testing

If you would like to make a larger version of this quilt, or if you are looking for more detailed instructions that include fabric requirements, the pattern is now available on Craftsy and Etsy .   I had some jelly roll leftovers sitting around and I needed to work on a project to help maintain my sanity, so I thought I'd put together a quick baby quilt.  And while I was at it, I thought I'd share a (really) rough tutorial. 1.  Choose four strips that are 2.5"xWOF.  I alternated white solid with prints, but you could do whatever you want.  Piece them together along the long sides. 2.  Take half of these and set them aside. 3.  With the other half, line up the 60 degree mark on your ruler with one of the seams, and cut along the left side of the ruler.    4.  You could make the chevrons any width, I made mine 5 inches, so I lined up the cut edge with the 5 inch mark on my ruler and the 60 degree mark with one of the seams.  Cut alon...

While I was sorting and organizing my stash last week for our impending move (more info on the when, where, and why of the move soon) I found a couple 1 yard cuts of Oliver and S knit prints that I bought a while back.  Even though knits aren't one of the recommended fabrics on the pattern I thought I'd give it a try. Sorry that there have been a zillion photos of my daughter lately and zero photos of quilts, I have been trying to focus on smaller projects since things have been absolutely crazy around here.  And I just noticed that she had tucked her leggings into her socks.  Silly girl. The knit fabric worked out fine with the pattern and this way I didn't have to worry so much about the exposed side seams unraveling .  I thought it would be too heavy or too stretchy but it ended up just fitting a tad bit bigger than other versions.  It should be the perfect size for her in the spring. In the meantime things are probably going to be a little quiet around here....

I was super excited to see Beth's new photography link up.  I feel pretty comfortable with my camera (which came from A LOT of practice), but I wanted to participate because I feel very uncreative when it comes to taking photos of finished quilts.  And I am certainly no pro, I am always on the lookout for tips! Some info about how I take photos: My camera is a Nikon d7000 . I adore this camera.  I primarily use a  Nikon 35mm 1.8 lens  which is a prime lens. If you aren't familiar with what this is, it has a fixed focal length and can't zoom. That makes it smaller and lighter and, while I do have to take a few steps further back to photograph entire quilts since I can't zoom out, it means that I can shoot at a low aperture which helps gives photos that blurred background look (bokeh).  Plus the primarily reason I got interested in photography was for taking pictures of my kids and prime lenses are great for portraits.  I do have a zoom lens but I can't...

This year my daughter's kindergarten class has a stuffed koala named Pasquale.  Everyone gets a turn to take Pasquale home and take care of him, and last night was Harper's turn.  He came home in his own little backpack and a bright pink toothbrush but he was missing one thing: a quilt.  And everyone in our house gets a quilt. The silliness of making a quilt for a stuffed koala is not lost on me, but I did it anyway. Harper picked out the scraps and contributed to the arrangement (her attention span was a little crazy, but she helped here and there).   The quilt finished up at 16" square which, it turns out, is just the right size for a stuffed koala. Thanks everyone for entering the destash giveaway.  The winner is Liz !  I have sent you an email and I will mail out your package as soon as I get your address.  

I really liked the dress version of the Oliver + S Roller Skate pattern , but I LOVE the tunic version. It uses a much more convenient amount of fabric (less than 3/4 yard for size 5) and it is super cute.  Since my daughter wears leggings with both dresses and tunics, the tunic gives her a little more freedom to move around. When we went to Joann's a few weeks ago my daughter loved the green colorway of the Juliana Horner prints.  I had been wanting to make her a Roller Skate Tunic, so I let her choose 2 of the prints. I was not surprised that she chose the green print since she loves green and flowers, but I was surprised that she chose the black print. I made the tunic reversible at her request, but I did roll the fabric toward the black side a little when I pressed the seams since I think she will wear the green side more often. The only thing that I don't love about the pattern is finishing the back and side seams.  Below the elastic casing these seams are exposed. ...

