I Finally Have Time

May 2, 2013 · 9:43 PM

To Boston With Love

The Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild is organizing a display of homemade flags (size 6 x 8″) in Boston on Memorial Day to help show the city how much people from all over the world care about the people affected by the bombing during the Boston Marathon last month. Actually, who wasn’t affected? Most of us do not expect this sort of thing to happen here in the US. To realize how vulnerable we are, and how unexpectedly our lives could change, does affect us all. I think that is why there has been such an outpouring of love for Boston.

On the VMQG button above, it reads: “A collaborative effort of makers to bring peace and love from far and wide.”

Here are my flags –

Peace . . .

. . . and Love!

We were asked to put our name and city on the back of the flag.

Click here or on the button at the top or side of this page to find out all the details if you want to make a flag. There is a certain color palette and the deadline for the flags to be in Boston is May 21st so there is still time. If you want to see more pictures of the flags that have already been made, click here to go to the Flickr group. I had a little sew “date” yesterday with my friend to help us get started.

Sewing together got us started on our flags and, as always, was so much fun.

We each made a paper pieced LOVE flag.

The flags are going to be hung at some “Boston institution” on Memorial Day. An announcement has not been made yet as to where it will be but the organizers are really excited about having gotten permission for it. I’ve been wondering where would be the best place? I’m going to be in Boston for my (35th – yikes!) college reunion the following week and hope that I get to see them. Faneuil Hall? City Hall? Mass. General Hospital? Boston Public Library? Harvard or MIT? I don’t know! I hope they announce it soon.

The Boston Modern Quilt Guild is coordinating a quilt block collection for the bombing victims which I blogged about yesterday. If you would like to read that, please click here. Or for more information from the Boston MQG site, click on the Quilts for Boston button on my sidebar.

Addendum (5/7/2013) – The flags will hang at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston from May 23 to June 16, 2013. The museum will keep the flags and display them again next year on the anniversary of the bombing.

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Tagged as Boston Marathon, Boston Marathon bombing, Memorial Day, To Boston with Love, Vancouver MQG

May 1, 2013 · 11:08 PM

Quilter’s Response to the Boston Marathon Bombing

Patriot’s Day is observed on the third Monday of April each year in Massachusetts – and Maine for some reason. It commemorates the battles of Lexington and Concord near Boston in 1775. It also is the day each year that the Boston Marathon is run. This is such a largely attended event that many businesses in Boston encourage their employees to stay home and not add to the “congestion”.

I grew up in the Boston area and went to college there. My daughter, niece, cousin and his family all live there now. I was horrified on April 15th to learn that two bombs had gone off in the crowd watching the marathon. I’ve read that the most recent statistics are that 3 people died and 264 people were hurt.

I know that similar events happen in other parts of the world – perhaps everyday. I know that the harm that was done in Boston could have been far worse. Somehow, though, this event has affected me because it happened in my “neck of the woods” – even though I do not live there now. I made sure that my family was safe and then watched in wonder as the story of the suspects unfolded.

Soon after this tragedy took place, I started to read online that the Boston Modern Quilt Guild is coordinating a collection of quilt blocks “to make quilts for those directly affected by the bombing”. The guidelines for the Quilts for Boston are listed here. Basically they are asking for blocks that are 12-1/2″ tall by any width and made up in the marathon colors of blue, yellow, white and grey. I made this block today:

Block for “Quilts for Boston”

This paper pieced pattern is a free pattern called the Rockrose paper pieced block by Craftsy designer Cyrille. The directions are for a 10″ block with directions for printing the templates at different percentages to make larger and smaller sizes. I decided to make the 10″ block and add straight pieces onto the edges to make it 12-1/2″. I believe this will make this heavily pieced block easier to sew to the other blocks around it.

Paper pieces

The pattern is made up of 6 separate sections. They are all a little different in size which made it more enjoyable to piece than if they were all exactly the same.

Ready to be sewn together.

If you will notice, there aren’t any straight lines across the pattern. Sewing this together involved Y seams. The directions were very good and I left the papers on until the whole thing was sewn together (which I do not usually do).

Removing the papers after the whole block is sewn together.

I was relieved to find that the block was perfectly flat (and square!) when I pressed it.

Finished 10″ block

There is a flickr group that has pictures of the blocks that people from all over the world are making and sending to the Boston MQG to assemble. The deadline to get them there is May 24, 2013. I was glad to make this cheerful block today. I hope it might bring a smile to someone to know that many of us care about what happened to them that day.

