Summer Break

Hi!  Ariel and I are going to soak up the last days of summer by taking a hiatus from this blog for a month or so.  You can still follow us at Queen City Stitcher and Chronicles of a Reluctant Housewife, if we decide posting isn't unbearable in the heat.

See you in the fall!

Finished: Meow Quilt

Another finish!  I know, things are getting pretty crazy around here.

I made this quilt for my friend Kelby, who had worked on some graphics for me.  She asked for some embroidered projects in return, which I gave her, but I wanted her to know how much I appreciated her work and her friendship!

This is the Meow pattern from Aneela Hoey.  It's so fun and easy!

I used 16 different prints, mostly black because Kelby's cat is black with green eyes.  With a block this large, it was great to showcase prints without having to fussy-cut or compromise larger repeats.

I backed the quilt with a print from Anna Maria Horner's re-released Hand-Drawn Garden.  I hate the skinny stack in the middle, but you have to have a seam somewhere, right?  It adds character.

I quilted in straight lines around the cats and on either side of the seams.  I started quilting in free-motion loops but the white thread interfered with the black prints too much.  It's amazing how 10 minutes of quilting can lead to two hours of un-quilting!

Kelby got this on Wednesday and loved it!  She said it's her favorite gift ever and that she'd never use it, for fear of getting it dirty.  I assured her it can be washed over and over and I can fix it, so she should love it instead of just looking at it!

What'd you finish this weekend?

Getting to Know the Farmers' Wives

If you're at all interested in modern quilting--or really any sort of quilting--chances are, you've heard of the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt.  This book of 111 six-inch blocks has excerpts of letters written by farmer's wives in the early 20th century, in response to a prompt about their daughters' futures.  That may not sound thrilling, but if you've seen the quilts that have resulted, you too would feel the pull to this book.  In fact, the multiple Flickr groups for makers of these blocks have provided hours of inspiration, even before I bought this book.

My Sewing Buddy sent me a bag of scraps from Denyse Schmidt's Hope Valley line.  Everyone should know how much I love DS by now--her fabrics, her books, herself--so this gift made me ecstatic.  Because the fabrics had originally been used in a log cabin quilt, there were some odd shapes and sizes.  I had to be creative in how to use them, though I did know I wanted to use them ASAP.  I ran out to Barnes & Noble, bought the Farmer's Wife book, and got started.

I've wanted a mini quilt for my cubicle, so I chose nine blocks and used a white background (as always).  I knew Hope Valley would make me happy every time I saw it, even while working!

The blocks are small, as I said, and use templates for all the piecing.  Some of the templates are so ridiculously teeny--that led to a lot of odd cuts from my rotary blade.  You can also see that my piecing isn't perfect, and I was perhaps a bit too trim-happy with some of the blocks.  But, as I'm the only quilter at work, no one is going to notice.

I free-motion quilted in lots of loops, which was mostly just fun!  I wanted to try something new.  I should've changed my needle for it--dang.

I backed the mini-quilt in Hope Valley that I used for Modern Maples, and bound it in a DS Quilts print (also used in my Modern Maples).  I added little loops at the top to hang it in my cubicle.  Genius, right?  I'm going to get a patent.  (Just kidding, I'm 100% sure I'm the last person in the world to think of this.)

The mini-quilt matches the Denyse Schmidt mug rugs my buddy made me, so my cubicle is extremely coordinated.  I love it!

In other news, I started another baby quilt!  For those of you counting, that's...five?  Is that right?  All for babies I know, or mothers I know.  That's crazy, right?  2012 and 2013 have been very fertile years.  Be careful out there, kids.

I'll have more information and pictures when it's done, but I decided to use Timber & Leaf for this new baby girl. I'm waiting on two more fat quarters to arrive, but so far I love it.  I hope she does too!

Completed: Christmas Quilt!

I have another completed project today!  And yet again, it is woefully out of season.  But I guess that's what happens when you pick up WIPs eleven months later?