Thanks everyone for your advice on destashing.  I decided to list a a few things on Etsy and do a giveaway.  If you are interested in the Etsy destash, you can find my shop here . I had intended to do a giveaway when I reached 1000 Bloglovin followers, but I am currently at 963 followers so this will have to be the I'm-almost-to-1000-Bloglovin-followers giveaway.  If you would like to help me reach 1000 followers, you can find me here . And now for the giveaway.  When I first started quilting I tended to buy larger cuts of fabric (now I usually buy 1/4 yard cuts, occasionally 1/2 yard if I really like something) and so I have quite a bit of fabric leftover from past projects.  There are some larger cuts here (four or five of them are a full yard) and some smaller scraps (including scraps from most of the Nordika prints).  But designers range from Amy Butler to Denyse Schmidt to Joel Dewberry and several Moda designers. If this doesn't end up filling the fl...

My daughter started kindergarten on Tuesday and had her first full day yesterday.  She loves it, and I love it too, it's a great school.  But it is kind of strange to me that I went to an elementary school that had a bucket of soap bars in every classroom for the kids whose parents couldn't afford soap and now my daughter goes to a school where the kids look like the just walked off the runway.  Both are great schools, she is just having a totally different experience! Since I made my daughter a dress for the first day of preschool last year, I thought I would make one again.  This year we chose the Roller Skate Dress from Oliver + S. I used hot pink Robert Kaufman seersucker for the outer fabric and a lightweight cotton for the lining.  I really love the seersucker and I am pleased that I have plenty leftover to make her a skirt at some point. Harper's measurements fit a size 5 so I made the size 5 without any alterations.  She is very slender through t...

No need to worry!  I was heavily inspired by Adrianne's post  (plus the linkup at Sarah Quilts ) about her stash this past week and decided that it was time to organize my own.  Needless to say, my husband has been walking around with a scowl since I started this process.  I keep telling him that surely some people have more fabric than I do, but I don't think that's making him feel better. I have WAY more than I thought. When I started sewing a few years ago I stashed my fabric in the back of my closet.  When I ran out of room there, I started to put it a dresser that my husband bought for my sewing supplies.  And when that filled up I started filling random baskets and covering flat surfaces around my house.  Clearly I have a problem. I decided that I needed to organize my stash into a centralized location so I went and bought seven 27L plastic containers from Target.  Surely that would be enough. I have my pinks and reds. The oranges, yellows, ...

So this month was definitely my favorite Lucky Stars Block .  I have been making the cute and tiny 6.5" version of the pattern.  Every month I am surprised how small those little templates are. Some of my points didn't quite line up, but I pieced these together with my walking foot and even using that I had a little trouble climbing over the bulky seams.  The seams aren't unmanageable, just not enjoyable enough to want to give it a second try :) Here are my blocks from January to the present.  I didn't make the practice block; depending on what I decide on for the final layout, I may go back and make it in the end.   I can't remember if I've mentioned this before, but my inspiration for the colors in the blocks comes from the colors in Denyse Schmidt's Flea Market Fancy line andI have used one FMF print in each block.  I did end up adding the darker blue color just because I felt like it.   I also put together a couple gemstone blocks  as requeste...

A few weeks ago I volunteered to test a pattern for Elizabeth .  She said that we could choose whichever size we wanted.  I went with the wall sized quilt because my blank walls are always in need of a little color. I have a stack of Kaffe Fassett shot cotton scraps that have been sitting on my shelf ever since I made this quilt .  I just love how bright and pretty they are.  The background is the newspaper print from Collage . The pattern was very clear and well written and quick.  I had all of the pieces cut out and sewn together before I knew it :) Finished size: 24"x24" Pattern available at Don't Call Me Betsy in the near future Linking up to Finish it up Friday .

Wow this summer has really flown by.  School is starting here next week and my daughter is going to be in Kindergarten.  She is SO EXCITED she can hardly stand it. 1.  Last night I started on a Roller Skate Dress for her first day of school.  It is almost done, I just need to get some ribbon for a bow on the front and finish up the hem.  Even though I don't really enjoy making clothes, this is definitely one that I would make again.   2.  I am also pattern testing for Elizabeth and I will be sharing this one soon. That is keeping me extremely busy right now because I am also potty training my son.  Holy cow, potty training is the worst thing ever.   Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced .