back in business

my plan is moving forward. our weekend turned out too busy for sewing, but when my 3yr old needed a bath this morning, i thought, "it's splish splash stash time!" i figure if i squeeze in bits when i can, i will eventually get something done. my goal was to simply square off the four fabrics for a new 4sq blanket while she bathed. my starter project dilemma got decided for me when i got invited to a baby shower this weekend, so 4sq blanket it was. then the 9yr old walked in on me cutting and asked when she could work on the blanket for her teacher's baby. the little splasher was still happily swimming/getting clean, so we squared off teacher's fabrics, too. little splasher still didn't want to get out, so i put the 9 yr old to work sewing her top.

she's learned a lot about sewing in her 3 classes she took from kelly, but she had some trouble keeping her seam straight today. her other projects haven't required as much precision as i was expecting/needing for this blanket. we couldn't figure out why her seam kept wandering to the left and she had difficulty self-correcting. this is a gift, so i was totally hovering over her, lending a hand.  i was pretty patient with her, but i could have been a tad less exasperated. i don't want to put off her confidence. together we survived and got her top sewn. i'll take the blanket from here, doing the back and the blanket stitch myself. before she makes a gift for someone else all by herself, i want her to have more practice. i plan on her making her own larger version of the 4sq for herself, using 8 to 12 squares. that should give her some good experience with the seams and the blanket stitching.

once she was done with her top, i realized it would be only a matter of minutes for me to do the 3 seams required to get my top together and just did it.

the colors don't show well in this photo - the red is actually deeper, less tomato - but here's the top. should be simple enough to add the back tomorrow and get stitching on the edges. i love easy, quick-satisfaction projects! very gratifying.

by the time i was done sewing, i insisted the little fish in my bawthroom remove herself to dry land. she was pruned beyond belief and turning purple. when she started crying about being so cold, i sat her in a chair and wrapped her quilt around her.

that warmed up her chilly body and put a huge grin on her face. the last few weeks she's been playing with her quilt a lot. even though i never completely finished off that last bit of embellishment on the top, she's enjoying the quilt so i just let her use it. maybe i never will finish it, but i don't think baby cares at this point. maybe i don't either. maybe for now it's good enough. being loved and used was it's purpose anyway, even if it's not 100% done.

phase one

phase one of my most excellent plan to get back into sewing is complete: i cleaned up my sewing area this morning! really, i did. you couldn't even see the table top before. or walk around it or sit in the chair.
phase two: pick a project and get cutting. slated for tonight or tomorrow. wish me luck.

recovery, maybe?

i bought some fabric! does that count as sewing or quilting? about as much as stocking up on more scrapbook supplies counts as actually scrapbooking. (i only bought 4 sheets of decorative paper - honest.) the point is I FEEL LIKE SEWING for the first time in months. and i'm going to.

so it went down like this: i took my 9 year old daughter to the scrapbook/fabric store as a very belated birthday treat. she's been asking and asking to get her own album and supplies to use for herself (the one's i've made for her don't count). my birthday present to her was to let her pick out some stuff and get her started.

while we were there, we also selected some fat quarters to make a baby blanket for her Primary teacher's new little boy. this daughter has been taking sewing classes and i might even let her do most of the sewing on the blanket because i think she can hack it.

as we were looking for baby boy fabric, i noticed some new fat quarters i found very appealing (opening photo). i thought, "those would be perfect for a 4 sq blanket for someone's little girl. four fat quarters can't hurt." and i put them in my basket. i was very proud of myself for not feeling tempted by anything else in the store even though so much of it was new. see, i just don't feel right about buying fabric when i have shelves and shelves of it and haven't sewn a stitch in months. but those four little squares seemed harmless. and, okay, i have to admit to getting four bits of meadowsweet 2, which was on clearance, because i want to make the same 4 sq blanket for my baby that i made for anne's. that's my favorite one. so eight fat quarters for two simple, easy-peasy blankets. that was it.

