The Sometimes Crafter

My Blurb Book

2012-01-26T14:01:00.001-08:00

A little while back Amanda had shown me that Blurb now had an option to do journal-style books with your photos. I was really excited about this, but it was the holidays and I never got around to making one. Well, wasn’t I surprised when one arrived on my door step this week!

Amanda made me one with some of my favorite photos for a birthday present. I just love it! And I am really surprised by the quality of the photo prints on the paper used. It says the paper is 60-pound uncoated, but it feels more like a 28-pound (at most) to me.

I especially love that she did a mix of solid and graph pages. I love having graph paper when I’m working on quilt block ideas. I’m not sure what I’m going to use this book for, but I love having journals to keep track of ideas and thoughts.

My only wish for the Blurb books is that they offered a version with thicker pages. Since I tend to write in inky pens, those would easily bleed through this thin paper, but if it were a thicker, sketchbook style paper I wouldn’t have to worry about that. Plus it might be fun to add some watercolor with out the worry of bleeding through.

I’m so excited for this book and hope I can bring myself to write in it. I can’t wait to begin a new journal project with it!

Thank you so much, Amanda!

There is an update to my last post on the PoGo printer. I figured out another way to print to it thanks to Kaye’s help! Scroll down to the bottom of yesterdays post to read more.

Travel Printer

2012-01-24T21:09:00.001-08:00

Something I’ve always wanted to do is journal with photos when I take road trips. I love journaling to capture the moments in life. And I have always wanted to have a travel journal. But I just can’t get excited about journaling when I don’t have visuals to go along with it. I’ve always wanted to have a little printer to capture those moments easily. I had been thinking about buying an Epson PictureMate Charm, as they seem reasonably priced and reasonably sized to actually travel with. I hadn’t bought it yet because I just wasn’t sure if I would actually want to tote it along on vacation. While most of my vacationing is road trips, I like to pack as light as possible. Then one day a few weeks ago I saw on Instagram that Karyn had a tiny little printer she was using to journal. I knew that was what I needed. I went online and researched and knew in just a few minutes that it would be perfect for me. So I bought one! I am now the proud owner of a Polaroid PoGo. I thought I’d talk a little about it since I had so many questions about it myself and also from others when I was posting about it on Instagram.

The number one thing I love about it is that there is no ink required. All I need are the little sheets of 2x3” thermal paper made especially for this. You can load 10 sheets at a time and it works out to about $0.40/sheet. Also, the back removes from these and they are sticky. So that combined with no ink makes it a great value to me. And easy to travel with. So to get started, you remove your printer from the box and plug it in to charge. Once it has a charge you should be able to print quite a few prints from it and it has a day or so of stand-by. I haven’t really put this to the test yet myself, but at this point it’s not a big deal to just plug it in. It’s really easy to get going. You just lift the lid, pop the paper in (with the special blue sheet on the bottom) and close the lid and you’re ready.

It’s a Bluetooth device and so you will need Bluetooth to print to it. It is not readily able to print to from the iPhones. If you have an iPhone you know how Apple likes to lock them down. If you do have an iPhone (like I do) and it happens to be jailbroken, you can download an app from the Cydia store for $10 that will allow you to print your photos over Bluetooth to this printer. It’s called Celeste, and that’s what I did. Works like a charm. (I should note I’m not on iOS 5.0.1 yet, still 4.2.8…so not sure how it’s working with the update yet.) If you happen to have a Droid phone, then just print to Bluetooth, no special program required. My husband has a Droid, so we tested it out with his phone. (FYI – jailbreaking your phone is not illegal at this time in the US.) This screen shot is when I was in a photo via the iPhone photo app that comes preinstalled on the iPhones. Normally the “Send via Bluetooth” is not available on the options screen. If you happen to have a Mac or a computer with Bluetooth (or a Bluetooth dongle for your computer) then you can also print from that to the printer. But Bluetooth is the only way you can print to this thing. There is no hooking it up via USB to print to it. Which of course would kind of defeat the purpose of this cute little printer.

Something I had read about and noticed was that around the 3rd print you will see some streaking on the photos sometimes. You may also see this if you haven’t used the printer in a few days. The suggestions I found said to just run that blue piece of paper that came with your paper pack through the printer again at start-up. All you need to do is put it in the bottom of the print tray, turn the printer on and it will spit it out automatically for you. I had streaking on my third print, so ran the sheet through and printed again and the print had no streaking.

I’m printing to it about once a day, so I just put the blue sheet in when I’m ready to print and have it run through first and the prints all come out fine.

Slightly misleading on the Polaroid site about the PoGo is the quality of prints you will get. They show this perfectly balanced color photo. That is not what you will get. You’re photo will have a definite Polaroid-tint to it just like the instant Polaroid images of the past. Which personally, I love. For journaling it’s perfect for me. I’m always editing my photos to that vintage look anyways.

As I said above, the sheets have a sticky back which makes it perfect for journaling on the go.

And I’ve been having lots of fun with casual journaling of my photos everyday. I can’t wait for a road trip!

UPDATE

So after talking with Kaye about how she prints to her printer I had to give it a go for myself. That evening after I did this initial post I updated my phone to the iOS 5.0.1 and did the jailbreak on it…and of course Celeste is not working with the new iOS. But it looks like they are working on the update for it…at least at last tweet. So for the time being I thought I might be stuck not printing to my PoGo (sad day). But, after talking with Kaye, I now have a solution! So one of the ways she prints to her PoGo is to connect her camera directly to the printer via it’s USB cable. I have the Canon 60D which allows for printing via the camera interface and it worked like a charm. I’m so excited. So as long as I have a decent print to begin with, I get a great print from the printer. Very happy about this! Printing directly from my camera would make me just as happy as printing from my phone on the road trip. Either way, I don’t need a computer!

Next on my list to try…uploading a photo from my camera to the iPad, editing on the iPad and then printing to the PoGo. Either via Celeste (I haven’t updated the iPad in a long time, so should work on there for now) or by putting the image back on my camera’s SD card and then printing from the camera interface. Not sure how all of that will work. I’m guessing I’ll need to find an app that will allow me to put photos from my iPad back onto the camera’s SD card. I’ll be sure to post about that if it works out.

No. 37

2012-01-15T15:06:00.001-08:00

We have a winner for the spot in Stitched In Color’s {Premium} Curves Class with a copy of my Retro Flower’s pattern! Congratulations to Blue Crab Quilting! I hope if you have any fears about piecing curves you will consider taking Rachel’s class. I think curves might be up there as the number one fear in sewing, but I will say it time and again, they don’t have to be hard! I think as quilters we sometimes psych ourselves out about techniques we are unfamiliar with, but it just takes a little practice to master any of it. (Remind me to give this advice to myself should I ever trying quilting a quilt on my domestic machine again.)

It seemed like such a daunting task to sew together all the curves for the Retro Flower’s quilt, but it really went together quick and the I would piece each flower completely before moving on to the next and with each one I had the push to get another one done. I really miss my mornings in the sewing room with my cup of coffee, sewing up the blocks. I keep thinking I’m going to make another one, maybe a flower each week to share, as Rachel did on her blog. I will have to see how I can work it in with everything else on my plate right now. I’m thinking it may be just the de-stress I need each day. I think for any curves I work, completing a block of curves is good motivation to keep me going. Once I see a completed block, I’m always inspired to make more.

And I can never say enough good things about my Curve Master Foot. I love that thing!

Unsure About Curves? {Giveaway}

2012-01-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

Photo by Stitched in Color

Well do I have just the class for you! Rachel at Stitched in Color contacted me awhile back about her Curves class, due to start February 1st, and I was only too happy to offer her students a discount on my Retro Flowers pattern. Speaking of, did you see all of her posts on her mini quilt using this pattern? Just fantastic, and I especially love that she felt that sense of achievement with each flower constructed. It’s funny to think you will be so proud of yourself, even if you’ve made curves for many years, but you just really do when you get a petal and then a flower put together.

I knew when I released this pattern that there would be a lot of readers that thought “Curves are too hard.” but I swear to you they aren’t! Sometimes it just takes seeing how to do it from someone else to really hit home. Week three of Rachel’s curves class deals with precision curve piecing and will be just the information you need to make those perfect curves on the Retro Flowers pattern. While my pattern walks you through the instructions and tips and tricks, Rachel’s class will give you that hands on information you need to make it happen if you are still unsure.

Photo by Stitched in Color

In particular, I love that her class deals with all kinds of curves, not just drunkards path’s. Each week is a new concept in curves as well as a project to complete so that you are keeping up and really learning. Her class will only be available for viewing online for a short time, so that you are sure to get the most from all the information presented. I really like this, because so many times I buy into a class that has unlimited access and then I forget about it and never seem to actually do the class. This is a much better format for someone like me, and I’m betting a lot of you, too!

She currently has two options available, as her first option (Curves Camp) sold out! I’ll let you read about it in her words:

"In the past you may have been intimidated by tight little curved seams, even downright petrified by curvy quilt blocks and more than a little skeptical that a curvy outlook could be in your stitchy future. That all ends now. No longer shall ye be limited to the straight edge. No longer shall ye look with fear upon that which inspires you..."

“The super affordable Curves Class includes everything you're used to seeing from me in the way of detailed, step-by-step picture-packed tutorials and access to all projects at $45. Curves Class {Premium} adds extra helpful (and time-intensive) features like videos and a PDF eBook of the course (delivered in April) at $65.”

Her post about the class can be read here. She details each weeks topic and gives a sneak peek to some of the projects.

Photo by Stitched in Color

Okay, now the fun part! I’m giving away a spot to her Curves Class {Premium} as well as a copy of my Retro Flowers Pattern! (If you already have the Retro Flowers pattern you can choose to receive another of my patterns instead.) Head on over to the post here and let me know which curves you would most like to learn {more} about. I would really LOVE to know more about Improv Curves! I’m terrible with improv, and want more precise, so this is a great topic for me to learn more about. A random winner will be chosen on Sunday! Good luck, everyone!

Another Year, Another Photo Folder on the Hard Drive

2012-01-05T10:55:00.001-08:00

You’ll notice I didn’t do a “Year In Review” post. I don’t usually. I don’t like to see that I didn’t accomplish as much as I’d like to think I did. And I know this last year has been minimal when it comes to crafting in any respect. Brice is a lot more work these days, mainly requiring more of my attention. I’ve also been in a little funk the last two years in regards to blogging. Last year I bought myself a shiny new camera, and I haven’t really taken many photos since then. Not my usual anyway. I guess I was in a photography-funk last year as well.

I love the new year. It’s like a chance to start over and beginning anew. A new year means another year older for me. I turned 32 yesterday. Only, this photo was taken last week when my dad was in town. Yesterday I went to IKEA where kid whined the whole time, then we went to Home Depot for paint and the grocery store for some much needed items. I know how to celebrate.

I have been in so much upheaval this last week that I haven’t had that ‘it’s a new year’ feeling yet. I don’t do well with messes, and my house is a major mess right now! ALL of the rooms are being swapped around and the living room has become the landing ground. But, the good news in all of this is that I will no longer be sharing my sewing space with my stepson on the weekends and my husbands {cluttered} computer space.

The boys are getting a new, bigger room…husband is getting his own little man-cave, our bedroom moved to the warmer part of the house with beautiful southern facing light coming into my computer desk (love this part the best) and my sewing room is going back into a little bit bigger space. I haven’t decided how everything will be laid out yet, but I’m looking forward to having it back in order and sitting down at the sewing machine again.

If you’ve read my blog for awhile now, you know that I like to set some flexible, easily attainable goals for myself each year. If I don’t reach them, that’s okay, but I like to know that I have something to work toward and try and not let myself down. This year I’d like to blog more (because I really enjoy being in that groove) and get back into photography. I’d also like to be crafting more this year. Crafting keeps me happy and there was not enough of it this last year. While my first passion is landscape photography, a close second is craft photography. If I’m not crafting, I’m not photographing, so they really go hand-in-hand for me and I hope with one the other will follow. And when I’m crafting and photographing, why not put up a blog post?

So, to recap, for 2012:

More crafting! More photography! More blogging!

Really, it’s a win-win situation for all of us!

Oh yeah! And I’m going to start collecting the Lego Star War’s minifigs from movies IV, V and VI. I kept trying to get Brice to want them so I could justify buying them (he’s way into the Lego Harry Potter right now). I just decided I would collect them for myself since I wanted them so badly.

Norman loves Lego Star Wars, too.

A Field Guide To Fabric Design

2011-12-31T09:58:00.000-08:00

I had at one point saw that this was a title due to release soon and thought to myself: I need to check that one out. Then the holidays happened and I forgot about it. I figured I run across it in the bookstore and take a peek to see if it was something I needed to own. I may have even flipped through a preview online and thought: maybe. I like knowing what I can about design and how certain elements of a design are achieved (like repeats or coloring in items on the computer), but not sure if I actually want to design fabric. Perhaps as a hobby with screen printing (I’m still bummed about last years YuDu fail and their inability to get back to me about damaged product I contacted them about via their website’s contact form).

We were at the beach a few weekends ago and I went into one of my favorite quilt shops, Center Diamond in Cannon Beach, when I spotted A Field Guide to Fabric Design on a shelf. I pulled it down, did a quick flip of the pages (you know the one, where you just do a quick flip with your thumb, fanning the pages), and quickly tucked it under my arm. Seriously, just with that quick flip of pages I knew I had to have this book. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to want to own this book. Not that it wouldn’t be fabulous, but I was thinking it probably covered most of what I already knew. I was wrong. I learned SO much from this book.

Questions I had about doing repeats and half-drop repeats on linoleum blocks for block printing…answered! I think that alone was enough to sell me on the book. Not only are the instructions easy to understand, but there are fantastic photographed images to get you through each step. The layout of the book is very pleasing, and I think one of the better Stash book layouts to date. Kimberly also walks you through the steps of creating patterns in Photoshop and Illustrator. There were lots of techniques that were new to me. The instructions was quick and to the point, and most likely for those that have at least a basic understanding of the programs.

There were lots of question and answer sections, with quotes from various fabric designers. It was nice to have honest insight and opinions from so many different designers. I truly enjoyed reading what everyone had to say.

There are sections dedicated to block printing and screen printing. There are very thorough instructions on screen printing and creating repeats on large pieces of fabric. It was amazing what she explained in one chapter that whole books on the subject haven’t taught me. There are even instructions for building a table for screen printing large runs of fabric.

There is a rather large section discussing color and the color wheel. And lots of information throughout on color selection. Personally, this was of less interest to me, but someone that is very interested in color and how to go about selecting it will find this very useful and informative. There was one bit that I liked very much in this section, her idea of creating color jars and pulling from that when creating color palettes. I could actually see using this for just quilting in general, and having it be very helpful to me when selecting fabrics for a quilt. So even though it wasn’t my favorite section, it was still of great use. I just kind of skimmed most of it and figure I will pull from it what I need when I need it.

