Slow sewing

I was going to whip up a pillow cover this evening (the block was already finished) and then I decided to add some hand quilting. Not so much "whipping up" anymore... But nice to keep my hands busy while watching some olympic swimming:)



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What I accomplished this week...

July seems to be a slow sewing month, even though my intentions have been good. This week we spent Mon-Fri at my in-laws' lake house and I'd brought along lots of hand sewing projects.

Juli ser ut til å bli en måned med lite sying, selv om jeg har hatt veldig gode intensjoner. Denne uka var vi på hytta til svigers fra mandag til fredag og jeg hadde med masse håndsømsprosjekter.

And what did I sew? ONE seam. Yupp, here it is in all its glory:

Og hva fikk jeg sydd? EN søm. Jepp, og her er den i all sin prakt:

I have high expectations of great cuteness for the final product and will reveal what it is in about a week (I have a deadline on this, so it HAS to be done by next weekend).
Jeg har store forventninger til at det ferdige produktet skal være supersøtt og skal dele hva det er om ca. en uke (jeg har en frist på denne, så den MÅ være ferdig til neste helg).


This weekend, I finally got around to sewing the second Mystery BOM from Fat Quarter Shop. Such pretty fabric! And I can hardly believe how nicely the points met (I say, as I pat myself on the back).
Denne helgen fikk jeg endelig sydd den andre Mystery BOM fra Fat Quarter Shop. Så fint stoff! Og så flink jeg var til å få fine spisser på stjernen i midten (sier jeg og klapper meg selv på skulderen).



Have you seen such perfection? (You probably have... I'm not the only one capable of nice seams.)
Har du sett noe så perfekt? (Det har du sikkert... Jeg er ikke den eneste som kan sy pent.)



As I did last month, I once again made a second, smaller version of the block.
Akkurat som jeg gjorde forrige måned, lagde jeg også en mindre versjon av blokken.



OK, so what didn't I get accomplished this week? My Dear Jane blocks. So I am 2 blocks behind. Better get on that! Some of them take a LONG time to sew.
Så hva fikk jeg ikke sydd denne uka? Mine Dear Jane blokker. Så jeg er 2 blokker på etterskudd. Må nok komme igang med det! Noen av de tar LANG tid å sy.

I am linking up today with BOM's Away! at What a Hoot. Lynn (whose blog it is) is a fellow Janiac and sews such perfectly pieced blocks and quilts it almost makes me embarrased to share my stuff online, not to mention linking up to her blog. Seriously! How does she do it?


PS: I just realized I am on a roll with sewing stuff in red/pink/aqua/green combo. Come back in a day or two to see the finished product from this block:

Dear Jane 11 & 12

Dear Jane,
this first block (K8) I assembled by paper piecing. I'm not sure how I feel about paper piecing. It is such a hassle removing the paper at the end... But it does allow for making complex blocks quite easily. I'm not happy about the cross in the middle not lining up perfectly. But not unhappy enough to use the seam ripper on it. If I don't focus my eyes, then it looks fine:)
Dear (Kjære) Jane,
denne første ruten ble sydd med papirsøm. Jeg vet ikke helt om jeg liker papirsøm. Det er sånt makkverk å fjerne papiret på slutten... Men det gjør det enkelt å sy sammen vanskelige mønster. Jeg er ikke fornøyd med at krysset i midten ikke er helt rett. Men ikke misfornøyd nok til at jeg finner frem sprettekniven. Hvis jeg ikke fokuserer øynene, ser den helt fin ut:)

Dear Jane,
this second block (A7) is my favorite appliqued block so far. Maybe my favorite overall. I think it is pretty!
Kjære Jane,
denne andre ruten er min favoritt blant de jeg har applikert så langt. Kanskje favoritt av alle rutene jeg har sydd så langt. Jeg syns den er veldig pen!

