Labor Day of Love

I left work early on Friday to go home and whip up four additional blocks for my Common Threads quilt and to put the quilt top together. I was back at the sewing machine at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday finishing up the quilt top and quilting. Besides an exercise and dinner break, I finished up around 10 pm last night. It was a long day.


There were also two special quilter elves that helped me get this job done. This is the largest quilt I have ever done and working with so much fabric was a tough, sweaty job for this hot labor day weekend. It was a lot of work but I am so excited to have it finished and on my bed. My quilter elves really made the process so much easier, so thank you!

I probably could do some additional quilting in each of the individual blocks to reinforce it better but I am going to put that off for another weekend. The quilting will blend in with some of the blocks better than others and I need to work myself up to sewing over some of these gorgeous blocks. Any suggestions on how to incorporate additional quilting without detracting from the blocks would be greatly appreciated.

August's Common Threads Block

Since I was lucky enough to be assigned July for my month of the Common Threads Quilting Bee, I have only done one block for Rebekah before getting the chance to sit around and have fabulous blocks sent to me in the mail. I was very excited to make another block now that I know what it is like to be on the receiving end. As soon as I read the instructions and saw the fabric, I knew I wanted to do a log cabin block. I usually keep my blocks pretty simple, just to cut down on the production time (or the beast that must finish projects will never be fed) so doing one fancy, super detailed block is a lot of fun.

I really had to push it to get a 12.5" x 12.5" block with the amount of fabric I was given, but somehow I managed to make it work. The few little scraps I have left would make an thrifty quilter so proud. There are a couple of extra seams because I had to sew smaller pieces together but they are pretty subtle for the most part. I am pretty pleased with this block and I really hope Liz likes it.

New Purse Fabrics

Someone, and I am not naming any names here, has been doing some shopping.


I am putting together some fun fabric choices for purses and totes just in time for the fall. Many of the these are from the Garment District and others are from my stash. I keep waiting for just a little more free time so I can have a chance to start building up a collection of bags to sell on Etsy and at the Bust Craftacular later this year.

Oh, sweet free time...I know you are out there somewhere.

Preppy Girl's Quilt

Here is my latest creation, the preppy girl quilt. The commissioner of this quilt fell in love with the purple bunnies online at Reprodepot. Once we had the bunnies in our hot little hands, we met up at Purl Patchwork and picked the other five fabrics. The white on white Robert Kaufman floral print is the same print as the pink and white floral backing. Overall, I am totally charmed by this quilt and how it turned out.

Bad Crafter

I have been way too busy having fun this summer and not working hard enough on all of my great projects. I am a very bad crafter. Like this past weekend, instead of sewing, I went off to the Jersey Shore. Saturday had great weather but storms rolled in on Sunday. I didn't have my fancy camera but was able to capture a couple shots before the storm. But don't worry, the crazy rain didn't stop the fun. My only regret was having to leave to go back home so I could go to work on Monday.

The boardwalk seems so mellow on a cloudy day. But it was bumping the night before!


The lifeguards announced that the storm was coming and the beach cleared out, fast.


The seagull didn't seem too nervous.


Those were some scary cloud formations. They were moving so fast and were so ominous. My camera's batteries died right after taking this shot so I didn't have a chance at capturing the crazy lightning in the distance.

The good news is that I don't have any plans for this weekend besides staying in my nice, air-conditioned apartment and getting caught up on some projects. Someone might have also bought a new Japanese sewing book with awesome looking patterns that must get tried this weekend. And when I say someone, I mean me, the person who isn't supposed to buy any more patterns until there is some better production coming out of the Astoria studio.

Little Miss B

Here is Brielle, the cutest little model. What a natural! She is such a good natured lady and ever so patient. Doesn't the first shot nicely show off the hem on the bottom of the dress and her cute little legs?