This Easy Bake With a Layer Cake quilt top was my first quilt top, completed last August.  I meant to quilt and bind it before Christmas, and even sent it to my mom's house for her to work on, but then she gave it right back to me!  To be honest, I never really knew how I wanted to quilt it.  There are so many angles and lines, so straight-line quilting wouldn't be a great choice.  I didn't know how to use the built-in free-motion quilting feature on my old sewing machine (the classic stipple), so waiting really didn't affect anything.  I knew I'd come up with something eventually.

My Bernina came with the Bernina Stitch Regulator, a fancy little foot that hooks into the machine's computer.  It reads the fabric and the sewist's motions to keep stitches as consistently-sized as possible.  For a newbie, this made things extremely easy!

Bernina Stitch Regulator

In action!

I used the BSR to quilt chains and stars going vertically down the length of the quilt.  It was definitely a learning experience--the machine would beep whenever I'd move things too quickly, and it beeped a lot!  I used a new 90/14 quilting needle to help with skipped stitches and I got the hang of it about four or five chains in.  I'm no expert, but I feel a little more comfortable now.

All the fabrics used are Dear Mr. Claus from Cosmo Cricket, a Moda line from 2012.  I really love the snowflakes for the backing--they're so simple!

Now I just have one unfinished quilt top.  I'll have some other projects to show you in the meantime, but I'm so excited to be done with WIPs!

Completed Mug Rugs

A few weeks ago, when I was contemplating the choices I've made in my life that led me to mug rugs, I started pulling fabric.  I didn't know what I wanted to do with these gifts--I had no plans, no ideas.  I was hoping the mountains of scraps and fat quarters would inspire me and I could make the mug rug to end all mug rugs (hopefully).

Instead, lots of other things happened.  Instead, I walked away with a messy sewing room and no ideas.  Instead, I followed a whole lot of new Pinterest boards devoted to mug rugs.  Instead...I decided I like mug rugs.  I like them.  I want them in my house, in my cubicle, waiting for me in the drawer with all the kitchen towels.  This is completely ridiculous, I know, but I can't help it.  They're just so darn satisfying to make: in fifteen minutes, you have a quilt that holds your bagel and tea.  I know.

Finally, I got some ideas.  I found this Blue Elephant Stitches granny square tutorial and made a block without a border.  The center block is Happy-Go-Lucky that I used originally as a dog bed; the solids are from my Cotton Couture charm pack I received last fall at the Quilters Take Manhattan event.  You may also recognize the binding and backing from my Rainbow quilt.  I love using scraps!

I quilted it 1/4" on either side of each seam, making a fun design on the back!

BUT!  My sewing buddy and I were exchanging two mug rugs, not one.  For the other one, I decided to go more improv.  I love the look of log cabin blocks but I've never tried one, and I don't even know why.  Too many scraps, maybe?  But a mug rug was the perfect chance to try something new.  

I started with the middle piece, a fussy-cut Heather Ross design from Nursery Versery.  My friend is a mom and also an avid sewist, so she'd appreciate both the scene and the fabric.  I then added pieces in a circle, moving outward.  I used some Flea Market Fancy and Chicopee (Denyse Schmidt), Locally Grown (Creative Thursday), Bella (Lotta Jansdotter), random Cosmo Cricket scissors I bought in a destash on Etsy, Quilt Blocks (Ellen Luckett-Baker), Les Amis (Patty Sloniger), Field Study (Anna Maria Horner), and Timber & Leaf (Sarah Watts). For the other side, because I didn't see this block as a large piece like the granny square, I used a scrap of FreeSpirit Solids in Manatee--the same charcoal used in the Chicopee print.

I backed the mug rug in Lizzy House's brown Pearl Bracelets (from Guising) and bound it in another Chicopee print.  Chicopee will always remind me of when I first started quilting last year and won it from a FreeSpirit giveaway on Facebook.  Fate, I tell you.  I quilted in diagonal lines 1" apart, except around the mice.  I wanted them to remain untouched.

