a look back at a crafty 2010

2010 was, by far, the most creative year of my life! I credit it to starting this blog and being inspired by the incredible crafting communit out in blogland and flickr. Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you have a safe and happy New Year's Eve. On to 2011!

1. completed DQS9, 2. mini pennant quilt #2, 3. Jack's jungle quilt, 4. house mini for Nanotchka, 5. funky momo, 6. pennant mini, 7. completed embroidery mini quilt! , 8. blue and orange, 9. bird quilt, 10. Cooper's playmat , 11. a quilt for baby Marilyn, 12. mini for Cooper, 13. finally quilted, 14. becky's baby quilt, 15. mermaid quilt- complete! , 16. Rob's Mountain Quilt

1. NYGQB blocks for November, 2. November "Hope" blocks, 3. October "Hope" blocks, 4. Bee Mental Blocks, 5. October Blocks- NYGQB, 6. Liberated X and O Blocks- Bee Liberated, 7. little house block, 8. in progress- nygqb, 9. bird quilt- fussy cut love bee, 10. NYGQB block for Tracy, 11. Bee Liberated block for Jessica, 12. Bee Liberated block for Jessica, 13. July NYGQB Block for Colette, 14. July Fussy Cut Love Bee Block, 15. August Fussy Cut Love Bee Block, 16. June Fussy Cut Love Bee Block, 17. example blocks for August, 18. blocks for Rosemarie's quilt, 19. liberated baskets, 20. airplane block, 21. house and tree blocks for Lael, 22. liberated log cabin owl blocks, 23. May blocks for Janet, 24. fractured 9-patch, 25. pinwheel blocks

1. art totes and zip pouches, 2. echino project tote, 3. eye pillows all stacked up, 4. another quilted zippy, 5. zip pouches, 6. not-too-Christmassy table runner, 7. echino scarves, 8. lavender sachets, 9. finished hoop, 10. giveaway, 11. another princessy mug rug, 12. pincushion pass, sent, 13. the AWOL pincushion, 14. final mug rug, 15. sailboat mug rug, 16. little froggy mug rug, 17. table runner, 18. simple drawstring pouch, 19. echino mug rug, 20. dreamy mug rug, 21. shot cotton scarf with matching pouch, 22. completed pillow for pillow talk swap 3, 23. pink potholders for Kathy, 24. zippy for my hand sewing goodies, 25. Rob's placemat

winter fun

How was your Christmas? Ours ended up being one of the most relaxing ones we've had in years. But I'm glad it's over! For some reason I never fully got into the spirit of things. I took down all of the decorations yesterday and have been tackling the endless toy packaging bit by bit.

During Christmas dinner, my uncle Lee challenged the girls to a sledding competition. They had just received cool new saucer sleds, but he was saying that nothing beats a flattened cardboard box when you're looking for speed! So we set a time and a place, and the challenge was on.

Let's just say that the girls won (I think Lee could have benefited from a bigger box!) but a good time was had by all! We braved the zero degree temps with another little friend and soaked in the winter sunshine. Cooper even got in on the action and got pulled around a bit.

I've sort of lost my sewing mojo again, but hopefully it will be back soon so I can take advantage of our lazy days at home before the kids are back in school. I've started making flickr mosaics of all the things I made in 2010, and I'm happily surprised at all that I was able to do! Maybe I can top it in 2011? I guess we'll see. 

Have a wonderful Christmas!

Cooper's 1st birthday on winter solstice was wonderful. I'll eventually post photos, but that will have to wait as my father in law helped us by acting as the official birthday photographer! Unfortunately, the weather here has been very, very cold and kept us from the ski slopes. So I've taken advantage of the extra hours at home to get presents wrapped, do a teeny bit of sewing, and enjoy time with Rob and the kids.

I'm so grateful for my family. Everyone is healthy and happy-- and that's the greatest gift any mom can ask for really. I hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas weekend!

crafty commissions

This post could also be titled "When Craft and Bad Photography Collide." Please pretend that it wasn't dark or snowy when I took these photos. Or that I didn't bother to clean off my counters or move the Amazon box that is holding my Christmas present from Rob.

I received some sewing requests from friends and family over the last few weeks. First up, the baby quilt that my mom will be gifting to one of her employees, who is due with her first baby girl any day now.

