Hello/Goodbye November

It's been a busy fall.  Okay, that's an excuse, but I don't have anything else, so imma go with it.

I started the month with 10 days on my own when The Mister went on a road trip to a big car event. I took the opportunity to take everything out of my sewing room and sort/purge/organize.  

One of the side effects of going to estate auctions is that you end up buying stuff you don't particularly want, along with the stuff you do want. And when it is fabric, it is hard to think that I will NEVER have a use for it. So, it builds up. Sometimes to the point where I am unable to use anything because there is so much 'stuff' in the way.

I was determined to reclaim my space! 

It took just about the whole 10 days and is still a bit of a work in progress because we had guests for the holiday.  Our guest accommodations are in the basement, which was my default landing place for stuff I decided not too put back in the sewing room, but did not go to charity, so that needed attention, too. 

I went through four packages of comic book boards and part way through a fifth package, to wrap anything a half yard to about 3 yards.   I have to say that while I would have rather spent the money on more fabric, the boards do make it more manageable to pull out fabric and be able to put it back in the same spot. 

I need some Billy Bookcases, though.  We will have an Ikea at some point next year and when they open, I will be ready!  For now, I am using some wire baskets on shelves. They are kind of heavy, but manageable.

Meanwhile, I got some sewing done away from home, during "The Great Upheaval".  

The KC Modern Quilt Guild had an all day retreat that allowed me to finish some string blocks for a Quilt of Valor.

This is the the top.  It has been sent away to be quilted!

A week later, we had another sew day due to a cancellation of a speaker/teacher who had an emergency and couldn't come to town.  Since we already had the room reserved, a few of us took the opportunity to sew. 

My project at the second sew day was a "Sew Together" bag.  The pattern was a souvenir of my visit to Dear Sis in October.  "Mama Said Sew", in Ft. Collins, had the pattern and a kit and I bought both. I decided to use other fabric and save the kit, thinking that my first bag might not be cute-Japanese-fabric-worthy.  

I can even put my 3.5" x 9" ruler in it with all my other supplies for sewing away from home!

The first bag turned out pretty well, but I am glad I saved the special fabric for the second bag. 

I did miss the tip about directional fabric, though, so the second bag has a front and a back. Also, I didn't put the pin cushion or needle landing in this bag and I used white muslin for the pocket linings instead of the dark chambray in the kit.  I think white makes it easier to find what I am looking for.  I have my embroidery supplies in this one, but I like to use a 5" hoop and it doesn't quite fit, so I may assign it other duties.

And then I made another!

 

This one I made with some fat eighths of Riley Blake fabric that I got for a Modern Quilt Guild challenge. We received six fat eighths of their basic fabrics and the only stipulation was that the finished item must be quilted. I made this bag two inches more narrow than the pattern, both because I was constrained by the size of the fabric and also because I have a huge supply of 7" zippers (estate sale bounty). I used almost every bit of the challenge fabric and again used white muslin for the pocket linings. 

I must say I really like this size. My plan is to use it for manicure tool/supplies, but I haven't filled it yet since our reveal is at our December meeting. I think the size will be perfect for that. I am not certain it would be big enough for sewing retreat tools, but the proportions are really cute!

The pattern is by Sew Demented and is challenging, but not really hard.  Before the spate of bag making, I believe I have put in maybe 3 or 4 zippers.  Now I have put in a dozen more and I am much more confident with the process.

I have a plan to sew a bit this weekend and get some Christmas packages sent off. I might have done a bit of Black Friday Internet fabric shopping yesterday, so I need to get busy and make some room for it!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  Hold onto your hats, because Christmas is just about here!

A Zip Bag For Any Occassion!

This month, a granddaughter had a birthday. Usually, we send money to the grands, but this year we decided to send a gift.  She is an arty kind of girl, so I bought her some Prismacolor pencils and a sketch book along with a book on how to draw cute animals.

