buzzville

On the bandwagon at last...

I'm sure I'm probably the last person to make this particular discovery, but I'm writing this post just in case there's one other person out there who has yet to discover the amazing work of Jean Ray Laury. In particular, I've just snatched up several of her older books (published in the 60s and 70s) that have me completely bowled over. Although these books are long out of print, they are available used for nothing on Amazon or through eBay - I've linked to the Amazon pages...

Quilts & Coverlets: A Contemporary Approach is a fantastic book filled with great inspiration for modern quilt designs and techniques. Here are some of the color plates:

look at those cute apple, mushroom and whale blocks!

great 70s color scheme!

Applique Stitchery is also full of incredible projects. Some of these just make me squeal!

I can hardly stand this gorgeous color palette - I've always been a sucker for blue, green, and purple!

I particularly like the botanical style of the one on the right...

Finally, A Treasury of Needlecraft Gifts for the New Baby has some cute craft ideas for little ones - from quilts, to bibs, to carriers, etc. She has some great examples of childrens' artwork being adapted for quilt blocks (are you reading Amanda?!?):

I keep meaning to make a fun soft book for my nephew...

Sugar baby quilt!!!

I know that was a lot of pics, but I hope you found them worth it! I'm definitely going to check out some more of her books because I've found these to be incredibly inspiring...

Pink Lemonade it is!

First off, I'd like to extend my sincere thanks to all of you who left such supportive comments and fabulous recommendations to my last post - what a wonderful group of people you all are!!! With support like that, how can I even think that I might not be able to keep going with my jogging program?!?

Now on to more crafting! It's been such a hectic month for me that I doubted I'd be able to participate in Tie One On or the Month of Softies. Well, I'm happy to say I've had *some* success... A while back I purchased a big box of reproduction 30s fabric scraps on eBay. The scraps were remnants from fabric bundles this woman puts together, so the scraps were neatly cut and most were long strips or smaller rectangles. I love these sweet, retro fabrics, and I thought that the "Pink Lemonade" theme might lend itself perfectly to these scraps. So, I picked out pink and yellow fabrics from the scrap stash that I thought worked well together and pieced an improvised apron front. Since my quilt project for the Modern Quilt Along involves improvisational piecing, I figured this might give me some good practice. Here is the front:

I don't know if you can see the tiny pink rick-rack that is sewn to the yellow border...

I purchased a coordinating repro 30s fabric for the back and ties:

Here is a close-up of the front so that you can see some of the fun fabrics:

The apron is reversible, but of course I like the pieced front best!

As for the Month of Softies, I came close, but not quite close enough! This is Nell (named after my grandmother and also sporting my grandmother's beautiful, pale blue eyes):

But, I'm embarassed to show Nell naked... I had intended to make her a beautiful dress and submit her for the month of July, but alas, I have not had time to clothe her. So, I'll just share this with you so that you can all keep me on task to get her dressed!

PS - there's a funny little aside to this monkey... I hadn't planned on even attempting this month's theme because I've been so gosh-darn busy, but I stumbled across 4 pairs of Rockford Red Heel socks at my local thrift store for $1.29 a pair (score!). I figured this was the crafty gods mocking me for even considering not making a sock monkey. Of course I snatched up all 4 pairs (one can never have too many sock monkeys!) and got straight to work. If only I had discovered the socks a week sooner, Nell might not be introduced in her birthday suit!

It's here! It's here!

I just received my pre-order copy of Denyse Schmidt Quilts! The book is very dense, filled with 20 smaller projects and 10 quilts. The instructions look very detailed and include good illustrations to follow along with. If you're still on the fence and aren't sure whether or not you want to buy it, here is some eye candy for you:

Vinyl bag (the book also includes a matching vinyl pouch)

Cute apron with pom poms!

Cats!

"Pie in the Sky" quilt

"Ice Pops" quilt

I know the quality of these photos isn't great (snapped quickly with less than wonderful light!), but hopefully you can get an idea of the projects. At first glance, it looks like a really fun book!

