As I mentioned before, I love a good red and white quilt. This quilt uses the same triangle unit as the first red and white quilt that I made only this one is set as a streak of lightning. The small half square triangles were cut with the smallest triangle die on my Sizzix cutter.
I can hardly wait to see this one quilted. I think I'll put vertical feathers in the muslin.
Postage Stamp Quilt
As a longtime attendee of Gwen Marston's Beaver Island retreat, I was excited to attend the first annual Holly Girls Quilt Retreat last week. Pat Holly and Sue Nickels continued the retreat on the heels of Gwen's retirement. They planned a theme of "machine quilting" and I was glad to practice free motion skills in a small scale on the old Bernina 1230. Pat and Sue brought a large collection of antique quilts along with quilts they had made and we all learned a lot about quilting design from them and each other. Next year the retreat will focus on applique border design. I've already reserved my spot for next year- sign up and I'll see you there!Between free motion practice sessions I worked on piecing this postage stamp quilt.
A few weeks ago miss P and I cut some mini charm packs and a lot of scraps into 2 inch squares. It was nice to have a "quilt kit" ready to piece at retreat.
The piecing process for this quilt was easy. First I made four patches from all of the scraps. Then, I pieced those into sixteen patches. I sewed the sixteen patch blocks together in rows to finish the quilt. I was able to rotate the fourpatches so that all of the seams nest throughout the quilt.
I am smitten by the finished quilt. It is so cheery and reminds me of this favorite quilt made by B's grandmother.
I am eager to use my new quilting skills and ideas but I think this quilt needs some straight line quilting.Finished size 48" by 60"
Sweetheart Socks - take two
You guys! Adele and I finished another pair of socks! It took me two years to knit the first sock and Adele was lightening fast knitting up the mate.
We knit our first pair of these back in 2011. I loved the first pair so much that I needed to have another. I think I can safely say, however, that both Adele and I have had enough of this pattern for a while. All of the cable crossings are rather tedious on this thin yarn. The results are fabulous though.
The pattern is Sweetheart Socks by Chrissy Gardener in Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts 2007. We used size 0 needles and Stroll heather by Knit Picks. The color is sprinkle heather.Details on my ravelry page.Adele has chosen a quicker pattern for us to knit next.
End of Summer
Here we are at the close of the final weekend of summer vacation.
Autumns approach is in the air and the first leaves are beginning to fall.
It is always bittersweet time for me. I am glad that the kids are in school and have that structure. They love the extra activities and to spend more time with their friends while I miss the extra family time that summer allows. The sweet part is that I'll soon have more tim e to myself and be able to accomplish a lot of sewing!
I hope you are enjoying a wonderful weekend.
Flashback Skinny Tees for School
I've been in a bit of a creative funk lately but I've been trying to push myself to do some sewing and work on other projects in the studio thinking that a few finishes might get me energized for some quilty fun again.Earlier in the summer I bought some of this beautiful knit. It is from Bari J's new Emmy Grace line for Art Gallery Fabrics. If you have not had the pleasure of sewing with the new Art Gallery knits you are in for a treat. This fabric is seriously the best and softest knit I have ever seen. I want a whole new wardrobe from Art Gallery knits.
I used Rae's Flashback Skinny Tee pattern and made a new top for Miss P to wear to school. I used size 7/8 and added a couple of inches to the length and it fits her perfectly.
As I have gotten older I find that I prefer V neck shirts for myself. Although I used to only wear round neck tops, I now feel like a regular round neck tee is strangling me. I ordered some fun new V neck tees for myself from Patchwork Threads and culled the tees in my dresser.
I found a few like new shirts with those strangling necklines and cut them down for Miss P. Again, I used the Flashback Skinny Tee pattern. I was able to keep the original hem on the bottom and the sleeves when I cut the new pieces out. I picked out the neckband, trimmed it to the right length, and stitched it back on to the new shirt.
I feel a bit better after finishing some tops and Miss P is pleased as punch with her super soft Emmy Grace knit top for fall. She has some light blue fabric that she is wanting to make into a top for herself. Maybe we'll get to that after her current binge into her brothers' legos and k'nex collections.
Summer Fun
My husband seems to be a master at finding all the good stuff on Craigslist. Yesterday he scored this kid size kayak! Woot. He surprised miss P with it this morning. We headed right out for a bit of messing about in boats. It was the perfect morning. Not too hot, not yet sunny, and no one else on the water.
I hope you are having a fun weekend.
Tinsel Town Tree Skirt
I have a guest post over on the Dear Stella blog. Pop over there to read about the tree skirt I made using the new Tinsel Town collection and Debbie Grifka’s Snowflake Tree Skirt pattern.