After it was finished, I was thinking about how to wrap and ship and it occurred to me that a zip bag would provide decorative 'wrap' and I could put it all on a padded envelope to send.  I only had a couple of days before the shipping deadline for it to arrive on time, but I decided to make a prototype with some solid charm squares before I used a print charm pack.

I wasn't sure of my size conversion, but once I got some squares put together and the size confirmed, I liked the look of the solid squares.  I decided to embellish with her name embroidered on one side, which provided a central motif to echo.

For the back, I used some 'dot-to-dot' quilting ala Angela Walters.

Despite a post office holiday in the same week, it arrived exactly on time.  I think she liked it.  Sometimes it is hard to tell with 'almost teens', but she sounded enthusiastic when we spoke on the phone.

I love these little fast projects!  I think I may try some half square triangles or other, more complex piecing down the road.

Who knows?  Maybe all my holiday gifts will be 'wrapped' in a zip bag!

A Finish! - Mirror Ball Dot Challenge

 Last week at guild, we had the reveal of our latest fabric challenge. The Michael Miller Company sponsored a challenge proposed by our fabulous swap committee!  

The company provided four fat quarters to each participant - two fq's of Mark Hordyszynski Mirror Ball Dot fabric, and two fq's of coordinating cotton couture solids.  The rules of the swap were to make a quilt, inspired by an architectural element on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri. 

I went to Google Images for my inspiration and found a photo of the tiled steps leading up to McCormick and Schmick's restaurant. Since the tiles were the same colors as my fabrics it seemed a natural choice. 

There are many, many talented quilters and artists in the KCMQG and swaps are a bit intimidating for that reason, so I decided to fore go the artistic approach and use a literal interpretation.  I converted the photo through the "Stitch Sketch" app on my iPad to a cross stitch pattern, which I then used to make a pixel quilt. 

This is the photo:

And this is the quilt: 

And the back.

I added some other fabric from a Gees Bend quilt kit in blues and grays.  I think the gray tone in the GB fabric sets off the mirror ball shine. 

I wasn't sure about the color fastness of the GB fabric as it is hand dyed and every time I washed the fabrics, the color catcher came out dark blue.  I washed the quilt after the reveal, though and it came out fine. I plan to donate it to the Blessings Bee next month. I didn't want to donate a quilt that had special washing instructions, so I was relieved at it came out with all the same colors at it went in with!

See all the challenge quilts here in the guild Flickr stream.  The original inspiration photos are there too.  Prepare to be amazed!

Better Than The Sum of The Parts

I am on a roll with zip bags.   I don't know why, but Julie's tutorial just made it seem so easy, and it really was. 

This one was made from 5" squares, so it is four times the size if the originals.

I used a stack of squares that I rescued from a very poorly pieced lap quilt top I bought in a bunch of stuff at a church sale. The squares were cut perfectly, but the seams were the wonkiest ever, so I 'unsewed' them. The fabrics were not ones I would likely purchase, but my goal was to use it to practice some "dot-to-dot" quilting from Angela Walter's Craftsy class. 

The squares were a great size for the designs that Angela teaches, and now that I finished it, I don't even notice the individual fabrics. They just all kind of become a color pattern. 

After I filled it, it began to take on a box shape, so I am thinking about possibly adding a snap to the ends so that it would stay that way.  

One change I made with this bag is that I quilted the lining to the pieced shell so the seams inside are raw edged.  I don't think that will matter, though, as this size will more likely be used for closet or shelf storage.

I plan to make a couple more of these bags. I think they will be good fmq practice and since they zip, they will keep the dust out of whatever is inside. 

How  do you use 'ugly' fabrics?

Stash Update - Week 34

There was lots of quilt related activity this week and even a tiny bit of fabric used in a finish.

I finished the top for our guild challenge. The reveal is next month, so I have a couple of weeks to get it quilted and bound. I will wait to show you until it is finished. It is not really too exciting, but I did try a new technique, so that is a plus.

