Christmas Gift Bag Collection

One of my personal Christmas traditions is making fabric gift bags to wrap presents in. As usual, I used Jeni Baker’s Lined Drawstring Bag pattern. This year, I started by making a few Artist Bags, and then made Project, Everything and Snack Bags with the leftover scraps and yardage. That system worked better for me than starting with Everything bags made from fat quarters, as I seem to use up the bigger bags the quickest. In addition to the ones I finished in November, I made seven bags in December, for a total of eleven bags. While they all turned out lovely, next year I’d like to make more, and sooner in the year. By the time December rolls around, I find myself knee-deep in festive activities with little time to sew. I still have a stack of Christmas yardage on hand, so that should be an attainable goal.

Linen Cocktail Napkins

After Plan A for handmade Christmas gifts bit the dust, I needed a Plan B, and fast. Remembering my mom’s recent interest in handmade napkins, I decided to try out Purl Bee’s Linen Thanksgiving Napkins. Given the amount of linen in my stash and the number of recipients I had in mind, I decided to make 10” cocktail napkins instead of 16” dinner napkins. Pulling sixteen fat quarters didn’t even make a dent in my stash of quilting cottons. Once the fabrics were chosen, I set to work. Less than three days later, I had four sets of four cocktail napkins ready to gift.

For my mom, who shined the light of inspiration on me, I used Sun Print Feathers by Alison Glass.

 

 

 

For my mother-in-law, whom I treasure dearly, I used long-hoarded Lizzy House fabric from the 1001 Peeps line.

 

For my grandma, who taught me the value of using color boldly, I used Jeni Baker’s Color Me Retro fabric with coordinating colors of Sketch by Timeless Treasures.

 

 

For my husband’s grandma, a fellow quilter who feeds my Christmas bag-making addiction, I used some of my favorite Christmas fabric by Kate Spain.

 

This tutorial was so easy and so much fun to follow! I genuinely enjoyed making these napkins and will keep them at the top of my list of last-minute handmade gifts.

 

 

Happy Christmas Hexagon Trivet

Of all the projects in Patchwork, Please!, I thought that the Happy Hexagon Trivet would be my favorite. Originally, I had intended to make one for most every person on my Christmas list. In the end, I counted it a success that I finished one at all! While I think that it’s a very cute design, I am still not sold on paper piecing as a technique. It’s just so fiddly with all the folding back of the paper and whatnot. I made things unnecessarily difficult for myself as I misplaced my copy of the book, and so had to muddle my way through the binding without the benefit of Ayumi’s instructions. Of course, I found the book during my post-Christmas decluttering of my sewing nook. At least I know what book to reach for next time I need to bind a hexagon!

 

My hexagon trivet was made with scraps from the Christmas gift bags I made this year, so most (but not all) of the fabric is from one or another of Kate Spain’s holiday lines. This project would be a great scrap buster, for those of the paper piecing persuasion.

Perseverance Prevails Quilt

While it's a little out of season, I am pleased as punch with my latest quilt. When I first started reading quilting blogs, the Internet was awash with red and neutral half-square triangle quilts, such as this one by Allison of Cluck Cluck Sew. When I signed up for Katie Pedersen's Half-Square Triangle class over two years ago, I figured it was the perfect time to get started. However, the local quilt store provided the class materials list for a different class, so I started off the project with the wrong yardage. Then I decided to make two different sizes of half-square triangle blocks, 2.5 inches and 5 inches. Between the itty-bitty blocks and the level of scrappiness that I was going for, the making of this quilt ended up taking longer than I would have liked. However, perseverance prevails and now it's finished! Even better, my little quilter-in-training loves it and was more than happy to help with the photoshoot. It took some time, but now I have a new quilt that the entire family can enjoy.

 

 

Dare To Be Different Halloween Quilt

Yay! I finally finished my first ever Halloween quilt! The pattern for this quilt is “Dare-to-Be-Different” by Karrie Winters, and can be found in the Summer 2011 issue of Stitch magazine. I should call mine “Dare-to-Be-Difficult,” because I voluntarily made several changes to the pattern that resulted in a slightly more difficult and much more time-consuming quilt that the one laid out in the pattern.

 

Change #1: Instead of using five solid fabrics for the quilt top, I used upwards of two dozen prints (one purple, a dozen oranges, and a dozen blacks).

Change #2: I made the sashing scrappy instead of using the same fabric throughout.

Change #3: After machine quilting the sashing, I hand quilted the center of each block.

Change #4: The binding is scrappy as well.

 

To add to the difficulty of this quilt, we recently experienced a day-long power outage, so I ended up hand quilting by the light from our living room window, which resulted in some very unhappy shoulder and neck muscles.

