Quilting Bee Spotlight: Neutral and Not II

It feels like time for a bee block post!  In 2012, we wrapped up Neutral and Not, a 12-month bee that I created after being inspired by the red and white quilt show in NYC a few years ago. I profiled our first six assignments earlier, and here are the rest:

June 2012:

Wayyy back in June, Tiffany sent out black, white, and splashes of color, requesting that we make anything we wanted using half-square triangles.  Just the kind of "guided freedom" that makes bees so much fun! I made a modified version of the star block in this tutorial.

Quilted Zipper Pouch Mania

Now that the holidays are over and these have been gifted (and hopefully filled with whatever useful things the recipients like!) I'm happy to present the bulk of my handmade holiday gifts: Quilted Zipper Pouch Mania 2012!

I must admit that I kept this one for myself. 

To make these, I used various zippers and printed linen scraps to make pouches of various sizes, just determined by how big my scrap was.  I quilted the linen onto batting scraps, and used just fabric for the lining.  

I perused a few tutorials and this one pretty much sums it up and is quite clear.  

One tough spot is sewing over the zipper and figuring out how to incorporate topstitching, especially since I used one continuous piece of fabric for the exteriors. Doing it like this and cutting the linen into two pieces might have solved my topstitching challenges.

As usual, one of my favorite parts was picking out coordinating fabrics for the lining. And, of course, sharing the products for the holidays.  Happy New Year!

Holiday Questions

Right now, it seems like I'm being bombarded.

On the radio, on tv, in the grocery store, everywhere, it's the same question right now: "Are you getting ready for the holidays at the last minute?"

My answer? Yes. Absolutely.

What's more, I've convinced myself it's more fun that way. Have I made cookies? Heck no, I'm "saving" them.  Have I wrapped presents?  Nope, why would I want to spoil the fun of staying up real late on Christmas eve? Did I make my own spray painted ornaments that I saw on Pinterest?  Don't ask.

Time is not on my side this year.

To scrape together some handmade presents, which seemed quicker than going shopping, I decided to make a few glasses cases.  They're a hybrid of a zip pouch (without a zipper...) and these journal covers. You could make them scrappy or fancy, but I was going for speed and fun with these.  My favorite part was picking out a contrasting lining fabric.

 All you need is some scraps of fabric, batting, hair ties, and buttons. I cut 2 rectangles of outer fabric, and two of inner, at about 4.5 x 9 inches to accomodate larger glasses. I stitched the outer pieces to some batting, and put them all together as you would a zip pouch.

Some other secret (ahem, not finished yet) gifts to come!

What?

A month since my last post?  Apparently. 

I while back, I was approached with a request for a custom baby quilt like this one, only done in  beige, brown, and cream.  Oh, light blue, navy and gray could be included, too, in little bits.  

Needless to say, using a constrained and subdued palette was a challenge for me, but I was able to work with the customer to incorporate fabrics we both liked, with enough of a range of values to make the improv log cabins look interesting.  

I think that while I really enjoy sewing with bright and crazy colors, they aren't necessarily the colors that I would always decorate a room with, so I also was interested in the project for the practical challenge.  

While the original Dewberry trees weren't available in this color range, I found this cute but not cutesy print from the Storyboek line from Birch Fabrics.  

I liked it so much that I fussy cut the cute animals and trees into a strip for the back. 

I had never done a "repeat" quilt before, and I found it to be pretty hard.  It felt more like work than fun, which is what sewing is supposed to be, for me.  I would up LOVING the back of the quilt, though, and I guess that having to repeat the front pushed me to come up with something new that I'd like for the back.  

I quilted it in alternating single and double diagonal lines, bound it up with cute beige dots, and sent it off to its new home all washed and crinkly.  

Vacationland

Maine's state nickname is Vacationland. Really. One word.

Amidst my new summery life of boat rides, sunscreen, and beers in the backyard, I have been sewing, just a little. My current project has to stay secret for a little while, but here's a peek at how things have been going.

I always love to see people's before and after shots, so I quickly snapped this nice pair.  I keep my fabric in an old kitchen cupboard, and getting that thing up a narrow staircase is one of the best achievements of my move.

Before:

(Inspection, of course.)

And after:

(Likely the most organized --mostly by project, few by color-- this space will be for a good long time. Yep, this is neat, for me!)

Did you know...

... that unpacking is just as hard as packing, but with less urgency?  We're settling in, slowly but surely.

Sewing supplies are getting unboxed this afternoon, to be set up in this little windowy nook!

Moving break...

I'm getting ready for a HUGE move at the end of the month, so I won't be around much for a few weeks.