In other quilting news, my life is quickly becoming a sea of greys for the Modern Quilt-Along as I prepare to get started on "Unfinished Business". I'm a wee bit apprehensive about this project, but also foolishly optimistic - great combination, huh?!?

Modern Quilt-Along!

You may already have heard about Kim's Modern Quilt-Along where participants are making any quilt from Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr's latest book, The Modern Quilt Workshop. (Haven't signed up yet? There's still time to join!) I joined hoping that it would help get me motivated to make another quilt (and keep me on task!). I had trouble deciding which of the 15 patterns to make, so I left the decision up to Jerry. He selected "Unfinished Business", rated by Ringle and Kerr as "Advanced" (ugh!).

I have yet to decide on the size, but I think I've settled on color. I want this quilt to be one that can look good in any room of our house; because we have distinct color schemes in each room, I've decided to make the quilt in shades of grey. This is going to be quite the challenge for me, not only because my stash is severely lacking in greys, but also because I'm such a fiend for color! So, if anyone has any unwanted fabric scraps in grey tones, I'd definitely be interested in setting up a swap! Although gathering the fabric has me a bit intimidated, I love the quilt, and I'm looking forward to getting started on it. The cutting and piecing of the pattern is all improvisational, so it will be refreshing not to have to worry about perfect seam alignment. Quilt on!

"Better late than never"...

... or, perhaps, "it's the thought that counts". I'm searching for any over-used cliches that might explain why I'm so terribly late in finishing and sending my back-tack project. Sure, I'm full of excuses (my materials arrived a bit late, I had a week-long vacation already planned, a sick, feverish toddler occupied much of my time...), but in the end, I fell victim to my usual tendencies - biting off more than I can chew. In this case, I was inspired to attempt a project that was overly ambitious for me. I really wanted to challenge myself, and to make something truly wonderful for my partner, whom I admire a great deal. I found a project in the March 2005 issue of Quilts Japan that I wanted to tackle, and no amount of reason was going to steer me otherwise.

You may recall that I received a beautiful set of fabrics from Katy in botanical prints and shades of rich, olive green. The fabrics were wonderful, but my back-tack buddy is a lover of bright colors, so I thought that a monotone palette might not quite work out. Then I remembered I had some of the new Amy Butler Charm fabrics that also had olive green in them. Lo and behold, inspiration struck when I re-discovered this fabric in my stash:

 

Pink and olive green go remarkably well together! Who knew?!? I raided my stash a little further to uncover some great, soft pinks and bought a fat quarter of some irridescent olive green fabric that matched really well. Now, here comes the part where my back-tack buddy's identity is probably revealed... My buddy is a fan of exotic and rare tulips, so I decided to go with that as a theme for the sewing case I saw in Quilts Japan. Here is the outside of the case (fully opened):

I adapted this tulip block from Contemporary Classics in Plaids and Stripes by Piece O'Cake Designs (which, if you're not familiar with their work, is wonderful, fun quilting that takes traditionally-styled quilts and gives them an update in style and color - fun stuff!). The green paisley fabric I received makes up the quilted outer border, and I added pink binding and a pink piped flange to further frame the blocks. You'll notice that the quilting lines are not perfect because a little munchkin kept "fine-tuning" the guide on my walking foot and I never noticed until after I had quilted a few lines... Well, that is what makes this hand-made, right?!? The tulips are appliqued onto the background using a narrow zig-zag stitch.

Here is the inside of the case:

The tulip block on the inside was adapted from Applique Delights (also by Piece O' Cake Designs), and I made the vase holding the tulips into a built-in pincushion by inserting several layers of batting under the fabric. There is also a spool holder, a small, buttoned pouch, a pocket for whatever, and a pocket for scissors. All three of the little pockets are lined patchwork using fabric that I received, as well as goodies from my stash. There are also 2 buttons in the upper right that are used to hold a removable zipper case:

The zipper case is also lined patchwork, with bias tape binding and a little zipper charm that is a miniature pair of scissors. Next to it are a (vaguely!) spool-shaped pincusion and a needlecase made of wool felt. I embellished both with some of the pale green organdy ribbon I received from Katy as well as some pink rick-rack I received in a swap from Stephanie. Here is the other side of the pincushion and the inside of the needle case:

I borrowed heavily from Amy for the design of the needlecase... Thanks for the inspiration Amy!