There is another large sewing effort which is being coordinated by the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild called “To Boston with Love”. More about that tomorrow!

To Boston with Love

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April 28, 2013 · 1:34 PM

Quilt Top Finish

Quilt top is done!

To find out more about the design of this quilt, please read my last post. I am making it for my married daughter and her husband and it is made from fabrics that were used as pretty fall napkins during their wedding reception.

Each circle block is 20″ square

It seemed to take me forever to make those center two blocks. I strip pieced the fabrics and then laid them all out in order to make sure that I cut them right to get the alternating striped pattern that I wanted.

Not sewn together yet.

I was very careful to pick up each one and orient it the right way when I cut it so that it would form this pattern when I sewed it together. I did this meticulously for all 8 blocks and then I took them to the ironing board to press them, and guess what?

They all looked the same!

I felt so stupid! How did I not realize that I could have just simply laid them all out in the same direction and I would get the same pattern?

It was a breeze to sew the 12 large circle blocks together once these middle two were together. I’m really happy with the result. Here is how it looks laid out on my queen size bed – it’s only meant to be a lap quilt, but a big one!

Next is making up the back. I’ve decided to simply sew the napkin squares together. Circles on the front and squares on the back.

Napkins set out on my design wall.

I will have to put a border around these as they are smaller than the blocks on the front. I’m in the process of trying to wash the cotton batting I am going to use to eliminate shrinkage when the finished quilt is washed. Most of the time I love that “crinkly” look when a quilt is washed for the first time. However, with this quilt having such a large design, I think it might be better if it lays more flat. If the batting survives the washing and drying process, I guess we’ll see.

More wedding pictures!

The groom made the photo booth. It was so much fun.

Both families together

It was a remarkable day and the two families have blended together perfectly. If we lived closer together (we’re in DC and they are in IL), I’m sure we would be good friends. As it is, we have great fun when we do get together.

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Tagged as Denyse Schmidt, quilt, Single Girl Quilt, wedding

April 23, 2013 · 7:08 PM

A Single Girl Quilt for my Married Girl?

My daughter got married to a most wonderful man on October 15, 2011.

“First look”

As many modern couples do these days, they had pictures taken before the ceremony and so the first time he saw her in her wedding gown, they were outside instead of in the church. This wedding was on a beautiful fall day. The ceremony was in the afternoon.

The reception hall was decorated (by friends and family) with fall flowers and candles.

We made napkins by serging the edges of fabric to add some other fun fall color to the tables.

The reception hall was a park building that had large glass windows and a stone fireplace. It felt magical, as though we were outside.

When the party was over, we collected all the fabric napkins with the idea that I would make the happy couple a quilt out of them. (Yes, I washed them first!) Here they are:

All 150 of them!

I’ve had these for a year and a half now and have been trying to decide what the perfect quilt pattern would be for this couple using these colors. I’ve made several other items out of them – notebook covers and zippered pouches for family or friends who helped with the wedding.

Notebook for my mother-in-law.

My daughter has made her own beautiful fall colored quilt out of other fabrics since she got married.

Isn’t it pretty?

She had it quilted by a longarm quilter.

I’ve decided to make a “snuggle on the couch together” quilt. The pattern I have picked is the Single Girl Quilt by Denyse Schmidt.

I would call it a modern version of the traditional wedding ring quilt.

Traditional Wedding Ring Quilt.

I assume that it is called “Single Girl” because the rings do not interconnect. However, as I look at the Single Girl Quilts that others have made and posted on Flickr or Pinterest, I can see that plenty of people make them up as wedding quilts. The quilting can add that interlocking component.

My version is still a work in progress.

Blocks laid out on my rug. Middle two blocks not done yet.

I’m going to make the center two blocks the opposite colors of the outside blocks. I will strip piece the background with the napkin fabrics and do the rings in the cream colored fabric. I love the thought of this. The middle blocks symbolize Lindsey’s and Brian’s wedding rings and they will be surrounded by circles that symbolize their families and their friends. Circles surrounded by circles. Okay, this is really dorky but “the circle of life” also comes to mind. (and with that term – The Lion King!)

So stay tuned for the big reveal once I get the other blocks made and have the whole top sewn together!

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Tagged as Denyse Schmidt, quilt, Single Girl Quilt, wedding, Wedding ring quilt

April 10, 2013 · 5:10 PM

It is finally Spring in the Nation’s Capital!

The much anticipated blooming of the cherry trees in Washington DC has finally occurred! They are as beautiful as ever. This is the time of year that I most love to live here.