If you want to see how my mother cheated and has been making more blocks per week then we agreed upon (2 per week), then you can click here. No hard feelings:)

Hvis du vil se hvordan moren min jukser og lager flere ruter per uke enn vi har avtalt kan du klikke her. Jeg er ikke fornærmet, altså:)

Marit

WIP Wednesday

So it's been a few weeks since I last posted a WIP Wednesday. I haven't had as much time to sew as I would wish for. Baby girl has decided to be difficult to get to sleep at night. I am hoping it will be a quickly passing phase...
Det er et par uker siden jeg sist skrev et WIP Wednesday-innlegg. Jeg har ikke hatt så mye tid til å sy som jeg skulle ønske. Lillejenta har bestemt seg for å være vanskelig å legge om kvelden. Håper det er er kortvarig fase...

Completed Projects/Ferdige prosjekter

Not much to brag about here, just a couple small items...
Ikke mye å skryte av her, bare et par småsaker...

Apple of My iPad Cover

Elephant Zip Bag



Ongoing Projects/Løpende prosjekter


Not much progress - a few more blocks for my Dear Jane quilte are completed. I just received the second block for the Mystery Block of the Month in the mail today. Mail is slow from Texas to Norway!
Ikke mye fremgang - noen flere ruter for Dear Jane er ferdige. Jeg fikk akkurat den andre pakken for Mystery Block of the Month i posten i dag. Posten tar lang tid fra Texas til Norge!

Dear Jane quilt
10 of 169 squares complete!/10 av 169 ruter ferdige!



Mystery Block of the Month
Although I didn't get to the second block yet, I did start making some hexies using the mini charm pack I got with the first package. It will probably become a cushion. I need more fabric to finish this project, so it won't be completed until I have enough scraps from the monthly blocks.
Selv om jeg ikke har lagd den andre ruten ennå, har jeg begynt å lage noen sekskanter med mini-charmpacken jeg fikk første måned. Det vil nok bli en pute. Jeg trenger mer stoff til dette, så den blir ikke ferdig før jeg har nok stoffrester fra de månedlige pakkene.



New Projects/Nye prosjekter


Cherry Blossom Quilt
I realized both the quilts I am working on are long-term projects with completion dates next year! So I "needed" to start a quilt that I could get done quicker. I decided to make the Cherry Blossom quilt from the book "With Fabric and Thread" using California Girl from Moda. I have the colored fabric pieces cut and just need to cut the background fabric to get started. I am excited about this quilt - I think the colors will be perfect for spring, summer and fall and I can't wait to snuggle up under it on the couch!
Siden begge quiltene jeg jobber på er langtidsprosjekter, "måtte" jeg starte på ett som kunne bli ferdig raskere. Jeg bestemte meg for å bruke et mønster fra boken "With Fabric and Thread" og stoffet California Girl fra Moda. Så langt har jeg bare begynt å klippe stoffet. Jeg syns fargene passer så fint til både vår, sommer og høst og jeg gleder meg til å kose meg under teppet på sofaen i høst!



Vintage Holiday Quilt Along
I am joining Heidi at Fabric Mutt for the Vintage Holiday Quilt Along and I have selected my fabrics - a layer cake of Alpine Wonderland from Riley Blake, plus some extras from my stash to fill in the extras. Although the sewing doesn't commence until August I have started cutting the fabric for the blocks, because I want to make something with the scraps and needed to know what I would have left.
Jeg skal bli med på en Vintage Holiday Quilt Along med Heidi hos Fabric Mutt. Jeg har valgt ut stoffene og selv om syingen ikke begynner før august, har jeg begynt å klippe ut delene. Jeg vil lage noe med restene og må vite hva jeg har til overs.



Christmas in July/Jul i juli
There are a few Christmas in July events going on and with the scraps from my Vintage Holiday quilt, I hope to make a couple paper pieced cushions using this tutorial from Sew Festive Handmake and this tutorial from Don't Call me Betsy. Hope I get them done in July!
Det er noen Jul i Juli grupper i gang og med restene fra mitt Vintage Holiday quilt håper jeg å lage noen puter i papirsøm. Håper jeg blir ferdig med de i juli!