After putting the top together, I really wanted something with more immediate gratification, so I used Julie's  Moda Bakeshop tutorial to make this little zip pouch.   I used a mini charm pack from QuiltCon and a fat eighth from my stash for the lining.   I practiced some free motion feathers in the quilting.

It was so fun, I used some extra squares from the challenge quilt to do another one!  I used an orange peel pattern for the quilting in this one.

But, the big news is week was the Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild fall retreat on Saturday!  We sewed from 9am to 8pm with short breaks for lunch and dinner. So much inspiring fun!  

I worked on some string blocks for a Quilts of Valor project, organized by Alycia at Alycia Quilts. I finished 20 and they are packed and ready to send to her on Monday!

I also worked on my Penguin and Fish blocks. I finished all the ones I originally stitched, but I purchased a few more this summer and I am going to add a couple more before I stitch them onto a quilt top. 

It was loads of fun to sew with friends and so inspiring to see what everyone was working on!  I didn't sign up for last year's one day retreat and I remember thinking that it seemed like a lot of trouble to pack up all my projects so that I could sew somewhere else for a day when I have such a great sewing space at home.   

Now I know it is totally worth it!  It requires project organization and commitment to work on what you take and that means progress on long neglected WIPs!

Used this week-  3 yards for foundation and strings in the QOV blocks and a half yard in each of the two zip pouches.   Next week I hope I can report the challenge  quilt and make a bigger dent!

Fabric added this week - 0 yards

Fabric added YTD - 75 yards

Fabric used this week -4 yards

Fabric used YTD - 64 yards

Net Stash change -+11 yards

I am linking up here, just to stay on track!

Stash Update - Week 33

Blogger tells me that it's been 76 days since I started this post, so I guess it's been that long since I finished any projects.  It feels good to have something to report today!

This week, I finished the 'Eye Spy' quilt and so I can report the 2.5 yards for the front, and 2 yards for the back and binding.  I used Carla's tutorial which adds a lot of energy to the block arrangement.

I pieced the backing from some of the leftover layer cake pieces and some remnants from JoAnn. It was wide enough to cut binding strips from what I trimmed off after I quilted it.   I makes a very scrappy effect!  I like it a lot better, now that it is finished.

I have also been  working on a guild challenge today, so I hope I have another finish before too long! 

Fabric added this week - 8.5yards

Fabric added YTD - 75 yards

Fabric used this week -4.5 yards

Fabric used YTD - 60 yards

Net Stash change -+15 yards 

I am linking up here to try to stay on track!

Sewing Something!

I finally got back to the sewing machine!  

Craftsy sent me an email with a screaming deal discount  (75% off!) on a class of my choice.  I guess they do that if you haven't signed in for a long time.  Their strategy worked, and I am glad because I had been wanting to enroll in Leah Day's class "Free Motion Quilting a Sampler". 

It was my intention to take the class and use it as a guide to quilt the top I made in the "2012 BOM" class, but I had resolved not to enroll in any more classes until I finished all the ones I had already paid for. 

 I couldn't pass up the deal, though...

After watching a few lessons, I was really itching get started, but first I had to get some organization reinstated in the sewing room. I made good enough progress to have a modicum of workspace, even though I still have loads to tame. 

I basted my eye spy quilt first, because it is smaller and because I had a back all ready to go.  I didn't really have a quilting plan in mind, but I didn't want to stipple or pebble, because they both bore me to tears and it is hard to stay consistent. I decided to try Leah's 'echo shell' which is kind of a Baptist Fan variation and do an all over design. 

I will just say that I made every error possible.   It is not a quilt I am emotionally invested in, though. It was intended to be a charity quilt from the get-go and it will be a good quilt for dragging around, making a tent or spilling things on. 

Of course, I got a bit better as I made my way through the quilt and I identified some areas for improving my set up, so I am feeling pretty good over all.   I am  finished with the quilting.  If I can finish up the binding today,  I might have some stash usage to report this week.

