FabriKate by SewPo

Sparkle Quilt Along: Complete!

2012-02-23T12:59:00.001-08:00

Yay! The Sparkle Quilt is done!

Be sure to visit Jeni at In Color Order to see how her Sparkle Quilt finished up!

Sooo, loyal readers...what do we want to make next?

Sparkle Quilt Along: Week 6: Finishing the Quilt

2012-02-17T12:11:00.000-08:00

Alright, quilt-alongers, how is it going out there in Sparkle land?

If you've been keeping up with the weekly homework, you should be just about finished with your Sparkle quilt. Yay! As much fun as it is to start a quilt, finishing one is waaay more satisfying.

Sorry it's blurry...

There are many steps in the quilting process. If you've gotten stuck or bored with a certain step, it's okay to walk away for a few days. It's cool if you cut some squares and then sew some squares and then go back to cutting. So what if your baby-sized Sparkle is now too daunting--make it a mini instead! Already giving up on the mini? I challenge you to finish just one block, then. Finish that one block, quilt it and bind it and then call it a "place mat." Dude, who cares? It's still a quilt and you'll still get that finished-product glow.

If you are at the quilting/binding stage, head over to Canoe Ridge Creations and In Color Order to see how Megan and Jeni are quilting their sparkles. Jeni also has a helpful binding tutorial on her site. Be sure to check it out.

There are so many different styles of quilting: straight-line, meandering, random, outline, stitch-in-the-ditch, yada yada yada. Basically if you can draw a design with a pencil, there is a name for that design in the quilting world. We will, however, save this fascinating discussion for another post. I will simply say that I chose to play up the beautiful angles and graphics in my Sparkle quilt by using outline quilting in the background areas. For the sparkles, I used a random quilting design.

I used Gutermann cotton thread for the quilting, in black for the background and a yellow for the sparkles. You can see how the yellow quilting blends in to some of the sparkles and stands out on others.

Some people will use a bobbin thread that matches the backing fabric. As you can see in the photo below, I did not go that route. Due to the size of this quilt, it will be used as a wall hanging. Since hardly anyone will ever see the back, I didn't really care what color the bobbin thread was--hence the multiple colors.

The back

Originally I had thought I would bind the quilt in black, to match the background fabric and make the sparkles seem like they are floating. Then I decided I wanted to do a pieced binding. I'm not sure why, it just kinda happened.

A hint of the binding.

The binding is not yet finished. Whenever possible, I like to finish my binding by hand. Without trying to offend you machine stitchers, I just think hand-finished binding looks so much better. Of course, it takes sooo much longer, so I'm not gonna sit here and say I never machine finish my binding, I definitely do. I just like hand-finished better. So in four nights*, when I'm finally done with the binding, I'll show you more pictures. (*This is four nights worth of work--not the whole night or anything, just like an hour at a shot, but chances are the work will not be done in four consecutive nights. I'm just sayin'.)

Oh, one last thing. See that dude up there? His name is Galactus. He eats planets. I find he is useful to keep around the house, because then if I don't feel like finishing something I can just say, "Galactus ate my quilt." It's like the dorky, grown-up version of "My dog ate my homework."

Happy Valentine's Day, Lovely Readers!

2012-02-14T12:03:00.000-08:00

You didn't think I'd forget you on Valentine's Day, did you loyal readers?

Kicking it back to 1989, for this classic piece from the "Tears for Fears" oeuvre (it's not pretentious to use French words on Valentine's Day, by the way). I now present my gift to you, "Sowing the Seeds of Love."

Yes, I am that corny. I did pick "Sowing the Seeds of Love," but seriously, there are no good songs about love and sewing.

xo,
Kate

Sparkle Quilt Along: Week 5: Assembling the Top

2012-02-10T10:36:00.000-08:00

Confession time: I totally did not finish my homework last week. That one finished block I showed you a picture of last week? Yeah, that's all I did for block assembly. The other three were just sitting around while I taught myself how to sew hexagons. (That will be a whole 'nother post.)

Hexagons: P.I.T.A., but so worth it.

Of course, I forgot that I was slacking until yesterday. I was all, "Cool, I can bang out the sashing no problem...oh [choice word], I never actually finished those blocks." Even worse? I didn't even finish trimming the HSTs for one of the sparkles. Such is life.

So all day yesterday I spent playing catch-up. Finishing the blocks I shoulda coulda woulda finished last week. Cutting the sashing strips that I hadn't cut yet. I even taught someone (hi RC!) how to quilt while I was doing all that. It wasn't until about 5:30pm that I got around to the sashing.

I probably would've felt more guilty about not posting this yesterday, but for two things: first, Jeni of In Color Order has a great tutorial for the sashing steps--I don't need to explain anything about applying sashing strips, just travel over there and she has got it under control. And secondly, all of you quilt-alongers can't be up to the sashing yet, right? I mean, I know you have lives and doctors appointments and new nieces and probably jobs, so you were behind too, right? (Just say yes, it'll make me feel better.)

Adding the sashing; I used long pieces and then trimmed to fit after I sewed them on.

Moving right along...

But I did finish it this morning. All my sashing is on, the pictures have been taken. I've got to say, the Sparkle block is not something I would have chosen myself, but it looks great all together.

Doesn't everybody have an apatasaurus in their dining room?

Don't be discouraged if you aren't at sashing yet. Quilting is a process, remember, and we don't want to rush any part of the process. At times, any given step may be frustrating, but the feeling you get when you finish your quilt top is totally worth it. So wherever you are in this quilt-along process, keep going! You can do it!

In the words of the most awesome David Bowie, "It ain't easy."

The Big Hearts Sale

2012-02-07T18:18:00.000-08:00

Be sure to stop by SewPo this weekend (February 10, 11 and 12) for our BIG HEARTS SALE!!!

This sale will benefit the Port City Development Enrichment Center. The Enrichment Center is a non-profit, Portland-based organization dedicated to helping adults with developmental disabilities earn a living through sewing. How awesome is that?

Unfortunately, like most non-profits, the Enrichment Center finds itself lacking in basic sewing tools and supplies. SewPo will be donating 10% of all proceeds from the sale to the Enrichment Center, in the form of fabrics, notions and tools. So the more you buy, the more we give.

But we don't want to hog all the giving. If you have gently used notions, tools, or even fabric you don't love anymore, bring it down to SewPo and we will give it to the Enrichment Center.

Enough of all that feel-good stuff--what's on sale, you ask?

All Fat Quarters are 25% Off.

All Oliver+S patterns, now only $10.

And ALL fabrics will be 10-50% off.

Eli's 1st Quilt: Giant Nine Patch

2012-02-06T12:35:00.000-08:00

A work-in-progress since June, Eli finally finished his first quilt ever! I am a proud mama.

Eli's 1st Quilt

Eli chose the fabrics and I steered him toward the basic nine-patch block. I cut out the fabrics for him--we used 6" squares. After I showed him how to line up the blocks with right-sides together, he did all the sewing.

Quilt detail

When it was time to sew the three rows of blocks together, I did help him pin. Eli decided on "stitch in the ditch" quilting for his project. His stitching lines are pretty straight--and not just for a nine-year old!

Quilting Detail

I love his choice of binding. I never would have thought of using that fabric, but it brings a hint of frivolity and color to what was otherwise a very blue little blanket. Eli couldn't explain why he selected that particular fabric, except that it "looks good."

Binding detail

By the time we got to the binding it was the end of the day and I did not feel like teaching him that step. So I applied the binding for him. I also machine sewed the entire binding (I normally hand-stitch the binding on the back), but quite honestly, I just wanted this project done and out of my WIP bin. Next time, though, the kid is gonna learn!

Binding detail

The quilt is a finished size of approximately 17"x16". Don't worry about how that math doesn't work out. There was some trimming involved to square-off the quilt.

Great job, Eli!

Sparkle Quilt Along: Week 4: Assembling the Block

2012-02-02T12:19:00.000-08:00

I'm super excited for this week's Sparkle Quilt Along. Assembling blocks can be very gratifying--you can finally see the quilt starting to come together. (As of this posting, Canoe Ridge Creations has yet to put up this week's tutorial, but be sure to check out her method for block assembly too!)

Of course, you want to be patient and take your time when sewing those little Half-Triangle Squares (HSTs) together. The goal here is super-precise sewing. Straight stitching lines with a perfect 1/4" seam allowance. Not to put any pressure on you, but this is the make-or-break step here. Sloppy stitching yields sloppy quilts.

I know when you look at it, a 1/4" seam doesn't look very big. Sometimes you might think, "Oh, it's okay if I fudge this seam allowance a little bit." Be careful with this strategy--it will often come back to haunt you. Think about this: If each seam allowance is off by 1/16" and you have to sew 16 blocks together in one row, then by the end of that row, you are off by 1"! That is no bueno.

One of the best pieces of quilting advice I have ever read was from Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr, of Funquilts. They said, "Don't rush any part of the process." I often remind myself of that when I just want to get the darn pinning done and sew the rows together already, or when I just want to get to the end of the stitching line so I can press the block open, or when I just want to finish the top so I can move on to quilting...It seems like I am always so eager to move onto the next step that I don't enjoy the step I am working on. So, yeah, "Don't rush any part of the process."

So for today, part of not rushing the process is making certain your 1/4" seam is truly a 1/4". Sew a practice seam on some scrap fabric. Measure from your stitching line to the outside edge. If it is not exactly 1/4", go back and try again until you get it right.

If you don't have a 1/4" foot for your machine (which is something I highly recommend for those of you who want to make more quilts), you can use a piece of masking tape on your sewing machine to mark the 1/4". Place your ruler underneath your sewing foot, and using the hand wheel, slowly bring the needle down on top of the ruler. The tip of the needle should rest on the 1/4" line. Then place the strip of masking tape parallel with the right edge of the ruler.

Alternatively, you can use a fabric pencil to mark the 1/4" line on the wrong side of each block. Then you will follow this line when you are sewing the blocks together. This method takes a bit longer than the "masking tape on the machine bed" method.

Again, and I can't say this enough, pressing is a very important part of the sewing process. I press after every step--so after I sew the HSTs together, I press that seam line for about 10 seconds to "set" the seam. I then flip the block over and give that same line a quick press. Only then do I open up the block and press the seam allowance open, usually with a hefty dose of steam. I prefer pressing seams open; I feel the quilt top is flatter in the end. However, this is a rather newfangled method and most traditional quilters will press their seams to one side (typically the side with the darker fabric). Do whichever way makes you happy.

Typically I don't use pins when I am sewing, especially when the pieces are smaller than about 6". If, however, I really need certain squares to line up a certain way, I will definitely use pins. There is nothing wrong with using pins, so if you get better results with pins then use them!

~~Note: It's about 12:15pm now and I'm gonna set up my machine and start assembling some blocks. I'll be back later with pics!~~

Now, for block assembly details:

First, lay out your block on a flat surface.

Don't freak out because it looks like it doesn't fit--all those little HSTs will lose a 1/4" each once you sew them together and everything will fit like magic.

Now we are going to start sewing the HSTs together. We are going to start with the first two HSTs on the top row. Pay careful attention to the direction of your HSTs as you are sewing them together--it sucks when you sew them upside-down because then you have to rip out your stitches and start again. Don't feel bad if you do that--we've all done it at least a dozen times!

Carefully line up the first two HSTs with right-sides together (ie., the pretty sides should be touching) and stitch a precise 1/4" seam. Press your seams, open the block and press again. You should have something that looks like this:

We are going to continue adding HSTs to this strip until we have a total of (4) HSTs in a row.

About to add the fourth HST in the top row.

Once you have the fourth HST sewn precisely to the other three (and pressed, of course!), just set this strip aside.

We are now going to assemble the HSTs on the right side of the block. Starting with the 2.5" corner square (in your background color, in my case, black), add HSTs one at a time in the same manner as above. Stop sewing when you have a strip with one background squares and four HSTs. It should look like this:

Top and right strips of HSTs, assembled.

The bottom strip will be pieced the same as the right-hand strip. Start with your 2.5" background square and add (4) HSTs.

The left-hand side will have 6 units total. Sewing in the same manner, start with your 2.5" background square then add (4) HSTs. Finally, add the last background square. Make sure all of your strips are well-pressed, because now we are going to make them sparkle!

Starting with the top row (the one with (4) HSTs and NO background squares), line up the raw edges with the edge of the center block. Again, the fabrics should be wrong-sides together. For this layout, you will line up the edges of the focus fabrics on the HST strip with the edge of the center block. Stitch and press and you get this:

Proceeding in a clockwise manner, attach the remaining three HST strips to the center block. I pinned my corner blocks before sewing, to ensure that everything lined up nicely. I pin on both sides of my seam to ensure that nothing shifts before I start sewing.

Make sure those seams line up!

Here's what it looks like after 3 sides of HSTs have been added:

Since the final row that we are adding will involve (2) corner pieces, I pinned it in two separate spots:

Sew that last puppy on and you get something like so:

Oooh, sparkly!

I'm pleased with the way my corners turned out. Only the bottom right one is a bit off, but I can live with it.

Bad corner. Now go to your room.

The other three corners are superb, though, so I'll leave you with some corner goodness:

Now that's a nice corner!

xo,
Kate

Walk in the Woods: Log Cabin Quilt in Progress, Part 2

2012-01-31T11:46:00.000-08:00

Note: This is part 2 of the "Walk in the Woods: Log Cabin Quilt in Progress" series. For part 1, go here.

When last we met, I had made some "Picture Frame" log cabin blocks to frame the adorable little red riding hood in Aneela Hoey's Walk in the Woods fabric collection. The blocks measured about 8"x8", but aside from choosing supporting fabrics, that was as far as I got in the design process.

That night I went home and broke out my notebook. I love this notebook: my mother-in-law gave it to me over the summer. Not only has she been holding on to it since she was in high school, but it is a graph paper notebook which happened to be made in Holyoke, MA, which is one of the places I hung out in college, so it is not only useful, but it reminds me of my carefree college days.

Anyway, graph paper is awesome.

