Emergency Quilting: Stacked Coins

A little over a week ago, I needed a teacher gift.  Like, now.  For K's other teachers, I had made small quilts, but I hadn't started one for Mrs. First Grade.  What could I do?

I got out Last Minute Patchwork and Quilting.  There, under "8 to 12 Hour Gifts", was a wonkily cut Stacked Coins quilt.  Surely I could complete it in, say, 24 hours tops?  I hightailed it to the quilt store because I did not have time to diddle around with scraps.  Fat quarter bundles, baby.  Yeah.

I cut the wonky coin strips and tossed them like a salad before I realized you were supposed to leave them in piles and sew them in "random" order by choosing them deliberately.  Also, I cut half the fat quarter bundle into the wrong size coin strips so had to put them away for another project and was left with only orange and yellow fabrics for this quilt.  But it all worked out okay.

The finished panels:

Cut into strips and arranged into rows:

The sewn quilt top, basted (I used over 1,500 pins on this small quilt top -- I am slow, but I am learning to be thorough!) and ready to be marked.  I used a Clover chaco liner, which was great except that the chalk would rub off and I would have to re-apply it right before I quilted an area.  If I were doing it again I would use my Hera marker.

Three things I learned about quilting from this project:

1. Buy the very best batting you can afford.  It really does make a difference.  Really thin cotton batting is a dream to work with, and it was perfect for this quilt.
2. The tension on the machine needs to be adjusted up, not down, at least in the case of my Kenmore.  Adjusting it down leads to loosey-goosey stitches on the back.
3. I only ever want to machine-quilt with my Kenmore, unless I am using a longarm.  That machine is a real workhorse!

The finished quilt -- washed and dried, it crinkled so beautifully that the imperfections in my quilting melted away and it looked really gorgeous.  I am totally making one of these for myself!

Reduce, reuse, regift, recycle

This Christmas I was inspired by Soulemama to save some trees and make reusable fabric gift bags.

It was such fun making them! At least the first few...  I did them with the suggested French seams until I realized that Santa would never get his gifts delivered on time at that rate, then switched to regular seams and pinking shears (next year, I'll start earlier...)  And I improvised a method of attaching the ribbon by folding it and stitching it down in a box that seemed a bit more natural to me for tying the gifts.  By 2am, after Midnight Mass, I had given in and was using last year's leftover paper gift bags -- cause that's still recycling, right?  And since K woke up at 3, I was glad I did. 

 Aside from the ecological benefits of wrapping packages this way, I now have the bonus of being able to give any gift in attractive packaging, without hunting for the Scotch tape.  What could be better?  Plus, I had the opportunity to make use of some of the gorgeous vintage fabrics that have been languishing in my stash waiting for a worthy project.  

Want to try one?  My favorite is the bag near the middle, the one with the orange, green and navy flowers.  It started out as an extremely worn, extremely dated vintage blouse that I had been holding on to with no idea what I was going to do with it.  Of course I could turn it into a bag!  If you don't have one of these in your closet (and I bet you do), it's easy to find them on half price day at the Goodwill. 

The easiest way is to turn the shirt inside out, cut the collar and sleeves off just below the underarms, and sew closed, but if you need to you could narrow the sides and sew them closed as well.  Either way, for my friends who are afraid of their sewing machines, it is just straight seams.  Leave the bottom hem intact (it is now the top of the bag) and sew a ribbon to the center.  Done.  You've spent less than 10 minutes sewing, which is 3 minutes more than you would have spent wrapping, but your friend will think you slaved all day.  And you saved a tree.  Go you.

Quilt for dawni

Remember the four-patch quilt from last March? When I promised that if you helped me give the quilt a name I would make one of you a miniature quilt as a gift? It's only taken me seven months and a weekend, but I've finished dawni's quilt and here it is, compliments of Miss K:

It is a Friendship Star Quilt, pretty much done as outlined in Kathleen Tracy's Prairie Children and Their Quilts: 14 Little Projects That Honor the Pioneer Spirit, which I think is as much fun to read as it is to quilt from. The fabrics were taken entirely from my stash, which is kind of embarrassing, given the number of them that appear and the ease with which I was able to choose them. I hope dawni enjoys it, whether she uses it as a wall hanging or maybe a doll quilt?

I may be making more quilts from this book soon, but my next project (taking time out here and there for holiday gift-making; I can't believe it's that time of year already) will DEFINITELY be the Playing Along Quilt from Anna Maria Horner's Seams to Me: 24 New Reasons to Love Fabric made with yards and yards of Amy Butler prints snatched up at the Berry Basket Quilt Show last weekend!

Recess

Here's the quilt I made as an end-of-the-year gift for K's teacher. I love it!

It was simple to make using a charm pack from American Jane's "Recess" line by Moda -- with the squares pre-cut all I had to do was arrange them, sew the rows and columns together, baste, bind and tie -- it took maybe six hours to complete.

The bright colors and lively patterns remind me of my daughter and her Pre-Kindergarten classmates, and the backing with its line drawings and primer words seems appropriate. I have in mind that Mrs. H will use the quilt as a spare "rest time" blanket, but maybe she will find a more creative use. I hope she likes it!

