In a Stitch Quilting

Would you mind if I took a moment to shamelessly plug my mom?

I figured not.

I remember the first quilting class my mom took way back when.  She’d pack up her machine, fabrics, notions, and things and head downtown to the local MATC office where she learned the ins and outs of quilting.  It was like she caught a bug.  She had passion, and it showed.

It’s always been a hobby of hers, one that sometimes took a back seat to feeding her children and keeping us all on track.  She was a bookkeeper first and a quilter second.

Quilting, though, has always been the perfect fit as it utilizes her almost superhuman attention to detail (this quality was one that drove me nuts when I was growing up).  Growing up with my mom, everything was just so.  She’s got the eye for it.  Need to pick out colors for a project?  Hang a picture (and want it to be level)?  Decorate your kitchen with a collection of vintage things?  Just need someone to tell you if these things “go?”  She’s the person you want to call.  She can sense these things.  She knows it without a moment’s hesitation.  It’s innate – as if it wells up from some creative spring inside her.

We’re all grown up now, my siblings and I.  We’re married, some of us have children, and she has the chance to strike out and do something new.  She’s a quilter and an artist first.  It’s kind of like coming home to oneself – finally able to do the thing that you’re really passionate about without first having to defer to more baser needs (like food, shelter, and sanity).  Take a risk.  Be daring.

She has a new business called In a Stitch Quilting. She has a blog where she shares some of the things she’s quilting and the things she loves.  She also has a longarm quilting machine.  She’d love to be your quilter – help you finish the project you’ve started so that the care and effort you’ve put into it shines right straight through to it’s completion.  Know someone who needs some quilting done (or need to have your quilting project finished)?  Stop by her website and drop her a note.  She’d love to hear from you.

Not Reading

Lately we’ve been spending time not reading, which probably sounds pretty normal for most folks.  A few other folks might think I’m doing my children a disservice by not reading to them for X number of minutes every day.  However, given that the kids and I have read something like 754 pages together (just counting Harry Potter, not all the other reading we have done or that my son has done on his own) since October 28th for roughly 125 pages a week, I think we’re fairly well covered.

That’s not even including the roughly 9000 pages that I’ve read in the last month (not a typo, I read through the entire Harry Potter series twice).  We have, as a family, what I would consider marathon reading sessions.  It is not unusual for the kids to have me read them four or five chapters in one sitting which makes this short break rather nice.

Last night doing something else ended in a small stack of handkerchiefs for the Birthday Boo.  This is one of those super quick and easy projects.  Aside from the brief moment of concentration while I line up the ruler to cut the fabric, it requires zero thought.  Once I get the presser foot on the machine changed and the thread loaded, my mind can wander as I listen to music or get lost in the drone of the machine.  I don’t think you can get much easier than two layers of flannel (especially since I don’t even pre-wash the fabric!).

I also knocked out a few invitations for our Winter Solstice Eve party after a brief flash of inspiration over dinner.  It’s supposed to look like a sun rising over the hills – use your imagination.

No sewing done on this one, but I did iron this small piece of what will one day be the altar cloth for our mantle.  Looking at my fabric choices now, I’m not as thrilled with it as I was when I picked the fabric out a few weeks ago.  I’m hoping to get it made before Spring.

My husband has not been left out in the creativity department.  Thanks to Ana White the kids will have some pretty nifty bedroom furniture complete with much-needed storage space.  These are the pieces to what will soon be my youngest daughter’s bed which will one day soon be joined by the second bed and the corner hutch pictured at the link.  From there he’ll be working on a loft bed for our son followed by a riff on the craft table at Ana White, but with a much larger top and a bracket to hang a roll of paper on to become a much-needed art table for all of us.

I love all of the projects and look forward to their completion, but I think I’m looking forward to the new art table the most.

Not Doing What I Should

I should be working on the writing assignment for my writing workshop, but I’m not.  Why?  For starters, Hubby’s at work, the little one is napping, and the other two are playing outside.  That sounds like the perfect time to work on them, right?  Hmm, I suppose so, but every time I’ve tried it in the past I’ve been interrupted.  I’m supposed to write for 15 minutes and I end up being lucky to get five.  There’s just something about it that sends out this signal to my children, “Bug Mom, now!”  So today I’m refusing to do it and figuring that Baby M will stay asleep and the other two will continue playing nicely with each other.  I’ll be frustrated because I didn’t take advantage of the opportunity and “wasted” the time.  *sigh*

Instead I’m reading my email, posting here, and Google-ing up a storm.  So far I’ve Googled “how to repair a small hole in a t-shirt” and come up with a satisfactory response.  It’s a good thing since said hole is in the middle of my brand new shirt.  This is the second time I’ve worn it and it already has a small hole in it – don’t ask me how.  It’s a cute top with a wide band on the v-neck and just a hint of ruching along the band (had to Google “ruching” to see if I spelled it right).  It wasn’t necessarily cheap at $19.95, but I very rarely buy myself clothing and after three children in 5 years I think I deserve a few shirts that fit.  The fact that it fits my standard style v-neck shirt and jeans is an added bonus.

