Garden Boot

I had to stay up till I finished this block tonight. This pattern has been in the works for a few weeks now. It took me awhile to figure out how to break my design up into a somewhat manageable pattern. I do realize that this garden boot, the third block in my gardening series, has a crazy number of pieces but I wanted the shape, the strap detail, the treads. It wasn't difficult to assemble but there were a lot of little sections to piece together. Fortunately, many of them didn't have seams to match. The boot is pieced with "Party in Pink" by Henry Glass. I got it from Quilted Treasures on Etsy and I think it makes for the perfect gardening boot material! And best of all, it has touches of bright yellow allowing me to incorporate some Kumiko Fujita Text Print in Yellow from Ayumi. I fussy cut "busy Spring" for the boot strap. The detailing at the top of the boot is Heath in Pink from Sew Fresh Fabrics. And finally, the treads are made from a charcoal cross weave.

The pattern is not ready yet but should be ready in a few more days. I just had to share it with you because I was excited!

A Baby Gift

I wanted to make a baby gift for a friend who is decorating the nursery in yellow and white. The gift item had to be gender neutral so I thought of a sun and the lyrics of the old favorite "You are my Sunshine" right away. I decided to make the sun using a New York Beauty Block. This is my first New York Beauty and it wasn't too difficult. I followed the pattern here for Block 0.

I wanted to make sure that the mini quilt would work in the nursery so I tried to include many different shades of yellow in my very scrappy sunshine. I had an opportunity to use the Aurifil Lana 12/2 thread that was sent to me months ago. I hadn't made anything yellow enough till now! I used it for the top thread only and quilted in the ditch around the points of the sun and then 1/4" inside the circle. I used white thread to stitch concentric circles outside of the sun, 1/4" apart.

I stamped the words using my heat set black silkscreen ink. I found that it works best if I use a paint brush to apply the ink very lightly to the bottom of the stamp. I hope this mini quilt brightens up the nursery for baby!

Simple Pleasures

They have new matching sundresses. They are delighted. They were also so silly during our photo session in the barn that this is the only decent picture I have to share!

Simplicity 2171

Honestly, we are a good two months away from sundress weather here but we had a freakishly early glimpse into summer last week that gave me the urge to sew sundresses for my girls. I used Simplicity 2171, a super easy but absolutely adorable little pattern. The only change I made was to add interfacing to the bodice.

This dress is made in a size 3 for my nearly three year old, Penny. The cat print is "Paris Paws" by Alexander Henry. I bought it on sale last year from Sew, Mama, Sew, intending to make it into a dress for her. The other two prints are DS Quilts prints from JoAnns. She calls this her kitty dress and can't wait to wear it.

I made this version of the dress in both a size 3 and a size 8 so both girls have matching dresses. The bird print is Nest by Valori Wells and the dot is DS Quilts again. The pink in both prints is to the coral side and tricky to coordinate with other prints so I was thrilled when I found that they worked well together.
I'm hoping for cooperative girls and a little modelling session. If I have luck, I will share more pictures later.

Cosmic Burst Pillow Cover

Earlier this week, I received some charms of Cosmic Burst for Freespirit from the designer, Mark Cesarik. The colors and patterns in this line are much brighter than what I tend to select when I am purchasing fabric. But I always love sewing with different fabrics and in different styles. When I saw these fabrics, I thought about pairing them with black slub linen.

In the end, I used a combination of black slub linen and a crossweave. I chose a block from 5500 Quilt Block Designs called Mona's Choice (#688, page 57). I have mentioned this book on my blog before. It is a great resource for blocks. The book supplies the block image but you need to figure out the construction yourself.

I drafted a paper pieced pattern and used Cosmic Burst for the colorful bits, adding in a few Kona solids since I didn't have enough of the prints.

The pillow front is quilted with a variegated Aurifil 40 wt. thread. I backed the pillow in the crossweave. And yes...

I went with my favorite invisible zipper closure again. This time I used a black invisible zipper, as always, purchased from ZipIt. Every time I show an invisible zipper, someone asks if I have a tutorial or if I will post one. I haven't only because there are a ton of them out there already so it would just be redundant. If you google it, you will find just want you need! If you have any questions though, feel free to email me and I will see if I can help you out.
I was able to finish up my pillow cover this morning thanks to the Sew In at Sew Fresh Fabrics. It was a rare treat to get to sew on a Saturday morning. Usually I am on kid duty then! Thank you Peg and Becca for your hospitality.
Cosmic Burst will be available in April 2012. I have listed this pillow in my shop if you are interested.

Foiled Again

I've been foiled again. Last year, I made my daughters Mary's Fancy Sash dresses from Girl's World by Jennifer Paganelli. They were adorable dresses but both were too large. In particular, they seemed made for a person with broader shoulders. I had measured both girls and made the appropriate sizes but really felt that they ran big. You can read about those dresses here. I thought that the trouble with the shoulders gaping on those dresses might have been due to the pull on nature of the dresses. So I thought I would try again with the Josie dress. It has a more fitted bodice with a zipper in the back.



