QuiltCon!

In just under a month I’ll be headed to Austin to partake in the Modern Quilt Guild’s first ever conference! I am really excited for a few reasons– I’ll get to catch up with some friends I haven’t seen in a while, there are some amazing speakers lined up, and I get to take a class with one of my all time favorite fabric designers!

To get to know others who will be at the conference, the Modern Quilt Guild has organized a link-up so that people’s faces will seem a little more familiar. I think this is a great idea, and so although I don’t love posting pictures of myself, I thought I’d join in. For fun, they’re also asking us to share 5 things about ourselves that people may not know! So– here are some bits of information about me you may or may not know…

1. I have sloooowly been converting to be vegetarian, and my husband and I try to eat vegan meals at least a few times a week. My whole family has shifted to this way of thinking and eating over time, and films like Forks over Knives have been very influential! My husband has been a vegetarian for years, and although I still reserve the right to eat meat on occasion, I would say I am 99% meat free.

2. I would rather sew than blog. I know it might be sacrilege to admit that on my blog, but I have made MANY more things than I share here. I’m the worst about photographing gifts– I tend to make them and then give them away without taking photos!

3. I spend most of my day in front of my computer working on research, and I really love it. I finished my Ph.D in psychology and women’s studies this past year, and now work as a postdoctoral research fellow. I’m hoping to someday be a professor at a college, where I can continue to teach and work on my research!

4. Quilting (and my quilting friends) kept me sane while I was in grad school. I think without feeding the creative part of my brain I’d have gone crazy!

5. I think all the time about why I quilt and craft, and what sort of value it adds to my life. At times, I feel compelled to create, as if making something tangible is a sign that I was here and spent my time well. If I don’t have time to sew for a while, I don’t feel quite right, like something is missing. If I have a new idea for a project, I often want to try it out RIGHT NOW, because I so want to see if it will work! And I always, always feel happy when I finish a quilt and can show everyone else what I saw in my head before I even cut into the first piece of fabric.

Are any of you heading to QuiltCon?? If so, let me know– I would love to meet up!!

Restocked!

It has been far too long since I’ve restocked my etsy shop, but I finally had a chance to update it, and now it’s filled with some soft and cozy goodies!

I made a large batch of upcycled scarves last year for craft shows, and I had a few left, ready to be listed for purchase! All scarves are made from sweaters containing only natural fibers that felt when washed (i.e., lambswool, merino, cashmere, etc.), and I always chose sweaters that were both soft and colorful for these projects!

My prism scarves were always a top seller at the craft fair, I think because people just can’t resist all of that color!

My latest twist on this last year was when I started working with JUST cashmere– and let me tell you, I am in love with the results! I made a test scarf that I wear nearly every day because it is so so soft and warm. My skin is sensitive to scratchy or itchy fibers, and I never have any problem with the cashmere. Cashmere can be a bit stretchy and slippery when sewing it, so to keep things sturdy and stable I made these scarves double-sided, with all raw seams enclosed on the inside. This makes for a reversible (and extra warm!) color blocked scarf. I try to keep similar colors together, as they tend to blend well and look nice no matter which way the scarf is tied.

I have a handful of these listed now, so get them while you can! I also have a few new baby quilts listed, which I’ll post about soon!

And through the end of the month I’m offering a 15% discount for Greenleaf Goods readers– just enter the coupon code GreenleafFan when you check out!

All Voile!

I’ve been dreaming of making an all voile quilt for a while now, especially since I have been sitting on a stack of gorgeous Anna Maria Horner voile. For the longest time I mulled over what would be the best pattern for this quilt, and it occurred to me last weekend– with fabric this gorgeous, I want to just highlight the prints and colors, and a simple patchwork would be best.

As soon as I decided on this, I got to ironing and cutting my fabric, and within a couple of days I had this pulled together!

Now the big questions are– should I back it with voile, or with flannel? All voile front and back would be so luxurious, though the flannel/voile combo is soft and cozy! Also, hand quilt or machine quilt?? I love the idea of using perle cotton in different colors and using running stitches along the length of the quilt, though machine quilting would be so sturdy and fast.

What would you do? Flannel or voile back? Hand or machine quilted? Help me decide!

A Quilt For Justin

Wow, time has been flying by this Winter! We had a great break, and were able to take a long road trip to visit family. Before Christmas, I was sewing like mad to get all my hand made gifts done in time. I barely got it all done– had to finish some binding on the road! But it was totally worth it to be able to give the gifts I made to my family.

There was one in particular that I was so happy to make this year– a quilt for my wonderful husband.

Although we have a number of quilts around the house, Justin would jokingly say that I had never made a quilt for him. I knew I needed to remedy this, so while he was at work I pieced the quilt top and back, basted and quilted the quilt, and hand finished the binding– all in the course of one week! I was careful not to let him see the quilt pieces so he wouldn’t know this was coming.

I decided to make a quilt using solid fabrics in a half-square triangle design. To add a little visual interest, I also sewed some log cabin blocks that became half square triangles to sprinkle into the quilt top. I used my left over log cabins in the back of the quilt, and I love that it is reversible. I had seen some really gorgeous HST quilts in the last year, and I really wanted to make one myself.

I love to see Justin using the quilt, and I’m happy it’s sticking around our house. One of the perks of sewing for your family!