Which is good, because I added some this week   I just couldn't pass up Heather Ross' "Briar Rose". And, I bought a fat eighth stack of "Bluebird Park" a new Moda line that is super cute.  That makes about 8.5 yards I need to work off!

I better get to it!

Good-bye, June!

 My sewing room is sill chaos and getting worse! I have been dragging totes and tubs up from the basement that were put there three summers ago. While it is fun to see things that I had forgotten about, it makes a terrible organization challenge!

I have not been faithful keeping things current here, but I have been consistent with getting things listed in my Etsy shop, AtomicSisters. I am up to about 45 items and I have not made a dent. I think I need to increase my listing goal to 10 things a day!

I have So. Much. Vintage.Fabric.

The last time that I did much in the way of e-commerce from the selling side was 7 or 8 years ago and my, how the market has changed. Prices are much lower than I expected, but maybe that is a good thing. Sometimes paying a 'pretty penny' for something can make it hard to cut into.

Here are a couple of fun things that have bubbled up from the debris!

This is a piece I picked up at an estate sale last week. It is overcast stitched on all four sides, so it may have been intended as a table cloth. It doesn't have any of the usual spots or wear of a tablecloth though, and the overcast hem doesn't really look as neat as I would expect for table linen, so it wasn't used much, if at all for that purpose.

I love looking at all the different details!

Recognize these folks?

This fabric is fun, but a little disturbing!  It is the Bordens - Elmer and Elsie and their kids having a barbecue. And, it doesn't look vegan...

It is a double border print  with the 'tossed' utensils in the center.  I am thinking it may have been designed to make a picnic table cloth.

The quilt guild sign ups for a all day sewing retreat in August just opened. I will look forward to sewing there, if I don't tame the chaos before then!

Paper Piecing with Penny

I have not been sewing much the past few weeks.  Lots of summer interruptions, and truth be told, my sewing room is a mess of rearranging in process and accumulation of stuff!

This weekend I had an opportunity to sew without tidying up first.  Penny Layman of Sewtakeahike was our speaker at guild on Thursday and she offered three classes while she was in town! 

On Friday, she taught foundation paper piecing in the morning at a cute quilt shop in a small town nearby.  I had never been there, so it was fun to explore a new shop. We used her super cute jelly jar pattern and it was so fun seeing it made up in all the different fabric combinations. 

We used this pitcher patter to practice freezer paper piecing in the afternoon. 

I started with a picture from a vintage coloring book, but I forgot that the image would turn out reversed!

Saturday, we learned how to design our own patterns for foundation paper piecing.  

Penny is a great inspiration and a wonderful teacher and it is always fun to sew with friends!  

I am not sure I will dive right into designing my own patterns, but I definitely feel more comfortable using the technique!

Another thing that has been keeping me busy is restocking my Etsy shop, "AtomicSisters".

If you are interested in some vintage fabric, trim, hankies, or 'miscellany'  check it out. I have set a goal to list at least 3 things every day.  

I should have it done by this time next year...

Peer Pressure

I signed up for Instagram.

I couldn't help it.

All the cool kids are doing it.

I don't want to be left out.

I am not exactly sure what to do next, but if you want to see if I figure it out, I am Justmerely over there.

It's less words, more pictures. That is probably not a bad thing...

WIP Wednesday - Picnic Pals Quilt

During the holiday weekend, I started thinking about putting these embroidered blocks together with some fabric from the same designer, Alyssa Thomas from Penguin &Fish.  

Last Spring, Alyssa offered some of her fabric and a copy of her new book in exchange for making samples for her Quilt Market booth.  Besides the fabric and the book, I also got ten of her alphabet animals designs to make the samples from and to keep for myself afterwards. 

They are very cute and quick to stitch up, so I stamped some squares for a travel project and finished up a set for me, earlier this month. 

