Sewn Studio Summer Swap

It's been a while since I participated in an online swap, but this one did not disappoint. My buddy Heidi organized it for Sewn Studio, where I used to work part time before moving from Cincinnati. Oh man, do I miss that place! So even though it was online and anyone could participate, a lot of the swappers were Sewn customers. 

When I got my partner's info, all she specified was that she liked both modern and traditional stuff, and she didn't like girly purples and pinks. But she also said she really likes baking and canning, so I decided to make her a table runner. It's shown here as a wall-hanging, which it could easily be used as, if she's not into table runners.

My mom and I have been working on a quilt together of all the Anna Maria Horner fabrics my mom bought at her studio when we went to the MQG Sewdown together in April. (I neglected to blog about that, but it was amazing- workshops with Carolyn Friedlander, Victoria Findlay Wolfe, Angel Walters, and AMH, plus dinner music and studio tour at Anna Maria's home here in Nashville. So wonderful!) Anyway, there were a bunch of tiny scraps from that project that I just started sewing together into improv-y little patchwork panels. Then I decided to add Essex linen in steel (I think?) to make them into modern crosses with slight variations on size and positioning.

It's one of those projects that just grew organically without a clear plan and I absolutely love the end result. Every time I sew that way, I enjoy it so so much. I don't know why I don't do things like that more often. Sometimes it feels easier to just reach for a pattern and follow it without having to think too much, but really, when I take more control of it myself and put more thought into the design, it's that much more pleasing at the end and all though the process.

The back is just the leftover patchwork bits along with bigger pieces of True Colors. The quilting is wavy organic lines with my walking foot, and the binding is a Julianna Horner print from Joann. I love how well the mother/ daughter fabrics go together! This one was a little difficult to send away, but at the same time it always feels good to send your best out for a swap partner.

I also whipped up a quick Heather Ross zipper pouch and stuffed it with scraps to send along. (Cutting measurements: 12"x5.5" and 12"x4.5 contrast for the outers, 12"x9" for the lining and interfacing, and a 3" wide boxed corner.)  This is my go-to pouch size for gifts.

The day after I finished up my swap items, I got my amazing package in the mail from Amanda. I could not believe all the work she put into my gift, and she picked the perfect fabrics for me from the Indelible collection. Plus I was so happy to receive from Amanda, a friend I know from Sewn. The bag is the Senna Tote by LBG Studio, and it's a GREAT tote. So roomy with convenient outside pockets- this one will get a lot of use Amanda, so thank you!

Pillow Talk Swap 10 (Let's talk about fabric.)

I think most of us have a fabric comfort zone right? Most of it has to do with taste, but some of it has to do with confidence. Like sometimes, you might really like a certain type of fabric but you fear you might not have the skill to do it justice. Like it's too unfamiliar to wield it's power. 

I think this project was out of my comfort zone for both of those reasons. If you aren't familiar, the Pillow Talk Swap happens on Flickr between about 100 quilters and sewists from all over the world. Being in its tenth round, it's gained a certain level of expectation. If you join that swap, you do not want to be the one that makes a clunker of a pillow. (Round 9 was my first time joining, you can see the pillow I made last time here.)

So my partner likes things that are light and girly and pink and vintagey. I appreciate that a lot, but it's not my zone. I need edge and angles and contrast and some black in there somewhere. But that is what makes these things fun and stretching right? 

Before I whine too much about these fabrics not being my style, I should say that I really do love them at the same time. Is that weird? I do, I think they are gorgeous. They are mostly from Liberty Lifestyle's Bloomsbury Gardens line and I picked them up at Sewn Studio.  If you didn't know, I work at Sewn and it's a really beautiful modern fabric shop. Here's the thing that's happened to me since working there- I just love every fabric we have. Yes, I still have my tastes and I definitely can't buy and use all of it, but nearly every bolt that comes in the door makes me think about what I would do with it. And even if I kinda "hate" the style of it, I still love it because it's pretty fabric. If we had not got this Liberty stuff in at the shop, I never would have even considered buying it online or anything. I wouldn't have paid any attention. But then you see it in person, and it's just PRETTY. And then you touch it... case closed. I may complain about it's girly-ness, but if I'm being honest I needed an excuse to buy it. (And it was actually my second time buying it, so what does that tell you? Who am I?) 

The pillow is made up of 16 little 4 inch "tea plate" blocks. At least I think that's what they are called. I saw them in a random quilt block book at the store one day and thought they had a great vintage look that would go with my fabric pull. Plus they seemed like they would lend themselves to playing with low-ish volumes and a bit of linen. I don't normally go for something involving appliqué anything, but it really wasn't that painful. I added one linen border and quilted with close together straight lines on the di-ag. That quilting is definitely my zone. I had to hang on to one shred of stubbornness here.

So although this was one of those projects that had me wondering if my choices would actually work out the whole way through, I think most of them did. I'm happy that I made something I like even though it isn't something I ever would have made for myself. But most importantly, I think my partner might love it and I really hope she does. It's on its way now!

