Studio space.

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One of the changes around here is that I’ve moved into a studio space outside where I live.  I didn’t think I wanted that for a long time because I figured it would hinder late night productivity sessions and such, but I now have a space in the building where I work and I’m super excited about it.

I work at a coffee shop called Krankies and the building they inhabit, which was originally a meat packing plant, is filled with many other things.  There are apartments and a web design company upstairs, a guitar repair place, some practice/teaching studios, and Device, a screen printing business in the basement, the Electric Moustache gallery on the main floor and the studio with spaces for 8 artists (including Laura Lashley, Liz Simmons, and Ian Dennis).  I moved in and set up pretty quickly, minus shelving to hold my fabric.  I had built in shelves in my last space so now I have to figure something else out, something to put in a concrete wall, no less.

What's on my design wall: The Undertoad

Things show no signs of slowing down.  I’m powering through to finish a commission this week, hopefully going up to Roanoke this weekend for some quilting action with Lindsay and to hang out with Catherine, finishing another quilt for a shower on St Patrick’s Day, having another sewing date with Cait for our next LMP+QG project, and then going to DC for a long weekend. Looking farther ahead, my dad is coming in April, I’m going to the beach for my birthday in May, I’m still trying to go to Toronto this spring, and I’m hoping to get four quilts that have been in the works for awhile off the WIP list, and sew a couple more dresses.  Let the productivity commence!

LMP+QG February Challenge: Stacked Coins Quilt

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I’ve always wanted to make a coin quilt.  Cait and I had a sewing day last weekend and I got a lot accomplished!  This still isn’t finished but I have the front completed, the back is coming together, and I’m really liking it.  Sorry for the really poor photos, I’m quite embarrassed by them, really, but today is very gray and rainy.  I will definitely take lots more pictures when it’s all finished and beautiful.

Be sure to check out Cait’s beautiful version (I love that linen!) and you can see our past projects here.

Life has been a little hectic lately and I apologize that the blog has fallen by the wayside.  Changes are afoot and it’s both exciting and stressful.  Hopefully I will have a couple finished projects and lots of photos to share with you soon!  Thanks for sticking with me, I really appreciate it.

xo

New dress!

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I showed a little sneak peek of this dress on Instagram (@kaitcetera, follow me!) a few days ago with the promise of showing it off and here it is!

I felt beyond silly taking pictures of myself (my face was too embarrassing to show!) and they don’t do the dress justice.  It’s the coffee date dress (a free pattern!) from BurdaStyle that I started probably two and a half years ago.  The fabric I used was from stash and it was hard to cut out accurately and the instructions seemed incomplete to me (at the time, at least).  I had the bodice almost completed and the skirt pieces sewn together so when I pulled it out a few days ago, I realized how little was left to do and sewed it right up.  And wouldn’t you know, it’s my new favorite dress!

I fudged the neckline facing and didn’t trim the length before I hemmed it, but what I’m really proud of is the zipper.  It really is invisible!  I hardly tried to match up the seams but it’s almost perfect!I’m definitely going to make this pattern again (perhaps without the ruffle, maybe add a waistband and pockets); I love the way it fits.  I might even use the Bryant Park poppies I just got!

Speedy fabrics.

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I received a lovely stack of fabrics in the mail while I was gone over the weekend and it was a nice surprise!I ordered these from Marmalade Fabrics because I’d had such a nice experience with when I ordered some Jay McCarroll from her.  I ordered them Thursday afternoon, they shipped Friday morning, and I received them Saturday.  Speedy!  I will definitely be ordering from Tammy again.

I’m not exactly sure of the order but these are Kona cotton in Berry, Chocolate, Asparagus, Cyan, Jade Green, Sky, Lagoon, Lake, Pacific, Marine, Charcoal, Cross Weaves in Aqua and Storm, and Outfoxed Pearl Bracelet in Red.  All the blues are for a commission based on this quilt due in about a month, the berry, chocolate, and pearl bracelet are for the stash, and the charcoal is to finally finish the boy version of this quilt.

On Monday I also received two and a half yards of this lovely Bryant Park poppy print by Khristian Howell that I intend to make a dress out of.  I’m excited about that!

Roanoke weekend in pictures.

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I went up to Roanoke this past weekend for my best friend’s birthday.  Her apartment is one of my favorites.  She and her boyfriend went out one night and I stayed in, lit some candles, and read “Wise Blood.”  Something about the scene reminded me of Posie Gets Cozy‘s lovely shots so I took a few photos. (Please ignore the blurriness due to low lighting.)  The ever lovely Sarah also took a few photos at the party.

Three quilts for three nieces.

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I’m excited to show my first three finishes of 2012! My best friend Catherine commissioned me to make three quilts for her nieces, aged 13, 6, and 2 months, and I finally delivered them to her this last weekend.  (I apologize for the pictures, Caitlin was oh so kind enough to help me out but it was windy and the sun was really bright so the lighting is a little off.)