I got word from Elizabeth tonight that she received the mug rugs (and the fun teas I sent with them) and loves them!  I'm so happy.  I really put myself into these and love how they turned out, so I'm glad she loves them too!

Soon I'll have more updates on my Summer 2013 Finished Projects--I need a catchier title.  Until then, mug rugs for everyone!

Unfinished Projects No More

You may remember summer and fall 2012 on this blog--it was a time of high energy and excitement at both of us (me and Ariel, that is) learning how to quilt.  I remember making a lot of quilt tops all at once...and then packing them away, never to be seen again.  Until now, that is.

I've realized lately that I can't keep making more and more quilts and clothing and just leaving these projects in a box, dejected, neglected, and all sorts of sad.  I know they're quilts, but they're all sorts of sad to me.  So I recently pledged--to myself and to my country and to God, I guess, though that's being dramatic--to finish these projects.  The first three quilts I ever pieced would be done by the end of summer.  For every new project, I had to finish an old one.

When there's fabric on the line, as there was in this case, you tend to place things on high priority.

The first quilt I decided to finish was my Modern Maples quilt.  I posted about this originally on September 24, 2012.  Nine months have passed!  Pruin was but a tiny little grape-sized embryo, probably.  I'm honestly not too sure about growth progress but Ariel can back me up here.  It was time, especially because I had purchased fabric for it last October, and the backing and binding were sitting in the box with the quilt top.

Eleanor has already taken to the quilt as if she's had it forever.

I decided to quilt this with straight lines 1/4" away from either side of the blocks, and also lines inside and outside the leaves themselves, again 1/4" away from the outline.  I thought this would add a bit more interest to the blocks.  You can see it didn't crinkle up super well.  I'm not sure if that's because of the spacing or because of a new batting.  Joann no longer carries the brand I've used for the past year, so I had to switch to Mountain Mist Cream Rose 100% cotton batting.  Unfortunately, they also don't carry Warm 'n' Natural in anything but giant sizes, so I take what I can get.

As I was quilting this, I remembered how much I loved it.  Those are some of my favorite fabrics!  And now whoever stays in our guest room can use it.  It's about throw-sized, so unfortunately it isn't big enough for our bed.  Oh well.

I backed and bound it with two prints from Denyse Schmidt's Hope Valley line.  I got it on mega discount last fall during the FreeSpirit tent sale, and thought the colors were perfect.  I used a lot of orange and a lot of purple in the quilt, so it matches without being tacky.  I wish I'd had the sense to buy up Hope Valley when it was new.  I love that line!

I really love this quilt even more now that it's backed and bound.  I can't wait to pull it out this fall to use when the house gets drafty (as it did this past winter when we moved in).  However, I've wasted no time and started quilting my Christmas quilt from last year too.  I will finish these!

How many WIPs do you have laying around?  And what'd you sew this weekend?

Finished: Rainbow Baby Quilt

The rainbow baby quilt I pieced over Memorial Day weekend is officially done!  I quilted and bound it this weekend.

I quilted it in vertical lines spaced two inches apart.  Halfway through quilting, I started beating myself up because I decided it would have looked better quilted horizontally.  Once it was done and washed, I realized my manager and her baby are never going to know the difference.  She won't look at it and think, "Couldn't she have free-motion quilted it?  Could the lines have been spaced better?"  It's a gift, and hopefully she'll like it for that reason.

I think makers tend to beat themselves up a lot--or congratulate themselves too often, ha!--when they really should be pleased that they possess a skill and can create for others with it.  I'm not saying you should half-ass your quilts or garments or paintings or whatever you do, but you should take pride in the fact that you made something.  That and most people never notice half of the things you do.

I love the backing and binding!  Both are from the new Bonnie and Camille line Happy-Go-Lucky.  I bought them at my LQS but it looks like you can still find it online.  It's just so happy and fun!

