Saturday, December 29, 2012

Opportunities are piling up in the New Year

I'm not sure if I was just absent last year, or if I've just taken better notice of things this year.  I really don't remember so many fun things going on at the beginning of this year.  Regardless, I wanted to share another fabulous opportunity to grow as a quilter in the New Year.

Pile O' Fabric

Alyssa at Pile O' Fabric is hosting a FREE Skill Builder Block of the Month.  Sounds perfect to me: Free (Yes, I like FREE), Skill Builder (who couldn't use that?), hmm Blocks? (I could always use some more blocks to showcase on Tuesdays) - Yep, sign me up!

I will freely admit that she has stolen my, completely unrealized, idea for a beginner's quilt along.  She has 2 blocks per month planned and the hope is we will be building various piecing skills in the process.  ALSO!  We will be using the "Quilt As You Go" method for these blocks, so you get a fair amount of Free Motion Quilting practice each month as well without having to deal with a bulky quilt at the very end of the year (when we will be doing the 100 Day Hustle again, right?).  BRILLIANT!!  Seriously, looking at the blocks she has planned, there is no way I could have come up with better.

I was really disappointed with the Beginner's Quilt Along I participated in earlier in the year.  I felt like all we did was variations of HST's, and the finishing instructions STILL haven't been posted.  I know Alyssa will follow through and her blocks look fresh and fun.  She was a brilliant host for the Totally Groovy QAL, and I am really looking forward to this BOM.

Join me??  I may need a support group for all I am taking on in the New Year!  Click the link above or the button at the top left for more info.

Jen

Friday, December 28, 2012

100 Day Hustle finale

Time for a 100 Day Hustle recap!

100 day hustle

1. Lizzy teacher gift, 2. Ashley teacher gift, 3. Vintage Holiday front, 4. IMG_1673, 5. Olivia's Quilt front, 6. The Grinch, 7. Totally Groovy, 8. Groovy back, 9. mosaicc622aaa0d425fe2aca04436e06c45899b21bb454, 10. Hurricane Blocks, 11. Leaf table runner, 12. sashiko coasters, 13. 3 x 6 solids mosaic, 14. preschool pillowcases, 15. sept star of africa, 16. Batik stripe in focus

Here is my list:
  • 12  Bee blocks for the 3 x 6 Bee DONE 
  • 3 blocks for the Star of Africa bee - 1 1/2 DONE - The Grinch needs a little more work, and I now have 2 more to do to get me through January.
  • At least 1 block for the Leafs Me Happy Blog Hop - DONE
  • Pillowcases for my daughter's preschool - DONE
  • Finish Totally Groovy - DONE
  • Quilt the Batik Stripe quilt - DONE
  • small gifties for a few of my bee mates 
  • Another small gift for my daughters' teachers (2) - DONE
  • The Sashiko coasters - DONE 
  • finish the Vintage Holiday QAL top- DONE
  • Finish Olivia's applique quilt - DONE
Added:
  • Hurricane Sandy Blocks - DONE
  • Christmas decorations - DONE
So, not too shabby, right?  I really wish I had gotten some little gifties out for my bee mates, not to mention finished up the blocks that are due.  I suppose that not getting them done gives me the opportunity to send little surprises to them randomly in the New Year.

I really enjoyed doing the "Hustle" this year.  Just making a list and trying to figure out what was realistically going to get done, really helped me focus.  And of course, having others sharing their lists and triumphs motivated me to do the same.  I will definitely be participating again next year.

How did you do with your 2012 finale?

Jen

Kelsey Sews

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Free Motion Challenge - December and wrap up

This is the last month of the Free Motion Challenge over at Sew Cal Gal, and it was a challenge.  Not only did it involve my nemesis - feathers - but we also had to try to make them mirror images.  Whew!  It was tough, but I enjoyed it!  Patsy Thompson provided a really wonderful tutorial.

December Free Motion Front

And I must say that I think these are the best feathers I've made so far!