Weeping cherry tree along the Potomac River.

If you live here and haven’t gotten downtown yet to see them, go now!

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

Washington Monument being repaired for earthquake damage

Jefferson Memorial

Tidal Basin Panoramic

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April 1, 2013 · 3:51 PM

Sew South – Swaps!

One of the many things that made the Sew South Retreat so much fun were the swaps. Anyone who wanted to participate in the “Sample” Swap, made up 4 of one thing they wanted to swap. At the retreat, we were divided into random groups of 5 and we each gave one of our 4 samples to the other 4 people in our group. Here is a sampling of what participants gave and received:

1. Chicken pincushions, 2. Sew South Sample Swap, 3. #sewsouth, 4. drawstring pouches scrappy, 5. Sew South Sample Swap, 6. 4 pretty little purses ready for swapping at #SewSouth!, 7. Ruffled zip pouches, 8. Cosmetics Bag, 9. Sample Swap Sew South – fabric bowls, 10. Sew South sample swap, 11. sample swap bags, 12. Swap bags., 13. Ready for Sew South, 14. Fabric Notebooks for Sew South Swap, 15. 1-IMG_1508, 16. Quilt block holder by Teresa, 17. Crafty Queen apron by Margaret, 18. Market bag by Alex, 19. Sample Swap – Coffee Sleeves, 20. DSCN1044

I made up these chicken pincushions and was able to swap for a few more than 4 things because I had 6 of them!

My chicken pincushions

Handmade fun!

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Tagged as pincushions, Sew South, Sew South retreat, sewing retreat, swaps

March 26, 2013 · 4:16 PM

Sew South Retreat – The guest speaker was Leah Day!

Leah Day

I’ve been following Leah Day from the sidelines for a couple of years. She is the FMQ (free motion quilting) queen and seems to have made it her mission to teach the rest of us how to do it too. She also appears to be out to prove that there is an unlimited number of designs to free motion quilt. She came up with 365 designs (a whole year’s worth!) and blogged about them complete with a video of her stitching them so you will know exactly how to do it. She now has a book with the designs in it so that you can see them easily all in one place.

Leah also has other products in her online shop – all to teach and make free motion quilting as fun and easy as possible. Years ago I bought a reasonably priced table that she sells that allows me to sink my sewing machine down into it such that I can quilt with a flat surface surrounding the area where I’m actually stitching.

So, as I said, I’ve been following her from the sidelines. I haven’t done a lot of free motion quilting but have wanted to do more and have looked at her different sites and watched some of her youtube videos from time to time. She looks as though she’s 12 years old. Apparently I’m not the only one who thinks so, because she says she is asked her age all the time. She is actually 29 years old and has a 6 year old son and a husband who now helps her with her business because she has gotten so busy. I sort of knew that she wasn’t running around all over the country teaching in person (by her choice). So, I was very pleased when it was announced that she would attend and speak at the Sew South Retreat. She lives in North Carolina and the retreat was close enough for her to easily drive there. She also teaches FMQ on Craftsy which is a video platform. I believe she has 2 classes and a 3rd which will be shortly released. If you sign up for one of her classes on Craftsy through her website, you will get a 50% discount.

Leah Day speaking at Sew South

She spoke to us one evening about free motion quilting. Mostly she cheered us on and inspired us to give it a try, and wisely suggested we not pick our most heirloom quilt to start on. She also suggests that you quilt a little bit every day. If you do this, you will mentally and physically be better at it.

Sew South Retreat

I found out what a really kind, generous and passionate person she is. She was very open to discussing her business and all the struggles of getting there. She wanted to talk to the quilters who are trying to grow a business and tell them some things she has learned that she wished someone had told her sooner. She likes to support local businesses, is a fiber lover and raises chickens. She was a delight to meet in person and if you ever have a chance to meet her, don’t pass it up.

Thank you Leah for teaching and inspiring us! (Click here to read her blog post about the retreat.)

Sew South – Workshops

The Sew South Retreat was held in Charlotte, NC March 21 – 24, 2013. I was lucky enough to be one of the 50 attendees.

Look at all of these “goodies”! I either made them, swapped for them or was lucky enough to be given them by my secret sister or many of the retreat sponsors.

There is so much I would like to write about this retreat, but today I’m going to concentrate on the workshops. The retreat included 4 sewing workshops. We had to do some prep work beforehand for some of them, which made it feasible to leave the retreat with 4 FINISHED projects.