Of course, I've determined that my fabric and sewing supplies should be packed last, just in case I get the itch.  

But other things...

...many other things... are getting packed up.

It's a little stressful.

And flat-out exhausting.

But totally worth it, since this is the prize at the end!

Quilting Bee Spotlight: Neutral and Not

I love my quilting bees, as you can see here, here, and here.  After getting comfortable with their structure and rules, I wanted more, so I decided to start my own!  Neutral and Not was born out of my love of monochromatic quilts.  I'm so drawn to quilts that use limited colors and high contrast to create geometric impact, so I thought this would be a fun framework for a bee.  

(If you're interested, Rachel wrote a fantastic post about bee basics: what they are, how to find one, how to start one!)

The idea for this bee is that, each month, the queen bee can pick a one neutral tone, and one that is decidedly not. Red and white is such a classic, but what about red and bone? Gray and yellow? Aqua and sand? Coal and rose? Flame and stone? Before I got carried away, I also wanted bee members to be able to branch out to whatever colors/ideas they wanted, since I think getting what you want is an important part of a bee.

It can be a lot of work to lead a bee, wrangling 12 members all over the globe, tracking fabrics and blocks and missing members, but these lovely ladies have made it a breeze for me!  We're at a halfway point right now, so I thought I'd share what we've worked on so far.  

November 2011:

In November,  Esther assigned us Dresdens - any kind! - sent out a deep brown and some grassy prints, and changed my life.  I used this tutorial, modified to make the petals smaller.  No more Dresden fear!

January 2012:

After a holiday break, Stephanie asked for dark bird silhouettes on bright wonky tree branches.  I really loved seeing all the other members' blocks coming in for this one, since they were all so creative and different!

February 2012:

For February, Susan sent out some really lovely grays and aquas, requesting wonky log cabins.  This was actually the first time I'd ever made one!

March 2012:

Who doesn't love working with all solids??!  In March, Christina sent us some grays and a gorgeous array of purples, and requested star blocks.  I used this pattern for this little beauty. Christina's star inspiration mosaic is a terrific resource for star patterns, too!

April 2012: 

In April, Melisa took her inspiration from an improvised table runner made up of little strips.  I think this will make such a stunning quilt!

May 2012:

And, for May, Ella sent out grays and rosy tones to make these graphically bold wheel blocks.  Quick to sew up, with stunning results.

Can't wait for the fun to continue! To see the rest of our talented members' work, check out our Flickr photo pool!

Winner(s)!

Well, as it turned out, due to an, um, interesting technology glitch, there are TWO winners for last week's giveaway.

So, the random winners are:

#51, Lindsay, who said: "I like to quilt to get some time alone! :)"

and

#74, Kimberly, who said: "I tend to sew by myself when I am able too, but sometimes little ones and cats come to visit me!"

You'll both be getting some Mendo in the mail soon!

I really loved reading all your comments about the cute furballs, inquisitive children, fun husbands, and serene silences you sew with!  It is also so great to get new ideas for things to watch and listen to.

Thank you so very much to you all for visiting and entering, hope to see you again soon!

Giveaway Day: Mendocino!

I'm so happy it's Sew, Mama, Sew!'s Giveaway Day, where there are all kinds of amazing handmade prizes and sewing and crafting supplies to win this week. It's also a fantasitc way to find new blogs and sources of inspiration. I KNOW I'll just be trolling through all the entries in my free time.

If you're finding your way here from that giveaway mother ship, welcome!  It's so nice to see you!

For one reader, I'm giving away some of the sweetest, softest fabric in my stash: three prints from Heather Ross's much-loved Mendocino line. I've just been letting them sit on a shelf in my fabric cabinet, and they want some fresh air/to be made into something fabulous!

1 Fat Quarter of Giant Octopi ~ Blush
1 Fat Quarter of Seahorses~Rust
1 (regular) Quarter yard of Swim Class~Sunset

(They've all been pre-washed.)

To enter, leave a comment on this post by 8:00 pm EST on Friday, May 25 telling me who or what keeps you company while you sew or craft. Your kitten? Your quilt guild? CSI?

I'll pick a random comment and notify the winner by email by the 27th, so please make sure you leave an email address in the comment (either through your Blogger account by making your email address "visible" or by including it in the comment text) to be eligible.  Make sure you're not a "no-reply" blogger (I used to be one without knowing!), or leave your email in the comment, please!

International?  That's fine!

