Good day to you!  I'd like to share a little map I've created...

It shows the location of each of the participating shops in the 2015 Western Washington Quilt Shop Hop!  Over the next few days, my mom and I will find this helpful as we roadtrip around Western Washington.

 To learn more about the hop, visit it's official website - http://www.washingtonquiltshophop.com/

A Birthday Gift Accomplished

Maybe it's because I like to make my friends smile. Maybe it's because I'm always looking for my next sewing challenge. Maybe it's because I like getting cool gifts myself. Whatever the reason, I frequently find myself stashing ideas away - either on Pinterest, in my creativity journal, or little notes that I inevitably lose - for things that I just HAVE to make for upcoming birthdays, rainy days, and holidays.


In this case, the idea didn't just sit there, collecting dust -

I actually made it!

(I know, I'm not sure if I can believe it, either!)

 

I got the idea from these fabulous pillows that were made by one of my favorite fabric artists - Tula Pink.  The second I saw them, I thought of one of my closest friends - Christen. We're both a bit obsessed with London, English men, period costume dramas (think Pride and Prejudice), super heros, singing along to our favorite songs, fantastic shoes, coral (the color) and the list continues... As amazing as the pillows by Tula Pink were, I couldn't find a pattern for them, at least not in this style. So I stared at that little picture on her website until I got my courage gathered to do some quilt math. Quilt Math = Fractions. Fractions = Evil. I did pretty darn well in my math subjects in school, but I always shot the textbook, or my poor unfortunate teachers, a glare when fractions were brought up. I grabbed some graph paper, sketched out the design, and completed the arduous quilt math while watching an episode of Castle. Love that show. Just saying.

 

I was in awe, and a bit frightened, when I realized that Tula Pink had not only made cute flag pillows, but pretty dang accurate ones, too. There are fifty white squares in the stars section of the USA flag, for example. To get my stars section to the right size, and including those some 50 white squares and 49 blue squares, it meant that each square would end up being 5/8". EEK!  I had to take a couple deep breaths when I saw the final number.

 

 

 

 

 I forged ahead. To the left, you'll see the finished stars section, along with my prized Gingher's, for scale.

 

Tuesday's work involved making a lot of strips of strips. I would sew lengths of presumaly random fabrics together, and then cut those strips to the width needed on the pillow. I found a great site that gave the exact dimension that a USA flag should be, but I didn't have the same luck with the Union Jack, so there was a lot of more trial and error involved with that one.  On Wednesday, the front of the USA flag pillow was done. I thought Thursday was going to end with just a completed Union Jack, but I ended up staying up a little later to finish the backs, too.

 

 

 

 

 

I woke up on Friday, the day that I wanted to give Christen her gift, and found that I was surprisingly on schedule and ready to go. I'm usually the first one to point out all the flaws in my work. With these, I'm pretty darn satisified with how they turned out!

 

The best compliment that I've gotten on these pillows came from the birthday girl herself, Christen. She said that they keep making her smile. I can't ask for better than that.





Finished in
the nick of time!




In Bellingham, I'm fortunate enough to have three really good quilt shops - Fourth Corner Quilts, Two Thimbles, and Fabric - Etc. Each year, Fabric - Etc., hosts a charity quilt drive, called Bonnie's Team. Fabric - Etc., provides the backing fabric and the batting, and the completed quilts are donated to Bellingham's Madrona Infusion Center. (You can learn more about it here. )

At the beginning of August, when I picked out the backing fabric, I had delusions that I would get it done early this year! I remembered how last year, it felt like I barely got it turned in on the due date itself! 

Well... History, at least my history, has a way of repeating itself.

 

I was out of town, visiting some friends in Tennessee, at the beginning of October. When I came back home, I made a list of projects that I wanted to make before Christmas. Then I had the startling realization that I only had ten days to start, finish, and turn in, my Bonnie's Team quilt! 

I didn't even have a design in mind... 

Thank Heavens for Pinterest!