These pages give you an idea of how she explains the steps in Illustrator. Photoshop explanations are the same. The instruction is, as I said, quick and to the point and the images are relevant and really explain what you need to know.

In short, awesome book! If you have any interest in fabric design, or just design in general, I would definitely recommend this. I’m glad I found a copy to flip through and bought it. Well worth the investment.

A Field Guide to Fabric Design by Kimberly Knight of True Up

Kimberly’s post on her book found here. And a post by Stash Books here.

Where I Talk About A Book On The iPad

2011-12-30T10:23:00.001-08:00

With the holidays, I had a lot of things get put to the side. Unfortunately one of those things was blogging about this fantastic book I contributed to. I kept saying to myself “You need to blog about this!” and I’d sit down, edit the photos a little and then get distracted with something else. (Not to mention I’ve been battling all kinds of infections these last three months.) As of now it’s just an eBook, thus the photos of the iPad. The paper version of the book will be released in August, but I wanted to be sure to talk about the eBook as a lot of the projects can be adapted for all year long. It’s hard to convey my honest opinion when I’m actually part of the book, but I’m going to do my best. I REALLY love Pretty in Patchwork Holidays! Even if I didn’t have projects in it, I would still be buying it and telling you how much I love it. It is honestly one of the best holiday craft books I’ve come across in a very, very long time. John Adams (the books author, and Quilt Dad as many of you might know him) did such a great job of assembling crafters and all of the projects are unique and beautiful. John himself contributed lots of patterns and the quilts are amazing. There were quite a few that I thought “I’d make that!”

I’ve had the iPad going on almost two years now (have they really only been out two years?!?!) and one of the main reasons I wanted it was to have an eReader. I love reading books on the iPad (well, now I read them all on my iPhone it seems) but was resistant to the thought of magazines and craft books on it. I still like the feel of an actual book. Well, that point of view has changed recently with respect to magazines. Now I want to skip the paper version and just have it delivered to the iPad. This was my first experience with a craft book on the iPad, and I have to say that I’m really liking it! When I buy patterns from online independent sellers I love to email myself a copy of the PDF and open it in the iBooks app and just have my iPad on a stand on my cutting table. Turning between the pages is so easy and I’ve found it’s a great way to use the eBooks as well. I think the other positive thing about having the books on the iPad is that I’m saving precious shelf space. Now, the only problem with the eBooks is the printing of the patterns, but as long as you have a computer with printer that is pretty easy. And I imagine if you are using a service like Kinko’s, it would be pretty easy to have them help you print what you need. I haven’t explored it, but I know there are lots of apps that allow you to print from your iPad now (I think iPad2 had this built in…?). Within the Zinio app for this book on your desktop computer, you just tell it to “Print Current Page” while on the template pages and it prints perfectly.

Okay, so on to the book. I’ll just talk a like about it now so that when I have the physical book I can gush all about it again, especially since it will be right before the holiday season at that point. So this is the first project I contributed – wine bags. Or whatever kind of bottle you might be gifting (maybe sparkling cider). There are two versions of this bag, the main version is a drawstring top and the other is with an open top and handle. The front is customizable for the holidays or for gifting at any time of year (birthdays, weddings, showers). There are templates for a pumpkin for the fall, a tree for the winter, a cake for celebrations like weddings or birthdays and an option to do just a W (for wine) for any occasion. The bag itself fits around a wide bottom bottle nice and snug (I used Sokol Blosser bottles as my test-bottle…one of my favorite wineries for Pinot Noir and of course their Evolution!).

The other project I contributed was some tiny patchwork ornaments. There are two in the winter theme (snowman and tree) and two in the Hanukah theme (Star of David and Dreidel). Now I know that hanging of ornaments is not a Hanukah kind of thing, but maybe there is a gift that needs some adorning or there may be other ways to incorporate the tiny patchwork into other items for the holiday. Or maybe there are some that celebrate both Christmas and Hanukah and what a great way to blend the two. Really, who can resist tiny patchwork?! Aside from that, the book is beautifully designed and the basic instruction chapter at the front is well presented and relevant. To see a preview of the book (you can scroll through it all at a very small size and zoom in on 3 pages) and download a copy for yourself you can go to the Zinio website. If you don’t have an iPad or Android, you can still view this on your computer (this isn’t viewable on the iPhones yet, not sure about the Droid phones). Zinio has a free viewer that you will download and then sign in to your account. Once in your account you can download what you’ve purchased (books and magazines). And of course, because you are signing into your account, you can view on all of your devices with purchase.

Pretty in Patchwork Holidays: Zinio | Amazon – Not available yet

Zinio eReader: iPad | iPhone | Android | Desktop

Pretty in Patchwork Holidays: Flickr Group | John’s Blog Post

In short, this is absolutely a book I would buy and love to own. I receive nothing from you following any of these links. Yes I contributed to the book and received a free digital copy for doing so, but even if I hadn’t, I still would have bought this. Go take a look for yourself! (And I’ll talk more about this again in August when I have a paper copy in my hands!) Tomorrow I’m going to have a post up about a book I bought at the beach a few weekends ago. I casually flipped through a few pages and was like “I’m buying this!” so of course I have to share it with you.

Sigh of Relief

2011-12-26T16:55:00.001-08:00

The day after Christmas is probably the hardest day of the year for me. It’ so hard to adjust after all the rushing around to get everything done. For weeks I’m swamped with shopping, decorating, planning, and making and then all the sudden it’s done. I feel kind of lost without all of the work to be done and procrastination ahead of me. I’m finally free to do what I want. Of course all I want to do is pull down the decorations and then sit on my butt doing nothing. Now of course I have the time to work on all of those sewing projects for myself, yet I just can’t seem to motivate myself to actually do them. I deserve a break after this hectic time (hosting two dinners and a breakfast for three different sets of family members in two days time), yet for some reason can’t justify just sitting when it’s been go, go, go for so many weeks.

We had a final holiday get together this morning. Now it’s time to relax. But I know I will probably just head out to the garage for the holiday bins when I’ve posted this. Once Christmas is over I just want the house back to being bare and clean for the new year. Now it’s time to think about organizing! (I’m a Capricorn through and through – I love organizing!!) This year will be some big reorganization in the house. Rooms are being moved around again, but first new carpet has to go in one of the rooms. I’m hoping we can handle that next week, as the craft room will be moving and I can’t seem to sew until it’s in it’s new space. Brice received a boat-load of Lego’s, but I don’t really want him to put them together until we are in his new, bigger room. Of course I know trying to make a 3 year old wait will be near impossible. When I have a big project ahead of me, I just want it done…like, as of yesterday. So it’s going to be trying my patients to wait until next week to get going on everything. Patients is a virtue, and unfortunately, a virtue I don’t posses.

I did order some calendars this year to sell (photo above). But silly me unchecked the di-cut box and therefore I’ve been having to cut them myself. I have a few to gives to friends, and will likely sell the rest. I’ll be sure to keep you posted. I still have to cut out May-December.

Tutorial: Creating a Photo Pillow

2011-12-14T19:27:00.001-08:00

I have another post up at the Focal Press blog Mastering Photo. This time I talk about making a photo pillow to give to loved ones. I’ve made several of these for gifts over the years, and this particular pillow I made was a request from my soon-to-be sister-in-law for my brother, who will be headed overseas after the holidays. It will be a lovely reminder of the love waiting for him at home in such an harsh environment.

In other news, we headed to the beach this weekend with family. It was lovely, just the thing we needed for this hectic time of year. Of course now I have to get decorating and Christmas shopping…

Simple Photo Tote Tutorial

2011-12-05T16:21:00.001-08:00

As you may know, I really love so many of the Focal Press photography books (especially this one) and have had the honor of guest posting on their blog before about craft photography. Today a post went up for constructing a simple tote with a photo printed on inkjet fabric sheets. Seriously the simplest bag you could ever make, and so cute! …if I do say so myself! A perfect bag for gifting special gifts this holiday season, or as a gift in itself. There is no lining, but your raw edges are all encased and safe from fraying. Head on over to the Mastering Photo blog for the tutorial and more information on using inkjet fabric.

Doodling On Quilts

2011-12-03T22:16:00.001-08:00

I seem to be my most creative when I’m procrastinating. I was working on quilting a clients quilt and the thread kept breaking and it was frustrating me trying to figure out what was the problem, so I stepped away and started to clean up my fabric piles on the cutting table. At the bottom of the pile were a few "mini quilts” destined for nothing. I had made them up and wasn’t happy with them and ultimately would have probably just tossed them (terrible, I know!). Instead, I went to my desk and grabbed a fine tipped pen and got to doodling quilting designs.

I didn’t take a before picture, but seeing this blank half you get the general idea of the ‘before’. The white just wasn’t working for me as the background here. It was too stark.

Now this I like. The doodles fill in the white space nicely and give it lots of interest. It doesn’t necessarily look fantastic with this, but it’s much more interesting and I’m looking forward to finishing the other half and having it hang on my walls with my other mini’s.

It’s mostly just doodles of the designs I quilt on my quilts. I love doodle quilting. I am hoping to do a whole cloth quilt this coming year, just doodling without a plan.

So this is another one I had sitting around. I was trying out an idea to see if it would work and this had no plans. It was just a tester. Again, the white was just too much on this, but I took a permanent marker and filled it in and I am very happy with this. I think the doodles fit the fabric nicely. This one is now on the walls and being enjoyed.

Originally I had just done some stitching with red thread around the open circle and then the outside edges of the piece. I was testing out another way of doing reverse applique I like. My attempt worked. This would have made the perfect pot holder/trivet if I had only used some insul-brite.

And here’s my little Norman (6 months now) in his USPS box next to my sewing table. Sometimes I have to load sample fabric and do some test quilting to get my tension right on the longarm, or to test a design and I shoved a few of those in the box for him. Quite often I find him all curled up in here when he goes missing in the house. I’m so glad he likes his little bed. I suppose I’ll have to make him a real bed at some point.

Update: Regarding the quilt block name...I don't know. I will have to research it and get back to you. I don't remember where I saw this, but I know it was a picture and I just drafted the measurements myself. It's a traditional block so it's out there somewhere.

Norman Likes To Help

2011-11-30T22:52:00.001-08:00

I was gone most of Sunday helping my mom install some laminate flooring, and once I was home again, Norman didn’t want to leave my side. The whole next day he spent next to me, as well as yesterday. Yesterday he was being particularly “helpful” with the sewing and photographing. He decided he needed to get pins for me and then thought he knew best how to stylize the photos. The printer fascinated him to no end. He had to be sure and cram his face in there. Seriously, though, I have to go buy more pins. He has been pulling all the pins out of the pin cushion . I finally caught on and started putting it in a drawer. I had wondered why the heck I was so low!

Bear Paw

2011-11-17T09:46:00.000-08:00

These are on their way to becoming a bear paw quilt. I’m very excited to finally be working with these fabrics. I’ve mentioned it more than once, I love working with primitive prints. This is a bit more of a traditional quilt for me, but I love traditional and am glad to be adding it to my quilt rotation soon.

A Bit of This and That

2011-11-16T09:42:00.001-08:00

I received some delicious goodies from my very good friends Amanda and Jeni. It was a swag package from their trip to Sewing Summit. We had all planned on going, but lame me couldn’t round up the funds to go. I was so bummed about not going, but this little package made me smile big. They know me perfectly and I love every single goodie. I couldn’t wait to get started knitting with the Madeline Tosh yarn they sent (and the little draw string bag Jeni made – tutorial here). I already whipped out a bandana cowl (which I’ll have to take photos of and share). I’m thinking the Little Apples charm pack is going to be a simple quilt top with white sashing. I wish I could get going on it now, but of course Christmas crafting is waiting.

She.

2011-11-09T18:40:00.001-08:00

Comments are now closed. Random.org chose #10 as the lucky number this time.

Congratulations 'dragonfly'! An email has been sent. Thanks to everyone who participated!!

I enjoy journaling, and I enjoy journaling with photos. Sometimes a photo says it better than I can. I’m not really a scrapbooker, but I enjoy the idea of photos and words and some light embellishment. Last year I signed up for an online art journaling class, and I really enjoyed the lessons. As much as I enjoy writing, sometimes I struggle with what to write about. I have always thought of journaling my life as being something important. I want to one day be able to pass on my life stories (no matter how mundane) to my children or grandchildren, so if they are interested, they can get a true glimpse into my everyday life. This is of course hoping I will have some grandchild that is as interested in history as I am.

Katie (a longtime blog friend) at Gadanke is the designer behind this fun journal I’ve been working on for a few months. I bought it back in March, and I’ve been filling in the pages ever since. What is especially wonderful is all the prompts throughout. I love having a few minutes to myself, and just opening the pages and writing whatever I feel like, in no particular order. The other day I printed some of my favorite Instagram photos of late and added them in. I’m loving the doily that was inside!

I especially love that the journal has a little pocket for holding treasures (and came with a blank sticker for me to decorate) and old library cards.

I have filled in pages with words, but obviously those are mostly personal so I haven’t shared them here. But I love the opportunities for filing out and adding in photos and other memento's. It’s such a fun, cute journal. If you’ve ever wanted to have more of an “art” journal, this is a great first step with all of this fun items inside. And this is not the only journal! There are so many other variations – recipe, kid’s, Christmas, baby, home… Really, something for everyone.

- - ♥ - - ♥ - - ♥ - - ♥ - - ♥ - - ♥ - - ♥ - - ♥ - - ♥ - - ♥ - - ♥ - - ♥ - - ♥ - - ♥ - - ♥ - - ♥ - - ♥ - - ♥ - -

Katie has graciously offered up a $25 gift certificate to Gadanke for one lucky commenter. Head on over to their site and take a look around at the different journals let me know your favorite. I’ll pick a random winner on Sunday!

Here is a little more from Katie on the topic of the journals:

♥ The best thing about Gadanke journals (if you ask me!) is that they're accessible and usable for anybody.

♥ They're for people who say they never know what to write about. Gadanke journals have lots of writing prompts to help keep the ball rolling.

♥ The journals are small, so they fit in your purse. A lot of women take them to the coffee shop. You could even journal sitting in the carpool lane!

♥ The books give you a place to put your stuff. Date night movie ticket stubs? Vacation postcards? Paste them in or open the loose bindings and pop 'em in.

♥ And for those who wish they were craftier or want crafting to be easier and more fun, the tags, envelopes and cool papers in the journals help bridge the gap and inspire you to start embellishing your pages.

And because the story behind why Katie started these journals is so close to how I feel, I wanted to share it here with you:

“ A couple of years ago, NPR's StoryCorp was in town. It was also my grandma's 90th birthday.The two of us decided to hop into the recording studio to capture some pieces of her story. I had all sorts of prompts to help her with her story telling. (I was always the listener, the one who asked question after question.) The only problem? My grandma couldn't remember. Too much time had passed.