Overall, I am very happy with the way the dress turned out and how it fit. My only concern before trying it on was the length. It seemed a little too close to evening gown length and my suspicions proved true when I tried the dress on Brielle. Next time, I think I will shorten it a bit. The pattern does come in larger sizes for toddlers and bigger girls. Once the model is walking, I think the length will work a lot better.

Quilt Action Shots - VI

Here are the sweet little twins modeling their new quilts.

More Makeup Bags

So, a certain blogger gave me a couple of yards of very cute Amy Butler green polka dots when I was out in San Francisco least month. It is perfect for makeup and to carry other little goodies. Although it is only July, I am already planning out what I want to make for the Bust Craftacular coming up in December, which is going to include little bags like this one.

To give the bag a little more structure, I used batting between the polka dots and yellow lining. I also added some adorable grosgrain ribbon to the little strap, just to make it sassy.

I offered Amy a little something in exchange for the fabric and all I could get her to agree to is a case for her sunglasses. It should be super cute. Hopefully I will have time next weekend to try making one.

A Dress For Brielle

I am in a countdown to meeting little Brielle, who turned three months old yesterday. In anticipation of our first meeting, I wanted to make her a little present. I used the Oliver + S party dress pattern. It is labeled easy and for the most part it was. My only trouble came attaching the bodice to the skirt. I managed to create matching puckers in the middle of the front and the back. Boo. I ironed them like crazy and am hoping no one will notice.

I also want to take this moment to give my sewing machine a big shout out. My Brother sewing machine is awesome. The pattern calls for buttons and due to some unfortunate buttonhole attempts with my old machine, I was very very very apprehensive to ever doing buttonholes again. And let's not even talk about the button setting. With gritted teeth, I tried the buttonhole setting and it worked like a charm. Feeling a little more confident, I went for the button feature and that was even easier. Who knew it could be like this? I am a changed woman. More confident, ready to face the world, one buttonhole at a time.

The Second Twin Quilt

So there are two little ladies in Los Angeles waiting for their quilts. I purposefully picked very different fabrics for each girl but I will leave it up to their mom to decide which one will get the seersucker quilt and which one will get this fun animal print. I quilted flowers and circles on the seersucker quilt but went for the simple stripes with this one. It was my first attempt using the quilting guide with my machine and did alright - if you look closely, the lines get a little wavy, but that can be chalked up to the charm of homemade, right?

Here You Go Mom!

Here is the finished quilt I made for my mom. I goofed on the math when I calculated my block pieces. Rather than take the time to fix each block piece by piece, I ended up going for a simpler pattern with the bigger pieces and then framing it with the smaller pieces. I backed with a light blue, used white binding and quilted in the ditch. It should look perfect as a throw in my mom's family room.

No More Streaking!

After way too many mad dashes from the bathroom to my bedroom in my fishbowl apartment, I finally made myself this wonderful robe. The picture doesn't do it justice since I have been wearing every day for the past week - if I was a good blogger, I would have ironed it first, but getting this post up seemed more important than a little ironing.

I used the pattern posted below with this adorable floral print I picked up fabric shopping in the Garment District with Charlotte. I made a couple of changes to the pattern to simplify it a bit. I skipped the decorative lace and skipped the pockets. Overall, I am incredibly pleased with how it fits and how it looks. Next up, a new nightgown from the same pattern.

Where Have I Been?

Busy sewing. Too busy to even blog about all of my projects. Fourth of July Weekend was a giant sewing fest in my apartment. By Sunday, I was delirious and ready for a quilting break. I also cranked out some more goodies today. So without further ado, here are my projects. I am going to break up the posts for easier uploading.

A New Twist

As I have mentioned once or twice before, it is raining babies in my life. Twin girls were born last week in Los Angeles who are patiently waiting for quilts. Fueled by ice coffee and the fear of drowning in fabric, I managed to knock out this little number this evening. There is a tuck on the seersucker side that needs to get reworked, but otherwise it is pretty much done.

