Gathered Clutch

A friend of mine recently moved away. She's the creative type who uses fabric to decorate, but didn't want to take it with her when she moved so I was the lucky recipient! I took 3 that she had hung together and re-purposed them into this clutch to send her as a "good luck, off to your new and exciting life" present, following the tutorial over on Noodlehead. I'm excited with the way it turned out and it was the perfect way to transform her material into something new. And it really wasn't too hard - the tutorial is easy to follow. I successfully used interfacing AND installed a zipper. Now on to one for myself!

What's an aunt to do?

Several months ago, I posted the quilt I made for my niece's 3rd birthday. It was a Fons and Porter kit - paper dolls. So when the 3 year old sent an email requesting more clothes for her quilt, I have no choice but to respond!

I followed this tutorial to make a little drawstring bag.

And loaded it up with the rest of the clothes ("and hats, yes please" so says the 3 year old)

sloooowly but surely

the quilting progresses on the birthday quilt. we're now 3 months late, certainly not my worst. could it be done this month?

Gorge Quilters' Guild Show

The guild show was last week and I got to spend an afternoon at the info table and taking in the sights (and buying stuff). There were some amazing pieces, pictured below.

This creation blew me away, and won best in show so obviously the judges were impressed as well. It was made by Mary Arnold.

The door looked so real and was embellished with beads that were the nails and a metal piece for the door handle.

This one was so warm and cozy. I have always liked the bear paw square. The description for this said she made it out of her dad's Pendleton Wool shirts.

Why I might consider learning to machine quilt. Look what you can do!!!! The blue ribbon is first place for the Mixed Technique category.

and the back! as amazing as the front!

This quilt won viewer's choice! And you can't tell here but it is hand quilted! Numerous comments on the voting cards noted that they were impressed with the hand quilting.

So precise. I am never that precise. Someday. . .

An amish quilt - also hand quilted! It was nice to see more hand quilting this year.

this was made from "molas" from an island near Panama.

And these were made from Guatemalan materials - the guild took a trip to Guatemala last year. I like these and the Panamanian quilt for their use of non traditional American fabric.

Finally I can post about this!

My husband turned 30 earlier this month. He's been haranging me for a quilt practically since I've known him. His birthday seemed like the perfect opportunity and after a few fits and starts, I settled on trying something geometric in the hopes that the trick to your eye would work. It kinda did. I pieced the top in a day and hand quilted like mad when he would go out of town for work. Had I gotten things together a little sooner and not gone out of town myself, I might have
finished. But, alas, I had to present it undone. And undone it remains. But, it did help teach me that I really can get stuff done if I focus. So, I'm feeling confident that it will be finished before summer is over.

inspiration on the computer screen

prepping and planning

strips

more strips

the finished top. it has the desired effect as a thumbnail photo. and if i did it again, i'd do much thinner strips and a more gradual progression. live and learn, i still like it

Hooded Baby Towel

A coworker of mine had her baby shower today. I made her a hooded baby towel and a couple of wash clothes. I conveniently found a tutorial on one of my favorite blogs, The Purl Bee, a few weeks ago. This is the same blog where I found the tutorial for the ties I made for all the boys in the wedding.

It was super easy to do - I used organic terry cloth and regular flannel (cause they didn't have any cute organic cotton). The only challenge was the stretch of the terry cloth but if you tell me you're having a baby any time soon, expect to get this as your gift.

trying to find a little hope

I'm participating in CraftHope's Project 8 - sending wash clothes and hand towels to those that are trying to save the animals in the gulf. I'm excited about this for a number of reasons - I've wanted to take part in one of their projects for a long time and had not been able to get it together, it's such a simple project that literally anyone can do it (I guess the one requirement might be that you know how to work scissors), and last but certainly not least, it's a little way to have a positive impact in what is going on with this oil spill. I've been thinking about all of the joyful times I have had both in and around our oceans, most recently snorkeling and scuba diving in Tahiti. We happened upon a sea turtle while snorkeling at one point and it was so beautiful and graceful - really just mesmerizing.

I encourage you to join up. If you don't have the time to do this, you can just send Dawn soap. The due date is July 3 but I'm pretty sure they are flexible - they are going to need supplies for a long long time. I bought diaper flannel - it was 100% cotton and cheap, and they don't need anything fancy so it seemed perfect. I'll post a picture of my donation once I've actually completed it.