The baby shower is July 19 and I am now ready!  Well, my gift is.  As the organizer, I still have a lot to do...

What'd you sew this weekend?

A Post I Never Thought I'd Write

This post is about mug rugs.  Something I've made fun of for years.

I mean, really.  I would open quilting magazines or read quilting blogs and be snarky and think, "you need somewhere to put your cookie?  This is a real thing you're actually thinking about?"  And then I made one last year, which has a permanent place on our coffee table, for Nick's soup bowl or beer glass or whatever he's eating.  And now I'm actually planning a few...for someone else.

My sewing buddy and I (a penpal program run though Deborah at Whipstitch) are both avid tea drinkers.  We have several favorite teas in common, and when I had the chance to visit David's Tea in Chicago, we talked about it like  it was Disney.  Which is awesome!  We've decided to swap some mug rugs for each other for work, because we both drink tea at our offices, and I've spilled tea on me or my paperwork twice in the past week.  Obviously, I need some help.

I'm having a hard time planning her rugs, unless I want to stick to a basic log-cabin design, with a main fabric in the middle and coordinates blocking it out from there.  Here are some mug rugs I've seen and loved lately:

Hey Porkchop!

Two More Seconds

Pin. Sew. Press.

Saltwater Quilts

I found this on Tumblr...I'd love to know the original mug-rugger!  (Is that a word?)

The hardest part for me is knowing how to translate my ideas to a mug rug.  I'm not great at math or deciding dimensions, so I work well with tutorials.  The Hey Porkchop! example above comes with a great tutorial, which I may follow for one of my buddy's gifts.

Mug rugs: love 'em or hate 'em?  Are you judging me for suddenly loving them?  And if you aren't a hater, can you recommend any good tutorials or patterns?

Inspiration: Haptic Lab

I'm currently in-between projects, so I thought I'd share some inspiration today, courtesy of the groundbreaking company Haptic Lab.  I've seen their products on Pinterest and love the look.  Haptic Lab creates quilts, but instead of decorate quilting, the stitches lay out a city or country.  They're all hand-quilted and most are whole-cloth, meaning they aren't pieced patchwork, and in a one-color scheme, so the stitches really pop out.  There are many collections available, so I thought I'd show some of my favorites!

Chicago DIY kit--I love the hot pink and the outline!

Their DIY London kit shows off some Liberty of London, which we all know I love!

Haptic Lab just reminds me of Ariel so much--maps, quilts, hand-stitching.  They're your soulmate, lady!

Paris baby quilt

DC quilt--I spy the Pentagon!

USA Map kit

Now that I've scrolled through these and the many others on their site, I might have to buy a kit!  Which one though?  Haptic Lab doesn't yet make a Charlotte kit or even a Savannah kit, so I'll have to consider DC, I suppose!  Have you seen Haptic Lab before, or, better yet, bought one of their kits or quilts?  I'd love to hear more!

Quilting Updates

It was a really productive weekend at my house!  The holiday didn't give me a reason to slack off; instead, I got quite a bit of sewing done!

The April do.Good Stitches blocks needed to be sewn up.  I originally had plans to make two baby quilts, but I only received blocks from about half of the members, so I only had enough for one crib-sized quilt.  

I quilted in straight lines about one inch apart.  I used a solid FreeSpirit for the binding (I can't remember the color name...) and Momo Big Dots for the back.  I had bought it on a whim for a backing and it worked out beautifully!

I still need to sew the label on the back and send it out, but that sounds like a job for the couch tomorrow night.

I also sewed the quilt top for the Rainbow quilt I mentioned last week.

It worked out really well!  I only had to buy the white fabric--everything else was from my stash.

It came together really quickly.  I cut out the blocks earlier last week, but cut out all the white last night, and then sewed it all together.  I bought backing and binding, but decided I needed a break!  The baby shower isn't for another month or so.  I have plenty of time!

 What'd you sew this weekend?