Dec. FMQ Close Up

We were supposed to pay extra attention to the "take off" points (in the center of my borders), and the "kissing zones" (the corners of my borders).  I feel like I did a better job of mirroring the images in the take off points than the kissing zones.  It probably had to do with the angle I was quilting.  I tried to experiment a bit with this, but those ended up being the corners that really got goofy.

December Free Motion back

Here is the obligatory back shot.

Patsy Thompson's tutorial is really great.  I even learned about a new product that I had never heard of before - flexible rulers.  And what do you know?  Some ended up in my stocking this year - amazing!  In this project, they were used to mark the spines and get a identical mirror image around the quilt.

And to wrap up the challenge, a mosaic of all 12 of my placemats.  I think I have really come a long way this year.  I can certainly see a big change, especially from the feathers in February to the ones now!

Free Motion Mosaic
1. Front March FMC, 2. Front of April FMC w/filler, 3. Front January FMC, 4. May FMQ front, 5. June free motion challenge, 6. July Free Motion Challenge (back), 7. August FMC - front, 8. September FMQ Challenge, 9. October FMQ Challenge, 10. November FMQ Challenge Front, 11. December Free Motion Front, 12. February Free Motion Challenge</

I learned so much during this challenge.  I think the biggest take away was just getting comfortable with free motion and my machine.  Practice really does make closer to perfect.  Some of the challenges, I practiced over and over again on paper, then practice sandwiches, then my final placemat.  Towards the end of the challenge, there was less of that - my brain was starting to figure it out.  Last month's spirals were completely on the fly because I have been doing spirals all year.

What fun!  I wonder what Sew Cal Gal has cooking for 2013!

Thanks for reading today,

Jen





Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Teacher gifts done and delivered - WIP Wednesday

Lizzy teacher gift

teacher gift backs
back
I haven't actually sewn in days.  The end of last week was a blur - trying to finish up a few things before the kids let out of school, going to recitals, parties, etc.

I did manage to finish up the teacher's gifts before Friday so the kids could deliver them.  I think they turned out pretty cute.  And they were ridiculously easy to make.  I also think the kids were rather proud of being able to write and draw a special message to their teachers on something more permanent than a piece of paper.


Ashley teacher gift


This Wednesday......

Completed Projects:
  • Teacher's Gifts - done and delivered

On-going Projects:

AKA - "stuff I plan to touch this week or next".
  • How Far Will You Go? QAL - Time to piece my top together and quilt it.
  • Star of Africa Bee - 2 blocks to start, one to finish up
  • Handstitched Medallion Quilt - quilting in progress.  I have the center done and am working on the middle borders at the moment.
  • I've joined a Winter Mug Rug Swap at the Crafty Gemini - an idea is sprouting, but it needs to be put into practice.  If I can manage realizing my idea, it may make for a good tutorial too!
  • December Free Motion Challenge item - I have started this one!  I need at least another hour of quiet to get it done and I doubt I will get that hour unless I stay up late one night after the kids have gone to bed.  Easier said than done since they tend to suck any energy out of me during the day - and when they go down at night, so do I!!!

Back Burner:

These will likely be touched in a couple of weeks.
  • Miscellaneous sewn gifties - started, but at this point, they will be random gifts for throughout the New Year
  • Beginner Quilt Along at Quilting Gallery - top needs to be put together. It is ridiculous that I haven't just slapped this one together
  • Charity quilt for the guild - not started.   
  • My Blue & White One Block Wonder -needs to be backed, basted and quilted.
  • NEW Bee blocks!  I've joined 2 new bees, and they will be starting up soon.  Luckily instead of making 6 blocks for each hive, I will just need to make 2 each month for each bee.  Easy, right?
  • NEW Baby quilt - a good friend is having a baby soon, and it sounds like a perfect reason to make a new quilt, right?  Got to decide on a design, fabric has been purchased (I might have gone a little crazy with Christmas purchases in this area).
The Back, Back Burner:

Lightning would have to strike twice, but I like to keep this category going just to remind me what I have in the pipeline.
  • Handstitched goodies - several small projects in limbo.  
  • Star Circles aka New York Beauty blocks - time is coming to get back to these

This week's stats:
Completed projects - 1
New projects - 1
Currently in Progress - 5 - ish

Don't forget to link up any blocks you have been working on to the Building Blocks Tuesday post!  This time the linky will stay open until January 8th and will allow for multiple post per person, so feel free to add them as you complete your blocks.

