baby bandwagon...

This summer quite a few new additions came to our town. [which meant some baby showers were on my schedule] As I have mentioned before, I really enjoy making baby quilts - you get to try out new techniques, you aren't committed to a giant project, + I get to give a personal, handmade gift! I hope that these little quilts will see alot of snuggle time :)

This is Zak. [really wish I could take credit for the adorable cap!]

I was completely inspired by this retro-esque backing fabric! It screamed to be made into something for a little cowboy.

The stars are paper-pieced and [I think] go along with the western theme. The patchwork was a great way to use my humble stash of American Jane 4-in-1 prints. Awesome backing fabric + stars +knotting = a great vintage vibe!

This is Emili. [this is a pre-delivery pic - but take my word for it, Little Miss Calli is ADORABLE!]

This is their bedding - I tried to stay in a similar colorway and this line has some plums in it. I've always been a fan of coin quilts and with a candy bar of Fandango in hand, I went to work. It went together fairly quickly, more than a few layout revisions on the design wall.

To personalize it a little more, I embroidered her name. This is my first real attempt at machine quilting with a darning foot. Not terrible this being one of the few things I have quilted, I was fairly happy with myself. I hope both of these quilts will be part of many fond memories for these first time moms :)

nyb: tips, techniques, and a winner...

Are you up for the challenge? Ready to put your paper piecing hat on? Let's take on some New York Beauty blocks! In this post I will share some links and tips to get you started [and announce the fabric winner!] Perhaps the most important tip I can share is: just go for it! Don't be intimidated by paper piecing or curved piecing [like animals, I think they can smell fear :] It may take a little practice, but I am confidant that if I can make these blocks, so can you.

First the patterns. There are books and free piecing patterns all over the place. The patterns that I used came from Ulas Quiltpage. [a note: some of them I slightly adapted/changed] These are great and fairly simple designs. If you check the pic above, you can see that I used a variety of patterns. If you are looking for something a little more complex, check out these patterns over - they are not necessarily more difficult, but many have multiple paper pieced sections. [the block at the top of this post is from those patterns.

Component 1: Paper Piecing
Once you understand the basics of how to paper piece - the sky is the limit. I recommend heading over to the Quilter's Cache. They offer great step by step instructions and diagrams to help you get the hang of it.

The biggest issue that I have with paper piecing is choosing the right size fabric. My recommendation: go big. Yes, it is a little wasteful, but choosing a bigger scrap and trimming the excess makes the process go much smoother. As you make your blocks and gain experience, you will become a better judge of what size piece you need.

Another tip - when you trim the paper pieced section, check your template/pattern and make sure that it has a 1/4" seam allowance on the outer edge of the section. Otherwise, when you sew the block together, all of your precious little points will be cut off! And that is part of the beauty of paper piecing - it is so much easier to get all those perfect little points using this method than traditional piecing.


Component 2: Curved Piecing
After paper piecing, the solid sections remain. To make sure that the sections line up perfectly, I fold each of the two sections I am going to sew together in half, making a crease. Then I match up the creases [with the sections right sides together] and pin. Then I pin the two ends, then pin toward the center.

Once the two sections are sewn together, notch along the seam allowance. Then press the seam allowance toward the solid section.

I would love to see any nyb blocks that you whip up! And now for the winner [drumrooolllll, please]: Cathy Tomm! I sent you an email! Just a note: Cathy was not my first random winner, the first person was a no-reply blogger and left me no way to contact them. Thanks everyone who played along - I enjoyed reading and responding to everyone's lovely comments :)

new york beauties...

Has it hit you? You know, that moment of craft inspiration. You are poking around flickr, reading blogs, at a quilt guild meeting and it just hits you... "I NEED that" says the little voice in your head. That moment of inspiration hit when I saw Jennie's gorgeous New York Beauty blocks. The love was so intense that the fact that I had never successfully done any paper piecing didn't even phase me. I had been bitten by the quilt bug. Next step: load up on more brights and small black and white prints.

It was a labor of love - and some of the blocks were completed with the help of my block swap friends. I couldn't help but add the paper pieced flying geese border. All of the little prints make it feel almost like an I spy quilt - which is pretty cool in my book.

Now, like many a project before it, this little quilt will be stacked on the to-be-quilted pile. Are you tempted to start work on some New York Beauties of your own? Stay tuned - I have a giveaway coming up in the next post!

harry potter power...

I am admittedly mostly Harry Potter ignorant... I have not read the books, I have not seen all of the movies, but sometimes things you aren't an expert in can make for great bonding experiences. I met my friend Jordan when she was in high school - now she, on the other hand, is a die hard fan. She pre-ordered and waited in line for the BOOKS [and then read them each in a day]. She introduced me to this mythical world. I'm still not a reader, so we watched a couple of the movies together. We went to see the latest release in theaters - she watches excitedly, I lean over and ask who the heck is that character and why are they doing that. [For Christmas my brother got me all of the HP dvds, so soon I will be in the know!]

I thought nothing could be more fitting than an HP purse. Here is my own take on it! The inspiration came from the paper piecing pattern I found designed by Jennifer Ofenstein and then enlarged. I love how the subtle colors take this purse out of the pre-teen accessory category.

This is my first attempt with the 'no tools required' plastic grommets. They get my seal of approval! Especially helpful is the little template that comes with the set so that you can cut just the right size opening. I used some fusible fleece to give the top more stability.

Best part of making handmade gifts is seeing them enjoyed!

framed...

Continuing on with the parade of Christmas gifts, I made these for the moms - my mom and Derrick's mom. I have really gotten into anything with an adorable little face recently. Kawaii is a Japanese word that means cute - and those little smiles and big eyes certainly are cute! I love this line on the wikipedia page: "In some Asian and western cultures, the Japanese word for cute (kawaii) has joined a number of other Japanese words borrowed by overseas Japanophiles." The term 'Japanophiles' makes kawaii seem like some disease or jailable offense.

I bought some cotton tea towels by Paperchase at Borders that inspired this project. [These towels will never see a dish - I picked them up purely for the fabric :] I continue to stretch my top stitching muscles; I'm so glad that the sketchy look is in.

I have been getting my fill of paper piecing lately [still working on my New York beauty quilt]. This scene is collage of a couple different patterns found in the book Down In the Valley [a REALLY great source of paper pieced templates!] Derrick's mom's style is primitive, so I coffee stained it and baked it in the oven to give it a more distressed look.

I love how the red border gives it the look of being matted - completely coincidental, the finished piece was a little too small when it was completed.

Another little perfect-for-the-holidays project I made was this little headband. I am over the moon for all those little hair flowers that are popping up everywhere. This fascinator was easy enough - a purchased head band, some faux flowers, a feather, glitter, and a couple of buttons. I arranged and hot glued them onto an oval of wool felt. Great [simple!] accessory for a fancy dress party.

falling off the face of the earth...

I'm still around - even if my online persona has been mia for quite a while now! Again real life has taken me away from my computer. Between the holidays, pre-classwork, a masters level course intensive, and being stuck in Georgia any spare moment has been filled. Rest assured, my crafting addiction has not taken a holiday. I have projects to complete, pictures to upload and edit, and lots to post about and share in the coming days. Above is the final block for the Block Swap I was a part of in 2010. I joined in on the Nittany Block Party and my first fabrics have arrived - can't wait to get back into the swing of things!

How do you keep up with posting when life gets crazy?