The twins' mother made her feelings about pink pretty clear, so I picked up this awesome seersucker at Purl. It is made up of red, yellow and blue stripes. I backed it with a solid white and quilted it with the painted yellow thread.

As for the quilting design, I traced the center of the flower and drew the petals freehand. The flowers alone didn't provide enough quilting so I added partial circles to the border. Overall, I am thinking it is pretty cute. It should segue nicely from a crib to a toddler bed too.

Quilt Action Shots - Part V

Here is sweet Erol, napping with his new quilt. He is only a week old but already an accomplished model.

Tied Up With A Bow

I am sad to see this one go.

Something A Little Different

On this muggy, no rainy, now sunny Father's Day, I am off to visit with a very new father and his brandy new son. His son Erol is a week old today - he came just in time to make this Father's Day pretty special.

Erol's arrival gave me the perfect kick in the butt to try something I had been sitting on for a while. Ever since I bought the lovely painted yellow thread, I have wanted to try a really simple quilt using it for the quilting. And use it I did.

I took two yards of Alexander Henry's "Fishies" and two yards of white, and quilted them together with a nice thin batting. I sewed all three layers together, with the rights sides of the fabrics facing each other (good thing the white is right on both sides so there was no real way to mess up) and left a good size gap on one end. I turned the layers right side out, smoothed out the wrinkles, and then used a good sized tupperware lid to trace circles all over the quilt.

Update: I should explain the circles a little better. After sewing the three layers together and turning them right side out, I secured the layers together with quilting pins. Once everything was nice and flat, I took a tupperware lid and traced it with a disappearing ink marker. I traced about 5 circles, then just followed the lines on my machine with my walking foot very slowly. I then traced more circles and repeated the process until I thought there were enough. After I was finished with the circles, I top stitched the border to help hold everything down.

After quilting the circles, or bubbles, I quilted a yellow border around the edge and hand sewed the gap left for turning. I love the yellow on the white - it stands out but the colors are still subtle. I like it but would also love to see what it would look like with a higher contrast - maybe a painted red thread next time...

The quilting on the Fishie side is very subtle. I am a little disappointed that is hardly visible, but that might be because the pattern is soooooo busy that most quilting couldn't compete with that full stretch of fish. I like it though - and I am already picturing it on a toddler bed for when Erol is a little older.

When I bought the Fishies, I also picked up a fun peachy colored seersucker. I am going to try something similar with that one to see if the textured seersucker will show off the quilting better. Wish me luck. Good thing there are twins waiting for quilts in Californina to keep me motivated.

Weekend Update

This is just a quick post to show off some of my weekend projects. Friday night I put together the baby quilt. All it needs is a little binding. I am really happy with how it looks.

And after way too long, I finally sewed new bedroom curtains. I had my eye on the Notari pale blue print for a long while and was able to purchase it last week. I simply hemmed the sides, top and bottom and then picked up some ring clips for the top. Now I just need some cute tie backs and I will be all set.

Quilt Action Shots - Part IV

Allow me to introduce Miss Brielle, who is growing so fast and is clearly enjoying her quilt. I am counting the days until I get to meet her in July.

And if you ever wondered why I sewed baby quilts, action shots like these pretty much sum it up. Are you checking out those little chicken legs?

Charm Quilts Are In The Air Tonight

I mention this because there are at least two other quilters working on and dreaming about charm quilts as I write this.

I was recently commissioned by a lovely friend to make her two baby quilts. We did a little online shopping on Reprodepot and then finished things up on Sunday at Purl Soho for some wonderful collaboration.

Since my to-do list is taller than Empire State Building and is starting to keep me up at night, I decided to start applying more week night energies to crafting. Last night I worked in a load of fabric laundry in between a run and tonight was all about cutting.

I absolutely love these prints together. The colors are so bright and vibrant. I cut out the 4.5" squares in the colorful prints and 3 x 4.5" sashing in white. The large Moda dots is also the backing for this baby.