I've also been working on my New Year's Resolutions list,  I hope you will join me in thinking of any quilty-resolutions you might have for the New Year.

Jen

Quilter in the Closet

Linking up with
 WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

No blocks for me - Building Blocks Tuesday

Oops!  With the holiday yesterday, I forgot to put a post together for Building Blocks Tuesday.  Luckily, the kids are busy playing with their new toys this morning, so I have a few minutes to play on the computer.

I have no blocks to share this week (shocking, I know), but you might.  I am adjusting the timing of this linky so that you can add posts with your blocks for the next two weeks.  I don't want to leave you hanging for next week just because I will be busy with the hellions kids.  Feel free to link as many current posts as you like.  Yes, I said current.   Which means if you have a post today, link it.  Finish a few more blocks 2 days from now, link it.  You get the idea.

Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This linky will stay open until January 8th, at which time our usual weekly linky will resume.


Quilter in the Closet

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please consider grabbing my button and posting it in your blog post
4) Visit other linky participants!

Thanks for reading today!

Jen

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Vintage Holiday finish - WIP Wednesday

Vintage Holiday for the holiday
My attempt at a holiday setting for this pic
After months of staring at this one all pin basted and waiting for inspiration, I finally just sat down and started it.  I had too many ideas in my head and they just didn't go with one another.  I really wanted to quilt some snowflake looking things in that sashing.  I also wanted to do various gridlines in the white sections, but then I couldn't figure out what to do with the ornaments or the border.

Vintage Holiday front

In the end, I did paisley in the white background, stitched in the ditch around the sashing and with the lines of the ornaments, and added just some medium sized stippling in the border.  I think the quilt ended up pretty balanced in the end - the white background is the most dense area, but the ornaments with their minimal quilting and the naked sashing provided some really soft areas, and the border is somewhere in between.

Vintage Holiday close up

I went "easy" on the backing.  Initially I was going to use a few charm packs to make a patchwork square back, but I got lazy, I mean efficient.  After all, I had a whole bunch of yardage of those Christmas lights - what was I going to do with that if not back something!

Vintage Holiday back

Now for the tricky part!  Whom to give it to???  My short list is at least 6 people long.  The problem, of course, is that I only have one quilt.  :(  Note to self for next year: make more stuff!

This Wednesday......

Completed Projects:

On-going Projects:

AKA - "stuff I plan to touch this week or next".
  • How Far Will You Go? QAL - Time to piece my top together
  • Miscellaneous sewn gifties - started, but at this point, they may be New Year's gifties.
  • Star of Africa Bee - 2 blocks to start, one to finish up
  • Handstitched Medallion Quilt - quilting in progress.  It will be a long process.
  • I've joined a Winter Mug Rug Swap at the Crafty Gemini - an idea is sprouting.
  • Teacher's Gifts - almost finished.  The kids finally finished up their part of the project last night.  Now I need to sandwich and quilt a little to complete them.  

Back Burner:

These will likely be touched in a couple of weeks.
  • Beginner Quilt Along at Quilting Gallery - top needs to be put together. It is ridiculous that I haven't just slapped this one together
  • Charity quilt for the guild - not started.   
  • My Blue & White One Block Wonder - geez, this one just needs to be backed and quilted and it would make a great charity quilt.  I plan on just stippling it anyhow, why can't I get it done in the New Year?
The Back, Back Burner:

Lightning would have to strike twice.
  • Handstitched goodies - several small projects in limbo.  
  • Star Circles aka New York Beauty blocks - time is coming to get back to these

This week's stats:
Completed projects - 1
New projects - 1
Currently in Progress - 5 - ish

Don't forget to link up any blocks you have been working on to yesterday's post!  The linky stays open for a whole week, so feel free to add them as you complete or wait for next Tuesday (or both)!