The pattern really has lovely details. The waist band is curved and the bodice is beautifully gathered. There are nice long sashes on the waist band to tie in a bow on the back. I used fabric from Jennifer Paganelli's Dance With Me line. This time, I was extra careful double checking my measurements and shortened the straps by an inch. However, I was foiled once again! The dress is too big. The bodice is cut with a slight angle, which I find a little bit odd for a child and it gapes. And the width across the chest from strap to strap is too big.

The good news is that I took out the Mary's Sash Dress from last year and although it is still a little bit wide at the shoulders, it is definitely wearable this year. So, my daughter will wear that dress and I will put this one away till next year! I will hem it when it fits properly.

Christmas Cogs Tutorial is Ready!

I know that there have been a few people patiently waiting for the tutorial for my Christmas Cogs quilt since I showed you pictures of the finished quilt last month. The tutorial is up today on the Basic Grey blog. Click here for more!

Another Batch!

My husband's latest batch of seam rippers is now in my Etsy shop. If you are a new reader, my husband makes these beautiful hand turned acrylic handled seam rippers on his old Craftsman lathe out in our barn. This is just a hobby for him so they appear in batches every now and then when he has been able to spend some time in the barn turning. They normally sell out within a day of being listed so if you want one, pounce!

Zakka Style

Have you heard about the Zakka Style Sew Along? The sew along is being led by Lindsey and Amy. They have invited 24 bloggers to sew the projects found in Rashida Coleman-Hale's book, Zakka Style.


The sew along kicks off Monday April 2nd and runs until Monday September 10th with a new project introduced each Monday.
Each blogger will sew a different project from the book and share their finished project and inspiration with you. I'm so honored to be asked to join this group! My project is up second so you will be hearing from me soon! I have already made my little House Pouch and it was so fun. I can't wait to share it with you.

April 2nd Zig Zag Tote with Sew Fantastic
April 9th The House Pouch with During Quiet Time
April 16th Zakka Pincushion with Pink Penguin
April 23rd Sewing Kit with Monkey Do
April 30th Patchwork Pencil Case with VeryKerryBerry
May 7th Itty Bitty Quilt Block Magnets with Little Bluebell
May 14th Raincloud Mug Rug with Quilt Dad
May 21st Zakka Block Quilt with I like Orange
May 28th Stem Messenger Bag with Sew Sweetness
June 4th Zip Organizer with Spotted Stone
June 11th Orchard Path Tweed Pouch with Don’t Call Me Betsy
June 18th Happy Couple Handwarmers with A Cuppa and a Catchup
June 25th Patchwork Potholder with Sew Take a Hike
July 2nd Water Bottle Holder with One Shabby Chick
July 9th Elephant Bookmark with Cut to Pieces
July 16th Patchwork Ribbon with {House} of A la Mode
July 23rd Delightful Linen Bag with Sukie
July 30th Bread Basket with Patchwork Notes
August 6th Sweet Sugar Cookie Sack with BettyCrockerAss
August 13th :: Little Pocket Pillowcase with Freshly Pieced
August 2oth :: Sweet Memories Photo Frame with Noodlehead
August 27th :: Pleated Coin Purse with Shape Moth
September 3rd :: Happy Garland Message Board with Maureen Cracknell
Handmade
September 10th :: Nesting Boxes with From the Blue Chair
This sew along is being sponsored by:

Gardening Gloves, a Paper Pieced Pattern

I finished a new gardening block design; what I hope is the second in a series of 10" gardening themed blocks. I am attempting to make all of my blocks coordinate so that I can make a quilt with them. I figured that I needed to make a gardening gloves block because gloves are so essential to the gardener! This set is inspired by the traditional floral gloves with rubber dotted palms for better gripping!

The pattern required many small pieces to form the fingers in a way that satisfied me. The fingers take a bit of time to piece but the gloves on a whole are fairly easy to assemble because very few seams need to match up. In many ways this block is easier to sew than the watering can even though there are more pieces.
For my block, I used the yellow Lakehouse seed packet material for the background. I bought that at the Fat Quarter Shop back when we were remodelling our bathroom. So this block looks smashing with my shower curtain! The gloves are pieced with Urban Cowgirl on sale now at Fresh-Squeezed Fabrics.
If you'd like to purchase the pattern, it's available in my Etsy shop.

Pin Tryst

When I was designing my block for the Sew Out Loud quilt along, I was trying to decide what words I wanted to embroider...something about pins. Of course my poor husband had to hear all about it and so he offered his suggestions. He always likes puns and suggested "Pin Tryst" as a play on the word "Pinterest." And that's how this silly little embroidery came to be.

