A field study of triangles.

Posted on 13.May.13 by kait

I put this simple quilt together with some Anna Maria Horner Field Study (a current favorite, if you can’t tell!) and solids from the Little General and I love it! Especially under the red bud trees just before sunset. I quilted it at Eileen Quilts in a bubble design and backed it in the butterflies, one of my favorite large scale prints.

I bound this one by machine. I don’t like it as much as a hand stitched one but the binding has begun to come off on a couple older quilts of mine, what with the heavy wear of having two dogs that like to pull quilts from their places. Hopefully machine sewn binding will stand the test of time and I’ll keep getting better at it.

I’m excited to say that this quilt is available for sale at the Little General! Hopefully the first of many, Gina is graciously showing and selling some of my quilts made of fabric from her beautiful shop. If you’re in or around Winston Salem, be sure to stop by!

So productive!

Posted on 10.May.13 by kait

I’ve been extra productive lately! I finished a quilt top last week,

two quilt tops on Monday,

started a new quilt,

and started two new shirts!

I’m super excited about all of it.

It’s Blowy Out There.

Posted on 07.May.13 by kait

I finished piecing and basting this a few months back and finally got it quilted. I rarely name quilts but a friend had said it reminded her of the wind and that sounded better than “half square triangles arranged randomly” :)

After the mini I made for Tara, I wanted to do more straight line quilting. I did a spiral echo design in the white areas and while I’m still not totally confident in my straight line skills, this was good practice. The back is pretty puffy in the un-quilted parts, but I’m really happy with how it came out!

It’s backed in more scraps, bound in Flea Market Fancy seed print in grey, and labelled.

I was so happy to take photos in the park on my block, pinned to a dogwood tree. Happy spring!

Gifts for friends.

Posted on 29.Apr.13 by kait

My friends Austin and Erin, the people who graciously let me live with them last year after a break up, recently bought a house so I made them this mini quilt.

I pieced the tiny houses from scraps, raw edge appliqued a key in one block, quilted it in a boxy meander with their name in one corner, backed it in a vintage sheet with my label, and bound it in white with a couple scraps.

Congratulations on the new home, dear friends!

My long time friend Tara got married recently so I made her a little wall hanging.

Her bridesmaids dresses were yellow so I pulled a few yellows and greys, drew up the plan, and put this together in a day.

I have been inspired by Megan at Canoe Ridge Creations lately, her simple patchwork, her straight line quilting, her mini quilts. This is the first time I’ve quilted something this heavily and I love it. I can’t imagine quilting a large quilt like this but it was great for this little lady.

I backed it in a yellow floral I’ve had for a long time and bound it in more yellow with a tiny bit of heath in black. I’m really happy with it and hope they are too.

Congratulations Tara and Jeremy!

I made this pillow a while ago but never blogged about it. It is now my friend Lindsay‘s and I made it to thank her for her kindness and friendship.

I used Anna Maria Horner’s feather bed quilt block and her Field Study fabric scraps, surrounded them with FreeSpirit light jade, added an exposed zipper, bound it, and left it behind as a little surprise.

Thanks for being awesome, Lindsay!

For Mom.

Posted on 23.Apr.13 by kait

I am embarrassed to admit how long I was a quilter before I made one for my Mom and how long ago I started this particular quilt. But all that aside, it’s finally finished and received and we are both so pleased with it.

I received a fat eighth pack of Jay McCarroll’s Habitat line for a MQG challenge quilt awhile ago and I fell in love with it so I ordered more and got to work on the Swoon quilt. It’s a bit of a tedious pattern so it languished in a box for awhile until I got the burst of inspiration I needed to get it finished.

I pieced a back with the scraps I had, quilted it in Virginia with a flourish pattern called Denali in a pale mint green thread, bound it in Kona berry, and labeled it.

It was a windy and very sunny day when I photographed it, which makes for washed out pictures, but big thanks to Denise and Austin for helping out and holding it up for me!

Color wheel quilt.

Posted on 16.Apr.13 by kait

This quilt is the iconic project from Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts that Cait and I made back in September. It never laid flat and was a real challenge to quilt but I finally finished it!

I trimmed it down to 45″ square, backed it with a vintage sheet I love, quilted it in Virginia with a needle and thread pattern, machine bound it in musical notes, added a hanging sleeve, and now it adorns my studio wall!

Small studio projects.

