Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
I didn’t make as many gifts this year as I did last year, but I did make a few. This is a Valori Wells Little Wallet project. Terri promised that it was an easy project and she was absolutely correct. The hardest part of this project was the turning it! The part that took the longest was the cutting. This is a great project.
This is a present for my SIL. She wanted some gift cards and I thought it would be cute to put the gift cards in this little wallet.
I received these blocks from SherriD yesterday. Aren’t they great? I love the combinations of goldy-yellows and blues she chose for the blocks. They glow.
Sherri told me that she tried a new technique to make the blocks, which is a great idea. It is nice to not have to commit to an entire quilt if you want to try something new.
If you would like to make blocks, too, here are the parameters:
All blocks are welcome!
Block background: dark blue
Block design: Yellow star (any pattern)
block size: 8? or less (we will work with any size)
remember to sign your block!
Deadline: TBA
Contact us through our blogs for mailing instructions. Thanks so much for your generosity!
I mentioned that I went to a party on Sunday. Bron, a CQFAer was kind enough to give me two star blocks for the project. Bron is originally from New Zealand and is the leader of our little band. She keeps us on track at meetings. I was fortunate enough to see some of her work last Sunday. She does beautiful NZ imagery.
If you would like to make a block (or blocks), here are the parameters. All blocks are welcome!
Block background: dark blue
Block design: Yellow star (any pattern)
block size: 8? or less (we will work with any size)
remember to sign your block!
Contact us through our blogs for mailing instructions. Thanks so much for your generosity!
This is the first of a few gifts that I made this season. I really missed making the quantity of gifts I made last year. It was fun, but I was way too busy this year. I’ll have to think about it and plan better for next year.
I made this Little Wallet as a hostess gift for a friend who hosted a CQFA meeting on Sunday. We went to her house and just did handwork and chatted. It was very pleasant and relaxing. She has some beautiful trees in her backyard that were sending showers of leaves down as I looked out the window. Gorgeous.
The afternoon made me think that I need to spend more time just sitting and stitching. Anyone need right of first refusal for artworks in exchange for a salary each year?
On September 10, 2010 a gas line exploded and leveled a neighborhood near where we live. It was big news at the time, but the world has moved on. In that neighborhood lived our cousin. His house was not destroyed, but was severely damaged. Also, the Young Man’s school friend lived there. His house was destroyed and he and his father ran for their lives.
My mom put out a call for blocks that we can make into quilts for these families and we received our first block today. One is promised and one is in the mail.
Barsha taught sewing in a local county for years before she retired. She is a gifted seamstress and I go to her when I need new pants. 😉 I first met her through a local guild. She is also a gifted quiltmaker, teacher and wearables artist. She has a wonderful, light studio and knows how to use a serger.
Thanks, Barsha!
Would you like to help? The parameters are:
Block backround: dark blue
Block design: Yellow star (any pattern)
block size: 8″ or less (we will work with any size)
remember to sign your block!
Contact us through our blogs for mailing instructions. Thanks so much for your generosity!
I talked about some giveaways I was planning. This isn’t one of them and I don’t have the stuff in my hand, but Chronicle Books is giving away stuff. Thanks to Cool2Craft on Creating the Hive for her post!
Here’s how it works:
I was supposed to make a post on here on the blog (check!) listing Chronicle Books valued at up to $500 that would be nice gifts under my tree. Check! They are:
Amy Butler’s Little Stitches for Little Ones Autographed Copy: 20 Keepsake Sewing Projects for Baby and More By Amy Butler, Colin McGuire (there is one project in this book I like and I haven’t found it cheap enough to buy. Free is cheap enough! 😉 )
Amy Butler’s Style Stitches (I know, I know! I just can’t stay away from the gorgeous fabrics!)
