ta da!

Since this is a knit, I decided to play around with my cover pro for a change. I topstitched this using the cover stitch and that produced a nice effect on the bottom tier and on the waistband. Kind of ready-to-wear-esque.

I decided to leave the hem edge raw and used the cover stitch again. I like the result.The possibilities are endless. You can do this same sort of circle skort in a woven fabric, it doesn't have to be a knit. Since this skort is entirely knit, if you do decide to topstitch with a standard sewing machine, be sure and use a stretch stitch - such as a 3-stitch zigzag for the topstitch to prevent your stitches from breaking when the fabric is stretched.

Whenever I sew with knits, I always get a lot of questions about knits in general. I have gone over a few pointers on sewing with knits at the bottom of a previous blogpost. Coincidentally, Patty Young as also commented on sewing with knits today over on The Creative Connection Blog - click here to read her tips on sewing with knits.

Tune in tomorrow for yet another, less knitty skort variation.

Happy Sewing!

Skort Stack 2010 ~ the skegging morph

2010-05-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to garment sewing! Yes, it has been really quilty around here lately, but it's time for a little wardrobe sewing. Remember last years skort stack? Well maybe you don't, but it's that time of year again, the weather has been improving and giving us faint hints that spring and possibly summer might be around the corner which means that I need to get my backside in gear and get going on some summer sewing. My daughter once again needs camp clothes, so here we go - skort stack 2010. I promise, I'll get to the skeggings in a bit.

I received so many questions and inquiries on last years skorts, that I decided to do a full-blown tutorial for this years version. Hopefully, you will be able to take these instructions and turn them into skorts of your very own.

First off, we'll need to make some basic decisions about the sizing of the garment. You'll need to get a waist, hip and length measurement. The length is really up to you, whatever length you prefer to see on your child. Some people like their skirts long and some like them shorter, so it's really just up to personal preference.

Here is the basic layout of the skirt
I will be doing a basic 2 tiered skort, but you can mix it up and add tiers if you like. Completely up to you. This post shows several examples of different styles.
My measurements are for a size 12 this time around ~ for this size you'll need about 3/4 of a yard of woven fabric for the skirt part and a remnant of rib knit or cotton lycra fabric for the waistband. You could probably use cotton jersey, but I don't recommend it - you want some knit fabric with stretch. Here's a good primer on different knit fabrics if you are unsure. And most of all, do not be afraid of the knit! Totally do-able fabric. Really! Let's check it out ~

ETD: If you are sewing with knits - use a serger, if you have one, following the directions in this post. If you don't have a serger, use a 3-stitch zigzag or regular zigzag on a sewing machine for any seams that don't have a woven fabric in them. If you are sewing a knit onto a woven, you can just use a straight stitch.

Measurements

When I add in seam allowances, this translates to cut pieces that measure:

Waistband ~ 4.5" wide by 26" long

Top tier ~ 3" wide by 37" long
Bottom tier ~ 12.5" wide by 75" long (cut 2x width of fabric if it is 45" wide and then trim to 75" after sewing)
I have allowed about 10" of ease all the way around for the hip measurement - this is a pretty full skirt. If you don't want it as full you can do less ease.

Notice that the bottom tier is approximately twice as long as the top tier. There is a reason for this I'll get to later. Also, the top tier is approximately 1/4 of the width of the bottom one. You want approximately the same proportions in yours. Sometimes it's easier to figure out what length skirt you would like - then divide up your sections by making the top tier 1/4 of that measurement and the bottom tier is therefore 3/4 of the measurement in determining the width of your tiers. This approach should work for just about any child size garment.

Seam allowances are 1/2" and included on my measurements.
Shorts are inserted into the skort at the waistband application point. I don't have a short pattern I can share with you because I usually just use pre-made patterns for ease. If you have one already that fits, go for it. If you want to draft your own, there are many excellent tutes on how to do that here, here, and here so I won't go over that part. You will need a simple elastic waist short pattern for this project. This year, I've decided to go with a knit bicycle-type short instead of a woven short but either type will work fine for this project.

Ok on to sewing ~
First off, sew the top tier into a loop, right sides together like so:

Sew the 2 pieces of the bottom tier together and then trim the total length to 75".

