I recently finished this quilt for one of my favorite DJs in Denver. First post here. I don't think this quilt would have come together like it did, without having the final owner in mind. Thank you Nate Ishe -- this quilt was inspired by your mad skilzzz on the decks!
A little more about the project...this was the first time I played with half square triangles (HSTs). I can now see why HSTs have always been so core to quilting designs, old and new. There are so many creative ways to put them together; I can't wait to do more.
Although I have some baby quilts coming to a completion that will follow a little bit more of a traditional design, this quilt was inspired by wanting to do something different, with bold colors, using solids and modern patterns, and playing against the grain to create something that could appeal to both the female *and* male aesthetic. That's the kind of quilting I'm really into.
The fun of this design was in the impromptu nature of putting it together. I played with layout for weeks, moving colors and patterns around as more and more of design unfolded. I loved how shapes kept coming together within the colors and patterns. I love the points and arrows. I love how if you look closely, you can see an abstract heart in the overall final composition. (Which was only realized after I rotated it 45 degrees counter-clock-wise after it was all done, another unfolding of the design, but the final one.)
This is a mini-quilt designed to be a wall-hanging at 20x20 inches. I will enter this into a Modern Mini Quilt Challenge just for fun (hey, it's not a mainstream design, but you never know, maybe it will stand out in the crowd and inspire someone).
June 1, 2013
May 5, 2013
Two man quilts in progress - Urban Energy and Dragons!
Completed this quilt wall-hanging (just the top so far) to thank one of my favorite local DJs for accepting a very special request to spin at a friend's newly purchased home and birthday party this weekend. But this wasn't just any DJ, this was DJ Ishe, an great DJ, a great guy...
Ishe's set was unbelievable. I woke up the next day with a renewed relationship to the bass music I love. I love the music he plays, but his abilities on the decks and passion and presence are like no other. He was channeling, and I am blown away with gratitude and wows. Anyway, I am also honored to have him interested in a quilt and can't wait to gift it to him once I get the binding complete. This is the first time I've improved with half square triangles (HST), and I can't wait to do it again. I got inspired by reading an post on Owen's Olivia blog about HST wall art (that was supposed to be a laptop cover for her husband, lol).
Speaking of man quilts, I just started another one. This will be a baby boy quilt for my friends' nicknamed the Moogies who are expecting a little man in early July. There is no set theme, so I went all out with dragons and stars and pinwheels.
I am really enjoying quilting for guys. There's something really fun and creative about using what most people think is a girl craft to make something a guy would love. I have another one for my coming nephew in the works as well. More to come on that. Have a great week!
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| "Urban Energy" |
Speaking of man quilts, I just started another one. This will be a baby boy quilt for my friends' nicknamed the Moogies who are expecting a little man in early July. There is no set theme, so I went all out with dragons and stars and pinwheels.
I am really enjoying quilting for guys. There's something really fun and creative about using what most people think is a girl craft to make something a guy would love. I have another one for my coming nephew in the works as well. More to come on that. Have a great week!
April 28, 2013
Kids Clothes Week Project Complete and Broken In!
Kids Clothes Week has come and gone (and was so inspirational). I completed this project for my little man, and he broke it in on the same day, spilling on it, getting lots of hugs from friends during a music event we attended yesterday, and giving it some good little boy wear and tear. I knew I had to make the shirt when I saw this fabric. And this is the first time I've sewed a shirt; usually when it comes to clothes, I do vests, so this was a great learning experience.
There was a lot of technical learning here, including shirt yokes, placards, and gather stitching and easing to sew the sleeves, not to mention basting for new reasons I had not done before. It was nice (and fun) to learn a lot of new things doing a small version shirt before a big one, which I'd like to do for my husband some day soon. Already took him to the fabric store to see what fabrics he liked. Hehe. Looking forward to sewing more clothes in the future.
There was a lot of technical learning here, including shirt yokes, placards, and gather stitching and easing to sew the sleeves, not to mention basting for new reasons I had not done before. It was nice (and fun) to learn a lot of new things doing a small version shirt before a big one, which I'd like to do for my husband some day soon. Already took him to the fabric store to see what fabrics he liked. Hehe. Looking forward to sewing more clothes in the future.
April 27, 2013
Sugar Block of the Month Quilt Club – work in progress (With improved pictures)
Here’s the April block I completed as part of the Sugar
Block of the Month Club and even better, how all four completed blocks look
together. So colorful and cheery – these are so fun to put together, and I am
learning a lot every month.
Note: This is a second post with improved pictures. To see
the original post from a few days ago, go here.
