Bro Quilt

This was my big Christmas project this year. As in, consumed most of my December. Because I am crazy and a sucker for compliments, I didn't decide to make my younger brother a quilt until after Thanksgiving. That's when he saw this one and said he liked my quilts. What's that? You like my quilts? Then, yes you will have one. 

Luke is a real guy's guy. He climbs huge mountains and deadly glaciers. He'll camp in the middle of nowhere on any night of the year. He wears mostly things made out of high-tech insulated materials with names I can never remember. He moved to Las Vegas a few months ago just because he could. Besides all of that, he is just an amazing brother and brother-in-law and uncle to us. 

So I envisioned this quilt that kind of looked like it was going places, just like my brother. I've been wanting to make a flying geese quilt with a different spin. It's also somewhat inspired by Tula Pink's Field Study pattern, which is perfect because I knew I wanted those Prince Charming raindrops to be showcased. All of the prints are from my stash, I just added the Bella Navy and Teal solids. The dark background is pretty hard to photograph, but I love the way the navy looks. It's strong and manly but not at all drab.

My favorite thing about it might be that back is corduroy! Super soft, grass green, fine-wale corduroy. I got the idea when a customer in the shop did the same for the back of her quilt. It came out great, but the next time I use corduroy I think I will pre-wash it. I don't usually prewash anything for quilts, but after I washed the finished quilt it seemed like the back shrunk just slightly more than the front. Not a big problem, just something I will keep in mind next time.

Here's a close up of the Michael Miller Old Script print, just because I love it. I also love the Cloud 9 Across the Pond Banks print with the little arrows. Arrows in the arrows- it's meta.

I think it came out to about 65" by 80," but I didn't measure after washing. Putting together fabrics and a design for a man quilt- a single, 24 year old man who lives in Vegas- was really a fun challenge. I would recommend making a man quilt to anyone. And Luke seemed to be very happy, so I'm happy.

My Year in Sewing!

Looking back over the year in my Flickr stream was pretty fun. I've been sewing for almost 4 years now, but a couple of things happened in 2011 that really pushed my skills and gave me great opportunities. The first was when I won a new Brother sewing machine in the Prudent Baby potholder contest back in March. Obviously, getting a better machine was great for me and I love my Brother. (and still love my old Singer too!) But winning an online contest that I entered with no expectations gave me a lot of sewing confidence and pushed me to join in more in the online sewing community. This blogging thing became a lot more fun and I realized that I could "meet" some really cool friends here. 

(Thank you little potholder!!!)

Then in the beginning of June I began working at Sewn Studio, a beautiful fabric shop and sewing lounge that had recently opened right in my neighborhood. I was forced to grow more in the technical side of things that I hadn't been able to learn on my own. I have became more comfortable sewing with patterns and different types of fabrics. Of course, I still have a ton to learn and am so thankful that learning is built right into my super-fun job. But the biggest new adventure working at Sewn brought was quilting! I took a class there early in the summer from the talented Heather Jones and was instantly hooked. I still make lots of other things, but even those tend to look more "quilty" now. I have a long list of quilts I want to make in 2012 and I can't wait to start!

These are my finished quilts since that summer class. (More on that last one later this week!)

1. Hendrix's quilt 1, 2. Mini Quilt 1, 3. solids 2, 4. Fall mini, 5. loulouthi back, 6. loulouthi front, 7. Flurry Quilt 1, 8. Bro Quilt




These are my Little Things to Sew-Along projects so far. Hosting the sew-along has been so much fun, and I can't wait to get it started again this year. I just love Oliver and S projects!

1. no hand stitching!, 2. Penguin backpack, 3. Bias-Trimmed Apron, 4. Bias trimmed aprons, 5. LTTS Puppet Theater, 6. Cozy Winter Hood




This year I also joined a quilting bee, do. Good Stitches.  This has been a fantastic experience! I've gotten to know new quilting friends and tried some things I otherwise wouldn't have got to. Really looking forward to seeing what our circle makes this year.

