Pleated Tote

I started working on The Pleated Tote pattern from Jen Giddens. I really like the way she writes her patterns. They are simple and clear of errors. She also includes suggestions for the type of material that would work well and how to customize your bag. I would definitely try some of her other patterns available through Sew, Mama, Sew! and Jen's web site.

For interfacing I am using Pellon 808 Craft Fuse. I am hoping it gives the bag body without being too stiff. 

For the exterior of the bag I used Michael Miller's Gray Bird Swing:

For the interior Citron Daisy Flowers, also from Michael Miller:

Here's some quick pictures of the finished bag:

I still need to iron the bag more, trim some threads and perhaps put some tissue paper or plastic bags inside to full it out for a better picture.

Work on the Soho Table Runner Continues...

I am still working on the Soho Table Runner from Busy Bee Designs. I kind of stalled out on it because other stuff just came up. I have done most of the quilting. I thought I would some plastic quilt pattern stencils to do my design. I also purchased some chalk spray to transfer the design to my runner top. 

All I have left to do quilting-wise are the short ends. I quickly discovered that the chalk-like spray to stencil your design is not for me. Ok...I am messy and kind of clutzy. It got all over the fabric even though I tried to block off the parts I wasn't spraying and all over the table I was working on. So, I reverted back to a purple disappearing marker to transfer the quilting design. This seemed to be a much better method for me. 

I really want to try free-motion quilting more. I took a class a while back at Modern Domestic, but haven't practiced in a long time and now I'm kind of afraid of it. 

Let's hope I get this table runner done by Thanksgiving. I have the binding all pieced and ready to go. I really do like it even though I still am uncomfortable with machine quilting.

Pajama Bottoms

I decided to make a quick pair of pajama bottoms for Asher because I was inspired by all the cute flannel, especially the Anna Maria Horner, we had at work. Unfortunately, not any of it was very boyish.

So...I resorted to Jo-Ann's and found this sweet, but not high quality owl flannel. I love the colors, but I'm not sure it's going to wash up well. I see it getting pilly pretty quickly. 

Anyway, I used Kwik Sew 3589, which is a very basic pattern -- only 2 pattern pieces, with an elastic waste. This type of pattern only makes me want a serger more and more. I could whip these out pretty fast and my edges would look so much nicer. There's always Christmas!

Soho Table Runner

This weekend I started working on a fall table runner using the Soho pattern by Busy Bee Quilt Designs. I am using some older Denyse Schmidt fabrics I picked up in the basement sale room of Boersma's in McMinnville along with some prints from Mill End and some stuff I had in my stash. 

So far, I'm liking how this is turning out. It's kind of like making a quilt, but on a much smaller scale. Which means it won't take me a year to finish it. 

Now I just need to add the borders on the shorter ends and start my quilt sandwich. I'm thinking of using the purple/orange dot fabric for the binding. I tend to go too busy with the prints, so I am experimenting with adding more solids in my creations. Here I'm using some Essex linen in Sand to offset some of the craziness. 

Illustration School books by Sachiko Umoto

Here are some great little books I discovered surprisingly at Jo-Ann Fabrics a while back. They are by Sachiko Umoto from Japan. Unfortunately, most of her site is in Japanese. There are three books in the series -- Let's Draw Plants and Small Creatures, Let's Draw Happy People, and my favorite, Let's Draw Cute Animals. I feel like I always need help drawing animal bodies. I can get the head right, but the legs and haunches never seem in proportion. Sachiko's books are so simply done and easy to follow. Her instructions are really clever and cute too. While I don't want to copy her unique style, I feel like these books provide the basic forms and from there you can express your own style.

All three are available through Multnomah County Library is you want to preview them before making them a part of your home library. 


Here's some sample pages:

Wizards and witches from Let's Draw Happy People

 

 

 

 

Squirrels from Let's Draw Cute Animals

nanoblock : Micro-Sized Building Block

For all you with Lego kids at home or those closeted adult fans of Lego, here is something fun -- nanoblocks. They are micro-sized Lego-esque bricks designed by Kawada of Japan and distributed by The Ohio Art Company, maker of the Etch-A-Sketch. The smallest pieces measure a mere 4x4x5 mm! While I'm not a fan of some of the other brands of Lego-type building bricks, I think the nanoblocks are really well made and pretty cool. The instructions are mostly wordless diagrams like Lego, but at least with this castle, you build from the bottom up, layer by layer, instead of building sections and joining them together. So, the instructions can be a little tricky for younger kids. 