Paper pieced star – 6-1/2″ square

Workshop #1 was paper piecing. We were given the pattern for this star and for a bunny in a basket. This workshop was taught by Jennifer Mathis of Ellison Lane Quilts.

Jennifer Mathis

Jennifer was the organizer of Sew South and did an AMAZING job!

Workshop #2 was the Travel Duffle Bag by StudioCherie. The pattern is available here for $7 on Craftsy. Or sold here in the StudioCherie etsy shop for $189. This is the mother of all duffle bags!

My duffel bag – 20″ long, 12″ wide and 12″ deep

We came to the retreat with the fabric for the bag all put together with batting and backing and quilted. Lindsey Rhodes of LRStitched instructed us on making the handles and putting the bag together. We did not use jute for the handles which the pattern directions do use. There is a zippered pocket on one end, an open pocket between the handles on one side as you can see above (looks like the perfect size for a boarding pass to me!), and I put a pocket on one end of the inside as well (for charging cords!).

Lindsey Rhodes

Lindsey Rhodes, Jennifer Mathis and all of the finished duffel bags.

I finished my duffel just after midnight on the first sewing day. We had a lot of free sewing time in the schedule which allowed us to finish up things (or work on something else of our own choosing). It was just FUN to be in a room with 50 other sewers. This bag is so large and so thick, that there were MANY sewing machine needles broken during the sewing. As each person finished theirs and held it up, a roar of cheers and clapping would go up in the room. Whew! We really felt that we accomplished something big, when this duffel was done.

Workshop #3 – Framed Clutch. I’ve seen these frames a lot but had never bought one and tried to make it up. I was so glad this project was included in the retreat.

My framed clutch bag. (The frame is 8″ X 3″) Isn’t it pretty?

Diane Stanley of Random Thoughts Do or “Di” was the instructor. She came all the way from California to teach and attend Sew South. The frames were provided by While Baby Naps which is an etsy shop. The exterior and lining fabrics are sewn together and turned to create a finished edge and then glued into the frame. The success of this project seems to be all about the glue. We used Gutermann Creativ Glue and since my first attempt of using it was so successful, I don’t think I’d try anything else. The glue is clear, not very runny (which means it stays in place) and takes long enough to set that you have time to fool with getting the fabric inserted without panicking.

Diane Stanley

I lucked out in the framed purse category. I was Diane’s secret sister and she surprised me with this:

Clock coin purse by Diane Stanley

As if the coin purse wasn’t cute enough, she filled it with Clover binder clips. I have sewn some projects lately that included vinyl or laminated fabrics or had a lot of thick layers that a pin won’t go through and wished I had some of these. Now I do!

I also, just by random chance, was in a swap group with Diane and swapped the chicken pincushion that I made for this pretty clutch:

Clutch by Diane Stanley

I can’t wait to buy more frames and make some of these up for gifts. The possibilities are endless! They are pretty quick and simple. The sewer behind me at the retreat had some embroidered fabric that her (now deceased) mother-in-law had sewn and she made this:

Embroidered bag by Teresa Van de Castle

Diane showed us this pretty clutch she has made as a wedding purse for a friend’s daughter:

Wedding clutch by Diane Stanley

The inside of it is gold fabric. So beautiful!

Jennifer Mathis, Diane Stanley, everyones' framed clutch purses.

Jennifer Mathis, Diane Stanley and all of the framed clutch purses.

Workshop #4 was garment sewing and we made pajama pants.

Pajama pants made from pima cotton.

We used Kwik Sew K3602 as a pattern. Our instructor was Jennifer Roycroft from the Concord, NC store We’re Sew Creative. Jennifer and her shop hosted a field trip to the store before the retreat began for those who could get there early and a cocktail reception to kick off our time at the venue which was the Renaissance Charlotte SouthPark Hotel. She showed us how to make these pajamas with a cute coordinated cuff (which I did not do but wish I had) and overcast and flat felled seams.

Jennifer Roycroft

Karen Linton who currently lives in Arkansas was sewing in front of me, and after much sewing, ripping and resewing (because she sewed one of her cuffs onto the pant’s waistband instead of the bottom) ended up with these adorable pajama bottoms with contrasting cuffs:

Pajamas with cuffs made by Karen Linton

She probably won’t be wearing them with that exact shirt but you get the idea. This picture was taken just as she finished and was trying them on.

The retreat was a blast and I can’t wait to share some more on another day!