Then sew the bottom tier piece into a loop like you did for the top tier. It's a loop I promise (even if you can't see it really well).
At this point I do something completely unorthodox and I hem the skirt. I find it a lot easier to press and hem before the ruffles go in and I already know that my length will work but if you aren't sure about your sizing - you should probably wait and do this part last. To add the hem, I press up the bottom edge of the fabric 1/4" and iron.

Then I fold the edge over again another 5/8" and press.

Topstitch the hem in place.

Now it's time for some ruffling. I like to use my handy dandy beloved ruffler.

If you don't have a ruffler, don't worry. It isn't something you need to have for this project, but if you plan to sew a lot of ruffles in your future, then you might want to add this to your wish list. Ok, moving on. We are going to ruffle the upper (non-hemmed) edge of the bottom tier. Remember that the bottom tier is supposed to be twice the length of the top tier? That's because we will set the ruffler at 50% - so it ends up ruffling the piece to exactly half it's original length. That way, it fits nicely onto your top tier in assembly. If you are without a ruffler, you can just run a couple of lines of basting stitches along the edge of the fabric and pull on those basting threads carefully to gather up the fabric until it is the same length as the top tier. Another option is the zig zag or dental floss method which Sandi Henderson (Portabellopixie) did a great job of explaining.

Ok, now that we are newly ruffled, the top tier should fit nicely onto the bottom tier. Take the top tier and place it over the bottom tier with the right sides facing and lining up the edges.

You can pin it in place if you want to. Now sew those 2 pieces together using a 1/2" seam allowance. At this point, I serge my seams, but if you don't have a serger, just sew the seam with a regular straight stitch and then go over the edge of that seam w/ a zigzag stitch to prevent fraying in the wash.

Then topstitch over the seam on the outside as shown.

Set this whole piece aside for now.

At this point we need a pair of shorts to insert, so I'm going to sew mine together, finishing everything except the waistline.

Now grab the shorts and insert them into skirt with the right sides of the shorts facing the wrong side of the skirt. Line up the top edges and make sure that the back of the skirt (usually where the seam of the top tier is) is lined up with the back of the shorts (usually the back of the shorts are a bit longer than the front). Pin or baste into place. Set aside.

Take the knit waistband piece and sew it into a loop along the sort edge just as the you did for the top tier piece.

Ok technically here you should use a ballpoint needle on a knit fabric. But I'm lazy and don't want to switch back and forth between ballpoint and sharps since I'm also sewing on a woven fabric, so I just don't bother. I have never had a skort fall apart or otherwise be damaged as a result of this massive faux pas - take a deep breath and all will be ok. Really! Set the waistband aside for now.

Take the 1" elastic and measure the correct size for your recipient. Mine is going to be 26" long. Usually, I just cut the elastic the same length as the waist measurement and then overlap the ends about an 1/2-1". This makes it a bit narrower than the waist, but keeps things tight enough to prevent falling off. Sew the elastic into a loop taking care not to twist before sewing.

Ok we are almost done. Take the skort and place the knit waistband over the skort with the right sides facing, pin in place.

Remember to line up the back of the waistband (seam) with the back of the skort.

Take the elastic loop and place that over the knit waistband and then fold up the knit fabric in half so that it encases the elastic like so.

Now we are going to sew the waistband on. The waistband stretches, since it's a knit, so you should be able to ease it onto the woven skort with no problems. Just pin all around and then stitch it into place, gently stretching the knit fabric to fit the skort.

Fold up the waistband so that it sits like it would when worn. Fold the seam allowance down towards the woven fabric and topstitch along the top edge of the skort fabric like so

And that is it people! We are done! (Sometimes I channel Junie B Jones)

Then make a bunch more!

Doesn't it look fab!! Yes, I think it does!

Ok I know I mentioned skeggings. Can you see where this is going? The only real difference between skeggings and skorts is the length of the shorts - or in the case of skeggings it's more of a legging instead. As for the word skeggings, I have no idea where the term came from. I'll leave you to sort that out.

This pair kind of happened by accident.

Ya' see, I had left my shorts a bit long since it was an untested pattern and I had planned to trim them later after fitting. When my daughter tried them on she loved them that way and begged for more. Hmm ok, so the skeggings were born.

Just goes to show you that there are no rules to this. I hope you enjoy your new garments, whether they be in the form of skeggings or skorts or both!

Tune in tomorrow for yet another skort variation.
Happy Sewing!