So Close....

This is such awesome fabric.....

So I chopped it up and ran it under the presser foot.....and pampered it with a hot steam bath.

Then I trimmed the edges from the Punk's Christmas quilt.

I'll put it all together and show you pictures tomorrow!

Pixie 'Mato

Early this morning while I was lying on the couch in pain.....after putting the Punk on the school bus 15 minutes late....I decided to sew. Yes, it's my hips again. They go "out" without me and I hate them for it. Boo.

And this is what I sewed: the Pop Culture Sampler is finished! It turned out awesome, if I might say so. It is about 40"x60" - a perfect size for it's new home in a crib with the Pixie's BFF. It is likely that sometime this year this darling girl will graduate into a "big girl bed," and then I'll have the fun of making another quilt for her. But I feel great knowing that she now has her baby quilt, and that I got to make it.

 I love the texture of the organic straight line quilting. It turned out perfectly, with no warping or shifting of the sandwich layers.

I'm going to have to locate a pink/orange Pigma fabric marker for writing the label. I think I'll hide the specifics under the Prairie Points.

And for my next trick; a project that's been cut out and pinned together for a week. Here goes: These funny shapes I found in a book called "Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts" by Joelle Hoverson. I always preview books using my library system....this one is now on my purchase list.

Start by pairing up the pieces and chain stitching them together.

 Press the seams open and pair them up again. 

It's starting to take shape.... any guesses?

Sew the last seam, leaving an opening for stuffing.

Stuff this little sucker....I couldn't find my polyester fiberfill, so I used leftover trimmings from my nine patch flimsy. If you're cheap/frugal like me, this is a good option. If you actually want to use this happy little project for it's intended purpose, go for the polyester fluff. Please.

Slipstitch the opening closed.

Grab some handy matching and/or contrasting embroidery thread and add a few strategic stitches.

And then admire your me-made pincushion! It's so pretty! I love the red/multi dots. It was a recent acquisition that I fell in love with.

Lastly, notice that pins will not go easily through a pincushion that's been stuffed with fabric scraps. Despair for a moment (all my hard work and time!). And then realize that this is a pincushion - a red one - and has been admired by the sweet'n'low Pixie throughout this entire process. Remember that she loves to swipe your tools.... and then gift her with her very own " 'mato" because just maybe, she'll leave yours alone now.

After all, happy toddler = happy mommy.

Still lots to do tomorrow!

Art Show

I've made quite a creative journey these past few months. I've tried new techniques, jumped waaaaay outside my comfort zone, and found myself in love with "winging it." I plan to do a lot more sewing by the seat of my pants in the future. I have two quilts in my head that are still in preliminary design stages - still just ideas and scribblings in my handy and beloved design book. If you look closely, you can see Mr. Grey, the patron moose of my design life. His home is on top of my current pencil, and he needs a new pencil soon.

Projects in the works include finishing the binding on the Pop Culture Sampler.... I must confess with hung head and *almost* ashamed countenance that I hand sewed most of the binding on while watching Twilight last night. In my defense, it was mindless movie for mindless work. (I loved the part in the movie when Bella and Edward are lying in a field of blue flowers - I actually yelled at Edward to get up quick! before the caterpillars consume your entire face! And then I realized that those were his eyebrows. Silly me! Honest mistake!)

Also up next is machine sewing the binding onto the denim quilt for my Punk. She needed something that would not only hold up next to denim, but also take a lot of her abuse. Rosa, at my favorite quilt shop, said to do batiks because they are more tightly woven. I couldn't agree more. She knows my tastes very well, and picked out this awesome fabric on her first try. She cuts, and I pay. It's a good relationship.

Tomorrow I have a stack of flannelette that needs cutting into. Pictures to come.

And now to show off some of my art. I've seen a lot of quilty blogs that lack in the production category. I do not lack. In fact, I could not even find all of the item that I've sewn in the past couple of months, because I give away a lot of pieces. A lot. My friends benefit greatly. Many people suggest sewing stuff to sell - "You should get a booth at the Farmer's Market!" "I love your stuff - where can I buy it?" "You really should turn this talent into a business."