The fabric I selected is her Picnic Pals line and she sent me fat quarters of all 18 prints as well as eight coordinating solids. They are all organic and really nice to work with!

(this block is not wonky, just my photography skills...)

I am trying to decide whether to make a couple of duplicates so I can make a bigger quilt, or maybe make some 'alternate' blocks.  

I think I will make a few more blocks and then decide...

Stash Update - Week 21

I have been re-thinking the way that I am tracking my fabric acquisition. I have decided that I am not going to track fabric that I do not pay for.

My goal is to sew from my stash, but also to break the habit of fabric shopping. (The main exception is shopping with our guild sponsors on meeting nights.) If I am given fabric as a gift, or prize I am not going to include it in the totals.

I am not going to go back and change what I have counted so far, just going forward.

Since my last report, I added three yards of 'souvenir' fabric, purchased in Windsor, Colorado while I was visiting DearSis. It is some of Tula Pink's Parisville that was on clearance. ( I kind of am sort of thinking about maybe doing some or maybe all of the blocks in her "City Sampler" book...)

I don't have any finishes to report, but if I get my kitchen floor cleaned tomorrow, I might get two tops basted and ready for quilting!

Fabric added this week - 3 yards
Fabric added YTD - 66.58 yards
Fabric used this week -0 yards
Fabric used YTD - 55.68 yards
Net Stash change -+10.9 yards

Sweet Liberty!

Last November, Penny at Sewtakeahike had a giveaway of a Liberty Scrap Pack offered by Jo at the Organic Stitch Company. I was thrilled to be chosen as the winner!  The original package apparently was lost in the international post ether,  but I finally received it a few weeks ago!  

Aren't they gorgeous!

Some of the pieces are tiny gems, but many are larger. By weight, there is a total of about 3/8ths of a yard!  Such precious little bits of yummies!  

These are some of my favorites!

Tall Ships!

I love the bee!

I am not sure what is going on here...

I didn't have any idea what I would do to showcase these little treats, until I ran across this gorgeous bag by Kim at My Go-Go Life!  

I have always been fascinated by the magic of cathedral windows, but I have never tried them.  I think I will be learning a new technique in the very near future!

Thank you Penny and Jo!  

Blogger's Quilt Festival - Doll Quilt

Here we are, almost to the end of May!  The last couple of weeks have just slipped through my fingers!

There has been lots of busy-ness, but not much in the creative department, so I decided to join in the Blogger's Quilt Festival for the first time.  I have enjoyed past festivals (hosted by Amy's Creative Side), but always as a spectator. Since I don't have anything new to talk about, I decided to show you a little quilt that I made about this time last year.

I wish I had a better photo - this was snapped with the phone just before they arrived!

I made two of these little doll quilts to take to some great nieces last summer when I visited them.  I am never sure how hand made gifts will be received, or any gifts for that matter,  as I don't see them often enough to be in-tune with their current interests/development.

I needn't have worried.  They were a hit!  Throughout the visit, requests to play "blanket" were repeated often!

The pattern is by Aneela Hoey  from  "Pretty in Patchwork - Doll Quilts". I used Aneela's Little Apples fabric, mostly.  The solid is a Kona and the doll and bunny are from a Suzy Ultman panel.  I embroidered the clouds with glow-in-the-dark floss, instead of applique.

The dimensions are 12" x 14" (the dolly quilt is three inches by three and a half and the bunny's quilt is two inches square!)

Check out the other gorgeous quilts entered in the festival!  It's not too late to enter!

Absence

This week, I feel like I have been absent from my real life. Or, maybe real life has interrupted my self centered world of doing (mostly) what I please.

I made a quick trip West to help my cousin manage some of my aunt's affairs. I had not been to see her for several months and it was an overdue visit. I stayed at my cousin's farm and saw the new spring calves and the ones that were born since my visit last fall. He has been developing a small herd of Scottish Highland cattle over the last couple of years. I always
like to go with him to take them some treats. I pretend they are glad to see me, even though after they figure out I don't have any goodies in my pocket they lose interest in my conversation!

