banner update #2

my blog banner was feeling too cluttered so i updated it. once again i have traded sewing time for blog time. i guess blogging is a hobby, too, but somehow i always feel cheated when i give too much time to it. anywho, i thought i'd explain the new banner because i did put a lot of thought into the selections.

starting on the left.

the title block is a photo of my very most favorite ever print, meadow dot in mint from sandi henderson's meadowsweet2 collection for micheal miller fabrics. sadly, it is out of print now and although i have already used it in a number of projects i find i am not yet tired of it and craving more. but i can't find it anywhere. and i've looked. this search led me to a new friendship and something else super special, but i'll explain that later. (lucy, you angel!) so if you or anyone you know has even scraps of this fabric, please contact me. i'll pay handsomely.

in the photo, the very most favorite fabric ever is featured in a 4sq blanket, sort of a specialty of mine. you can see a gallery of 4sqs i've made and find a detailed tutorial for them on my 4 square baby blanket page (here). it's perfect for beginners or just a quick baby gift.

moving right.

the top photo in the second column is a little dolly quilt i finished last week. it's my first ever fmq project. you can read about it here.

this banner contains a lot of "first" and "favorite" and "ever"s.

but not the next photo, bottom photo in the second column.
this is a 4sq i made for my friend becca's baby boy last year.
it was my 16th 4sq and becca's 4th baby, 2nd boy.
but the grey dot flannel on the back from robert kauffman is my favorite ever backing to use, so i guess i squeezed an "ever" in there.










moving center.

the wildly scrappy quilt hanging from a tree, "out on a limb", is my first ever pattern i designed and made myself. (huh, i just realized the photo styling is a pun on the name. i did not realize that before. cool beans.)

well, actually, i guess i did make up the "six and one half dozen" pattern first, but not exactly. i just kind of made that up as i went.

 "out on a limb" is the first quilt i sketched out on paper and did all the math to plan. i'm rather attached to it. i named the pattern "cinched" and hope to someday make it again, along with a tutorial for it.



heading right again.

 top photo, 4th column
daughter #4 holding some fat quarter selections she made two summers ago.
they have yet to be made into anything, dang it. if i recall correctly, they were to be a doll blanket.

i included this photo because it shows one of my kids and sewing with my kids/their sewing is a part of what this blog is about.

also, i liked the green, which fits my color scheme for the blog. win/win.



middle photo, 4th column
daughter #1 modelling a sunday hostess apron i made from heather ross's excellent book, weekend sewing. not the first time i did this pattern, but the first time i accidentally sewed with the fabric upside down. to balance out my gaff, it was also the first time i thought (all on my own!) to move the needle to the far right position to allow me to get super close to the edge while sewing.

next time i photograph an apron, i'm going to include props like a wooden spoon and a mixing bowl. that'd be fun.

bottom photo, 4th column
the very first thing i ever sewed as an adult when i decided to get into sewing: a headband. my seesters and i made a bunch at our family's annual girls weekend in 2010. you can read about that and how my sewing journey began here.



a little more right.
fifth column
i've ventured out into half square triangles (hst's) this year. it's a big move for me.
i've even made tutorials to show two methods of creating them.
you can see them here and here.

also, i thoroughly enjoy chain piecing. whenever i pull it off the machine it reminds me of bunting and i always take pictures of it. some are pretty goofy. this one's not too bad.
having my daughter hold the "bunting" was a much better choice than hanging it from the chandelier. mercy.




far right.
final photo
this group of fabrics is my first ever fabric purchase, the beginnings of my now sizable hoard stash.

interestingly enough, it's mostly heather bailey and sandi henderson, who continue to be my favorite designers. it also includes some script prints, which i've recently taken a liking to, also.

since i never broke into this pile, i'm looking for a project that will feature all of them.
i think that'd be a pretty awesome quilt.

so that's my new, slightly less cluttered looking banner.
it's kind of a patchwork of my sewing experience, isn't it?