April 26, 2013
April 21, 2013
Fabric for a woodland animals baby quilt for my coming nephew
I have a nephew coming early July and am planning a baby
quilt for him with the following fabric. They live in the mountains and are
decorating with woodland animals.
I just loved the “Mind your Ps and Qs” fabric, and it
matched perfectly with some fabric I already had from “Camp Modern.” I also
discovered how a couple colors of a pattern from the new “Glimmer” line was
very woodsie and complementary as well.
April 20, 2013
Kids Clothes Week - Getting ready to make an Oliver +S Sketchbook Shirt
I am participating in Kids Clothes Week, which is a really fun way to be part of a community (online) focusing their sewing on making kids clothes for a week. The challenge occurs once a quarter and crafters link up their ideas, tips, progress, and completed projects online using blogs, facebook, flickr, instagram, and more.
Here's the fabric I am using. It's from the "Timber and Leaf" collection, and I'm not sure where the flannel is from, but I plan to use it for the placard and yoke of the shirt.
And just cause it's fun to share, I got myself some fabric from the same collection, which will be a skirt for me. Gotta make yourself something once in a while!!
Here's the fabric I am using. It's from the "Timber and Leaf" collection, and I'm not sure where the flannel is from, but I plan to use it for the placard and yoke of the shirt.
And just cause it's fun to share, I got myself some fabric from the same collection, which will be a skirt for me. Gotta make yourself something once in a while!!
April 14, 2013
A sunny block for a wintry day (I mean week) in Colorado
This is the forth block I've made as part of the Sugar Block of the Month Club. I love that a sunshine design was the block for April, when we are getting so much snow in Denver, Colorado.
I also love how nice and easy it is to do one quilt block a month. Although I have a couple baby quilts to make, I will plan to take a long time when making a bigger quilt. I hate it when sewing gets stressful, because it's supposed to be my stress release.
Another time-management strategy I've put in place recently is to take pictures with my iPhone for immediate upload and wait to take pictures with my professional camera for bigger project or until I really have time for the downloading, processing, saving, and uploading that's required with a larger camera. The quality of the pictures aren't as good, but I'll trade that for the extra quality time I get in other areas of life, like watching my 20-month-old grow like a weed, spending time outside, etc.
March 30, 2013
Quilted tote – first experience with bag-making and English Paper Piecing quilting
Finally finished this birthday present for one of my favorite people. This is one of the most fun and favorite things I’ve made, and it was so great getting to think of my friend while making it.
It was my first time with bag making and English paper piecing (the hand sewn hexagons, which are possible to do on the way to the ski area in the car not to mention during a hot bath while listening to a book on tape (talk about multitasking)).
I really loved the combination of sewing something useful like a bag with quilting to make it unique and decorative. I even already started another one, and I can’t wait to get into smaller, zippered pouches.
I used a charm pack of Jay McCarroll’s Center City fabric collection for the hexagons. I just love this line of urban deliciousness. I am thinking about picking up some larger pieces before it is all gone—some of the prints would make amazing summer shirts and skirts.
I learned how to make the bag by watching the free Bag-Making Basics class on Craftsy.com, and I learned about English Paper Piecing by watching one of the lessons that’s part of the free Block of Month 2012 class also on Craftsy.com.
It was my first time with bag making and English paper piecing (the hand sewn hexagons, which are possible to do on the way to the ski area in the car not to mention during a hot bath while listening to a book on tape (talk about multitasking)).
I really loved the combination of sewing something useful like a bag with quilting to make it unique and decorative. I even already started another one, and I can’t wait to get into smaller, zippered pouches.
I used a charm pack of Jay McCarroll’s Center City fabric collection for the hexagons. I just love this line of urban deliciousness. I am thinking about picking up some larger pieces before it is all gone—some of the prints would make amazing summer shirts and skirts.
I learned how to make the bag by watching the free Bag-Making Basics class on Craftsy.com, and I learned about English Paper Piecing by watching one of the lessons that’s part of the free Block of Month 2012 class also on Craftsy.com.
March 23, 2013
Oil pastels are better than regular crayons for toddlers
A toddler specialist (http://www.patiencebleskan.com/) suggested buying oil pastels for the younger ones to draw with, because you don't have to push as hard as crayons to get bold colors, and they were a huge success. Our 20-month-old not only created something great, he also colored longer than usual! Here's a link to the ones we bought: http://www.crayola.com/products/28-ct-crayola-oil-pastels-product/.
My little Picasso loves his oil pastels., a photo by SincerelyStacy on Flickr.
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