Embroidered Effects: Projects and Patterns to Inspire Your Stitching By Jenny Hart, Aimée Herring
French General: Home Sewn: 30 Projects for Every Room in the House By Kaari Meng, Jon Zabala
Paper Cutting: Contemporary Artists, Timeless Craft by Laura Heyenga, Rob Ryan, Natalie Avella
Reprodepot Pattern Book: Flora: 225 Vintage-Inspired Textile Designs By Djerba Goldfinger, Grace Bonney, Mollie Green
Reprodepot Pattern Book: Folk: 225 Vintage-Inspired Textile Designs By Djerba Goldfinger, Grace Bonney, Mollie Green
Sublime Stitching Craft Pad By Jenny Hart
Sublime Stitching: Hundreds of Hip Embroidery Patterns and How-To By Jenny Hart, Alexandra Grablewski
Then I had to go to this Chronicle Books link and complete the form (Check!) and, theoretically, I was automatically entered into a drawing to WIN my list of books! And, one of YOU, dear readers, who comments on your post on your blog will win the list too! The rules don’t say a substantial comment, but you know how I am. While you are hanging around, go and take a look at the other posts. The scrap post was nice. the Modern Quilt Guild Meeting was fun. etc.
You can put up a post on your blog as well. Last day to submit entries is December 10th! Read all about it at Chronicle Books! Official Rules!
Leave your substantial comment here to be entered to win!
Another quilt is finished. This one didn’t take very long, aside from the cutting, but it was a monster to deal with. The binding took me a long time. I probably spent 10 hours on the binding alone.
This is a gift for one of the nephews. Hope he likes it.
I decided to name this quilt the Blue Janus quilt, because Janus is the Greek God of doorways, gateways and transitions. This quilt is going to someone who is embarking on a huge transition. More on that later!
I started out with 6.5″ patches. Each one of those squares is 6.5″, which makes the block about 24′. I needed 16 of the 6.5′ patches across and down to make the desired sized quilt. Yet another monster!
These are the first of several blocks this size.
I cannot spread the whole thing out in my workroom, so you get a little piece of the action. It took me about a day plus a couple of hours to sew the whole thing together. Since I want the edges to be straight I added a quilting border that will get cut off later.
You can see a little of the quilting border in this picture.
I am almost finished with the back. It is causing me a few headaches so I wasn’t able to finished before I had to be away from my sewing machine for a week. I plan to quilt this baby at my next longarm appointment at the end of the month so I need to get it done. I am sure I can since I have only a few more seams to get a back that is large enough.
This is the first part of a quilt I am making as a gift. I will tell you for whom it is intended once it is delivered.
I have been cutting blue 6.5″ squares, in a delusatory way, for the past year. I was sure I would get it done. Suddenly, it was April and I didn’t have nearly enough squares. I really wanted the quilt done by the beginning of June and was, thus, in a pickle. My deadline isn’t going to happen.
TFQ helped with my dilemna by cutting about 100 squares for me. That really, REALLY helped. I cut the rest and began sewing. I hope to have this top and back done in time to quilt it at my longarm appointment on July 30.
Yes, the Knitting Box, which seemed like such a failure, is finished. It took me much longer than I thought it would. Even though I should be done with this project, I am tempted to make another just because I would like to perfect the process as well as make a few modifications.
SIL likes it and I hope she will find it useful. I was nearly finished when she dropped off her child and requested a wrist band instead of the belt loop she originally requested.
No dice. I did not want to rip out the seam and insert a longer loop. I didn’t have it in me. Fortunately, SIL is very thin and the belt loop was generous enough to fit over her hand. It is tight enough not to slip off as she is in transit.
The above photo shows that I added some snaps. I had some large black snaps on hand, which SIL said would be fine to use. I decided I wanted something to match the piece. I looked for pink snaps in several local shops with no success. I am sure I have seen colored snaps before, but I couldn’t find any. I must have seen them online. I finally bought clear snaps and they work well to keep the box closed. I was able to finish it while she was out.
