WIP Wednesday

  • July 15, 2009 11:01 PM

I’ve been doing a little sewing this week, so I figured I’d do a quick Work in Progress  post.

Zipper Pouches

Sarah recently taught me to make these little lined pouches and they’re so easy – done in minutes.  I use the little one for coins in my purse, and Thomas picked out the fabric for the bigger one for a pouch to hold his oversized Belgian driver’s license and passport.

12 blocks for Modern Quilt A Long

I’ve also started Fransson’s Modern Quilt A Long.  The quilt a long is over, but the instructions are still online.  I’m combining various red and orange solids with coordinating batiks.  I’ve completed the first 12 blocks so far.

I also finished lining the curtains in our bedroom to make the room darker in the mornings, but they’re not exciting to photograph.  Just thought I’d let you all know what I’m up to other than traveling.

Quilt Camp at my MIL’s

  • June 23, 2009 8:56 PM

While Thomas was in the US last week, I went to Sweden where my mother-in-law taught me the proper way to quilt. The best thing I learned while there is that she started quilting when her daughter was born – 28 years ago. My MIL is an amazing quilter, and knowing that she started somewhere around my age is a huge encouragement.

My Mother-in-law at the machine

I took several projects for her to help me with. First she went through my sewing machine manual (since I couldn’t bring my whole machine with me) and explained the differences between my sewing feet, how the integrated dual foot system works, and some of the key features she really likes to use on her own machine.

Dallas at the Machine

The next day, I pulled out the Repunzel baby quilt top that I finished in January, and she taught me how to properly baste, quilt, and bind it. I’ve made baby quilts before, but more in a hacked together kind of way. I used a vintage sheet for the back and a diamond pattern for the quilting. I am so excited with how it turned out – it’s now my favorite quilt I’ve ever made.

Front of Baby Quilt

Back of baby quilt - vintage sheet

I also brought the Timeless Treasures Central Park quilt kit with me – I have been intimidated by the bed size and curves. In the end, the curves were no problem, and I decided for it to be smaller so it can hang on the wall. I’ve now got the quilt top completed and just have to decide how I want to quilt it – any suggestions?

Mini Timeless Treasures Central Park Quilt

Another project I brought along was a duffle bag out of fabric I picked up on our honeymoon in Ecuador. I had messed up in several places and never finished it. My MIL helped me fix it up, and it should be a lot easier to finish now. Sorry, I don’t have a photo of this one yet.

She also taught me how to do some freehand quilting (very hard) and how to do some fancier stitches. I used the zigzag stitch to make Sarah’s bubbles for this month’s quilting bee blocks.

DSC_7956

For a few months now, I’ve been in a sewing rut, but after this weekend, I’m much more excited to pull out my machine and try some of these things on my own. By the way, if you live in my area, there’s a quilt conference coming up in September in France…anyone want to go?

You can see all the photos from “Quilt Camp” on Flickr:

Quilt Festival 2009

  • April 24, 2009 10:04 AM

Park City Girl is holding an online festival of quilts this week and has asked readers to blog about their favorite quilts they’ve made.  She’s got over 500 entries so far – wow!  I’ve only made two real, completed quilts, so far – a Bento Box baby quilt and a Cowpoke baby quilt. They were both great fun and I was really proud of both, but one of my favorite quilts I made was only 4 inches by 6 inches.  It was a postcard quilt that I designed to look like a cherry blossom branch.

My First Fabric Postcard - Cherry Blossom

This little quilt, unfortunately, has been lost.  It was part of an unsuccessful swap where I never heard from the swapper if it arrived, and I never received anything back.  It happens sometimes, but I still enjoy swaps.  You can read more about how I designed the postcard, and my inspiration photo on my old blog:

So I don’t leave this post on a sad note, check out some of the other crafts I’ve made by clicking on the Crafts tab up above.  I’ve updated it to include some of my recent projects.

Work in Progress

  • February 27, 2009 1:56 PM

This is a work in progress. It’s been like this for a couple weeks now and I have not been motivated to touch it.  I think I’ve been looking at this fabric too long.

Stuck

Stuck

I was using this quilt as inspiration but only got halfway there. Maybe if I post some WIP photos, that will help light the fire…

Birthday Recap

  • October 6, 2008 9:48 PM

I had a wonderful 30th birthday this past week. It was quiet and calm, but it was fun. My actual birthday started off with a wake-up call from my Mother-in-law — pretty impressive considering she’s not even in the US. Thomas immediately brought me a couple presents in bed. One was from his mom – a beautiful quilted wall hanging that reminds me of the trees in our backyard.

Quilted Wall Hanging by my Mother-in-law

The other was from Thomas – a print out for an online auction he won (it was delivered today). I still don’t believe it, but he bought me a sewing/embroidery machine – a Pfaff Creative 2140. He did his research and got me a really cool machine that does all kinds of tricks. I’m actually a little intimidated by it – it just has a screen, no dials.

My New Sewing Machine!!

The day continued with lots of birthday wishes, Facebook messages, phone calls, and flowers from Thomas’ dad. That night, Thomas and I went to the Melting Pot for a delicious meal of cheese, bouillon, and chocolate fondue. Yum!!  This weekend, we got together with a few of our friends to celebrate with some beef ribs at Smokejacks. Yum again! Afterward, part of the crowd headed back to our house for a game of Apples to Apples.  Thomas will post the photos from that later this week.

Birthday flowers from Thomas' father

I didn’t expect my 30th birthday to be so calm, but it was a lot of fun, especially going out with my friends. Thomas was so excited about getting me a new sewing machine.  He already had it set up when I got home from work tonight. We messed around with it until we figured out how to sew letters and a few basic stitches. I can’t wait to see what else it can do.