She let me do whatever I wanted which is both exciting and a little overwhelming. So I pulled some pre-cuts and fabrics from the stash and went for it!This zig zag quilt is made with a charm pack of Tula Pink’s Plume, a couple coordinating prints from my stash, and FreeSpirit in manatee (my favorite grey, left over from my Single Girl quilt). I was inspired this quilt on Pinterest and am really happy with the end result, though it seems so tame compared to the following two!The back is Dots in pink flannel from Urban Flannel by Valori Wells, I quilted it in an echoing zig zag pattern with dark grey thread, and it’s bound in a pale pink stripe from my stash. I drew my own templates for the letters and pieced her name on the back, surrounded it in yellow to make the backing wide enough, and added a label.

The second quilt is made with a jelly roll of Joel Dewberry’s Heirloom and some coordinating solids from my stash in a square within a square pattern that I love!I backed it in Diamond Mine flannel in sweet from Folksy Flannels by Anna Maria Horner and again, quilted it in an orange peel pattern (inspired by Sew Katie Did, which I’m also pretty in love with) in a pale yellow thread, and bound it in light yellow with a small scrap or Kona berry. Like I said, I’m pretty in love with this quilt and will definitely be making myself one in this pattern.

The last one is definitely the craziest and took the whole process to grow on me. When I finally washed it and photographed it, I realized that I’m actually quite pleased. It will suit the girl, which is the most important thing.

It is a disappearing nine patch pattern that I made with my stash of Denyse Schmidt fabrics. I wish I had been a little more careful in my fabric selection and maybe incorporated some solids or something but it is what it is and like I said, I kind of like it.It’s backed with roses in pink from Urban Flannel by Valori Wells flannel, quilted in a diagonal cross hatch pattern with pale grey thread, bound in a couple different blue DS Quilts fabrics, and labelled.

For the record, I paper pieced the names from letters I drew myself.  I’ve only designed a couple paper piecing patterns (sewing machine seen here and here) but I start with paper roughly the size I want the block to be and with a ruler, draw from the outside in, in a spiral motion until I make the shapes I want and get to the middle, and then I number it from the inside out.  I don’t know if that makes any sense but that’s the best I can explain it!  Maybe one day I’ll make a little video tutorial and show you.

Anyway, I can’t wait for the girls to receive their gifts. I hope they love them and get many years of warmth and comfort from them.

To lay on and to hold on.

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I am in love with this new pillow.

I made this block in Jess’s wonderful Improv Piecing class at Sewing Summit back in October and as soon as it was finished, I knew it had to become a pillow.  So what if it only took me three months?  :)I surrounded it in Alexander Henry’s Heath in black, quilted it in a pale grey thread by following some of the natural lines in the block and sewing on on both sides of them, and bound it in white, and closed it with an envelope back.

I’ve also made a few bags and pouches recently for various things.Using Jeni’s wonderful and oh-so-popular lined drawstring bag tutorial, I made a bag for my herringbone cowl out of one of my favorite Aneely Hooey Little Apples prints, a red dot from my stash, and a DS Quilts print for the ties (I really should buy a bolt of that stuff!),

one for that portable speaker system I got a couple weeks ago (the first one, on the far left, was a little too small but the second one fit just right, both out of Jay McCarroll Habitat prints and coordinating solids),

and a triangle pouch for my binding clips from this tutorial, also out of a Habitat print.  Thanks Jeni for such a great project!

LMP+QG: January challenge: colored pencil roll

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A little while back, my friend Caitlin had the great idea of picking a book and working through it, doing a project a month together and then blogging about it – an idea that I loved!  I flipped through some of her books and we settled on Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson because it has more than just quilts and is conveniently sectioned off by amount of time each project takes.

I picked the first project and I chose the colored pencil roll – a completely selfish decision, having just bought some.

I loved picking through my stash and grabbing colors that matched the 24 pack of pencils.

The only color I had to use a solid for was purple.

I used linen for the pocket and outside and although I love how it looks, it was a difficult fabric to work with and required a lot of starching.  I went beyond the pattern and added two strips of square scraps to the outside of the roll.I also used more of the scraps and linen and made a cover for my sketchbook!

One of my goals for this year is to sketch again.  I used to be a “visual fine artist” in high school (drawing and painting) and have been drawing since before I can remember.  I am inspired by Amanda’s sketches/paintings and would like to start simply, picking things up on walks with the dogs and sketching them at home.

In fact, while taking photos of this, I grabbed a pinecone from the yard and began drawing it.  I need some practice (and an erasure and blending stick!) but it feels good to do it after so long.Be sure to check out Caitlin’s beautiful piece!  I love that she used dark fabric for hers.

Check back next month for the stacked coins quilt.

Snippets of life.

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Where did I go the last couple weeks?   No where, just not here apparently.