1. August block 1, 2. August block 2, 3. greek cross 2, 4. greek cross 1, 5. Do Good Stitches September #1, 6. Do Good Stitches September #2, 7. DGS November block 1, 8. november DGS blocks, 9. December DGS block 2, 10. December DGS block 1




I made a good amount of clothes for my kids. I will always love doing this and I hope they tolerate wearing my creations for a very long time.

1. dragon 1, 2. grandpa cardigan, 3. Amelia top, 4. Ice Cream Dress, 5. Girl's LBB Hoodie 2, 6. Boy's LBB Hoodie front, 7. fall dress, 8. Itty Bitty Baby Dress, 9. Airplane shirt 1, 10. Easter outfit 2, 11. Chevron shirt, 12. warhol dress 1, 13. helicopter shorts14. Not available15. Not available16. Not available




Lots of other diverse projects this year too...

1. Bunnies, 2. Baby Swaddler open, 3. Baskets after, 4. Crib Sheet, 5. chevron wristlet 2, 6. Mae, 7. Pirate bag, 8. patriotic-pillows 3, 9. swaddlers, 10. Sewing machine cover, 11. Convertible Clutch, 12. blocks 1-6, 13. full tree skirt , 14. Stocking stuffers, 15. stocking detail, 16. 4 patchwork bibs

The very best thing I made this year was little Elsie. (I know, groan. I couldn't resist.) We love this little girl like crazy, wild crazy!

So for 2012? I'd love to make a real article of clothing for ME using a real pattern. I've always said in the past that I'm perfectly happy just making for the kids, but I also know that if I want to stretch and learn, I need to try this once or twice. Maybe I'll actually like it.

As far as quilting, there is SO much I want to try. I want to work a lot more with solids and unique color stories. I'm also really inspired by all the curviness I'm seeing everywhere lately. I want to do a lot more improv, but I also want to try designing a quilt actually using math and getting it all worked out BEFORE starting. That's not how I normally operate, but I feel like it probably has some perks :)

I'd also like to actually figure out my serger. Yes, I have a serger that someone gave me, and it just sits on my shelf because I don't take the time to actually learn how to use it. Kind of embarrassing, but I know once I do it I will be sooooo happy I did.


Blogwise, I'm not really good at thinking far ahead and executing everything I want to do. (Those of you who have been waiting for this late link party are nodding mmmm-hmm.) All I know is that the sew-along will continue and the bias tape swap is coming soon!  I do love this blog and am thankful for all of you who read and encourage me. I couldn't help but notice that I got my 300th follower just today, a pretty cool way to start the year. I really wish I could raise a New Year's glass with all of you, but instead we get to have "parties" with links here that our friends would probably think really dorky. Little do they know how ultra cool we are :)

Happy New Sewing Year!
Jessica



(If you don't mind, put your first name and blog as the "name" of your link. For instance, Jessica@ALittleGray. That way we can all know who we are looking at. I hate it when I can't figure out someone's first name by looking around their blog!)

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Cyber Bundling.

So I make a good amount of fat quarter bundles in real life. It's part of a very nice job, of course, but this was a little more fun because I felt like I was choosing from every fabric possibly available, (probably not true, but feels that way at Fat Quarter Shop) and I didn't actually have to wield a rotary cutter. On the downside, I did not get to touch/ see these pretty things in person and now I want to spend money. I will show restraint, as I need to go on a New Year's fabric diet.

If you don't have any idea what this is about, check it out here. Super fun idea. Did I mention I'm obsessed with navy lately? I'm pretty surprised how much purple crept in here too. I try to play hard to get with purple, but if I'm honest with myself I like it a lot in the right contexts.

Lanikai Navy Basketweave

Impressions Blue Delhi

Heirloom Indigo Fez

Power Pop Coffee Confetti

Lanikai White and Navy Gridlock

Loulouthi Shadow Framed

Bespoken Aqua Stitchery

Modernology Capri Impressions

Bella Solids Navy

Bazaar Style Night Moroccan Streets

Folk Heart Light Blue Simple Flowers and Hearts

Bella Solids Ruby Ice

Bella Solids Butter

Heirloom Dandelion Opal

Loulouthi Scotch Hugs and Kisses

Handmade Gifts Received

Before I show you some of the gifts I made others this Christmas, I had to show you the amazing handmade things my family gave me. They know I love some handmade. 

