Christmas Stitching

After a short week of supposed tidying up in my studio and being highly distracted by all the interesting things that are in there to do, I finally got down to business this past weekend and started stitching up a few Christmas gifts.

Do any of the rest of you do your gift stitching in December?

For the 26 years I owned a quilt shop here in Northeast Ohio, from Thanksgiving through Christmas was a slow business period -- all we sold were gift certificates and a few sewing machines.

So I would spend those quiet days stitching up the family Christmas gifts.

Pleasant habits die hard!!

The minute I saw this delightful fabric with rows of vintage trailers, I knew I was going to make a shirt for my 8 year old grandson who loves to CAMP!!  If there's a gal in his future, she better enjoy sleeping outdoors and cooking over a campfire and paddling around a lake with a fishing pole.

Stuck at home by the very snowy weather on Friday (think 18" of heavy wet snow), I did a "google" search for "boy's shirt patterns" and found this gem!  The Keagan Shirt by ModKid.  It has four variations inspired by mid-century men's wear (yep, the 50's when we were kids). 

It's a PDF download that has to be printed and assembled -- I found the shop on Etsy HERE.  This is my second PDF garment pattern experience and this time I used my light table to align the pieces -- brilliant!!  The size range goes from 2T through boys 10.  Between the size range and all the style variations, the pattern is a great value!

One of the parts of making clothes that I still find intimidating are collars but this one went on beautifully.  The designer uses 1/4" seam allowances for the collar assembly and attachment -- what a sensible idea -- the narrower seam eliminated the "tucks and pinches" in the shaped areas!  

And there was no trimming of seams! 

I even realized before I cut out the collar pieces that I needed to consider the directional print so the trailers weren't upside down in the finished shirt! 

Easiest collar I've ever attached. 

Like most long time seamstresses, I have a good supply of this and that in the studio.  I keep a couple yards of lightweight fusible interfacing on hand (just in case) and lots of buttons (my second favorite sewing supply after fabric).

It took a little digging and sorting but there were two cards of the perfect buttons whose original purpose has long been forgotten. 

I love being able to shop in the studio!

Buttonholes done, hems stitched, buttons sewn on and it was ready to wrap before I knew it!  The serger was even called into action!

All his grown-up gals (aunts) think it's pretty cool so I hope he thinks so as well!

It won't be my last make of this pattern!

The fabric is On The Road from Robert Kaufman Fabrics.

The pattern is the Keagan Shirt from ModKid - it's Patty Young's pattern company - her name was new to me, but she also designs cute modern fabrics -- her current collection with Riley Blake is Acorn Valley.  You can check out more of her patterns HERE and read her blog HERE.

Back to the studio to knock out another FINISH!!

Hope your week is going smoothly!

Mary

When is "googling" like quilting?

Who doesn't love FINISHING a project?  But there is one piece of it that I struggle with -- the "aftermath" -- that moment when I have to make a decision about what to do next?!?

It shouldn't really be that difficult for a person with a dozen or more projects in flux most of the time but that "which" question is often the beginning of a spasm of "proquiltination"
(it's a form of being distracted, but in a productive way!?!).

I think I first saw that word on Instagram and it describes perfectly what has been happening here for the past few days.

There are a couple Christmas deadlines looming but the perfect storm of finishing a project, tidying up the studio, and coming to the end of my current "leaders and enders" project distracted me from the deadlines. 
Here's what has happened.
I have finished piecing this set of 25 pineapple blocks which have been my "leaders and enders" for the past couple months.

 I needed to find another set of neglected blocks to use as "leaders and enders" so I started diving into tubs.  Tub diving always sets off a chain of events similar to "googling" around the web --

so many things to rediscover and distract!!

All this came out of this tub (and is now back in the tub) but I didn't find what I was seeking?! 

I did find this gem from a couple years ago -- still love it, must work on it so up on the work wall it went for some pondering so I can get back to work on it after the New Year.

This was the project I was seeking -- my daughter's version of my pattern, Mississippi Mud.  It has been passing back and forth between the two of us for several years. 

There were only 8 blocks left to piece and I'd like to get this quilt finished.  Fortunately, they were in the second tub!!

I pulled everything out, organized the sewing table, and started to clear off the cutting table so I can cut out the cute shirt I'm going to make for my grandson for Christmas. 

That's where I came across this block -- it's an experiment based on a quilt, Color Me Crochet designed by Lissa Alexander and featured in the April 2013 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting.  I think it will be a great charity quilt and use up quilt a few of the overflowing box of scrappy 2 1/2" strips on the bottom shelf of the cutting table. 

 There were two more blocks but I really like this "accidental" fabric combination and the box is right there, so I might as well dig out all the green, brown, red, and gold strips and put them together.

Not a very tidy looking assortment you say?

That's because I made a second block just to confirm my inspiration -- this block felt a bit somber.

So, I pulled out the two corner single squares and replaced them with gold.

So much better!!

I made one more block to confirm my plan of how to organize the values in the blocks and make a couple more Mississippi Mud blocks at the same time.  Up and down, up and down between the sewing machine and the ironing board -- at some point, as I sat back down at the machine, the excitable part of my brain (it's working on the hexie piece on the design wall) remembers this box!!

It's a set of pieced braid variations from about 12 years ago -- a wonderful assortment of greens and blues.  My brain has decided the hexie piece needs to be a little wider and maybe taller -- would those braids work?

Maybe? 

My in-house consultant thinks it's too busy, but I'm still undecided.  And it's such a good "leader and ender" project that I'm extending it just in case.

I did get the last few blocks of Mississippi Mud pieced and set together -- I'll quilt this after the first of the year in four sections and get it onto my daughter's bed finally!!