Since I already had (7) 8" Picture Frame blocks to work with, I placed those in the design first and then started placing other log cabin blocks around it. I knew I only wanted one picture frame block per row, which meant the quilt was going to be 7 rows tall. At first I thought all of the other blocks would be 8" randomly pieced log cabin blocks and I actually had that all sketched out initially. However, after looking at it for a bit, I realized I wanted something a bit more dramatic.

A bit blurry, but if you look closely you can see the erased lines and design changes.

The four large squares with the hearts in the center each replaced four randomly pieced log cabin blocks from the original design. At this point all I know about the large squares is that they will have hearts appliqued in the center and they will eventually be 16"x16". I am not sure what kind of log cabin quilting will go around the centers, but I am thinking of multiple logs in the picture frame style. We'll see what happens.

Once I had my design laid out on paper, it was time to figure out how big to cut the logs for the randomly pieced log cabin blocks. Since I knew the blocks would need to be 8"x8" to make the design work, and since I didn't want to piece teeny-tiny logs, I started with the assumption that my block centers would be a finished size of 3"x3". This is how I do math:

I don't know how to explain it. I took a lot of math classes in high school and I do a lot of quilting...the numbers just kinda do their thing.

At this point I started cutting my little charm squares. I initially cut them into strips precisely 1.75" each, but after I pieced a few, I realized it was easier to cut the logs to 2" each and then trim the block to the desired size. Obviously this uses a tinch more fabric, but the piecing is much less persnickety, which makes the blocks more fun (and faster) to piece.

"Logs" ready for piecing

Some of the printed logs I joined together, as you can see above in the pile on the left-hand side. Since the charm squares are only 5"x5" and I want blocks that will ultimately measure 8"x8" I needed to piece some logs together so they will be long enough for the outer rounds of the log cabin blocks.

Once I had enough strips cut, I started putting fabric on my design wall, referring to the placement I had decided on in my notebook.

On the design wall

Then it was time to start piecing the random log cabin blocks. I am starting with the log on the right and then I am proceeding in a clockwise manner.

Piecing the random log cabin blocks, round 1 of 2.

The picture above shows the application of logs 1-4, otherwise called a "round." My random blocks will need 2 rounds to reach the 8" size I am looking for. This is what the blocks will look like:

I also have a bunch of little left-over strips from cutting the charm squares. Instead of just throwing them in the ol' scrap bag, I decided to piece them all together. I will probably use this chunk of pieced fabric on the back of the quilt.

That's it for now. I'll keep you updated as the quilt progresses!

xo,
Kate

Walk in the Woods: Log Cabin Quilt in Progress

2012-01-30T11:41:00.000-08:00

Walk in the Woods Quilt in Progress

Remember that Process Pledge I took way back in November? Yeah, me neither. I mean, I know we are working on the Sparkle Quilt Along, which is all about process to the nth degree, but I have been slacking about showing you my quilt design process.

I recently had a perfect storm of inspiration, though, and figured this is the perfect time to show you how I think up quilt designs. About a month ago, I thought I'd get a head start on a Valentine's Day project, so I cut out two dozen hearts in assorted sizes and colors. Of course, not having a plan for the hearts means I have just been carrying them back and forth between home and SewPo, waiting for them to magically turn into something awesome. (It didn't work.)

Then, a few weeks ago, I got an adorable invitation to a little sweetheart's 1st birthday party. Aside from the chubby-faced pictures of the baby girl, there was also a big number "1" filled with hearts.

Finally, last Friday, while I was ~~stalking the UPS guy~~ waiting for a new fabric shipment, I stopped by the library. I don't know if you know about this crazy invention, but basically it's like Powell's, but free. I kid you not. You go in, take something from the shelf, promise to bring it back and the person at the counter says, "Have a nice day!" So I borrowed a bunch of books, including Susan Beal's Modern Log Cabin Quilting. (Go check out her site Modern Log Cabin Quilting or visit her at the monthly Portland Modern Quilt Guild meeting. I swear I'm gonna go to that one of these months...). Her "Modern Crosses" quilt on the cover of the book is just perfect. I never really appreciated the log cabin block until this book.

Susan's "Modern Crosses" quilt

By this point the new fabric had arrived at the shop, so I grabbed some charm packs (precut 5" squares) and went home and stared at them. And looked at Susan's book. And stared at the charm packs. This went on for quite awhile, and no decisions were made. I didn't even decide which of the three charm packs I wanted to use.

The next day, though, I knew I had to do something with all those hearts I had cut out, which meant I would be working with the Walk in the Woods charm pack, by Aneela Hoey, in all of it's frothy pink and girly goodness. I laid out all 42 squares on my table and stared at them for most of the day.

Typically I like bright, energetic colors. I also have 3 boy children, so when I work outside of my preferred palette, I'm usually doing something in colors they like. But after staring at the charm pack all day I decided I would just go overboard with the girly-ness. Bring on the pink, the hearts, the preciousness!

At this point I started calling the quilt "Greta's Walk in the Woods" after the little sweetheart birthday girl. (A note to her mom--there is no way this will be done in time! And I will probably hang it in the shop for awhile, but this is totally Greta's quilt--eventually. 7k) I also realized that some of the charm squares were just too cute to cut, but I did want some randomness in the quilt. Cue log cabin block inspiration.

Using what is referred to as the Picture Frame layout of the log cabin block, I simply framed out the pieces I didn't want to cut. I am using a variety of Bella solids to frame the blocks, taking color cues from the charm pack itself. While the charm pack is more pastel-y, I am also adding that darker blue I can't remember the name of. That's my "wrong" color choice for this project (well, and the "Snow" which is more ivory than white)--it provides a nice contrast to the lighter colors.

Bella Solids: Zen Gray, Snow, something I can't remember the name of, Scarlet and Ruby Ice

I cut 2" strips of the solids and started framing out the squares I didn't want to cut. This is what I ended up with:

and this:

The medallion fabric on the right is from a different collection, called Domestic Bliss by Liz Scott. It is currently being auditioned as a border for the quilt, but may end up being the backing fabric. The only thing I know for sure is that I love the way it works with the charm squares.

This is about as far as I got on Day 1 of planning the quilt top. Stay tuned for Day 2, complete with a peek into my notebook!

xo,
Kate

Sparkle Quilt Along: Week 3: Half-Square Triangles

2012-01-26T12:58:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to another installment of the Sparkle Quilt Along! This week we are finally sewing--isn't it odd that so much of "sewing" is actually doing other stuff? But I digress.

Finished Half-Square Triangle

"Half-Square Triangle" (or HST) is just a fancy name for those little patchwork squares that are made up of two right isosceles triangles (oooh, math terminology!). Jeni over at In Color Order has a very detailed and comprehensive tutorial for making these little blocks, so head over there and check it out.

The diagonal black line is made of HSTs.

Meanwhile, I'll start sewing mine together. ~~I anticipate updating with photos by the end of the day.~~ Updated! Now with photos! -k

Fabrics separated by color .

Marking the diagonal line.

Using a 1/4" foot, line up the edge with your marked line.

I chain stitched mine. You can read more about that here.

My stack of chain-stitched squares, ready to be cut.

My trusty rotary cutter.
Just cut the fabric on the marked line.

Yum.

Yucky ironing board.
Oh, and I like to press my seams open.

HSTs, ready to be trimmed to 2.5".

The finished HST, again
(in case you didn't feel like scrolling up).

As always, give me a shout or stop by the shop if you're having any problems!

XO,
Kate

Operation Comfort Doll

2012-01-24T12:23:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, we crafted for a cause: Operation Comfort Doll. You can read a bit more about it here and here. If you're too lazy to click the links, I'll just tell you, Operation Comfort Doll is an organization devoted to making victims of domestic violence feel less alone.

I just love when someone finds a way to make crafting bigger than just the person making the craft. Often I find myself turning inwards with my sewing and crafting; I make things I love for the sake of creating. There is nothing at all wrong with this, except I often have piles of finished goods with no ultimate end-use. How many placemats, quilts, tote bags, whatever can one person have?

So when someone finds a way to turn crafting outwards, especially when it is crafting for a cause (not just to sell something on Etsy), I am inspired to lend a hand. Add some friends (Hi Andrea and Rachel!) and some beer (if that's your thing) and suddenly crafting for a cause becomes a party that runs 'til the wee hours of the morning.

Check out Andrea's blog post here and Rachel's take on Operation Comfort Doll here. (And thanks to Rachel for the pics! I always forget my camera and/or don't have batteries for it. Loser.)

Inspired to make your own comfort dolls? Sew News has the pattern. Want to get together with a bunch of conscientious crafters? Well, you'll have to stay tuned. We haven't set the date for the next craft night, but it will be mid-February.

Shameless Promotion Post+Free Workshop!

2012-01-20T18:35:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to be this week's Friday Feature on this adorable blog by Rachel Carlson: Lost in the Attic. If you haven't seen it yet, go check it out. There's even a picture of me--so now that you know what I look like, please, try to refrain from stopping me in the street. It's just so hard to get anything done when fans are always interrupting my grocery shopping. Just kidding--I don't do my own shopping!

Seriously though, I am glad Rachel wandered in to the shop a few weeks ago. On a gray, rainy Portland day, she was a ray of sunshine in her jaunty ocher cap. With tales of buying used sewing machines at yardsales, moving from Denver (I've lived there too!), and her general aura of awesome, I knew Rachel was a kindred spirit. Us crafty-crazies need to stick together, you know.

If you are also a crafty-crazy kindred spirit, you should visit SewPo tomorrow night around 6:30pm. Rachel and I will be hosting an Operation Comfort Doll craft night. Started in 2007, Operation Comfort Doll is a charity dedicated to helping victims of domestic violence:

Every year women all over the country find themselves in terrible situations that end

with a stay in a domestic abuse shelter. The Comfort Doll Project encourages crafters

of all abilities to make special gifts so these women know they’re not alone as they begin

to rebuild their lives and start anew.

This event is free of charge; however, if you have fabric scraps, felt scraps or a sewing machine, please bring it along with you. And since we're sewing after dark, you may want to BYOB, but that's totally up to you.

BYOB=Bring Your Own Basket

Sparkle Quilt Along: Week 2: Cutting Your Fabric

2012-01-19T19:02:00.000-08:00

On the cutting room floor.

I'm sure by now you've traveled all over the blog-o-sphere reading instructions for this week's installment of the Sparkle Quilt Along. If you haven't been there yet, head over to Canoe Ridge Creations for Megan's cutting instructions.

For those of us who have cut fabric for a quilt before, Megan's cutting instructions make perfect sense. However, this is a quilt-along for beginner's, so I'm going to go a little more step-by-step with my instructions.

First thing's first, press your fabric. "Press" means gently place the iron on top of your fabric to smooth out any wrinkles. You will then lift your iron and move it to the next spot. This is slightly different from "ironing" where you slide the iron around the fabric. Technically, quilters should "press" their fabric, as "ironing" may stretch the fabric. Now you know.

Once your fabric is pressed, we will "square off" our fabric. This basically means making one edge straight and then basing the next cuts off of this straight edge. There are several methods to squaring off your fabric. I am going to show you how to square off from the selvedge edge using a rotary cutter. (If you're using fabric without a selvedge and need help squaring off, let me know as I have other methods.)

First, find your selvedge egde (or "selvage" which is apparently the American spelling. Now I know.). The selvedge (I prefer the British spelling, thank you very much) is the "self-finished" edge of the fabric, the edge that isn't all frayed, the edge with a slightly tighter weave. Often this edge is white, or has little holes in it, which makes it easy to find (pictures 1 and 2). Sometimes with batiks the selvedges are the same color as the fabric and there are no holes. In this case, gently pull on the edges of the fabric. The selvedge edge won't have as much (or any) give, unlike the other sides of the fabric.

Picture 1: Selvedges, four ways.

Picture 2: Selvedge "holes" close-up

Once you have located your selvedge, place that edge of the fabric on your cutting mat, so that the selvedge edge is to the left (picture 3). I work with my fabric right side up, which means with the pretty side facing you. To square off, cut off about 1" from the selvedge side, lining up the 1" line on your ruler with the edge of the fabric (picture 4). With the flat side of the rotary cutter abutting the edge of the ruler, and using a steady, but firm, hand, push the rotary cutter away from you to cut the fabric (picture 5). (Yes, I know that selvedge edge is already pretty straight. However, selvedges shrink differently than the rest of the fabric, which may result in horribleness in the finished project if it ever gets washed.) Throw the selvedge piece you just removed into your scrap bin (picture 6).

Picture 3: Line up the selvedge (on the left) with the line on the left.

Picture 4: Lining up ruler

Picture 5: Cutting the fabric
(Note: Your left hand should be holding down the ruler, not taking pictures.)

Picture 6: Squared off fabric (well, the left side at least)

For most quilting projects you will want to cut the biggest pieces first. For the Sparkle Quilt our largest piece is the 8.5" square. You will need one 8.5" square for each "sparkle" in your quilt. Since I am doing the mini, I will need four 8.5" squares.

From the squared off edge, you want to cut a 8.5" strip of fabric. What I do is place my squared off edge on a straight line on my cutting mat. In this picture my fabric edge is lined up with the "zero" line on my cutting mat (picture 7).

Picture 7: Line up your squared off edge with the "0" line on your mat.

0 (where I lined up my fabric)+ 8.5" (the size I want to cut)=8.5", so I will line up my ruler with the 8.5" line on my cutting mat (picture 8). Using your rotary cutter, carefully make a cut at the 8.5" line, from the bottom to the top of the fabric. Move the piece on the right out of your way and take a look at the 8.5" strip you just cut (the piece that was under the ruler). It should be 8.5" wide and about 22" long (if you started from a fat quarter) (picture 9). Remember, the left and right sides are squared off, but your top and bottom edges are not.

Picture 8: Cutting at the 8.5" line

Picture 9: The piece underneath the ruler is our "good" piece.