My sewing machine and I had a few battles in the making of this project... I just can't seem to get it to make a nice, neat buttonhole (sorry back-tack buddy!), and when I applique using a tight zig-zag, it occasionally gets hung up, leaving me with slightly lumpy/bumpy stitching, rather than the nice perfect lines I hope for... I avoided some sewing machine battles by doing a lot of handstitching, which is not something I have much experience with. All of the pockets in the inside of the case are attached to the background fabric with handstitching, and the outer zipper and binding on the inside are handstitched.

I loaded the case up with goodies and sent it off to its new home. I'm not including pics of the goodies so that there are *some* surprises for my buddy! All in all, I'm thrilled that I finally finished the project, and I'm hopeful that my buddy will appreciate it - flaws and all!

A Little Bit of Everything!

I've got lots to catch up on with my posting, so I may have a couple of posts in a row to try to catch up!

First, I received my back-tack package today! Here are my materials - a host of rich, olive green fabrics, a zipper, and a coordinating ribbon! Thanks back-tack buddy! I can't wait to get started!

Then, I thought I'd tell you about my crazy weekend... I decided to try to participate in the Central Coast Quilt Shop Tour, a quilt shop "crawl" from Paso Robles to Camarillo made up of 14 different shops. (For those who aren't familiar with California geography, this is a very long span of coastline - about 3.5 hours each way!) I started on Friday and visited 3 shops near me. Then, on Saturday, I began the trek up to Paso Robles and met the one and only Mariko! This was my first time meeting a blog-friend, and I was probably a bit nervous - especially because Brynne was with me, and I feared Brynne would throw sand in Mariko's face, give her a good head butt, and throw food all over her (all typical for Brynne!). Luckily, Brynne was very well behaved while Mariko and I chatted at the park and later over a lovely Thai lunch. We had a great time, and it was fun to finally meet Mariko in person!

From Paso Robles, we worked our way down the coast from quilt shop to quilt shop. Most were what I expected - filled with fabrics I'm not crazy about and traditional quilters galore. However, a few of the shops peaked my interest, and I hope to return. I'll mention them here in case anyone else is interested. My favorite was The Cotton Ball in Morro Bay. This place was run by cool, hip looking folks (even a guy running the place!), and they had tons of fun fabric, patterns, knitting/crocheting supplies, etc. My next favorite shop was The Treasure Hunt in Carpinteria - a maze of a shop with a good selection of fabrics, and it's pretty close to me! Lastly, I'll mention Quiltin' Cousins in Pismo Beach. This is a small shop, but good fabrics, and I actually snatched up 2 copies of Quilts Japan I didn't already have!

All in all, it was a very long day, and I wouldn't recommend doing this sort of trip with a toddler in tow. But, I did get to explore some areas I'd just driven through in the past, and I met lots of quilters! Best snippet overheard: "Well, the fabric is a bit modern, but just think what you could do if you added a doily." Yup! Having visited all the shops in the allotted time, I'm now eligible to win one of the grand prizes. I'll let you know if I'm a winner!

May Flowers

Some of you may remember some earlier posts about a design for a growth chart quilt for Brynne that I had started on. I found the entire process very liberating - it was my own design (although it was certainly inspired by various projects), and the cutting and sewing were very free (I didn't have to use a rotary cutter until cutting the borders!). Here is the quilt top for the growth chart, which I am also offering as my submission for May's Month of Softies with the theme: May Flowers.