when i got home i was actually excited. i looked over my sewing table and decided i needed some clean-up and organization right away. i did not feel like throwing up at the thought of doing either this or turning on my machine. that's progress! then i thought about the other three baby blankets i got fabric for months ago and the three babies who had been born recently but not received blankets. i need to get busy! a large portion of my family will shortly be involved in an extended outside activity and i think i am actually going to SEW during that time. it's a few weeks away still, but i'm setting that time aside for my projects.

as i thought over this dive back into sewing and those four new fat quarters, i got to thinking how much i enjoyed making "star cookie" and how easy it was. so today while i was out on that side of town, i picked out two more fat quarters, a backing material, and binding fabric so i can make another little baby quilt in the same pattern, handquilting and all. here's how out of it i am, though: i only bought one yard of fabric for the backing. i must have been thinking along the lines of the 4 sq blankets, which require one yard, rather than that six fat quarters equal a yard and a half. dang.

um, i also got a jelly roll because that oops-a-daisy line by keiki for moda really is absolutely adorable and i had a coupon. i think it'll be perfect done up in the same pattern i designed for "out on a limb." i spent some time today figuring out what else i'll need for the quilt. maybe i'll even do a tutorial on the baby quilt and write a pattern for the strip quilt pattern, which i'm calling "sweetspot" because of that accent square. if i photograph as i go along, i could do that.

now here's my question before i get too carried away: do i force myself to complete the two unfinished quilts before i knock out something new OR do i just go for what i'm excited about right now? i'm reluctant to drag myself down with the guilt of unfinished work but i think i am more motivated to tackle the new stuff immediately, then get back to those other projects. i'm leaning toward quick, instant satisfaction rather than a long haul to finish those two quilts. tough call.

either way, i hope to have something completed in the near future. something to post other than a picture of new fabric or what my girls have sewn. wish me luck.

once apon a time

once upon a time i dabbled in quilting. i took a class or two with friends.eventually, i even braved designing my own quilt pattern.  it was a fun new hobby i was really enjoying. then i got pregnant and somehow the joy has flown. i'm hoping it's temporary and hormonal only.

yesterday i was visiting with my friend jill, who took one of those classes with me. she said she'd finally been able to download some pictures she took of our class. today i got them in an email. it made me all nostalgic for my long lost hobby.

 a shot of me and my chain pieced blocks. chain piecing is the best! so much faster than doing each bit separately. it does take some thought so you don't mix up blocks, but is not too complicated and definitely worth the extra bit of brain power you have to expend when using it. man, i really do like those heather bailey fabrics i picked for that quilt.

alas, that quilt top, minus its border, is still folded up laying on my neglected sewing table. the backing still needs to be planned out and assembled. my 8 year old daughter is now 9.  her birthday came and went without her promised quilt being completed. such a sad story, in a quilting-world kind of way.

jill also sent me a picture of her fabric selections for her quilt. she was brave enough (and savvy enough) to pick several fabrics from a variety of lines and manufacturers in her palette of lime green, pinks and reds, and turquoise blue. love it! her quilt is currently awaiting a little quilting on the border and its binding. she's several hours and steps ahead of me. can't wait to see it finished. that might be a little ways off too, though. not because jill's pregnant like me but because her kids are now home from school for the summer.

sewing class

firstly, as anyone may have noticed, my pregnancy-induced sewing slump has not improved one bit. in fact, some days the thought of sewing makes me want to puke. strange, i know. i've also stopped blogging about or reading other blogs about sewing, fabric, etc. i know there are tons of new fabrics on the market in the wake of quilt market, fabrics i was hotly anticipating just a month or so ago. right now i could care less. completely, creatively apathetic. whether this will stay or go is hard to say. this blog may be dying a slow death. i have no false notions that anyone will miss it particularly much, but i thank all who have participated along the way. i'll leave it up in case anyone wants to reference my four sq tute and so i can keep my sewing links organized, should i ever want to look at them again.

for now, this little life growing inside me is taking up all my energy, creative or otherwise. i am okay with that.