I’ve also Googled “sewing pattern children shorts” and come up less than thrilled with the results so far (did find a couple of patterns for me, but that’s beside the point).  My older two need shorts for the summer.  L has three pairs right now and J has one.  With how dirty my kids get playing outside I figure they each need at least 7, but preferably 9 so I have a little leeway in the laundry department.  I have some denim fabric on hand that would work well.  It won’t make enough for both kids, but I figure it’s a start.  What I really want is a unisex pattern for a fairly simple pair with an elastic waist.  No pockets and no fly.  I’ve seen the tutorials out there for tracing an existing pair onto a t-shirt, but I’d really like a thicker fabric than that.  Clearly those that use the pattern have kids that are far gentler on their clothing.  Those shorts would never last – heck my own shirt didn’t last more than a week before I snagged it somehow.  I’m thinking I need to search for a pattern for boy’s shorts instead (have you seen how short the shorts are in the stores for toddlers/girls?).

Thankfully I have a little bit of time to find a pattern and get them constructed.  Note to self:  80 degree weather in April is not normal and will not last!  I can’t put it off too much, though or this project will only end up in the UFO pile.

Oh, and for the record Baby M is still sleeping and I only had to head L of at the pass once.  I kept her out of the front yard, but didn’t keep her from bending the latch on the gate to the fence.  There’s one more thing to add to Hubby’s “Honey Please Do” list.

A quick, yet urgent sewing project

I had these grand plans on Saturday to get a “Week in Review” post up that ended up being derailed. I had just spent a fantastic day shopping with my mom and one of my sisters for unique bits and thrifted finds. On the way back in the house my mom mentions that my pants have a rip. Well…a huge rip! My first thought, well I won’t tell you what my first thought was. It was followed closely by a bit of embarassment – exactly how long had I been walking around like that? That thought was followed by a bit of frustration. These were my maternity jeans…the *only* pair of maternity jeans I own. I have exactly three pairs of pants that I’ve relied upon during this pregnancy: a pair of shorts, a pair of jeans, and a pair of capris. All of them are leftover from previous pregnancies which would probably mean I should have expected something like this, but I had barely worn this pair of pants this time around.

After a brief moment of panic (it’s not like I can go without jeans, we are heading into fall/winter) and wondering if I should really spend the $40 or so necessary to get a new pair of maternity jeans I looked down at my jeans drawer. I may not own anymore maternity jeans, but I do have a couple of pairs of jeans that fit me when I wasn’t pregnant (I tend to spend money on clothing for my family members before I do for myself). I wonder if someone has come up with a solution to turn them into maternity pants.

After a quick Google search I came up with several tutorials (here, here, and here to name just a few). Using a bit of all three and a few changes of my own I turned this:

into this:
Yes, those are different jeans in the second picture – I discovered that when I put on the first pair they were a bit too snug to work. I ended up going with a shorter panel than most of the tutorials and ended up doubling up the t-shirt band because I thought the t-shirt of Hubby’s that I stole…umm…borrowed was a bit thin.

In the end I spent…ummm…nothing as I had everything on hand. You want to know the best part? These are seriously the most comfortable maternity pants I have *ever* owned. Seriously. I’ve worn them a few times since and have found myself wondering why I didn’t try something like this sooner. Of course the best part is that I didn’t have to buy another pair of maternity pants for the last 10 weeks of my last pregnancy.

As for how difficult it end up being…I consider myself an “advanced beginner” when it comes to sewing and I found it incredibly easy. I’d say it probably only took me a couple of hours from start to finish and if I were going to do it again it’d probably take half of that. They key here being a good sewing machine and the right needle. After reading in a couple of tutorials about how difficult it was to sew through the denim I was a bit nervous, but found that my Innov-is 40 went through it like a hot knife through butter! Hubby was so incredibly proud of the fact that he made me get the machine that night. It really is one of the better purchases I’ve ever made.

A Halloween Costume for L

After having to move my sewing space down in the basement I must admit I haven’t gotten much sewing done. I’ve been trying to remedy that recently as there are a number of things I would like to get done (some curtains for my kitchen, a fleece quilt made from a whole mess of scraps I picked up, etc). Then I remembered the pattern I bought last Fall for a costume for L.

So far it’s been a learning experience (no making things by yourself is not always cheaper than buying them) and I have discovered that I really do need a new pair of fabric shears. On the other hand, I’m glad I’m doing this pattern now rather than last year as there are a number of skills I’ve picked up along the way that have helped tremendously. While this pattern is certainly among the simpler ones, it’s by far the most complicated one I’ve attempted to date. So far…so good. I suspect I’ll easily get it finished before Halloween.

Hmmm…Not quite what I had in mind.

I made this big floor cushion last Fall as a part of J’s Christmas presents. I thought it’d be the perfect size to go in the play tent. The play tent seems to have spent more time down than it has up (perhaps I’ll finally get the issues worked out before this Christmas) and the cushion has been a welcome place to sit for many a family member.

