Slacking Off

I've been slacking off on actually finishing anything recently.  I have a few in process and have been reading books and magazines, trying to get more ideas and learn how to be a little better at this.  I also need some fabric with much smaller patterns and I can't really afford that at the moment, so it's keeping me from finishing some projects.

Coming up this week:

• Finished pictures of the New Wave quilt (it's almost done).
• Update on the baby blanket recreation.
• Decisions on my next projects.

I didn't forget about blog- I promise there will be more (with substance soon).

The Recreation of an Obsession

A friend of mine told me that when you that when you're 29 the moon is in the exact same place as when you were born, so all of the stuff that you didn't deal with in your childhood comes back around (or something like that).  Maybe that's why a few weeks ago I decided I was going to recreate my childhood baby blanket (which many of you know I still have).  I have been scouring Etsy and Ebay trying to find the fabric (which is a little tough -although not impossible- because this fabric was manufactured in the 1970s).

The main problems in recreating of 'Banky' is because over the time the fabric has faded and is now a gross grey/brown color, the only pictures I can find don't show the whole blanket, and my mother is no longer in touch with the woman who made it for me.  For these reasons I'm not sure exactly what it looked like.  So, instead of doing it the exact way it was,  I'm going to do recreate it from memory (even if my memory is inaccurate) or the best I can based on fabric I find.

The only fabric I really need is the blue version.  So if anyone happens to see some, I would really appreciate the heads up.

Some Stuff In Progress

I had a lovely time in CT.  We stopped by Joann's and they were having 40% off rulers and thread- so I got a new ruler and a ton of thread.  I also got some backing material and some 'practice' material.

I'm currently working on a few project.  One is what I am calling the "It's A Small World Quilt."  It's an Alexander Henry print with nothing to do with Disney, but it reminds me of It's A Small World, so I'm going with it.  I am making this up pretty much as I go (although I have it in my head what I want it to look like.  Here is a picture of it at the moment- hopefully it'll be a little more completed by the end of the week

I'm also working on my first quilt from a pattern.  It's the New Wave Quilt from Oh, Fransson!.  I'm not sure how it's coming along because I'm still just in the cutting phase.

A Trip to the 'Burbs

Today I head to New Haven to give Jess and Nate the baby blanket for Baby Rapsberry.  While I'm up there Jess and I are going to swing by trusty old Joann's to pick up some fabric.  Yes, I'm aware that most of the fabric at Joann's is crap not the best, but I need some solids and I also need some baby patterns for Project Linus and, let's face it, Joann's is cheap (on a side note, I did find some Alexander Henry fabric there on my last trip, so it's not like everything there is no good).  I'll show you guys my finds (or lack there of) when I get back.

In the mean time, Jess, Nate, and Baby Rapsberry's blanket (excuse the poor iPhone photos):

3 Project Linus Projects

While practicing some easier quilting techniques, I decided to make a simple square quilt- working on exact cutting, stitching without pinning, quilting, and attaching binding.  I cut a 4.5" square of each patterned fabric I have and am pairing it with a purple/blue cotton that I was given during wrap on Taking Woodstock.  I have a ton of it and this seemed like a fitting use, seeing as the theme is leftovers.  I drew a little diagram (pattern?) so that there is some sort of structure to the quilt and it's not totally random.

I stitched the first 4 rows, but am still in need of some more squares, so I'm taking a little break.  Hopefully there will be a scrap box or super clearance section at Joann's this weekend (yay trip to Connecticut!)  So far so good, but I can't really tell if this is going to pan out the way I want since the fabrics, while in the same color family, are not identical.  I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I also finished two other blankets for Project Linus.  One is just a basic baby blanket.  The front is Alexander Henry fabric and the back is just a Joann's design.  Pretty cute though.

                          

The second one I finished was for the sole purpose of practicing.  It's made out of leftover fabric and some striped fabric that I had.  I tried to do some different things than I have done before and practiced that pesky binding.  There are obviously a lot of imperfections, but I hope some little boy will love it anyway.

New Fabric!

Today I received fabric from fabric.com (my first experience ordering fabric online).  Some of it was fantastic, while I had a little trouble with a few- two were a crazy big scale (I guess I didn't pay close enough attention to the ruler) and two were little too heavy of a weight (I'm hoping that a good wash and dry will soften them up enough to use with my regular old cotton, fingers crossed).

Spent most of my quilting time finishing a baby blanket today, but also been practicing on a number of pot holders and, thankfully, getting better.  Maybe tomorrow there will be some picture worthy work.

*If anyone needs novelty fabric, fabric.com is having a blowout sale and they have a lot of nice cottons for under $3 a yard.

Setbacks, New Goals

Well, folks, after trying to teach myself some new stuff, I have some bad news: I may not be very good at quilting- yet.  I decided to give finishing full, detailed quilts a little bit of a rest and try things on a smaller scale, so I'm making (drum roll please)... pot holders.  I figure that this is a good, practical way to teach myself how to finish quilts without the pressure of having spent hours upon hours on it already.  This way, if I mess up, it's not such a big deal.

The first pot holder I attempted to make today was also my first attempt at a pinwheel.  As the picture shows, it did not go well.

What I learned: think before you cut; think before you sew.  And, if you don't know how to do something, maybe look up how to do it instead of just diving in and thinking it'll be a snap.

The second attempt actually worked, even if there are some imperfections.  I have some Alexander Henry baseball fabric left over from a blanket I made for Project Linus.  This was my first time doing actual binding on a quilt, including a mitered corner!  So, even though it's not perfect, I think it's a good step forward.

front

back

Anybody want a pot holder?

Early Delivery!

Last weekend I was in Ohio for a wedding and my mother was nice enough to drive two hours to have lunch with me.  In her trunk were two huge boxes she found in the attic- one was labeled "Fabric/Batting" and other, unlabeled.  She told me to look through them and decide if I wanted them or if she should get rid of them.  Talk about a find!  There was a huge box of fabric from when I first started sewing in college.  Back then I was obsessed with making pajama pants for anyone who wanted a pair and tiny clothes for my cement goose, Ferdinand.  In the boxes were yards and yards of silly cotton fabric, some cut in the shape of pajama pants that were never finished, there were bandannas from our late dog Lily, vintage hats I purchased at a theatre sale, some disgusting poly batting from my pillow making days, and some super weird fabric from a play I designed years ago.  There was too much stuff to travel back with me, so my mom generously offered to mail me a box of fabric.  It was supposed to arrive Wednesday (I've been going crazy waiting for it to arrive), but guess what came in the mail today?!  Yay!  Most of the fabric is very novelty and will be used for kids quilts for Project Linus.

Today also marked my first time I attempted to quilt on a machine and not by tying little embroidery floss or yarn at the corner of each box.  It wasn't a completely botched attempt, but I ran into some difficulties.  (I should mention, I do not have a walking foot.)

Here's what I learned:

• Machine quilting is much harder than the YouTube video I watched made it look.
• Spray adhesive may be the best invention of all time.
• I need a lot more practice at this!

Once the quilt is done, I'll post a photo of it.  It's for Project Linus and is made mostly out of left over fabric from the baby blanket I made for Danielle, along with some striped and solid fabrics I had lying around.  I'm a bit discouraged by the setback, but I keep reminding myself- everything is a learning experience!

Getting Started

I'm a dress maker by trade, but have been in love with my baby blanket for the last 29 years.  Each time a friend has a baby, I try to make their new son or daughter a baby blanket patterned off the one I've loved for so many years.  I recently made three and decided it was time to make some more detailed quilts- so I'm teaching myself.

This blog will chronicle my progress and missteps as I teach myself to make quilts for friends, charity, and to sell.  Everyone keep your fingers crossed for my progress!

Here is one of the more recent baby blankets I made for my friend Danielle, her husband Tim, and their soon-to-be son Ian