Ode to a Thimble

I couldn't find my thimble for about three minutes today. It was a long three minutes. My husband gifted me with it for Christmas several years ago and it has made such a difference. I went to a hand quilting class at the Columbia River Gorge Quilt Show in 2006. It was my first class although I'd been quilting for several years and I learned so much! It's kind of unbelievable how in the dark I had been. I wish I knew who the teacher was so I could thank her. She introduced me to a book called That Perfect Stitch by Roxanne McElroy. And to a thimble developed by Roxanne (scroll down the page to find it and then click on the more info link for a pdf that explains). It's quite different that most thimbles I had ever seen and it made so much more sense to my finger. It's designed to go on the pad of your finger and you actually have to get your finger sized with a ring sizer so you know what to buy. (That was an entertaining trip to the jewelry store).

I am rather prone to losing things but today was the first time I have ever misplaced my thimble. It won't happen again.

2010 Blogger Quilt Festival

As I get more into this blogging thing, I decided to be brave and go public. I am entering the 2010 Blogger Quilt Festival, sponsored by Amy's Creative Side.

I decided to share my favorite quilt to date - CJ's Hungry Caterpillar. I have two older sisters, one who convinced me to try quilting in the first place and it was so that we could make something for the other sister's wedding. Naturally, this lead on to quilting for subsequent special occasions. So when BOTH my sisters got pregnant at the same time, I knew I had to something special.

I have long been drawn to the idea of making quilts inspired by books. For my niece, who's mother is a true outdoor girl and environmentalist, I went with The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. It is hand appliqued and hand quilted. The fruit is my favorite part.

Slowly but surely

I started this quilt in 2006 as a joint gift for my parents from my sisters and me. They helped with the piecing. It's by far the most ambitious one that I have undertaken. It is a gift to celebrate their 60th birthdays (which happened in 2007) and the 100th anniversary of our camp (also 2007). Obviously, it's not 2007 anymore. We did manage to get the top completed by summer 07 and I have been quilting off and on since then. My goal is now to finish by August of this year so that it can hang in the local quilt show and then they can have it. There - I said it out loud! Now I have to make it true.

I laid it out this morning to check on the progress and draw on more of the quilting. I took this picture to document that Oscar actually stayed put. He usually comes to check things out whenever I am on the floor and I have to run around and scold him to try to keep him off of it. Perhaps he has now seen this quilt so many times that he's over it.

I actually feel like I am finally getting somewhere with the quilting. The middle sections are quilted as are the the sections extended to the sides, top and bottom. Now it's time to focus on the corners sections. I am using both my hoops in the hopes that it's more efficient but I'm not convinced. I feel like if I can stick to hand quilting through this project, I'll be able to tackle anything.

Happy Birthday Caty (a little over a month late)

I've been waiting to post this quilt for a long time. I started it thinking I had plenty of time before my niece's third birthday which was on April 12 (and I would have if I were more on top of things). But, alas, she just got it last week! And, I forgot to take a picture of the finished product so hopefully my sister will send me one eventually.

The quilt was a kit from Fons and Porter using paper doll fabrics designed by someone I should probably remember. The process was pretty simple. Each square was one doll and the clothes were made by ironing the fabric onto fleece interfacing and the cutting around each piece. The clothes stick on the doll pretty well, and then there is a pocket on the back to keep the clothes in. I think I posted a picture of that a while back because it was my first buttonhole! And as it turns out, it's the first button my niece has been able to do by herself!

One of the outfits

Quilt sandwich - ready to be quilted

one of the squares - I love each of the little girls

Trying to be a joiner

Meeting new people isn't exactly my cup o' tea but I got up the gumption to drive in to Portland on Thursday night for the Portland Modern Quilt Guild Meeting. It's an inspiring group of people! We had a pot-holder swap and I completely forgot to take a picture of mine before I left. BUT! This is a blog-happy group and check out what I found on Joan's Blog! Like I said before, I feel like I'm rubbing elbows with famous people because there are some very talented quilters who blog and sell patterns and write books in this guild (like Oh Fransson - I've been reading her blog for several years. Her quilts are gorgeous). I'm sure they would laugh if they ever read that. Which is why I haven't gotten up the nerve to add my blog to the blogroll on the member website. Maybe when I've got more than 5 posts!

The Kate Bag

I made this bag for one of my dearest friends. She is an avid reader and devoted library user. Used fabric pens to write the names of the book (D did that part). It's about 9x13x4, hopefully big enough for her to carry home large loads of books!

The books were recommended based on some of her favorites - although that is kinda hard to narrow down! They were sized relatively close to what they really are (for the ones I could get my hands on anyway), and the colors of the first 3 were meant to be authentic. And D did an awesome job on the writing for HP.

