In which I make a to-do list

My I-Want-To-Make-This-Awesome-Thing-Right-Now list is getting bitch-ass long. (Yes, I used bitch-ass. Your point?)

Anywho, since I am spending more time thinking of things I want to make instead of finishing the projects I have to do (I'm looking at your quilt back, Modern Gal.) I thought I'd show you some things on my crafty to-do list.

I want to make this super-awesome quilt using Anna Maria Horner's latest fabric line, Loulouthi. I like that the big blocks show off the big patterns, and mean that the quilt wouldn't take very long to put together. (I like to plow through projects, not spend years on them. I am all about crafty instant gratification.)

(Photo by Pins & Bobbins; Pattern by Stitched in Color.)


This awesome needlepoint pattern. Keep in mind, I don't needlepoint. But I grew up watching my mom do it and I've been dying to learn and this kit by Modern Needleworks has me drooling, in large part because nothing about it says grandma. And because it's a full kit that has the pattern painted on the canvas. I may be a math nerd at the office, but I refuse to stitch things that require me to count to recreate a pattern. (I'm looking at you Counted Cross Stitch.)


A version of this pillow by The Rebel Homemaker, with warmer colors in the panels.



Anything that could even come, maybe, possibly, sorta close to look as awesome as this stitching by Prints Charming.


And, last but certainly not least, this kick-ass crewel sampler made by Alicia Paulson. The practical among you will point out that I don't know how to do crewel. I will grit my teeth and stomp my feet and say, so?!? And then figure out how to learn.


So that's some of what I've been drooling over. What are you and your fingers itching to get into?

Christmas Quilt. Redux.

I started working on this in August. Got sidetracked by life. Picked it up again briefly in September for a few days. Got sidetracked by life. Blogged about it. Got sidetracked by life. And finally just sat down for five hours this weekend to piece the top quilt together.

I'm planning to back it with a thin teal fleece while quilting it with a warm red thread. Here's a few pictures of the quilt, outside my church on Sunday morning.









The pattern, in case you're curious, is an improvised In and Out quilt by Blue Underground Studios. I added sashing (the white bits on the side) and tweaked the dimensions. I'm still debating the best way to quilt it.

Thoughts?

P.S. One of the cool things about the original quilt pattern is that it was inspired by Chicago's urban architecture. It's a reflection of the windows in downtown building. Click on the "in and out" link above to visualize.

Christmas. In September.

Sometime in late August I was standing in my dining nook sewing room wearing thread-covered yoga pants and a ratty sport bra, hair askew, while I was sweating like I'd just finished a bikram class. I was plowing my way through a bottle of wine and slicing Christmas fabric (yes, Christmas fabric. Bite me.) while the mutt princess stared at me.

At that moment a single thought flashed in my head: this, right here, is why I'm single.

Relationship woes aside (and, for record, that moment was sort of perfect. Or would have been if it involved a better cutting table and some cheese. Preferably brie. Or gouda. Or really, anything. I'm not picky when it comes to my favorite food group.), I'm plowing my way through a Christmas quilt. Because, what says August September -- like sleighbells and shit?

Here's a sneak peak.



P.S. If someone hasn't already, I'm declaring turquoise as a Christmas color. Don't even try to disagree with me.

Wedding Quilt. A Tour.

One month shy of the Emily Post wedding gift limit, I was finally able to send off Currer Bell's wedding quilt. I've written about the super-slow progress on the project before. It kept getting sidelined by baby quilts and other assorted projects that I could power through. In this one, though, there was no powering. It was just lots of work all the way through.

But I'm so, SO glad I did. I think it looks great and I really like the totally different double sides of it. They have such alternate vibes, but yet they fit together. A fitting metaphor for a marriage, no? (Note to self: existential thoughts about quilts and quilt design makes you STRANGE.)

Anyway, because I am a strings-attached friend, I made Currer and her man, Hot Pants, send me pictures of the quilt once they'd received it. And they totally delivered.

To start with, I should note that the theme of the quilt was birds. They used a bird theme prominently in their wedding decor, and I wanted to use this awesome Alexander Henry "starling" fabric as the centerpiece of my blocks.


From there, I modified this pattern by Oh, Franson and built four concentric color-themed squares (with four different fabrics per square) around the piece of the Starling fabric. (Incidentally, this quilt pattern is where I learned about the Starling design.)

From there, I added white sashing (borders for you non-sewer types.) And the front winds up looking like this.


Here's another view:


The back is totally different. It's a scrappy Urban Amish quilt, a pattern designed by the always awesome ladies at Quiltology.


Next I added two borders _ one white and one in this kelly green fabric by Denyse Schmidt.



The quilting is done in a kelly green stipple pattern and I did the binding in something that for the life of me I cannot remember. What I do remember is sitting in a rocking chair in the back of our unairconditioned church sanctuary with the quilt in my lap working on the binding during a service. And loving every sweaty minute of it.

The quilt winds up be a solid snuggling size for one person, or two people who just want a light blanket. Here's Currer Bell holding it up.

Front:



Back:


Crazy view:


Woot!

Quilted baby goodness.

Or maybe it should be baby quilted goodness? Either way, behold this gender-neutral baby quilt I made for my friend Sara and her little boy Ben. (Who, at the time, we did not know was a boy.)

I don't know who's cuter! The quilt, the kid or the onesie (which is a gift from my awesome friend Emily.)


Here's a look at the front of the quilt, sans baby.



And the back:


The quilt is less scrappy than my usual ones, although I made it entirely out of stuff already in my stash. Also, it's the second-ever quilt I quilted by myself. Hell to the yeah.

In which I make a mess. And progress.

N.B. If I owe you a long-awaited wedding present that's really going to be more like a Happy First Anniversary! present, read at your own risk.