 

As I lie in bed, panicking about how to incorporate something fun, yet sophisticated, and all with the color pallet of the backing fabric, I started scrolling through my Quilting board on Pinterest. I found the perfect fit in Mod Chevron Baby Quilt, designed by Rashida Coleman-Hale. To get it to the size requirements needed, I did a little tweaking. Quilt math is always my favorite (sarcasm intended). After digging through my stash of fabric for just the right colors - I'm so picky that it even gets on my nerves - I was ready to get down to business!

 

I started cutting and assembly work on Friday, October 12th, and finished the quilting and binding on Tuesday, October 16th!  Not too shabby, if I say so myself.  If I look too closely as the quilt, I get annoyed, because I can see several spots where I didn't get corners/points matched up perfectly. I wouldn't go so far to say that half-square triangles are my nemesis, but they definitely won't get added to my Christmas card list, either, if you know what I mean.

      

Here she is, in all her glory! Done with only a few days to spare. (Maybe procratination really does work for me??)

 

Some Projects Just Take a Little Longer than Others...

I finished two quilts within a week!!

Hold up... It sounds way more impressive than it actually is.

Back in November, I had the opportunity to housesit for one of my two best friends, Chrissy. While there, I spent my days working on sewing projects.  When my neck and shoulder started to complain a bit too much, I would read for a while, then go back to sewing. Since I had an entire house to myself, it gave me lots of counter space and floor space to spread out my projects, without fear of them attracting footprints from people, or pets.

There were apron patterns, pieces of in-progress purses, home decor projects, dresses in various stages of completion, and, naturally - quilts.

(What can I say?  I was overly optimistic about how much I thought I could complete over the course of 11 days.)  

Now, everyone, gather round and I will share the tale of two quilts.

Quilt #1 - "Rainbow Rag"

Back in July, I put up a post about the first rag quilt I made. It was a baby shower gift for a friend of mine, Jolene. Ever since then, I had been wanting to make one for myself, but I wasn't sure what spin to take on it. Then I remembered another quilt that I have in progress, called City Lot. I got the fabric for it while driving from Bellingham, WA, to Provo, UT, and then from there to Nashville, TN, and then back home to Bellingham. In each of the states I passed through, I got one piece of solid color Kona fabric. With the City Lot quilt, it will all be put together in a fantastically modern, and random, way, as a tactile reminder of that trip that I took with my mom. I absolutely love the look of that quilt, but my inner Lisa Frank hated that I gave up the lovely rainbow order in favor of something more abstract.

Enter the rag quilt!

I had OODLES of leftover fabric from the City Lot project, so I used it to put together this rag quilt. For the layout, I have to thank Constance, a young lady, and daughter of yet ANOTHER friend, Dawnette, (look, Ma!  I've got friends!!) that suggested that I try for a cascading color effect. This quilt really only took me about two or three days to complete, start to finish...

...and then there was Quilt #2 - "Laurel Star"

This project definitely took a bit more time. This is the first quilt I ever started, and the fourth or fifth one I've actually finished. I started working on it when I was 16 or 17 years old. For those of you that are Mormon, you'll understand when I tell you that it was one of my Laurel projects.  As you can see, it's a scrappy star quilt, all done in reds, dark blues, purples, and various pieces of cream-on-cream fabric. A representation of what my favorite colors were in my late teens. Oh, well. In August of 1996, I had finished putting all the blocks together and had also done the quilting. I know this, because of the little free-hand embroidery I had added to the lower right corner. So close, and yet so far... All that remained was the binding.

Since August of 1996, the nearly-finished quilt followed me as I dated, got engaged, married, lived in three different states, and divorced. In May of 2011, while sifting through box after box of accumulated stuff in a storage unit in Franklin, TN, Kaylee, my other best friend, triumphantly held up this quilt. I breathed a sigh of relief  at knowing that it wasn't lost forever, and then promptly packed it away to be ignored for yet another six months. Finally, while at Chrissy's house in November of 2011, approximately sixteen years after I had started it, I spent about two hours and added the binding. It's done.