I am also noticing that things are starting to get a little crazy around here in preparation for the holidays - well, crazier than usual.  The kids will be out of school for the next two weeks, so my blogging (and sadly sewing) will likely be sporadic.  Don't think that I haven't forgotten about you.  I plan on spending some of my time planning for fun stuff for the New Year.  I hope you will join me in thinking of any quilty-resolutions you might have for the New Year.

Jen

Quilter in the Closet

Linking up with
 WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Things bee happening out there - Building Blocks Tuesday

Wow, Tuesday just sneaked up on me.  Sadly, I have no blocks to share this Tuesday as I have been working on other things, but I would love to see yours!  And I thought I would share a few things I came across this last week that bee happening:

There are several sign ups going on in Blogland if you are looking for something to do in the new year:

Simply Solids (A Modern Bee) at Sew At Home Mummy.  This is a bee where only solids will be used, and you will be paired into a hive in your geographical area.  Erin is especially looking for more members in Europe and Australia/New Zealand.  I'm all signed up and looking forward to it.

Mrs. Pickles Garden has 4 new bees starting up, but only 2 have spaces left.  Check them out  HERE.  I've participated in a few things with Mrs. Pickles. Let me tell you, Mrs. Pickles is on top of things, I know these bees will be fun and well run.  So if you are Canadian, or like Modern blocks, see if you can get a spot!  I landed one in the We Bee Learning group and can't wait.

Rachel at Stitched in Color will be offering both her Handstitched Online Class and her Curves Online Class starting on January 1st.  I plan on signing up for the Curves Class, but I can tell hands down the Handstitched  Class is worth it.  I believe if you sign up the first week, you get $10 off, and do opt for the Premium Class - the Ebook you get with all the lessons is well worth the extra dough!  You can read more about the class descriptions here.

Medallion Quilt top

I'm still working on quilting the Medallion Quilt from the Handstitched Class, but it has really come a long way since this picture.  This is just one of the projects we worked on, and I learned so many skills in the class.  Like those reverse applique wall art items? - never would have tried them if it hadn't been for this class!  Hand embroidering things for my Star of Africa blocks - again, wouldn't have attempted them.

And no, Rachel hasn't asked me to plug her class.  When I find a good deal on a great learning experience, I just like to share!

OK, enough of me babbling.  So what have you been working on?  I want to see those lovely blocks of yours!

Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  And, don't forget, you have all week to add them if you like.


Quilter in the Closet

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please consider grabbing my button and posting it in your blog post
4) Visit other linky participants!

Thanks for reading today!

Jen


Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Everything but sewing - WIP Wednesday

Seems I have been doing everything but sewing this week.  I managed to get a tree, partially decorate it and the house, finish a major portion of my shopping, and even made a few homemade meals this week.  Yesterday and today are being spent nursing a sick little Olivia back to health (just a bad cold, but too sick to go to school).  I've also ordered the Christmas cards, and hope to address them all today while she is resting.  But all that doesn't really count for WIP Wednesday.


IMG_1673fabric ornament

This Wednesday......

Completed Projects:
  • A tree ornament for the guild exchange - This one was PATHETIC.  I followed a tutorial at V and Co.  Vanessa's is adorable, mine not so much.  I am sure it was my error as I am really not great with a glue gun.
  • Christmas Decor - Wall Art!  Get the tutorial here, and have some fun with reverse applique.

On-going Projects:

AKA - "stuff I plan to touch this week or next".

Back Burner:

These will likely be touched in a couple of weeks.
  • Beginner Quilt Along at Quilting Gallery - top needs to be put together. It is ridiculous that I haven't just slapped this one together
  • Charity quilt for the guild - not started.   
  • My Blue & White One Block Wonder - geez, this one just needs to be backed and quilted and it would make a great charity quilt.  I plan on just stippling it anyhow, why can't I get it done in the New Year?
  • I've joined a Winter Mug Rug Swap at the Crafty Gemini - I just need to figure out what my partner's tastes are and make something to suit.
The Back, Back Burner:

Lightning would have to strike twice.
  • Handstitched goodies - several small projects in limbo.  
  • EPP project - in progress.  I've definitely cooled on the idea of EPP for the moment.

