I made a skirt!

Matching Clothes...
Originally uploaded by emedoodle

Today during the baby's nap time I was reading through my blog list and noticed a cute skirt someone had made on a whim. I decided, "I should make myself a skirt!" and then made one. No pattern, no planning, just some extra length of a sheet, a skirt that is too big (but a good shape), a zipper (wrong color) and a fabric pen. All in all it took maybe 45 minutes? Not long at all - I even had enough time left of the baby's nap to shave my legs! Oh the little joys.

As a result we've got the first ever matching mommy & baby picture. I'd made Allie's dress about a month ago, but today was the first time I'd put her in it due to the cold/rainy weather.

PS: the worst part of making this skirt wasn't the zipper... it was the hemming on a bias... yuck. LOL. Still, it was very easy.

What We've been up to...

may 150
Originally uploaded by emedoodle

Among other things... climbing! At some point about three days ago Allie decided she wanted to stand on everything taller than her. Tables, chairs, rocking chairs.... you get the point. LOL. It's been a bit crazy and blogging is not very easy with a baby trying to sit on your computer moniter. It is, however, pretty darn cute.

Here she is trying to climb a tiny fence downtown the other day.

And finally a picture of one of the many current WIP's ...

I finally gave up on making this into a grown-up size blanket. It will (likely) become the girl's first quilt for her "big kid bed." Although that's still in our future a little ways. :)

Blogger's Quilt Festival - Entry

Little Folks Quilt

Here's my quilt festival entry. This was the second (and most recent) quit that I've made. (Officially I guess it's the third, but I don't count the t-shirt quilt I made in college...)

This year for Christmas my mom, aunt, and mother-in-law all pitched in and got me several half-yards of the new Anna Maria Horner Voile (little folks). I had been dreaming of those voile's since I'd first seen them online. I sat with it in my sewing room for about a month, just admiring it before I finally got the guts to cut into it. This is the first project I used my rotary cutter for, the first project I used real, designer fabrics, and the first project that I did the free-motion quilting on. I'm really in love with this quilt, it's soft, warm, and cuddly. I learned so much about proper fabric cutting and rotary cutting on this. I actually used high quality thread and border fabric... it was really nerve-racking to finally do the free-motion quilting... which in retrospect was not that hard, but I need to work on my style a bit before the next quilt. I did end up playing it a bit safe with the layout of this quilt, letting those beautiful fabrics speak for themselves!
The fabrics used were AMH Little Folks, AMH Good folks (binding), and Kona Coal for the border and back.

Check out the other quilts in the festival here:

Winner Winner!

With the help of random.org, the winner of my first ever giveaway is......

Melissa who said:

said...

Oh, I love that flower print and it would go perfect with the next quilt I am planning on starting.
Thank you for giving
melissacorry@hotmail.com
May 18, 2010 4:22 AM

A big thank you to everyone who entered! I had a record breaking 276 entries (hehe... broke that record of three comments per one post)! I sure hope at least a couple of you enjoyed the blog enough to check in from time to time. :)

Next up on the agenda - the Blogger's Quilt Festival starting tomorrow! Stay tuned for that!

Introduction to the why and how of my quilting.

I read craft blogs.

Ok, now that I've said that it's not hard to realise that I read a lot of craft blogs. I know that my blog pales in comparison to a lot of others, but I strive to make things that I need, things that will get used, and things that make me happy. I don't churn out quilts really quickly (even though I'd love to) because I know that I don't have the means to support that habit. I don't, will I ever? Probably not. So I try to make the best of what I have.

Point number one in quilting (for me): I am insanely cheap. Not cheap like most people are who claim to be cheap. I hate to spend money on things that aren't absolutely necessary. Fabric is the one thing that I'll splurge on, and even then, I hate paying designer prices. $10 a yard!? Yeah right, that will take me a month to decide I really want it, even then I'll buy a half a yard of two prints and call it a day (and probably feel bad for spending that money later too). Insane? Yes. My dear husband encourages me to buy fabric. He knows I'll use it and that it's my one hobby.

That being said, I have trouble with starting projects (not finishing them). I love to look at other people's quilts on flickr and on blogs that I folow. However, I don't really like the idea of strait up copying their ideas, and I don't like using a pattern. It takes me days and even weeks to try to formulate what sort of quilt to make, and even then I change my mind halfway through often.

These are the reasons I have a hard time starting a quilt:
1. I am cheap therefor have verry little fabric in my stash
2. Because of the way I buy fabric (a little at a time) I don't always have enough fabric, or enough coordinating fabric for the project.
3. If I'm going to spend the time and energy to make a quilt, I want it to quality fabric, yet I am not willing to pay the price of said fabric. I'm not as inspired to use the fabric I can get cheaply because I'm not as enthusiastic about the color/softness of it.
4. When I do break down and buy designer fabric I've spent so much money on it that I am afraid to ruin it or mess up a quilt I make with it.
5. I have goals and plans to make cool, unique quilts, but when it comes down to it, I tend to play it safe rather than take risks (see #4). I don't want to settle for a simpler quilt, but I also don't want to ruin my good fabric.

My process as an overview.