Nana made Elsie this owl ornament for her first Christmas. Here it is with the one she made Hendrix two years ago. I love how cute and unique they are, and the kids love them too.

 My mom also made me a mini quilt! Couldn't you die from the adorableness? I love how she free-motion doodled around each bird. This one is going up in the sewing room for sure. It's a project from this book.

And Nick got me the entire Amy Butler Lark collection! Not exactly something made, but it will become something made. And he figured it out all by himself. It seems like people aren't too crazy about this collection, but it is by far my favorite Amy stuff yet. I've never been overly excited about her stuff before, but something about the colors in this one totally get me. I'm just loving navy lately and I love what she did with it here.

He also got me those earrings from Etsy. They came with the most amazing packaging I've ever seen, including that little cut out card.

Finally, I had to show this mini my prolific quilter grandmother gave me when I saw her at Thanksgiving. Cute and very true. Hi Nanny! 

Also, it's my 29th birthday! I don't remember the last time I had balloons on my birthday, but someone surprised me with these tied onto the front steps today. I love it! (I still think it was you Julie!)

So happy birthday to me! Too bad it's just a regular Wednesday for the rest of you suckers :)

A Look Back, a Look Forward- Join Me!

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I hope everyone had as perfect a Christmas as we did! So much great family time, and even more to come this week. Lots of last-minute sewing of course, and I have many great things to show you. But for now, something fresh and new that I'm pretty excited about!

I had thought of having a show-off-your-best-sewn-gift kind of blog event, but I figure everyone's going to be doing a lot of that in the next couple of weeks anyway. So I propose something a little different. It will take some thought and maybe a little online picture-collaging, but I think it will be lots of fun. 

The thought actually occurred to me recently in the shower that it would be great to write a post rounding up the best of what I've made in 2011. I've been sewing for nearly 4 years now, but this last year brought many changes and opportunities for growth sewing-wise, so I knew this would be an interesting blog post, at least for me to write if not for you to read. 

Then I saw Sophie's absolutely gorgeous post doing that very same thing, and I knew I had to write mine and not let it fall by the wayside of forgotten blog ideas. In fact, I probably should have called this thing "It was a very good year" just like her post, just to keep things positive. (But good grief, you know no matter how many times I have to figure out the code for one of those damn buttons it never gets any quicker. Set in stone. Html stone.)

So here's the deal. I'm going to post my "year in sewing" on January 1, and I'd love for you to join me! If you do a similar post, you will be able to link up to mine thru January 10. Then we'll have one big but concise chronicle of what we all accomplished this year. Sort of like a big pep rally. (Except I never really liked pep rallies, so pretend my metaphor is much cooler.)

Here are some things to think about (just suggestions) in a quick-list format so you can stop staring at these paragraphs:

• What new skills did you acquire in your sewing this year? It could be as simple as sewing a straight line or as complex as... I don't know many complex sewing techniques, I'm not that complex. But maybe you turned into a full-on dressmaker or obsessed quilter- like me!
• What did you have the most fun making? What sewn item makes you happy every time you see it?
• What gifts were you able to make? 
• What did you make for yourself? (gasp!)
• How did your tastes change?
• Did you find any new sewing community/ friendships, either local or online?

And I'd love for us to look ahead to 2012 sewing-wise as well. 

• What new skills would you like to learn this year?
• What big projects are on your list?
• How are you going to make time (be it a lot of time or a little) to accomplish your goals?

I'm not really great at making goals, but I'd like to be that kind of person. My goal is to make more goals... And also accomplish them I guess. But I have to take the time to think about it and put it out there, so this will help me.

What about the pictures you say? Oh yes, we want lots of pictures. You don't have to include every single thing you made this year, unless you want to. But a good way to boil things down is to make picture collages. You can do that for free on picnik.com or Mosaic Maker. I think this whole thing will be such a fun way to meet new bloggers because we will get an idea of your whole "sewing persona" rather than just a small taste. 