The scrappy quilt is growing and I've got my fabric mojo perking. (I'm only allowed to piece one block a day because I could spend all day puttering at this one.)  I also cleared all the blue strips out of the box and turned them over to one of the gals in my charity quilting group who had never pieced one of those jelly roll 1600" quilts. 

I think my daughter might be right about the braid and the hexies.

The sewing table is cleared again and I really must attend to the sewing deadlines but it was fun to proquiltinate for a few days.  Progress was made, a new "good deed" project is well underway, and my creative brain is engaged!!

Time to quit proquiltinating and get focused.

Cold winds are blowing down across Lake Erie for the next few days which means snow, snow, and more snow.  Stitching and knitting are top my weekend to-do list! 

Hopefully you'll be able to make some stitching time as well!!

Mary



EPP Wafers Finish

It's that time of year again here in Northeast Ohio -- the gloomies have officially arrived -- one gray day after another.  The grass is quite green thanks to lots of rain this fall, but soon it will be covered with snow. 

 We know the sun is still out there, it peaks through the clouds every so often but until that big body of water (Lake Erie) to the north of us freezes over for the winter, we have to make our own sunshine. 

This is my newest bit of sunshine!  Just finished the binding last evening!

It's an EPP pattern named Wafers from Nellie's Niceties (see it HERE).

I came across the pattern late this summer and was intrigued by the arrangement of the shapes.  

This is the third piece in my series of small projects challenging myself to get comfortable using a wide assortment of Kaffe Fassett (and associates) prints together. 

In this one, I combined batiks with them and focused on a warm versus cool combination of fabrics to achieve contrast in the piece.

I apparently didn't take many pictures of it during the piecing but this was handpieced EPP style and then appliqued to the background print.  It was suppose to be a large pillow to use in the living room with the first two finishes I made (see HERE and HERE) for this personal challenge.

There was a change of plans after the piece was appliqued to the background.

This "naked" ottoman became it's destiny! 

The top cushion lifts up just enough that I can tuck a small quilt over the top of it allowing me to change the look of the ottoman.  That's perfect since I rotate the quilts in the living room with every season.

Willie would like to show you some more close-ups?

The gray of the background and the borders makes the colors of the motif shine which is a relief because every fabric choice I made for this piece required lots of auditioning and finally going with the best option available in my stash!  The only new fabric purchased was the border print and thanks to Cori at Olive Grace Studios, that was the easiest fabric pick!!

I hand quilted 1/4" inside each shape with pearle cotton

I enjoy "big stitch" quilting more and more -- I love the relaxed nature of the process and the finished look! 

I machine quilted a basic 1" grid for the background and border quilting - easy and a nice contrast for the central motif.

Using this print for the binding was a stretch -- my first thought was a darker gray . . . . but did you know that not all grays are the same??  Of course, I knew that but now I really know that!!  This print was in the "Kaffe" stack and it had all the colors, so . . . . .

I did it and it works!

Here's all three pieces (being modeled by Willie of course) hanging out together -- they won't live on the front porch but that's where the best light exists this morning.  This is finish #3 from my 2016 Finish Along 4th quarter list (HERE) -- so pleased about that!

Time to get back to the UFO's! 

There are only 7 blocks left to piece (between decorating and baking for Christmas) for this version of my Mississippi Mud pattern and it will be ready to layer and quilt. 

Have a blessed week!!

Mary

6's and 7's?!?

While the source of this expression which dates to the mid-1500's in England is not entirely clear, the meaning of the phrase in modern English is generally agreed to be "a state of confusion and disorder".  That state is where I found myself today.

 

I woke up at the leisurely hour of 8:15 and then puttered through much of the morning so that by 11:30 I could feel the frustration beginning to overwhelm me.

 

I know from experience that the "munchies" aren't far off and there's never anything to eat!!!

 

Time to take action and pull myself together!

It isn't that there is nothing to do around here.

 

The car needs to unloaded from yesterday's work session with my good deed quilting pals.

The back porch needs cleared off -- gardening is done so none of this stuff is going to be used for six months and if I leave it there much longer, I'll be annoyed when the first snow needs to be cleared off the porch. 

I still have three or four days of quilting left to do on this piece -- wish I could make up my mind about the design for the sashing.  Need to do more experimenting.

It would be good to plant these today while it's not raining!! 

There was some daydreaming on Pinterest and Ravelry until I had a stern conversation with myself about not needing any new project ideas at this particular moment.

Must do something productive!!

A brisk walk to the mail box and a green smoothie helped calm some of the agitation!

But I still needed to focus in on doing something.

It's December 1 -- time to take down the fall quilts and put up the winter quilts and some Christmas decorations.  Nah!!

Maybe some tidy up time in the studio? 

 That often helps so I tried that.  This box has been sitting on the cutting table for a couple months -- do I even know what is in it?

So that's where these scissors have been all this time!?!  And the glove . . . . and that spool of thread . . . . . . and the little square.  

In the process of putting the box and it's contents where they belong, I realized I had left this piece on my sewing table ready for some machine quilting.  It helps to make those decisions when my brain is calm.  So I sat down and went to work -- an hour went by and I made progress on this piece. 

I settled on writing this silly post because sometimes I forget that when I see all the lovely work the rest of you are accomplishing and how orderly your lives look, I forget that I'm looking at the highlights of your life and can't see the frustrations and hiccups you experience.  

Maybe you do the same? 

Perhaps today felt upside down because I was all at 7's and 6's?

With a little planning today,  I hope that tomorrow, they'll be back in the correct numeric order?

 

Make it a good weekend, folks!!

 

Mary

 

I did clear out the car and I'll clean off the porch first thing tomorrow morning (probably in the rain).