This is the new project I'm working on now. Simple block, scrappy, all circles and geometrics, with a limited color scheme involving brights with some gray and black. That is totally my zone. It's funny because someone commented on this IG picture (I'm @alittlegressica there) that they were "glad to see me back" because that pillow cover I had been posting had them a little worried. I kind of love that, because it means to them I have a certain style. Sometimes it's hard to see that in yourself, but I'm seeing it now. I don't think that person was being mean about the pillow, it's just not something they expected from me. It's a very nice compliment. 

So just to make sure I'm not a crazy person, could you tell me about your fabric zone? And what's the type/line/substrate/designer of fabric you might like, but are also slightly afraid of being clumsy with?

2 Handmade Christmas Swaps

Hi everyone, and happy New Year! I've had such a nice break full of family and holiday-ing. I have about a bajillion things to blog about, but I'm sure I won't get to all of them. But I think that's ok. Sometimes things get made around here just to be made :)

In mid-December, I got to participate in 2 great swaps with other talented women who love handmade. It's so great to be able to get something made especially for you, in the midst of all the Christmas making for others... others who appreciate the time you put into their gifts, but they just don't know, you  know?

First up was our CincyMQG secret Santa swap. Christine's gift to me was so thoughtful, I thought I might cry when I saw it. 

She made me this circle of geese mini quilt to look just like my blog header! Is that not the sweetest, most clever thing ever?? I have it proudly hanging in my sewing room where I love seeing it every day. I love it, and she did such a perfect job on it. Thanks again Christine!!

I made this  2- sided zip pouch for the amazing Gillian. I remember when I first started going to the guild meetings, her stuff was always SO inspiring to me. She is so creative and fun and has the best taste in fabric. She loves Japanese stuff like Echino and anything from Kokka, so I fussy cut some of my reserves for the center of these neon-ish stars. And I snuck some extra Echino pieces inside for her. I hope you are loving it girl, you are the coolest!

The other swap I participated in was online, and I made this flying geese pillow cover for the lovely Kate. I wanted to make it classy and girly for her, so I cut into my Liberty of London! It only took a little, and it felt pretty good actually. I snatched this picture from her Instagram since I forgot to snap any shots of my own. (Are you on IG? Follow Kate at seekatesew, and me at alittlegressica. You'll see lots more shots of what I'm sewing on over there!)

And in that swap I received this classy clutch and wallet combo from Destri! Her work is so beautiful, and I REALLY needed that nice wallet. I'm still carrying the one I made when I first started sewing, pre-blog days. It's really bad and ugly and dirty. Now I have one I don't have to be embarrassed of. Thanks Destri!



I'll be back to regular (semi- you know me) blogging this week and hopefully get to some fun 2012 recaps and 2013 goals. I love reading those kinds of posts, and I LOVE a fresh start in the new year. Lots of good goodness ahead!

Holiday Handmades and Going Viral

The ice cream truck must have been driving by or something.... in November... twice. 

The week before Thanksgiving I decided the kids needed some new thankful duds. Hendrix got a shirt that was already cut out and waiting in the pile of KCWC leftovers. (You remember, the one where I planned like 18 garments and actually sewed 2.)

It's the Easy Linen Shirt pattern from Sewing For Boys. I liked it because it's a somewhat structured woven shirt, but without the real collar and placket. So it was a really quick sew. I used a gray striped linen from Joann. 

And Elsie got her first ever dress sewn from an Oliver & S pattern. For some reason this was momentous to me. Maybe I've just been waiting so long to make one just for her, since I've made two as shop samples. 

And the pattern did not disappoint. It's the Family Reunion Dress, size 18-24 months, made up in AMH Field Study and Michael Miller's mirror ball dots on the contrast. Both are from Sewn Studio. I just love how sweet this design is, especially on a younger girl. All the pin tucks remind me of vintage children's clothing, and it has the most perfect gathered sleeve. 

As if shimmery fabric and glittery shoes weren't enough, I really went for the holiday glam with these glass buttons. They are a little tarnished because they're from the vintage collection my mom gave me, but they are still very sparkly in person. I love them A LOT on this dress. 

Today I also wanted to show you this absolutely gorgeous pillow I received in the flickr Pillow Talk Swap.  It was made by Jenn and she really got me. I love the soft colors, the gray and yellow together, and the great straight line quilting. She used several of my current favorite fabrics, and the pop of aqua in the binding is perfect. We are loving it in the living room!

One last thing! Have you guys seen these guys around lately? It's kind of crazy to me where my little felt Peanuts ornaments are popping up. After they got pinned by a few of the right people, they were featured on Makezine. Then yesterday they were on Huffpost Home (What?!) and today they are on Buzzfeed.

Is reaching Buzzfeed the standard for going viral? Probably not, but it's fun.

Pillow Talk Process

Today I sent off my pillow cover for the Pillow Talk Swap on Flickr, just in under the deadline. This one was hard to send away. I really love it and hope it's what my partner was looking for. To me it totally feels like something you would find in Anthropologie, which is hopefully a good thing. 

Originally I had a much different design in mind, but then I saw this photo on flickr and was instantly intrigued. I've never seen that kind of design in modern quilting before. I sketched out some ideas and decided to construct mine in long strips rather than blocks like this, so that it could have a scrappier look. 