Here's my first real process post. Here's where the action starts:

My idea book, and sketches of things I like. As I read blogs and look at flikr I take down sketches and ideas in my book. I write where I found the tutorial or finished project and a link (if I'm not too lazy). It usually happens that I have the fabric already in hand while doing this - as I aquire it so gradually. Once I've pretty much laid out which fabric to use and an idea of what type of blocks I'll make a "project page" so to say, in my book (see above). At the top I label the name of the quilt (or in this case the fabric), and draw out pictures of what I'd like some of the blocks to look like. I'll add to this page as I go. eventually this page and the back of the previous page will be a spread of measurements and sketches of possible layouts of the blocks as I arrange them to make the whole. At this point though, I don't have any measurements but an idea that I want those smaller (border) blocks to be 2" or smaller. I really haven't even decided what size quilt to make it yet. It will likely be either a toddler bed quilt or for a twin bed.

These blocks are inspired by the pictures of these blocks on flickr. I think that with the fabric I am going to be using (Valorie Wells, from her Olive Rose collection) I'll need some good neutral fabric to tame it down. A lot of the projects online that I'm seeing that are made with this fabric seem to be too vibrant (or too busy). I'm feeling a lot of solids here and some big wide strips of the Olive Rose fabric. Also, I'm planning on several variations of the blocks I linked (as you can see in my picture above). It's going to be interresting. I am actually (secretly) thinking of doing this as a gift or to sell since I know my husband isn't the fondest of the colors. We'll see where it takes me though.

I took the process pledge.

(the giveaway day post is below - and closes at midnight tonight!)

I, ______Emily______, pledge to talk more about my processes, even when I can’t quite put them in the in words or be sure I’m being totally clear. I’m going to put my thinking and my gut feelings out there.

I've been thinking (even before reading this post or this post) about posting pictures on here of my sketches/ideas for quilt blocks. I have thought of doing so mostly as a way of adding some continuity to this blog. I spend a lot of time thinking, looking at my fabric, and looking at other people's quilts, deciding what to make next. So here it is. I'm going to post all these notes under the tag, "I took the process pledge." I hope you'll enjoy my process.

Also please do check out those two links there, there's some pretty deep thinking about how we learn to quilt and what "modern quilting" means. It's really facinating to think of all this.

Doll Quilt in Red...

may 081
Originally uploaded by emedoodle

(The giveaway post is the next one down)

The last couple nights I just wanted to play with some fabric. So I pulled out these peices of black and white partial fat quarters, and an almost whole fat quarter of the red fabric with dogs. First I used Elizabeth's tutorial from Sew Mama Sew using interfacing to make perfect tiny square patchwork. Then I just played around with it until it was the size I liked.

The quilting on this is done on machine to form "pebbles." I started doing just a basic stippling but I didn't like it and tore it out. I figured why not try the pebbles. I love it! It was much more natural for me to make the circles and they vary from about 1/2 inch to 2 1/2 inches wide.

May Giveaway Day!

Welcome everyone from the SMS Giveaway Day!

Here it is - my first ever giveaway

For my giveaway today I've got two yards of fabric to offer.
One yard of pretty blue/orange/pink/brown colored flowers, and one yard of a coordinating brown.
Also, a copy of "The Cute Book" by Aranzi Aronzo. The book is full of really cute instructions to make little felt animals.

Just leave a comment telling me what you're working on, who you like to sew for, or what your fav. color is... or really anything sewing/crafty related! The winner will be chosen randomly. Good luck! Sorry, no international shipping. :(

PS - I've never done this sort of thing, so please make sure I have a way of getting ahold of you - via blog or email!

Sneak Peak...

Fun little project just to get some sewing in today. :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Mom's mother's day gift.

Here's my wonderful mom, modeling her new purse. The purse was made from this tutorial, and it really did take less than an hour. The pattern is simple but great, and the fabric is home-dec weight fabric from JoAnn's - half price!

Hearing Aid Pouch

hearing aid bag
Originally uploaded by emedoodle

As many of you probably already know, my daugher was born with hearing loss in both ears. She wears hearing aids all the time, but when we take them out (in the car and while she's sleeping/bathing) we have been at a loss for where to put them. We have a hard case for them - but with the straps/clip we now use (to keep her from losing them) they don't fit in the case. So here's my solution, simple and adorable with those silly hedgehogs! A simple pouch for them, to keep them clean and dry. Thanks to my SMS Fat Quarter swap buddy for the awesome fabric!

 

Blogger's Quilt Festival

How cool is this? A Quilt Festival for bloggers! I'm hoping I'll be able to/remember to join!

May Giveaway Day @ SewMamaSew!

Coming May17th - another giveaway day at Sew Mama Sew!

I'll be giving something away, now to figure out what it will be! :)

Check back the 17th!

Henny Penny & Chicks

Henny Penny & Chicks
Originally uploaded by emedoodle

The first finish from Anna Maria Horner's new book, "Handmade Beginnings." It took one good long naptime to finish... and was pretty straitforward. It's adorable, comes with six baby chicks and... was made completely with stuff I had on hand! :)

...and makes me a little nostalgic of the burp clothes I made for Allie (since that fabric was left over from them!).

Allie's Easter Dress

Originally uploaded by emedoodle

As silly as it may seem (after the hours it took me to figure it out) I forgot to write a post about Allie's Easter dress! Here is the back. It is pretty similar to the other dress I made last fall... but this time it was sewn to a long sleeved t-shirt for ease of wear. There are two pannels/layers to the skirt, with rows of pretty ruffles peeking out the back. It seriously tested my sewing skills/designing skills making this dress. It took me several tries to figure out how to have the curved pannels just so, and having the ruffles peeking out. I didn't know where to find a pattern for something like this. It really wasn't too hard now that I understand the construction of such a skirt! Oh, and it's made from two thrifted sheets... perfectly covered in daffodils!