 

The only easy part of this quilt was choosing the backing: Pearl Bracelet by Lizzy House in black, of course.

 

All in all, this quilt took me almost thirteen months to complete. I may have made this quilt unnecessarily complex, but that’s why I love it! I didn’t have to hand quilt it, but I am so, so happy with how it turned out. Even though Halloween has passed, this quilt will be left out until I decorate for Christmas.

 

 

Pearl Bracelet Wiksten Tank

Recently, I made another Wiksten Tank. (This is my fourth one, if anyone’s counting.) This time I used one of my favorite prints: Pearl Bracelets by Lizzy House. This particular yardage is actually the leftovers of the backing for the Halloween quilt I’m currently working on. I don’t have anything new to say about this pattern, so here are some pictures.

 

 

Domino Staple Dress

I am determined to master garment sewing, no matter how long it takes. However, I’ve run across a few bumps in the road along the way. Last Fall, I make my first garment: a Wiksten tank dress. After that, I kept using the pattern again and again and again. As much as I love it, I really wanted to branch out and tried two different Colette patterns (Laurel and Taffy). Alas, I was stymied by fit issues and never got past the muslin stage on either of them. Instead of giving up, I decided I needed professional help.

 

In order to improve my garment sewing skills before I attempted a very fitted pattern again, I signed up for the Intro to Apparel | The Staple Dress at Drygoods Design. The dress is loose and forgiving, but called for the use of elastic thread and a serger, neither of which I had used before. It seemed a good next step in my sewing journey. Before the class, I washed my fabric (Waterfront Park by Violet Craft Domino Dot Navy), took my measurements, and traced the pattern onto freezer paper, which turned out to be a very good idea.

 

Did you know that Drygoods Design’s studio provides sewing machines (and a serger!) for you to use during classes? I didn’t, so the first night I ended up lugging my beloved Elna across half of Ballard, and arrived late to the class. Thankfully, my fellow students were still tracing their patterns, so I wasn’t behind! I spent a lovely two evenings sewing and soaking up Julienne’s tricks and tips. I think my favorite was that you can align the pocket pattern to the dress pattern before you cut it out, to reduce the number of seams you have to sew.

 

Sadly, the class ended before my dress was finished, and the elastic thread wasn’t cooperating. Luckily, the interwebs came to the rescue, and I was able to fix the problem. For my machine, I have to hand wind the bobbin assertively, leave it on the default stitch length, and apply generous amounts of water and ironing after stitching. (Due to an unfortunate encounter with a cat who thought the ironing board was her territory, my iron’s steam feature no longer functions. Otherwise, I would apply generous amounts of steam.)

 

What I love about this dress:

• Pockets!
• It’s easy if you’re comfortable with sergers and elastic thread.
• It has a high-low hem.
• It’s flattering (and not fitted).
• The sleeves are part of the main pattern piece.
• Did I mention it has pockets?

What I don’t love about this dress:

• The quilting cotton I used is too bulky for this pattern. I should have used actual apparel fabric.
• If I don’t wear a belt, the dress slides off my shoulder when I put my cell phone in my pocket.

All in all, this class did what I hoped it would do. At the end, I was left with a new garment, new skills, and increased confidence. Not bad for just two evenings!

Zakka 2.0 Sew Along: Prettified Pincushion

 

Even though the Prettified Pincushion is the last pattern in Patchwork, Please!, it was the first one that I completed. Never having attempted paper piecing before, I asked my mom for a lesson before the sew along started. I was glad to have her guidance and moral support, as the technique proved to be a tad too finicky for my improv-loving soul. During my first attempt, I used the teeny tiny fabric pieces called for in the pattern, and it was a disaster. Undaunted, I switched over to using 2.5” squares and then trimmed them down after sewing each seam, which worked much better for me. After a long afternoon of diminutive patchwork, my admiration for Ayumi’s skills only increased. At the end of the day, I was the proud owner of a cute new pin cushion, which is now put to regular use.

 

For those of you who may be nervous about trying paper piecing or another new-to-you technique, I encourage you to jump in! Even if you find out that it’s not your cup of tea, you may also find that you like the end result enough to make it worth the time and effort.

 

Note: Not having linen scraps on hand, I used cotton scraps instead. In lieu of Polyfill, I filled the pincushion with 1.5 cups of crushed walnut shells.

 

 

Terrain St. Louis Sixteen Baby Quilt

Isn’t it amazing how going on vacation can inspire and revitalize you? After a week away from home (and my sewing machine), I was fired up to sew, sew, sew! I wanted to work on something fun and easy, so I grabbed some Kate Spain fabric I had been hoarding and set to work, even though that meant ignoring my existing WIPs.

