Michael Miller challenge block

A couple of months ago, the Portland Modern Quilt Guild was lucky enough to have Kathy Miller of Michael Miller fabrics come to speak at our meeting. Not only did she give everyone a color card for the new Cotton Couture solids but she also hinted at an upcoming challenge.

Then last month, every member received 8 fat eighths to design a 15.5" x 18.5" block. Kathy will choose something like 16 of them to be made into a quilt for the Michael Miller booth at Quilt Market.

Here's what I came up with:

Not to sound all commercially and everything, but these are really lovely solids to work with. The are so soft and have a very nice drape. I could see them being used for apparel as well as quilting.

I've seen a few other blocks from this challenge popping up and they're really fun. Can't wait to see which ones will be chosen!

Luggage

I can't explain what exactly possesses people (like me, and maybe you) to think, "Yeah, I'm gonna sew up my very own luggage!" Because when you tackle the Weekender, that's what you're doing. Don't fool yourself by thinking you're going to be making a "bag." This is hardcore.

And totally doable, I might add. Yes, you'll cuss. And you'll likely break a sweat when sewing all the layers together. But you can do it.

I made a few little changes, like adding top stitching where the bottom panel meets the side pockets (above).

I was very skeptical about how the pattern has you install the zipper, but I followed the directions and I love the result.

All-in-all, a very satisfying project. It helps if you have a friend making one too, so that you can work on them together.

Here are some suggestions and/or changes that I made as I went along:

*I used fusible hem tape to make my piping (no line of stitches to worry about hiding when sewing everything together later.

*Added piping to the end pockets.

*When you're done sewing the piping on the large pockets (and end pockets, if you add it there), gently pull a little bit of the cording out and trim it. That way you can eliminate the bulk of the cording in your seams, which will make a HUGE difference in how difficult it is when sewing through all those layers.

*I added a D-ring attached with nylon webbing into the bottom of each end pocket. I will be making a shoulder strap that can attach there if I want to use it, but the hardware stays hidden in the pockets when I don't need it.

*Make sure you have more than one heavy duty needle. I'm surprised that I didn't break any during the assembly and would hate to have to stop midway because I didn't have an extra needle handy.

*I used a two-way zipper - it has a zipper pull at each end so that the bag can open from either side.

*Speaking of zippers - the directions have you pin the zipper in place in such a way that the pins are under your fabric when stitching the zipper in place. I went slowly but was very nervous about having the pins where I couldn't see them. If I make this bag again I'll use some Wonder Tape to hold the zipper in place while stitching.

*I'm adding four large metal purse/bag feet to the bottom to help cut down on wear-and-tear.

That's about it! Now I need to take a trip somewhere so I can use it.

Details:

Pattern - Amy Butler's Weekender

Fabrics - viewmasters are Ruby Star Rising by Melody Miller, gray dot is a canvas from Hometown by Sweetwater, piping is a pink twill

We interrupt our regularly scheduled blogging...

Hi everyone!

That's my awesome superhero all decked out for last year's Jingle Bell Run. And this year? He's an honoree! That means our family will provide a "face" for juvenile arthritis and help to promote the event as well as the mission of the Arthritis Foundation.

Odds are someone you know has arthritis. Despite popular misconception, arthritis can affect anybody. 300,000 children in the US have doctor diagnosed arthritis, and 3 out of every 5 people with arthritis are under the age of 65.

Researchers in the field don't talk about "if" they will find a cure; they talk about "when". By raising money, we hope to make a difference and bring us all closer to a cure.

That's why we have organized a team, Owen's Superheroes, to participate in and raise money for the Jingle Bell Run/Walk. Our goal is to raise $3,000 for arthritis research.

I'm asking for your help.

There's a link to Owen's donation page over at the top right of the blog sidebar. PLEASE feel free to repost or link to this post on your own blog so that we can all be superheroes for Owen. Tweet about it or mention it on your facebook page. Even if you can't donate, spreading the word raises awareness.

Thank you so much for taking the time to consider supporting this cause that is so important to our family! Now back to our regularly scheduled crafting.....