BUT . . .

somebodies besides me have been sewing. today my girls had their first sewing class with kelly hendrickson (create your own joy). i was very impressed. i only took a few photos with my phone while at her house/studio, but i intend on taking some more next week at their next class.

kelly's entryway to her home is a boutique of items she's made to sell and her entire front room is a huge sewing classroom, with lots of fun fabrics and pretty touches everywhere. my sister, marcee, told me kelly had sewing machines for her students to use. she didn't tell me they were viking sapphires (really nice, expensive machines probably ten times more costly than my sweet little project runway). obviously kelly likes nice stuff and is serious about sewing. she must also be a very patient teacher to entrust her machines to 8 year olds.

i dropped the girls off knowing they would start with making a pillowcase, everyone's first time project. when i returned two hours later, they were done with the cases and working on headbands. i arrived a bit early, so i sat in the corner and watched everyone bustling about. sitting there listening to the hum or the machines and eyeing all kelly's wonderful projects made me want to go home and sew something for the first time in weeks. alas, the desire did not last.

here's a look at my 8 year old's two projects, completed today:

the flower is on a removable clip so that it may be worn separately

looks like she was in a "blue period" mood with her fabric selection today. not bad output for her first class. next week she gets to move on to an apron, which is right up her alley! only this one will be fully finished. i'm hoping she decides to hem her other two aprons once she makes one in class. i'm more than happy to set her up on my machine.

yay for sewing class!

wip wed #4

my big work in progress to report this week:

a pin cushion.

and that's really about the extent of my sewing life lately thanks to my other big work in progress (baby, 10 weeks down, 30 to go). i'm tired, sick on and off, and just not interested in doing more than look at sewing projects and rifling through my stash dreaming.

still, i am really liking heather bailey's fruit pincushions and hope to work my way up to one of her darling elephant pincushion patterns.

this little lady, effie, is about the cutest thing i could ever stick a pin in and i'm not even a huge elephant lover. but i have the goods to make her and the pattern, so i hope to get around to assembling her soon. once the fruit is done.

and once i finish "taite", which i promised my daughter would be done by her birthday, fast approaching.

improving, i think

i hope it's apparent that this time it was moi, not the eight year old, who dove in and made another apron. i tried heather ross's "sunday hostess apron" from weekend sewing again. this time i chose the more kitschy/retro 60's-ish floral and graphic print combo in golds and pinks from alexander henry "in the kitchen" collection. last time, i didn't gather the skirt enough. this time i think i gathered too much and it's not quite wide enough to suit an adult, which is a bummer because i was making it for an adult. pooh!
there are times when i wonder if i'll ever get my sewing right. not perfect, mind you. just right.

something i did do right this go around that i am feeling rather pleased with myself about: i realized all on my own that in order to get my edge stitching as close to the edge as possible, i should move my needle to the farthest right position. so smart of me! (big smile on my face.) i love it when i actually know something or figure it out on my own.

on the first apron i made (top two fabrics) you can see i got near the edge on the tie (green fabric), but not really super close like i did on the second apron's ties (gold crosshatch fabric). and doing the tiny hem on the skirt was a lot more accurate and easy when i moved the needle over (red fabric, 1st apron; white & yellow fabric, 2nd apron). it's hard to keep the fabric moving through properly when it's not even touching one of the feed dogs. this time as i sat down to sew, i thought to myself, "you could get a lot closer to the edge and still have the fabric on the feed dogs if you would just adjust the needle position." i was so right. good job, me.

something i still didn't get right on my second piece: a smooth skirt hem.

you can see i have some gathers on the underside of the skirt hem due to excess fabric and trying to keep a smooth, even hem on the top side. in reality, i may not have done anything wrong, it may just be due to the way the pattern is drawn. you are supposed to do a tiny flip under on the skirt bottom then flip it up for a 5" hem. five inches seemed a bit deep to me, so i only did 3" instead. but the pattern is drawn in a tapered shape which means that when you flip it up several inches, it doesn't match up and the only way to make it match that i could figure was to have a few gathers in there. it all looks good on the front side, i just worry it looks wrong on the backside. which of course doesn't really matter except that i want to make this for someone and don't want it to look hokey, even from the backside.

in reality, i'm just glad to be done. i've not felt like making anything at all for the better part of 3 weeks. last friday i got myself geared up to make these aprons, but had to stop halfway through and couldn't get my gumption going again until today. i just made myself sit down and do it. now 'tis done. only it's not suitable for the person i'd intended it for. good thing my girls like it. truth is, i was going to make these aprons for my first five followers, but i'm not feeling too confident with how their turning out and may have changed my mind again. it's a vulnerable feeling, offering something handmade and imperfect to another soul. even if it is a gift.