The Technicolor Baby Quilt

Earlier this month, I discussed the final baby quilt I have planned for this year.  My manager is due in August, and time is definitely ticking, as we're currently planning her baby shower.  She isn't finding out the gender before she gives birth, so to add onto the already nerve-wracking task of making a quilt for someone, I have to also consider that this baby could be a boy or a girl--and I really have no way to prepare (and, honestly, neither does she).

As of, oh, four days ago, I had decided on making the Thimble Blossoms Juggle quilt with fabrics from my stash. With all the awesome fabrics coming out this summer, I wanted to spend more money on fabric for me, and also create some room for it!  I grabbed about twenty fabrics and posted a picture to Instagram, asking for input.  It's so hard to stay neutral, because blues and green looks great together, and purple and pink look great together, but the four don't necessarily work well.  And I didn't want to go too modern with black and white--that isn't my manager or her husband, even.  But I was going to make it work!

Yesterday evening, after we got home from our road trip (you can read about it in Sunday's post in Queen City Stitcher), I opened the new Quilty magazine to relax.  Do you read Quilty?  I bought the first issue last summer, as I was getting into quilting, and wasn't impressed.  It just seemed too basic, maybe, or not modern enough.  I have a hard time relating to most quilting magazines because they aren't modern enough!  But I kept buying the new issues and it really has gotten better and better.  The newest issue has quilt patterns from Ellen Luckett-Baker, Sarah Watson, and Katie Clarke Blakesley, just to name a few.  Plus, it has some sarcastic/witty moments, and I thing the commentary is relevant.

Anyway!  I found a great quilt in it that I had to make: Rainbow Baby, by Cynthia Brunz.  It's a rainbow design on a white background--perfect for both sexes.  And the size--48" by 54"--is a great crib size, or would be perfect for playing on the floor, whatever my manager chooses.  It was kismet!

I started pulling fabrics and slicing squares today.  Here's some progress:

My current stash is color-coded, which makes this task pretty easy!

All five color families and the plan in Quilty

Red and orange--I'm using the same deer print in both colors

Green and blue--using the scissors in yellow and blue!

Yellow

With the holiday weekend coming up, I should have plenty of time to work on this, my do.Good stitches quilt, and some other projects.

What do you think?  And what are you working on?  Thanks to Christina Cantrall for her guest post Friday!

Exciting News!

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to update that Ariel is officially a mom!  We expect to have the baby quilting and blogging sometime soon, but until then, things will be a bit quieter!

If you have anything you'd like to submit while Ariel is on maternity leave, please don't hesitate to email me at the address in the sidebar, or tweet at us!  We'd love to hear from you!

Congratulations, Ariel!

Spring Quilt Market

Much like last fall, I was given the opportunity to participate in this spring's Quilt Market from afar.  I wish I was able to go--both because it's in Portland and because it's a non-stop fabric wonderland, but so is my sewing room, I suppose--but I don't sell or design fabric, and I'm not a big-time blogger.  Sigh!

Cloud9 contacted me to gauge interest in making a quilt with Lisa Congdon's new line, The Land That Never Was, shipping in August.  I really like Lisa Congdon's work as an artist, and I love working with Cloud9, so of course I said yes!

The quilt was large; last year I made two hanging/baby quilts for them, but this quilt was closer to a twin size.  I love the banner design--Michelle, creative director of Cloud9, designed it--and that the words were the choice for the banner "poles."  As a lettering freak, I loved the handwriting prints.

Because I have habits, I quilted it in the serpentine stitch again.  I just liked the flow more--it gave movement to the banners.  I did experiment with the stitch depth and length until I found something I liked.

I also bound this completed by machine, which turned out surprisingly well!  I stitched in the ditch on the front to catch the back binding.  Because this won't be used as a quilt, just as marketing, I didn't think the tiny details like that were as important as getting it done and back to New Jersey.

It's big!  Nick is holding it here and he's 6'1", and stretching his arms.  That's the most exercise he's had in a long time.

That's what I've been working on for the past week.  What about you?