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Tagged as duffle bag, framed clutch purse, Sew South, sewing retreat

March 11, 2013 · 2:26 PM

Simple Personalized Tote Bag

Simple Tote Bag

I was recently asked by my brother-in-law to make a few tote bags for my niece’s birthday party. She is having a sleep over with 3 friends and their American Girl dolls. He wanted tote bags that would fit a doll and a few other things. I think he thought that I could whip these things up in 5 minutes using fabric on hand and put them right in the mail. It didn’t seem like that quick of a project to me, but of course I wanted to do this for my niece who is turning 9 years old. It became a challenge to make something simple but nice. And I did manage to use materials I had “on hand”!

Other 3 totes in progress.

I decided to make the totes 18 inches tall which is the height of an American Girl doll. I didn’t want them to be too wide and randomly picked 11 inches for the width and 5 inches as the depth. Using these dimensions, I cut two pieces 23-1/2″ tall x 16-1/2″ wide.

This fabric is “directional”. It has a definite “up” and “down”.

I had these decor weight fabrics I had mail ordered some time ago, thinking they were quilting cottons. These are perfect for an unlined bag! I wanted to put the girls names on the front of the totes and had this booklet by Atkinson Designs. (now out of print)

Fat Quarter Fonts by Atkinson Designs

The letters in the book are printed in reverse which make them perfect for tracing onto paper backed fusible (Wonder Under). I ironed the fusible to the colored fabrics and then cut them out and fused them to the front of the bags. Of some interest is that after I had done all this I noticed that the back of the book says “No fuss, No fusibles” so I THEN looked at the actual directions. They want you to print the letters on tear away (foundation) paper and then layer the fabric that you want for the letter on top of the background fabric but place the paper letter BEHIND this to sew along the lines. You then cut along the stitching line on the front – either closely to get a smooth look, or less close for a frayed look. Interesting! Doing it this way might have saved me time! But I really wanted the look of the next step.

Fold line pressed across top to help with letter placement.

I used a blanket stitch in black thread to stitch around the letters. I did this on all of the bags for it to coordinate with the black 1 inch webbing I’m using for the handles.

Blanket stitch letters. Could satin stitch or straight stitch instead.

I put the 2 pieces right sides together and serged across the bottom using a 1/4″ seam. Next I opened up this long piece and pinned the webbing in place. I did not stitch the webbing onto the bag above the fold line as that will be tucked into the bag as a hem on the top.

Webbing was pinned on measuring 4″ in from each side with the ruler.

Sewing the webbing on is a breeze if you use an edge stitching foot and move your needle position!

Bernina #10 foot

Once the webbing was in place, the sides were sewn/serged together and then a gusset made across the corners. Since I wanted the bag depth to be 5″, I layed my ruler along the seamline on the 2.5 inch line and moved the ruler until I had 5″ across where I drew a line and then sewed.

5″ Gusset

Once that was done, the very last step was to iron the top under 1/2 inch and then fold the hem in and stitch down. All of these fabrics were white on the wrong side. Since I used white thread on my serger and in my sewing machine bobbin, the inside is very finished looking, despite not being lined. I hope they like them!

Happy Birthday Maya!

A few days later:

Pajama party!

(One of the girls was sick and couldn’t come).

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Filed under Family, Purses and Bags

Tagged as Easy tote bag, personalized tote, Simple tote, tote bag

February 14, 2013 · 10:20 AM

Happy Valentine’s Day

Mug Rug for daughter M who loves elephants.

A few weeks ago, I had big plans to make my 3 daughters and my special girl friends a mug rug for Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately, this is the only one I actually made. I came down with the flu and couldn’t get myself motivated to work on them while not feeling well. I purchased this pattern from Craftsy. The designer is Amanda from The Patchsmith. She has many adorable mug rug patterns for sale for a small price.

Back of mug rug.

A mug rug is a cross between a coaster and a placemat. It’s just big enough for a mug and a muffin.

While I was sick, I did do a bit of heart embroidery. I’ve always had a fondness for hearts because my husband is a pediatric cardiologist and this is also the field I’ve worked in as a registered nurse.

Embroidered hearts.

1. Chain Stitch 2.Blanket Stitch 3. Lazy Daisy Stitch 4. French Knots 5. Cross Stitch 6. Whipped Running Stitch

I was inspired by this book.

I have so many special woman in my life (and men but I don’t think they would use a mug rug). Sorry I didn’t get to send you a pretty little goodie this year! Love you and happy Valentine’s Day.

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Tagged as Craftsy, Mug Rug, The Patchsmith, Valentine's Day