I am linking up today with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced. Head on over and see what other creatives are up to!

Dear Jane 9 & 10

Hooray - I am done with the first 10 blocks of my Dear Jane Quilt. All the first 10 blocks were interpretations of the 9-patch, and I must say I am ready to move on to new and more varied designs now.
Hurra, jeg er nå ferdig med mine første 10 lapper til mitt Dear Jane-prosjekt. De første 10 lappene var variasjoner av vanlig 9-patch og jeg må si jeg er klar for nye og mer varierte mønster nå.


This block (F6) was a bit annoying to me with the tiny applique in the middle. It was supposed to be needle turn appliqued, but it was too fussy for me as I really wanted to get it done, so I opted for raw edge applique using fusible web and a blanket stitch. This might be frowned upon by some Dear Janers, but I'm a modern girl and I will do things my way!
Denne lappen (F6) var litt irriterende med den bittelille applikasjonen i midten. Den skulle vært applikert med sømmonn brettet under, men det ble for pirkete for meg som veldig gjerne ville bli ferdig med den. Så jeg valgte å feste med vliesofix og knapphullssøm. Kanskje ikke viden akseptert av Dear Jane-entusiaster, men jeg er ung og gjør som jeg vil!



The second block for this week (L7) was OK. Not too exciting to piece and not too exciting to look at. Hey, I'm keeping it real. With 169 square blocks to make, I can't promise to love each and every one of them. Am I right?
Den andre lappen for denne uka (L7) var helt grei. Ikke alt for spennende hverken å sette sammen eller se på. Jeg må vel ikke elske hver og en av de 169 firkantede lappene jeg skal sy sammen. Eller hva?



The next installment of 10 blocks is selected by my mom and is called "criss-cross". Her selection is much more varied than mine, both in looks and construction methods. Should get interesting.
De neste 10 lappene er valgt av min mor og heter "kryss og tvers". Hennes utvalg er mye mer variert enn mine, både i utseende og konstruksjonsmetode. Nå begynner det å bli interessant!


Marit

Elephant Zip Bag - fixed and done!

Hello and Happy Monday to you! In my last post, all I could share was a sad photo of a project that needed to get acquainted with my seam ripper. Now I am happy to report that the project is mended and completed. Yay!
Hallo og God Mandag! I siste innlegg hadde jeg bare et trist bilde av et prosjekt som skulle utsettes for sprettekniven. Nå kan jeg med glede rapportere at prosjektet er fikset og ferdig - hurra!





Here are some details about the project:
La meg fortelle litt mer om den:


Pattern - Perfect Zip Bag option C by Elizabeth Hartman. This is the first pouch I've made from this pattern and I am quite pleased. The instructions are thorough and lead to a nicely finished product.
Mønster - Perfect Zip Bag variant C av Elizabeth Hartman. Dette er første tasken jeg lager med dette mønsteret og jeg er ganske så fornøyd. Mønsteret var godt forklart og førte til et fint sluttprodukt.

Fabric - Various prints from Tradewinds by Moda. I only had fabric to get one centered elephant, therefore I chose a coordinating fabric for the back. The lining is a bit more colorful.
Stoff - Diverse trykk fra Tradewinds fra Moda. Jeg hadde bare nok stoff til å ha en sentrert elefant, derfor valgte jeg et koordinerende stoff for baksiden. Fôret er litt mer fargerikt.



Favorite part - The fact that the zipper really did turn out quite perfect - much nicer than I've ever achieved before!
Favorittdel - At glidelåsen faktisk ble ganske så perfect - mye penere enn jeg har fått til før i alle fall!