Now, the Rainbow Raq quilt awaits me on cold evenings when I need some extra warmth as a I sit on the couch. The Laurel Star, however, stays on my bed, every now and then prompting me to reflect on all that I've seen, accomplished, and been through in the years that it took me to make it, from start to finish.

Purse, bag, tote bag, and... oh look! Another purse!

So I've been thinking about this sewing journey lately...

I've had some very basic sewing skills for a couple decades now (you should have been around for my pillow-making phase when I was ten-ish!) but it's only been over the past year that I've really focused on developing this talent. I like to practice new (to me) techniques on things like purses and aprons, before attempting them on actual clothing.

On the left is a picture of the purse I just finished sewing for my mom. The pattern I used is called Birdie Sling, and it's by Amy Butler. It's the fourth Birdie Sling I've made (one for myself, one for Kaylee, one for Wendy, and now this one for Mom). I surprised myself on this one, though... After cutting out all the pieces and ironing on the interfacing, I realized that I didn't know where the instructions were. I continued on, and completed the purse instruction-free! 

Yeah for my memory!!!

As I finished this Birdie Sling, I started to wonder how many purses I've made in this past year.  I scurried around the house, gathering the purses. I looked through the pictures I've taken of things I've made and given away, and came to the grand total of eleven. Yep. 11 purses in the past year, with 3 more that are currently "under construction."

Here's my proof...

Birdie Sling, same as the purse I made for my mom. This one was for Kaylee Jones. The fabric called to me and I knew I had to make it for her. It's just soooooooooo Kaylee!  I gave it to her on 09/24/10 when I was visiting Nashville on a roadtrip. (I quickly took a photo of it in my hotel room before bringing it to her. It's still all wrinkled from being in my suitcase. Oops.)

The purse in the front is called a Two Hour Tulip by Anything But Boring.  I made it for Jessie, my niece. The purse behind it is the other Birdie Sling that I made for someone other than adorable li'l ol' me, and it went to Wendy, my sister-in-law. These were my Christmas presents to the two of them in 2010. (Hence, the snow in the background of the picture!)

And here are the rest!  (Well, including the one I just made my mom... It's on the right hand side.)  Should I admit, in print, that of the eleven purses I've finished, six of them have been for me??  What can I say?!  It's not going to stop me from making more. ;-)

It's "Bow Wow Blankie" Time!

About a week ago, I finished a small quilt as a gift for Liam's 2nd birthday.

Liam is the son of Chris and Jennifer, good friends of mine. I would have posted this earlier, but I wanted to wait until after the quilt had arrived at its final destination in Reston, VA. I've received confirmation that it has been received, and is already being enjoyed, so now I'm able to share my little accomplisment!

I used a pattern called "Bow Wow Blankie," by All Through the Night. The instant I saw it, I knew I wanted to make it for Liam. I was originally planning to make it as a Christmas present, but I came up with other plans for that, and I didn't want to ditch this idea... So with two weeks to get it done, start to finish, I decided to take on the challenge!  I love that the quilt incorporates both pieced blocks (the stars) and applique (the doggie pull-toys). Applique is a skill that I've only had for the past year, so I'm still not completely confident in my abilities with it yet.

Surprisingly, I had the top finished in two days! 

Yes, just two days!  Granted, two insane days of cutting and late-night sewing, but still.... Two days!  The actual quilting part, where I had to sew the quilt sandwich together (top, batting, and back) took quite a bit longer. Pulling the quilt through and around the sewing machine wore my shoulder out really quick, so I had to do it in little spurts with long breaks inbetween.