A couple pockets inside for metro cards and cell phones.

Big kid bean bags are in my future

Last Christmas (2008), I made these beanbags for the little ones in my family. I was reminded of them when I saw this post on a blog I read. I can't wait to make the grown-up version!

Success! Napping nephews.

My Quilt Guild

My local quilt guild is the Columbia River Gorge Quilters Guild. It was formed in 2007 and I was actually one of the first few members (I even have a certificate to prove it). There had been a quilt show going on for several years but not one that had much organization behind it - it was kinda thrown together by a group of women who wanted to do it. I took a hand quilting class at the last pre-guild show in 2006. Since the guild was formed, I've been helping with the publications - the quarterly newsletter and the show booklet. I'm almost done with this years book. I'm really excited about our feature teacher this year. She makes wholecloth quilts with vintage linens. I have wanted to make a whole cloth quilt ever since I learned what they are! Check out her website. I also just joined The Portland Modern Quilt Guild today. Some of the members are quilters who have blogs I read so it's a little like I might get to meet a celebrity if I go to a meeting! You won't be able to see much on the website unless you join, but I'm excited to see that there are quilters closer to my age. Don't get me wrong, I love my "quilter ladies" at the local guild. They take good care of me. But I would like to find people who are similar to me in life who also appreciate quilting. This has been hard to do in Hood River. The Modern Quilt Guild idea apparently started in LA and there are branches developing all over the country. For more, check out the Modern Quilt Guild Blog.

I don't have much in the way of pictures to post today. I've been working on gifts so I can't post the pictures until they have been received. But, I am excited to say I made a button hole for one of those gifts yesterday. Most sewers will know this is not hard but I didn't until yesterday. So, here it is:

Baby Quilts

These are the baby quilts that I made in between the first nephew's quilt and the twin cousins quilt.

this quilt was made in 2005 for one of David's college friends (and later groomsman) first baby. they've had number 2 but those poor second children get the shaft. it's awful. it was very loosely based on the book Goodnight Moon, the first time i based a quilt on a book. if you look really closely, you can see that i quilted moon and stars in the light blue blocks.

this was made for one of my best college friend's baby girl. i used a pattern from a baby quilt book. this was the first time i pieced something that really made a pattern that worked. and i think i quilted tulips into it. i think it was my first label too - called springtime sunshine since she was born in may.

first applique! made for a long time friends first baby (she has also had number 2 and again this poor second child got the shaft).

eventually i will get on to posting my current projects. i guess i felt that i needed a little history. i also have issues because i have always given everything away so i can't post about it til it's done and been gifted!

Where to begin . . .

I am not someone who does change well, and I don't like resolutions. But the older I get, the more I try to focus on appreciating new beginnings when they come along rather than running away screaming which is what I would like to do. At the beginning of 2010, I thought, "I should really get back to that quilt blog I started a year ago. Maybe it would help me focus on my projects." It's only taken me three months to actually follow through!

My story: I started quilting about 8 years ago. I have two older sisters and the oldest was getting married. The middle roped me to helping make a quilt. We used a children's quilting book and hand stitched every piece of it. That was before digital cameras entered my life so I know I have a picture somewhere but I will have to scan it before I can post it. Quilt number two was for that oldest sisters first baby, which I cut and sent blocks off to my mother and middle sister to work on. I cut every strip with scissors, which truly makes a rotary cutter a thing of beauty once you discover it.

The second quilt I ever made: unofficially titled "Looking out the Cabin Window" because this is before I realized I was supposed to put a label on the back. This is also before I learned about binding.

The rest is history, I guess they say. I have discovered a deep satisfaction in creating a quilt. I machine piece now-a-days, but I still only hand quilt and hand applique. It feels like a connection to the past and it's very soothing. It is also portable and I love not having to be tied to the machine.

That first baby led to several other baby quilts for friends, and eventually to the quilts for my next niece and nephew (the twin cousins, born 6 days apart). Those quilts were my first real applique work that I was quite proud of and led to the storybook idea. I had made other quilts vaguely inspired by the book Goodnight Moon, but decided to be more focused and specific. I made one based on One Fish, Two Fish, and the other based on The Hungry Caterpillar.

Made out of the same fabric, we have The Hungry Caterpillar and One Fish, Two Fish. I am most proud of the fruit.

Labels! I wish I had a machine that did letters so I could sew them but those handy fabric pens will have to do.