Turn your 8.5" strip of fabric one quarter turn, so that the squared off sides are now at the top and the bottom. I like to line up the top edge of the fabric with one of the marked lines on the mat, and then I square it off from the left side (pictures 10 and 11). It sounds confusing, but once you start looking at it, it's not so bad.

Picture 10: The 8.5" strip was turned sideways and is ready for squaring off.

Picture 11: The 8.5" strip is now squared off on the top, bottom and left sides.

Without moving the strip, measure 8.5" from the newest squared off edge (in this case, the left edge) (picture 12). (If you have to move the strip, no biggie. However, frequent handling of cut fabric can lead to stretching and warped edges, so the less you handle it, the better.) You now have a piece of fabric that measures 8.5"x8.5", or a 8.5" square (picture 13). Not too bad, right?

Picture 12: Squared off sides are on the top, bottom and left. Measure from the left side.

Picture 13: The "good" piece is the one under the ruler.

Now we need to cut eight 3" squares from each focus fabric (the pretty ones). The piece of fabric that we cut the 8.5" strip from should still have a straight, squared off edge (provided you didn't handle it too much!) (picture 14).

Picture 14: Squared off edge to the left

Now we need to cut a 3" strip from this piece of fabric. Line up the 3" ruler line against the squared off edge of the fabric (the left edge). I have a little orange piece of tape on my ruler to make it easier to see where I want to cut (picture 15). Using a steady hand, gently push the rotary cutter away from you, using the ruler as your guide (picture 16).

Picture 15: The ruler is covering 3" of fabric.

Picture 16: The 3" strip is under the ruler.

Move the big chunk out of your way. We are going to square off the 3" strip and then cut 3" squares from that. This is the same exact thing we did with the 8.5" strip, but with different measurements (obviously).

Rotate the strip (picture 17), square off the left edge (picture 18), start measuring from the squared off side (picture 19), to yield 3" squares (picture 20).

Picture 17: Rotate the strip.

Picture 18: Square off from the left edge.

Picture 19: Measuring 3" from left on squared off strip.

Picture 20: 3" squares (well one so far, but you'll keep cutting)

You should end up with a pile of fabrics that look like this:

Picture 21: (1) 8.5" square, (8) 3" squares

You will need to repeat the process for each "sparkle" in your quilt. Then you will need to cut your background pieces, which is, again, the same process but with different measurements. In the case of the background pieces, for each sparkle you will need eight 3" squares and four 2.5" squares. Just to be clear, that is for each sparkle, so if you're doing the mini Sparkle quilt, you will need a total of thirty-two 3" squares and sixteen 2.5" squares. That's a lot of practice!

Finally, also from your background fabric, you will be cutting "strips" of fabric. "Strips" are just long rectangles. For this project you will be cutting 2" strips (the length is dependent on what size Sparkle quilt you are making). At this point, I suggest just cutting the strips to 2" and not cutting the length yet. These strips are going to be the "sashing", which is just the pieces of fabric between each sparkle. I normally cut my sashing pieces longer, anyway, and then cut off any extra when I am piecing my top together. If that all sounds like gobbely-gook to you, don't worry, it will make sense soon!

Sparkle Quilt Along: Week 1: Choosing Your Fabric

2012-01-12T17:02:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Sparkle Quilt Along! Go take a quick look over at In Color Order for finished quilt dimensions and some of Jeni's ideas about color choices. When you get back, I will show you some color combinations I put together.

Okay, you're back! Let's talk fabric choices, because for many people deciding on which fabrics to use can be rather overwhelming. Jeni does a great job of explaining color families and basic color theory. She uses the tried-and-true method of first picking a "main" fabric and then matching the rest of the fabrics to that "main" fabric. This method tends to yield a controlled palette with pops of color. This is a very safe way to choose fabrics, and as long as you're not color-blind it is pretty hard to screw up.

Living my rock-and-roll lifestyle though, I like to be a little crazier with my fabric choices. I firmly believe most quilts need a "wrong" fabric; something that doesn't match and only just coordinates (if it even does at all). This "wrong" fabric is something unexpected that gives the viewer a little extra something to think about.

Which is not to say any old fabric can be thrown in as the "wrong" fabric. The project should have a feel, a motif even, which the wrong fabric should accentuate without overpowering. I tend to choose fabrics based on their overall feeling, rather than based on actual colors in the piece. Choosing fabrics in this way involves tons of trial and error, especially if you are not well-versed in color theory. (Quick: What's the opposite of purple? If you know the answer without the help of Professor Google, consider yourself well-versed enough.)

The following photos are my fabric "try outs."

Too much pink.

The blue is too bright.

The blue is too light.

I like the way the aquas work together, but now the yellow is too gray.

Tried it with a darker shell print, but still wasn't quite right.

Took away the yellow, used two shell prints, but I don't like the value of the top right one.

The darker shell with the lighter blue...nope, still too light.

I really wanted it to work, but that blue...still too light.

Okay, the Liberty paisley. This works, but it's too matchy for me.

A different paisley. It's the right colors, but the print doesn't work.

Too much aqua. (I can't believe I just said that.)

The bottom left is too dark.

The winner.

That's the winning combination right there! I like the way the brown-ish batik "stones" complement the shell fabric, the upper left batik has enough yellow-y tones to highlight the yellow in the shells. The bottom right fabric is the "dark" fabric. (Typically in choosing fabrics for a quilt you want mostly mid-tones, with some lights and some darks. The lights and darks help the mid-tones stand out.)

I had been thinking beach-y while choosing the fabrics. I thought for sure I would use a gray background fabric (kinda the color of the sky in the Hamptons in the winter), but I still wanted to audition other background fabrics.

On gray linen (Shot like that so you know it's not just on my cutting table.)

On a gray batik. I think it is too similar to the "stone" batik .

On solid canary yellow Kona cotton. The brown fabric doesn't "pop" enough.

Solid black cotton.

I was surprised at how much I like the black background. That is what I will be using for my own mini Sparkle Quilt.

Here are a few other fabric combinations that I considered:

What fabrics are you going to use?

Sparkle Quilt Along: Introduction

2012-01-02T13:32:00.000-08:00

There has been a bunch of chatter around the shop about learning how to quilt. It seems people either fondly remember their grandma quilting and want to reconnect with their roots, or people are annoyed their grandma never quilted and want to make that quilt they never got growing up. Regardless of where you fall on that spectrum, 2012 is the year you are going to learn how to quilt.

One day you will be old and gray and quilting with a cat in the way.

I've been tossing around ideas for beginner-friendly quilting projects. Each step of the quilt-making process is typically fairly simple. Yes, it takes time to master all of the steps, but they are not hard to learn. The problem, though, with a weekly quilt class is that it takes a lot of time to make a quilt top. There is homework involved, and with jobs and other life commitments, not to mention differences in sewing speeds, it can be difficult to keep students working at the same pace.

One of my favorite sewing blogs is In Color Order. I have been following Jeni's work for years, and I especially love all of her posts on color choices. If you ever get stuck choosing color palettes, or if you want a color wheel/color theory refresher course, definitely check out her blog.

Starting January 12, Jeni and her friend/fellow blogger will be hosting the Sparkle Quilt Along. For those of you unfamiliar with a quilt-along, basically the blogger posts weekly assignments/instructions and you, the student, follows along.

That graphic above is the design of the quilt, and Jeni and Megan will provide material lists for sizes ranging from mini-quilt to twin-size. (Note: Start small if this is your first quilting project. Just sayin'.) This is the schedule the quilt-along will be following:

January 12 - Week One: Choosing Fabrics

January 19 - Week Two: Cutting

January 26 - Week Three: Assembling the Blocks

February 2 - Week Four: Putting the Top Together

February 9 - Week Five: Finishing Up

February 16 - Week Six: Linky Party

Head over to the Sparkle Quilt Along Flickr Group to see a finished Sparkle Quilt. Also take the time to introduce yourself--quilting can be very solitary, so it's great to be able to connect with other quilters, even if it is just through the magic of the interwebs. Be sure to bookmark Jeni's page, In Color Order, so you can stay up to date on the project.

Why am I telling you all this? Well, this will be my first quilt-along and I thought it would be a fun way to introduce the art of quilting to all of you who are interested in learning. I will be following Jeni and Megan's schedule and posting updates via this blog. Even better? Since we will all be working on the same project, if you get stuck or confused or frustrated you can come in to SewPo and yell at me for making you think this was a good idea. Just kidding. This is a great idea, and if you get stuck you can come in to SewPo and I will help you. In real life.

So yeah, take 2012 by storm. Learn how to quilt, at your own pace, with free help in real life if you need it. And for those of you still on the fence? Let me know you are doing the Sparkle Quilt Along, and I'll take 10% off your materials purchase.

Half Moon Modern Quilt and a Sewing Machine Cover

2011-12-31T18:19:00.000-08:00

It's always sad when Christmas is over. It's even sadder if you work in retail, because after weeks of seeing tons of people, once Christmas is gone you see nobody. Add to all this sadness, the perpetual grey sky of Portland and you can see why people suffer from seasonal depression.

Gee, Kate, thanks for all that uplifting information. I'm so glad I checked your blog today. (That was you talking, in case you didn't recognize yourself.)

My answer to all the sad, grey Portland-winter depression? Half Moon Modern fabrics:

Half Moon Modern Charm Packs

So bright, so cheerful, so graphic. I am just loving charm packs lately. They're so cute and pre-cut and they have so many different fabrics all gathered together. A charm pack is almost as good as a new 64-count box of Crayola crayons. (For those of you who haven't experienced the joy of a charm pack, let me explain: In one little bundle you get 42 5" squares. All cut so nicely and just waiting for you to stitch together into something awesome. I used to think, "Eh, whatever, I don't mind cutting my own fabric" and I really don't, but sometimes it's nice to be able to jump right into the sewing part of sewing, if you know what I mean.)

I ended up making a small quilt/wall-hanging. My original plan involved borders and a finished size more appropriate for use on the couch, but once I laid out the borders it looked really, well, crappy. The borders took away from the graphic-ness of the quilt, and the bold design was what I really liked about the quilt, so the borders had to go.

The quilt ended up being about 32"x36", which would be a fine size for a baby blanket, except that the fabric is not at all baby-like. So, I'll probably use it as a wall-hanging at home. It will be fun to see when I walk in the door.

I have to admit that this quilt project was fraught with disaster. For some reason the rows ended up being different lengths. It is not due to a bad 1/4" seam, I can tell you that. Not only do I have a 1/4" foot on my machine, I literally measured every single seam on this quilt and they were all spot-on. (I normally do not measure my seams, by the way, it's just that I was sooooo annoyed that the rows weren't lining up and I couldn't figure out why.) The only thing I can figure is that the waft and warp threads stretched differently. I literally don't pay attention to things like that, and I'm probably not going to start now, especially not for "lesser" projects. I ended up just cutting off the offensive sides, so now some of my squares are not square at all, but hey, I'm cool with that.

The second problem with the quilt is more an organizational problem. I had been sewing on my personal machine and somewhere between transporting the machine between home and the store, I lost the power cord and the foot pedal. (I also lost my phone, but strangely, did not care about that at all.) I think I did a good job of not freaking out, but that was a long three days.

I ended up quilting the piece on my old machine, which is a nice, sturdy beast of a machine. It doesn't have a walking foot though, so I didn't go crazy with the quilting, just some diagonal lines. The quilting didn't turn out too badly, there are some puckers in some spots, but overall the diagonal lines add some movement to the quilt, which is a good thing.

Finally, I ended up cutting my binding strips at 2", instead of the 2 1/2" I normally use. My binding has gotten much tidier over the last year and I was finding the 2 1/2" binding strips to be a tad bulky. I thought 2" would be fine, but they were just too tight. At this point I was still using my old machine also, which has a tendency to pull to the left, so I was basically fighting the binding the entire time. While I typically hand-sew my binding on the backside, with this project (mostly because I was so ready to be done), I machine stitched the binding on both sides. Not my best binding.

You can't tell unless you look really close, but that corner sucks. Trust me on this one. We will now contrast that with what is one of my best bindings ever:

I used 2 1/4" binding strips on this one, which is the perfect size for me. I did zig-zag around the perimeter of the quilt sandwich before stitching the binding, which allowed the binding to go on flatter, if you will. It's definitely a trick I am going to keep using. I am a tad annoyed that fabric isn't quite as wide at that one corner up there, but it's on the back and the other 2 corners that I've finished so far are even tidier, so I'm just gonna let that one go.

Since I wasn't super-thrilled with the way my Half Moon Modern quilt turned out, but I was still so enamored of the scissor fabric, I decided I needed to do a second project, post haste. I made a little sewing machine cover:

Sometimes using fabric from the same collection bothers me. I mean, I do it, but sometimes then the fabric choices are too obvious. Sometimes you gotta mix it up.

Only the scissors (on top of the stack) and the aqua leaves are part of the Half Moon Modern collection, but I think these other fabrics can hang out with Half Moon Modern. They all have vibrant, saturated colors and enough white to tie all the fabrics together.

For the sewing machine cover, I didn't use the green polka dots, mainly because I only needed 7 strips of fabric and I liked the organic shapes of the other green a bit better (especially next to the aqua leaves). I added the heart applique because I want my machine to know I love it. Not really. Something just told me to add a heart, so I did. And I'm glad I did, because it totally makes the cover that much better.

The sewing machine cover is basically just a mini-quilt with some ties on the side. This one measures approximately 20"x30". I hand-stitched my ties on after I did the first side of the binding, as you can kinda see in the next picture:

That's it for 2011.

Handmade Holidays: The Embroidered Edition

2011-12-24T16:04:00.000-08:00

My modern, retro, vintage holiday redwork embroidery:

And a modern, retro, vintage Christmas song to send you on your way:

Peace.

Merry and Happy

2011-12-23T21:17:00.000-08:00

At the wise suggestion of my step-mom, we now celebrate Christmas over several days. There is so much work that goes into making Christmas happen, but as an adult I was often bummed it was all over so fast.

Now instead of waking up and tearing through the gifts in ten minutes or less, the kids get to open one gift a day, starting on the solstice.

Have a merry, happy, festive holiday!

Handmade Holidays: Scenes from the Bake Shop

2011-12-20T14:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Matt manned the store (get it, "man", nevermind...) while Mom, Lily and I baked cookies with the boys. Or rather, while Mom, Lily and I baked cookies for the boys.

Our dear friend also stopped by with her boys. Of the five boy-children, it was these three who helped make cookies. Apparently the other two are better at eating. Not that the bar for helping was set very high. I mean this is what our "head decorator" looks like hard at work:

Sure his hands are clean (-ish) and he is wearing an apron...but umm, where are the cookies? Yeah. That's what you get when you let the youngest kid be in charge of sprinkles.

Hear no sprinkles, see no sprinkles, speak no sprinkles?

We did manage to make three different types of cookies. Our family classic Christmas cookie, the spritz:

ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 1/4 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (or almond)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Beat butter and sugar in electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. Add egg and extract.

Slowly add flour, mixing until just combined. (At this point, if you're fancy, you can add a few drops of food coloring.)

Place dough in cookie press. Place cookies on ungreased baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes (until slightly golden brown).

If you don't have a cookie press, just drop rounded spoonfuls of dough onto the baking sheet. Let's be real, cookies made with tons of butter and sugar are going to taste great no matter what they look like.

Speaking of tasting great--these cookies actually get better with age. They will taste best after about a week (properly stored in an airtight container, of course), which makes them great for giving.

Spritz

Our second batch was sugar cookies, of the cut out variety. Sugar cookies aren't my favorite cookie (although I do like them a little better if they're frosted), but they are fun to make.

ingredients:

2/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 TBS milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
Icing or decorations (optional--we used sprinkles)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat butter in electric mixer on high for 30 seconds. Add sugar, beat until well-combined and fluffy. Beat in egg, milk and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients (ie., the flour, baking powder and salt...but you knew that). Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the electric mixer. Stir until just combined.

Divide dough in half. (If you want, chill the second half while you are working with the first batch.) On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes. (Although this time will depend on how thick you rolled out your cookies--basically you just want them golden brown, however long that takes. Just keep an eye on them.)

(This is Eli. He is such an awesome kid and great big brother. Not a bad cookie-cutter-outer either.)

Our last cookie for the day was the linzer tart. Not to be confused with the bigger linzer torte, which is a holiday tradition in Austria and Germany. According to Wikipedia (don't forget your grain of salt), the linzer torte recipe is the oldest-known recipe in the world, dating back to 1653. Apparently us Americans have the Austrian traveler Franz Holhuber to thank for bringing the recipe to Milwaukee in the 1850s. Somewhere along the line, we (not me, but you know, the American baking culture) miniaturized the torte, turning it into the single-serving linzer tart that are in pretty much every bakery you've ever been in.

ingredients:

2/3 cups hazelnuts (3 oz.) (I've heard almonds or walnuts would also work)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (We used regular dark brown sugar, still great)
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 12-oz jar of very nice raspberry preserves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast hazelnuts in shallow baking pan until lightly toasted and fragrant, about 6 minutes. Rub nuts (yeah, I just typed that) with a towel to remove any loose skins (but it's okay if there is still skins on there). Chop super fine, or use a food processor to pulverize those babies. Add 1/4 cup brown sugar to nuts and mix well.

Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl.

In an electric mixer, beat butter on high for 30 seconds. Add remaining brown sugar and beat until fluffy (about 3-5 minutes). Add nut mixture and beat until well combined. Beat in egg and vanilla.

Reduce mixer speed to low. Slowly add dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.

Split dough in half. Chill if needed. (How do you know if you need to chill? The dough should be easy to work with. If it's too soft and sticky, chill it. If it's too hard and crumbly, let it warm up a bit.)

On a heavily floured surface (this dough is sticky!) roll out half of the dough. Using a large cookie cutter, cut out shapes (a scalloped edged circle shape is traditional, but use whatever you like) and bake for 10-15 minutes. You know what you're looking for--lovely, golden-edged cookies.

Roll out the second half of the dough. Cut out with the same cookie cutter. But before you pop those suckers in the oven, cut out the centers of the cookie with a small cookie cutter. (And all those little cut-outs can be baked too, don't throw them away!)

After cookies have cooled completely (this is not the time to rush the cooling process), liberally dust the cookies with no centers with powdered sugar. Set aside. Spread about 1 tsp. of raspberry jam on the "solid" cookies. Put the powdered sugar cookie on top of the raspberry jam cookie. Voila! A delicious linzer tart. So worth the time and effort. (Just don't exhale while you're bringing that cookie up to your mouth or that liberal dusting of powdered sugar will be all over.)

Enjoy!

A Walk Down Mississippi, or, Why I am usually late on Tuesdays and Thursdays

2011-12-06T13:46:00.001-08:00

I'm not a stay-at-home Mom, I have 2 too many jobs for that title. I'm not a work-at-home Mom, since I leave the house to go to work. But when I do leave for work? I often bring Luke Hawk with me. I guess that makes me a work-along Mom.

There is so much I can say about bringing a child to work. Lukey has been working with me since he was 3 months old. Back then I worked part-time at Milagros Boutique. It is easy to bring a nursing, non-mobile baby to work with you, especially if you work in a parenting boutique.

Three years later, with a mobile, speaking child...well, let's just say it helps to bring lots of food. Most of the time, Lukas is delightful. There is a little play area in the back of SewPo, so he'll hang out there. Sometimes when he gets bored I let him play games on the computer. He eats a lot of snacks. Lucky for all of us, Lukas is not typically here all day.

The best and worst part of our work-along adventure, though, is the journey. Our bus stop is about three blocks from our home. I can walk there in about 6 minutes (most of the time adds up when I am waiting to cross Killingsworth). Walking to the bus stop with Lukas, though, can take anywhere from ten minutes to thirty minutes. Yes. 30 minutes. That's 10 blocks/minute for all of you math whizzes out there. I don't mind the longer walk (most of the time), it's just dreadful, though, not being able to plan what time to leave the house.

Once we're on the bus, it's not so bad. Most of the TriMet drivers will lower the bus so Lukas can easily climb on, and most of them even wait until we are seated before driving again. Most of the TriMet riders are very quick to make room for a lady with a small child, for which I am very thankful.

Every once in a while, though, you get that driver in a rush, who takes off while we're still walking down the aisle. Dude--my kid is 3, he doesn't have bus sea legs yet. And sometimes we end up standing, feet from a 20-something self-obsessed person who will just sit there, staring at her knees, pretending she doesn't see us struggle to stay upright. Stay awesome, lady.

When we get off the bus, we have the option of waiting for a second bus, or just walking the mile down to SewPo. We always walk. (My theory on parenting three boys: Get them tired out early in the day.)

First, we cross the street and immediately climb on this fence:

It's a long fence. It continues on the other side of a little driveway. Any time I suggest maybe skipping the fence and just, you know, walking down the sidewalk the answer is "No, Mommy. Lukey fence, like this."

At the end of the fence is this sticker. Lukas likes to comment on the fact that the sticker has an "L, for Lukey."

For those of you keeping track, getting this far has taken about four minutes, and we are basically still just across the street from the bus stop.

This is when the walk begins in earnest:

At this point, I am still entertaining the thought that I might actually get to the shop on time. I can be heard saying things like, "If we can just, you know, walk, I'll give you a juice box when we get to the store."

The promise of future juice boxes is no match for the power of ol' "Three-Eye", who we need to stop and say "hi" to whenever we pass. I guess we know who is failing the marshmallow test...

At the next corner we hit Cherry Sprout. For some reason, Lukas feels the need to stop at this corner and bark like a dog before we cross the street. Every time.

Total time since we've been off bus? Twelve minutes. Blocks traveled? Less than 4.

Fortunately, the next few blocks are less than interesting for our young adventurer. I, however, usually get a kick out of this sticker:

Then we come to the hill. It has it's own song. It goes, "Up the hill, up the hill. Dunt dunt dunt." But first, we have to go around the circle.

Once we've passed the hill, we're on Mississippi proper. We walk past Emerald Petals and wave hi, whether or not H. is in the shop. More often than not, we stop in front of Paxton Gate. They always have something interesting in the window. Like...

penguins! (Btw: Boo on whoever threw paint all over Paxton Gate's window last week.)

Time check--twenty minutes and finally in the home stretch. By now, I've either given up on getting to the shop on time, or I realize we are golden and have plenty o'time. Either way, this is when I stop cajoling Lukas to speed up and I just enjoy the rest of the walk.

We stop and say "hi" to the other decorated pipe next to Black Wagon (where I got the nicest crayons one time).

We stand on green-tiled steps.

We wave to Mr. Green Beans, even though the glare on the windows is so heavy that we don't know if anyone sees us. And at this point, we've made it. We're finally at SewPo.

Total walking time: at least 27 minutes. Distance covered: not quite a mile. Totally worth every step.

Handmade Holidays: Fabric "Paper" Chain

2011-12-05T20:02:00.001-08:00

Take those construction paper chains and re-imagine them with fabric. Retro, re-usable, and sturdy enough to stand up to Gideon and Lukas.

All I did to make the fabric chain was fuse two pieces of fabric together (I used wonder-web, by Pellon). I then cut the fused fabric into 1" wide strips. Make a loop and stitch. Make a second loop connected to the first loop and stitch. (I mean, we all remember kindergarten, right? Do I really need to explain this?) Carry on until you are out of strips or out of patience.

Handmade Holidays: Applique Placemats

2011-12-02T08:56:00.000-08:00

Learn to applique with SewPo! We will be hosting an applique class on Thursday, December 8 from 6-8pm. Applique can be useful, decorative or both--it's a great skill to have in your arsenal and it's not to hard to learn! Sign up now!

noun

ornamentation, as a cutout design, that is sewn on to or otherwise applied to a piece of material.

work so formed.

a decorative feature, as a sconce, applied to a surface.

Thank you, dictionary.com, for that informative lesson. I personally say [ap-li-kay], not [ap-li-key], but I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one. Tomato, tomahto.

There's not much to say about placemats. I mean, you put them on your table and inevitably someone will drip something on them. That doesn't mean the placemats shouldn't be fun(ky) though. These placemats are made with the black/white crossweave I'm always gushing about, as well as some cotton fabric scraps. (The green stripes are left-over from my Grinch quilt--I still have a decent pile left from the fat quarter bundle, so expect more Christmas-themed posts.)

This placemat features decorative embroidered stitches along the top and a lovely 21-wale corduroy back. You can't see it in these photos, but I also added some straight stitches with silver metallic thread in the snowflake and around the embroidery (which was clearly done with my lovely Janome). Instead of binding the placemat, I did that turn-inside-out-and-then-edgestitch technique. (These are technical terms, my friends. You best learn them...but seriously, it's one of those things I know how to do, I just don't know what to call it.)

The happy little tree placemat (you did read that in your best Bob Ross voice, right?) features polka dotted binding and a very colorful backing fabric. I did some very basic straight-line quilting to help balance the design, and because I love the way the red stitching looks on the black/white crossweave (I know, I know, it looks gray, but that's the magic of the fabric).

Simple shapes are best for applique, especially if you are just starting out. I have 5 people in my house, so my goal is to make 3 more placemats (or at least one more, so all the kids get one). I know birds are overdone here in Portland, but I think a simple cardinal applique would be festive. There's also just a stem with leaves, candy canes (super easy if you cut a red/white stripe on an angle), a star. A simple circle with "J" shaped stitches at the top can look like an ornament. A red triangle with a white circle on top can be a Santa hat...ideas, I've got aplenty.

Don't feel like committing to an entire set of placemats? Just make one and use it to put Santa's cookies on. Or just make one and use it as a wall-hanging. Applique can be addicting, though, so if you do end up with oodles of placemats, they do make for an original gift.

If you are giving your placemats as a gift, think about adding in a set of coordinating cloth napkins. Super cute!

Handmade Holidays: Advent Calendars

2011-12-01T14:56:00.001-08:00

So my dear friend recently asked for some ideas for advent calendars. Of course, an advent calendar has been on my "to-make" list since Eli's first Christmas--nine years ago. And, well, ummm....hey, it's December 1st and guess who still hasn't made an advent calendar?

This is the year, though, people. This is the year. Clearly I am already behind schedule, as I have not started sewing yet, but I do have a plan. (Yay! A plan! Christmas is saved!)

This sweet little bunting is from Sew Sweet Violet. She used linen and cottons for the "flags" and a simple binding tape to string it all together. My plan involves making enough "flags" every few days to stay ahead of the calendar (of course, I am already behind, but I'll be sewing tonight!). I am going to hang my lo-o-o-o-ong binding strip to the wall, and then just add a flag a day until I have all 24. (I'll probably just pin them at first, and then when they're all up, I'll stitch them in.) This year, it is a count-up to Christmas calendar. Next year, though, it will function as a traditional count-down to Christmas calendar.

Maybe you don't have 7.5' of wall space to spare for a bunting, I understand how these things go. Perhaps you just want a more traditional advent calendar. For you, the classic Christmas celebrator, I will suggest this advent calendar:

The pattern for this "Classic Advent Calendar" by Make it Do is available here. Those of you who know me, know I love to bang my head against my dining room table as I am trying to figure out how.how.how to make something. Sometimes, though, using a pattern is the way to go. Less head-banging.

Finally, for those who want a more modern take on the classic advent calendar, I present this work of beauty:

In true modern quilting fashion, we see bright, luscious fabrics "sashed" with white. I love the clean look, but sashing everything in white is getting a little boring. I love the black/white crossweave fabric as an alternative to white sashing. It reads gray and it makes colors pop like nobody's business. After you decide on what color background you would use, head over to SewMamaSew to get the FREE advent calendar pattern.