 

I started this blog in April 2011 to document and inspire my quilting journey, but I’ve also ended up using other online tools as well. After double-checking Pinterest and Evernote, I was able to piece together this quilt’s short, yet long, history:

• Early August 2011: I pinned The Quilt That Twinkled by Blue Elephant Stitches to my Quilting Inspiration board on Pinterest.

• Mid August 2011: I purchased a Terrain Jelly Roll and Bella Solids Terrain Iris yardage from Fat Quarter Shop for the top and binding, respectively.

• Late October 2011: I purchased Terrain Mist Lichen yardage for the backing, also from Fat Quarter Shop.

• November 2011-July 2013: The fabric sat unloved and neglected in my laundry room closet.

• August 2013: I did some quick math and sketching, and completed the quilt in 16 days. (Hey! I made a St. Louis 16 Patch quilt in 16 days! How 'bout that.)

 

Why is it that I can finish one quilt in a little over two weeks, while another one takes me over two years just to finish the top? I have a few ideas:

• Planning: I had a clear vision before I started and did not have to make any major design decisions on the fly.

• Simplicity: The pattern I chose was simple and lent itself to strip piecing.

• Preparation: I had everything I needed on hand before I made a single cut or sewed a single seam.

• Energy: My vacation gave me the energy to make a strong start.

• Inspiration: It kept me going even when I returned to my everyday life and its demands.

• Focus: With the exception of a little bit of piecing for the backing of another quilt, I only worked on this quilt until it was done. No Zakka, no bags, just quilts.

 

At 48”x48”, this quilt is the perfect size for a baby quilt. So much so, that it has my sweet toddler’s seal of approval. She insisted on helping with the photo shoot, and assumed that the quilt was for her.

Lately, I’ve seen this pattern all over the blogosphere. Turns out there was an informal Instagram sew-along for St. Louis 16 patch quilts recently (#stlouis16patch). If you don’t have Instagram, there’s also a Flickr group. Be sure to check out all the other great versions of this quilt out there.

 

Mini Doll Quilts for the Traveling Toddler

Our family did a bit of traveling this summer, so I was on the look-out for small, portable toys that would keep my sweet toddler entertained on-the-go. Her favorite toys are baby dolls, but her normal dolls were too big for long trips. I bought a few Disney Princess Magiclip figures, which she liked, but something was missing. They didn’t have blankets! (My daughter loves piling blankets and quilts on dolls and people alike. I wonder where she gets it from?)

 

One evening, I sat down with my box of 5” charm squares and my bag of leftover binding, and in no time I had a custom mini doll quilt for each princess. I popped the dolls and mini quilts in a previously made drawstring bag, and they ended up being a welcome distraction while traveling.

 

 

Emerald Bracelet Lap Quilt

Ready to see my latest quilt finish? Here it is!

 

 

This quilt has been on my mind for what seems like years, but it only took about five months from cutting to binding. The pattern is Spice Market by Modern Quilt Studio, and I made the 50” x 80” napping size. The top is pieced from a variety of Kona solids, the backing is Pearl Bracelet by Lizzy House, and the binding is Crosshatch Sketch by Timeless Treasures. I quilted it with white Aurifil 50 WT thread.

 

 

The pattern was easy to follow and the piecing technique was enjoyable. I’m contemplating making another one in all blues, or low volume, or scrappy, or… I'll just put this pattern back on the shelf until I decide which color scheme to use next.

 

 

Zakka 2.0 Sew Along: Yum-Yum Apple Bib

Patchwork, Please! is filled with the kind of super cute projects that Ayumi Takahashi is known for, and this adorable bib is no exception. For such a small object, this bib sure gave me a heap of trouble. First, I quilted the apple body without completing the intended embroidery, so I had to embroider the seeds rather awkwardly.

 

 

I very carefully cut and sewed double-fold binding tape, but could not for the life of me figure out how to neatly transition the binding into straps. Perhaps I should have used single-fold bias tape, but I’m so accustomed to using the double-fold variety that I didn’t even think twice about it. I’ll have to try that next time, as this charming bib would be perfect for gift giving.

Zakka 2.0 Sew Along: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Towels

Well, my linen dishtowels didn’t turn out quite like the Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Towels in Patchwork, Please!, but I’m okay with that. My towels are smaller, embroidered instead of patchwork, and more subdued. Once I got started, I didn’t stop at breakfast, lunch and dinner, but also made towels for second breakfast, elevenses and afternoon tea. I did, however, follow Ayumi’s instructions for machine piecing binding, which I had never done before, and it worked like a charm. This Zakka 2.0 Sew Along is lots of fun, even if I’m not following each project to the letter.