Part of what I wanted to do was secure the corners into a small box shape. I did that with beads and Laura Wasilowski hand dyed Perl Cotton. I hope it holds up. If not, I can fix it.
Above you can see the snaps and unfolding action as well as a bit of the corner detail.
I put two snaps on the edge covering the section where the yarn will come out. I thought that SIL could only snap one in order to allow the yarn to flow out more smoothly.
You can see how the yarn would come out with one snap open.
I will be really interested in how this project actually works in practice and if SIL uses it. I like the way the box looks in this picture and wonder if it will stay like that while she is on the go and knitting.
One of the things I really ended up liking about this project is how it became a group effort. I appreciate my SIL and my niece helping me figure out the solution to my challenges and to all of my readers who gave me resources. I also appreciate the opportunity to do something a little different and to Ruthann Logsdon Zarroff of Mirkwood Designs for posting the original Truffle Box pattern.
Thanks!
Online shopping is a godsend, because I really dislike going to stores and shopping. The looking around and trying to find the right thing kind of shopping. If I know what I want and where it is, I will go to a store, get the item and leave. Online shopping allows me to browse, not talk to anyone. The only problem is the packages.
When I was a solo librarian TFQ would come to visit me and there would be boxes of stuff that had arrived – not a lot, but enough to be noticeable – that I had not opened. I knew what was in the packages and I knew I could open them when I needed to wash the fabric or use the tool. She just couldn’t understand it and would, thankfully and gleefully, rip open all of the packages for me and ooh and aah over my purchases.
One of the dreary tasks forced upon a solo law librarian is that you have to open tons of boxes. Every day scores of boxes and packages come with updates for the legal materials. The packages are taped within an inch of their sad lives and require special equipment and fortitude, as well as serious caffeine to get through opening. I am not kidding when I say that this takes all the joy out of receiving mail and opening gifts. It is probably part of the reason why I use gift bags.
I am now fortunate to work in a larger library where we have a person whose job it is to open the mail, route magazines and newsletters and journals, and process the books so they can be shelved.
it has taken me a long time to heal. This release from the tyranny of mail, however, has allowed me to start to take some joy in receiving packages. Today was a good mail day!
In no particular order, here is the mail report.
TFQ sent these with a little note saying that she found them in the remnant bin at The Quilting Loft! I believe that Angie has an online store. She is a really nice person, has a great shop (which you should visit when you go to Seattle! I am sure the cab drivers know where it is 😉 or you can look it up by clicking on the link). Go buy something!
How nice to receive a surprise!
I love using stripes in bindings. It makes the quilts look more cheerful and adds movement to them. Have you tried using stripes in a quilt binding?
I believe that the upper left hand stripe is a Jane Sassaman print. I went to her lecture last night and I think she was wearing an apron with that stripe as the ties. There is no selvedge, so I can’t tell you for sure, but I am sure TFQ knows and will chime in.
Yes, I went to a Jane Sassaman lecture last night. The opportunity presented itself and quiltmaking is my passion, so how could I not attend? I am writing the blog post as we speak (well, sort of since I am typing this blog post bit now) and will post it soon. Be patient. I have pictures, too.
Remember the post where I talked about the EQ7 upgrade? I have to confess that that was a cheap trick to try and get two free copies of EQ7 – one for me and one for one of you. They didn’t pick me. 🙁 . I was sad. I thought it was a good post, but they pick by random generator and it wasn’t my turn.
The bonus is that they offered me a good deal on the upgrade so I bought that and had to wait forever for it to arrive. It came today, though. YAY!!!
I was inspired by the arrival to consider doing a block of the month.
Consider.doing.a.block.of.the.month.
Artquiltmaker.com BOM
Do I need more work? No.
Am I somewhat willing? Yes.
The key is whether you will participate? Will you at least try it if I do it and commit to posting one or two blocks per month until the end of the year? I thought about not posting instructions, but I would produce rotary cutter instructions for the blocks and somehow enable you to download them. I would have to figure that out.