This week's stats:
Completed projects - 2
New projects - 2
Currently in Progress - 5 - ish

Don't forget to link up any blocks you have been working on to yesterday's post!  The linky stays open for a whole week, so feel free to add them as you complete or wait for next Tuesday (or both)!


Jen

Quilter in the Closet

Linking up with
 WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Snowed In - Building Blocks Tuesday


HFWYG QAL Block 4

HFWYG QAL Block 8.1 thru 8.4

Welcome to another Building Blocks Tuesday!  Here are a few more blocks from the How Far Will You Go? QAL.

Unfortunately, my "snow" dilemma continues.  I guess, "snow" just isn't what I got to begin with, despite how close it looks on the color card.  My most recent order of "snow" doesn't match either, and I also had a chance to stop by an actual quilt shop this weekend.  Their "snow" was also much whiter than mine.

IMG_1677

See how much "creamer" my older fabric is?  OK, this is photo was taken in regular indoor light, so maybe it isn't too dramatic.

IMG_1678

But in brighter sunlight, you can really see more of a difference!

I have 10 more blocks to go, 3 of which are the really big ones.  This quilt is not intended to have a sashing, so these two different fabrics would be side by side, and I am positive you will notice.  Luckily, the QAL does not require that all the blocks be finished or put into the top.  I think the best thing for me to do is figure out a configuration with the blocks I have.  Instead of a twin size quilt, I will have to shoot for a throw!

I really want to try out the remaining blocks.  I think I may make them with the whiter background and maybe work them into the quilt back, or make pillows.  I will have to see what the quilting suggestions are for the quilt top.  For now though, I am admitting that the "Snow" defeated me.

So what have you been working on?  I want to see those lovely blocks of yours!


Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  And, don't forget, you have all week to add them if you like.


Quilter in the Closet

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please consider grabbing my button and posting it in your blog post
4) Visit other linky participants!

Thanks for reading today!

Jen



Monday, December 10, 2012

Tree and Ornament Wall Art Tutorial

A little tutorial for the Holiday Season!  I've had it in my mind to make this Reversible Applique Wall Art for months.
Tree and Ornament Wall Art
Tree and Ornament Wall Art
Warning!  This is the "lazy gal's" way of doing reverse applique. If you are familiar with reverse applique and use freezer paper or another method all together, feel free to adapt!

What you will need:
  • 2 canvases (I used 8 x 10)
  • 2 pieces of paper the same size as your canvas
  • 2 pieces of background fabric at least 2 inches bigger than the dimensions of your canvas (so mine was 10 x 12), (make sure 2 inches is enough to allow for the thickness of your canvas, mine was pretty thin)
  • Various scraps of red and green fabrics
  • Lite Steam a Seam 2 Fusible Tape - I used the 1/2 inch variety.
  • Thread
  • Scissors
  • Pearl cotton or embroidery floss (optional)
  • Stapler
Step One: Preparing your templates.

Rather than give you templates, I will show you how simply I made mine.  This way you can adapt your project to whatever size canvas you like (or perhaps another project entirely).

For the Tree:

tree template

Fold your paper in half.  Draw half a tree, cut out.  See, I told you it was simple!  Double check to make sure your tree fits nicely on your canvas.

For the ornaments:

ornament template

Grab a few round objects and trace.  For the round ornament, I used a cup.  For the oblong ornament, I traced around a cap, drew a line through the center the length I wanted my final ornament to be, folded on the line, then cut my shape.  Again, place your paper templates on the canvas to make sure you like how they fit.

Step Two: Preparing your background fabric.

IMG_1607

Take your templates and trace their shapes on the wrong side of your background fabric, in the position you want them.  I wanted my tree to be centered.  Remember for the ornaments, this would be the mirror image.

IMG_1608

TIP: I also marked the edges of my canvas on the background fabric, just to give me an idea of where they were so I could more easily center my objects.

IMG_1615IMG_1614

Next take your fusible tape and place as close to the line you marked as possible.  You can leave some gaps here and there (curves are tricky, after all).  Then remove one side (the bottom side) of the paper and iron in place.