Justin, a great friend of mine, and, coincidentally, Liam's uncle, helped me design a label for the back. My mind was coming up with this picture of a little girl, wearing an apron and glasses, but I cannot draw to save my life, so I enlisted Justin's help. I added the "For Liam on his 2nd birthday" and the date the quilt was finished, but everything else was pure Justin!  I ADORE how it turned out!  I'll be sending the design in to have actual woven labels made that I can add to the things I make!  I can't wait to see how they turn out!  Even though this particular label was created using my printer and a product called "Printed Treasures," it does not run!  Trust me, I washed and dried the quilt after I finished it, just to make sure!  :)

I have to say, even though I know that I didn't do a perfect job on this quilt (it's obvious, to me, that I'm still a beginner at this) that I'm pretty proud of how it turned out!  I was downright giddy to get this feedback from Jennifer (Liam's mom):

"... By the way Yvonne, thank you SO MUCH for the incredible birthday gift. We came home and the package was there waiting for us. We immediately opened it and were just blown away! Liam LOVES the blanket! Within 15 minutes of opening your gift he was curled up in it, taking a nap given the exhaustion of his wild birthday party. :-) I took a pic with Kaylee's camera and will have her send it to you. It made the trip with us and he used it all day in the car yesterday. It's really too cute...oh, and the tag is the coolest! THANKS AGAIN!"

Oh, to give credit where credit is due... All of the fabric (and the pattern, too, come to think of it) was purchased at Fabrics, Etc. here in Bellingham, WA.

The Bopple Ball Challenge!

Since I had never seen anything like this before, I'll explain it as if noone has seen anything like this before...

In other words, with a LOT of pictures! 

Introducing, the Bopple Ball! 

As you can see, the Bopple Ball is a ball with a MILLION  little arms coming off of it. Okay, maybe not a million... really there was only 14 of the little buggers. It certainly felt like a never-ending amount while I was in the process of stuffing those bad boys. More on that later.

THE REASON:

A good friend of mine, that I've known for over two decades (EEK!) gave birth to her fifth child - a not-so-little boy named Joshua. I wasn't sure what to make. My mind automatically defaulted to the rag quilt that I'd made previously, but since this whole sewing blitz is still rather new for me, I wanted to try to make something I hadn't made before. Babies are great for experimentation. I mean... trying out new sewing projects.. not mind games or mazes with little pacifiers at the end. Hmm... 

BACK TO THE SEWING PROJECT!

As his name implies, he's a boy, so all the cute little girl outfits I'd seen were obviously out of the question. I was walking around Fourth Corner Quilts (yes, you can find me there quite regularly) when I came across the Bopple Ball pattern by Vanilla House Designs.

THE PROCESS:

If you've read my other posts, you have discovered that I have been known to sew aprons, quilt blocks, purses... I've even made a lined, princess seamed jacket, complete with a mandarin-style collar. (I'll post about that later.) Yeah. This thing, at times, felt like the hardest thing I've ever made. Granted, it had some really cool sewing shortcuts, like folding one piece of fabric in half, right sides together, and drawing all fourteen arms on it, sewing on those lines, and THEN cutting them out - BRILLIANT!  Mainly, my frustration came from the turning and stuffing of said arms. I was trying to find a rhythm for completing them... Nope. I tried distracting myself so the process wouldn't seem so arduous... Nope. I was in the living room, with the TV on in the background, and my mom walked in and started laughing at me.  Why?  Because I was repeatedly shoving the back end of a crochet hook down the end of one of those wretched little arms to get the stuffing as firm as I wanted it. She seemed to think I was getting out some frustration... Hmm. Maybe I should approach it from that tactic!

THE RESULT:



IN ACTION!  Thank you, Mom, for being my hand model! ;)



So, all of my ranting about the arms aside... The trouble was worth it!  It's irresistable - you can't help but want to play with it!  It was universally liked - my DAD even thought it was cute!  Best of all - the look on my friend's face when she saw what it was and that I made it. Can't beat that feeling. :) 

ps... In case any of ya'll are thinking that I'm somehow wonderfully talented at sewing, let me show you Exhibit A, which will demonstrate how false that idea is... The pattern required that, after stuffing the ball, that the opening be stitched shut...

(cue the evil music) 

BY HAND!

As the picture makes clear, this is an area where I have a LOT of room for improvement.