Many moons ago I started working on a wedding quilt. Started, being the operative word. The pattern was taking forever. None of my colors seemed to go together. I ripped out every seam and started over. A lot. It was just ... icky. Luckily (or at least, luckily if you enjoy procrastinating) everyone on the planet decided to have babies, which kept me up to my eyeballs in baby quilts for a while.

But birthin' season is almost over so now I MUST return to the wedding quilt, which is inspired by this.

I spent about three hours working tonight and only made three blocks. Sigh. I forgot how much is involved in this, especially since I can't use my favorite fast-sewing technique of strip-piecing.

After what felt like an hour of cutting, I had this. One glorious mess. (This is just a part of it.)


I had a hard time taking pictures of the finished blocks. Plus, it's getting late, I'm tired and I don't feel like playing with photoshop to fix the crappy lighting. So pretend this looks STUNNING. Is actually a picture of the whole block. Has cool colors that aren't funky in the light. Is straight. And then multiply it. By a lot. And then your mind can enjoy its imaginary-for-now-but-soon-to-be-actualized awesomeness.


The end.

I solemly swear ...

... That I am up to NO GOOD.

A bedroom problem.

No no, you dirty birds!! I have an, ahem, different bedroom problem. Specifically? This.


Not sure what you're looking at? It's one of the several big-ass scuff marks my stupid headboard has put on my wall. And NO, pervy! Not from that. Please. Anyhoodles....

I've hated my headboard since I got it, but it was cheap and that was -- and is -- good enough for me and my tight budget. Still, I was getting fed up with the scratches. And finally on Friday, while frantically preparing for my parents' arrival, I decided to bite the bullet and make a headboard cover.


To make the slip cover I used five-inch nine-patches I started piecing together about a year ago, hoping to finally make myself a quilt for JUST ME. Since my project kept getting put aside by baby quilts and wedding projects and giving sewing lessons to friends and all manner of assorted other things, I finally accepted the idea that my bedspread quilt just wasn't meant to be. And with that, I dug into my pile of nine-patches.

With that I mind, I measured the headboard (a queen-size is 60 inches), grabbed five of my favorite blocks, arranged them in a way I liked and sewed them together using the standard quarter-inch seam. They formed a strip that was about 68 inches long at that point, so I trimmed 3 inches off each side to fit my length while still allowing room for a seam allowance Then I added white sashing at the top (3.5 inches wide x the length of the piece) and bottom (5 inches wide x the length of the piece). I hemmed the bottom sashing piece to keep raw edges away and did the same thing on white backing that ran the length and width of my patchwork top.

And, voila! Super pretty AND functional headboard that looks awesome and keeps the piece o' crap from further marring my walls.



The whole project was super easy and took me about 40 minutes to do. Alas: I was in such a rush that I didn't think to take pictures for a proper tutorial. So these will have to suffice.

But, tell me. Whatcha think??

Quilty goodness for a baby

I made a quilt for a new baby who is expected to arrive just in time for Mother's Day!! His name is a secret, although I lobbied for Charlie Blagojevich or Daley Blagojevich. His parents wouldn't hear any of it. Alas.

Dimensions are 40x40 and it's made up for simple 4x4 blocks I cut using stuff from my stash.

This is a close up of the quilt top before I quilted it.


Yes. You read that right. I quilted it. All by myself. Yay me! Who cares if the lines weren't totally straight??



Here's a view of the back:



And finally, a fancy pants little shot:

I get by with a little help from my friends

The Mutt Dog is kind of clingy. And by kind of clingy, I mean, is plastered to my side at all times. Occasionally this is cute. Sometimes it's awkward (should, you know, a boy come over.) When I'm trying to baste a quilt, it's royal pain in my ass.






Lucky for her she's entirely too cute.

Baby quilt goodness

I haven't officially gotten permission from the recipient to post pictures of this baby quilt. So I'm only going to give you a hint of what's on deck for my super-fabulous friend Emily, who is set to birth a splendid little halfpint in May.

Since that's just in time for my birthday, I've launched a full-fledged Name The Babe Noodles effort. So far, she's being stubborn. Whatever. I blame the pregnancy hormones for her inability to listen to reason.

Anyway, since I was SO FREAKIN' lucky to have a three-day weekend (word to the civil rights movement!), I was able to bust out the entire top quilt. As soon as I hit publish, I'm going to whip up the back and then try my hand at actually quilting the damn thing myself, instead of paying someone else to do it. (Emily, I hope I don't mangle this.)

So here's a little eye candy to hold you over until it's finished and I can show it off for real.

Oops.

I have this crazy idea that I want to see how long I can go without buying new clothing. My last purchase was Dec. 24. But uh, I made no such resolution when it came to fabric.

Look what greeted me when I came home from work on Friday? This super-awesome package of goodies from FabricWorm. EEPS!


There's a bunch of Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks voile, and OMG, it's so soft. Plus, some Amy Butler Love fabric, and Denyse Schmidt's Hope Valley. Not to mention a ton of other stuff. Yay!

Finished quilt!

This weekend was the much-anticipated baby shower and the delivery of the handmade name banner and quilt!

I'm home sick with strep, so you'll have to delight in the pictures and small captions since I'm too wiped to post any of my usually am!

How it started:


Then I learned to applique. Which, incidentally, was not easy.



It's quilted with a stipple and backed with turquoise minky.



Best part? I finally managed to bind it without it looking like poop! (Credit for that goes to this amazing tutorial.)



Ok, I lied. Learning how to bind wasn't the best part. The best part was seeing her face when she opened it.


Um, Kathleen, you know it's for the BABY, right?


And check it, Chris likes it too!


I can't wait for baby Josie to get here and roll around on this! It was made with love by Aunt Noodles. I think Kathleen knows that, too.


The End.