IMG_1616

Now take your scissors and cut approximately 1/4 inch from the line on the inside of your shapes.

IMG_1617IMG_1618

You will also want to carefully snip inside any corners, almost to your drawn line (about 1/8 inch away), and along any concave curves (the circle ornament and the bottom of the tree in my case).

IMG_1625

Now finger press all those seams.

points

Now is a good time to prepare the points too.  Finger press them by first folding in the point, then folding each "side around it, until it is sharp.  It is OK that this doesn't stay put.  You are just trying to give the fabric an idea of where it will be going soon.

IMG_1625IMG_1628

Now, remove the 2nd piece of paper of your tape and CAREFULLY fuse your new seam allowance to the remaining side of the tape.  ****If you used the 1/2 inch tape, as I did, there will be some extra fusible goo.  This will be handy for the next step, but if you press your iron against it now it is going to make a mess!  So be careful, use the tip of your iron and work from the inside of your shapes.  IF you are lucky enough to have one of those Clover mini irons, this is an excellent use for it!

IMG_1629

If you were rather generous with your seam allowance, or if you used 1/4 inch tape.  Now is a good time to add a little extra tape around the edges of your shapes.  You don't have to go crazy with it, but a little extra might be nice.

Put your background fabrics aside for a moment.

Step Three - Preparing the "insides" of your tree and ornaments

IMG_1609
You will notice, I am really thin on the green scraps!
Take those scraps, and sew them together however you like!  Really, however you like.

IMG_1610

They just need to be big enough to cover your templates PLUS 1/2 inch all around.  I was a little more generous.

For my tree I took squares of the same width, strung them together, then added them to strips of squares that were different in width.  For my oblong ornament, I just did strips.  For my round ornament, I did go a little crazy and make a mini star block (but I'm not sure I'll ever be that crazy again).

Now here is where that extra fusible tape will come in handy!

Step Four: Joining the insides with the background

IMG_1630

Take your "insides" and place them on your background.  ****The right side of you "insides" will be against the wrong side of your background piece.****  Make sure it is centered in your hole of the background, remove any paper from any additional tape you added, then iron from the backside, fusing all the fabric together. Do this for all your pieces.

IMG_1631

When you are finished. They should look something like the picture above from the front.  The fusible tape will hold everything together so you can stitch them together.

Step Five - Stitching them together

IMG_1668

Next, you need to stitch the fabrics together.  You could machine applique them if you choose.  I decided to do mine by hand.  I used a blind stitch for the ornaments with regular white hand quilting thread, and I used a BIG blanket stitch for the tree using size 8 pearl cotton in a green (in the hope it will look like pine needles).

I also added some running stitches to the ornaments, and backstitched a "thread" which my ornaments hang from.  I considered adding some red running stitches to my tree, but I decided I actually like it just the way it was.

You could get pretty fancy adding beads and other embellishments at this point!

IMG_1672
Now you can really see the quality (or lack of) in my stitching!
TIP - If you used a white background, like I did for my ornaments, you may want to trim the back of your fabric to approximately 1/4 inch near your stitching so that as little fabric shows from the front.  I didn't bother doing this with my tree because the red fabric hid the shadow of the green fabric.

Make sure you press everything well before moving on to the next step.

Step Six - Adding your work to the canvas

This part is extremely easy!  You just staple it!  I suppose you could also glue it down, but I had it in my mind that I might want to re-use these canvases for other holiday creations.  Staples are easily removed and would allow me to do that!

IMG_1669

Laying my fabric wrong side up, I centered my canvas on top (also wrong side up), then stapled along the edges.

IMG_1670IMG_1671

At the corners, I folded one side in as much as possible, then folded the other side up and over - much like the edges of binding - then stapled them in place.

Step Seven - Finally, hang your art on the wall!


Tree and Ornament Wall Art

If wall art isn't your thing, the same steps could be used to make cute reversible applique pillows!  Add a bobble, make it square, quilt around it, and it would make an adorable holiday pillow.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!  I hope you join me for Building Blocks Tuesday tomorrow.

Thanks for reading,

Jen