It was hard to get great photos today (weird overcast sky), but hopefully you'll get the idea nonetheless. The background of the quilt (the ground and sky) were sewn using raw-edge applique, and the grass, flower stem and flower, sun, bee, and ladybug were all appliqued using a satin stitch with a coordinating thread. The white fiberglass tape measure was stitched on over the right inner border (which was cut slightly wider than the left so that it would appear to be the same width after the tape measure was sewn on). Most of the quilt top (save the borders) was made using fabric scraps that I scored at the thrift store a while back. Most of the scraps had been cut into 2" strips, making them ideal for my rough edge applique background. So, a project like this is a great way to use up some of your scrap bag, if you're so inclined! I used pre-made quilt binding for the flower stem because I liked the fabric pattern, and it made it easy to do the curve that I wanted.

Here are some closer shots of the sun and flower

the ladybug and bee

and the grass

Next I will baste, quilt and bind the growth chart. Once that is done, I will embroider leaves with Brynne's height at important dates and those will be appliqued to the quilt. That way, the flower will gradually get more leaves on the stem as Brynne grows.

I really had fun with this project, and I think I may need to get into some more easygoing quilting! I love the beautiful geometric patterns of more traditional quilts, but I also liked being able to relax a bit with this one. Not having to worry too much about perfect cutting and seam allowances was refreshing!

More Birthdays?!?

I don't know when my sewing machine's actual birthday is, but we celebrated last week. Upon arriving home from a full servicing, I presented the following gifts:

From left, darning foot (for free motion quilting), Teflon foot (for sewing vinyl), and (drum roll, please!) a walking foot! I had a little bonus from work, and I decided to invest it into my hobby. So, now I can actually quilt properly at home instead of faking it (and struggling!) with a standard foot or waiting to quilt in the lab in my class. It was hard not having the machine around for a week, but now I feel ready to conquer the long and ever-growing list of projects... Unfortunately, my "real" job seems to be heating up at the moment, so I don't think I'll get going as quickly as I would like, but I'm definitely well prepared when the time comes!

I also got some great mail from Susie:

I bought her amazing little owl painting, and also got a cute note, owl sticker, and her amazing business cards. Her cards are great - they're printed on high gloss heavy card stock and look very different from the standard business card. I need to find out where she gets these made... If you haven't seen her stuff before, I strongly urge you to see her amazing wares - and, her blog is a lot of fun too!

Also a little housekeeping note: Therese is interested in selling this Japanese needle felting book ($10 plus $4 shipping). Please contact her directly if you are interested.

Denyse Schmidt Update

I thought I'd write a little follow-up to my previous post about the new, more affordable line of quilts from Denyse Schmidt. Turns out that these quilts are produced through a partnership with Sarita Handa, a major Indian textile manufacturer. Only one design is currently available through Crate & Barrel, but Main Cottage carries several other designs in multiple color ways.

According to her web site, Denyse's new book is scheduled to be released in the fall. The book will include patterns for 10 quilts and several other projects.

I also just discovered that Dobre Goods offers a full range of bags and small luggage pieces in a fabric designed by Denyse.

That's all I have for today - very tired - must go chill...

Happy National Quilting Day!

Not only is March National Craft Month, but today is also National Quilting Day. I thought I'd share links to a few online retailers that are offering specials in honor of the day:

Great American Quilt Factory: 20% off entire purchase Oops! This one is in-store only... sorry!

M & L Designs: 30% off entire purchase (coupon: NQDay)

The Quilter's Garden: 20% off books & patterns and 20% off florals, batiks, reproduction and oriental fabrics

Since Brynne is cutting her second molars (ouch!), I'm afraid I won't get much crafting done this weekend. However, I will share my WIP - the growth chart quilt I shared with you earlier. In class this week, I finished the browns for the "ground":

My teacher recommended using a rough-edge applique technique since this won't get a lot of washing or handling. I'm really enjoying the process so far - it's very loose and relaxed. No rotary cutting, no paranoia about perfect 1/4" seams... I can just cut randomly, using whatever fabric I want, and go from there. This is a very new creative experience for me! This week is Spring Break, but I think I'll go ahead and sew during class time at home so that I can make some more progress. The pale blues of the sky are next!