Here is the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria, an example of 19th century Romantic architecture. Notice the standard 2 x 4 dot blue Lego brick. This will give you an idea of how small the nanoblocks are.


What I'd really like to get is this little cutie.

Robin Hood Halloween Costume

Ferd has decided to be Robin Hood this Halloween. And so, I am working on View C from this pattern. Everything has been going great so far, except for the hat. The cape came out wonderful! And a plus, leaving it a little long, it can double as a Jedi cape! The tunic is almost done. I used a nice green ultrasuede from Jo-Ann's. It frays slightly, but it hasn't been too bad. Had a little trouble with sewing on the 1/4" double bias tape around the neckline and forming the ties. The bias tape is just so narrow, I had trouble catching the ultrasuede between the bias tape and getting my feed dogs to move it along. If I made this costume again, I might use 1/2" bias tape instead. Now, I just need to sew up of the sides and underarms. The hat has been another story. It seems small and the proportions of hat to brim don't look right. I struggled with attaching the brim and I still think it's wrong, even though I've taken all the stitching out and done it more than once. Thankfully, Ferd already has a Robin Hood hat he can wear along with this costume. Now I just need to track down a bow and arrow and possibly a quiver! 

Hope to get some pictures of my version up soon!

Puffin Classics

The Adventures of Robin Hood

We visited Annie Bloom's in Multnomah Village today and saw these wonderful Puffin Classics hardcover editions of children's literature. If you're a fan of the Penguin Classics with covers by Coralie Bickford-Smith, then you'll probably love these as well. One of my favorite covers is The Adventures of Robin Hood. Other titles in the series include Peter Pan, The Wind in the Willows, The Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Black Beauty, and The Call of the Wild.

Hallmark Fisher-Price Ornaments

I know I'm a nostalgia marketer's dream demographic. Therefore, I am a sucker for the Fisher-Price Little People ornaments that Hallmark has been releasing the last few years. I am not a regular Hallmark shopper, but these just bring such good memories back. I played with Fisher-Price Little People for a lot longer than most kids -- probably into middle school. Then, I let my mom sell most of my things in a garage sale. This Play Family House ornament even opens up to reveal the rooms inside and of course the dog is at the back door of the garage. Even though the ornaments are plastic, there is a great attention to detail and the quality is very good.

Lisette Patterns

This is probably old news for in the know sewists, but I am excited to have added the Lisette patterns for Simplicity designed by Liesl Gibson of Oliver + S to my list of projects. These women's styles are so cute! The first thing I want to make is the pink blouse on the right. I purchased some cute cotton lawn at Fabric Depot. My only enemy -- time!

Schoolhouse Tunic

I haven't had a chance too sew many clothes for myself in a long time. But recently I did get a chance to make the Schoolhouse Tunic by Sew Liberated. I'd been admiring it for awhile. I really like the tunic look, but I'm not a leggings kind of gal. So, I just wore mine over jeans.

This is a great pattern for beginners -- no interfacing, no gathering. I would definitely recommend it to someone who is just starting out. I was really pleased with my results.

The fabric I used was a dobby lawn from Jo-Ann's! I was surprised to find such nice, cute fabric there. It was a pleasure to sew with and washed up nicely.

The finished tunic

Close up of the front

Bodice

Close-up of fabric

Log Cabin Squares

Several months ago I was able to get out on a crafty outing by going to see Susan Beal do a book signing at Powell's for her most recent book, Modern Log Cabin Quilting. I was star-struck by seeing some of the well-known Portland bloggers that were there for the event. I am such a geek. 

After purchasing her book, I decided to give some log cabin squares a try. It's pretty addictive and a great way to use up your scraps. Here's a few of my experiments:

Playing with greens

Playing with browns

Playing with blues

I used the blue log cabin squares to make a little zippered pouch project that is included in Susan's book. I'll get some pictures up of that when I can.

Story Quilt Finished!