the upshot of all this rambling is that my follower giveaways are still not done (over two months later) and i'm back to square one with what to make. really, what was i thinking volunteering to make something random? silly me. don't anyone worry too much or feel bad if you're supposed to be getting one. i'm not that stressed about it, i'd just like to make something simple and nice as a thank you and i'm having a hard time deciding what that will be. the headbands were easy, this one not as much. back to the drawing board and daydreaming.

tie another one on

my eight year old daughter is making us a "healthy lunch" today as part of requirements for her Faith in God award that she is working on. she decided to whip up this little number for the occasion. she says it's "old fashioned" and she wants to put some trim around the bottom and top. oh, i love how she just tackles an idea and goes for it! the apron is cut from one piece. it reminds me of how fauna starts to make the special birthday dress for briar rose in sleeping beauty - she cuts a hole out of the fabric for the bottom opening in the skirt, etc.

i really do need to get her some instruction so her projects are more durable. then again, maybe she wouldn't go for it if she knew more.

freemotion

last wednesday, i took a freemotion quilting class to learn how to do my own quilting beyond just straight lines. i am especially interested in learning how to stipple quilt so i can do it on "taite". the first half of the class was spent putting together mini-quilt sample pieces that we can practice on later. i wish we'd spent about half an hour less on that and a bit more on the actual content of the class because we ran out of time. louise continued to give instruction, but i had to get home for the afternoon taxi runs and missed some of the more detailed instruction she gave. still, i learned a lot and got some wonderful new ideas.

i had time to do a few samples of different basic stitch techniques:

we started with writing our names and doing loops. basically, when doing freemotion, you drop the feed dogs (those grippy guys under the needle plate that move the fabric through the machine) and you guide the fabric through all on your own. you "draw" with the needle and thread. it involves thinking a lot as you would when you draw with a pen. that's why we started with our names since louise said we could write them in the dark by now. our brains already know how to do it.

i was pretty pleased with how my name turned out and i did alright on the loopy vines. stones/pebbles/bubbles were also relatively easy. the stipple and feather techniques were harder. definitely need to practice doodling them on paper and on the machine before i attempt them on a quilt. it's a careful balance of speed and knowing which direction to move in. i would be moving along well, then suddenly not know exactly where to go next, but you have to keep moving, so i would get flustered and make mistakes. pretty challenging, but fun, too.

louise demonstrated how to do more complex designs, some very detailed, like flowers and geometrics, but i'm far, far away from anything like that. if i can just get stippling under my belt, i'll be happy. i think it's great to learn new things, to feel a little foolish as you try to wrap your brain around something new, and to continue to do so through out life. now i just need the time to practice and perfect the new skills.

wip wed #3

i've missed the last few wips whilst keeping up with quilting class last month. since quilt class is over and i am pregnant, i honestly have been less than enthused about sewing for the last two weeks or so. this week i have nothing new to report unless you count when i broke open and sorted through a jelly roll yesterday afternoon. i found myself actually wanting to make something, but not something too big (like working on my quilts) and pulled out the scraps from "out on a limb" intending to chain piece them for a doll quilt only to realize my machine still had pink thread in it and the neutral i needed was downstairs. i'm avoiding excessive or unnecessary stair climbing as much as possible these days, so i nixed that idea. then i took out a heather bailey pattern for some pin cushions but realized my entire sewing kit was also still downstairs and rather gave up. i have a jelly roll of just wing it by momo for moda that i'm thinking of making into a quilt with the same pattern i created for "out on a limb."  sorting through that didn't require any missing sewing tools so i tackled it. i took out the raisins and denim blues to brighten up the color palette. i have no idea what to do with them, so maybe i'll give them away once i decide exactly what i'm doing. i don't know what anyone else will do with them either, but that's their choice, not my worry.