I don’t have any big finishes or anything quite yet but I wanted to share a few snippets of life around here lately.

Remember I set a goal to bake a loaf of bread every week this year?  Well week two was pizza crust and may I say, it was amazing.  The recipe I used, from Peter Reinhart’s Artisan Breads Every Day, made enough for five 10″ pizzas so I used two and froze the rest. Mine, pictured above, had roasted garlic, olive oil, bacon, caramelized onions, and fresh basil, with mozzarella, sharp cheddar, and feta cheese.  Yum!

I spent a gift card at Marshall’s and got, among lots of other kitchen things, a lovely green Le Creuset pan into which, I promptly made blondies.  I added whiskey and instant espresso to the batter and seeing as they spread so thin, it’s possible I ate twice as much :)

This is quilt three of three for Catherine’s nieces.  I finished sewing the binding on the front today and will complete it tonight in front of the tv (Castle and Parks & Rec have returned!) and then it will be in the wash for all three followed by a photo shoot with Cait in a couple weeks!

I got a sweet Groupon deal for a portable iPod speaker system that a friend of mine had recommended.  My computer speakers just don’t get loud enough when cooking or washing dishes and this is a great solution!  It came with a small bag and strap but I think I’ll definitely be needing a much prettier one!

I actually made this a couple months ago but never showed it.  It’s only 8″ square (instead of 24″) but now I’m not sure what to do with it!  I think I might streamline it a little and  use some in a larger quilt.  I like these as minis!

When I started rearranging my studio a few months ago (no, I’m still not done :-/ ), I took down a couple pieces of beloved artwork so I knew they needed to be hung elsewhere.  So now they adorn the hallway and I’m able to see them multiple times a day, and a couple of them when I’m laying in bed.  The three on the left are done by the lovely Laura Lashley, the middle and top right are by Liz Simmons, and the bottom right is by Molly Bolton.

Remember when I mentioned a tattoo I got being part of a larger art project?  Well the show is up this month at the Electric Moustache gallery and Evan did such a fabulous job!  He took photographs of all of us that participated and our tattoos and made a video loop of our horses in motion.  You can see the video here.  It’s based on a series of photographs by Eadweard Muybridge in 1877 who set out to prove whether or not when a horse runs, all it’s feet leave the ground at once.  Through the photographs, he pioneered stop motion animation. I love the tattoo and the show and I’m so happy to be a part of this project!

I’ve been feeling the need to sew clothes lately.  I’m on the search for an easy, versatile top that I could make a lot of.  This is Simplicity 3835, a Built by Wendy pattern that I had a lot of hope for.  I’ve made the shorter dress with the ties before and it fit super awkwardly but I hoped the shirt would be better.  And it’s not really.  This picture actually isn’t bad but I kind of just feel like I’m wearing a bag :(  There are darts in the back but it doesn’t give it enough shape.  I could either shirr the waist or I could easily take it in but then I’d have to put in a zipper… I plan to work with it and see if I can’t make it better.

I ordered myself a couple things!  I love getting books in the mail.  I got a red sketchbook because I’d like to start drawing/sketching again this year (I haven’t done it since 11th grade), Denyse Schmidt Quilts (I didn’t realize until looking through it recently how much I love almost all the quilts in it!), and Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts.

Speaking of which, I’m excited to tell you that my friend Cait and I are embarking on a challenge in 2012 to make a project a month from LMP+QG!  We have designated 12 projects and will be blogging about them the last Thursday of each month.  I very rarely buy quilting books because I feel like I have to be drawn to a majority of the projects, so this is a good prodding for me to try some things I might not, otherwise.  After flipping through a few books that Cait owns, we settled on this one because it has a range of projects, and because of the iconic Color Wheel Quilt.  (That’s when I also realized I was drawn to a lot of DS’s projects so I threw that in my shopping cart, too.)  Can’t wait to show some things off!

Bring it on, new year.

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I only accomplished about half of the things I put on last years list but no mind, I’m still making a list for this year!

  • Bake a loaf of bread every week (I began a sourdough starter a couple days ago!)
  • Complete (at least) a quilt a month
  • Go to yoga once a week
  • Become a morning person! (can I make myself be that?  I’ll do my best.)
  • Complete a Dessert a Month (so excited about trying cross stitch!)
  • Plant a garden.  It’s about time!
  • Keep on Farming!

I’m sure there’s more but that’s probably enough for now :)

I was pretty close to finishing a couple things last year so I’m hurrying along to get a finish (or three) onto my 2012 list.

I started my Farmer’s Wife blocks and I’m in love!  They are Bat Wing (#5) and Basket Weave (#4).  I plan on paper piecing them, unless some other method makes more sense (such as Basket Weave which was strip pieced).  I like to think I will make more than two a week but it will probably even out that way.

Anyway, I feel too discombobulated to keep writing so I’ll return to my crocheted granny hexagons!