Later, my dad turned to me and said, "Katie, I need you to write down your story." I knew he wished he had his mom's stories. So I started writing. I started wondering about all of the other women who have stories deep inside of them, and I started thinking about how my tendency to just listen and ask could help put those stories onto paper. Gadanke was born with fabulous writing prompts and recycled papers. I feel so lucky to be living my dream!”

Good luck everyone!

Treats For Me

2011-11-05T20:49:00.001-07:00

I got an email in my inbox earlier in the week (as I’m sure many others of you did) from Brooklyn Tweed announcing their new fingerling weight yarn, Loft. The Look Book of projects was fantastic, and I knew I wanted to work with it. I decided to knit up the Pei cowl for a Christmas gift. It’s going well so far.

I got very lucky in my purchase of these, as Knit Purl across the river in Portland sells Loft in their store. How’s that for instant gratification. I hurried on over and picked up these two colors, with Brice in tow. (The yarn colors are Fossil and Postcard.)

Afterwards we headed over to Powell’s. I was looking for a green housekeeping book that was recommended to me, but they didn’t have it in stock, but I did find another one that a friend has that I knew I wanted. As we were getting ready to go to checkout, I scanned the sewing section, but didn’t see anything to catch my eye. I happened to stop to look at an end cap, as it had some interesting looking books, and on the top shelf was this lovely book, Harvesting Color by Rebecca Burgess. I hadn’t heard of it before, but loved the cover so much I had to open it up. I flipped through a few pages and knew it had to come home with me. I am hoping to use some of these same techniques with fabric, but I might also like to try my hand with dying yarn, too.

Finished…For The Moment

2011-10-31T11:52:00.001-07:00

It took a week, but I think I’m done with the blog updates for now. My sidebar is a little barren at the moment, but I’m sure that will change in time. If you’ve read me for awhile you know that I like things to be clean and organized, and this is about as clean and organized as you can get with a blog, I think. The information from the sidebar is all still here, I’ve just moved it around. I moved the Flickr group photo button to the top as just a text button, the Sampler Quilt-Along and Photography buttons are now under the categories listing and the rest of my categories are organized there as well. I moved the about, subscribe and contact information to the top. I don’t have the email subscribe box anymore, but that’s because you can subscribe by whatever means you like (email included) from that ‘subscribe’ link.

When I am doing my blog design, I pull from lots of sources that inspire me. Right now I have been heavily inspired by the Pugly Pixel blog. It’s been a blog I’ve enjoyed for sometime, but had not visited in awhile. I reconnected with it a several weeks ago (and signed up for her Membership Extras – well worth it!!) and had been looking for a way to do away with my header, but still have a top identification, and her design was the perfect solution. I also liked how she grouped her categories into a more cohesive listing with sub-lists under main categories. Because I did away with the Blogger top nav-bar, I added in a search box for easy searching of the blog.

My about page got a revamp as well (that’s the screen shot at the top). I added in a lot of links to the end of that. There you will find my other blogs, links to my different shops (although those are on the side navigation still), all of my social network links, a listing of where I’ve been published and guest posted, an ever evolving FAQ and Blogroll. All of these things that were feeling cluttered on my sidebar now have pages of their own.

This is getting to be a rather lengthy post, but I wanted to point out all the subtle changes and give a big thank you to Katrina at Pugly Pixel for being such a source of inspiration. I have learned so many things from her Tutorials on her blog and just so enjoy her day to day posts. Be sure to visit her blog!

And now I’m off to the fabric store to pick up some fabric to finish kids costume. Happy Halloween!

Makeover Time

2011-10-22T14:33:00.001-07:00

The blog is long over due for freshening up. I’m going to be making changes all weekend and getting it how I want it. Not quite sure yet how that is, but I’ve been working on a few things this week and it’s time to start implementing some of them. So, if the blog look a little funny, don’t worry, I know. Crossing my fingers that next week sees everything looking all put together again!

- ♥ - Elements :: Epic Collab @ Oscraps | Stitch Brushes @ Pugly Pixel | Font :: My Type – ♥ -

Hard To Resist

2011-10-18T09:28:00.001-07:00

I was telling Aaron this weekend “It’s been over a week since I’ve made it into the sewing room!” How sad is that!? Well, I did make it into the sewing room yesterday….to take a few photos of Norman. He has found the window in there and loves to lounge in the warm sunlight (when we actually have some sun). He has been fighting a kitty cold since shortly after bringing him home. It was pretty bad there for awhile. He wasn’t eating because he couldn’t smell and then I had to start feeding him with a syringe. After that he started to eat again. Anyways, long story short, he is doing much better. Still not fully recovered, but the sneezes are getting less and less. He loves to cuddle in my lap and is totally my shadow…until Aaron gets home. Then he’s all about Aaron. He especially loves to sleep between his legs at night, and Aaron’s one stipulation about a cat was not having it sleep on the bed for just that reason. But he’s a sucker for Norman, and just moves him next to me and we cuddle the rest of the night. I really could not have asked for a better cat. I am really craving some time in the sewing room, where I do some actual sewing. Maybe I will get in there this week.

Three Little Pumpkins

2011-10-09T20:12:00.001-07:00

I’m sure there’s a rhyme for that… ‘Three little pumpkins, sitting on a fence…’ or something like that. Anyways, these little pumpkins aren’t sitting on a fence, but they are still darn adorable! Fat Quarterly has put out a special ‘Fall Inspired’ issue with tons of great things to sew! These little guys are in there…and wouldn’t just one of them make a great coaster?!? They do. I use one all the time in the sewing room now.

I love quick seasonal projects, and this is just that. The technique for the pumpkins may be something new for most of you, but once you complete one you will have the hang of it and start thinking of all the possibilities.

My awesome orange gingham ribbon and tiny pom-pom trim came from The Ribbon Jar. It’s my go-to ribbon shop and pretty much the only spot I buy ribbon. A local friend I know through the guild owned it and then passed the reigns to her mom, and she is just as fantastic about the ribbon she stocks and how quickly it’s shipped. So if you’re ever looking for ribbon, I can’t recommend The Ribbon Jar enough. Definitely worth a bookmark for later.

Anyways, back to the special issue – it’s a GREAT deal at only $5. There are quite a few projects I’m hoping to find time to make. There’s quilts, bags, embroidery… I’d love to see these little guys if you happen to make some! It’s such a great way to display all of those fantastic orange fabrics.

Quilt Kitty

2011-10-01T10:44:00.001-07:00

There’s just no resisting a snuggly kitty on a quilt.

Norman

2011-09-28T19:58:00.001-07:00

We have a new baby in the house! A Flame Point Siamese that we rescued from the local humane society. He’s just 15 weeks old and a little sweetheart. You can read more about it here as well as see more photos here.

Fall Stitching

2011-09-16T11:22:00.000-07:00

I have this small, round side table that I decided needs a round, quilted table topper for the fall. I decorated the other day for fall/Halloween and it looks a little barren in that spot. So I found a great stitchery at The Floss Box (thanks to Amanda H. for the link) and have started stitching when I have a few minutes. I figure this will be the center and I’ll scrappy piece around the sides to make it the right diameter. I’m looking forward to completing this one and sharing it. I love having a vision in my head of something and seeing it through.

When I was gathering the thread colors I wanted to use onto a ring, I realized I wanted to have a few needles to hold multiple threads, rather than constantly changing thread when I still had usable amounts left on the needle. Which of course led to me needing a needle “card” to hold them all. So I grabbed a piece of fall fabric, some batting and some wool felt and cut them all out into circles. Then I stitched them together and used pinking shears around the edge. Finally, I put a small grommet on there so it could fit on my ring and always be with the threads. It’s proved very useful, and quite cute, too! And of course I have it all stashed in my Hoop Travel Bag that I made from the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery pattern.

UMARO Throw Progress

2011-09-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

It’s coming along. I haven’t been able to work on it much in the last couple weeks, but I sure enjoy knitting it when I can. This is such a great throw and I look forward to finishing it and using it on cold winter evenings on the couch. UMARO Throw found here.

Sunny Spread Block

2011-09-14T09:42:00.001-07:00

I saw a post on Pinterest for a quilt made from these blocks and loved it! I’d really like to do it in a mustard yellow (like shown) but had this big thing of blue sitting around, so I thought I’d give it a whirl. It’s been fun working on one a day. They go pretty fast, and now that I’ve done a few I don’t need to look at the pattern. The full blanket calls for 80, so I figure if I can just get one a day done, I should have an afghan in about 3 months (because of course there will be days I miss). Although, this yarn is cheap yarn and I kind of want to do it out of a nicer yarn. So I may be abandoning this yarn and going for another soon.

Thanks so much for the enthusiastic response to the Retro Flowers quilt! I was so nervous about this one, but you all had such positive things to say. I am looking forward to seeing some more of these quilts pop-up around Flickr/Blogs. I’ve been busy over here working on canning, quilting and other small projects so I have been awful about responding to comments, but please know that everyone’s comments make a world of difference and I hope to get to email soon.

Liz wanted me to be sure and say that she pieced her flower block without a Curve Master foot. She did find that the use of spray starch (as the pattern suggests) helped immensely in matching up her curves. Although, Amanda, who also tested the pattern, found that she had no trouble without spray starch. Amanda did not use a Curve Master foot either, and it went just fine for her. So don’t be worried if you don’t have one, but still want to make the quilt, it’s definitely not required, it just made the job go by a little faster.

Bernina Owners: If you do buy one, and have a new style Bernina, you just need the (unnumbered) shank that comes with the #1 foot on it. This was a standard foot on my (very basic) machine, so I would assume most of the Bernina’s come with it. The Curve Master foot just snapped right in, no problem. So if you have that shank, don’t worry about buying the extra adapter, just be sure to get the foot that will work with a Bernina (and a 1/4” foot for this pattern). …although I just went and checked my packaging and it did come with a shank adapter, but it’s plastic so not sure how long that would really last. Here is a low priced one on Amazon.

Retro Flowers Quilt Pattern

2011-09-05T12:39:00.001-07:00

Here it is! The Retro Flowers Quilt! I have been busy working away over here these last few weeks. I was finishing up this quilt that had been sitting on the table and design wall for several months. I had shown this pattern in the drafting phases to a few friends, and it got high marks from everyone, so I thought I should probably get making it. I am so glad that I did! I LOVE this quilt! It is probably one of the only quilts that I knew would be mine. Most times I make quilts with the idea of selling them or gifting them, but not this one. I’m keeping it!

I feel such a sense of accomplishment having finished this. To see something I designed, unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, with all of those curved pieces matching up so beautifully, it just feels like a huge accomplishment. I felt something with the making of this quilt that I’ve never felt before. Even picking out the fabrics to all match up was a big achievement for me.

I can already tell that half of your are going – oh it’s beautiful, but I could never sew that many curves…I couldn’t get my pieces to match up like that. But I’m here to tell you: Yes you can! I’ve written this pattern so that even a beginning sewer with just a few quilts under their belt, and no curve experience, could still make this quilt with just as much precision. I’ve included lots of illustrated diagrams and given you all of my tips to have those curves matching up every time. I even had the pattern tested, and the testers had the same results.

Here is a pillow Liz made from a single flower block. LOVE it! She agreed with me on the huge feeling of accomplishment with this block. It’s such a great feeling. (I’ll share the project of the second tester here once it’s completed.)

I’ll tell you two things that made a HUGE difference in this quilt, neither of them is required, but on my did they make the job so much easier:

1.) The Curve Master 1/4” Presser Foot. Have you seen this foot in action yet? OMG! Every bit as wonderful as they appear to be. Now, I’m not saying fresh out of the box it’s as easy as the video makes it out to be, but I did a few practice curves to get a feel for the mechanics of it before starting this quilt and then I went for it. (And seriously, it is pretty simple.) I just took my time and went slow and it was fantastic! After completing a flower block I felt like a pro. I can’t recommend this foot enough for any curved piecing you might be doing.

2.) Acrylic templates from Tabslot. I happen to know Jill of Tabslot personally thanks to our Modern Quilt Guild. She is such a great person (oh! and she was the winner of round two of the Project Modern Quilt Challenge! She has some awesome quilt designs – her blog is here) and I am so excited to know someone that could make me acrylic templates for my projects. Again, while not necessary, these helped so much in the cutting process. I know when I’m going to be cutting a lot of one shape, if I’m using a cardstock template, I’m going to cut into that cardstock pretty quickly and have to go print a new one. So I really loved having these templates.

I have held this pattern so close to me for so long that I find it hard to release it. Sharing something that means so much to me is a little hard, but I hope that everyone finds it as fantastic as I do! You can purchase the pattern with direct (high quality/resolution) download on my website or via Etsy with the pattern emailed within 24 hours.

Behind the Scenes

2011-08-21T09:43:00.001-07:00

On the longarm right now being quilted. It’s a pretty time intensive design (why I do that to myself, I will never know) so it will take a little longer than usual to quilt. This will be one of my next pattern releases, too! I am positively giddy about this one and it will be mine when it’s done. That doesn’t happen often. Generally I sell my quilts or gift them, but somehow I just knew this one would be staying with me. You’ll see why soon enough.

Where I spent a lot of time this last week (and that made me very happy!). Of course I had to have Dr. Who going while I sewed up all the little blocks. I’ve been meaning to catch up and fill in the gaps in my viewing. It’s a great motivator. Although sometimes I think I spend more time watching Dr. Who than actually sewing…

Two more quilts. One ready to be quilted, the other waiting for binding. These will also be pattern releases in the near future (I’m hoping before Christmas).

A fantastic stack of vintage sheet fat quarters from my friend Jeni’s shop. She has had some amazing sheets in there lately, and I just couldn’t resist any longer. She sends me vintage sheet fat quarters every time I get a goody package from her. So between that and the little I had before, and now this, I think I have enough for a quilt. Now to decide on a pattern… (Jeni has an awesome blog, too.)

Wandering Cowl :: Finished

2011-08-20T16:44:00.001-07:00

I finished knitting my Wandering Cowl (Pattern by Sadie & Oliver) and I just love it! Rather than repeat myself a dozen times in a dozen places, I’ll let you read (and see) more over on Flickr and Ravelry. You can find the pattern for this on Ravelry and Etsy. I highly recommend it. It was a quick, fun knit and I will for sure be making another with different yarn. I can also say that I would buy a pattern from Sadie and Oliver again in a second. The pattern was easy to understand and well thought out. I loved that this pattern had both a chart and written directions. I love having the option. Sometimes I need to visually see what’s going on, but other times I just need to take a mental picture of the written pattern and work from that. Just depends on what kind of day it is.

The Fair

2011-08-19T09:46:00.001-07:00

We went to the fair last weekend. I was able to get some great photos. It has me starting to think about 2012 calendars for the shop. I am debating a few versions this year, maybe one of sewing, one of yarn crafts, one of regular photography…maybe mix up of “craft” stuff… We’ll see. I’m even thinking about selling “Printable” versions. I have a little while to ponder it all.

I had a hard time deciding which one I liked better. One of these is for sure going on my wall.