Let me know by commenting below and I will think about it, too. I am not doing it alone.
Beth is a reader who is in the process of moving to South Africa. I think she lives in Illinois now. Moving is terrible if you move across town, but moving across the world makes me more in awe of Beth. How was she able to send me a small package with a note inside (that is flower postcard) in the midst of such a momentous move?
I don’t know. Beth is a better person than me. My child, nieces and nephews will have to haul my body out of the house from under a fabric avalanche.I hope never to move unless it is to move my fabric to a studio where I can go every day for 8 hours a day and play.
Anyway, this lovely blue fabric will have the perfect home in a couple of different projects that I have going now and for which I am cutting patches. Stay tuned for more on that another day.
So, dear readers, thank you for reading and living vicariously. And thank you to the US Postal Service and the handsome UPS driver who all showed up to work today and made it safely to my house so we could enjoy some quilty goodness.
I think the cycle is complete. For a couple of years, I have been trying to focus on the process of making rather than the finished object. I think the cycle is complete, because I am starting not to care that much about keeping things that I make. (there are no lines for the stuff I make, though) This could be a bad thing, because it is possible that I will just start and start and start projects and not worry about finishing. Let’s not go there.
Jill received her pencil roll yesterday. I have been waiting, for what seems like weeks, to tell you about about, especially since I am scraping the bottom of the barrel for blog posts, Jill’s Pencil Roll. Being sick really cut into my sewing time.
Anyway, Jill has been a loyal contributor to the Creative Prompt Project, along with SherriD, for the past year +. Jill has contributed a fabulous doodle response every week. I wanted to thank her for her contribution. It is a time commitment and I appreciate her gift to me of a bit of her time. I had hoped to post both gift posts together, but SherriD received hers the day after I sent it! (Thank you, USPS) Jill’s took a bit longer to arrive.
Back when I started the CPP, I didn’t plan to reward people for contributing. It is something that popped into my head a month or so ago and seemed like the right thing to do. When I decided I wanted to do this, I thought I would “borrow” some images from Jill’s blog and surprise her. At that time, she had a problem with someone else “borrowing” images. I decided that stealing was wrong and I should just ask. I didn’t give Jill all of the details, but she was very gracious, didn’t ask many questions and sent me some of her images from which I could choose.
I had an idea in my mind of what I would do, but in looking at the images, I decided on something else – what you see above. I don’t like rats, but I thought it was important to include this little guy to go along with Jill’s blog name.
This one was a little more challenging than some of the others I have made, because I had to fit the images in to a piece of fabric that would become the outside of the pencil roll. I went back to the days of piecing journal covers and took a page out of that book in terms of piecing the back. I didn’t want to piece the whole back, because I had a piece of FabMo fabric that screamed Jill at me.
The black and white is a designer sample that I got via Bron from FabMo. It wasn’t very large, so I thought adding the bit with the images would work and wouldn’t be too large and unwieldy. It worked out very well and I am pleased with how it came out.
Everything I use to make the Pencil Rolls is from supplies I already have or from FabMo fabric. You don’t need much more than fabric, ribbon and something to use as interfacing. I save ribbon, which I seem to get a lot of, so some of the pencil roll ribbons have odd words on them. Other things would work as ties as well. I just think it is nice to give these bits and pieces a new life.
I have also started to use a decorative stitch on the pocket of the pencil roll just to make it a little more special. It makes the pocket pucker a bit, so I think I start adding a bit of length to it to account for that puckering. It doesn’t pucker so much that I have had a problem sewing it within the seam allowance.
One thing I learned the hard way on Lil Sissy’s pencil roll was to use a binder clip to gather the ribbon tie out of the way. What is the hard way? Sewing the ribbon to the back as you sew along creating the pencil pockets. If you don’t have a binder clip, get one!