So each strip is made of five pieces joined together on the bias, and alternating between high and low value. Once all the strips were together, I staggered them by one inch to get the wavy zigzag look and joined them. They finish at 1" for an 18" pillow cover. It's so unlike me to not use any solids at all in a project like this, but I loved playing with the values here. 

Here's a close up of my quilting as I was working on it. The diagonal lines 1/4" apart switch directions a couple times. I love dense quilting on a pillow like this. Crazy cozy. 

On the back I used a bright yellow print from Indi, which looks so fun against the fairly neutral front. I put a zipper in the side seam using the great instructions in the new Modern Designs for Classic Quilts book. (You can still enter my giveaway for the book here!) The Indi collection by Pat Bravo was one thing that my partner said she loved a lot, so I started with a few of those prints and picked the rest from my stash. I'm so glad I got to work with this collection because I don't think it's something I would have bought otherwise, but the colors are so rich and pretty. 

It's on it's way now and I can't wait for it to get to it's new owner! Also can't wait to see what might be on it's way to me. There are always so many super beautiful pillows that come out of this swap, I was a little intimidated to sign up for the first time. But I'm glad I did. It's things like this that push you to do things you wouldn't have thought of otherwise, and just become a better sewist. I love when that happens. 

Fabric Serendipity

I love my Modern Quilt Guild.

I do. Those ladies are the bestest.

We had our monthly meeting this week, and the swap this month was totes... Look what I got from the amazing Gillian! 

I hadn't joined in the swaps in the last couple months, but was excited to make an extra Verona bag for this one. Honest to goodness, every tote bag that was brought to swap was pretty fabulous, but I saw Gillian's and started drooling at an alarming volume. 

I was just telling a friend the other day that if I wasn't so cheap, I'd hoard all of Melody Miller's fabric. I just love her stuff! (And I'm not saying I think that fabric should be cheaper. I know why it's premo priced. Totally worth it.)

So I just happened to get to take this transistor tote home. Here's the kicker- I'm going to ATL for a little sewing retreat next weekend, and I'll be meeting Melody! The swapping fairies knew I needed this bag to take with me. 

Gillian, thanks for cutting into the good stuff, it was not lost on me :)

Mug Rugs Swapped

Last Wednesday at our Cincy MQG meeting we had a big 'ol mug rug swap. This is my first mug rug, and I can now see why people say these are so fun to make. (It's because they are, in case you couldn't connect the dots there.) It was a random swap, so I hoped my little sewing machine would appeal to most anyone there. I also hoped it would be distinguishable as a sewing machine... hmmm.

I was inspired by the bird mini quilt my mom made me for Christmas that used this style of messy free-motion stitching for appliqué. It was really fun to do. Messy is definitely easy for me. And it's one little risk-free exercise that helps me feel that much more comfortable with fmq. Baby steps. 

I used the cheater method for binding, just cutting the back a little bigger and folding it over the front. I was also happy to use all scraps for this, so I'm entering it into the Scrap Attack. (I wish I could say the same about my Japanese + & x quilt, but that is not happening. Sheesh.)

And this is the lovely mug rug I got from Debbie. I don't know if you can tell, but the lines criss-crossing are pleated pieces. It's a cool effect I'd like to try sometime.


After finishing up some other sewing commitments last week, today is dedicated to attacking my to-do lists hardcore so that I can finally start on my first PR&P outfit. It's been living in my brain for a week, begging to come out and I can't wait to start!

A Mini-Quilt for Your Monday

I had a small finish over the weekend! But any size quilt finish always feels good...

I made this mini for a swap in the Cincinnati Modern Quilt Guild, which I seem to have unwittingly joined :) I hope my partner doesn't read the blog, but if she sees it, oh well. She didn't give me any parameters for what she likes, so I just cut into some of my new fabric and had fun with it. I hope she likes it because I really do.

Here is the back. (I totally forgot to add anything in the binding to make it a wall-hanging. Whoops.) This being my second ever finished quilt, it also has a lot of firsts. First time using mostly prints, first flying geese, and first time trying the dreaded free-motion quilting.

Which really wasn't that bad. A little practice on some scrap batting and a little vodka-infused watermelon seemed to help. I think. I like how it came out overall, but here you can see how crazy long some of my stitches are. Stitch length definitely needs some work. It's honestly not my favorite style of quilting. I still much prefer straight line, but I want to become good at this too.

My favorite part has got to be that binding. I'm so glad I have more of it because it will definitely become binding again sometime. It's Ann Kelle's Remix zi-zag. I also really loved making those geese! I must make more soon. 

And did you notice that white isn't really white? It's Seed Catalogue from Annie's Farm Stand. I got a fat quarter bundle which included the white on white, but I had no idea how I would use that color. When I saw it in person, it turned out to be my favorite of the bundle. It's really gorgeous. 

I'm joining in Faith's mini-quilt Mondays. Faith visited our shop when she was in town once and she was the nicest ever. Her kids were also adorable (and very well behaved), even when her 4yo daughter announced loudly before they left that she had to poop. Faith just rolled her eyes and laughed. Everybody poops sweetheart, even quilters.