I haven't been posting much, but finally have the time to get a little done as my little guy is engrossed in the final episodes of the Clone Wars. I've going through all my pictures and trying to share some of the things I've actually completed this spring.

Here's the Story Quilt I had been working on for some time. I finally finished in March. 

Here's the finished quilt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the back

Pillows for Classroom

I made these pillows as a gift for Teacher Appreciation Week at Southwest Charter School. Asher's classroom has a wooden bench that the kids like to lay on during read-aloud. These helped to make things a little more cozy.

I used a charm pack of Kate Spain's Central Park and some Kona solids. I used an echo quilting design. They were a big hit with the kids and Asher's teacher.

Close-up of echo quilting

The blue pillow

Here are the two pillows for Asher's class.

Work Continues on the Short Story Quilt

The Short Story quilt is moving along ever so slowly. It's actually at my sewing machine right now about halfway quilted. But I don't have any pictures of the process. It is coming out ok, but there have been a few bobbles -- like forgetting to leave the needle down when I pivot or forgetting to put the presser foot back down. So that leaves a few weird stitches. Also, when the quilt sandwich is not moving freely and gets caught on the edge of the sewing table, the stitches get tight. But after leaving it be for a while, I don't notice these things as much when I come back to it. Here's some pictures of the quilt top before I started quilting.

Here's the blocks all sewn together.


Here's the border and the corners added on.

Here's the lovely Enzo enjoying the quilt sandwich process.

Green Pottery Collection

I know there was a blog a while back that featured people's collections and that inspired me to share pictures of my prized collections. One of my favorites is the "Ugly Green Pottery" collection. Of course, I don't think it's ugly, I think it's beautiful. But let's just say some of my family members are not as enamored. I have picked these up over the years at thrift stores, antique stores, and a few are new. Most of my collection is Royal Copley. Can't wait to go to the big antique show at the Expo Center this Saturday. Maybe I'll find another treasure!

Here's a general overview of the first part of the collection. It's mostly Royal Copley with a little McCoy and USA Pottery. And, also a new piece from Jonathan Adler.

Here's a close-up of one of the shelves. 

Here's a preview of Part 2 of the ugly green pottery collection. More pictures coming soon.


I'll also post some pictures of my other collections in the next few weeks.

Short Story Quilt

The 49 squares for my next quilt are all made. I'm using two charm packs of Liz Scott's Sugar Pop! and Kona Cotton in Snow. The pattern for this quilt is called Short Story and it is from Carrie Nelson's Schnibbles Times Two: Quilts from 5" or 10" Squares. This is only my 2nd official quilt and the first one I did contained no solids. I liked the way it turned out, but it was very busy and there was nowhere to rest your eyes. So, using solids to offset my love of color is a new approach. I'll get more pictures up once I sew the squares together and start adding the sashing and border.

Patchwork Pillow

A rectangular patchwork pillow based on Posie Gets Cozy's Summerhouse Pillow tutorial. I just love making these. I have so many 2 1/2" squares cut out from scraps. It is so much fun putting the fabrics together. I know they are a little crazy and probably wouldn't go with anyone's decor, but I like them. Maybe I should try and add some solids?

Trying Machine Quilting

Trying some machine quilting on my own after a class with Elizabeth Hartman a while back. Here I pieced together some of the many 1 1/2" squares I've cut from scraps and used some spearmint green Kona cotton between the patchwork strips.

I made four of these rectangles. They are an odd size. Then quilted them using my favorite design so far -- what I call the "mod square". Not sure what I'm going to do with them. Maybe a pillow or a table runner? I've moved on to some other things, but will revisit these soon.

Linen Patchwork Pouch

Here's a zippered pouch I made with linen and 2 1/2" squares of some of my favorite green fabrics. The original instructions called for a hand-sewn lining. I was not up for that so I modified the instructions using a lining that was part of the pouch construction, not a last addition. I think this makes it a nicer looking and more solidly constructed pouch.

Machine Quilted Pillow

Here's the pillow I completed from a class I took a while back with Elizabeth Hartman at Modern Domestic. I especially liked quilting the retro-mod squares pattern in the top orange square. The free-motion quilting (with the little circles) definitely takes some practice. I can't wait to try these techniques on a small quilt I recently started.