Really, it's up to you what you make this post. I know that I'm not often the most reflective person, but I think there is so much value in thinking about where we've been and where we are going. That's what I love about the New Year. So why wouldn't we do this with our most beloved past time of sewing? 

There are only 3 rules. Ok, maybe 4: 

1. Keep it positive! This is meant only for encouragement and community. Don't start looking at anyone else's sewing accomplishments and get down on yourself. Dude, if sewing blogs make you feel inadequate rather than encouraged and inspired, then close the laptop. We all have different things going on in life, but we are all making completely unique creations that only we can. Who cares if you only had time to make 2 things all year? You are awesome. Show us. 
2. Spread the word. Link up here when you post, you can use my button up there if you'd like. (I swear, I will punch a puppy if anyone emails me and says that code doesn't work. Just kidding, I love puppies. And constructive feedback.) I'm really excited about this, so it would also be great if you could mention it on your blog before the party starts. No one likes New Year's parties with like 3 people there right?
3. Keep it to sewing. I like other crafts, nothing against them. I'm honestly uber-impressed that you learned woodworking/ paper-mache/ knitting/ body painting/ glass-blowing/ cat-hair crafting/ basket weaving this year. We just have to focus somewhere. You understand.
4. Keep it super-duper positive. This may sound similar to #1. It is. After all, you've accomplished a lot.

Some of us are easily distracted, so thanks for reading this far into my crazy plans. Who's in??

Elsie's Stocking

Elsie is no longer stockingless. Phew. 

It's inspired by this one I saw from Land of Nod. Mine has a different shape, but I like it's chunkiness. I used that linen I use for everything (like here, here, and here) and felt and rid rac from Sewn. 

I love the graphic print on the inside too. I'm so happy with the way this turned out and how bubble-gum happy yum-yum candy Christmas it is. That is not how any of our other Christmas stuff is, but none of that really matches either. I like our mismatchy stockings for now, but there might be more stocking making going on next year.

I used the leftover felt and some green I already had to make Hendrix his own tree to decorate. Simplest thing ever, but he was beside himself squealing with joy over this felt tree. See Angela's much cuter version here.


I have been sewing gifts like a mad woman all week, but I still have a lot to do. I love the pressure though, feels like college days. I'm sure I won't be checking back in here until after the holidays, so have a very happy Christmas!

LTTSA: Your Puppet Theaters, Winners, and Business

Whoa. Your theaters? AMAZING. I know you already saw them, because that's the point of a link party, but here's a review in case you missed it. 

Sarah's colors are just perfect. And how much do you love that little round window?

Alisa did a super- creative rainbow look. (It totally reminds me of the rainbow road level on the original MarioKart. Anyone?)

The brilliant Stacia decided to make it a pirate ship and it came out stupendously! And guess what? She doesn't even own the book, she just really wanted to make this for her son. She's a pirate of sewing. Yar.  

Sarah's attention to detail kills me! Her little windows are perfect. And I love the bows on the curtains. 

I'm so excited that you guys made this! Isn't it cool how completely different each one is? Lots of other cute projects this month too, can't wait to make some of those mittens and hats. 

Onto the winnings...

Out of all ten entries this month, the winner of the 2 pattern pack from Owly Baby is Sarah of Heirloom Farmhouse!

And who gets all this great loot? According to random.org, out of the 4 puppet theaters made, it's Sarah B!  The Sarahs sweep all. I'll be emailing you ladies.



So on the Sew-Along schedule I said we'd be making the winter hat from the book, or it would be a good time to take a break. Well, that's still true. I do plan on making one of those hats for Elsie this month, but I'll also be taking a break from doing any more sew-along posts until January. I have no prizes or anything, so feel free to make whatever, but we won't have a LTTSA link-up. I was thinking it might be fun to just have a link-up the week after Christmas where anyone can post their favorite handmade gift they gave this year? It would be great to see what other kinds of things all the sew-alongers make, and to include anyone and everyone else.

 But then we'll be back with a bang in January. All those new bears and dollies will need cute little carriers, right?