Kids Sewing Camp
My featherweight collection got quite the work out the last two weeks. I hosted Kids Sewing Camp here at the house and each student had loads of fun using one of my five featherweights.When I first mentioned that I was going to have a sewing camp, the five student class filled quickly with Miss P's friends and before I knew it I had three groups of kids signed up.We did a bit of basic sewing practice and then made three projects.The first project was a pillowcase.
Second, we used mama urchin's tutorial for the drawstring backpacks and sized them up a bit because the tutorial is for a toddler size.
The last project of the week was pajama pants. Most of the kids used Rae's Parsley pants pattern. A few of the older kids used the Sew Easy Pajama Pants by Cindy Taylor Oates.
I think all of the campers had fun making their projects, playing with our young chicks, and and swinging on our barn swing. Our chicks are much tamer now after all of the attention they got.
Sewing Camp was so much fun for everyone that I think it will be an annual event around here.
Family Vacation
We had a short family get away last week for the fourth. M has an internship this summer over on the west coast of the state and we had been too busy to visit him until the holiday weekend. It is nice that he is SO CLOSE to the lake this summer. I know he is enjoying that.Miss P got to use her new binoculars!
There was a lot of rock skipping and searching for perfect skipping rocks,
some dune play,
and a bit of general splashing around.
We also saw an awesome fireworks show in town.We had so much fun at the beach that we hardly noticed there was no power or internet in M's apartment. His neighborhood was the last to be restored after a storm earlier last week.I hope we make it back for another visit before the summer is over!
Sweetheart Socks
Remember when I said I went to summer camp and did some knitting and hexie stitching? Well, according Ravelry, I finished this sock exactly two years after starting it!
Adele and I made another pair of these back in 2010. The pattern is Sweetheart Socks by Chrissy Gardiner and can be found in the Holiday 2007 issue of Interweave Knits.I am thrilled that my friend Adele and I are continuing (after a very long pause) with our Two Make a Pair project. I'll send this sock and that other ball of yarn to her and she will knit the second sock for me. She is a speedy knitter and I'm sure I will not be waiting another two years to wear this pair of socks.I wonder what yarn and pattern Adele will choose for her next pair. I've missed knitting with you Adele!
I Went to Summer Camp
Miss P and I were away last week at summer camp.
This was our third year attending Blue Lake Family Suzuki Camp. P has liked it so much in the past that this year we signed up for two sessions.
I was able to get a bit of knitting and hexie sewing done during her lessons and classes. I even finished this sock that I started about two years ago!
I'm glad we stayed for the second session this time. Miss P worked hard and got her "polished piece" even more polished. She was chosen to perform in the student recital the second session. Yes, this girl and her cello,
performed on this stage.
She was over the moon with excitement and played beautifully.It was fun to see so many cellists playing at the same time in the final concert. The older students are a great inspiration for the younger ones. The campers are all ages up to 19 years old. The older students are to the right of this view; youngers are off to the left. I couldn't get them all in one shot. Can you tell she was having fun?
She's a nut.
Field Trip
We had a "home school" day and took Miss P on a field trip to the U of M Arboretum to see the peonies today. The Nichols Arboretum Peony Garden is the largest public collection of historic (pre-1950) herbaceous peony cultivars in North America.It was a lovely morning; the sun was not high yet and the air was filled with the scent of the flowers. They were beautiful and I took many photos. I had a very hard time narrowing down the photos to share. I'll share a bit of our flower tour with you.Enjoy.
Summer Sewing
After a long weekend of sunshine and outdoor play - resulting in a bit of sunburn, we decided that Miss P needed a new sun hat. She shopped the fabrics in my sewing room and picked a pretty floral print and a green batik for the lining.
She also suggested the rick rack trim. I think that was just the right touch for the edge of the brim. It also made turning and pressing the brim easier!
I used an old pattern that I had in my collection. Butterick 6613 from 1993.
I made the brim a tad wider and I think that will be better for days when we are out in the kayaks and canoe. The sun can get pretty intense out on the water. I think it turned out pretty cute.Only seven and a half days 'till summer vacation!!! But who's counting?
Science Fair
Do you remember the Science Fair quilt I shared last month? Well, I have gotten it quilted and bound. I used an all over flower design with a few swirls thrown in. I think that's just the right kind of quilting for a quilt that will be used.
I did all of the hand stitching of the binding in the car on the way to Pittsburgh last week and I'm thrilled with the finished quilt. Thank you for driving, Debbie!
Things are looking up. I'm getting caught up and even have a customer quilt on the frame for quilting!