"ins" so far

"outs"
otherwise, here's my report since my last wip:

under construction: 
a whole lot of my house. changing out the carpets turned into "lets go ahead and do all those baseboards, molding, window casings, wall trim and shelving we wanted to do first." looks like this everywhere downstairs:

"out on a limb" - completed another 1/4 of the machine quilting, including the 30 minutes i spent sewing with the wrong color in the bobbin thread, which had to be redone with the right color

"taite" - top block rows completed; small inner border done unsatisfactorily, needs to be redone. still needs outer border, backing, binding

on hold:
"at last" still needs a ruffle (won't it always?)

trips to the store:
went to joann (anyone else have a hard time saying that without the "s" on the end, which really isn't actually part of the name?) easter weekend for the big button sale and some skirt material for my girls

been saving up and waiting for buttons to go on sale so i could stock up. love buttons!

in the mail:
got some pom pom de paris by french general for moda for some baby girl quilts for the voice teacher (and maybe myself)

in the wings (or stuff i have and would like to do eventually):
about a dozen quilts (nothing new other than baby girl quilt)
easter spring skirts for my girls
sweetwater yellow apron kit
"ladybug" from small stash sewing for the 4yr old
fresh picked fruit pincushions from heather bailey
"abbey tote" by v & co.

stats:
new projects: none (well, there is the pregnancy i guess)
completed: none
currently in progress: just two quilts? i think that's all i can count

softies

my gradual interest in sewing was partially brought on by the discovery of softies, also known as plush toys and a few other names to boot. i have some issues of stuffed magazine on my crafting book shelf and at least half a dozen books featuring softies or sock creatures. something about their handmade, individualized, loved-to-pieces velveteen rabbit look really appeals to me. they're supposed to be quirky and off beat. or they can be much more polished looking if you like. softies can really be any which way you choose because they're made by you, for you. i love the idea of picking up some fabric, a needle & thread, then just making up a special little friend. there are also plenty of patterns for copying other people's wonderful ideas.

the above gal is my one and only creation so far. at one point i named her either "claire" or "clarabell" but i can't remember which and neither seems to fit anymore. that's an interesting phenomenon about softies: they begin to take on personalities. when i first read stuffed i was amused and even somewhat annoyed by the profiles and back stories many creations had. now i kinda understand.

i started her over a year ago. can't even remember how long it's been and i'm not sure why she's still unfinished. at the minimum, she needs her head stuffed and sewn on. i might put some arms on her. i might not. i've got plenty of plans for others i'd like to try out, but my 'to do' list is already quite long. softies aren't even useful. they're just cute. at least a quilt will keep you warm or an apron can be worn. that's probably why i've not spent much time sewing softies.

my oldest daughter has made the most softies. they are all completely cute even if lacking in durability but the quality of her work is improving. she pulls them out to work on periodically. so far there is a swan/ostrich, the animal print girl (species unspecified), frogalina, and the cutest little goat made out of some light blue polka dot satin leftover from one of my old pajama pants. couldn't find the goat, who is probably my favorite.

my oldest son loves the mixed-up kind and made a truly off-beat little monster but has since not done more. he said it took a long time. maybe when the fancy strikes he'll do it again.

the eight year old has made the body of a doll and partially completed a classic sock monkey, which is a long-standing form of the now exploding crafting genre.

here are a few of my favorite softie books:

wee wonderfuls by hillary lang - tons of sweet fairytale-ish dolls. i'm dying to make the red-headed flip doll and the fairy tale doll with yellow grosgrain ribbon hair.

socks appeal by brenna maloney - all sock creations to keep your monkey company. there are some totally basic forms that i'm sure the kids can make. the seven year old son is itching to try out the snakes and starfish.

softies only a mother could love - this is one i bought early on before many others were available. a huge variety of styles, each with a pattern.

sew me, love me by hsui-lan kuei -  this one is chock full of the cutest, vintage-y, well loved looking softies. each one seems to be some child's best friend lovingly made by a grandmother. most have really long, lean limbs, which i've discovered appeals to me. and that pig with the button nose puts piglet to shame. the four year old really, really wants the "sleeping doggy." she pours over the book on a regular basis, making up long lists of "to do's" for me. there's a darling monkey at the back of the book that i'm sighing over, but unfortunately no instructions for him. i think this is my favorite.