When we moved the majority of the toys out into the living room – so that we’d *live* in it more – the cushion made it’s way out as well. Funny thing is, more often than not it now serves as a cat bed. Not quite what I had in mind….

My to do list always seems to grow longer…

…especially now that I’ve lost my craft room. About a month or so ago I had to give up the craft room idea for our family. It was a fantastically creative space that was just beginning to take shape. Unfortunately, we needed a place to put a twin size bed for L and sharing a room with J just wasn’t cutting it – too little sleep for the little ones and a pregnant mom is never a good combination.

So L now has a space of her own and as a temporary solution my cutting table and sewing machine were moved into our bedroom. Our bedroom is the largest bedroom in the house, but it’s not all that big. There just wasn’t space to do anything without having to unpack and pack everything up every single time. It probably sat there for about a month – that is until Monday.

Last week we took some money that Hubby had earned taking a shift for a coworker of his and bought a new computer desk. With the computer and all the files (and associated accessories) things tended to pile up around the kitchen until I couldn’t take the clutter anymore. Since I figured that the computer took up less space than the cutting table/sewing machine we decided to switch places. The cutting table and sewing machine went downstairs while the computer and such came upstairs.

I’m still not quite sure how it will *feel* to be crafting in the basement, but it’s got to be a better shot for me to get some things done than it was when they were collecting dust in my bedroom. So far the computer upstairs is working out well. Time, of course, will tell how well things work out.

Once I get everything put away downstairs I’ll have to take a picture of the new crafting space. In the meantime…my project list:

• Finish curtain panels for kitchen patio door
• Finish placemats
• Make matching napkins
• Ironing board cover
• Purse
• Small Diaper Pail Liner (have to “design” this one first as I’m making it custom to fit a specific container)
• Halloween Costume for L (this pattern is fairly complicated – I figure I’ll need the extra time)
• Finish felting wool dryer balls

A fancy new apron

At my wedding we had a family friend who did a ceremonial “cutting of the apron strings” at the wedding reception. I always thought it was a fitting visual image of the reality of the wedding day. Since one of my sisters was getting married, I thought it might be nice to carry it on as a “family tradition.” Only problem? While I have aprons that I love both for decoration and daily use, there weren’t any I wanted the strings cut from.

Solution? Make your own of course! I found a pattern in “A is for Apron: 25 Fresh & Flirty Designs” by Nathalie Mornu. The apron above is based on a gardening apron. I left it about 3/4 of the way finished for the reception so it would make replacing the strings with new ones much easier.

In the end the “cutting of the apron strings” went off without a hitch and seemed to be well received by all. My sister’s mother-in-law seemed to joke about not wanting to cut the string and only wanting to cut just a little. I think she meant it as a joke, anyway. It might have been one of those truth in humor situations where someone tries to deflect their own feelings by making light of it – especially since she has a history of being unable to “let go” of her son. I’m very glad she’s not my mother-in-law. In some ways she looks mine look like a saint!

A few days after the wedding I got the new strings made and finished the apron. I love it, but think it’s a bit too nice to use in the garden. I do, however, think it will be perfect for crafting!

The Play Tent – Revised

After a somewhat disappointing result with the Play Tent, and a sewing machine that can maintain proper tension, I decided to try and make at least one improvement – I sewed close the bottom of the rod pockets.On the one hand it’s solved the issue of all the slipping and sliding the poles used to make, but it hasn’t solved the tendency of the fabric to slouch down as time goes on (and little people assist it). Hubby thinks we should add some loops to run the ribbon through at the top, but I’m not convinced that will fix it. What I think I’ll ultimately need to do is add some sort of strap/cap to the top of the doweling which means I’ll also likely need to cut them a bit shorter. I still haven’t quite figured out how to do that so I’ve been holding off.

At the very minimum I was thinking I could sew a rectangle of fabric similar in shape to the rod pocket, attach it to the top of the tent using ribbon and then place that over the dowels, but I’m still not quite sure that will do it. Regardless, as you can see J’s been having a blast!

New Curtains for the Craft Room

After moving furniture and rooms around I found myself short curtains for one set of double windows. I had taken the valance and cafe curtains from the newly christened craft room and put them up in J’s new room. I knew I didn’t want cafe curtains in the craft room because they cut down on the light a bit too much, but I did want a little bit of something to dress up the window.

I didn’t have enough of anyone fabric to make a valance nor did I want to spend any money to buy fabric. In the end I decided to take all the little bits of fabric that I had and make something new!

It’s loosely based on the 9 patch quilt, but my version is a bit less than perfect. Not all of my corners match up and it definitely looks like an amateur (me) made it. I basically took seven rows of three 9 patch squares to form the fabric. After folding it in half I put right sides together and sewed the ends. After turning right side out I sewed about 1-inch from the edge down each side and along the bottom. Then I just folded over the top and then folded the raw edges under. After sewing along the edge I ended up with a rod pocket.

As an extra bonus…for me each one of those fabrics tell a story – of the project that I made, who I made it for, etc. Each time I sit down at the sewing machine or work on a painting with J I know it will bring back a flood of memories. Yay for resourcefulness!