Making Twine

A few weeks ago I found a new-to-me blog, Hester's Handmade Home.  Her youtube page has this super cool tutorial for making fabric twine.  At first I was like, sure, that's cool, but I'd rather make a string quilt.  But then, last week I tried to destash some scraps on facebook and instagram.. and even after filling and shipping boxes to other scrap loving friends, I still had SO MANY SCRAPS.

Like, so many.  It was obvious that I had tons and tons of strings that will probably never end up in any quilt, as much as I would like them to.  So I recruited George to help pull strings of desired width and length, and I started twisting..

And twisting and twisting and twisting.  It's pretty easy and kind of addictive.  I only stopped when my arms started to hurt.  It's very easy to change colors, absolutely no stitching involved.

I made enough to wind around the tree as garland and called it a day.  Very simple and fast project, used up some neglected scraps.. like this sheet music print that had been sitting in a bin since.. 2007??  Also great for the selvages I tear off and collect but never use.  1" wide was my minimum, but the portions that swelled to 2" were nice and hefty, giving the rope a nice weight.  Overall it doesn't really matter.  This "twine" isn't going to be weight bearing, and if it lasts for 2 or 3 Christmases, that's good enough for me.   I like having handmade on the tree (and everywhere, really) and George commented that he likes that our tree has ornaments of all shapes and sizes.

I definitely don't feel like I'm back in the loop again with all things crafty and bloggy and quilt industry-esque.  It's an awful lot to keep up with and I did voluntarily take myself out of the online quilt community for.. far too long.  Now it's kind of exciting to "discover" things and trends that other people have tried and gotten tired of already, but hey, I work at my own pace, always have.  What were your most and least favorite quilts-trends-bloggers from 2016?  Scrolling through Instagram all year, I can say there definitely were some popular ideas that... didn't quite fit with me.  But I'm curious to see what everyone else seems to think.   Have you discovered anything new?  Taken up a whole new hobby all together?   Even stopped quilting (Gasp!!)?  Please, do tell..

Monday Morning Star Count 2014/41

Someone gave me puppy dog eyes at this weekend's NYC Metro Mod guild meeting and asked me to keep posting the star counts.  Of course I want to, but the weeks just get away from me.. but I'll try to be better, because there's a whole community of EPPers out there!  And you guys need a place to connect and be accountable :)

I've started taking my EPP box with me everywhere again and I've been lucky to find some stitching time at Tae Kwon Do.  This project has a deadline fast approaching, so it has been bumped up on the priority list.   Is anybody else working on something with a deadline?

So, who's been stitching?

Monday Morning Star Count 2014/35

I didn't sew a single thing this week.  But we did our best to make the most of the last days of summer vacation..

And this one of George and Grama in Chicago..

Did anybody stitch this week?  Link up!

Monday Morning Star Count 2014/11

Is spring here?  I think it might be, but then again, I'm writing this post ahead of schedule and the forecast is predicting snow for Monday..
Anyway, I've been very productive this week.. the boys helped me sort through some scraps one afternoon and I've got a nice basket full of hexie-diamond hopefuls.

 I figure I better not cut too many now in case I change my mind about the colors.  I have pulled a lot of purples, pinks and oranges, and I'm not sure if I'll want to stick with that when I actually get around to stitching them.  I let George help and select the fabrics for the rings around the bird hexies-- one uses a blue scrap from the quilt on his bed, I wonder if he recognizes it.  They are definitely not fabrics I would have picked to go together, so these two bird blocks will be all George, and that's just fine by me.  I hope by the time I reach the other side of the quilt, Jack will be old enough to contribute his preferences too.

So, show us what you've got!

Monday Morning Star Count 2014/9

135 stars.. that's how many are in Merrill's quilt.

 She brought it over this weekend with some fabric and a deal-- if I bind it, I can bring it along for my trunk shows.  I've got a lecture/trunkshow coming up on Tuesday, so it was pretty easy to agree to this idea.
The quilt is for Sabrina, who proudly pointed out fabrics to George.  I, of course, loved seeing the two of them pour over it like true quilters' children.  You can read more about the quilt in Merrill's guest post here.

I am so lucky to get to keep this quilt in my house for a while, it brightens up the whole living room!  We made the quilts simultaneously and even though there are a lot of shared fabrics between the two, they look completely different (to me anyway, what do you think?).  There is a pic of them side by side here.  

For this week's progress report, I have bits and pieces to show.. most of diamond #4 and the start of #5.. 

I may be teaching this pattern at a workshop next weekend, so I need some "in progress" pieces to explain how I assemble the block.  Yeah, that's a bad excuse, but I'm sticking with it..

Please tell me you have all been more productive?

