Too Much Country? Not Enough Rock 'n Roll?

I bought a stack of Denyse Schmidt's Katie Jump Rope fabric months ago on a whim but without a plan in mind. The prints aren't my usual style but I was so attracted to them that I broke down and bought them regardless. I finally saw a quilt in a blog posting about a Teen Vogue photo shoot of all things and decided to use the fat quarter stack along with some fabric from my stash and scrap bag to supplement and to make sure it wasn't too matchy-matchy and to make it a little less country. I am not so sure I was successful.

Because my inspiration came from a picture, I didn't have a good idea on how to approach making the quit top. I kicked around some ideas with a very wise quilter but ended up just plowing forward with my fingers crossed. I tried to map out the pieces on paper first to figure out how to do the ends but ended up cutting the full sized trapezoids first. After roughly figuring out how many trapazoids I needed to sew to make a 90 inch row, I got busy. I ended up using my ruler and rotary cutter on both ends and cutting straight edges, rather than trying to piece the smaller strips. Lazy and wastful but so much faster ; )

I added 1 and 7/8 inch stripes of navy blue in between the chevrons to break up the prints. I love how it looks. I keep thinking that this style would look so good with solids from the same family or a collection of more modern fabrics. (But that it is really my fault for picking fabrics that aren't really my style even though they are super cute.) Pale yellow, pale gray, pale blue and white could make for a gorgeous gender neutral baby quilt.


And here is a close up.

Now I just need to pick up some batting and get this baby quilted. It will be nice to mix up the quilts that I have on my bed now that spring is here and the big down duvet comforter will be going in to storage. And if I can't get over it, at least it will be a great quilt for houseguests.

Good thing I already have another quilt for our house in the queue.

Secret Wedding Quilt - Part 3

So here is the wedding quilt. I finished the quilting yesterday and now just have to make the binding. I can't believe that I am in the home stretch. It took a lot of time to make all of the blocks but once that was done, things really started moving.

Here is a close up of some of the blocks - they are wonky log cabins. I tried to keep a balance of size and color but didn't worry too much about it. All of the blocks were improvised.

Here is the back. Although I didn't need to, I added the orange stripe to break up the orange and to make it reversible.
Here is a close up of the three little blocks I added to the back. There was a brief moment when I considered making more, but then I reined in that insanity and moved on to the fun part - free motion quilting.
The next round of pictures will be of the finished quilt, which should hopefully be done this week. I can't wait to see how it looks after getting washed. Good thing I have another quilt in the queue so I am not tempted to keep this one for myself.

The Secret Wedding Quilt, Part 2

I was really worried that this quilt would become my great white whale, especially after how I left things last time. The first thing I did was take a break. I was getting frustrated with how the blocks weren't lying flat and the time apart was just what I needed. I realized that I was making mistake with the first round of blocks by not using my rotary cutter to make a straight edge as I built each side of the log cabin. Once I started doing that, the blocks looked so much better.

After I finished all of the blocks, I ironed the hell out of the first round of blocks and only had to redo a couple to get them to lie as flat as possible. I also knew that I could have a little puffiness and still be okay because I was planning on stippling the quilt so some of the puckers would be hidden in the quilting.

This is the biggest quilt I have ever made. It is a queen size - 90 inches by 90 inches. I know! It is humongous but the happy couple is worth it. To pin the three layers together, I tried an idea I read about online that involves taping the layers to the floor. Sadly, I have to move my sofa to clear a space in my apartment. Who knew that 7 1/2 square feet was so hard to find?

Here is the back taped to the floor. I pieced the back with a couple of mini blocks to make it a little more interesting.


And here is the finished quilt top taped down over the batting and the back. The lighting isn't great in my living room and the material has a slight sheen to it so this isn't the clearest picture but... I just couldn't resist posting pics now.

I spent the afternoon quilting it and finally finished it in time to go to the gym. Unfortunately, quilting all day can wear a gal out and I mostly did a lot of lying around on the mats. I will take more pictures tomorrow of the quilting when I have better light.

Pinwheels!

I have been meaning to try out a pinwheel quilt for ages and finally had the reason to make one this week. I had this fabric in my stash and knew that it would a perfect fit for the pinwheels.

My friend wanted to have the name of the recipient embroidered on the quilt. I went a pink that matches the fabric but sadly doesn't show up that well in these pictures. You are just going to have to take my word for it that it looks super cute. Inspired by all the great embroidering I have seen from my quilting bee ladies, I traced a butterfy from one of the prints and embroidered it next to the name for a little pizazz!

A Very Productive Couple of Days, Part 2

So knitting was my gateway craft. I learned it from a co-worker in 2003 and took to it really quickly. Sadly, I plateaued at an advanced beginner stage that I can't seem to shake, especially now that I am so obsessed with sewing. I don't have a huge stash of needles but have enough that they could benefit from an organizer and shouldn't be shoved in a tote bag, getting caught in my skeins of yarn.

And now that I am conquering my to do list, this project got the time it deserved. I used some fabric from my stash and some lovely twill tape I received as a Christmas present for the tie.