Geek Crafts

2011-08-11T07:19:00.001-07:00

This is a quick (but fun) post to tell you about an Etsy shop that my friend opened recently. I have been meaning to talk about it for a few posts, but keep forgetting! (I’m good at that.) One of my very best {met through blogging} friends, who I talk to every day, is just as geeky as me when it comes to everything superhero and SiFi. Well, probably more. She has taken her love of “geek” and incorporated into all sorts of fun things for her Etsy shop – The Craft Junky - and I am loving it! She also has another shop that she destashes her fabrics to frequently. She always seems to have a great selection of HTF and OOP stuff!

Quilting Photos

2011-08-09T15:36:00.001-07:00

I had to snap a few photos of the quilting on this quilt the other day (it’s my Vintage Memories Quilt pattern with Katie Jump Rope fabric) and realized I never shared the final quilting on this. I went with bubbles and really like the effect with the fabric line. I don’t quilt this pattern often, as it’s a little time intensive and difficult to maintain those perfect circles, but I sure like the effect when I do!

I got an iPhone a few weeks back when my cell phone went kaput. I’d had the money sitting in savings since after Christmas just waiting for Verizon to get the phone, and then waiting for the new version to come out, but I got tired of waiting and apparently my old phone decided 2 years was long enough. So thanks to that, I now don’t seem to pick up my real camera for photos anymore. I need to stop doing that, but the phone is just so convenient! Anyways, the point of all of that is to let you know I’m on Instagram and share quite a few photos every day, some of family and pets, some of crafting and some of food. I love seeing what everyone is up to on there, so stop by and say “hi” so I can add you to my list! I’m SometimesCraftr (just like my Twitter and Pinterest).

I am working on revamping a pattern for the holiday season and will of course be busy with that, but I miss my little blog and have some plans to revamp it as well. It’s time for some new buttons and a little cleaning up. Also, I wanted to mention if you need a quilt quilted, now is a good time as my bin is empty, so there is quick turn around. Once the holiday season hits, it takes a little longer and that is almost upon us. Well, almost upon us if you consider September the holiday season like I do. I hope everyone is having a terrific summer so far…I’m still waiting for ours to arrive.

The Knitting Bag - A Closer Look

2011-07-28T17:03:00.001-07:00

I have been patiently waiting for Three Kitchen Fairies blog-aversary to tell you a little more about Amanda’s Knitting Bag so I would have a reason to link to her awesome giveaway (one of the prizes is a copy of the pattern). The idea for this bag originally came about because of my friend Amanda’s birthday. I wanted to make her something and I had this great stitching of the Octo-bunny from Badbird’s website and had to think of a way to incorporate it.

Obviously my first thought was to put it on a bag front. But I know Amanda has a lot of bags she’s made herself, so I didn’t want it to be just another bag. I wanted it to be functional. She knits and I thought wouldn’t it be great to give her a project bag to carry current projects in?! So that’s how this project came about.

I wanted to make sure there were lots of pockets for all the different needles you might need on a project, because for those of you that knit you know that sometimes you need a few sets of DPNs or circulars and the such. I also wanted there to be a little pocket to hold some small scissors, cable needles and place markers. Bringing that all together got me to this bag. I love it. I’ve made another version myself, but I still need to take some photos, so I’ll add those to Flickr soon. In the mean time, here are some bags that testers made! Click on the photo to go to their post about their bags.

This first one is Amanda’s:

And, this second one is Megan’s (she cleverly put pockets on both sides):

Three Kitchen Fairies was also a tester for me, but I don’t have a final image to show you…so hopefully she will post photos to her website soon. (Although I did see pictures of her final bag I should say, and it was very cute!)

For those of you that are more comfortable with Etsy, I will be listing the patterns on Etsy later today (maybe tomorrow) in my shop. You will just have to wait for me to email them to you. But of course you can always purchase them through my website (paying via PayPal) and download them yourself once payment is confirmed (which is usually just seconds later).

The pattern itself is a departure from my old style. Instead of lots of photos, it’s easy to understand, broken down instructions with drawings and graphical explanations. I reformatted the whole look of the pattern and it’s more like the usual patterns you pick up in your local quilt shops. Everything is broken down into sections, and each part of the process is broken down into small steps. I find it easy to get lost in a long step and like to keep things short and to the point. Thank you to everyone that has bought a pattern so far, your support means a lot and helps to keep me creating!

A New Look + 3 New Patterns

2011-07-22T19:10:00.001-07:00

The new website is {mostly} live now! I still have to finish up all the quilting links (none of those work at this point) but other than that, I think it’s ready to go! (I even have a new About page!) I love the new, clean look of it, and how it feels more cohesive than before. I was never totally happy with the last site I built, but I am 100% thrilled with this one! My favorite part is the new patterns page! I am now offering my patterns for sale with direct download after purchase. I love having this option myself when buying patterns, so I’m so happy to have found a great way to offer this to everyone. In honor of this, I have 3 new patterns for sale!


Amanda’s Knitting Bag	Log Cabin Needle Book	Ukulele Mini Quilt

I’m just going to give you a brief look here and will let you check them out more fully on the new website (clicking the pictures will take you to their page). Clicking on the thumbnails within the pattern listing pages brings up full-size images for viewing. I have not included all of my patterns, as those not listed will either be retired or revamped and later relisted. Also, at this point, these new patterns will not be sold in my Etsy shop. Possibly down the road, but having you be able to directly download the pattern is so much easier and instantly gratifying! I will be offering my Other Bag pattern that was in the Spring 2011 issue of Quilts and More soon, and I hope a few quilt patterns as well. I think in my next post I will talk a little bit more about each pattern, as I have a few photos from testers I’d like to share! For now, it’s back to work for me, finishing the rest of the website!

A New Website on the Way!

2011-07-22T09:25:00.001-07:00

I’ve been busy working on a new website design (not blog, but website) and am ready to implement a bit of it. Some of my links here will not work for the time being as I shuffle things around. Most of my PDF links on the free tutorials are hosted on my main site and will be down for awhile. I will try and have it all updated by the end of the day. If you find you can’t download one of my free tutorials, just check back later. I’ll be sure to post when it’s all up and running again!

The most exciting part of the new website is the release of three new patterns! Yea!

Creating Again

2011-07-07T08:46:00.001-07:00

I’ve been doing some sewing…and some pattern writing. It’s been awhile since I released a new pattern, but I have a few planned. Right now I have a fun project bag out to a few pattern testers – thanks to those of you that responded on Twitter! Hopefully I will be able to have it out next week. I also have two smaller patterns planned, both of them paper pieced. I’m also hoping to do something with a few of the quilt designs I have sitting on my hard drive. I think I have 40 or so right now. I figure it’s time to make up a few of those and release them. I actually have fabric for eight of them all ready to go, organized in bags with the drafted patterns. I have another that’s been on my cutting table and design wall for a few months now (time to finish up) and a couple more tops done and waiting for quilting. So this is my nudge to get those done. This blog is a great way to keep me creating…especially when I say I’m going to do something in words. I feel the need to actually get it done.

I wanted to take a minute to give a quick thank you to everyone that has stopped in to my blog after seeing my piece in Artful Blogging. Everyone has such kind comments and so many can relate with my own experiences, and that is what makes blogging all that more fun – sharing like experiences with each other. So thank you to everyone that takes the time to read and leave comments. As I’m sure most of you know, sometimes it’s just the thing you need on a bad day (and even a good one).

Haircut Time

2011-07-01T20:19:00.001-07:00

I got a haircut today. It wasn’t the plan to have so much chopped off, but my hair was way damaged for some reason. And wouldn’t you know, with all the dry ends removed my hair is wavy right now. It sure makes it easy to style it! My hair dresser, whom I’ve seen for years, was like: did you get a perm?? No. My stupid wave on the back of my head is just super wavy now. That’s what you get when you have kids. Wavy hair in one spot on your head.

Do you like my obnoxiously big sunglasses? They are super fun. I love them.

I made some fun stuff for a friends birthday and I’m working on patterns for them now. So I’m hoping in the next week to release those and share some pictures! Until then, have a great {Independence Day} weekend!

Vintage Sewing Box

2011-06-26T18:52:00.001-07:00

I went to a small outdoor “flea market” in the country this weekend. During the nicer spring/summer/fall months it’s hosted once a month. It’s mostly some of the local antique vendors, and not really a flea market in the traditional sense. But the prices are on the reasonable side for the most part. The booth I bought this from is one I frequent at one of my favorite antique malls in Portland. There stuff always appeals to me.

I’m pretty sure what sold me on this (and had me paying $22) was the little spot for the thimble. It’s always the details that get me! This is the perfect size for keeping my hand stitching supplies in one spot, and toting around the house easily. I’m so happy with my find!

Photographing Crafts

2011-06-24T15:42:00.001-07:00

I’m happy to report my finger is healing and doing much better. It is very sensitive, but as long as that “cage” is on there, I do just fine. Until I try and pick something up or reach for something. It’s going to be a fun few months. Thanks to everyone for their well-wishes! With the difficulty in typing, I haven’t done much “replying” to comments, but I hope I will be forgiven this time.

Today over at the Focal Press Blog, MasteringPhoto.com, I have a guest post on photographing crafts. I talk about what I consider before actually hitting the shutter button. I’m sure most of you consider some of these things, if not all, and don’t even realize it. But it’s good to always try and keep it in mind. I’ll let you head over there to read more. (…and find out my $0.99 “secret” to great photos!)

And consequently, I happen to really like the Mastering Photo blog…so you might want to take a peek around!

Self-Inflicted Injury

2011-06-17T08:37:00.001-07:00

Well, I had a little accident yesterday. And because of it, it’s difficult for me to type. Who knew one finger could make such a difference! I was happily chopping cilantro yesterday for guacamole, and whoops! Chopped the top of my finger. So I’m missing the nail and some of the skin under it, but I was reassured it will all grow back and be fine in time. So I’m afraid it will be a little quiet around here for awhile. At least until I can type with this finger again.

I really was looking forward to telling you about Plate to Pixel today, but it will have to wait. I will say that it’s an awesome photography book that, while dealing with foods, has a lot of application for us crafty bloggers, too. So if you’ve thought about purchasing it, I would encourage you to do so. Excellent book.

Also, Cara at Focal Press let me know that the app I reviewed yesterday, The Photographer’s Eye, will be on sale through Monday for just $4.99! That is an incredible savings! I’m off for now, but will be back briefly on Sunday with the names of our winners. See you then!

The Photographer’s Eye App

2011-06-16T10:06:00.001-07:00

Congratulations, Danielle of Petits Elefants! If you could please send me an email (as it was not visible to me), I will get all the info over to you A.S.A.P!

The Photographer’s Eye by Michael Freeman deals with the composition and design of photos. Right off the bat I have to say that Michael Freeman’s books tend to be for the more experienced photographer. Not because what he talks about is difficult to understand, quite the opposite, but because you need to have a more basic understanding of the fundamentals of photography when reading a lot of his books. I have several books by Michael Freeman, and can honestly recommend them all if it happens to be a book your considering.

When reading about composition in a lot of photography books, you are lucky if you get a whole chapter, usually it’s just a few paragraphs. I think for a lot of photographers, especially those of us with blogs for crafts, food, etc., we would like more information on composing our shots. This book is dedicated to only that. Imagine taking every detail of composing a shot and giving each it’s own section, by doing that you arrive at this book. No part of composing an image is left out.

With that said, this book is perhaps for the reader that likes to be more analytical in their photographing strategy, and is interested in photography more than just items, but also landscapes and people. There are some really great sections in the book that deal with things like horizontal and vertical lines and how to compose your images around them, as well as filling your frame, and placement of an image in a frame, balance, rhythm, textures, perspective… There is a whole chapter dealing with light and color and composing around it – there is a LOT of information in this book.

I have been reviewing the App version of this book on my iPad and really love the interactivity of it. There are sound clips of Michael, multiple photos illustrating examples and interactive diagrams. It’s been great hearing explanations in the authors voice as well as being able to click through a series of pictures that illustrate a point, as with the photos above. Each of the pointing finger icons indicates a different explanation of the photo crop as well as a visual example. Very handy.

I have a few more Michael Freeman books I’ll talk about in the next few days that I like, but for now let’s have another giveaway. Thanks once again to Focal Press, the publisher of The Photographer’s Eye, I am giving away a redemption code for The Photographer’s Eye app for iPad. If you have an iPad and would be interested in this app, please leave a comment and I’ll pick one name on Sunday.

And join me tomorrow, I’ll be talking about the book Plate to Pixel!

My Camera Bag + More Books

2011-06-14T10:49:00.001-07:00

Something that never seems to fail to bother me is when a photographer is secretive about their “equipment”. I see fantastic photographs by a photographer and think “I wonder what lens they used…” No matter how much you know your camera, some lenses just yield certain results. I find more and more that I like when photographers annotate their photos with the camera and lens used (or focal length), shutter speed, aperture and ISO. When you first delve into photography these things probably don’t mean anything to you. They didn’t to me. But over time I’ve come to appreciate it as it tells me more about what the photographer was doing to capture that image in just that way. Now, you may argue that knowing the shutter speed and aperture does not guarantee you will get the same image if in the same spot, and this is true, but what it does tell you is where to begin. If you have an idea of the time of day an image is shot, these numbers can be very helpful. Aperture for instance can tell you about why a background is nice and blurry (shallow depth of field –> large aperture –> small f-stop number, i.e.f/1.8), or why rushing water is so smooth (greater depth of field –> small aperture –> large f-stop number, i.e. f/22). But that is something you become more familiar with over time. It’s not something to necessarily concern yourself with at the beginning. When starting out I think it’s most important to learn the basic functions of your camera and learn to feel comfortable taking photos with it. And this holds true for DSLRs or point-and-shoots, because point-and-shoots these days can yield some wonderful results!

Alright, so the point of this was to share with you what I have in my “camera bag” (I say “camera bag” because I don’t actually own a camera bag…why? I have no idea). So here is a run down:

Canon 60D body
Canon XTi body (needs a new shutter, going to convert to infrared)
Canon EFS 18-55mm 3.5-5.6 II (“kit” lens)
Sigma DG 28-300mm 3.5-6.3 {I’m using this lens a lot right now}
Canon EF 50mm 1.8 II
Bower Super Wide 0.42x with macro filter attachment (fits kit lens)
Neewer Super Wide 0.45x with macro filter attachment (fits 50mm lens)
Quantaray QDC 900WA Speedlight
QSX 66oITM tripod
Infrared Remote
Tethered Release
Vivatar ND8 Filter
Vivatar CPL (circular polarizing) filter
Green.L Gradual Gray filter

And I think that’s about it. I feel like I’ve forgotten something, but can’t figure out what. I am hoping to add a 28mm 1.8 lens soon, but prices went up a few hundred after the earthquake in Japan, so might have to wait a little while on that one. I’d also like to add a wide angle in the near future…but those are a little more as well. OH! Some L-series lenses would be awesome, too! If only I had unlimited funds. Thank goodness for BorrowLenses.com!