 

Color

 George and I have been having an ongoing discussion about color.
George is in Kindergarten and his favorite color is PINK.  He loves pink, gets very happy when he sees it somewhere, and I usually try to give him the pink plate from our rainbow set of kid dishes (thanks IKEA).  In Pre-K, his favorite color was grey, and before that, green.  When he chooses his own clothing or accessories though, he often picks red.

The most recent conversation arose when he was telling me what happened at school.  I don't remember the context (or he didn't explain it), but he told the other kids his favorite color was pink and one boy said, "But that's a GIRL color!"  and (I get all proud here) George replied, "No, any color can be for anybody.  My mom's favorite color is blue."  and the kid says, "MY favorite color is blue, that's a BOY color."  and then something about how I'm strange for liking an obviously boy color.

So we talked, George and I, at our kitchen table with its blue and white plaid table cloth, green and grey-purple walls, and rainbow colored dishes.  We talked about what colors are for boys and what colors are for girls (anything for anybody), and if that even makes sense (no, that's silly), and why the kids in his class might believe things about color differently than what our family believes.
We talked about marketing-- companies want kids to ask their parents to buy things.  Companies make pink things for girls and don't  make pink things for boys (except for our rainbow dishes, thanks again IKEA).
We also talked about having older sisters and brothers.  The opinionated kid at school has an older sister. There's probably a lot of pink things in his house that he's not allowed to touch.  They belong to his sister, hence, PINK also belongs to his sister.  He probably never even had the option of liking it.
After siblings, we discussed parents, namely the parents' style.  This kid's mother is very stylish (and beautiful, btw), sleek black hair, long black coat, black boots.  So I asked, "George, what's E's mom's favorite color probably?"  "Black"  "is black a girl color?"  "No."  And we brought up examples of the colors we choose to wear.  My winter coat is white (poor choice with little kids, I now know), George's is bright blue (guess who chose it?), and Jack's is navy (hand-me-down).  Thankfully, he's not too picky about clothes yet, so I can still get him to wear just about anything.  I wonder when that will change..
I also brought up the parents' jobs.  What colors does dad see and use every day? (White for papers and books, black for his laptop and pens, red for when he corrects homework).  What colors does mom see and use every day?  (Every color!) This also influences how our family feels about color.

We very very briefly touched on cultural norms and gender issues (I didn't want to make the discussion too complicated and I also didn't want to alert him to societal baggage he hadn't figured out yet).  Like that time the girl cousins were painting their nails and I painted his too, and then Dad and his mom freaked out?  Yeah.  I wanted him to be prepared to receive some shock when expressing his color preferences, but to still be able to stand his ground.  I mostly wanted him to know that his opinions and feelings are supported by his family, and that it's ok to change your mind about the things you like, but you don't have to change your mind just because your friends want you to.
I felt the conversation went well, but I still think it's hard to support kids as individuals in this gender-obsessed society.  I'd love to hear how you guys have handled similar topics with your kids, thanks.

Strings with Lime

I have been making a quilt this fall for a 4 year old I have never met.  Her mom asked me to make it and I couldn't say no.  This is my first commissioned quilt.   I posted a bit about it at the beginning, but this quilt has really dominated my sewing time over the past 3 months and I'm happy to finally  have time to share some more of it.

I have loved working on this quilt.  It measures 80" x 87" and it is the first full sized bed quilt I have made and quilted myself.  I've done kings and twins, and plenty of throws, but never a full.  It's a shame I'm not keeping it, I really need a quilt on that full sized guest bed...

 

 The back is Sketch flannel in Royal and it is amazing!  I may just be a flannel back convert after this one.  I pieced Madelyn's name into the back-- the letters are about 4" high.  I hope she likes it.

 I cut and attached the binding to the front today, and plan to spend blissful hours tomorrow hand stitching it down.  That sounds like the perfect way to spend my birthday~

The quilt has taken me longer than I expected.  Is it that the foundation string piecing was more involved than I remembered, or my free time more scarce?  Either way, I made it as fast as I could.  Like every quilt, I learned a lot with this one.  It's the largest piece I've ever quilted on my Janome, and it fit just fine (for the record, I could probably do a queen..).  I underestimated how much thread I'd need to quilt it and ended up waiting in line at JoAnn's on Black Friday.  Never want to do that again (though buy one. get one free is a hard deal to pass up).  I also underestimated how tired I'd be at the end of each day, and how short Jack's naps would be.
When George was a baby, I remember getting a lot of sewing done while he napped.  Somehow I thought things would be the same this time around, but I'll tell you, the biggest shock I had this fall was how much I wanted to be with George when Jack was asleep.  If I'd turn on the tv and sneak off to sew, I felt guilty leaving him alone.  I missed him. 
Other moms of 2 or more can probably relate.  I spent so much time this year focused on the baby, feeding, changing, pureeing, packing and repacking the diaper bag, pushing the stroller.  I miss the feeling of George's hand in mine as we walk to school.  It's like I blinked and he went from being 2 1/2 to being 5.  I can barely pick him up and he doesn't fit in my lap anymore. 
Something has changed (is changing?).  I used to be me first.  A person, a woman, a Smithie, a quilter.  But now, no.  Now I'm Mom first. 
So this quilt took me a long time, but it helped me discover this change, see who I am now.  And I'm glad I can write that here, because I'm not sure non-quilters would quite understand.  I love this quilt, and I'm happy the end is near.  I hope to have it in the mail this weekend and let it become part of someone else's story.