That's it for now. I'll leave you with this bit of adorableness:

Handmade Holidays: Simple Garland Tutorial

2011-11-26T14:01:00.001-08:00

Update: Learn to make this adorable garland at SewPo! Join us on Tuesday, December 6 or Thursday, December 22, from 6pm-8pm. Only $15 (plus materials), this garland is sure to be a delightful touch to your home for many years to come! Sign up here today! (Don't forget, you save 10% on your materials when you register for a class at SewPo.)

Forget about decking the halls with boughs of holly. First of all, it's got those little prickery points. Second of all, you'll have to buy it year after year, unless you have fake boughs of holly, which, yuck.

Christmas lights are a perennial favorite--classic white for that coordinated Martha Stewart effect, colorful strings for a more playful Christmas. Lights, though, are just not super exciting to look at by themselves. (Yes, I'm sure they did look totally awesome in your dorm room. But that was a thousand years ago.)

Which brings us to the garland. Simple and easy to make, you can reuse it year after year and you can make it in any colors you want. It can be traditional, it can be funky. It won't be boring to look at. (Especially if you string your twinkly lights with the garland. Ooooh! Fancy!)

So, without further ado, the simple garland tutorial!

Materials:
(To make a garland approximately 6' long)

(4) 1/8 yard cuts of assorted fabrics (I used two greens and two reds) or assorted scraps
1/2 yard Pellon Wonder-web (double-sided fusible interfacing)
3 yards ric rac (any size will work, but the wider it is, the easier it will be to use)
Coordinating thread

Make Me!
1. Cut the assorted fabrics to measure approximately 4.5"x22". You should now have 8 pieces of fabric.

2. Cut the Wonder-web into 4 strips measuring approximately 4.5"x22".

3. Choose 2 of the fabrics. Place the first fabric wrong-side up. Place a strip of Wonder-web on top of the strip of fabric. Place the second fabric, right-side up, on top of the Wonder-web. Following the manufacturer's instructions, fuse the two fabrics together. Repeat with the rest of the fabric strips.

4. Using a sharp pair of scissors, cut the fused fabric strips into almond-esque shapes. (Or try cutting out circles, holly leaves, ovals, candy canes, stars....)

5. Starting about 12" from the end of the ric-rac, start sewing your fabric shapes onto the ric-rac. Leave a small space in between each shape. Make sure your ric-rac doesn't get twisty while you are sewing. Keep sewing the shapes on the ric-rac until you are out of shapes, or until you have about 12" of ric-rac left at the end. (You need that tail to hang the garland.)

That's it! Now go deck those halls!

This is the Reason the Season is Fall

2011-11-21T09:51:00.001-08:00

Yesterday it wasn't raining. Matt and I took the boys to the Children's Arboretum, where we had a delightful time until one of the boys fell in a creek. I did collect some beautifully colorful leaves in the ten minutes we were there, though.

Coming from Long Island, where there are basically just pin oaks that drop brown leaves, living in a place with so many colorful leaves is a ton of fun. Especially since we live in an apartment and don't have to rake. Oh yeah!

I gathered enough leaves to make a splendid little leaf bouquet, but the stinking things wouldn't stay put in the vase in a pleasing manner. So I took a needle to them. Take that you non-cooperating pieces of tree. (Yesterday, I also happened to finish quilting the Grinch project, so I had a nice, old needle in my machine to sacrifice for this.)

Most of the leaves I gathered were not too dry and rather supple. Anything too crisp will probably just disintegrate when you try to sew them. I didn't treat the leaves with anything, although I did try using fusible interfacing on the leaves--it didn't work. Maybe wonder web between the leaves and the base fabric would work better, but I didn't try that.

I also didn't try any kind of preservation tactics, so who knows how long this wall-hanging will be hanging around. (Does anyone else of vague memories of dipping leaves in Borax(?) to preserve them? I'll have to research that...) Keeping in mind the "shelf-life" of the leaves, and due to their fragile nature, I machine sewed the leaves onto the quilted backing with a rather long stitch (3.5 on my Janome--I use 5.0 for basting and 2.2 for general sewing). This way I can remove the leaves and replace them as needed--at least until I figure out how to more permanently preserve the leaves. (And once I figure that out, I think I am going to make more of a leaf wreath, which was my original idea.)

I used a Valori Wells home dec weight fabric for the background. I used regular cotton batting in the middle, and a fabric from the Effervescence collection from Robert Kaufman for the backing and binding. I did do a separate binding (not the backing as binding) and I must say, it is one of the best bindings I have ever done. The front (and back!) corners line up perfectly, there's not much bulk at the join, there was no bunching. One thing I did differently this time was to zig-zag the edges of the quilt sandwich before applying the binding. Well worth the extra time and thread, and a trick I am going to add to my arsenal for future projects.

The finished piece is about 15"x15". I did add a sleeve for hanging. (Although for this picture I actually just used pushpins to hang it, hence the bumpiness...). This isn't the best picture, I mostly just wanted a picture of that aloe I haven't killed yet.

Quilt: Lost in Paris

2011-11-17T13:37:00.000-08:00

Now that I just took the Process Pledge I am going to show you a finished work, complete with journal entry. Oh! The irony!

The inspiration behind this quilt was these two fabrics:

Both of the fabrics are from the Etchings collection by 3 Sisters, for Moda. There are so many more prints available in the collection, but honestly, I felt most of them were boring. The street maps and the architectural details, though, are so different from what I usually come across. Even my husband said, "Oh, those are cool," and he's usually more of a "Sure, babe, that's a nice fabric" type of guy. So obviously, if your husband likes a fabric enough to offer an unsolicited opinion of said fabric, you should probably make something with it.

Confession time: I love fabric. Which is kinda obvious, being that I own a fabric store and blog about fabric, but what I mean is I really like the designs on the fabric. It sometimes pains me to cut fabric into pieces--all those sweet little flowers getting deadheaded, darling birds getting decapitated--it's all too much for one girl to deal with. I guess that's why people use solids...

Anywho, I usually try to find quilt blocks or patterns that incorporate large pieces of fabric. Often I just make up my own design, like I did for this quilt. After studying the fabrics for a week or two, I didn't have anything interesting to do with it. One night I was just staring at the Paris streets and I though, Oh! The streets make a cool design and I ran with it.

The black Kona solid obviously represents the streets. I wanted something asymmetrical with strong diagonal lines. The colorful squares and triangles represent gardens and homes. The colorful pieces were placed fairly randomly (I just didn't want any of the same fabrics next to each other). My idea, and what I was thinking about when I was quilting, was that if you are lost somewhere you may just wander around, circling past the same house, garden, park, whatever until you find something you recognize. The quilting in the colorful squares is completely random to accentuate the feeling of wandering around lost and aimlessly. (The black areas were simply stitched-in-the-ditch.)

The overall layout works for this quilt, but I am having a hard time envisioning it in other fabrics. Maybe with dark gray "streets" and bright florals? White streets and feedsack prints? I simply don't know. I am, however, quite pleased with the color combo on this particular quilt--it is definitely more of a subdued colorway than I typically use. I mean, seriously, there's no hot pink?! What the heck? Good thing that colorful Grinch Quilt is up next!

Handmade Holidays: Scenes from around the Shop

2011-11-17T12:48:00.001-08:00

Click on the post title for more pics!

Handmade Holidays: Quilt in Progress

2011-11-15T11:43:00.001-08:00

Scenes from my sewing room. Fabric scraps on my table. The Princess Bride postcard from Matt. I mounted it on one of my favorite Anna Maria Horner fabrics that I just didn't have the heart to cut up.

Chain-piecing the sashing for the Grinch quilt. I like the way the red and white stripes look against the aqua curtain.

They look like little North Pole markers. Now I really want candy canes.

The quilt in progress. It will probably finish at about 48" x 48". I am using the Grinch fat quarter bundle, from Robert Kaufman, plus 1 yard of white solid for the sashing.

There is a lot of adorable stuff going on in the fabrics, so I wanted to find a block that would highlight that quirkiness. While the Grinch bundle would totally work on it's own, I added some fabrics from my stash. The blue (it has little trees and snowflakes) and the lime green (it has multi-colored snowflakes) were helpful in adding some additional color to the quilt. The yellow solid is in there to add a little punch of unexpectedness, kinda like a star on top of a tree.

I based this quilt on a quilt I saw in the background of an article about another quilt. It was made using Anna Maria Horner (and similar) fabrics and sashed entirely in white or cream. It was folded over on a ladder in the picture, so I could only see one or two blocks. I can't remember how each unit was positioned in the block, but I guess it doesn't really matter.

Initially, I had planned on using just white for the sashing for this quilt. I was going to do a second project with the Grinch fabrics I hadn't used yet (there were some fabrics with too much white in them, and I didn't want them to blend in to the sashing, so I didn't use them). Something about the red/white stripey fabric just kept calling to me. Cutting the stripe on the bias gives it the playfulness this quilt needed--the squares look like little peppermints! I think with a more mature fabric palette, the solid color sashing is more appropriate, but this is a young, quirky quilt and the peppermints add to that feeling.

I want to work on this quilt next:

It is called the Oh, Christmas Tree quilt, by Amy Rivera. If you follow the instructions, available at Moda Bake Shop, you will end up with a quilt that is 46.5" x 57". Since we will probably use the Grinch quilt as a living room throw, I will probably re-size the Oh, Christmas Tree quilt to something about 24"x36" and then I will use it as a wall-hanging.

If you haven't seen the Process Pledge you should head over to rossie blog. Rossie is a "fresh, modern quilter" who is interested in seeing more of the quilting process, not, as she says "just the finished thing with a journal entry about the process."

This is the Process Pledge:

I, ________________, pledge to talk more about my processes, even when I can’t quite put them in the in words or be sure I’m being totally clear. I’m going to put my thinking and my gut feelings out there.

I, Kate, have taken the process pledge, so expect to see more unfinished projects floating around here.

Handmade Holidays: The Rolled Edition

2011-11-08T12:16:00.000-08:00

'Tis the season when all of us last minute crafty people say, "Well, there's probably still time to make everyone I know something handmade this year." Hopefully you don't know too many people, 'cause it's already November...but I do have some pretty easy sewing projects for you to keep in mind.

Communities are made by hand--and if you hurry, so too can your holidays!

First up, the roll. What, exactly, is a roll? Basically it's just a nifty little holder for things like crayons, knitting needles, drum sticks, chop sticks...I feel like I may have seen something similar for knives, but, well, you can try that at your own risk.

Loulabelle's Needle Rolls--I love her fabric choices!

The first one I made following Made by Loulabelle's instructions. I really like the look of her knitting needle roll, especially the contrast-fabric detail on the back--very sweet. Fleece interfacing and pre-made binding are things I almost never use, instead I just used cotton batting in lieu of the interfacing, and I made my own binding. (Broken record time, because I feel like I am always telling people this: It is SOOO easy to make your own binding. Why oh why are you limiting yourself to the color selection of the pre-made stuff?) The stitching lines of the smaller pocket did not line up with the stitching lines on the larger pocket as well as I would have liked, but I do finally have a lovely ~~holder for all of my needles~~ gift for a knitting friend.

A few years ago, Kelley Deal (of The Breeders, who also has the same birthday as me, btw) wrote a knitting book. Apparently Deal suggested using drum sticks if you didn't have big knitting needles for a certain project. Her editor sent the suggestion back, saying "Who has drum sticks laying around their house?" That always makes me laugh, 'cause I totally have drum sticks hanging out around my house. And they totally need a holder. So, in honor of Kelley Deal's editor, I made a drum stick roll.

Drum roll, please.

This is basically a simplified version of the knitting needle roll--I only did one large pocket, sectioned into three parts, instead of two pockets with many sections. Not being a drummer, I don't really know what else one would carry with their drumsticks--more drumsticks? Cans of beer? One of those little drum-tightener things? Seriously, I don't know. But if you do, feel free to add extra pockets or sections to your drum stick holder.

The Ramones "fabric" is from one of my son's old t-shirts (it would've been a really big roll if I used an adult shirt). I used fusible interfacing on the back of the t-shirt, to keep the knit from stretching as I sewed. Again, I used cotton batting instead of the fleece interfacing, in between the layers.

Using the basic roll instructions, it is pretty easy to adjust the size to hold whatever you want:

Crayon rolls would make a great gift or stocking stuffer for a little friend. Go to Chocolate on my Cranium for dimensions.

A version for chopsticks would also be neat. Obviously most Americans aren't in the habit of toting their own chopsticks around, but if you have a sushi-loving friend, it would be a lovely gift (especially if you gave them the chopsticks too!).

Crazy On You

2011-10-21T22:03:00.000-07:00

The Immaculate Corpse Pillow

I recently took my very first quilting class (I know, right?!) with the lovely Michelle Freedman of Design Camp. Go check out her blog. She does beautiful work--like her Cat's Game quilt, which was just published in Fat Quarterly magazine. (And she is teaching it at SewPo--don't worry if you missed the first class, we are offering it again on Tuesday 10/25.)

Cat's Game, detail.

(All about crazy quilting after the jump.)

The class I took with Michelle was called "Think Outside the Block" and it is all about improvisational quilting. If you read my last post you know that improvisational quilting has been in the air lately. In a very basic sense it just means quilting without a plan. Which, if you are in to quilting history at all, is where many quilting traditions started. Don't worry--I'll save the history lecture for another time.

In some ways, this type of quilting is quite relaxing. Grab some pieces of fabric (any size) and sew them together any which way--no stress or worry about corners meeting perfectly (or at all), minimal cutting (you can even use scissors if you want!), don't even bother with your ruler. Lots of fun.

On the flip side, for those of us who learned how to quilt with a rotary cutter and a straight-edge, it can be a little nerve-wracking creating blocks that are not perfectly straight. Or square. Or have colors that match. Michelle is quite good at getting people to move out of their comfort zones.

One of the exercises we worked on with Michelle she calls Immaculate Corpse, after an old Dadaist game. In Michelle's version, players have to blindly pull fabrics out of brown paper bags and sew them together no matter what. So even if you pull out the most hideous piece of fabric, you need to include it in your block. After working on it for a few minutes, you switch blocks with another person. You then work on that person's block for awhile, and switch with someone else, until you've worked on everyone's block. Then you get yours back.