So I also wanted to talk about a few more photography books I have bought over time and recommend. Have you ever heard of Scott Kelby? He’s a photography/Photoshop guru! He writes for the everyday person, staying away from technical jargon that might have you glazing over. I think he is an author for every kind of photographer, but most especially for those of you just starting out. His digital photography book series deals more with the “what equipment should I use” and “how do I get that shot” kind of stuff, and not really the basic functions of the camera. You can usually find that in the beginning of most photography books. I must admit, I usually gloss over those sections, but I’ll be talking about a book later this week that is great for this. For now, let’s talk about these books by Scott Kelby.

The Digital Photography Book by Scott Kelby is a fantastic book about everything photography. He tells you about all the equipment, what it’s for, how it’s used, etc… Lenses, tripods, remote releases, filters, all of it. All of the chapters are based around shooting like a pro. Using backgrounds, where to focus, shooting waterfalls and sunsets, basically taking a situation and walking you through how to photograph it. (It is also mentioned on the books cover “Great for point-and-shoot digital camera owners, too!”)

The Digital Photography Book, Volume 2 by Scott Kelby is written in his same great style, but expands on more of the topics important to wanting to shoot like a pro. There is a lot more information on lighting, using flashes and studio lighting like hair lights and light meters. Other chapters deal with shooting portraits, landscapes, macro and weddings. Just all around good information. Both of these books I read cover to cover.

He has a third book in this series, The Digital Photography Book, Volume 3, but I haven’t had a chance to read all of it yet, but so far it’s shaping up to be great as well. I would recommend this set of three books to everyone.

I also recommend his books on Photoshop and Photoshop Lightroom (he has books for each of the versions I believe, as well as for Elements). The instructions in these books are well laid out and easy to understand. He walks you through every step with photos along the way. When I was first teaching myself Photoshop, his was the first and only book I bought on the topic.

Digital Landscape Photography | Review + Giveaway!

2011-06-13T17:05:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Jacey of Jacey Craft! Please watch your inbox for an email from me. Thanks to everyone that stopped by and left comments!

Recently I have been back on a photography kick. I’ve put my crafting aside to better develop my photography skills once again. While in theory it’s nice to think it’s just a push of a button, it can really be so much more than that. When I started working with my digital SLR, it was a bit of a change from the standard SLRs. For me it was a positive change, because I like instant results. I also like to have an auto setting at my disposal. But with that comes a lot of limitations. At first you don’t notice it, but as time goes on you become less happy with your photos an want to find a way to make them better. I always seem to turn to books, and I have found some wonderful photography books over time. For some time now I’ve wanted to have a better understanding of how to use my histogram to take better photos, and for landscape photography this is a wonderful tool. Little by little I’ve been learning more about the histograms over the last year, but just recently I bought a book that really tied in how to use it to better you photos.

Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and The Great Masters by Michael Frye was that book. I love this book so much, that I would read it every spare minute I had and finished it in less than a week. I talk about it to anyone who will listen and get so excited over the techniques he shares.

I have always admired Ansel Adams photography, but have come to appreciate the man himself and his views on photography because of this book. Michael Frye shares many quotes and thoughts on photography from some of the great photography masters, and takes Adam’s concept of the Zone Method and applies it to the digital SLR.

I find it hard to believe that after so many photography classes I never had the Zone Method explained to me. It made perfect sense and I now find myself using this technique when taking photos. I have since found some other photographers “poo-pooing” the idea of the Zone Method, but I am at a loss as to why that is. It works perfectly for me and translates effortlessly to the digital camera.

So aside from the fact that this fantastic method is explained, Michael Frye’s book is clear to understand, has beautiful photography to explain each concept, and is in an organized, easy to follow format. So often these days I find that photography books can be kind of disjointed in their topics of discussion. Some authors will touch on a concept, but not go into any depth (or too in-depth). Or, when discussing a concept and showing a photo example, the photo often times has little to do with the idea, or is not a very good illustration of it. Not so with this book. Every photo is beautiful and perfectly illustrates the point.

I love when I have an instruction book that so clearly tells me what I want to know. Michael Frey definitely knows landscape photography, as it is clear to see when reading this book. The book starts with a technical section, but not the usual “here is how to use your camera” kind of technical, it goes a little deeper than that talking about sharpness, contrast, filters, white balance, histograms, etc… The second section deals with light and composition, and the final section deals with editing, processing and printing. The entire book is well laid out and easy to read.

If you are interested in landscape photography and ready to take the next step, I highly recommend this book. It will be one that I will refer back to time and again. Even if you are not a landscape enthusiast, I think a lot of the techniques in this book would be useful to you for still life photography.

Now the best part…I contacted the publisher, Focal Press, and asked if they would be willing to donate a copy of this book for me to give away, and they agreed! So one of you will win a copy of this book come Sunday. Just leave a comment on this post letting me know about a part of photography that you would like to know more about (histograms, exposure, composition…anything!), or just say “pick me!” I’m okay with that, too. And be sure to check out this book the next time you’re at the bookstore…or just go buy a copy. You wont be sorry that you did!

A Photography Background

2011-06-12T23:13:00.000-07:00

So I know this is a “craft” blog, but if you’ve read me for any amount of time, you’ve probably figured out that I love photography. I love that there is always something new to learn and try. Now that photography has gone digital, it seems like the possibilities are endless. There are all sorts of techniques and gadgets to try, how could one ever get bored?

I don’t remember how the photography bug hit, but I remember my mom taking college photography classes when I was very little. I have some memories of really liking that she would pose us for a photo and a few days later bring home a print. When I was about ten, I got my first film camera as a Christmas gift from my grandpa. This wasn’t a kid camera, it was a “real” grown-up camera. I took photos like there was no tomorrow. That camera served me well for years. In high school I took a few photography classes, and got a feel for an SLR and developing my own film and prints. (And who can forget making a pinhole camera!) Once in college I took a few more photography classes and things really started to click. I got to take developing one step further, learning tricks like burning and dodging.

From that point on I learned how much I loved landscape photography. There is just something magical about a beautifully composed landscape photo. I like the challenge of framing a scene in the viewfinder and later having it be a window to the world outside. When I look back at my photographs, I not only want to remember the emotions I felt while in that scene, but try and invoke those same feelings in someone who hasn’t been there.

When I first started this blog I had had my digital SLR for a little over a year. We traveled a lot during that time and I took lots of landscape photos, both here and abroad. But once home again from all our travels, married and settling down, I found myself pregnant and needing something to fill my time, and that’s how the blog came about. When I started this blog, it was a whole new realm of photography for me. It was like starting all over again. Indoor and macro photography is not landscape photography. My photos were terrible those first few months. (I mean, really terrible.) It’s a whole new realm of photography. New tricks to learn, new settings, different editing… But I pushed on and learned. My photos are far from perfect (nor will the ever be), but I like the challenge of making the next set I snap “better”.

Something I always try and impart on anyone learning something new, or feeling self doubt about their skills (whatever the craft) is that we all start at the beginning. The “Masters” were not born with this instant ability to create great pieces of art, but developed it over many years, through trial and error. You can’t beat yourself up if you feel someone else photos are great and yours aren’t. Chances are they have been developing their skills over time and learning along the way, just as you will. There is lots of great, free information on the internet, and believe it or not, in your camera’s user manual. But perhaps my favorite spots of learning is from books. I love a good photography book. Because of that, this week I will be sharing some of my favorite photography books (and not just landscape photography). I will be writing these posts as the week goes on (I don’t pre-write my posts) so we will just see how the week develops. Tomorrow I’m going to talk about my new favorite landscape book, and give away a copy. I hope you will join me this week and find something that appeals to you!

52 Weeks of Lists

2011-06-09T14:36:00.001-07:00

Last week I was invited to join a Flickr group titled: 52 Lists, 52 Weeks. Nothing more need be said, I’m joining in! I LOVE making lists! And to have an excuse to write a list every week that will be more like a journal of sorts was something I just had to do.

I went back and forth on what kind of notebook to use. I had a few sitting around that were only partially filled, but I wanted it to be something all it’s own. I went back and forth between this cashier’s Moleskine and a bigger sketch Moleskine I was saving to use for my next design ideas book. The cashier’s book won out. Part of the reason I like it so much is it’s size. I like that it’s small and see it as a bit of a challenge to make each page full of life. Being that it is so small, it shouldn’t be too hard to fill the page either. And if need be, I can just have my list span two pages.

If you’d like more information on the challenge, visit Kellie’s blog to get all the info. This is week one and a new post will be posted each Sunday, so you’ve made it just in time to start at the beginning!

On The Agenda

2011-06-06T10:17:00.001-07:00

Time to choose the winner of Stash Happy Patchwork! I had a little chuckle when the random generator choose number 4 out of 145 comments – I love when it makes my life easy like that. Congratulations to knottygnome! Be watching for an email from me.

In other news I’ve been reading some great photography books lately and have been wanting to share them. So I think next week I will do a photography book review series, complete with giveaways. I love when I find great photography books, and all I can do is talk about them to everyone I know. I can’t wait to share them with you and hope you’ll join me. I’m even going to try and share some tidbits of new knowledge I’ve gained. So if you like photography, next week is your week!

Stash Happy Patchwork + Giveaway

2011-06-03T09:13:00.001-07:00

When Lark asked if I’d be interested in receiving a review copy of Stash Happy Patchwork by Cynthia Shaffer, the cover alone convinced me to say yes. I say it all the time: I know we’re not suppose to judge a book by it’s cover, but I do. And once again I wasn’t let down. When it comes to craft books of any kind, the cover design is very important. Because crafts are visual, you have to appeal to a visual crowd. So in this case, you must expect that crafters will judge a book by it’s cover. Once again, this is a book you can judge by it’s cover.

If the cute little cactus pincushion isn’t enough to have you running out to buy the book, there are so many more projects that will have you saying “I need to make that!” It was one of those books where just about every project is something I want to make, and that’s saying a lot these days. This book was full of projects that I have never seen before in a sewing book, which is so refreshing!

At the start of the book is a small section on the basics. It is straight to the point, tells you exactly what you need to know, and then gets right to the projects. The instructions for all of the projects are laid out in easy to understand, short steps, with plenty of beautiful photography to help you through the more difficult parts.

The Wonky Cottage Lap Quilt is perhaps my favorite project. It’s bright, cheerful and so easy to make!

This little Sew on the Go kit is great, too! I like that it fits everything neatly inside a standing case. It would look great sitting on my sewing desk or the side table in the living room next to my chair. I wouldn’t have to hide it away or find somewhere to stash it, it just looks like a decoration to be seen!

And how about this panda pillow – is he not fantastic?! I could see this easily being made into lots of different animals with just a change of the ears and tail. In fact, she even offers a variation tip!

There are so many fun projects in here that most likely you’ve never seen before. They are all beautifully put together and explained. This is a book that will appeal to almost everyone and I hope you take the time to check it out – I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

Now to the good part – Lark is offering a copy Stash Happy Patchwork to one lucky reader! Just leave a comment here and Sunday I will choose one lucky commenter. Good luck everyone! Also, be sure to check out Cynthia’s blog to learn more about her. She has some great projects and some more photos from inside her book!

Here I Am!

2011-05-23T06:55:00.001-07:00

It’s been awhile. Thank you for all the kind comments on my last post about being in Artful Blogging. With vacation and coming back to reality I didn’t get to respond to everyone’s comments…but I did see lots of new names and visited lots of new blogs. I haven’t made it through all of Artful Blogging myself yet (I like to take my time and savor each issue) but I’ll tell you, the pieces I’ve read have all spoken to me in some way. It’s amazing how each issues seems to have bloggers that have a similar style and feeling to their pieces, it never feels disjointed and I love connecting with other blogs that resonate so strongly with me.

I haven’t gotten to do any sewing since we’ve been back, but I did get a few pictures edited. It’s taken me longer than usual to get to them, usually getting to just one a day, and sometimes not even feeling it’s worthy of posting. I love having photos to edit at my leisure, so I’m sure I’ll be working on them for months to come. I found a really great landscape photography book last week and I think I’ll share about it in the coming weeks.

Brice’s birthday was yesterday. I officially have a 3 year old on my hands. Tantrums and all. He’s taken to screaming at the top of his lungs when he doesn’t get his way. I just calmly pick him up and deposit him in his room when he does this. I honestly don’t know another way to deal with it. He’s taking lots of time out’s and having to do lots of apologizing.

In other news, we have a new puppy around. He’s wonderful! I’ll let you read more about the situation over here. We should return to our regular crafting goodness soon…once I feel I have a chance to breath a little.

Artful Blogging

2011-05-02T19:23:00.001-07:00

I have something very exciting to share – I’m in the May/June/July 2011 issue of Artful Blogging! Right there on page 94. I have long loved Artful Blogging and the great blogs it’s introduced me to and was quite overjoyed when I saw the email in my inbox. A publication that I so highly esteemed asking me to contribute?! I don’t think I stopped smiling all day. I haven’t had a chance to sit down and read everything yet, but just flipping through and looking at the photography from the other contributors makes me feel like an armature for sure. We are leaving on a {last minute} road trip tomorrow and I saved it to read on the trip. I plan on reading it from cover to cover. I really enjoyed writing my piece, and it is quite a different side of me than you might be use to. If you happen to pick up a copy, I hope you enjoy what I had to say.

I will be out of town until the 12th and will therefore be closing my Etsy shop during that time, but if you are interested in one of my patterns, you can still purchase those through the button on the sidebar. It’s through my Meylah shop and offers direct download of the pattern instantly. Also, any quilt requests sent during that time will be answered upon my return.

I’m not sure if I will be updating the blog while I’m gone, but I will for sure be sharing photos from the trip on my Flickr. I rented a tilt-shift lens for this trip and am very excited for the landscape photography opportunities. We are visiting one of my favorite spots: Moab, Utah! With my geology background, I just love the red rock and everything it represents. I am also hoping to meet up with a friend!

And before I go, a quick congratulations to lucky #7 Marie, the winner of the Countryside Softies giveaway! I’ve sent an email, but if your reading this, please be sure to send me your address.

Review: Countryside Softies

2011-04-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

As I’m sure you know if you read this blog, softies are not something that you see me make. But it doesn’t meant I don’t want to! I have long admired the crafters that can create cute little creatures for their kids (and themselves). When I first heard about Countryside Softies (back around Christmas I think) I just had a feeling I would need to own it. With a cover like this, how could I not! I remember reading so long ago on Amy’s blog about the softies that went missing on their way to the US from the UK and their eventual safe arrival. I am so happy that they all arrived safely, because this is such an adorable book.

The book starts out with an introduction to the craft of making softies and the supplies you need. Amy talks about using old wool clothing that has been felted to create the fuzzy creatures. I’ve never felted wool, so the instructions and information were great! It all sounds so easy, now to just find some wool sweaters next time I’m thrifting. I really love the little mushrooms that are used indicate the pattern’s difficulty level. I think most of you will find that even the 3 mushroom “slightly tricky” rating will be rather easy to do after taking the time to read through the instructions.