Arts and Crafts-- Suggestions Please!

George starts Kindergarten this week and while that's really exciting, I'm also feeling a bit overwhelmed and under-prepared..

We went to the orientation last week and the teachers gave us an idea of the curriculum and activities the kids will work through.  It seems like it's very focused and academic, which is great, but they made it seem like the kids won't have much time for arts, crafts, music and phys. ed.  All that falls back on me then..

While I've always been good at seasonal crafting with George, I feel like I've got to step it up this fall because he won't have the creative outlet at school (his Pre-K was VERY crafty).  So, do you have any suggestions of your favorite fall crafts for kids?  Indoor, outdoor, messy, calm.. I'm open to all ideas.  If you can send links, photos, descriptions, that would really help.   I used to be so good about pinning things to Pinterest, but now I just don't have the time to browse and get sucked in, you know?  I will go back to my "Being a mom" board, but this week, any help you give will be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!!

Monday Morning Star Count 11

Welcome to the final Star Count of the summer~
How did you do?  I hope our weekly tallies helped you get a bit more stitching done.  I know I accomplished a lot with this reminder.. I actually found direction for a project that otherwise might have stalled after 2 or 3 stars. 
I'm happy to show that I reached my goal of 7 stars, and I started putting them together with neutral background diamonds in a 7 Sisters pattern.  This pattern was so fun and so easy, that I really hope to continue and see if it can grow into a quilt. 

I may have done more this summer, but I have a confession to make-- my fingers hurt.  Not from quilting, but from playing Super Mario Bros. on Wii.  See, George discovered the game and we've been playing.. first I'd play and he'd watch.  Then we learned how to play with 2 remotes.  I am NOT a big video game player, but it is addictive and I may or may not have played for a while after he went to bed on some nights.  It's fun, but that Wii remote is hell on my thumbs!  After 30 minutes of Mario, I couldn't hand piece for a day! 
This is "balance"though, and in the long run (and now) I value the time spent with George more than having a quilt finished sooner.  As soon as he's back in school though...  I've got great plans to pull out the sewing machine, a big box of strips and strings, and make something!

Thank you to everyone who has participated in the Star Count this summer.  Who's got something to show for the last week?

Handmade Happiness

Sometimes there are people that come into your life that are so special, you don't know how to express your love in any way other than making them a quilt.
Of course, I would love to make quilts for everyone I love, and I hope I get to some day.  Like for my grandmothers, and all my aunts.  For my cousins and all their children... maybe one day.
But sometimes, the timing is just right, and you'll find yourself with a person, an event, and just enough time to make them a quilt. 
Little B lives next door. 

She and George get along pretty well and her family has taken us in, treating us as one of their own, inviting us to every family party and making us feel not so alone out here. 

So when the invitation came for her birthday party a few weeks ago, I knew this was the year I'd make her a quilt.
I had some maverick star blocks in my UFO pile so I pulled them out, made a few more, squared them up, and added some sweet sashing.

 A big pink border and some swirly quilting and I had just the quilt I needed.  I won't lie, it was tough to get it pulled together in the 10 days I did.  I stayed up too late a few too many nights and for as happy as I was to quilt, I really think I should sleep more to keep my family happy. 

It didn't end up very big, just big enough for a little girl to cuddle under. 

I'm having fun reworking old UFOs this year.. it's making me look at my stash and quiltmaking in a new light and it's been refreshing.  I also like making smaller quilts (wasn't I complaining about that the last time?), they are just so much more manageable for the amount of time I have now.  Big projects seem so overwhelming and... messy.  I do want to get a new quilt (king size) on our bed before the end of the year, but we'll have to see how our routine changes when the school year begins.  For now, I'll keep piecing hexagons to keep my fingers busy, enjoy the quilts I have around me, and keep daydreaming of all the other things I hope to make someday.

Blog Tour Day 4-- Victoria at BumbleBeans

When I die, I want to go live in Victoria's scrap bins.

George sure had fun in them at Victoria's retreat in 2011!

But until then I think I'll keep making scrap quilts and blogging about them.  (plenty of Victoria's scraps made it into projects in the book, btw.. p. 58, p. 63, p. 71...)

The tour continues over at Victoria's blog today.. if you haven't browsed around her site lately, take some time to do that-- there's loads of scrappy goodness over there.  And if you're looking for a way to harness your scraps (while unleashing your creativity), pick up a copy of V's book, 15 Minutes of Play.  Endless inspiration...