Overall I don't have any least favorite parts about this project. Besides that I had to get out the seam ripper... I guess my only regret would be that I didn't have a zipper with a puller I could attach a tab or handle to, like the version in the pattern had. That would have given the pouch a little extra interest.
Jeg har ikke så mye her jeg ikke er fornøyd med. Bortsett fra at jeg måtte frem med sprettekniven... Jeg antar det eneste jeg skulle ønske var at jeg hadde en glidelås jeg kunne festet et håndtak på slik originalen på mønsteret hadde. Det ville gitt tasken det lille ekstra.


I would recommend this pattern to anyone wanting to make pouches with a professional finish - it is very good! I have a feeling this will be my go-to pattern for pouches in the future, and the patterns can easily be adapted to any size you wish. This pouch will be making its way to a good friend of mine who I instantly thought of when I picked out the elephant print (she had a Hindu wedding and had elephants on her invitations and also as place card holders).
Jeg vil anbefale dette mønsteret til alle som ønsker å lage tasker med et profesjonelt finish - det var veldig bra! Jeg har på følelsen at dette vil bli mitt grunnmønster for tasker jeg lager i fremtiden og mønstrene kan enkelt justeres i størrelse. Denne tasken skal sendes til ei god venninne som hadde et hindu-bryllup og hadde elefanter på invitasjonene og som holdere for navneskiltene i bryllupet.


Today I am linking up to Plum and June's Let's Get Acquainted Monday Link Up. Sorry I don't have any tutorials for you yet, my blog is so new!!! If you leave a comment, why don't you let me know what your favorite bag or pouch pattern is? Or any comment you wish, really...

Making friends

I was hoping to share something pretty with you. Instead I am making friends with my seam ripper:(
(Jeg skulle vise noe fint i dag. I stedet tilbringer jeg kvelden med sprettekniven.)



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Apple of My iPad Cover

Here it is - my brand new iPad cover! Isn't it very happy and fun?
Her er mitt nye iPad cover - er den ikke lystig?




Let me tell you a little more about it:
La meg fortelle litt mer om den:

Inspiration - This pillow case from Sewlandia. OK, so my iPad case is a very loose interpretation, but I'd been wanting to make something with a chevron pattern and this tutorial was a kick in my butt to get it done.
Inspirasjon var et putetrekk med liknende mønster. Jeg hadde lenge tenkt på å lage noe med slikt sikk-sakk mønster (det er jo så populært for tiden) og denne puten var et tupp i baken for å komme igang.

Fabric - Apple of My Eye (leading to the name of the project) and Millie's Closet from Riley Blake, the yellow solid is Kona Cotton in Lemon. A brighter combo than I'm used to. I was about halfway through construction when I noticed the connection between the apples on the fabric and the apple on my iPad. Hello!
Stoffet er Apple of My Eye og Millie's Closet fra Riley Blake, samt Kona Cotton i Lemon som bakgrunnsfarge. Mye mer fargerikt enn jeg er vant til. Jeg var omtrent halvferdig med prosjektet da jeg merket koblingen mellom eplene på stoffet og eplelogoen på iPaden. Hallo!


Method - Front and back quilted seperately to lining, then bound on top and finally bound all the way around to make it into a pouch. Velcro flap added by hand at the end (using instructions from a book by Lise Szymanski, a wonderful Danish purse designer).
Metoden jeg brukte var å quilte for- og bakstykket til fôret, for deretter å sette skråbånd på øverste kant og deretter sy det sammen til en mappe ved å sette skråbånd rundt sidene og bunnen. Deretter håndsydde jeg på borrelåsklaffen etter instruksjoner fra en bok av Lise Szymanski.

Favorite part - Using a multicolored print for the binding - I think this adds some softness and interest to the otherwise quite angular look of the project. I've usually used a binding that emphasizes one of the colors in the project, but I really like the look of a binding with ALL the colors in it!
Favorittdelen av prosjektet må jeg si er det flerfargede skråbåndet. Det gir prosjektet det lille ekstra og myker det opp på en fin måte. Det er første gang jeg bruker skråbånd som plukker opp alle fargene i et prosjekt i stedet for å velge en av fargene, men jeg liker det!