I think perhaps what I most appreciate about this book is the large section on creating a softie. All of the basics are all in one spot, easy to find and refer to. From cutting out your pieces, to assembling them, adding weight and a base, it’s all explained in easy to understand terms. There’s a section for adding beaks and snouts, eyes, mouths, ears wings, feet, tails – everything you need! There are also lots of great tips through out the entire book. The directions are really very easy to understand and I know just what is being described when I read them. I feel like I can make these without getting frustrated along the way.

While there are so many amazing animals and “accessories” in this book, the one that captured my heart was the otter. I had really hoped to make him before this post, but time got away from me. I did find some wool in my sewing room that is destined for this little guy, so hopefully in the coming weeks I can sew him up and share. The blog tour so far has been wonderful. Be sure to check out all the posts and enter for a chance to win a copy of this book at each blog. Blue Nickel Studios had a great interview with Amy; Syko made the dragonfly pattern from the book; I Heart Linen made some mushrooms. If you do make this cute little otter, there is a free companion pattern over at Whip Up!

On to the best part, thanks to Stash Books I will choose one lucky commenter to win this {slightly thumbed through} copy of the book. Be sure to leave your comment by Sunday. I will close comments once a winner has been chosen and send the book shortly there after. Please be sure to leave your email or check back to see if I need you to contact me for an address. Good luck!

April 18: Whip Up
April 19: Bari J
April 20: Blue Nickel Studios
April 21: Fat Quarterly
April 22: Ric-Rac
April 23: Syko
April 24: Lucykate Crafts (the author)
April 25: Treefall Design
April 26: I Heart Linen
April 27: The Sometimes Crafter (me)
April 28: Plush You
April 29: Allsorts

Comments are now closed! Congratulations to lucky #7, Marie! Thanks to everyone else for stopping in and leaving a comment. I wish you the best of luck in the drawings on the other blogs in this tour!

Guest Posting at Fat Quarterly

2011-04-25T08:06:00.001-07:00

This is a few days late, but I had a guest post go up over at Fat Quarterly this weekend. I talk a little about cross-stitching and show you an easy way to incorporate it into your sewing by removing the Aida cloth (that’s the white cross stitch cloth you see there in the photo). Since the post went up a few commenters mentioned there is waste canvas for just this purpose, it makes the job a little faster because of it’s loose weave and lack of starch from what I understand. In the post you’ll see a cute little project I made with cross-stitch and a free pattern to get you started. Once the stitching bug has bitten you, be sure to check out Amanda and Ashley’s shop The Frosted Pumpkin, stocked full of great cross-stitch (pdf) patterns!

Coffee Time Cross-Stitch Pattern

Review: Modern Log Cabin Quilting

2011-04-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

When I first saw the cover for Modern Log Cabin Quilting (Potter Craft) a few months ago on Susan’s blog, I was so excited. I am definitely someone that (at least partially) judges a book by it’s cover. I knew if the cover was any indication of the books content, I was going to love it. Let me tell you, this is definitely a book you can judge by it’s cover. I wish that more books could be as thorough and well written as this.

The photography is beautiful, the content is amazing in both it’s coverage of the history of log cabin quilts and in it’s instructions, and the projects are all something I’d love to make.

In the first chapter of the book you are given a brief (and very interesting) history on log cabin quilts. Susan teaches you about log cabin quilting’s roots and about the different kind of blocks. I found this particularly interesting, because while I knew there were different variations on the block, I had never had it laid out in such a way, seeing each of the blocks next to each other and just how similar and different they are.

Next the book moves onto a “Basics” chapter geared towards working on log cabin blocks. I especially love that she pieces her log cabin blocks in the same manor as myself. It’s not a method I have seen often at all, and it really makes an already easy block so much easier! She has you cut long strips of fabric and trim as it is sewn on, taking the left over bit to sew to your next block.

Each of the projects has a helpful table for knowing what size pieces to cut and how many of each. There are also helpful tips and tidbits throughout the projects. I especially love her method of rating each of the projects (spools of thread) and her identification of the type of block used in the project.

My favorite project is by far the cover quilt. I knew as soon as I saw it that I have a pattern for my Flea Market Fancy prints. A close runner up would be this simple bag. I love the big, single log cabin block and the simplicity of the fabrics chosen.

If you haven’t quilted before, but would like to learn, I don’t think you could find a better block to start with than a log cabin. With this easy to piece block you will find so many different quilt and project variations that you will never find yourself bored. The book includes 10 quilt patterns and 15 small project pattern. I can’t recommend this book enough and hope you will check it out for yourself.

To see more reviews and photos of this book, click on over to Susan’s post on her blog book tour and see what everyone else has to say!

Coutryside Softies Blog Tour

2011-04-18T14:37:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to pop in quickly today to let you know that the Coutryside Softies book tour starts today! Amy Adams of Lucykate Crafts is the author behind this adorable book, published by Stash Books. The tour starts at Whip-Up with a great project to accompany one of the projects in the book and continues for the next two weeks. Each day is a new look at the book and a new opportunity to win a copy for yourself, so be sure to visit each of these amazing blogs everyday. I’ll be back next week for my turn.

Tour Schedule

April 18: Whip Up
April 19: Bari J
April 20: Blue Nickel Studios
April 21: Fat Quarterly
April 22: Ric-Rac
April 23: Syko
April 24: Lucykate Crafts (the author)
April 25: Treefall Design
April 26: I Heart Linen
April 27: The Sometimes Crafter (me)
April 28: Plush You
April 29: Allsorts

Linen + Pink Quilt

2011-04-14T16:02:00.001-07:00

I finally got this quilt finished. It only took me 9 months to get it bound. Actually, it took me about 7 months to get it quilted and only 2 months to get it bound. Still way too long!

I was hung up on the quilt design for a long time. I wasn’t sure how I wanted to quilt it up. For a long time I really wanted to hand quilt this in a simple straight stitch pattern, but just couldn’t devote the time to it. Finally I just threw it on the longarm and gave it some feathers. I think it works quilt well for the pink theme.

I used Rashida’s pattern in her book I Love Patchwork. The instructions were great and the quilt went together without a hitch. I loved mixing all of the pink and red with linen. I used a handkerchief weight linen to keep it nice and soft. This quilt is for a Kate who was born in July. At least I am getting it to her before her first birthday!

Pile of Fabric

2011-04-10T22:14:00.001-07:00

I had to laugh at myself this last week. I had a pile of fabric for two future projects arrive in the mail and they just seemed to move around my desk for a few days. Every day they were in a new spot, taunting me. They were glaring at me telling me to do something with them. I think I figured if I left them on my desk I would be motivated to cut into them. Honestly, they are just lovely to look at so it was not a hardship at all. Alas, they did finally make it into the sewing room, into bags for their planned projects (quilts eventually).

The top of the stack is Habitat and the bottom Aviary 2, both bought at Sew, Mama, Sew!.

Hoop Travel Bag

2011-03-30T20:33:00.001-07:00

I posted photos to Flickr a few days back, but hadn’t gotten a chance to blog about this yet. I made a hoop travel bag using the pattern I bought from Amanda and Ashley’s shop, The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery. It went together super fast!

Seriously the hardest part was figuring out which fabrics to use. I finally settled on this fabric I’ve been holding on to for a few years now. I got these adorable kitties at Joann’s, designed by one of their in-house designers. It is one of the better feeling fabrics I’ve encountered there and wish I would have bought more than a yard.

I picked up the flower fabric, funny enough, when stopping for a quick visit with Amanda this summer. The two fabrics worked well together. In interior fabric was some Erin McMorris and was decided upon by chance. I had Jeni pick a number while Skyping one night, and that was my final choice for a lining. I’m glad the colors at least work somewhat well. It was just getting ridiculous how long it took me to pick fabrics. And the zipper was a perfect match to the lining – bonus!

This bag has been great for holding my current project and keeping it safe. I really love it and have plans to make more for friends!

Little Cottage Mug Rug

2011-03-26T15:03:00.001-07:00

In honor of Erin’s Mug Rug Madness Week I thought I’d post about my mug rug I made last month for the Portland Modern Quilt Guild swap. I forgot all about it until I saw the adorable house mug rug that Erin posted about earlier this week. I initially wasn’t going to do the swap because I just couldn’t think of something that I liked. Then one morning, about 4am when my 2 year old decided to wake up, and I put him back to bed, I was drifting back to sleep and all the sudden had a vision of this little mug rug. Once I got up at a reasonable hour, I sketched it out and later designed the template.

I not only liked the shape, but the versatility to do something with the windows and doorway. You could place novelty prints in the windows, use a wood grain print for the door, find window fabric to place in the windows… I could also see little flower boxes appliqued on, and bushes stitched on with embroidery around the base of the cottage. Someone might even be so inclined to stitch on some roof tiles or bricks on the chimney. Even better, at Christmas time make one with a string of lights on the roof and a tree peaking through the window!

I’m linking to the template so you can make your own and I REALLY hope you’ll share a photo of it in my Flickr group so I can see all the different variations. This is one of the things I love about sewing and sharing – seeing all the different possibilities.

{Quick} DIRECTIONS

Download and cut out the basic shape of the Little Cottage Template.

1. Cut out a front and back (making sure to flip the template over to cut out one of the pieces, or just layer your fabrics wrong sides together and cut out both pieces at once). Also, cut out a piece of batting to sandwich inside.

2. Embellish your cottage as you’d like, front and back if you so choose. I used an X-Acto knife to cut out the door and windows and then traced through the opening onto the fabric with a water soluble pen.
3. With right sides together (layered on your batting), stitch around the cottage (1/4” seam allowance) leaving your self an opening to turn right side out. I like to leave mine on the side, but you might like the bottom.
4. Trim the corners and turn right side out, using a knitting needle or skewer to help turn the chimney and poke out the corners. Gently.
5. Press the opening close and pin. Edge stitch around the entire cottage making sure to catch the opening and secure it close.

And that’s it. Really very simple. The hardest part is deciding how to decorate it. I went ahead and did reverse applique for the doors and window because of how quickly that went, but you could do any number of things…like stitching fabric right on top like Syko does in her designs!

Little Cottage Template (PDF)

Bunny Fabric

2011-03-24T19:41:00.001-07:00

I totally forgot to share that I also made this cute “Diet Coke sleeve” for Jeni. In keeping with the bunny theme I designed this little guy, made a repeat and printed him on some inkjet printable fabric sheets. The sleeve was super easy to make and I basically followed these directions by Make It and Love It. It went together very quick and I was excited to have one-of-a-kind fabric to make it with.

Gifts For A Friend

2011-03-23T11:16:00.001-07:00

I recently made this mini quilt as a gift for Jeni for her birthday. I have these little hangers with clips on them and think they are perfect for mini quilts…so as soon as I saw them in one of my bins on the shelf, I knew I needed to make one. I selected the center from a quilt in the book Classic Quilts with Contemporary Style. It was originally a Japanese publication (2007) and reprinted last year in English. Because I loved the traditional feel of the block, I wanted to stick with somewhat traditional style fabrics. I’m very happy with the selection. The quilt itself was about 6” square. I did a single fold binding (like this tutorial here) and it always goes so much better on these small projects that my usual double fold for big quilts. To finish it off, I hand quilted the lighter fabrics.

Among other things, I drew this bunny for her as well. I created a bunny shape on the computer and then printed it out and doodled inside of it. Then I scanned it back in and “vectorized” it and printed it on linen paper. I have an idea to make a few more of these with different animal shapes. But of course it’s always a matter of having the time to do it. We’ll just have to see how that plays out.

Guest Posting on Half Square Triangles

2011-03-17T14:12:00.001-07:00

I’m guest posting about half square triangles at WhipUp today! After seeing the awesome video by Missouri Star Quilt Company I wanted to figure out how to size this method of making half square triangles into the sizes I needed for various projects. So I figured out some vary basic math and charted some of the sizes I tested out. I have to say that this will be my go to method for making half square triangles for quilt projects now. It saves so much time and the math to customize it to just the size I need is very, very simple. So head on over and have a read!

Color Anxiety

2011-03-15T22:08:00.001-07:00

The hardest part of quilting for me in picking out my fabrics for a quilt. I always second guess myself and doubt my choices and ultimately it takes me a week to get started on a quilt purely because of the fabric selection process. I can go to a quilt shop, pick out fabrics at random, just because I like them, and get home with a stack that works beautifully, without even meaning to. But when it comes to picking out fabrics for a quilt, I’m totally lost.

Have you seen Jeni’s The Art of Choosing posts yet? They have been a big help in making me feel more confident in my color choices. Not only do I feel more confident, but I feel as thought I’m making educated choices when I go to my fabric cabinet. I started with a stack of fabric, and it’s still pretty much intact here, but I did swap out a few choices. Even after I chose my fabric, I still wasn’t sure and snapped these photos to get Jeni’s opinion. As soon as I loaded the photos onto the computer screen I instantly felt good about my selection. Somehow seeing the fabrics on screen let me step back from it and see it from a whole new angle. I loved my choices. In the future, I will for sure be taking photos after picking fabrics to reassure myself. It really helped me, and maybe it will help some of you, too!

For fabric name inquires, click over to this photo and make notes and I’ll answer there.

Linen + Pink + Feathers

2011-03-08T14:38:00.001-08:00

When I’m quilting quilts for others I pretty much always know what pattern will work best for the design. When it comes to my own quilts, I’m usually clueless. This quilt has sat since July waiting for quilting inspiration to hit. I really wanted to hand quilt this with a 12 wt. variegated pink thread… But I also knew I just don’t have the time for that. So I went with my second love: feathers.

I love adding little swirls and curls as I go along. It breaks it up nicely and gives it a bit of a doodle effect (which I really like in quilting). I used a different thread for this as it was still on the machine from the last quilt, which had a minky backing and seemed to like the thinner thread better. It’s Bottom Line by Superior and very, very thin at 60 wt. It took me forever to get the tension right on the last quilt so I really didn’t want to mess with it. I have another new thread coming, so I will have to do some tension adjusting, but hopefully not much as it’s just a 50 wt. I really like using the poly thread, vs. the cotton, because I can get so much more on a bobbin and have a lot less fuzz in the machine. I’ve used cotton up to this point, but I think I will be switching to the poly threads from Superior for awhile. (And I really need to thank Rachel for that who also has a longarm like mine and recommended it to me!)

Something I really love about the Bottom Line thread is how it disappears into the quilt. You still see the great texture of the quilt design, but not the thread itself. Sometimes that’s just what I want. I also really liked that it only took one bobbin for almost two quilts! I like not having to stop and change bobbins.

It’s all ready for binding, so once I have that done I’ll share the quilt in it’s full glory!