(Isn't the red-white-and-blue binding print sweet? I bought enough to make a skirt or maybe a sundress for K with it.)

The overseas contingent

These are the last of the felt rabbits -- the ones who seemed a bit wonky next to their pastel cousins or who just plain didn't fit in with the in crowd. Together they form their own brand of post-Easter cool-cat nonchalance, and I like it way more than I'd thought I would. So when a foreign friend asked if she could have one of the "Easter rejects," it seemed natural that they should all go together. I hope she doesn't mind.



Making the bunny bag to be their home added just the right amount of closure to the felt rabbit project; I feel I can put the felt and the floss into a box for a while now and work on something else. I love the fabric for this bag because it reminds me so much of the bunnies themselves, sort of tall and elongated with a round, flat bottom.

Now to get this project off to Australia and move on to new and exciting things. Look for a plan-it-through Thursday post later in the day. Looks like it's going to be a warm and sunny one!

Many Happy Returns

A rousing Happy Birthday to my good and dearest friend! It goes without saying that your companionship and support mean the world to me, and how wonderful it is that birthdays come along and give me the chance to try to show and tell you that!

This year the theme for your birthday gifts is "Out on a Limb" -- in other words, these gifts are my way of thanking you for standing behind me during the past year as I have undertaken new ventures and become just a little more daring. They may not quite be as perfectly matched to your personality as gifts in other years have been, but I'm hoping you'll find them fun, anyway.

First up is a set of "Mixy-Matchy Napkins," as they're called in Amy Karol's Bend-the-Rules-Sewing, a fun new book I picked up before Christmas. Since I can never get all of my napkins to match, I actually prefer it if none of them do, so I really liked this little project. (Also, I got to use all kinds of fun fabric, which is like being a kid in a candy store.) I don't know how you feel on the subject, or even if you use cloth napkins, but if you try it I bet you'll never go back, either to the matching or to the paper. And of course I had to make you seven of them, because what number goes better with a bunch of mis-matched items? Now, really?



Next is something that I hope I can label "Not Too Frou-Frou," though by its nature it is a little fussy. It seems that aprons are all the rage these days, at least among the bloggers I read and the authors of my favorite sewing books. Thus, I felt called to make you one. I wanted to make you a tea-towel apron because I love the simplicity and utility of them, but I couldn't find a towel attractive enough to make me want to sew with it. So you've gotten the standard vintage-style apron with the gathered waistband and the tapered ties, guaranteed to provide a perky bow (if you can handle that.) I chose a vintage-style daisy print that I hope manages to remain understated, and I left off the rick-rack and the frilly pockets. (This pattern also came from Bend the Rules Sewing.)


Things I learned while making these gifts:

1. How to make a narrow hem without burning my fingers
2. How to baste by machine
3. How to make gathers and sew them into a waistband
4. That I can make things that are not comprised completely of straight lines

Thanks for those, and for your continual encouragement and faith in me. You are a blessing to those who know you. Have a happy!

Getting organized

First of all: the handmade gifts were universally admired. Two reactions that thrilled me most: From my Father-in-Law -- "I'm just overwhelmed." (He got the Buchanan plaid blanket.) From my Sister-in-Law, about the gifts in general: "I think your crafts get better every year." *grins from ear to ear*

Now, on to the next thing: Putting away the leftovers and the projects that just didn't get done this year. Prioritizing. I'm thinking of creating a "project notebook" that would be half Idea Book, half Record Book with notes and pictures of the things I've somehow managed to create in all this chaos.

About the chaos: It's got to go. I'm going to spend some time in the next few days clearing out my "craft closet" so we can move D's new computer into it -- I guess we'll measure and go to Ikea to find an appropriate-sized desk or other piece of furniture to hold the thing. Once we get him settled in there, I can start moving things out of the office upstairs so I can measure and plan how I'd like to move things in when the time comes to set up my new sewing room, which I think is rapidly turning into a crafting studio.

Yesterday I went to the Jo Ann Fabrics up in Mount Holly that's closing next month and bought, for cheap, some fleece for a blanket, some linen to try as an alternative to the terry in the towel/blankets, some duck cloth to use in possibly making picnic blankets, some monk cloth to try making woven afghans (I also bought a book on that for half price), and a mountain of rick rack just to have on hand in case I ever feel like embellishing anything. It was loads of fun. I'll miss those folks when the store closes and they have to move on -- I hope I'll see them at the Mount Laurel store, but I know it won't be the same.

Wrapping it up

Tonight I'm working on my last present, the second of a pair of simple scarves for my mother in her favorite colors. I think she'll like them. I spent the early evening wrapping gifts for K, and was pleased with the work I had done. I think she'll like her gifts, too.

For my dad, I ended up making an entirely new blanket in a festive and velvety red plaid flannel, which D liked enough to want to keep for himself! I told him I'd make us one after the holidays.