Sweet Harmony

I did it! I finally completed the Sweet Harmony Handbag from Amy Butler. Intimidated is the best word to describe how I felt about taking on this project. Let's face it, I had heard from more than one person that Amy Butler patterns are complex and sometimes difficult. But now that it's done, I'm so glad I forged ahead and tackled this pattern!

In keeping with the Amy Butler theme, I thought it appropriate to use some of her fabric. I chose Wallflower in cherry and Full Moon Polka Dots, also in cherry. The piping is kona cotton in coral. The pattern doesn't call for using two different prints like this on the main bag and exterior pockets but I really wanted to combine these two fabrics and I'm very pleased with the result.

Here's a peek at the inside. The lining is a kona cotton in cream? ivory? Honestly, I don't remember! There are two interior pocket variations so I did one of each. In the photo above you can see the two open pockets and in the photo below you can see the zippered pocket.

You can also see the two magnetic snaps as well as the small cell phone pocket in the exterior pocket at the lower right of the photo above. This purse is nice and roomy without being a big slouchy bag, which I like. It's a bit more tailored than what I usually make or carry, but I like to change things up a bit every now and then. Plus, who doesn't love a good red bag?!

I'm not going to lie - this took me quite awhile to make. Part of that had to do with making a brand-new-to-me pattern. I know I was being very methodical and thorough because I was nervous about making mistakes. And by doing the exterior in two different fabrics, I had to be sure I adjusted my cutting to accommodate that change. That said, the most time-consuming part was definitely the cutting and preparation of the fabric (trimming and applying interfacing and fleece). Once all that prep work was done the actual assembly wasn't hard and didn't take long at all. Oh, except for adding the zipper pocket. For some reason my brain just seized up and I couldn't figure out the instructions. Until, of course, I did and then felt like a dork for not understanding them sooner.

So there you have it. I'll probably busy myself with a few simpler projects now and enjoy my new handbag!

Solids challenge - received!

Remember awhile back when I posted about my first paper-pieced block? It went into the solids challenge swap at Portland Modern Quilt Guild and this is the pillow cover I got back!

Isn't it fantastic?! My friend, Petra got the block in the swap and made this gorgeous pillow cover. I can't believe I didn't take a picture of the back but it's Alexander Henry Heath in gray and some amazing gray and orange buttons.

And check out Petra's crazy awesome quilting:

I know I'm gushing but I just love it to bits and am so happy to have it on a chair in my sewing room so I can see it every day!

Solids challenge

Last month at Portland Modern Quilt Guild, we swapped quilt blocks made using all solid fabrics. This is the one I received from Anne.

I love the bold colors and the graphic quality of all the black outlines.

Our challenge was to make either a pillow cover or mini-quilt using only additional solid fabrics. After chatting with Anne, she seemed to have a preference for a mini-quilt.

Well, this block is lovely, but it is definitely a departure from my usual style so I really had to let this one simmer for awhile before I came up with anything I felt really worked with the original block. Most of my initial ideas were over-complicated and I'm glad I waited until I came up with something I really felt works with Anne's block.

I hope she likes it!

It seems so simple, but I like that it all really looks like one project and not like I forced my own particular style onto the block. The curved shape at the top was fun too and I will definitely experiment more with curved bindings.

I must say, after seeing the other blocks brought to the swap, I am constantly impressed by the variety that can be produced using only solids. In fact, I'm planning an entire quilt using just solids so that I can experiment more. Plus it gives me a great excuse to go all crazy in the kona section of my local fabric store!

Done Deal

This was pretty much my view for the past several evenings.

Let me just say that straight(ish) line quilting a bed size quilt on a home machine is not the easiest thing in the world to do.

I was sweating and using questionable language at certain points in the process. It was a workout!

And there are more puckers than I care to admit. But I will - to show you one of my favorite things about imperfect quilting.

And that thing is: there are an astonishing number of imperfections that wash out! By that I mean, many (if not most) of the mistakes/imperfections/screw-ups-that-I-don't-bother-to-remove all but disappear once the quilt has been washed and dried. There is nothing better than a new quilt fresh from the dryer in all it's crinkly goodness.