The neat thing is you end up using fabrics you never would have looked at twice. I discovered I like solids more than I thought I did. They are not boring, they are restful places for your eyes! I am glad that hideous red, black and white geometric print did not end up in my block, though.

At the end of the evening, I had two blocks, which I then joined together to make a decent sized center square (-ish) for a pillow. I thought about framing the square with a solid ('cause I like them now), but in the end my love of prints won out. The black/ecru fabric is from the Circa 1934 collection for Moda. It spoke to me, so I had to use it. I did use a solid black Kona on the back, but I didn't take pictures, 'cause hey, if you can't figure out what a plain black back looks like on a pillow, I don't think we should be hanging out.

Immaculate Corpse pillow, quilting detail.

I free-motion quilted the pillow top, just because I love to free-motion quilt. Also because I need the practice (obviously--look at those uneven lines!), but mostly because I wanted to quilt circles to balance out all of the straight lines in the patchwork. This is a common quilting technique--using round quilt shapes on straight piecework, it just helps "soften" the piece, if you will.

Yes, I know, I could have marked my quilting lines first. But really, I just didn't want to. Aside from sheer laziness, the good Gemini twin in me says that quilting without lines is the only way to learn how to quilt without lines. So yeah, I was being lazy, but I was also working harder 'cause it's gonna take soooo much practice to be able to make nice circles/spirals/whatever.

From a distance, though, the quilting looks fine. See? (BTW, I always can spot a quilter in the store, because they always go straight up to a quilt and examine the stitching. Everyone else will just comment on the fabrics.)

The smaller spirals actually came out okay. I'm happy with it.

Now go make something beautifully crazy out of your scrappys.

Smashing Pumpkins

2011-10-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

I love Halloween. Hands-down my favorite holiday.Obviously the free candy is cool, but it's even better when you have kids--they do all the work, and then after they go to bed, you can eat all the good stuff (hello! Peanut butter cups!). We have also only lived in homes that do not get trick-or-treated at, so it's all get and no give. So seriously, tons of candy, cause we always buy a bunch just in case this is the year we get a trick-or-treater. (Actually, though, I really, really do want trick-or-treaters, they're so cute!)


A long time ago, on a Halloween in 2005.

Sewing-related items after the jump!

There's been some improvisational quilting in the air lately. We have two new instructors at the store (Hi Michelle! Hi Jan!), both of whom do improvisational piecing (among many other styles), although they have different quilting voices. I think I am still trying to find my voice--I'm drawn to traditional blocks, but frequently find them too "country." I love the modern-looking quilts, but then I get freaked out by the often asymmetrical designs. (It's a Gemini thing. I can also convincingly argue two opposite viewpoints. It's a talent and a curse.)

Anyway, I also hate to throw away scraps, as anyone who has seen my sewing area can tell you.

One of my scrap bags.

Teeny-tiny scraps=perfect for stuffing pillows.

Scraps just beg to be used in improvisational-style blocks, though. I tend to keep anything bigger than 1"x1" in my scrap bag. Anything smaller goes in the "scraps to be used as stuffing" pile (basically use these in lieu of the dreaded poly-fill. Bonus: You get to tell people you "upcycled"--I kinda hate that word--your scraps, and then you get extra Portland-points.)

So many holiday sewing projects involve either novelty fabric (meh) or just really kitschy/countrified designs. I mean, if I see another snowman made out of felt sitting on a plaid background I think I'm going to shoot him with a hot glue gun. Same thing with Halloween--can we please move beyond cute and move into cool?

Well, I tried, and here's my attempt at "cool" "non-country" Halloween:

Ironically, I kept thinking of this guy as the "Country Bumpkin Pumpkin". I hand-quilted it. Or maybe I embroidered it. It's decorative stitching that holds the layers together, so I'm not sure where that falls on the embroidery vs. quilting spectrum.

For the outline stitching I used regular old Gutermann cotton thread. For the lines on the pumpkin I used DMC linen embroidery thread, and for the binding stitches I used plain old DMC cotton embroidery thread. The uneven stitches give the piece a rustic look, but I think the country-ness is balanced by the use of the modern fabrics (from appropriately named "Modern Workshop" fabric line from Moda). The background fabric is a lovely gray linen, and the purple binding is a Kona solid.

So this one--she's the crazy cat lady of the pumpkin family. Probably a hoarder, too. I'm not really thrilled with this one, but it is always fun practicing free-motion quilting. This is also the first pieced binding I ever did--cute, but it's so much bulkier than I am accustomed to with "regular" binding. I can't remember if I pressed the binding seams open or not--next time I do a pieced binding I will press them open for sure, though.

This one will probably be my favorite, whenever (if ever?) I get around to finishing it. The third fabric from the left (the purple/orange one, from the Haven's Edge collection by Tina Givens) is just a fun, unexpected choice of fabrics for a pumpkin. This one is also in the process of being embroidered by hand, but I am on the fence about adding little vine-like stitching around the pumpkin. The main problem being that I know pumpkins have big leaves and if I do a little vine with tiny leaves it won't be accurate. Seriously, this is what is holding me up--which, c'mon, really? It's not like there are flowered, polka-dotted pumpkins rolling around all over the place, so I don't know why an inaccurate depiction of pumpkin leaves is giving me such a hard time. This is what keeps the Crabman up at night, Earl. (No? Nobody remembers "My Name is Earl" 'cause that show is funny--and available at our local library!)

Here are some quick pics of the pumpkin-making process. Basically sew, press, cut and repeat as necessary. At some point you may want to square it off (which just means make nice, straight cuts to even out the edges), but wonky pumpkins can totally live in a wonky block, so don't stress yourself out about it.

1. Sew some orange strips together

2. Add corners to make the square into a pumpkin shape.

3. Sewing lines. You can use different size corners to make your pumpkin less symmetrical.


4. Corners pressed open. At this point I just kept adding gray until it reached a size I liked.

Now aren't those pumpkins smashing?

Orange Peel Couch Pillows, Parts 2 and 3

2011-10-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

I am slowly moving along on the couch pillow project. Here's a sneak peek at pillows #2 and #3:

Orange Peel Pillow #2

Detail: Orange Peel Pillow #3

More pics after the jump!

Quilting on Pillow #2

Pillow #2 is actually done and has been living at the shop for a bit. Of course, I didn't have the right size pillow form at the shop, so until I bring the pillowcase home, these pictures will have to do. Or you can check it out at the shop. We like visitors.

The hardest part of this pillow was fabric selection. I knew I wanted to use the blue and yellow orange peel fabric from Anna Maria Horner. I knew I wanted the petals to be from the gray chambray, and I was pretty sure I wanted to use more of the colorful Art of Possibility fabric (which, by the way, is designed by a blind guy!).

The maroon with the little gold crosses on it worked well with the first two fabrics (from Terrie Mangat's Saints collection)--the values of the fabrics are similar and the shape of the crosses is reminiscent of the four petals of the orange peel design.

For the fourth fabric, I must have auditioned about 15 different fabrics. I really thought the yellow fabric from pillow #1 would work well, but besides being too matchy-matchy to the first pillow, it was really just too yellow.

I finally settled on the Acorn Chain fabric by Joel Dewberry. This fabric is awesome. I've used it in many projects (it's on the back of the Sudoku quilt hanging in the shop) and I often find it coordinates with fabrics I didn't expect it to look good next to. Like in this pillow.

Originally I did not plan on framing the patchwork with the linen fabric, but when it was just the patchwork with the appliqued orange peel flower, the pillow didn't look finished. Adding the border not only frames the patchwork, it also helps tie this pillow in with the first one.

Additionally (and rather suprisingly, considering my level of laziness), I actually mitered the corners of the border. I love the look of mitered corners, but they're kinda a pain. Especially if you try to do them sans instructions. (And considering, you know, my hubs or my kids will never even notice the lovely mitered corners.) But they do look good and should anyone who happens to sew comes to visit, I'll be sure to seat them next to my mitered corners so they can be appreciated in all their awesomeness. Just kidding.

Pillow #3, WIP

Pillow #3 combines the orange peel design with the color wheel. I love color wheels and color theory. Obviously with four petals, I needed to tweak the traditional RYB color wheel model to accommodate my design. For my "primary" colors I used (or will use) red, yellow, green and blue.

The addition of green allows me to include aqua as one of my secondary colors, which is a color I was eager to include as it picks up the color of my curtains, and the aqua-ish color of the petals in the first pillow. The other secondary colors for the pillow will be orange, lime green and purple.

Some of the secondary colors.

Although I profess to hate hand-sewing, I decided I needed to hand-embroider this pillow. I will blame it on the fact that I had recently taken out Embroidered Effects by Jenny Hart from the library. Jenny Hart is the creative force behind Sublime Stitching--if you think of embroidery as something quaint and faintly dull, Hart's designs will probably inspire you to pick up a needle and some embroidery floss.

I also took out seasons 3 and 4 of The Office from the library. Hand-stitching is a little more portable than lugging my sewing machine in front of the tv (plus sewing by hand is y less noisy). Not that I don't enjoy totally doing nothing in front of the television, but other times it just feels so indulgent to be doing nothing. So I embroider--clearly a very productive and very important use of time.

Orange Peel Couch Pillow, Part 1

2011-09-12T10:36:00.000-07:00

Detail: Orange Peel Couch Pillow

Changes in season tend to inspire me to change the textiles in my home. Since my family spends oodles of time in the living room, I figured I might as well start by making new couch pillows. (Well, actually just the pillowcases.) There are 5 pillows to re-cover, so expect more fascinating posts on the subject of my couch sometime down the line.

More pics after the jump.

I <3 aqua

The pillow is approximately 20" square. The main fabric is a gray linen. The orange peel "petals" are made from Carolina Chambray and the yellow tone-on-tone fabric is from Anna Maria Horner. (I love her stuff.)

The cool thing about chambrays is that the warp and weft threads are typically different colors--in this case dark aqua and purple. While the fabric mostly reads aqua, from certain angles you get glimpses of purple (another one of my favorite colors).

Currently our living pillows are covered in pink and greenish-aqua fabrics, with lots of roses on them. I must have been going through one of those "Oh my god! I live with 4 guys!" moments where I make things that are ultra-girly just to balance things out.

I'm over that for the time being, so I decided the pillows should be a little more gender-neutral. Gray seemed like a good base color (plus I was eager to use the new linen we got in the shop) and I like the texture of the linen--it's slightly heavier than a basic cotton, which gives the pillow a more homespun feel. There are also many neutrals in play in our living room--khaki couch, chocolate rug, black bookshelves, navy denim big chair--so having big gray pillows fit in with those colors.

The bright aqua silk dupioni curtains are the biggest source of color in the living. And considering we have seven windows in the room, it is a really big source of color. The aqua chambray is a deeper aqua than is in the curtains, but I am the type of person who prefers coordination over matchy-matchy.

Yellow is such an obvious counter-point to the aqua and the gray that I almost felt cliche using it. But whatever, I really like the way it came out.

Detail: Back

Something I adore in finished products is the unexpected details: seams that are bound with a different color fabric; embroidery; funky lining fabric. There is something especially delicious and almost decadent about these details, particularly when they are details that most people won't even see.

For this pillow, I used an envelope-style back (where you slide the pillow form between the flaps). Using the decorative stitch on my machine, I embroidered the finished edge of the back. But that wasn't going to be enough of the decadent details, so before I finished the edge, I lined it with a multi-colored fabric from Art of Possibility.

Detail: Back facing

That unexpected burst of color is a fun addition, but I didn't stop there. I also embroidered the inside flap, just because:

Detail: Back flap edges

There are now four more pillows to be re-worked, and I don't think any of them will be the same. For now, though, this one pillow will be waiting on the couch for some friends to join him.

At home on the couch.

The Wise Old Owl

2011-09-11T14:34:00.000-07:00


He out-bopped the buzzard, you know.

SewPo recently got in some of the adorable Animal Party Too! fabric from Robert Kaufman. Designed by Amy Schimler, the cheerful little woodland creatures on bright backgrounds are a fun addition to any young child's room.

Having babies on the brain lately (see Stuff My Mom Made), my Mom and I were quick to make projects featuring these fabrics.

Mom must've banged out about a dozen of the little reversible bibs. She says the size 2 sew-in snaps are the perfect size. Also, while the bib looks small, she tried the bib on a six-month old and it fit perfectly. So there you go.

I made a cute little quilt with the Animal Party Too! fabrics, plus the addition of a solid red from Kona, and a green-on-green tile. The orange and yellow border squares are also tone-on-tone prints, with a dotty circle design. I used a solid yellow organic for the backing (not pictured) and, based on a recommendation from Mom, I tried the organic merino wool as the batting.

Normally I find the idea of fussy cutting to be a little too, well, fussy. It is always sad to decapitate owls and racoons, though, so I did my best to preserve everyone's heads with some selective cutting for the little stroller blanket I made.

Obviously, any time you are going to take the time to fussy cut something, you want to make sure you highlight that fabric in your project. I based my blanket on the free Circus Parade pattern on the Robert Kaufman site. I modified my blanket slightly--I eliminated the prairie points (the triangles around the edge) and the sashing between the rows. All of those solid color rectangles, though, were just begging for some machine embroidery.

Extreme close-up! (Plus a stray string.)

I did sketchy-styled free-hand machine quilting on the red blocks. I used a mid-weight fusible interfacing on the wrong side of the fabric (obviously), and I did this decorative stitching on just the block (not through the batting and backing, before I assembled the quilt). The sketchy look, as well as the subject matter of the stitching was directly inspired by the fabric. I did all mushrooms in the red block, with the exception of the one block with the snail. Just to keep things interesting.

For the actual quilting, I decided to use some of the decorative stitches on my machine--namely the blanket stitch (around the red blocks), whatever that "v" stitch is called (herringbone, maybe?) (around the owl blocks) and the basic zig-zag stitch between the rows. The stitches seemed to lend a bit of a hand-worked (and especially in the case of the zig-zag), slightly childish aspect to the quilt, which plays well against the sketchy-ness of the fabric and embroidery.