When I sew, I am usually accompanied by two furry friends who like to be quite "involved" :D

I like to listen to the Joy the Baker podcast, or watch/listen to junky TV shows while I'm stitching. Most recently, it's been Once Upon a Time on Hulu.  What about you? Any podcasts or TV series you'd recommend?

 <-- lots more giveaways!

Bloggers' Quilt Festival!

Today I'm linking up to the Bloggers' Quilt festival, hosted by Amy of Amy's Creative Side.  If you've found your way over here from there, Hi!  Nice to see you!

I've chosen the Improv Chevrons Quilt that I finished up in April.

Amy asks entrants to "Share one quilt, and its story."  I love this idea, because most of my quilt posts focus on the details about the quilt, it's size, the fabrics used, and not so much on the motivation or process behind them! Let's get storytelling!

A while back, I pinned this pillow from Anthropologie, after ogling it in a store.  I ogle lots of things in that place. 

I had made some very precise chevrons before, but the ones on the pillow felt liberated and fun!  I love how the chevron rows "point" in different directions, and that there is a big variety of both color value and strip width.  I'd still like to experiment more with this idea!  I set out to replicate them with some improvised chevron blocks.

You can see more about how I made them here.  I picked a somewhat limited and deliberate palette, since I usually lean more towards scrappy projects.  Here, I used Curry, Cerise, Snow, Teal, and Gray.  Dreamy. I managed to make it through four big improv blocks before calling it quits, and set them up with some white and cerise sashing.  It became: 

It measures about 40x40 inches in the end, so its a small throw or great baby quilt.  Since I've already written a bit about its construction, fabric quilting, backing, binding, etc., I thought I'd give you a glimpse into what happened next!

To take photos of my finished quilts, I use my trusty Canon G12's auto setting.  Yep, auto.  I'd like to learn more about manual photo settings, but I'm usually really impatient to just get some decent shots.  Luckily the G12 takes lovely auto pictures! 

To get photos of entire quilts, I usually enlist a trusty assistant to hold it up for me, or I use two pants-hanger thingys (the hangers with the clips?) hung on a white wall from the crown molding. A clothes-drying rack is quite nice for a "folded and hung" shot. 

I try to take advantage of the the limited natural light that fliters in (somehow) to my Manhattan apartment.  In the photo above, the window is about 2 inches away from the right side!  

I used to think that I needed to wait to take pictures for the 20 minutes when sunlight streams right into my place, but overcast days actually give me the most even lighting, while those lovely warm sunbeams wash out part of my photos and leave the rest in shadows.  

I try to get an up-close shot that shows the quilting, 

and one that gives you a good idea of what the back looks like.  

I tweak things like exposure and saturation in iPhoto, eyeballing it until things just look nice. Then, all there's left to do is write it up, and post it here!  

Sometimes I'll have a recipient in mind when I'm making something, but more often I pursue ideas that interest me, like these chevrons.  In many ways I feel like I'm still trying to find "my" quilting style, and what an exciting process it is! 

Thanks for stopping by, and make sure to check out all the amazing quilts in the festival! 

Picnic String Quilt and Happy Mothers Day!!

I'm so happy to reveal my latest finish, which I had to keep under wraps, since I decided to give it to my mom for Mothers Day!

Although this string quilt has always been intended as a gift to her, quilt-worthy occasions for just kept creeping past me!  When I finally got around to finishing it a few weeks ago, I needed to squirrel it away until a holiday, and luckily Mothers Day wasn't too far off.

I used mostly Denyse Schimdt's line for JoAnn, (DS Quilts) Picnic and Fairgrounds, and threw in a variety of other prints that fit in with the pure navy, red, blue, and green tones. Whenever my mom comes over and inspects my fabric and projects, she always loves the modern retro prints like these, so I knew this line would be perfect for her.

It measures about 60x72 inches, and I backed it in a lovely large-scale DS Quilts floral. I quilted it in various straight lines along the diagonal white stripes, as well as the horizontal and vertical seams.  I really like the plaid grid that resulted! (♥ those disembodied Vans...)

The scrappy binding is made up of leftover fabric from the strings, and I think it goes really nicely with the random feel of the rest of the quilt.

For some reason, this quilt attracted a LOT of, um, "help" along the way.

I usually don't let these two become quite so involved in a project, but since I knew my mom doesn't mind a little cat hair, I was more lax than usual.

I had piecing, quilting, and binding assistance. All steps covered.

When it came time to try for some "quilt on a bed" photos, it was just hopeless.

If you can't beat 'em....

...join 'em. Little hams.

Happy Mothers Day!!

Edit: Since this is the Summery-est thing I've made so far, I'm linking up to Ellison Lane's Summer Sewing contest!