This morning I bought a book on home decor and some heavy-duty ticking-striped fabric on heavy-duty clearance sale. I'm looking forward to trying something fresh and new with my new-found free time.

Buchanan Plaid

Last May on Burlington Day, I was walking through the quilt show with my family when I spied an unusual sight -- the orange-and-navy tartan that belongs to my father-in-law's family in some mysterious way only he can explain.

Now, the Buchanan plaid has grown on me over the 14 years I've known my husband, and I no longer find it repulsive. In fact, I think the blanket I made from the (wool and polyester blend?) fabric that I found there on Broad Street is downright handsome.

Granted, you can't see the awkward joining I did where the ends of the blanket binding meet. I'm still trying to think of a way to cover that up. But I took a practice-nap underneath it and it stood the test admirably. And it's a bona fide cat magnet to boot. I think my FIL will be pleased.

Overboard and more

I lost track of the number of morsbags I was making and it got out of hand. When I stopped to count yesterday, thinking I had done about 13, the tally came to a walloping 20! There is something to be said for producing in bulk, but there is a time to cease and desist.

The annual "mix" CD is called "Lullaby" this year and needs no explanation. I put it together in honor of the many little ones born to friends and family recently and am looking forward to sending it out. Unfortunately, production has come to a halt as my DVD drive is mysteriously stuck shut and my techie-guy is sound asleep and is likely to stay that way for several hours.

The unadorned cookie tins I ordered arrived yesterday and it turns out they are not cookie tins at all. I totally underestimated the size and wound up with small round canisters that will hold about the same volume as a box of animal crackers. I'm looking around on the web for ideas as to what K and I might fill them with after we decorate them -- spiced nuts, perhaps? I have a nice recipe for cream cheese mints, but they're not the sort of thing one puts in tins. Hard candy would work, but I don't know how to make that. I suppose I could buy some, but that sort of defeats the purpose of giving homemade.

Tins or no tins, it's time to get to work on cookies. Three kinds: Chocolate chip, because my dad specifically requested them; Gingerbread men, because K is dying to make them; and sugar cookie cutouts, because it isn't Christmas without them. Technically we should start on these today.

Also in the must-get-done category: make Josh's hooded towel/blanket; bind David's blanket; finish all of the journals; wrap and mail the presents that need to go out TODAY!!!; and whatever else I've forgotten. Where are the elves when I need them?

Rainy days and Thursdays

Yesterday was stormy and cold, and I ended up rearranging my plans so that I could stay in all day and catch up on sleep -- I'm something of an insomniac -- and work on my various Christmas projects. The weather had me feeling a little blue, but getting some extra rest and relaxing with my crocheting and some old episodes of Mad About You on DVD boosted my mood by quite a bit.

I didn't complete anything yesterday, but I worked on: the wool/cotton scarf; some felted rocks; and a Moleskine patchwork journal. When K came home from school she was gung ho about helping me with the rocks, and even got started on making a felted bath scrubber from some wool roving and a bar of soap. I let her work on the felting until we were both sick of it.

It's been fun having K's help with so many of my projects lately. When I put all 3 of our names on the gifts this year, I'll really feel like the gifts are from all 3 of us: D pays for the supplies and pattern/idea books; I do the planning, purchasing, supervising and the majority of the work; and D and K assist me as necessary (and as possible.) It works out nicely for everyone.

Busy Busy Busy

Lots of work to do, starting new projects and continuing old ones:

• Rice bags -- started making some in longer lengths, bought 30 lbs of rice and lots more dried lavender; these will be a "staple" gift this year.
• Wool/cotton crocheted scarf
• Painted picture frames with K to hold her school pictures for the grandparents
• "Felted rocks" -- great fun. More on these later.

Gave a receiving blanket and matching hats to a friend who recently became a grandmother. I almost didn't, because they were not perfect, but she loved them and kept exclaiming on how soft and beautiful they were.

I think one of the benefits, to me, personally, of giving away what I make, is that it helps me to be less critical of my self and my abilities. People appreciate handmade and often don't see or even recognize the flaws that would keep me from giving the gifts in the first place.

Advent 2

What an excellent evening to celebrate the second Sunday of Advent! Freezing and blustery outside, with the scent of homemade chili in the crock pot greeting my guests as they hung up their coats. D and his father glued their heads together over a math problem, and K hauled my mother-in-law upstairs to do Grandma things while I put the finishing touches on supper. We kept it extremely simple again, reading the collect and singing the blessing at the Advent wreath and eating at tray tables in the living room, enjoying the candlelight and each other.

Yesterday's project was simple and fun. I sewed many, many small flannel sacks together, leaving a small opening through which D funneled a mixture of rice and dried lavender. After slip-stitching the holes shut, I now have many, many small soothing microwavable/freezable hot/cold packs.

I have been given these before and have purchased them at craft fairs and have always wanted to try making them, but before now have not had the sewing skills (the ability to sew a straight line with the sewing machine!) to make them. I am astonished at how easy and satisfying they were to make -- not to mention inexpensive. I think that I will make more in different sizes and that they will make fine gifts.