Posted on 12.Apr.13 by kait

I’ve had a list for a very long time or little things I’d like to make for my studio space. With the recent organization and burst of creativity and productivity I’ve felt lately, I finally crossed a few things off.

I attempted to make a sewing machine cover a few years ago but never quite got the math right. I took another stab at it though and this time it was a breeze! I used some flying geese I’ve had for a long time for one side and an (Amy Butler?) home dec print for the other. I think I like the orange side better, it’s so cheery!

I made a set of coasters I made years ago (incorrectly, I might add) that I always hated so I just threw them out and made a few more. I used the stack-and-whack method, based on the coaster pattern from Denyse Schmidt’s Quilts but I only used 4 fabrics and cut each 5″ by 7″ (instead of 5 by 8). I wanted to pull from both the green wall and the orange sewing machine cover.

When I made an ironing board cover a year or so ago, I cut it too small but never took the time to fix it. I finally tore out the old stitching and added another channel for the rope and it fits so much better! No more coming off the board when I’m ironing fabric and pulling it towards me.

Reorganized.

Posted on 08.Apr.13 by kait

I’ve spent the last three weeks redoing my sewing studio. I used to have, among other things, a combination of free standing shelves and a portable project wall which have now become a rail and bracket shelving system to the ceiling, a permanent 8′ square project wall (using this tutorial), a peg board, and yarn cubes!As it turns out, drilling into nearly 100 year old brick covered in concrete is a PAIN IN THE ASS. Even with the right tools, finally, it took 5 trips to the hardware store to get everything I needed. I’d say it was worth all the work!The shelves are 7″ deep at the bottom and 20″ at the very top with a couple other sizes in between. I had the cubes already and used a studio-mates’ yarn winder to re-ball all my yarn so they stack neatly. Vinyl is rolled and stored in a large shipping tube. I spent about $300 all told, and I’m really happy with it.

I also finished my color wheel quilt from last year’s Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts project! I hung it high up in the small community space of the studio and I love it there. I will take better photos of it and show it off soon.Currently, my Field Study kaleidoscope quilt is on the project wall, something I am more than ready to get back to work on!

Some quilts.

Posted on 27.Mar.13 by kait

I spent a lovely and snowy weekend in Roanoke with Lindsay and Ursula working on a few quilts.

I took two with me and finished up a third one while I was there. I left behind a feather pillow (made from Anna Maria Horner’s block pattern found here) as a gift to Lindsay for all her help and willingness to let me use Ursula. And of course, for her friendship.

Sewing clothes and having doubts.

Posted on 21.Mar.13 by kait

I have been a bit obsessed with the idea of sewing clothes lately. While I’ve never felt up to taking The Sew Weekly challenge or anything, I love the idea of making everything I can.

I learned to sew clothing about 6 years before I learned to quilt. I still have my first dress and although I never fully sewed on the lining and the zipper was inserted incorrectly, it’s not so bad. Currently, half of my dresses are made by me and while I’ve dabbled in tops and pants, I’d really like to expand my skills.

I completed this Cynthia Rowley dress a little while ago, made from a Khristian Howell fabric I fell in love with last year. I didn’t love the dress while I was working on it but by the time it was finished and I tried it on, I loved it.

My favorite part is the orange plaid pockets. If I make this again I will definitely shorten the bodice and maybe add an A-line skirt instead.

I am currently working on the Banksia top from Megan Nielsen and it’s needing a little altering. Hopefully though, it will be a staple piece. Then after that, I have this whole stack of fabric all washed and ready to become more dresses and tops, including my first ever voile purchase!

Stack includes, from top to bottom, Cameo voile by Amy Butler, Grey posies by Denyse Schmidt, Downtown Los Angeles by Jay McCarroll, Habitat by Michelle D’Amore, Nettie dot by Timeless Treasures, and Washi by Rashida Coleman Hale.

I have focused on clothing lately because I’m beginning to doubt my ability to do quilt commissions. I usually work well under pressure but the couple of times I’ve gone past a deadline, I’ve completely torn myself up about it. I don’t like disappointing people. I don’t like having to tell them that I’ve let them down. But is avoiding situations where that might happen the best way to deal with it?

Do you make quilts by commission? Do you have a contract of some sort you give the person? What does that entail? Is trial by error a good way to develop a business?

kaitcetera

quilting and other sundries.