I used fabrics that I've had sitting in my stash forever, and probably the only pastel ones I own. They're a mix of Amy Butler, Erin McMorris, and a Heather Ross stripe.

The back is pieced with more Amy Butler and some Heather Bailey Pop Garden. I quilted it with some simple loops. I will admit that while I was sewing this, I felt the teeniest little twinge of desire to have another baby. Don't tell Rob.

Next, an apron for my friend Anna's dad. When he retired, he picked up an interest in baking blueberry pies. She requested something masculine, but also thought it would be fun to use some blueberry fabric. I used a great ticking stripe fabric for the main apron and lined the pocket with the blueberries. I didn't use a pattern, but loosely traced an apron that I already have. Surprisingly, this sewed up super fast!

And just last night I finished up a pair of art bags for my friend Kate, who will be filling them up with supplies and giving them to her niece and daughter for Christmas. The original plan was to sew zippers into the top of the totes, but that did not work so well. So I kept them open and made matching zip pouches to hold things like colored pencils and markers.

It's going to be a busy week with Christmas parties, skiing, and a big first birthday tomorrow! I'll check back in, but in the meantime, I hope you all have a fantastic next few days!

And the winner is...

Out of the 361 comments posted, one snuck in after the deadline and there was a duplicate as well. So I counted 359 comments.

And the winner is...

Comment #187, which belongs to Nitzan! I've sent you an email.

Thank you to everyone for entering! I hope you have a great pre-Christmas weekend (and don't spend too much of your time doing last-minute shopping).

Echino project tote

I whipped up this tote as a Christmas gift for my sister-in-law Jamie this morning. I modeled it after the tote I had made for her birthday in May but kept for myself. At the time, I thought it was too substantial. But since then I've learned that it's really the perfect bag for toting around books and knitting projects. Jamie crochets and reads voraciously, so I think this will be put to great use.

It's made of linen and some Echino scraps. I interfaced it with fusible fleece, which makes it sturdy and able to stand up on its own. It's lining is a great Japanese hedgehog fabric that I've had in my stash forever. I sewed in a simple divided pocket, lined with an orange and white paisley that's a fun surprise against the green.

Check another gift off the list!

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!

(The giveaway is now closed)

It's Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day! I really enjoyed the last Giveaway Day in the spring, and am happy to be participating again!

The prize: one of my Echino double gauze scarves and a flax seed eye pillow.

Both are gifts that I'm giving out this holiday season. They're the perfect post-holiday pick me up! Just leave a comment on this post, and make sure I have a way to contact you if you win. International entries are welcome. The winner will be picked by the random number generator. This giveaway closes on Friday, December 17 at midnight Alaska time.

Good luck! And thank you for stopping by!

a zippy to be filled with pre-teen goodness

Cooper's fever was a result of some unknown virus, not teething like we thought. Luckily it passed after a few days and our sweet, happy baby is almost back to full speed!

Any sort of productivity slowed down considerably, leaving me with a messy house and nothing new on the sewing front. But during this morning's nap I was able to put together this quick pouch for my niece. It's going to be filled with a gift card to Claire's and lots of supplies for making friendship bracelets.

new shop additions

I've updated my shop with some sets of lavender sachets that I featured last week and some flax-filled eye pillows. They make the perfect gift for any woman who needs a bit of holiday soothing. (And don't we all need a bit of that right now?)

Each eye pillow is filled with the perfect mix of organic flax-seed and buckwheat. I even have one waiting in the freezer right now! Poor Cooper is cutting his top teeth and is miserable with his first fever, so I'm sure the pillow will feel great against his hot little head.

a not-too-Christmassy table runner

I love Christmas. As the years go on though, I'm finding that I want to transition from traditional Christmas decor to things that are simply festive and bright.

I made this table runner from my shot cotton scraps. It's nice and skinny compared to a traditional-sized runner, measuring about 9" x 30". I prefer the smaller size because it doesn't crowd the placemats when the table is set. It gives a nice shot of color to our dark dining room table-- plus, it can stay out long after we put away the tree! Craft longevity is a good thing.

handmade gifts- day 4

Today is the day of the zippy. Zippered bags, pouches, whatever you want to call them can be customized for anyone-- picky preteens, conservative grandmothers, etc.