Scenes from the Weekend
I'm so happy to be caught up and finished with my big project. I'll share more about that with you later.The combination of the "big project", the worst winter ever in southeast Michigan, and family stress over various things including selling my mother-in-law's home have not made me feel like going out much with my camera in the last months. This weekend I feel like I have been reacquainted with an old friend. We had beautiful weather and I was out with the camera finding beautiful and interesting things to photograph. It felt good.
The boys were home for Mother's Day. Here are a few scenes from the day.
Mid-Century Home
Hello again. I'm just letting you guys know, in case any of you might be looking for a house in the DC area. B's mom's house just went on the market this week.
It is located in the W.T. Woodson school district in Fairfax, VA.
You can take a virtual tour or if you are in the DC area, attend the open house on May 10.The one acre yard is filled with different flowers for blooms throught the spring and summer. The back yard has the world's best swing.B's parents built the house in 1961. Here are some photos of the house back then.Read more about the house here.
Minimal Quiltmaking
Look, last week my copy of Gwen Marston's new book, Minimal Quiltmaking
It's a good one - and I'm not saying that just because two of my quilts are in here.
The book is written in the style of Gwen's classes, workshops, and retreats. She talks about her design process and gives techniques but there are no patterns or specific directions for any of the quilts in the book.She writes:"In this book you will notice that instead of patterns, I offer a process. I will tell you how I constructed the various parts of my quilts so you can make your own parts, and because you are using a process instead of a pattern, your quilt will be your own original design. There is power in that. It's rewarding and affirming. My roots are very much from the tradition of quiltmaking and a time when many quilters were working in this same process-focused way."The book is broken down into sections of different aspects of the idea of minimal design. In addition to the other design aspects, Gwen discusses the importance of the actual quilting stitches as part of the overall design of a minimal quilt. The photos are excellent and show the quilting stitches well.She shares her inspiration and thoughts during the design and construction of her quilts. A number of contributors also share their views on minimal quilting as applied to their own quilts that are included in the book.If you have never had the opportunity to attend one of Gwen's retreats or take a class or workshop from her, this book will give you a taste of what that is like. If you have been to one of her retreats or taken a class from her then you already KNOW you want this book. Yeah, you probably already have it!If you don't have it yet, order your own copy of Minimal Quiltmaking
Pattern Review - Science Fair
Hop on over Sara Lawson's Sew Sweetness blog and read my pattern review of Jaybird's Science Fair.
I love the quilt. It has now been quilted but is waiting for binding.
I'll do a follow up post here when it is finished.
Crank Along
I don't know about you, but I am ready for warm weather, sunshine, and time spent outside!A few of us over on Instagram have been sharing some of our vintage sewing machines. I posted a photo of this beauty, a handcrank Singer 99.
She originally belonged to my mother-in-law's grandmother.According to the original bill of sale, she was purchased in 1918 for 5 pounds, 2 pounds discount off the original 7 pound price. What a deal!
After seeing that several people have old hand crank sewing machines, I suggested that we take them outside when the weather is warm and do some outdoor sewing. So, how about it? Do YOU have a non electric machine? Come and join us. We will be using the hashtags #crankalong and #backporchsewing for our outdoor sewing adventures this summer. We plan to start on June 1st so this should give you plenty of time to get your machine cleaned and oiled and get your project ready for warm weather. I'll need a project that doesn't involve lots of teeny tiny pieces as sometimes it can get windy outside. I am eager to relax outside and enjoy the fresh air.Are you in? If you don't have a handcrank machine then join us with your treadle or handstitching and use the #backporchsewing hashtag. I can't wait to see all the photos.
Good Things
So many good things to share today.
It seems we have survived the longest winter and there is hope for spring. I've continued to take photos of these chairs all winter and have them collected in a set for easy viewing on flickr. I image these may be fun to see again sometime in August, but maybe not. It was a beautiful sunny day today and we lost a great deal of snow. There are still patches of snow scattered around as you can see above. It may even all melt before April!And look what else we found today!!!Snow drops.
There is hope for spring after all.I enjoyed some company in the sewing room today from my future daughter-in-law. Each of us working on our own projects. Yay for multiple featherweights.Duncan was also helping with featherweight tune ups in preparations for summer camps and classes.B has been getting the bikes tuned up for tomorrows bike ride.And maybe even better than all of that.... my son came up with the BEST quilt design for my next quilt in the pile. I hope I can pull it off. It will be PERFECT for the design. I won't be able to share it with you for a while, but believe me, it's a GENIUS design. Thanks Duncan! (eta. His idea was the giant knitting design on Off The Charts Quilt in my book)