Here's one of the worst sections of puckers in my quilting before washing:

I mean, the fabric was so loose that I actually had to fold it over in spots. It's practically pleated! And of course it happened on a geometric print so it's totally obvious.

Note to self: be a little more generous with your basting spray and a lot more diligent about getting the creases out of the batting.

Here's the same section of the quilt after being washed and dried:

It's not like the puckers completely disappeared but they sure aren't as noticeable as they were before.

This was a very challenging project for me and I'm very happy with the results, even if every little thing isn't "perfect."

Bailey loves her "big girl" quilt. And yes, I know I'm insane for giving my 3 year old a quilt with so much white.

Here it is in all it's crinkly glory - good thing my hubs is so tall!

And this is by far my favorite quilt back that I've ever done. I may even like it more than the front.

And you want to know something?

There are quite a few puckers on the back as well!

My lesson learned is to not be overly critical of my sewing or quilting. I'm having fun and learning and creating. If I let myself get bogged down in seeking perfection it will make me too intimidated to try new things or ever get anything finished. For now, I'm thrilled to be getting projects DONE and into the hands of people who will love them.

And I can't wait to see what's next!

Another finish

Here is my entry into Project Modern's second challenge: a monochromatic quilt.

Huge thanks to Jen Carlton Bailly for taking such awesome photos of the quilt!

This is a quilt I had been wanting to make for some time - an exploration of texture. The color palette is natural and there is a huge variety of fabrics that make up the quilt itself: 100% cotton, 100% linen, linen cotton blends, corduroy, flannel, kona crush, monks cloth, canvas, and dupioni silk.

Some blocks have an added textural element such as gathering, raw edges, pin tucks, or selvages incorporated into the piecing.

Quilting was done by hand using perle cotton in three different shades.

I'm thrilled with how this quilt turned out and I just wish you could all touch it and feel the variety of materials and textures for yourself!

It's been very exciting to see a few other quilts that PMQG members have made for this challenge, including Jill's - which WON!!! Thanks to the Modern Quilt Guild for sponsoring such a wonderful challenge!

Soon

Very excited to show you what this stack of fabric turned into!

Very monochromatic, isn't it?

A Birthday Purse

My mother-in-law had a birthday this past weekend. She didn't want anything, she never does. She's frugal and has quite a personal history, raised in Russia, living in Germany during WWII and even being imprisoned for part of that time before coming to America as a young woman. So, she didn't want anything.

But my husband noticed that her purse has seen better days. He bought it for her decades ago and the strap is now being held together with duct tape. He asked me if I would make her a new one.

And this is what we came up with:

I had an old Butterick pattern and Gary thought his mom would like this particular style. And the home dec weight fabric was his choice as well (and a shout out to Jill who gifted it to me awhile back - hey, there's still MORE!).

Here's the back.

I tell ya, this thing was not easy to put together. Especially since it was for a gift. I get hyper critical of my sewing when I know it's a gift. But all in all, I like how it turned out. It's fully lined and has two interior pockets and the whole thing is nice and sturdy because it's interfaced with fusible fleece.

Here are the exterior pockets under the flap. And I love the green zipper - it makes me smile.

Now maybe I'm ready to tackle my Amy Butler pattern and make a Sweet Harmony handbag. Maybe.

Paper Piecing

This is my first paper pieced block (other than a string quilt block made using a paper foundation).

Pattern here.

And very helpful tutorial here.

There are a few little "oops" but I'm still really happy with how it all turned out. I had a lot of trouble starting out because I just did not "get it." But boy, once I figured it out and everything clicked, it was amazing. And fun! It's really kind of magical to watch it all come together because it seems so unlike any other kind of sewing I've ever done. Using solids was very helpful because at least I didn't have to be worrying all the time about whether my fabric was facing the right way or not.

If you want to see some paper piecing at it's finest, cutest and most creative then head over to the Ringo Pie group on flickr and prepare to be amazed. I've been stalking the group and it's members because it's so incredible!

Oh! Before I forget, there's also this nifty little tool that was very helpful. The add-a-quarter ruler helps to trim your paper-pieced seam allowances to a perfect quarter inch and keeps everything nice and tidy on the back of the block.