Ok, back to my own book tour:

June 11     Lesly at Stitch Literate           http://pickledish.blogspot.com

June 12     Clare at Selfsewn                  http://selfsewn.blogspot.com/

June 13     Christina at A Few Scraps      http://afewscraps.blogspot.com/

June 14     Victoria @ Bumblebeans        http://bumblebeansinc.blogspot.com/

June 15     Amanda Jean at Crazymomquilts   http://www.crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/

June 16     Laura at Quokka Quilts                http://quokkaquilts.blogspot.com/

June 17     Lucy at Charm About You            http://www.charmaboutyou.com/

June 18     Katy at I'm A Ginger Monkey          http://www.imagingermonkey.blogspot.com/

June 19     Ara Jane at What Ara Jane Loves        http://whatarajaneloves.blogspot.com/

June 20     Kathy at Pink Chalk Studio Blog          http://www.pinkchalkstudio.com/blog/

June 21     Jessica at Life Under Quilts                http://lifeunderquilts.blogspot.com/

Have you used the paperpieces.com coupon yet?  20% off with the code UNDER20
If you buy something, leave me a comment telling me what shape/size templates you're going to try~

One Month

Here he is, my Prince Charming, at one month old:

We have been having the best time, and though things haven't returned to the "new normal" yet (MIL is still here and helping out A LOT), I'm sure they will fall into place as the weeks move on.

I finished Jack's baby quilt a couple weeks ago:

(Excuse the crappy postpartum mom-hair)

A take on Denyse Schmidt's "Any Way You Slice It" pattern, which I have never seen, but followed instructions for here at Blue Elephant Stitches.  It was fun and easy, and I realized I love it so much because most of the fabrics are ones I bought myself (as opposed to scraps or unwanted fabric I received from friends).  The palette is "me" but masculine, and I love that he's already been using it..

(You may have seen a similar photo on Helen's blog, she's a better blogger than I am, hehe)

We also received a gift quilt in the mail last week, all the way from Hokkaido~
(will edit to add a photo soon!)
Thank you Mrs. K!!  I miss you~~~

Catch the moment

This morning George got up early (I had a good night sleep, thank goodness), and was feeling creative I guess.  He said he wanted to paint.

Why not?  7:30 in the morning?  I didn't have to go to work, what else should we have been doing? So he painted.

He made a picture of Thumper's family in their burrow from the book "Thumper and his Sisters"


photo borrowed from here: http://otherstuffexists.wordpress.com/2011/07/13/thumpers-little-sisters/

We read the book a few nights ago and I was really happy to see him want to draw/paint a picture of something, because most of his recent artwork is more on the abstract side.

This is still pretty abstract, but when he points out what each shape is supposed to be, it's pretty easy to follow.  I'm happy that he can express himself and that I was patient and open to the idea of an early morning art session.  Hell, I'm most creative in the early morning, I shouldn't be surprised that he is too. 
When do you feel most creative?

Got my hopes up..

This week seemed to get off to a great start.  George went back to school after 2 weeks of Easter break and I had the kitchenette and the morning to myself.  I turned on the radio and went about rearranging furniture to make a good sewing set-up..

 I moved the table over so I could plug in the sewing machine (finally!),

 (a view from the opposite angle)

And I set up a cutting area and the ironing board.  It was working out really well.  I even sewed a belated bee block for Mary~

I played on line, caught up on blogs, and even got inspired to sew something totally not on my sewing to-do list (more on that later), but then.. it all came to a screeching halt.
George got sick again (2nd time in 3 weeks) and has been home from school for the past 2 days.  I moved all the furniture back and put the sewing machine away.  Yesterday we played playdoh on the table and the little sofa is again covered in laundry to be folded/ironed.  I am back to hand stitching in front of the tv while I try to feed him and keep him from getting cabin fever.  
My big quilting projects are crawling along at a snails pace.  Maybe I'll have better luck next week?

Easter

 So Easter (which seems to last forever here) has come and gone..
It brought with it lots of church, lots of candles, and way too much food (though not enough chocolate, and absolutely NO marshmallow peeps!)
A good time was had by all, but somewhere in the middle both George and Costas got sick, and now we're just hoping for a quick recovery for both. 
Unfortunately with only one "briza" (plug converter), I can only charge one device at a time, and it's usually the cell phone or the laptop that wins, leaving the poor camera battery to never see a full charge, and hence, not enough photos of any of the Easter festivities.  I did manage to get the above shot of Geoge before he got too dirty, but we missed out on a family shot of the 3 of us.  It's really cute, I think he's looking more and more like Costas every day. 

Once everyone is healthy again we'll try for another photo.. maybe this weekend at George's name-day party?  We'll see..