Tryst is defined as "An agreement, as between lovers, to meet at a certain time and place." I thought the idea of two pins in love and agreeing to meet at a certain time and date on a particular pin cushion was just too funny and the idea quickly formed in my mind. I know it takes a particular brand of sewing geek and Pinterest fan to find this amusing. But it helped keep me busy while I was at the hospital waiting for my daughter to have her tonsils and adenoids removed. All went well. Thank you for your messages of concern. It's going to be a long week but she is doing as well as can be expected!

Today is also the day that I get to announce the winners of the Basic Grey quilting patterns! And the lucky winners are.....

Spontaneous Threads Mar 14, 2012 09:54 AM
Hello zig zag for sure! Thanks for the give away/

Pippa Parsons Mar 13, 2012 02:00 PM
I love Sweet Starlet

Tiffany Mar 12, 2012 06:34 PM
Sweet deal, thanks for the chance Amy! I'm sweet on Sweet Starlet.

Debbie Mar 12, 2012 12:58 PM
This is terrific! I do like the Hello Zig Zag but they are very pretty! Thanks for the opportunity.

SarahQ Mar 12, 2012 01:31 PM
I love the Sunday Basket Brunch, but am also quite partial to Promenade. Such lovely soft color!

I have sent you all email messages and once I get your mailing addresses I will send them to Basic Grey! Happy quilting!

Basic Grey Quilt Pattern Giveaway

Basic Grey has just introduced their first quilt patterns. You can check them out here including a free pillow pattern download (click on "In Store" when you follow the link in order to see all the patterns). There are five patterns for Hello Luscious and two for Blitzen (available in June). They have given me permission to give away one of each of the Hello Luscious patterns. I will draw five names randomly. You might win the Promenade pattern above...

or Sweet Starlet

of Sunday Basket Brunch

or perhaps a Happy Churn Dash

or Hello Zig Zag.
To win, just leave a comment here. Let me know which pattern is your favorite and I will see what I can do. I will draw a lucky winner on Wednesday!

Sew In at Sew Fresh!

Guess what? I asked Peg and Becca at Sew Fresh Fabrics if they would consider hosting a Sew In and they said yes! Woo hoo! Who would like to join us? The first sew in will be held on Saturday, March 24th from 9-12 at Sew Fresh (18 S Main Street, #203, Topsfield, MA). There is limited space so if you would like to come with your sewing machine, you need to rsvp to reserve a space. Just send an email to info(at)sewfreshfabrics(dot)com. If there is no more room for machines, you are welcome to come with handsewing projects or just to shop. If you plan on shopping, checks are probably easiest for Peg and Becca.
I thought that it would be nice if everyone who came brought a charity quilt block. I will take responsibility for sewing up the top. Let's consider this a "suggested donation" for admittance to the Sew In. I wanted something that screamed "color" because when I think of Sew Fresh Fabrics, I tend to think of bold, colorful prints. I also wanted something easy that wouldn't take too long to make. I decided on a quick spectrum stacked coins. Here's what you do:

Simply cut red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple strips that measure 2 1/2" x 6 1/2." Then cut two pieces of Kona White that measure 3 1/2" x 12 1/2."

Arrange your strips in rainbow order and sew them together with a 1/4" seam. Press your seams to one side or open. Then attach the white strips. That's all there is to it. Your block should measure 12 1/2" square. I think that a bunch of blocks made with different scrappy colors of the rainbow will make for a fun and colorful quilt.

Not Your Grannie's Yo Yos

Last summer I joined Penny's Yo Yo Along. I believe the goal was to make a quilt with 1008 yo yos. I failed big time. I decided to at least create a finished product with my meager start. Here you have my "Not Your Grannie's Yo Yo Pillow Cover" using a pitiful 49 yo yos. I think that they are so happy looking though, aren't they? I used candy colors of bright pink, yellow, chartreuse, red, aqua and orange.

I followed Penny's suggestion and attached the yo yos to each other with a bar tack machine stitch rather than hand stitching them. Because I was not making a coverlet but a pillow, I cut a square of aqua linen and pinned each yo you in position, one row at a time. I then secured the yo yos to each other AND to the backing with a bar tack stitch, all at one time. It seemed to work well. The backing is and aqua with red dot (matching a couple of the yo yos on the front). And of course, I used an invisible zipper. I will save you from another invisible zipper shot since my kids are even teasing me now "Is there a zipper there? Nooooo, it's invisible!" I added the pillow to my shop.

Look at this! It's the first, not made by me, paper pieced watering can from my new pattern! My friend Dolores volunteered to test my next paper pieced pattern so I sent her this one and she whipped up this little mini quilt that afternoon. A couple of people have suggested that they are intimidated by the small handle on this pattern but as Dolores says in her blog post, it wasn't difficult and she is a relatively new paper piecer. So, don't worry!