This block was made with kona ash gray and charcoal, and three random oranges that you'll be seeing in another upcoming project.

Choices

I'm trying to figure out what to make my partner in the Urban Home Goods swap over on Flickr. It's a little bit tricky because my partner seems to enjoy a color palate that is a bit different from my own. I'm not complaining - actually, I'm really looking forward to the challenge and have a few ideas rolling around in my brain.

The above stack is what I'm pondering at the moment. Love all the different grays! The two solids at the bottom are a gorgeous navy linen and a soft kona yellow. I'll probably stare at these for a few more days but then I need to get in gear and actually make something!

Note: If I were making something for me I'd be throwing a whole bunch of orange in with that gray and probably a pretty liberal dose of kona snow and charcoal. But that's just me. :-)

In Progress

A little something that's keeping me busy these days....

What are you working on?

World's Biggest Cozy

Yep. That's our fireplace. With a cozy.

When we don't have a fire going there's no way to really close it off. There's a glass window/door thing but it doesn't close airtight and this type of fireplace doesn't have a damper. Weird, but true. What's a girl to do other than create a fireplace cozy to keep all the cold air out and the warm air in?

I'm calling the Guinness Book.....

Suzuko Koseki

I have been extremely fortunate to be included in a special project for Japanese fabric designer and author, Suzuko Koseki. Ayumi over at Pink Penguin first mentioned her idea for this project in this post. Basically, a group of 18 crafters from 8 different countries are each making one 4.5" square coaster to be presented as a gift to Suzuko Koseki at the Tokyo Quilt Festival.

We were each assigned a letter or symbol to incorporate into our coaster and I got a heart. Here's my contribution:

This was so much fun to work on and now I want to make a set of coasters for myself in this same manner!

Here's the back, made with scraps from the front heart:

And a detail of the hand stitching and teeny tiny raw edge applique scraps on the back:

Each of the tiny squares is only half an inch across. I made a little quilt sandwich of the coaster top, some warm and natural batting, and the coaster back. The edges were left raw to echo the raw edges on the applique pieces and it is my hope that they will fray a little bit and soften over time.

You can see some more of the front detail here:

This was such a fun project to be involved with and I thank Ayumi for letting me be a small part of it. You can see more of what everyone's working on by checking out the flickr group here.

Tricks and Tips with Zips

As promised: some tips and tricks for getting nice pointy (or at least pointier) corners on your zipper pouches.

There is really only one major goal here and there are lots of little things you can do to reach that goal. The goal is: reduce bulk. Seriously, that's it. Logical, right? If there wasn't so much stuff in those corners, they would pop out as nicely as the ones at the bottom of the pouch, right? Right.

***Note: There are about 43 gazillion tutorials for zipper pouches out there. Really. Google it. It's crazy! I'm not really attempting a full-blown pouch tutorial and am assuming that you've made (or tried to make) a few already. I didn't take pictures of every little step along the way but concentrated mostly on getting those elusive pointy corners.***

Okay! Let's gather our materials:

Oh, one last thing: it's probably helpful to read through the entire post before cutting anything because some of the tips and tricks involve the size you make your various panels/pieces. You can make your pouch any size but I would definitely recommend starting out lager rather than smaller because teeny tiny pouches can be a total pain in the ahem.

*fabric for main/outside panels

*fabric for lining

* small fabric pieces for zipper end tabs

* a zipper

* fusible interfacing or fusible fleece, if desired

You will also need your sewing machine with regular and zipper foot and thread.

A few things about cutting and preparing your materials: Remember that your goal is to reduce bulk, especially at the zipper ends. This is why I make little fabric tags at the ends of my zipper. First, you trim the little tails off the ends of the zipper so you're left with just the zippy part of the zipper. Cut right to the little metal stoppers at each end. Then it's like making a thin binding tape and sewing it onto the ends, overlapping so that each end of the zipper is tucked nicely into the tabs.