Detail: blanket stitch.

Detail: that "v" stitch and the zig-zag

In the bottom of one of the pictures, you can catch a glimpse of Aneela Hooey's "Little Apples" charm pack. These fabrics will be the feature of a future blog post, as soon as I get the bolts in to finish off the top I already pieced. Like I said, we're baby-crazy around SewPo right now.

Stuff My Mom Made

2011-09-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

Cousins Rock!

Some time in the next two weeks, my Mom will have her fourth grandson, and my boys will have their first ever cousin. We are all really excited and cannot wait for the little nugget to make his arrival. Of course, I'm sure my brother and especially his wife really, really cannot wait for him to get here. Having twice been hugely pregnant on humid Long Island in the hot summer months, I can honestly say I know how my sister-in-law feels.

After making my brother and his wife a beautiful quilt for a wedding gift, my brother told my Mom that she would need to get started on a smaller quilt. After months and months of the design process, Mom made the most beautiful little quilt for the new grandbaby. (Pics after the jump.)

Wow, right?! The block is the same block Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr designed for their quilt, "Windy by the Lake." Here is a picture of the original quilt, as featured in the February 2008 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting:

"Windy by the Lake" by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr of FunQuilts

I am fond of American Patchwork & Quilting for many reasons, not the least of which is because they almost always include a color option (usually by Laura Boehnke). It can be hard to visualize quilt blocks in other colors, so having the color option is quite inspirational to me.

"Windy by the Lake" Color Option by Laura Boehnke

Of course, my Mom has an awesome eye for color and, actually, for design in general. She has also made each of my boys a quilt based on the same block, and was also commissioned to make a queen-size quilt based on that block. I don't think she's done with the queen-size quilt yet, but all said and done, this is her fifth quilt based on "Windy by the Lake."

As you can see in the two examples from American Patchwork, the quilt block plays the starring role in the quilt. It is easy to identify the block and the color choices emphasize the repetitive nature of the block (kinda like, I dunno, windmills by a lake...). While the first example uses only solids, which doubly emphasizes the block, the second example uses some of Kaffe Fassett's stripes, which adds a minor secondary design to the center of each square.

In my Mom's quilt, though, color plays the starring role. The block design is almost camouflaged by the vibrant use of color, but it is there if you look closely. The way the color is distributed throughout the quilt creates the idea of a central medallion.

You will also notice a variety of values represented in the quilt. Value simply refers to how light or dark a fabric is. The typical rule of thumb is to include something dark, something medium, and something light to have a balanced work of art. This is when a design wall comes in handy: even before you cut your fabric, lay it all out on your design wall, take a few steps back and squint at it. Seriously. It's something I learned in high school art class--looking at art "through your eyelashes" removes a lot of the colors while leaving you with an overall value representation.

Look at those pretty points!

Obviously one can't rely simply on a cool block and great color (and value!) choices to make an awesome quilt, the actual execution always needs to be precise. As usual, Mom's points are spot-on, no surprise there. If your points aren't quite as pointy--well, it really takes a bunch of practice, so keep sewing--you will get it.

Once you have figured out the block and the colors, and you got your points all pointy and your squares all squared it is time for quilting. It looks like Mom used a combination of straight-line quilting (I am assuming she used her walking foot for those straight lines) and free-motion quilting.

Yes, I said "free-motion quilting." There was no computer software involved in this quilting at all. Mom drew the turtles on the quilt top (using a disappearing ink fabric pen, naturally) and then "traced" them using her sewing machine with the darning foot on and the feed dogs disengaged.

Pretty freakin' awesome!

Now if only that baby would hurry up and get here.

National What Now? Month

2011-09-08T12:41:00.000-07:00


My design wall

Apparently September is National Sewing Month. Who knew? (And who actually gets to decide what all the months are? Also, after a quick trip over to Holiday Insights I now know September is host to such venerated holidays as National Blueberry Popsicle Month and National Courtesy Month. In honor of which, I will have to say "You're Welcome" 'cause now you know about all sorts of special holidays.)

Today I want to introduce you to my design wall. Design wall, readers. Readers, design wall. Now that we're all acquainted, let me tell you a bit more about DW. (I don't really call it that.) Basically all a design wall is a flat spot where one can lay out projects. I typically think of quilt blocks being laid out, but I'll sometimes pin larger items on there too.

My design wall is made of one giant piece of felt. My mom bought it for me a few years ago--it's about 10-12 feet wide and about 6 feet tall. Currently I don't have space to extend the entire piece of felt, so I rolled up the excess and pinned it. You can kinda see it in the left side of the first picture.

The nice thing about felt is that many fabrics "stick" to it. This is what makes a design wall such a great tool for quilters--especially those of us who don't always follow a pattern. Without using pins, you can stick your blocks or pieces on the felt and move them around and around until you are satisfied with the layout.


Works-in-progress

Of course I don't have a quilt laid out right now. But one of the more useful aspects of the design wall is that when you do have something laid out (especially if your design wall isn't located in a hallway, like mine) you can step back and look at it. Yeah, you may be thinking BFD, but let me tell you. Once you step back and look at a layout you can see a lot more of the design--I find it much easier to spot color and/or value problems when I look at a design from a distance.

Being a bit scattered sometimes, I often have more than one project going at a time. As you can see from the design wall, I am working on a new pillowcase for my couch pillows, there's some embroidery going on, scraps of fabrics from projects recently finished and even some memorabilia.

The little nesting doll that's taking FOREVER to finish.


My birthday note from my 1st son. For some reason he wrote down 33...


Eli's 1st quilt

At the top of the last picture you can see my oldest son's 1st quilt. He is apparently a perfectionist, as he has ripped out several seams that weren't to his liking. That is heart-warming, and I assume inherited from his grandmother as I definitely do not have that tendency.

As I was taking these photos this morning my littlest guy kept saying "Take pictures Lukey?" So I will leave you with this photographic evidence that September should also be National Cuteness Month.

Late Summer Fabrics

2011-08-30T16:29:00.000-07:00

There is something about this palette that just sings to me. The "collection" on the table is actually three different collections, from three different designers, but they all work so well together. This mix features fabrics from Tula Pink's "Parisville" line, Anna Maria Horner's "Innocent Crush" line and Tina Givens' "Havens Edge" line, all from FreeSpirit fabrics.

The combination of saturated purples and oranges blends beautifully with the more frivolous florals, giving the fabrics that late-summer/almost-fall feeling. The deep aqua in the table runner is from Fabric Freedom. I'm of the opinion that every quilt should have a "wrong" fabric in it, for dimension and interest. I generally find quilts that are too matchy-matchy to be a bit boring. The name of the game is coordination, not necessarily matching.


Late Summer Table Runner

Quilting detail

I did straight-line quilting through most of the table runner, with the exception of the squares, which I free-motion quilted. The picture shows some of the free-motion quilting.

I don't have a picture of the back, but I used a cream and orange toile from my stash. Trust me, it looks great.

The table runner is not based on a pattern, but rather evolved from my desire to highlight some of the bigger floral prints that I always seem to be drawn to. Of course, not working from a pattern often yields some mistakes.

Burp cloth

I didn't like the way the first block turned out. Instead of scrapping it, I backed it with an organic wool and straight-lined quilted the entire thing. I then zig-zag stitched the edges and voila! a burp cloth. Don't know any dribbly babies? Call it a mug rug and put your coffee cup on it.

I also made a pillowcase with some of the larger print fabric from Tina Givens. I used an African batik on the edge and the Parisville clamshell fabric as the ribbon.

Happy sewing!

Sweeeet Caroline Coasters, Part 3

2011-08-30T15:29:00.000-07:00

Quilt sandwiches, ready to be quilted.

Today we are going to finish our coasters, or mini-quilts if you want to think of them that way.

Some basic terms for you first-time quilters. Feel free to skip this part if you start to read and you're just like, "Well, duh."

"Backing fabric" is just the fabric you use for the back of the quilt.
"Batting" is the stuff you use in the middle of the quilt. Many sewing shops sell it pre-packaged, typically in sizes like "Baby," "Twin," "Queen," etc. If you have odd-shaped pieces of batting, you can use a zig-zag stitch to make a bigger, more useful piece of batting. Sometimes, if I'm feeling especially thrifty (or maybe if I just want a lighter-weight finished project), I will use old flannel sheets as my batting. It's ok to experiment.
"Quilting" refers to the stitches (usually in some fanciful design) which hold the layers of the quilt together. (If you didn't do that stitching, you would have what is technically referred to as a patchwork blanket or a "comforter" depending on how you finished it.)
"Binding" is the thin edge of fabric that finishes the edges of the quilt.

First, you need to make a "quilt sandwich". What this means is layer your backing fabric, batting and quilt top together, with the right sides of the fabric facing out. Your backing fabric and your batting should be slightly larger than the quilt top, to allow for shifting while quilting. Since coasters are so small, shifting should be minimal, so you shouldn't need to much extra. With any bigger quilting projects you should figure on the batting and the backing to extend at least 2" beyond the quilt top in all directions.

To save time, I made my coasters assembly-line style. The picture below shows several coasters with the batting already cut out. (Note that that batting extends slightly beyond all edges of the coaster top.)

In the picture below, you can see the coasters+batting lined up on the backing fabric. I then cut between each coaster to end up with a stack of coasters ready to be quilted.


Note: Backing fabric shown right-side up for illustrative purposes only.

Quilting can take any form. Common quilting techniques include "stitch-in-the-ditch" (simply stitching along the seam lines on the quilt top), shadow quilting (copying a motif in the fabric or patchwork design), straight-line quilting (exactly what it sounds like) and free-motion quilting.

Free-motion quilting is my favorite (as of right now) and involves dropping your feed dogs and using a darning foot. (If you ever get stuck in a conversation you want to get out of, try this conversation stopper: "One time I was quilting and I got my darning foot on, but I realized I never dropped my feed dogs, so obviously my stitches came out all wonky." Guaranteed to end all dull conversations immediately.) Some machines have a feed dog plate, to cover the feed dogs, in lieu of dropping them. Be sure to check your sewing machine manual for details.

My machine with feed dogs down and the darning foot on.

With your machine set up like this, you can sew in any direction you want. Not just front and back, and side to side, diagonally, in circles...whatever you can think of. Expect more posts on the wonder of free-motion quilting, but for now, I present this coaster as an example:


"Orange peel" quilting design

Once all of your coasters have been "quilted as desired" (a common instruction in quilting patterns--and now you know what that means, thank you very much), you need to trim your work. Basically, cut off all the extra batting and backing fabrics that are extending beyond the edge of your quilt top.

Okay--almost done! Now it's time for binding. You can find pre-packaged binding in many sewing shops, but seriously? Let's not be cheesy. Make your own binding. It's easy, you can use 100% cotton fabric (most pre-packaged binding is a cotton/poly blend), and you can pick a fabric that coordinates with your quilt. I have come across many instructions for making binding, some fabulous, some less so. I have found All People Quilt to have the best instructions, which I used to refer to EVERY TIME I needed to bind something. A hundred bindings later, I have it down pat and don't need the instructions any more. But instead of me muddling through the binding instructions, I'm gonna send you over to All People Quilt: Better Binding for a wonderfully useful tutorial.

So that's coasters in a nutshell. Make them bigger and you have a placemat. Even bigger, you have a wall hanging or bigger yet and you'd have a bed-size quilt. Cause that's what you just did--you made a quilt. Congratulations! Now go get an ice cold beverage and put it down on that little coaster you worked so hard on!

Where have all the flowers gone?

2011-06-25T11:45:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posting lately. I still have to finish those darn Sweet Caroline coasters (I know, I know!), but I've been sewing like crazy for the super fabulous Mississippi Street Fair!

Be sure to stop by our table during the street fair and check out all the sweet little creations I am furiously sewing right now. See you there!

Sweeeeet Caroline, Part 2

2011-05-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

If you pre-washed your fabric, good for you! Now press it. If you didn't pre-wash, why not? (Just kidding. I really don't care. I don't always pre-wash either.)

Get your stack of 2.5"x5" fabrics and plop them down next to your machine. I like to sort mine by color, but then I like to sort most things by color, so that may just be me.

Take two different fabrics and sew them along the 5" side, right sides together, with a 1/4" seam. If you are going to be making several coasters, you will probably want to "chain stitch" the rectangles. What is "chain stitching?" Well, glad you asked. Basically, instead of clipping your threads after each piece, just keep sewing. You'll eventually end up with something like this:

Chain stitching in progress.

Or, if you have someone willing to hold it up for you, you'll end up with something like this:

Either way, it doesn't matter, 'cause you're gonna clip all of those threads.

Now you have a nice pile of rectangles that need to be pressed.

Seams, pressed open

I like to press my seams open. Some people press to one side (typically you will press toward the darker fabric). Pressing to one side is quicker than pressing seams open, but open seams give you a flatter quilting surface. This is one of the many instances in sewing where it's all about personal preference. Don't get caught up in the "right way" to sew, just sew and see what you like better.

You should now have a stack of two-toned rectangles, measuring approximately 4.5"x5". (Don't bother to measure them, I'm just letting you know about how big they should be.)

Now, cut them in half.

(Sidebar: I used scissors to cut them in half. I didn't measure, I just eyeballed. This can be anxiety-inducing to those people who normally cut with a ruler and a rotary cutter. To those people, I say, "Let it go." For real, we're making coasters, not an heirloom quilt for your best friend's wedding. Let's just have some fun and make some coasters and not give a flying fig if they are perfectly square or not. It's a very liberating feeling!)

So, that pile of what are now approximately 2.5"x4.5" rectangles? Plop them down next to your machine, and sew two different pieces along the long side, right sides together, with a 1/4" seam. Then press the seams. Deja vu, I know. You should end up with something that looks like this:

Wrong side


Right side

Tomorrow, the conclusion of Sweet Caroline Coasters!

What's for Dinner?