oh, this has got me itching to make some new friends!  we certainly don't need any more toys around here, but the fun of dreaming up and then producing our own is irresistible. if i get put on bedrest again, you can bet i'm going to be stitching away some of these by hand.

my new big project

quilt class four

today was my final, official day of class. ideally we should have bound our quilts. in the four hours i was there i managed to do a bunch of scrapbook shopping, eat lunch, sew together strips for my small inner border, resew every single seam of those strips at least once, attach the border, discuss my children's social lives and a bunch of other personal stuff with mequell, and decide i didn't like the way the border turned out at all, so now i'll have to unpick it and redo entirely.

basically i did nada today. pretty sad. i didn't even think to grab my camera and now have no pictures of the finished works of the other ladies and no photo of mequell, jill, and i together. i was tired and didn't feel the least bit like sewing. that is apparent by my output. i'll now have to finish off the quilt at home. actually, today i felt like putting the quilt away entirely and not thinking about it for a very long time. if the 8 year old wasn't waiting so longingly for it, i would do just that. (can you guess i'm having feminine issues?)

maybe wednesday will be more productive for me when i go take the freemotion quilting class. i hope!

girls at work

my older girls have been busy cutting and sewing all on their own. they've made some interesting and useful creations. i'm pleased with their initiative and creativity. i hope improved skills will come with time. i'll admit i'm the tiniest bit sensitive to what they wear or make because we're homeschoolers. even though i love that we do school and life our way, i don't want to look like one of those really strange, completely out of touch with fashion/reality families that were the stereotypical idea of homeschoolers once apon a time before it was so main stream. at the same time, i want them to be confident in their own likes and abilities. it's a spectrum that runs between being overly-conscious of what others think and not being all-out weird. this is shallow of me, i know, but there it is.

the eight year old made this apron, complete with pocket. she just cut and stitched, eyeballing the design. she says it needs some ties so it will stay close to her body. it could also use some turning and hemming, but she doesn't care about that. i figure when her stuff unravels enough, she'll start to care. or maybe by then she'll be tired of this and ready to repurpose it.

my twelve year old made this bag. she loves it. the doggie paw print is totally her even if it's not me. but it's her purse, not mine. i do like the ribbon strap and pearly pink flower button closure she chose. she whipstiched the entire bag together. not the most fashionable, but she's very happy with it. some of her friends admire it too, so i'm probably being overly-sensitive. none the less, i'm proud of her for making it.

no one sewed this, obviously. i just came across it while scouring their room for sewing projects and thought it was really funny.

the 8 year old has also been busy making clothes for her only hearts dolls. brianna is sporting a skirt she made. in fact, she's been so busy making them clothes, the upper room of her doll house appears to have been turned into a fashion studio. i like it.

this gal looks like she could have gone to school with me in the 80's. her entire outfit was made by my enterprising, creative daughter.  and she even has a slipper for a divan to rest upon. their bedroom floor is constantly covered with their imaginative games, all elaborate tiny worlds put together from odds and ends for their dolls or littlest pet shop animals.

i really do love their self-made creations. it's great they have the confidence to just try whatever they feel like making. i know if they keep at it, their skills will improve. and i've been lucky enough to find a local lady who gives sewing lessons in her home studio. my nieces have made some killer bags in her classes. you'd never have guessed they were sewn by a 7 year old. i think lessons with her would be the perfect push in the right direction for my girls, not to mention really fun. i just need my sister to email the info to me. (hint, hint, marcee.)

oh snap!

my poor, poor snips! i love these little scissors. they've been a good companion to me on my sewing journey for the past several months. i didn't know why you needed a pair of shears and snips until i stopped using my shears to cut threads and started using these little darlings. they went everywhere with me in my "on the go" box and i used them to unpick a lot when i didn't want to get my seam ripper out. then they went and slipped out of my hand as i was walking over my tile, landed perfectly point down. oh, boo hoo! i don't know if they can be fixed or not by the scissor folks who do sharpening. their precise, exacting little points are now hooked. and even if i did use a coupon, they weren't cheap! just one more reason to rip up all that tile and get hardwoods, i guess.