I am really happy that Jill liked the pencil roll. Thanks to everyone who participates in the CPP!. If you are quietly doing it alone, please post a direct link to your responses in the comments section of the prompt or to the Flickr group so we can ooooh and aah over your contributions!
This pencil roll was made with FabMo fabric. I found the piece and it made me think of SherriD’s Renaissance Faire activities. I decided to make her a pencil roll as a thank you for participating in the Creative Prompt Project for the past year+.
If I haven’t mentioned this before, the FabMo fabrics are generally samples. They vary in size, but I can usually get only one piece of a particular design. I didn’t have enough to use for the inside, so I tried to pick some fabrics that would coordinate and give the feeling of history. The marbled fabric reminds me of the end papers in a book.
Yes, it is Teacher Pillow time of year. I had resolved to not leave it until the last minute, but being in bed with a nasty virus for over week did not assist me in my resolve.
I made one pillow last weekend after I was feeling a little better. I also made a block during the week for one of the pillow tops, but spent the better part of Friday finishing them up. School is out on Friday, so I had to get it done.
Above is the pillow for the Resource Teacher. She has been working with The Child for the past four years. She has made my life a lot better, because she gets The Child. She has provided support that I wasn’t getting from the lower school resource teacher (through no fault of his own). I will be VERY sad not work with her anymore.
Every year I pull out the same fabrics and make a different block. Now she has a set. I am thinking of making a quillow next year. I have never done that, but my SIL is an expert and I can draw on her expertise.
I was surprised to see that lozenge design show up in the middle of the block. I amy have miscolored the blocks when I sewed the pieces together. The block is called Crockett’s Cabin in Around the Block. That lozenge shape is very appealing and I am wondering if it would work for a FOTY piece?
As The Child has moved up in the grades, I spend less time in the classroom, thus I know the teachers less and less. I try to get a sense of the colors of the teachers and it is very difficult when I have only spoken to them 3-4 times. The literature teacher, who also happened to be The Child’s homeroom teacher had a hard year this year. She was out for four months at the beginning of the year, because of the death in her family. I thought The Child would have a hard transition when she came back to school, but he took to her like a duck to water. He liked her because “she doesn’t think she knows everything” and I found her to be a very intuitive teacher. I don’t know if the above colors or design are her style, but they are what immediately came to mind when I thought of her. I hope she likes it.
I force The Child to do a little drawing for each of his teachers. He had a hard time this year. He is getting out of creative practice and I have to get on him about that. (N.B. I blacked the names to protect the innocent!)
Making the backs fit is the most time consuming part. I couldn’t seem to get it right on any of them. This one is actually sideways on the pillow. I figured that nobody would care, if they even noticed.
I really hope she doesn’t sincerely dislike purple. This block, in Around the Block, is called Star of Hope. It looks to me like a basic Ohio Star. I don’t really believe that blocks should have different names just because they have been recolored. I haven’t taken the time to look this up in the Jinny Beyer’s new book, The Quilter’s Album of Patchwork Patterns.
The Child kind of got into his drawing after a bit. He has a subtle sense of humor. I thought this drawing was very funny. Do you get it?
I mentioned on Tuesday that I found some fabrics I didn’t really like while I was cutting FOTY pieces. A couple of the above fabrics are those fabrics. However, the Science Teacher is male and I have not had the opportunity to make pillows for many male teachers. I found these fabrics to be great for a science man. I think they look a bit like rocks. I only had a fat quarter of each, so I had to add some others and I don’t have any to match next year, but may continue with the rock theme.
You can see that The Child got on to a roll with his drawings as he progressed through them.
The drawings are done on an 8.5×11″ piece of paper. First I fold the paper into quarters and then I draw pencil lines to mark the seam allowances. I also make a note as to which rectangle on the paper goes to which teacher. This year I also put in the name and the year. The Child knows now to keep within the seam allowance
In the past, The Child has chose the blocks for each teacher. This year he didn’t really care that much, so I mostly chose them. He was adamant about what he wanted for the math teacher. He saw the piece of pie I appliqued on the Tarts Come to Tea piece. He was adamant that he wanted that on the math teacher’s pillow. This is the first time I have done applique’ for a teacher.