A Very Productive Couple of Days, Part 1

I am steadily working on my to do list and I am giddy with excitement. Recently, the mailman delivered some new patterns for me to try out, a little girl dress (I know, another one!) and a baby yoga pants pattern.
This little dress pattern was a breeze to make. I love lined bodices of dresses more than ever after struggling with other patterns that don't call for it. Trying to make a neat hem on such a little armhole makes me crazy because 1) it is hard and 2) I can't do it very well. It also gives the dress that little extra bit of structure and a fun opportunity to add a splash of color.

On this dress, I tried out the rolled hem foot on my machine. Things went pretty well for the most part and I think it looks appropriate on a dress this small. This is the newborn size and I am going to do whatever it takes to get some action shots of this dress.



As much as I love making little dresses, I noticed that most of the time, my favorite little babies were in stretch jersey pants so I picked up this pattern to try out. The pattern was a little confusing because it has two design options, one for regular diapers and another for cloth diapers. I had to guess on what to do at first so I used some blue jersey I had in my stash that I was willing to sacrifice. Once I got through the confusion of how to proceed with the pattern without the insert for cloth diapers, it was a snitch to make. I have an overlock machine so I did everything except for the leg hem on it. The only thing I would have done differently was to hem the legs before sewing up the leg seem.



I am going to give them to the newest baby in my life for her to test drive them. The butt looks pretty big but hopefully it only looks big to me because I am not used to adjusting for diapers when it comes to pants.

All finished, washed and shipped

Here is the quilt I made last month, with it's finished binding, washed and already in the mail. I absolutely love this quilt, and I received the nicest phone call from my friend tonight, thanking me for the quilt. She said it was her favorite baby gift, of course, she might be saying that to everyone she received a gift from, but I am going to believe her. So here is another look at the quilt in all of its crinkly glory.

It is hard to tell from the picture but the back is a navy blue with tiny white polka dots. Love it!


And here are some close ups of the cuteness.

Perhaps my all-time favorite diaper bag

I am getting caught up on blogging about some projects I finished in January, including this diaper bag. The request was for a bag that could go from carrying diapers to a work tote. I love the orange and gray print - it is so sophisticated and original. I might just have to go back to Cancun and pick up some more.

I put three pockets on the exterior, including the one below and one on either end.



The interior is lined with pockets on both sides and closes with a magnetic snap.


I also made a changing pad that fits easily in the bag and can be retired once the bag becomes a work tote.

A quilt for Julia

Sweet Julia was finally born last week and I got to meet her today. I brought along this quilt for her. It wasn't a real surprise since I had already assured her mother months ago that she would be getting a special quilt.

Since Julia's parents waited until she was born to find out if she was a girl or a boy, I decided to wait too. I wanted fabrics that were nice and bright. I fell hard for the prints with the robots and the planets, especially because they weren't only offered in traditional boy colors. The oranges and yellows make me so happy and I loved being able to work in some blues from my stash as an accent.

Now I jut have to patiently wait for some action shots.

I finally did it!

I am so happy! My awesome sofa was in desperate need of some recovering attention. It is 6 years old and had seen better days. It was sun damaged, stained and generally abused. The sofa frame was also scratched and worn, mostly from my evil, but so cute cat.

Here is a Before picture - it doesn't look too bad but that is because you can't see it too closely.


And here it is in all of it's finished glory!

I found the fabric online, actually from a link in my gmail account. I purposefully found very inexpensive fabric; it was about $5 a yard. I have never recovered a large piece of furniture and knew that it could go very bad and I didn't want to waste a lot of money if things didn't end well.

The whole thing was way easier than I expected. I did the cushions a couple of weeks ago and they worked out pretty well. I had a little trouble with the round corners of the seat cushions but they came out ok in the end.

As for the frame, I draped the fabric over the back and the sides and pinned in to the couch. I then basted the pieces together inside out to get the snug fit. I took the cover off, sewed over the basted stitching on my machine, flipped it right side out and checked the fit. It only took a couple of hours and I didn't cry at all.

In a fit of productivity, I also recovered a cushion with the white and brown geometric print to tie in the bench I recovered a while ago. All in all, I am a very happy gal.

The Secret Wedding Quilt, Part 1

So my absolutely adorable brother-in-law is getting married in May and I couldn't be happier with his choice of bride. She is so cute and just perfect for him. As much of a catch as he is, he totally scored with this lady, for sure.

And since my cute brother-in-law is also responsible for setting me up my my husband, I owe him, BIG TIME. I knew immediately that I would make them a quilt for their wedding present because I really wanted to give them something personal and from the heart. I decided on a Denyse Schmidt inspired design. It was her quilting book that sparked my brain and made me want to try out quilting. Initially, I shied away from doing something directly inspired by one of her quilts because I really wanted to push myself and see what I could come up with on my own first. Now that I have a few (cough cough) quilts under my belt, I am more comfortable cribbing her style.

Serendipity helped me pick out the colors for this quilt. I walked into my local fabric store and saw these two blue/greens leaning up again each other and that was all I needed. The combination reminds me of the ocean, which is so much a part of the happy couple's life.