Watering Can; a paper pieced pattern

Admittedly, I have been on a bit of a paper piecing kick lately. I agreed to design a block for a garden party themed blog hop next month, see here for more details. I have my block all ready to go and enjoyed designing it so much that I thought I might make more garden designs. If you have read my blog for any length of time, you know that I love gardening as much as I love sewing. So, it's the perfect fit.
I just finished designing this 10" paper pieced watering can. Since it has the feel of an old metal can, I used Vintage Notions from The Dressmaker's Collection by Amy Barickman for Red Rooster Fabrics, a treat sent to me by Kristina of Quilted Treasures. Don't let her Etsy shop fool you, her shop has over 3000 plus bolts, just not everything is listed on Etsy. Feel free to convo her, tell her I sent you, and let her be your personal shopper. She loves that! I think that the solid I used for the block background is Ochre Kona but I am not a hundred percent sure. I really need to get myself a Kona color card!

I made my first sample block of this design with a text print from Lakehouse for the watering can and Elizabeth's Letters by Jill Finley of Jillily Studio for Henry Glass Co. for the background. Both are older prints. I love how these fabrics worked for the watering can and spent a lot of time lining up the text just so along the handle and the "Guaranteed to Grow" bit at the top of the spout. I also fussy cut the blue background so that the little flower rested inside the handle. But when I was finished, I realized that the block really lacked contrast. The spout, in particular, blended in with the background as did the bottom of the can. So I decided to try to rectify it with quilting since I couldn't stand to toss it.


Of course, I never thought to take a before picture but the quilting worked wonderfully! I used a very dark contrasting brown thread and held my breath while trying to quilt ever so slowly in the ditch. It almost creates a tiny shadow, just enough to define the watering can and make me happy.

I combined it with Essex Natural Linen and some Hometown to make a pillow, finished off with my favorite invisible zipper in beige.
If you would like the pattern, this one is in my shop.

Sew Out Loud Block 4

Welcome to block 4 in the Sew Out Loud quilt along! I jumped ahead a bit in the schedule because the designer of block 4 was called away on business. So, today you get my block.
My block is called "Pin This," a traditional tomato pincushion with some embroidered and embellished pins. Did you ever wonder about the origins of the tomato shape? I know I have but I have never researched it. Kerry just sent me this link with the answer. The name "Pin This" pays homage to one of our favorite past times besides sewing, Pinterest. I love that the block design combines something so traditional with modern fabrics and word play.

Our quilt along is sponsored by the Fat Quarter Shop who provided me with the wonderful black on black dot that I used for the background of this block. They also provided the Pinelope Red Pin Cushion print that I used at the bottom of the block. The red text print is by Kumiko Fujita, as well as the green laundry print. Both of those were purchased from Ayumi on Etsy. The perfectly coordinating red buttons are Basic Grey essential buttons--nearly the exact shade of red found in the red text print!
You may download the pattern for this 12" finished paper pieced block here. If you cannot open it for one reason or another, send me an email and I will send it to you as an attachment. Please print pages 1-3 in "letter" mode and page 4 on in "landscape" mode. Many of the pattern pieces will have to be taped together along the dotted lines.
I hope you will enjoy making this block! I am excited to see some pictures show up in the Flickr group.

Ayumi's Quilt

I was woken up early this morning. I thought that it was my daughter singing in her bed that did it but Ayumi thinks it might be her squealing. She received this mini quilt from me today and reports back that she loves it, phew! Ayumi told me that she really liked this mini that I made last year. I was happy for an excuse to make another so I ran with it.


To make it a little bit different, I didn't make a picture and table with lamp like the first mini but rather a window with gathered curtains and lace trim. There is a little blue bird singing in the window too! I embroidered some flowers in a pot on the windowsill.


The door (which is Annie's Farm Stand by Lakehouse white on white) opens with a Basic Grey glazed button door knob to reveal the inside of a closet. I used my linocut print of a dress that I call "Smocking." I embellished it with a bit of embroidery and free motion quilting. I used raw edge applique for the hat, purse and shoes. The finished dimensions are about 13" x 14."

It was a lot of fun to make and I am relieved that it made it to Japan safely. I hated to fold it all up to fit in an envelope. Ayumi assures me that she is ironing it carefully and adding loops. Then she will hang it in her sewing room.


Last but not least, the lucky winners of the Superior Thread giveaway are Sequana, Jill and Carrie P!

Linking up to

Cut

Have you seen the second block in the Sew Out Loud quilt along? It is a Cut block designed by Joanna. Here is my version, the second time around.

This was my first attempt and the two darker grey prints were just too much. I tried to remake it but the paper ended up shredding and I couldn't get things to line up as well as I would like.

I'm much happier with the second version so I am glad that I went through with the remake. Muriel has already introduced block three. You can find it here.