I also cut my lining fabric a little bit shorter than my outside panels. Like this:

The lining and outside/main panels need to be wider than your zipper (about half an inch) like this:

Make a sandwich of your lining, zipper and main fabric and stitch together using your zipper foot. Flip so that everything is wrong side to wrong side, iron and topstitch. Please reference one of the 43 gazillion other tutorials mentioned above if you need to see how this is all done in more detail. Do it again on the other side and you'll have something like this:

Oh! I completely forgot to talk about interfacing/fusible fleece! Good thing I have these pictures to remind me.

Okay, what's our main goal? Yes! Reduce bulk! So, if you've decided to just use a nice lightweight interfacing than you can iron that on your main fabric panels before you start sewing everything together. (See, this is why I said to read everything through ~ I'm not doing a very good job of keeping things linear.)

If, however, you have decided to use fusible fleece (which I did here) you will want to be sure to cut it smaller than the fabric panel. You can even iron it on after sewing in the zipper so that you can be sure to avoid the zipper area altogether. For the example, the fleece is flush with the sides and bottom of the main fabric panels but it stops short right at the stitching line for the zipper. You could even reduce bulk all around by cutting off the seam allowances on the sides and bottom!

So this is how things should be looking when the zipper is finished:

Next line up the main panels right sides together and sew all the way around from zipper stitching to zipper stitching. It is very important that you do not sew beyond the zipper stitch line! I use a half inch seam allowance for this part.

Make sure your zipper is at least halfway open or you will say some very bad things later. Then line up your lining panels right sides together. Again, sew from zipper stitching to zipper stitching leaving an opening at the bottom for turning. For the lining, I use a 5/8" seam allowance. When you cut your lining a little bit shorter and use a slightly larger seam allowance your lining won't be quite so bunchy when it's finished and all tucked into the pouch.

Now, even with everything we've done to reduce bulk, things are still kind of tight at those zipper ends. Don't be too worried if your stitches don't quite make it to the line of zipper stitching. You can see in the photo that mine are a few stitches short.

You know what else you can see in the photo? A lot of seam allowance trimming! I trim waaay into those areas near the zipper and use pinking shears along the other seams. Trim all four corners as well.

For the lining I trim the corners but leave the full seam allowance at the bottom because it makes turning it under to close up easier.

Okay, the moment of truth! Turn everything right side out through the opening. Leaving the lining out of the pouch (as below) get your favorite pointy tool (mine is an old knitting needle) and gently poke out those corners.

You should end up with something like this!

Sew up the opening in the lining either by hand or machine and tuck it inside the pouch and you are done!

Admire your handiwork!

I made a pencil pouch and even included a little surprise on the inside.

Check out those corners!

I hope this was helpful. If you have any questions or if anything wasn't clear, just let me know.

I know it's hard to weed through all 43 gazillion of those zipper pouch tutorials so here are a couple of my favorites:

Pink Penguin

Twelve22

Have fun!

Fabric Fast

Oh man, this isn't even all of it.

No diet for me. I need to fast.

I actually began my fabric fast a little while back (after an entire afternoon of fabric shopping in anticipation of the withdrawal). But I didn't want to say anything out loud in case I couldn't quite bring myself to actually do it.

So far, so good.

No one is enforcing this fast but me and I've given myself some guidelines:

*I'm going to try to make it to the end of the year! That would be over three months of no fabric purchases. (I'm a little faint as I write this.)

*I CAN acquire new (or new to me) fabric as long as I don't spend any money on it. Swaps are totally acceptable as are gifts. Note that this time period encompasses Christmas so if Santa wants to drop a bundle of Kate Spain's Fandango or some fabulous Japanese prints down my chimney, that's fine with me.

* I am permitting myself to purchase staples like interfacing and thread (not fabric) on an as-NEEDED basis. That is, no "stocking up" or impulse purchases. I can only buy it if I need it for a project I am actually working on, right now.

I think that's about it. I feel a little bit like I'm crazy but I'm also kind of excited! I want to push myself to be more creative with what I have. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the collecting aspect of fabric buying and it's wonderful to walk into my sewing space and see a pretty stack of beautiful, fun fabric just sitting there waiting for me. But I really want to get in there and USE what I have, not just stare at the pretty folded stacks. I want to spend more time focused on the act of creating rather than acquiring.

Anyone care to join me? C'mon, I dare ya!