Here are 2/3 of the blocks laid out on my bed. I have about 11 more to go before I can piece the top together.

The quilt is going to be a queen size (I know, I am scared about quilting something so big too) and each block will get cut down to 14 1/2 " square. If it works out that I can make them into rectangles, I might do that instead and skip adding a border on the top and bottom to fill out the quilt.
I didn't use a pattern when making the blocks. I cut the center squares first and then cut irregular strips selvage to selvage and worked with what I picked up. I love how wonderfully wonky they are, but as you can see, they don't lie perfectly flat. I am crossing my fingers that some spray starch will help me to get them flat enough that I can quilt it properly, but there will be a lot of praying to the sewing goddess on this one.

If anyone out in the internet has any suggestions, I am all ears.

Here is a nice flat block that shows of the colors. Too bad they aren't all like this.

Oh, this quilt is a surprise so if you know that happy couple, please help me keep this secret.

Too be continued...

A birthday present

Here is a little make up bag I made for my too cute future sister-in-law. I am loving the combination of turquoise and red, so much so that I made another one just like it for me. I added some fun little lip balms, breath freshener and a gift certificate to Sephora to round out the present.

Pretty Storage

I bought this unfinished wood storage box at Ikea a while ago in a desperate attempt to keep my growing stash of ribbons and buttons somewhat organized.

Here it is, all boring and plain.


I picked up some craft paint and Modge Podge at Michael's down in North Carolina when I was visiting friends over Thanksgiving. (Thanks again Jess!) The frame of the box is painted a lovely cream. For the drawers, I used some cute Snow & Graham wrapping paper and Modge Podge.

Sadly, I have never used Modge Podge before and I couldn't be bothered to read the directions so I just flew by the seat of my pants. I think I got it right though. I cut the drawers out of a continuous piece so the pattern is recreated when all of the drawers are closed, painted on a coat of MP, smoothed the paper over the front of the drawer and then painted on another coat of MP and then let it dry. A little of the dye came off the paper when I applied the overcoat of MP but I like to think of it as being "antiqued."

Here are all the drawers drying before getting put back into place.


And here is my finished storage box. Not bad, huh? I might need to take another trip over to Ikea to pick up a couple more of these babies. The possibilities are endless.


I finally got around to painting it and recovering the drawers with some cute Snow & Graham wrapping paper.

An Easy Breezy Skirt

There are two little New York fashionistas that have very strong opinions about what they will wear. At ages 4 and 3, these sisters know what they like and know what they don't. Luckily I passed the first test when I made them these dresses, which are now referred to as the "Made Dress" as in the dresses were made for them. I know! So stinkin' cute.

Of course, I crave their approval so I spent the past couple of months collecting swatches for them but couldn't find any winners. I went out on a limb and picked up this print since it had the requisite pinks, purples and oranges without prior approval. Yup - I am a risk taker. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

The pattern is a free download from the Oliver + S website. It is super simple and the ribbon trim is a great little touch. I added a small pocket on the front and embellished it with a little pink fish button. I used similar buttons on the dresses and I heard that they were a big hit.

Someone Is Turning One!

My husband's first cousin once removed is absolutely adorable and is about to turn one. She has her own quilt but doesn't have any Lunden clothes yet so I figured it was the right to rectify the situation. The best part is that she is a little Los Angeles baby so I can have her in sundresses all year round. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will get some actions shots soon.


The cutest part of this whole project is that my husband picked out the fabric. I don't know how he will feel if I tell the internet about this, but my little helper picked out the coordinating fabrics when we were in California last summer. I am so proud of him.

Baby Boy Blue Quilt

I was racing against the clock making this quilt but alas, some babies like to be born early. Little Nikolas Ryan was born two days ago, before I could get this finished and sent off in the mail.

Of course, I made a lazy crafter's decision of going ahead with my small stash of pre-made binding without measuring it first and came up about 12 inches short. Hopefully Joann's Fabric won't dally and send me some more pronto. (The fact that I can't just drive to a Joann's makes city living at a time like this pretty painful.)

And I am not too worried that the new mommy will will be offended that the quilt will be a little late. I am sure that she will have plenty to do to keep herself busy.

I had been planning this quilt for a while and am posting these dark pictures because I am too excited to wait for the binding, a good wash and better light. I love working with one color and pairing the different tones with all the prints I had been hording in my stash. Little Nikolas' parents met on a boat and his father is Greek so I really wanted to tie in ocean colors, a subtle nautical theme and a nod to the Greek flag.

The quilting is mostly stippling with a lot of loops. It was fun to experiment and I can't wait to see how it turns out after a wash. I am signed up for a free motion quilting class at City Quilters and am really looking forward to getting some good tips - winging the way I have been can make for some bad habits.

Another Diaper Bag

This could be my new favorite bag and my pictures do not do it justice at all. I wanted to make something nice and roomy with a lot of pockets for storage and boy is it. It is perfect for carrying everything a baby needs and maybe even the baby. Just kidding, this is not a baby carrier ; ) I also put together a coordinating changing pad.