I say, "Nay, nay."

I know it hurts to hear the truth, but at this stage in my life sewing for money is not an option. There are a few reasons; Commissions stunt creativity; being told what to do makes me not want to do it; I don't want to prostitute my hobby for cash; many items I make are not within the monetary realm of the recipients - they are meant as gifts; I am not confident that people would pony up the appropriate cash if I told them how much time went into them (even if I only charged current minimum wage); I'd rather make stuff that I love than to please some other human's esthetic style - then it is a bigger gift when I give it away.

So here are some of my creations. Love them or hate them as you will - comment if you have any strong opinions. I am not in love with everything, either, but I am in love with the process. The process makes the art worthwhile. The dream makes the work easier. The translation from Head to Fabric is what fires my imagination.

This piece is something I dreamed up in my favorite location - the space between sleep and awake. It is also a design that was conceived while I was in Kelowna this summer.

These fans were drafted and sewn all in one day, and quilted the next. Their purpose is to look pretty on the wall by my studio space.

Behold my Half-Square Triangle Experiment:

This was an *actual* pattern that I found at the Moda Bake Shop. It's hanging over the Pixie's bed.

These were my very first two "mug rugs." Such a popular little project, so of course I jumped on the train. The Pixie claimed that pumpkin before I even had binding on it, and the one on the right I named, "The Birds of Fall." Get it? I kill me.

This is something that I'm not happy with. It was originally a challenge project - get a grab bag from the store and make a cohesive piece using all the fabrics. I made a doll quilt so that I don't have to see it often. I hate the colours. But the Pixie, who breathes and dreams in pink, loves it.

A scrap project, just because. It was useful for learning raw edge applique, free motion quilting, and how flannelette behaves under duress. It is called "Out of Fat Air: Circle Sampler."

The "Floating Fruit" trivit. Very dirty. Also, the Punk's hand. Very sneaky.

My original "wing it" art work. When inspiration hits, yo gotta run with it. You should see the back of this "Red vs. Blue" wall hanging. I wrote all over it - all the lessons I learned while bringing my idea to life. If you flip it over you can read the multiple reasons for using the best thread you can afford, the right size needle, a clean sewing machine, etc.

Also pictured above is the reason why I am accepting donations for a new camera. And why all the techno geeks could pretty please recommend and/or send me a link to a free/cheap photoshopping program that will work on my little laptop.

Lesson 1

For my first trick, and because I'm pretty excited about having a place to share my creativity, I present some recent artistic results.

This is the quilt I made for the Punk's Christmas gift. Because of her disabilities, we're experimenting with using weighted covers while she sleeps. This is a re-purposed denim top, salvaged fleece batting, and thrift-store sheet backing. Binding coming soon.

Also pictured is the Pixie (this household's favorite photo-bomber) in her me-made Hallowe'en candy corn outfit. She and her best friend were matching.

Since I do not believe that this blog will be shared with my BFF until after Christmas, it is safe to share the quilt I made her daughter as a Christmas gift. I call it the "Pop Culture Sampler." It is loosely displays some recently popular piecing/quilting techniques. Can you believe that this kid (who is only 5 months younger than my Pixie) has never been given a baby quilt? How deprived can a girl be? Shown below only half quilted, with the Pixie testing it for size, warmth and hide-ability.

Perhaps tomorrow I'll work on finishing the "Dark Side: Modern Churn Dash" quilt. Or I could fold laundry (my arch nemesis).

Yeah, right.

The Learning Curve

Welcome to my new blog! I know so many people who are excited to see what I sew, create, design, and bring to life in my studio every day. And many people who want to see pictures of my Punk and Pixie.

Please bear with me as I enjoy the trials of learning to make coherent posts, suffering with a less-than-stellar camera, and trying to stay on topic.

Topics such as? Quilting (my artistic lover), sewing and designing clothing, craft-ish tutorials, possibly the odd (sometimes very odd) food posting.

To whet the appetite: My Pixie, in a creation from last February. Also, photobombing in the background is the Punk, in pants made by mom. Both patterns from StudioTantrum.