Wonky Pinwheels Coming Together!

Oh my goodness, I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve had a minute to stop in here for an update! November kept me hopping, with travel for both work and family, and an extended stay at my sister’s house where I got to spend a good bit of time cuddling with my new niece. Now I can’t believe it’s December already! And although I haven’t found time recently to blog, it’s funny to see where my photos and work pop up around the internet– today I discovered my city reflection quilt over on BuzzFeed! It’s number 26 in the lineup of quilts to eye, create, or buy!

I finished up this quilt top for the Love circle of Do. Good Stitches a little while ago, and I’m now working on binding it– so close to being done! I love these bee quilts, because they give me a chance to reflect a bit on some of my favorite things about sewing. Receiving blocks from all across the country, and knowing that my bee-mates will take a leap of faith and follow the instructions I made up for the quilt, is awesome.

Everyone did *such* a perfect job with these blocks, and in the quilt top you can see how well they fit together– it’s hard to tell where one block ends and another begins!

I’ll be sharing the final product here soon, along with a slew of other projects I need to blog about! Baby quilts and christmas decor are piling up!

Work in Progress: Keeping it Real

As anyone who has ever moved can attest to, moving is tiring and challenging and time consuming. And I’m not even talking about the actual move itself (although it is all of those things, too). I mean the learning a new city and a new job– figuring out how to get around town, where to go to get your hair cut or to see a movie or to get some takeout, and learning new work skills and beginning new research projects– all of this has left me with less time to sew than I like! We’ve been in Boston for a little over two months, and some things are starting to fall into place, but it takes time to find a comfortable pattern to our days.
When I can’t find time to sew regularly, I feel a little off. A little frustrated. Creatively backlogged and unproductive. And I have been sewing, just not at the pace I’m used to. I like to see my ideas realized, and sometimes that means sewing like mad to get things done. But lately I’m just so dang tired I haven’t had that finishing power I’m used to.

So: here it is. My halloween quilt. Exactly 1/2 of the quilt top is done. The other half? Still needs to be cut and sewn. And now that halloween is here and it’s not finished, well, it may just be waiting around for a while. In my head, this is already done! I even know where I want to take a picture of it, I can see it so clearly! But, I just didn’t quite make it.

I have a number of other ideas (and upcoming birthday and Christmas gifts!) that I am dying to get to work on– I just need that drive to finish my projects to return! And in the meantime, I have begun hand quilting my single girl, and I am really loving it. This hand quilting thing might be around to stay!

Can You Believe It?

People, I hand quilted an entire quilt!!

You can knock that off my bucket list! But seriously– I loved working on this quilt.

I made up the filmstrip quilt top last spring (using the tutorial from Crazy Mom Quilts). It’s not my first filmstrip, and I have a feeling it won’t be my last.

I used my favorite line of fabric– Hope Valley by Denyse Schmidt, and I love how the colors play together. In general, I am more of a fan of mixing lines of fabric, but these prints are just so lovely together that I couldn’t resist. I used perle cotton (size 8) for the stitches to get that chunky look.

I decided to back the quilt in Little Folks voile from Anna Maria Horner, and I would *highly* recommend this as a backing for a quilt you’re hand quilting. It’s so so soft and easy to hand stitch. I used a pastry line print for the binding, and I love how it frames the quilt.

When I started quilting (on my very first quilt, actually), before I had purchased a walking foot for my machine, and long before I started free motion quilting, I tried hand quilting. And I was miserable. It was hard to sew through the batting, and I couldn’t get into the groove. I thought that if that was what quilting was like, I wouldn’t be making any more quilts! When I discovered the joy of quilting on my home machine, I was hooked, and I couldn’t imagine why anyone would sew a quilt by hand. But slowly, my thinking on this matter changed. I love a long term project, and looked forward to having something to hand stitch in evenings and on car trips. Hand quilting this quilt saw me through all of our trips this summer, including finding a new place to live and making our recent move. It represents more than just my favorite fabrics, it represents the time and care I devote to this craft. I’m so happy with this quilt, and although I never thought I’d say this, I’m excited to get to work on my next hand quilting project!

And a note about the batting– one reason I believe it was so difficult to hand quilt that first quilt was because I did not use a batting that was optimal for hand stitching. This time around I took the advice of some of my knowledgeable guild members in Ann Arbor and went with Quilters Dream Request Loft Batting made from 100% cotton. It made such a difference!!

And– if anyone out there who happens to read my little blog is considering hand quilting, I encourage you to give it a try! And know that you might not love it the first time around, but that’s ok– there will always be another quilt calling your name on which you can give this a try.

(Simon can’t help but get in a photo of the quilt)

I’m linking up with The Bloggers Quilt Festival over at Amy’s Creative Side. Each Spring and Fall Amy hosts this wonderful virtual event that coincides with quilt market to celebrate all of these wonderful quilts, and I’m so happy to join in! Click on the link below to visit her site, and to check out a TON of gorgeous quilts!

Quilt Stats:
Size: 54″ by 62″
Fabric: Kona cotton bone and hope valley (front), little folks voile (back) and pastry line voile (binding)
Special Techniques: Hand Quilted!!! (umm, I’m excited about this, can you tell?)
Quilted by: Me! (otherwise this would be much less impressive)
Best Category for the BQF: Hand quilted, throw quilt, or quilt photography