2011-05-24T16:49:00.000-07:00

Let them eat (zebra) cake! Rrroar!

Zebra cake, as we called it growing up, is so tasty you'd think it was difficult to make. But it's not. It's like a cake for cake-making cheaters. The hardest thing about it is refrigerating it for about 4 hours before serving. But at that point your fridge is doing the most of the work, so what are you complaining about?

Here's what you need: 1 pint whipping cream, 1 package chocolate wafers (available at many supermarkets), a touch of sugar and vanilla (alternatively, I sometimes use pure maple syrup in lieu of the sugar and vanilla).

Here's what you do: whip the cream. When the cream is almost set, add the vanilla and sugar, or the maple syrup. I don't measure many things, like sugar or vanilla or maple syrup. What you're going for is a lightly sweetened whip cream. I define "lightly sweetened" as barely sweet at all. If you like it sweeter, add more sugar. But that's pretty obvious, right?

Adding maple syrup

Blend in the sugar and vanilla, or the maple syrup, until just combined with the whipped cream. Remove from mixer.

Grab your crispy chocolate wafers and start making little "sandwiches" with them. Wafer+whipped cream+wafer=sandwich. Use whatever spoon you eat cereal with to scoop up the whip cream--that's about how much you want in each sandwich. Then make the sandwich 5 wafers high. Repeat until you are out of wafers. (You should still have about 1/3 of the whipped cream left.)

*Don't squish your sandwiches, just gently put the wafer on top.

Almost done! Now take whatever (hopefully l-o-n-g) dish on which you'll be serving the cake, and start assembly. (I don't have a long enough tray. I use a cutting board with a piece of wax paper on it.)

Turn your 5-high wafer sandwiches so they are on their side. Depending on your serving tray dimensions, you may make a long cake, or you may need to make a stouter cake. It doesn't matter, it all tastes good.

Remember, anytime wafers meet up, there should be some whipped cream in between to hold them together. Due to my tray dimensions, I made a stout cake, so I had to add a wall of whipped cream to hold my 5-high wafer sandwiches together.

When you have all the little sandwiches assembled into some sort of rectangle, gently spread the rest of the whipped cream all over the wafers.

If your little dragon didn't eat any of the left-over wafers, you can crumble them on top for that Martha Stewart effect. Refrigerate for about 4 hours. Serve cold.

Nom. nom.

(We didn't actually have cake for dinner. We had a very lovely lentil soup, but my camera ran out of batteries so I couldn't take any pics. Basically you want to saute one (small) chopped onion, one diced carrot and one diced celery in about 2 TBS olive oil, until tender. Add a few sprinkles of red pepper flakes. Add 1 cup lentils (washed and picked over), 6 cups stock or water, a bay leaf and salt & pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cook for about 45 minutes. Delish.)

Sweeeeet Caroline, Part 1

2011-05-24T13:51:00.000-07:00

dun-dun-dun...Good times never seem so good...

Sweet Caroline Coasters

During my freshman year in college, I took Art 101, or whatever the basic drawing pre-req. class was called. We had this Welsh professor who had us sit there for three-hour class, just drawing lines. Straight lines about 6 inches long. Horizontal lines. Vertical lines. After two classes, we got to draw diagonal lines. We were so excited.

Oh. And we weren't allowed to speak during the class.

The whole class was tedious. (Plus it was an evening class, twice a week, and one of the nights conflicted with 90210, so I mean, I obviously missed a class or two.) And it was repetitive. After a few weeks, all I had to show for my "art studies" was a notebook filled with straight lines. Not at all what I had imagined a college art class to be like.

What I didn't appreciate at the time is that it is only through repetition that we can master any given skill set. Yes, I know, practice makes perfect and all that, but sometimes we don't need practice drawing a picture, we need practice controlling the pencil. Or the sewing machine.

So, in honor of my college art professor: coasters!

Why coasters? They are small, so you can bang out a bunch (repetition is key, remember?), experimenting with different color combinations and quilting techniques. Like drawing six-inch lines over and over, coasters will give you the opportunity to practice quilting over and over. (Repetition is key, remember?)

Plus, I like to make things that are practical--you could just practice quilting on scraps, but then you have a pile of useless scraps. Kinda like a notebook full of straight lines. A pile of coasters though? Keep some for yourself. Stack the rest in groups of 4 or so, tie with a pretty ribbon, and voila! You just got a head-start on "this year I will only give handmade holiday gifts" meme that always shows up every fall.

Lovely by Sandy Gervais for Moda

For this tutorial, you will need the following:

2.5"x5" fabric scraps (2 for each coaster) Note: I used pre-cut Moda fabrics (Candy Bar size), so I could get to quilting a little sooner.
batting (about a 6" square for each coaster)
6" squares of backing fabric
binding (about 24" for each coaster)
the usual suspects: scissors, pins, thread, sewing machine

Tonight, gather your materials. Pre-wash if that's your thing. Then stop by again tomorrow for part 2 of the Sweet Caroline Coaster tutorial.

One day I'll be a coaster...

What's For Dinner?

2011-05-22T14:09:00.000-07:00

The most annoying question ever. Worse than "Are we there yet?" Some days just thinking of something to make for dinner is harder than actually making it (whatever it may be). And don't even get me started on the complaints that pour forth if the answer to that age-old question is one my child (or children) doesn't want to hear...

So beyond fabric inspiration, I am now offering "What's for Dinner?" ideas. Watch for sporadic, tasty posts chock full o' easy things to make for dinner. And before you know it, dinner's on the table and you can get back to sewing!

First up, pizza!

Growing up on Long Island, we never, ever made pizza at home. Pizza in New York is cheap, plentiful, greasy and delicious. You seriously can't top it.

Here in Portland, there are some lovely options for pizzas, but they tend to be fancy and/or expensive. While I can appreciate an "artisan" pizza, sometimes you just want some hot, gooey cheese on a thin crust. And in less than 45 minutes.

So, make your own. You can get pizza dough and go from there, but honestly, the quickest is the often-overlooked Boboli. Now, understand, I am not saying it is the *best* pizza crust, but sometimes speed and convenience is paramount--hence the Boboli.

My kids, being somewhat gastronomically unadventurous, only like cheese pizza.


Just cheese. Boring.

For those of us with actual tastebuds, though, throw something interesting on that pizza. Tonight's pizza featured herbed goat cheese (just on half), pineapples, red bell peppers and red onions.


Pineapple Pizza B.C. (before chives)

Right before I cut the pizza, I remembered we had chives in the house. They added a much need sprinkle of color to the pizza:


A.C. (after chives), much prettier, just disregard that burnt spot.

Dinner is served. You're welcome.

Small child+sharp instrument=dinner at Kate's house!

Domestic Goddess

2011-05-21T14:03:00.000-07:00

Domestic Goddess Half-Apron


Short half-apron+long straps

We've been doing a series of classes called "Friday Night Aprons" here at the shop, which is just what it sounds like. Aprons are a great beginner project: mostly straight lines, sizing isn't super important (it'll fit someone, right?), and they are usually pretty quick to sew together. From what I understand, this makes them a great hostess gift. Being "invited into so few private homes", myself, I have yet to put that theory to the test. (Just kidding, people do like me. I just can't resist quoting "Arrested Development.") Aprons are also a great place to try out different fabric combinations: Be brave and try something you wouldn't have, you're just gonna wipe your hands on it anyway!

One of my favorites patterns to work with is Amy Butler's "Domestic Goddess Apron." For those of you unfamiliar with Amy Butler, ~~what rock have you been living under?~~, she is the forerunner of the "midwest modern" movement. From a review of one of her books:

"Emphasizing simplicity and integrity of craft, Butler is passionate about...reinventing vintage looks, and taking joy in the homemade."

Essentially, classic looks with a modern flair. What's not to like?

The "Domestic Goddess Apron" pattern has several different options: half-apron or full-apron? short, mid, or long length? short ties or long ties? Phew. If you're a beginner, make it easy on yourself and start with the half-apron. You'll get to practice pleats, curves, binding "tape" and turning points inside out (hint: use chopsticks). The apron even features an adorably functional towel loop!

Detail: Towel Loop


Towel loop use in progress! Watch out!

I love the juxtaposition of the earthiness of the African batiks with the modern Joel Dewberry dots (from his "Modern Meadow" collection). It seems that most "modern" sewists avoid batiks like the plague, favoring instead solids and geometric prints. Used in conjunction with other fabrics, batiks can be unexpectedly fun, and (dare I say it?), yes, even modern.

Retro Metro batik (from Robert Kaufman)+ Jack-in-the-Pulpit (from Jane Sassaman)

Millinery for Morons

2011-05-20T09:29:00.000-07:00

If you've been in the shop lately, you probably noticed the plethora of oliver+s patterns and books. Being surrounded by people having babies [note to CL: really? are you still pregnant? :)], I have taken it upon myself to start testing out the patterns from the "Little Things to Sew Book."

First up? Bucket Hats! Perfect for summer, this pattern is great for boys or girls. The pattern provided is for the basic, reversible bucket hat, but it would be easy enough to add applique, a love pocket (one of those tiny little pockets that can't really hold anything), or straps.


Reversible bucket hat--main print

Reversible hat--secondary print

For the first hat, I did the classic spring color pairing of navy blue+yellow. The white circles on the navy give the hat a modern look, while the solid yellow side brings to mind retro rain slickers. I used 100% cotton fabrics for this hat, but it would also work with coated fabrics (for some water-resistance) or a twill/home dec weight fabric (for a more fall-weight hat).

Like most oliver+s patterns, I found the hat pattern to be well-explained with useful illustrations of the steps. The pattern is rated 2 out of 4 "scissors" for difficulty. While this was my first hat, I have been sewing for quite some time and I was able to knock out the hat fairly quickly.

Here are some things I found working on this hat:

Always measure the child's head! Most patterns from oliver+s run "true to size" (whatever that really means), but heads are really all different sizes. For example, my littlest guy (age 3) has a 20.5" head circumference--so even though he wears size 3 pants and shirts, he's actually in the 6-8 size for hats. Incidentally, my 6 y/o also fits in that size...so yeah, measure that head.
When lining up and pinning the hat pieces together, first line up and pin the notches. Then line up and pin the side-seams. Only after those 4 pins are in should you start lining up and easing in the rest of the hat.
I cannot over emphasize the importance of notching your curves!!! If you don't know what the hoo-haw I'm talking about, what that means is cut little "triangles" along the curved edge of whatever you are going to sew. The pattern suggests notching the curves (also called "clipping") after the curved piece is already pinned to the other piece. Umm, yeah, no. Clip your curves first, then pin.
The interfacing is really optional. I've made one without interfacing (a little floppy, and a little more "girly" than the stiff brim, but still cute). I've also made one with super-stiff interfacing--also cute. So, if you have interfacing, use it. If not, no biggie.
When sewing curves, go slow. There is some fabric to ease in, and if you go too fast you may end up with a "wrinkle" in your brim. Screw wrinkles, just sew slow.
It is possible, for those of us who detest hand-sewing, to skip the hand-stitching of the cap in step 2 of "Finishing the Hat." However, you must realize that if you machine sew the inner cap to the brim, all of those bobbin-side stitches will be visible on the main fabric of the hat. If you are not super-confident in your ability to sew an even line while turning curves, you may want to whip out the ol' hand needle at this point. Yeah, I know.


Captain Cute

This is an adorable, functional project that requires not too much fabric and not too much time to complete. The first one takes the longest, but once you've worked your way through that one, you'll be able to bang out a bunch of hats, no problem. This is especially good news for us mamas of fair-skinned children who have a habit of tossing hats when we're not looking. Sorry babyGap, you've lost your best hat customer.

Hats in progress

Who Needs Girls?

2011-05-10T14:50:00.000-07:00

First sewing lesson.

The other day I was trying to decide what to sew and my oldest boy says, "Hey Mom, when you gonna teach me how to sew?" Well, who can say no to that?

Knowing the boy as well as I do, I opted to skip teaching him how to thread the machine and skip the parts about measuring and cutting fabric.

I did use the old home ec. trick and had Eli "sew" on paper first. This gives the student a feel for the machine, plus provides practice sewing straight.


Curves are tricky!

On to the fun stuff. We used these adorable pre-cuts from Moda. The candy bars fabrics are 2.5"x 5". Sewing two together is the perfect size for coasters.

We started with straight-line machine quilting (top right coaster), but we quickly discovered Eli was more into the idea of free-motion quilting. After I dropped the feed dogs and put on the darning foot, Eli seemed to hit his stride. By the time he got to the fourth coaster (bottom right), he was quilting bows and arrows onto his coasters. (Note to self: Try to keep more solid/boy-friendly fabrics at home.)

I ended the lesson before binding the coasters, as that's a whole other thing. Last night, though, when I was putting the bugger to bed, he turned to me and said, "Oh, but Mom, we didn't get a chance to sew today." Oh, sweetie, if you only knew how often I've said that to myself.

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T16:35:00.000-07:00

Just got back from the traditional Mother's Day viewing of "Thor." "God of Thunder and Rock and Roll", is right, Gene Scene.

I love that in the credits the drapers were listed independently of the regular costumers. Not that Thor was in the cape much during the movie, but the draping of the cape really was magnificent. See pictures after the jump...

Huh. Guess you can't see the cape too well in that last picture. Sorry 'bout that. :)

Welcome to FabriKate!

2011-05-07T17:44:00.000-07:00

Congratulations! You found me and my little blog!

My name is Kate and I am the owner of SewPo , a tasty little fabric boutique located in the Historic Mississippi neighborhood of Portland, OR.

Since March 2010, I have been fortunate enough to hang out in a hip neighborhood, selling fabric to crafty peoples. After years and years of working in corporate retail environments, it is a dream come true to own my own business (along with my Mom and my sister--does it get any cooler?).

Here on FabriKate you'll see what I'm sewing, what I'm thinking of making, my inspirations, finished projects...whatever strikes my fancy, actually. Sit back, dig in and enjoy the ramblings of a self-professed fabric junkie.