We accomplished a lot, although not all at needs to be done, so I will make another trip at the end of the month.

No stash update this week, but there was no change. It is very doubtful that I will have any change this week,either, as the only day available for sewing has a dentist visit scheduled. I may do a bit of shopping at guild, since we have a meeting sponsor, but maybe I will just buy thread! The Fat Quarter Shop had Mod Century by Jenn Ski 50% off, this week and it took every ounce of discipline not to order a bundle or jelly roll. It is a line that has appealed to me since I saw it, but I remind myself that there will be another!

At any rate, I have not done much of anything in the creative department, except for the embroideries that I started a couple of weeks ago. I finished three more and have a couple in progress. I have been thinking about how I want to use them when they are complete, but I have not settled on a plan. For now, I am just enjoying the feeling of accomplishment!

'G' is for Giraffe

'H' is for Hedgehog

'A' is for Alligator

WIP Wednesday - Embroidered Blocks

My quilting mojo has taken a dip, lately. The Mister and I took a weekend road trip to rural North East Kansas, last weekend, to attend a memorial for my BIL's dad who passed away last winter. It was in a very small burg (pop 650), but the town maintains a tiny RV park (4 spaces) so we took the camper and stayed three nights (why not when the rate is $10 a night!)

The service was very nice and we enjoyed visiting with DearSis and her guy. She brought me new slippers to swap for an estate sale dress form I found for her. I brought the fabric and embroidered blocks for our next quilt collaboration and we swapped some books to read.

There were a couple of small towns near-by that had antique stores so we explored those and hiked up a very tall overlook to see wagon train swales (wheel ruts) made by pioneers crossing the Big Blue River.

I gained an new appreciation of the hardships of westward expansion, 5 feed sacks and two aprons.

While we were away, I traced and stamped ten embroidery designs from Penguin & Fish for a travel project. They are so much fun to stitch, I have been working on them since we got home, as well.

The good news-they stitch up pretty quickly. The downside- I have another WIP...

'J' is for Jellyfish!

Stash update week 17

This week I added three yards of almost solid fabric that I bought for a 10" square swap. It is a 'rainbow' swap and my assigned colors were red and red-orange. I didn't have anything suitable in the stash so I ordered some sale fabric from Fabric.com.

And, since there is free shipping if you spend $35, I filled out the order with some Suzy Ultman dolls and some coordinates for a story book /dollhouse panel that I got last summer. The order totaled 5.5 yards.


Finishes this week:
I used 1.5 yards for the Baby Animal Blocks.

Not much progress, and still going the wrong direction. I thought I would have the Punctuation quilt done, but the embroidery took priority.

Fingers crossed that I will get some projects wrapped up this week!


Fabric added this week - 5.5 yards
Fabric added YTD - 63.58 yards
Fabric used this week -1.5 yards
Fabric used YTD - 55.68 yards
Net Stash change -+7.9 yards

WIP Wednesday - Embroidered Baby Animals

 It is almost not Wednesday, but I have just finished the last of these blocks!

Good thing, too, as I need to hand them off to Dear Sis this weekend (along with the feedsack fabric I set aside for the quilt for her Grandbebe Girl Five).

The designs are Aunt Martha transfers, "#3738 - Baby Animals".  Like many Aunt Martha designs, there were 7 in the set - the seventh was a baby elephant which I didn't feel quite fit in with the rest.  I needed 12 blocks, so I left out the ellie, and did two of the remaining six.

This is the first time I have done duplicates of the same designs in the same set of blocks.  I think I will try not to do that again.  The last few were kind of a grind to finish up.  I do think they are very cute, though!

Here is a closer view of a couple of my favorites:

The rest are in my Flikr stream here.

Fingers crossed that spring will come for good this weekend! I am excited for a mini road trip to hook up with Dear Sis and her Guy and hand off this project!