Paper Pieces

2011-03-01T19:25:00.001-08:00

I have been spending a lot of time working on bigger projects lately, and was really feeling I needed to sew something small and useful to energize my creativity today. I was cutting templates out from paper, and had lots of sizeable scraps left over. I feel so guilty throwing them away because I can honestly use a scrap of paper from time to time to jot down notes, lists, ideas, measurements… The problem is I always seem to throw the bits of paper away because I don’t want a pile of loose paper, of all different sizes, laying around. I always save the big sheets of paper that I don’t end up using for one reason or another, and put them in a file folder to jot on the back of when I’m in a jotting kind of mood. But sometimes, I just want a small scrap.

That’s when I decided I needed a little box to hold my scraps of paper in on my desk. And idea began to form. I began looking around my room trying to figure out what I could use. Then I had one of those palm-to-forehead moments and realized I could make myself one from fabric. I have small fabric boxes in my sewing room for sewing scraps, so why not one on my desk for paper scraps?

I decided on a good size, opened up my Make Your Own Box pattern and went to the worksheet and figured out the sizes I would need. Then I constructed it like my fabric basket tutorial and in no time at all, I had this simple little {pretty} way to organize all those little pieces of paper. I am always amazed when the smallest of projects puts the biggest of smiles on my face.

Fun For One

2011-02-21T16:04:00.001-08:00

There are times, when I stress myself out over nothing of great importance. That’s how it works for me. I stress about the small things, and let the big things figure themselves out. Sometimes that seems a little backwards, or counter productive to me, but none-the-less, it’s how I work. So it’s times like that we must grasp what we know, learn to work with it, and push on.

This is how it goes with me and crafting. The parts I love most, are often the parts that frustrate me the most. Take quilting for example, I have recently come to terms with cutting out a new project as being my favorite part. I think it’s all the math and the precision of the pieces. Often times, it is also the part that frustrates me the most. I invariably cut a piece wrong and never have enough fabric to complete my pieces. Even when I buy more fabric than I need. It’s the universes way of getting back at me. I am doomed to always make a wrong cut and never have enough fabric.

Another aspect of favorite vs. frustrating is the designing. I love to design. I’m constantly drawing up designs and figuring out the shapes and sizes, a lot of them never seeing the cutting board. (One day I figure I’ll compile an ebook of all of those cast off projects.) It also frustrates me to no end at times. Drawing up a rough design and then having to bring it to scale. It’s the brining it to scale part that is frustrating. Nothing can ever be perfectly pieced, with perfect 1/4” increments. Everything has to be like pulling teeth to make it fit and still work with the original design. I don’t like change, even when it’s just a small rectangle on a project. Because sometimes that small rectangle needing to be 1/16th of an inch bigger means redoing the entire piece! Redoing the entire piece results in it going from a small wall hanging to a too-big-for-the-walls wall hanging.

But there is a silver lining. There is always a silver lining if you learn to find the positive in the negative. Sometimes that “too-big-for-the-walls wall hanging” leads to a slightly altered, perfectly sized quilt for the couch.

Suddenly the frustration becomes excitement. You know the kind, where your whole body feels it. A smile suddenly fills your face and your whole body relaxes because your frustrations have gone and the enjoyment of creating suddenly returns.

Of course life is all about cycles. So invariably the frustrations will follow. But at least this time it will be with the knowledge that there is always that silver lining. You just have to be open to it and know it will follow.

The Next Step

2011-02-15T22:39:00.001-08:00

I’ve been wanting to be a little more personal in this space for sometime now, but it has just never translated over. For so long now life has been about keeping things inside, and for the most part I still will because that’s just the kind of person I am, but I do like the idea of showing you more of who I am and the person that ticks behind the creating. I love getting to know a quilter, sewer, artist of any kind, on a more personal level. I think getting to see more of who a person is beyond their craft allows you to have a better appreciation of what they create. You feel more connected to that person and the effort they put into what they create.

My whole blogging career has been about making my blog what I enjoy in other blogs, because that is what motivates me to continue to create and push myself to new limits. As time goes on I find new things that interest me and motivate me and this is one of those “things” that has been on my mind for awhile. I really enjoy getting to know someone, even if it’s just virtually in a blog. I am a very personable kind of person and I like feeling connected to others. I think that’s true of most people. We like to know we’re not alone in the world.

I have insecurities like everyone else, I am only human after all, but beyond those I am a very strong person and I am very proud of that, because it’s not something you come by naturally. It’s something that you build within yourself. I hide what bothers me and try and move beyond it and put a smile on my face. I am not religious, but I am a big believer in Karma. I live by the golden rules, such as ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’. As much as I’d like to take shortcuts sometimes, I am honest to a fault and see it through each step of the way. These are just little bits of who I am, but I hope to share more of myself this coming year as I post about everything I am creating, because this craft journal has become more than just a space to keep track and motivate, but a place to foster creativity in others and find new friends along the way.

My Word

2011-02-12T14:43:00.001-08:00

I’ve been thinking about one word for over a month now. I had no idea what that word was, but I was trying to think of one. A word to help me through this year. A few bloggers have mentioned Betz White talking about a word to help “define” the year and guide you through. I didn’t know what my word would be. I saw other’s words and felt very inspired by them and that they would be great words for me. But I wanted a word that was all my own, one that really spoke to me this year, a word that pushed me beyond what I already knew I needed, was or wanted.

Today I was sitting on the couch, eating half of a tuna sandwich, my first food of the day at two in the afternoon, flipping through channels and settling on a Nora Robert’s book made into a Lifetime movie, when it hit me. I was giving myself permission to sit on the couch, eat and watch something mindless. It’s not something I really ever do. Usually I always have something to be working on and never give myself time to just sit and relax and enjoy. I’ve slowly been giving myself permission to take time off these past few weeks. Brice and I are alone together most afternoons and evenings and there is something about it being dark out that has me wanting to be in the same room with him. It’s hard because most of what I need to do is in another room, and not really a room he is wanting to be in. How can I not drop everything when he pats my spot on the couch, right next to his, and says “Mommy, you come sit right here and watch TV with me.”

We have a routine of having movies on in the evening, when he’s a little more mellow and not as active with his toys. He’s usually woken from a late nap and a little cranky and I find just having him sit and wake up is just what he needs. So I find myself preparing a hot drink, grabbing the iPad and sitting with him, watching a movie we’ve already seen a dozen times that week alone, giving myself permission because he’s only this age once, and all too soon he might not want to sit and cuddle with mom, watching movies. I’m coming to realize more and more every day that Brice will probably be my only child, so I have to enjoy it all even more. Not just because my time with him at each stage is limited, but my time with a child of my own at each stage is just as limited.

So my word for this year is permission. I am giving myself permission to do the things I want, be with those I love and take care of myself. All too often I feel the pull to be in too many places at once doing too much. I won’t be able to stop all of that, this year is shaping up to be a busy year, but I will give myself permission to take a little time off each day to recharge. I will stop feeling like I have to fill every minute of every hour with something productive and instead give myself leave to just sit and relax for awhile.

My Other Bag in Quilts & More

2011-02-07T13:30:00.001-08:00

I had some exciting mail this weekend…a copy of the Quilts & More Spring 2011 issue (due to hit shelves this week, I believe).

Inside, on page 70, you’ll find a pattern by yours truly for my small messenger bag I made a little over a year ago. I had meant to make it into a pattern to share, but time just got away from me, so I’m glad to know that it’s finally out there for anyone that was interested in making it.

I really love this bag and use it quite frequently when going out to shoot photos. It holds my lenses, wallet and phone perfectly! Originally I designed this bag to replace the diaper bag. After having Brice I seemed to carry that everywhere and never used a purse. My diaper bag became my purse. As we were transitioning away from needing to take the bag into stores with us, I found I needed another bag, and thus “My Other Bag” was born.

I wanted it to be able to hold snacks, travel wipes and a diaper when we were shopping. By this time we were not using the stroller anymore, so I also needed a bag that was easier to carry when having to chase after the toddler. Finally, I needed a bag that was easy to get into, yet kept what was inside safe (I’ve always been paranoid about pickpockets). This little bag answered all my needs. It holds everything I need, yet keeps it all safe and close to my body.

(Here is a photo of the original bag I made.) I love all of the illustrations that have been included to help you make this bag effortlessly. I think the hardest part of making this bag was cutting all the pieces, otherwise it goes together rather quickly! Because the base of the bag is a neutral linen, I could see the strap shortened and other kind of accents given to really personalize this as a little satchel for a child. Brice might need one with some robot fabric I’ve been saving for awhile.

A Beautiful Romance

2011-01-28T21:36:00.001-08:00

Or the start to a beautiful romance as Bitter Purl put it! I got my new digital SLR in the mail yesterday! And I am over the moon about it. I have been decided on a Canon 60D for awhile and finally had the courage to press the buy button. I have been saving for months to buy a new camera after my other SLR’s shutter died. Rather than spend a huge sum to have it replaced, I felt it better to save for awhile and buy a more professional model. I have felt restricted by the XTi for a few years now, more so in this last year, so I am very happy to have a huge upgrade.

Having this new upgrade makes all of my lenses seem new again (and my external flash!). I really feel like I have a whole new set of lenses with this camera. The picture quality is AMAZING compared to my beginner DSLR. The options are everything I wished I had in the other model and more.

I just putzed around and took random photos all day, oooh-ing and ahhh-ing over everyone. I really feel like this is taking my photography to a whole new level that I knew I was capable of. I am very excited to try some more HDR photography with this new camera and will try to find some outdoor spots to give it a try this weekend. In the meantime, here are a few more random pictures to enjoy. Everyone have a great weekend!

(This one is with my external flash.)

By the way, for those of you that asked, there is now a widget at the bottom of my sidebar where you can sign up for email notifications of new blog posts through Feed Burner. Thanks for letting me know you wanted one set up!

Just Right

2011-01-23T12:35:00.001-08:00

I needed a green to go with a small stack of fabrics. And I found the perfect one and that makes me pretty happy. It’s all about the little things in life…

Japanese Books + Sewing Summit

2011-01-17T12:26:00.001-08:00

I’ll start with Sewing Summit first. Have you heard about it? I’m surprised at the number of people that haven’t yet! It’s in October and everyone is invited! There is nothing exclusive about it…well except for it’s geared towards the sewers out there. It’s wonderful opportunity for us all to get together and meet and learn and just have fun! They will have classes and panels and there is a survey on the website you can fill out to let them know what and who you want to see. The best part, you have PLEANTY of time to clear your calendar and buy your airfare. It’s October 7-9th in Salt Lake City, Utah at the Little America Hotel. They have even worked it out with the hotel to set aside a block of rooms just for conference attendee’s at great rates! You can find out more and get links to the hotel to reserve your room by following the link above to their website. I am very excited to have this opportunity to meet so many of my friends I’ve made through the blog. As we get closer to that time, I’d love to know who has plans of going!

Per Completely Cauchy’s request, I am sharing some of the goodness of the Japanese craft books I got last week. I only showed a fleeting glimpse of the spines because with 4 books there was just too much to show, but today I will share some photos with you! I went ahead and arranged them into a single picture that you can click on to enlarge and get a better look of some of the examples of what you’ll find in the books. I’ll also include the ISBN so you can find a copy for yourself!

First up: This is a great book for the beginning sewer. So I take that to mean, it’s probably a great book for you if it’s your first time with a Japanese craft book and you don’t speak Japanese. The pictures and diagrams showing you how to make everything are VERY thorough. The projects are simple, but useful and the fabrics they use make you want to jump on a flight to Japan for a shopping expedition.

ISBN 978-4-391-63009-1

Next up is a 30’s fabric prints themed book. All sorts of cute projects. I especially love the white and blue basket. I’m sure Liz loves the yo-yo tote especially!

ISBN 978-4-391-62952-1

I really wanted to find a paper piecing book when I went shopping, and I found a great one! This is FULL of foundation pieced blocks. It’s a wonderful book, and even if the fabrics have you moving on to the next book, take a look again and think about all the other fabric combinations you could try!

ISBN 978-4-529-04188-1

And finally, I found a great quilt book! It’s full of all sorts of traditional patters show in new ways with different fabric combinations that I think we are use to seeing here in the West. I personally really love the traditional aspect of quilting, so this really appeals to me. It has a TON of quilts!

ISBN 978-4-14-031144-8

If you haven’t tried sewing from a Japanese sewing book yet, but want to try it out, then do! They have such great instructions with pictures and diagrams. The measurements are metric, so for some of you, you will want to convert the measurements to inches (2.54 cm/inch). Other than that, if you have a basic sewing knowledge, you should be able to stumble your way through the projects. There are many stores on Etsy that sell books or you can try Kinokuniya’s website for yourself!

Color Wheel

2011-01-12T17:01:00.001-08:00

I decided to quickly sort my fat quarters by color this morning. It really did go quickly, too! It’s nice knowing what colors I need and don’t need. Right now I can look for browns and pinks (two colors that I was sure I had too much of). Apparently blue is my favorite color. I have about twice as much of blue than any other color. I was even pleasantly surprised that I had a nice little stack of greys and purples. There were a few times I was worried about if I put a fabric in the right color pile, but I think it looks pretty good now that it’s all done. I tried not to stress about it too much and now it looks great! It will be so easy to find the colors I need for projects. Now to work on the yardage…

A New Toy

2011-01-10T22:00:00.001-08:00

My husband constantly surprises me. Not only did he remember it was my birthday, but he got me an amazing gift! Without ANY prompting! He even wrapped it himself…in foil and found ribbon in the craftroom. I have to give him major points for that.

He got me a Bamboo Tablet for the computer! What this does is allow me to draw on the computer more intuitively. It’s for use in place of the mouse and is amazing! I have been wanting one for a few years and he stored it away and went on the hunt and found one for me! (The link above will show you a video on what it is and how it works.)

I have been busy drawing up all sorts of fun stuff. Some of these will be screen prints.

And We’re Back!

2011-01-09T10:55:00.001-08:00

After Brice started to finally recover from his awful flu/croup/whooping cough(?) I got sick! It was terrible, of course. I don’t do well with being sick. What made it especially bad was to be stuck in bed nursing an awful congestion headache, unable to take medicines for it and celebrating a birthday!

Lucky for me, an AWESOME gift from Jeni arrived on my doorstep to help make it all better. Jeni is an awesome thrifter and sent me the coolest bunch of things.

But I think my favorite of it all was the zipper pouch she made with leftover binding fabric from her first two quilts she made. And what was so special about it was I quilted her first quilt she made…and it just happened to be the first quilt I quilted professionally, too. So it is just very, very special to me to have this little pouch.

I’m thinking it will be perfect for holding small hand sewing projects. For now it is just sitting on my cutting table for me to admire.

I especially love that I had just commented on the fact that I needed to get my floss put onto cards the week prior after seeing this photo in her stream, and then cards appeared for me to do just that! Now I need to see if I can find my winder to make it go a little quicker. Jeni – thank you so much for such an awesome birthday gift! I can’t wait to get using the vintage sheets with the few I have stashed away. It’s been on my to-do list for a very long time and I think I have enough to do something about it now.