I made a vinyl zippy (using the instructions from the oh-so-awesome Denyse Schmidt Quilts):

And a denim quilted zippy:

I've been trying to use up some home decor fabric too, and they work great because I don't have to use interfacing!

There are dozens of great tutorials on making zippered pouches out there. When I made my first zippered pouch, I used this tutorial. My secret for avoiding broken needles and a lot of frustration is to allow plenty of extra fabric on either side of my zipper opening. So for my 7" zippers and quilting weight fabric (with a lightweight interfacing fused on), I'll cut my fabric to be 8" wide and do a 1/4" seam allowance. When I do a pouch that has fusible fleece or batting as the interfacing, I cut the pieces to be 8.5" wide and do a 1/2" seam allowance. This keeps me from accidently sewing over the metal end pieces.

Check back next week for more gifts! I have to be selective now about what I show since some friends and family are reading, but I think I can give some sneak peeks. And I'm still working on those men's gifts. In the spirit of making things easy this Christmas, I might have to give up on them. A hint and a tip for one of the things I'm trying to do-- do NOT google "beer koozie tutorials" or you will discover that it brings the motherload of virus-laden results. Trust me. Don't do it.

handmade gifts- day 3

I know I promised my handmade gifts for men, but you'll have to give me an extra day or two. Let's just say my plans are simple in theory, but not so simple when it comes to getting them made. One involves beer and the other involves big magnets. I spent way too much time swearing in my sewing room yesterday trying to figure them out. Hopefully I can do it though, because if I do they should be very cool!

In the meantime, I'll share a gift for one of the guys in my life-- a simple microwaveable heating pad. It measures 12" by 8" and has a divided muslin liner filled with rice. I used denim and a brown herringbone fabric from Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow line to keep it masculine. I might do a few more of these, because everyone could use some extra warmth every once in awhile! (And I just may have purchased a 25 pound bag of long grain rice at Costco that needs to get used.) I can share my instructions if you're interested, but there are tons of tutorials for these all over the web already as well!

And here's a sneak peek of a couple of other things I'm working on.

There is a table runner there (for us!) and the start of a fun zippered pouch.

Back to it!

handmade gifts- day 2

Today, Echino scarves!

A few months back, I ordered some incredible Echino double gauze from Runner Girl Fabric when they had a 30% off coupon. Have you ever felt this stuff??? I am in love with its softness and beautiful colors. I paired the Echino up with shot cottons, and backed each scarf in wool and cashmere suiting that I had in my stash.

How to:

Cut your fabric:

(2) 9" x 21" rectangles double gauze
(1) 9" x 19" rectangle shot cotton
(1) 9" x width of fabric rectangle wool

Sew the two pieces of double gauze to each 9" end of the shot cotton rectangle using a 1/2" seam allowance, making sure that the pattern is oriented correctly on each end. Iron the seams open, and topstitch 1/4" along each side of the seam.

Lay the wool, right side up, on your work table. Lay the pieced double gauze and shot cotton right side down on top of the wool, smoothing well, and pin every few inches along the edges. If the ends don't match up (which they probably won't), even them up with the old rotary cutter. Sew together using a 1/2" seam allowance, leaving a 4" gap along one edge for turning.

Iron to set the seams. Clip the corners, turn right side out, poke out the corners using a knitting needle, and iron the edges flat.

At this point, you can pin the edges again. I chose not to, but did decrease my presser foot pressure from a 7 to a 3 to keep the double gauze from shifting. You could also use a walking foot for this step. Topstitch 1/4" around the edges using a coordinating thread. And done!

The completed scarves are lightweight yet cozy, and decadently soft! The measurements allow for very little waste, as each cut of the double gauze and wools are a straight 1/4 yard. I figured out the cost of each scarf to be around $12, and they took approximately 45 minutes from start to finish.

(Please ignore the horridness of this low light bathroom self portrait--
I forgot to ask Rob to take a photo for me this morning!)

Rob comes from a family of 5 boys (plus a bonus brother who essentially makes it an even 6), plus I have a brother of my own. Tomorrow, I'll be sharing my gifts for the guys!