Best fussy cut - apple on velcro flap:
Beste stoffklipp - eplet på klaffen:


Okay, and then what I'm not so happy about... The top got a little lumpy where some of the seams met. And the quilted lines are really quite wonky. I am a bad combination of impatient and perfectionist - so I often hurry to get something done and then end up not 100% satisfied with the result. Anyone else have this problem?
Det jeg ikke er så fornøyd med er at fronten ble litt bulkete et par steder hvor sømmene møtes. Og quiltingen er ganske skjev et par steder. Jeg er en dårlig kombinasjon av utålmodig og perfeksjonist - så jeg haster med å få noe ferdig for deretter å ikke være 100% fornøyd til slutt. Noen som kjenner seg igjen i dette?

All in all, I am quite happy about the final product and it will definately get used.
Men i det store og det hele er jeg fornøyd med resultatet og mappen kommer til å bli brukt.

Here are some final photos of finished front and back:
Noen siste bilder av for- og bakside:



Finally - an early Happy 4th of July to my US readers! There's a big Am-Car parade in my little town here in Norway every year to celebrate the 4th of July. I don't think baby girl will enjoy the noise and exhaust fumes this year - but maybe next year we'll participate and celebrate our American heritage.

Marit

June Recap - July Plans

Hello and welcome to my blog, dear reader (new and old)!

June is over and it was a month full of firsts - first time I'd ever blogged, first blocks were made for my Dear Jane quilt (like Farmer's Wife but more blocks...), first time sewing for charity, first time participating in a block-of-the month club, first time making paper pieced hexies, and the month of my thirty-first birthday.

DEAR JANE BLOCKS - 8 of 169 done!


PILLOW CASES FOR CHARITY


MYSTERY B.O.M.


HEXIE PROJECTS (not completed)



My favorite project of June was the Hexie pouch - top hexie photo - but I need to take it apart and reassemble it to get the zipper to my liking.

In recapping the month, I will also admit this was a month of high volume fabric and quilting book shopping... Not that I don't have quite a bit of these things already, but there's just so much cool new stuff to be had. I just got my tax refund (yay) and I had some money to spare for sewing stuff (double yay). Lots of packages in the mail (quite a few I will admit) and I will be waiting by our mail box every day this week. Now that July is here I am determined to do less shopping and more sewing. Unless I really NEED some fabric for a SPECIFIC fabric (as opposed to I WANT some fabric to keep in my STASH).


Plans for July sewing:

• Continue my two-per-week progress on Dear Jane (kind of feeling like a chore, but I think I just need some variation from the 9-patch designs we started out with)
• Participate in the Christmas in July event at Sew Festive Handmade - I LOVE homemade Christmas stuff and maybe I'll even get some Christmas gifts made this summer. Double bonus!

• Make zipper pouch based on this pattern, thus hopefully gaining important insight into making pouches with nice zipper areas and then fix Hexie zipper pouch as pictured above.
• Make some baprons for baby girl who is just starting to eat solids - some laminated cottons have been ordered and should arrive tomorrow according to UPS.
• Participate in the Vintage Christmas sew-along at Fabric Mutt - starting July 9th - I've been ogling this pattern for a couple of weeks now, so really excited about this one.
• Find a quilt pattern to make with my California Girl fabric, of which I accidentally bought two layer cakes (two times 42 10"x10" fabric squares) - love the fabric and hope to find a pattern soon that does it justice.
• Sew some paper pieced hexies for yet to be determined project (because I need something to sew that doesn't require a sewing machine - don't want to be in my sewing room all summer).

Okay - that is really it. To you Norwegian readers - sorry this is all in English, the post is just too long to translate!

I am linking up to Lily's Quilts Small Blog Meet today - if you are too, leave a comment and I'll come visit!