And to all of you, thanks for all of your comments over the last few posts. I apologize for not being able to get back to most of the comments as I just have been so out of it with holidays, kid sick and me sick, but I do appreciate everyone who takes the time to leave a note! Thank you!

Goals Are Good

2010-12-30T21:38:00.001-08:00

It’s that time again. Time for me to give a quick run down of my goals for the new year for myself. Because if you remember, I don’t make resolutions, but try and set goals for myself. I did not, in fact, accomplish all of my goals for this year in their entirety, but I did make a valiant effort. I stopped biting my nails. They aren’t always that long because they usually break or tear, but I’m still very proud to have stopped biting them. I did print a few of my photos and actually got one into a frame. I made it through several months of my 365 and 52 challenges – but I don’t think I’ll be repeating those challenges for myself this year. My very big challenge for myself did actually find it’s way into being accomplished…with a little shove from just the right people. I didn’t keep up with exercising, but I did lose 5 more pounds! (Yea me!)

I am always thinking about my goals and ways to accomplish them. I don’t have anything big planned for this year, but would like to see more of my photos printed and framed, and get into the sewing room more often to sew. I received a Yudu for Christmas (and that is as far as I’ve gotten with it in the photo), so I’d like to start doing screen printing (with this and more traditional methods) for my shop and I want to get a few more quilt patterns off of paper and into production. I think I’ll give myself a few more weeks to cement my plans for myself this year. It’s good to have goals.

And on a side note, we are experiencing our first bout of croup. It’s been no fun. Brice got a fever Christmas evening and hasn’t even played with his toys yet he’s felt so terrible. Unfortunately we had to start him on some medications to allow him to breath and try and beat this thing. I am so tired and really can’t do anything more than be a mommy right now. Which is very hard for me to do. I am someone that needs to have a little time to myself each day, and it just isn’t happening. The good news is I got everything cleaned up and put away Christmas evening before big-time-sick hit. I will see you all back here very shortly and hope to have some sewing to share! Have a very happy (and safe) New Year!

Folding Knitting/Sewing Basket

2010-12-23T11:44:00.001-08:00

I’m sure you’ve seen one or two of these in the loveliest of 70s fabrics at one time or another. I have had a few for awhile and just picked up a few more a couple weeks back and decided it was time to start recovering them. So this was my first attempt. It took me three days and lots of hemming and hawing, but I did finally figure out how to make the cover once again. Of course I love the linen with the pops of patchwork.

Inside I lined it with a cute Lecien print and added a few pockets. A little one for small embroidery scissors and then two bigger pockets for whatever it is you need pockets for. Of course I went about it the hard way, making the small pocket separate from the larger pocket, instead of just making one big pocket and sewing off the small section like I did the two bigger ones. Sometimes I like to do things the hard way.

My hope is to get the rest covered and listed in the shop in the near future, but we’ll just have to see how long that takes me.

Holiday Crafting

2010-12-22T22:49:00.001-08:00

I stitched this up last week just because it was so darn cute! It came from a Japanese cross stitch book I picked up last time I was at Kinokuniya. I still don’t know what I want to do with it, so I stuck it in a little oval hoop I had.

I’ve also been making a Dresden Plate for another project, which took me three days to complete! I’m going to take photos tomorrow to share! I still have a few Christmas gifts to make and a few to buy. Nothing like waiting until the last minute to motivate me!

Bunny Ornament–A Quick Tutorial

2010-12-19T10:17:00.001-08:00

A few of us quilt-y friends decided last month to do an ornament swap. Our deadline to mail was this week and my secret partner got her ornament! We roped Yahaira into choosing our partners for us so none of us would have an idea of what were were getting. Jeni was my swap partner and I was so happy to have the opportunity to spoil her since she spoils all of us! I knew right from the start I wanted to make her a bunny ornament and came up with the idea of doing a small patchwork stuffed one, but that didn’t quite turn out as planned. The ears were too narrow to pull through, so I had to come up with another plan…because I wasn’t going to make another 66 piece tiny patchwork piece again. So the project slowly evolved into what you see and I couldn’t be more happy with it! I have plans to make an owl, and a Christmas tree with green patchwork, and… Lots of stuff.

So this will be a quick tutorial…because it’s really simple. You really could figure this out on your own, but I’ll give you the template I used and some quick instructions.

1. Cut out 66-1” squares from your fabric (I used my tiny scraps for this)
2. Sew the pieces together into 6 strips of 11 squares with a 1/4” seam allowance, making sure to use a shorter stitch length to better hold the pieces together.
3. Sew your 6 strips together.
4. Trace the bunny template onto the paper side of fusible web and iron on to the backside of the patchwork piece.
5. Cut out the bunny shape and peel away the paper backing. Iron on to your backing fabric (I used a large scrap of linen)
6. Sew a running stitch around the outside edge of the bunny with three strands of embroidery floss.
7. Layer on top of batting and backing fabric (with fabrics right sides out). Trim your fabrics with a 3/4” of the backing fabric left around your bunny. Your rectangle should be approximately 4” x 6-3/4”.
8. Edge stitch around your rectangle with a 1/4” seam allowance leaving an opening at the top to insert the loop later.
9. Trim your edges with a pinking blade or shears.
10. Insert your ribbon loop and top stitch opening closed.
11. Glue on your bunny tail (a pom-pom) with fabric glue.

A lot of directions, but it’s really pretty quick and easy! The tiny patchwork seems hard, but it’s really not. It won’t be perfect – small patchwork rarely is – so just go with it. Make sure to give yourself a small stitch length when sewing it together so it doesn’t separate as you work with it. I’d love to see what you create - feel free to add it to my Flickr group!

You know what I especially love about this ornament? I could see it hanging in a craft room all year long!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Edited :: Per Yahaira’s casual request, here’s a dog for the dog lovers out there. Just exclude the bunny tail part of the directions.

Edited Again :: And a kitty for the kitty lovers out there…

…and an owl

…and a robot

Small Things

2010-12-17T21:05:00.001-08:00

I found this little egg cup at Crate & Barrel the other day, and just couldn’t resist buying it. I knew it would make a great pincushion!

I also made up this tiny patchwork for an ornament swap I’m doing. The finished squares were 1/2”! I totally love the ornament I made! I will share it with you just as soon as my friend receives it. I don’t want to ruin the surprise, because seeing it would totally give it away.

Somerset Ornament Tutorial

2010-12-15T09:41:00.001-08:00

It’s been a little quiet around here, but that is always what seems to happen around the holidays. Remember the ornament I made for the Christmas swap a few months back? As promised, there is now a tutorial for you to make your own. Head on over to Liz’s blog Say Yes! to Hoboken and see how easy it is. (And ignore the fact that I spelled Somerset wrong – I was in a hurry when I typed it up! I just hate making spelling mistakes!) I’ll be back with another ornament to share soon!

--------

Updated 7/25/2011 - Somerset Ornament Template

Seasons

2010-11-27T15:56:00.001-08:00

Now that the leaves have all fallen it feels more like fall is here. Except, now that Thanksgiving is behind us, Christmas sits in front of us and that means winter is just around the corner. Every year I have high hopes of making holiday gifts, but every year the days slip by with other important tasks ahead of holiday crafting. I have no illusion that this year will be any different, but I hope to have a big project completed and out of my hands shortly, freeing up my time to sew for family and friends. I have a fun ornament swap with some of my close blog friends and I have the ornament tutorial to share with all of you (I haven’t forgotten, it will be posted mid-month at Say Yes to Hoboken as part of her BlogNog series). I have had so much fun using Pinterest and having gotten friends hooked into it as well just makes the experience even more time consuming. One of the pins posted was of braided hair – something I’ve been doing more and more lately. I love a messy, all over the place braid – yet hardly leave the house in braids because I like hair framing my face. Weird, I know. Anyways, the braid was to the sides and so I just had to do that today. Another favorite braid is to go from the top side down to the bottom of the opposite side of my head, with the excess braid trailing over my shoulder. Even when I’m not sewing, I still find a way to craft, because braiding my hair counts as a craft…right?

Cookies You’ll Love

2010-11-24T08:42:00.001-08:00

Yes, it is that time of year again. That time of year where we break out the gobs of butter, sugar and flour and begin to make cookies and candy galore. I was asked to contribute a posting to the Real Butter blog The Gift of Goodness this season, which included making something delicious and packaging it up for gifting. I’ve mentioned it more than once that I struggle to figure out host/ess gifts at the last minute and this is always a perfect way to get around that. Because who wouldn’t love something delicious at the holidays? I made some lemon ricotta cookies that were unlike anything I’ve ever eaten before – not too sweet and very moist! They went together so quick and easy. Head on over to The Gift of Goodness blog to grab the recipe and check out all of the other fantastic contributions throughout the season. (And for the diabetics in the audience, there’s already one recipe up that isn’t sweet, so you can find some ideas for yourself as well!)

I Love Primitive Prints

2010-11-23T14:40:00.001-08:00

There is a great primitive prints quilt shop just north of me in Longview, WA. I first learned of them years and years ago at the Portland Quilt Expo when I bought a few stacks of fat quarters. As much as I love modern and modern fabrics, I will always love the traditional prints and quilts. I know there are a lot of new (and probably experienced) quilters that say “Oh, I don’t like traditional quilts” but it’s really all about the fabric choices you make and the pattern you pair it with, not the designer name or manufacturer. I’m willing to bet seeing this stack of fabric will make a few “modern” enthusiast rethink traditional…at least a little bit. I picked out these fabrics, not to go together, but because I liked each of them. But wouldn’t you know it, they work together so well that I think they will all need to be in a quilt together (that happens more often than I realize). I haven’t decided on a pattern for it yet, but I will. After the holidays. Because apparently Christmas time = no time around here.

Lucky #97

2010-11-22T20:40:00.001-08:00

That was our random number of the day! Congratulations #97. I bet you’d rather have a name than a number, huh? Congratulations to Jeni! If you’ve never been by Jeni’s blog, you’ll want to head that way as soon as you’re done here. So cute and creative and she has a great Etsy shop where she sells vintage sheet fat quarters! I haven’t really been up to much the past few days. I took some photos for friends for their Christmas card and we went down to the Pearl District for part of it (that’s where this photo was taken) and met up with a blog friend from out of town. We had a great time, I love meeting up with her and I’m glad she comes to Portland often. I got to meet her sister as well and had so much fun visiting with the two of them. I can’t wait for the next time.

I’m working on a custom quilting job right now for Michelle. It’s been a blast and I love the “doodling” on the quilt. It’s a nice change from the usual all-over design. We also have had a little snow yesterday and it’s accumulating again, but it wont stick around for long. Still, an inch or two is a nice surprise for us here. We are usually cold and wet, but never seem to have the right conditions for snow at our elevation. I am going to print up some more owls tonight, so I will add a few more of those to the shop soon.

Sewing Mini Calendars

2010-11-19T14:43:00.001-08:00

Alright, the first batch of sewing mini calendars are listed in the shop! I love these little guys, the fit perfectly in my wallet, or on my desk on a mini easel. I have a few away last year as gifts and they were a hit!

They are “wallet” size (roughly 2” x 3”) and make a nice small gift for inside stockings or for acquaintances that you don’t quite know what to gift, but need to stay on a budget. The little easels can be found at Joann’s with the canvases.

I didn’t print any of this set yet, but it is available (with 2011 calendar dates of course) if anyone is interested. I have everything printed at a lab, so it would require a minimum order and a few days for me to get it out. I gifted this set to the men in my life last year, seeing as how none of them sew.

I also made this little owl block print mini quilt. I don’t know why, but it took me a few weeks to get it done, mostly because I had to sit down and hand stitch and just didn’t have the time to do that. I finished binding it last night at the Portland Modern Quilt Guild meeting. I love being able to do that! He’s in the shop, too!

Scandinavian Stitches–Don’t Wait To Own It!

2010-11-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

I have had a copy of the Scandinavian Stitches book in my hands for a month or so now and have thumbed through it more times than I can count. It is a rare find in a craft book for me, in that I love it for inspiration and love making the projects from it. Most of my craft books seem to be for inspiration. Rarely do I seem to find the time to actually follow the directions and make something from them.

That was not the case with this book, I made not one, but two projects from it! Kajsa’s blog, Syko, was one of the first blogs I read when I found out that there was such a thing as a craft blog.

I absolutely loved her birds mini quilt and how it was outline stitched with black thread (in fact, it inspired me to create this mini quilt for a swap). I’ve watched her creativity grow and expand and have always loved what she makes, and her book is no exception.

The instructions are well written and easy to understand. Photos accompany each project and there are lovely sketches to help you along the way. Something you don’t see in most craft books, that I just love, is that most of the pattern pieces are right with the pattern instructions. There’s no going to the back of the book and hunting down the right pieces. This is very helpful!

The photographs are so inspiring and eye catching. Her choice in fabrics was perfect as well as the projects they adorn. If you find yourself liking what you see on her blog, then you will definitely want to own a copy of this book. I know a lot of you are going to say “It’s on my Christmas list!” but I honestly wouldn’t wait that long. Each of the chapters is broken down by season, and there is a Yule chapter full of great ideas for this holiday season – one of which was the little tomte I made (above).

Scandinavian Stitches is full of projects and gives you just the most basic of overview of techniques. There is 21 projects including a quilted basket, mini quilt, pillows, larger quilts, softies, zipper pouches and more! A little bit of everything for everyone in Kajsa’s signature style.

Now for the part that involves you – thanks to the generosity of Stash books, just leave a comment below to enter for your chance to win a [well thumbed through] copy of this book, and this adorable set of cards provided by Kajsa, displaying her original artwork. I will choose one winner on Monday. Don’t forget to visit the other blogs on the tour to find out more about Kajsa and her fantastic book! The blog tour continues tomorrow and all next week!

November 19th – Pikaland
November 22nd – Lucykate Quilts
November 23rd – Whip-Up
November 24th – Peikonpoika
November 25th – Patchwork Pottery
November 26th – All Sorts

PB+J BFFs

2010-11-17T15:06:00.001-08:00

Finished! Linen is always fun to work with…here I went a little crooked on one side of stitching – but that’s okay! Now I just need to figure out where I'm going to hang it. The craft room for sure, but which wall…

The pattern is by The Frosted Pumpkin and can be found here. Thanks for a great patter, Amanda! Don’t forget to stop by tomorrow for my review and giveaway of Scandinavian Stitches!

Didn’t Quite Finish

2010-11-15T16:57:00.001-08:00

I wasn’t quite able to finish this project while it was still light outside (4:30p and it’s already dark?!"). I had to run out to Joann’s for some thread in the right color.

And while I was there, I found this totally adorable fabric! It’s actually printed on some quality {for Joann’s} fabric, which is nice. I’m not sure what to do with it yet, but thought it might make a cute backing on small wall quilts or ornaments. I just couldn’t pass it up!