The Child kept with the Pie/Pi theme for the back. Again with the sense of humor!
So done for another! YAY! I am going to a party today, but am going to find a fun project to work on tomorrow. I am glad I soldiered through and don’t have this project hanging around for tomorrow, except for the wrapping and the card writing.
I have to admit that I am sick of this project. There is only one year left and I am finished. I am not doing them for high school. I don’t think it is really appropriate and would embarrass The Child, but there are also too many teachers.
It is funny how you think something is a good idea and then a tradition and expectations start, which turns the fun into a chore.
I do enjoy looking through Around the Block and picking out the blocks to use. I am tempted to make blocks for next year’s pillows while I have the fabric out and just tuck them away until April or May so I have less to do next year. We’ll see.
Pencil rolls usually take me about 3 hours to make. That assumes, of course, that I don’t sew the ties to the back as I am making the pencil pockets and have to rip out.
This one took me three days for a number of reasons. First, not being one to make simple requests, she wanted one that would accommodate the colored pencils she had cut in half so she could have half of her collection at her job in SF and half at home in Santa Barbara. This meant that the pocket had to be smaller, which meant adjusting the pattern and not just sewing like a demon. I mulled this over for some time and finally came upon the idea of two pockets. The green and white city fabric is used to make a pocket on both top and bottom, so there isn’t really a top. Looking at it now, I should have made those pockets a wee bit wider or the whole piece a bit smaller, but it will work.
Second, I was sick almost all of last week, the weekend and the previous Friday. No kidding and no fooling around kind of sick. Stay in bed and don’t do anything kind of sick except read and sleep kind of sick. I don’t remember being that sick in a long while. The only thing I really accomplished was cooking dinner one night, breakfast one morning, loading the dishwasher twice and reading 4 books.
Finally, I made a lot of mistakes in this project. I blame it on the illness and the mad desire not to waste all this time at home. Getting well just doesn’t seem like enough, but apparently it had to be.
Yes, that is a ribbon or tie from the Merry & Bright Jelly Roll I used for the It’s a Merry & Bright Wrap quilt. It really was the perfect length to tie up this pencil roll. It also fit with the linen feel of the fabric I used for the outside.
Yes, that grape fabric is another fabulous FabMo fabric. I only used half the piece, too, so I’ll have to think of another accessory to make for Lil Sissy with the rest.
I don’t really get a sense of the fabric until I start working with it. This backing fabric was more loosely woven than the quilting cottons I normally use. One of the good things about the FabMo fabrics is that they are generally of good quality. At least I think they are of good quality. Despite the looser weave (and I am NOT saying it was holey), I had no problem with fraying or raveling or any of the sewing. Looking at the back of the piece, I find that the leaves and grapes really look 3 dimensional.
Kathy Mack of Pink Chalk Studio‘s pencil roll pattern has EXCELLENT directions. I really like this pattern and think that you should go off, as soon as you are done reading this post, and have opened a new window, and buy that pattern. I know I have waxes rhapsodic before about her pattern. I like this pencil roll pattern, because the font is the right size, and there are enough visual cues: boxes and borders, drawings, etc for me not to get lost in a mire of directions.
All that being said, I almost never pay attention to making a 12 or 24 slot pencil roll. I see what size FabMo fabrics I have and make as many slots as will fit the piecing of backing fabric I have, so I don’t have to waste or cut it. The thing is that I am probably not going to use these weird fabrics for anything else and it seems a shame to throw them away. Nobody to whom I have gifted an 11 slot pencil roll or an 8 slot pencil roll has complained, so I am going to keep doing what I am doing. One thing about making the same thing over and over (remember all of those Eco Market Totes I made?) is that I get to know the pattern and how the item goes together. This method works for me.