Being Real

Last week I talked by phone with my friend Stephanie who asked me to do an episode of her popular Modern Sewciety podcast about what brought me to the decision to retire from professional sewing. As someone who had struggled with these issues herself, she felt that it was an important conversation to have, and I'm so glad she did. We spent over an hour sharing our hearts about the joys and challenges of this work. Being real . . . it seems to be the theme that's guiding this new season. Real conversations about real things with real people in real life. It's messy and difficult sometimes, but it's what we've got. It's who we are. And it's so much better to look at that reality than to try to be something we're not. So pour yourself a cup of tea, pick up your favorite slow sewing project, and settle in with the link right here for some good, honest conversation with friends.

On another note, it's been almost a year since I started working on my scrappy linen log cabin quilt (Sunny Day Supply is actually getting ready to host another round of their annual log cabin sew along that got me started on this one!), but I finally finished it last week just in time to gift it to my niece for her first birthday today. I absolutely love this quilt, and as hard as it is to let it go, I'm so happy that it's going to her.

For months, I was stumped on the quilting. I tried both machine and hand quilting several times, but I always wound up pulling the stitches out when they didn't look quite right. After getting so much wonderful encouragement from friends on Instagram to finish it up, I decided to do the simplest quilting possible on my machine, and it finally worked. The linen had to be handled carefully at times, as it does like to stretch a bit, but it came together in the end.

The back of the quilt is a Melody Miller print, back from her solo Ruby Star days, which I've always loved. I added a tag on the back with my niece's name and mine, which I embroidered by hand. It takes a little extra time, but for something special and personal like this, it's so worth it. The quilt is bound in a rainbow striped canvas print from IKEA that I've been saving for years. I like the touch of whimsy that it adds to the border, and it makes a wonderful frame for the whole project.

This quilt is absolutely packed full of favorite prints that I've been collecting since my very first year of sewing. It almost feels like a time capsule of the past eight years. I love it so much. I hope that every time my niece wraps herself up in it, she'll remember -- as I've always told my girls since they were little -- that she's all wrapped up in our love too.

A Baby Quilt

We found out that Bunny was on the way when my husband and I were really still newlyweds, married only six months. James had been hoping for a girl (I thought that was the sweetest thing!), and we were thrilled to discover a few months later that we were expecting a daughter. It was all new to me. I had been a youth worker and then an elementary teacher for years, but I had never spent any time at all around babies. We walked through this new adventure of doctor visits, childbirth classes, and nursery shopping with both excitement and nervousness. What were we in for? Everyone had advice to share with us, and we were constantly trying to take it all in, not knowing what to expect.

I will never forget my first baby shower, thrown by the sweet (mostly elderly) ladies at our little church in California where my dad was the pastor for over a decade. I sat down that afternoon and opened package after package containing gifts made by the hands of those dear women. My little Bunny started life with a stack of crocheted blankets, a nine-patch quilt, even an intricately crocheted Christmas stocking. Hours of time and love were poured into those gifts for my baby, and I was so deeply touched. I often told friends that my daughter (and Bear and Mouse to follow) were blessed with dozens of "grandparents" during those early years, and truly those wonderful people couldn't have loved my daughters more if they were their own flesh and blood.

There is something special about sewing for babies. It's not just giving a personal gift of love to the new parents or even creating something to help fill a baby's nursery. I'm always so aware that what I'm making might end up being an important part of this child's life, a "lovey" that never leaves a toddler's side or a quilt that the he or she snuggles beneath every night. For instance, that nine-patch quilt I mentioned above was used by each of my daughters, but little Mouse became particularly attached to it. To this day she can't sleep at night without "Flowery" curled up beside her (she named it after the floral prints that the quilter used). In fact, my little six year-old-is in tears every time her quilted friend has to take a trip through the washing machine, waiting desperately for it to come out of the dryer so that I can once again wrap her up in that familiar, comforting warmth. Flowery is starting to show some wear, and though I've had to mend it several times over the years, Mouse wouldn't part with it for anything. I have no doubt that she'll be showing it to her children someday. 

So when I heard that my brother-in-law and his wife were expecting a son in early October, I immediately knew that I wanted -- needed -- to make a quilt for our new nephew. My good intentions got the quilt started several weeks before his due date, but other deadlines and responsibilities kept me from finishing it until this week.

I'm so used to sewing for girls that it was a challenge to make a quilt for a boy. I wanted to be sure that the fabrics and colors I used would be a good fit, and I wanted it to be interesting enough that he would enjoy it as he got older. Out came the animals and the birds and all the fun children's prints I've been saving for kid friendly projects like this one. I even was able to sneak in a few prints from my Sample Spree goodies at Quilt Market last weekend. I've noticed a natural progression with each of my daughters and their quilts: play mat for the baby, blanket for the toddler, and friend for the preschooler. Because of this, I like to make baby quilts on the small side so that a young child will be able to carry it around without it being too large to handle easily.

The pattern is pretty typical for me: simple squares, alternating low volume and saturated prints, with a few squares on point mixed in for interest. I quilted straight lines 1/4" on either side of the piecing lines. The quilt is backed in one of Tula Pink's amazing Free Fall wideback prints, and I bound it in a turquoise print from Anna Maria Horner's True Colors line. This is the very first quilt for which I can ever remember making a label, and I will try to do it more often in the future. Using the letter embroidery feature on my Singer made things a lot simpler. I also really love that little raccoon from Kim Kight's adorable new Yours Truly collection.

I mailed the package off to our nephew last night along with three flannel burp clothes, each sewn by one of my daughters for their new cousin. They were so excited and proud to contribute a gift that they had made themselves, and I'm so thrilled to see their joy in that making. As I watch my brother-in-law and his wife start down the road that we began so nervously almost ten years ago now, it's amazing to me how far we've come. My little babies are growing up into capable young women, creative and sensitive, diligent and curious. It takes a lifetime to see the final legacy of all the values that we hope to instill in our children, but every now and then, I feel like we get a little peek at what the end result will look like. I just couldn't be more proud of them.

Quilt Market Sewing: Birch Fabrics

Birch Fabrics is still one of my favorite companies to sew for, always featuring clever designs, beautiful color schemes, and the nicest people. Most of my Market sewing for them this time was done with the new Charley Harper line, Nurture. This nine patch baby quilt would be perfect for a little boy's nursery.

Here's a close up of those great prints. I love that bottom right block the most. Those colors are just perfect!

I pieced together leftover fabrics and a cheater print for the backing.

There was one extra nine patch block leftover from my original planning stages. I decided that it would make a fun little pillow to go with the quilt.

This owl fabric on the back is adorable, isn't it?

The Nurture canvas is just right for bags. I had a lot of fun fussy cutting this giraffe print for my Malibu Satchel pattern.

The feather prints are fantastic basics. I even cut a little piece of canvas selvage for a makeshift label instead of a pocket on this version of the bag.

They asked me to make one more Malibu Satchel out of prints from the new Serengeti collection by Jay-Cyn Designs. All those colors look so happy together...

I've been absolutely delighted to see the stunning booth that the Birch crew is putting together. Be sure to stop by their Instagram account @birchfabrics to get a peek!

Butterfly Patch Baby Quilt Tutorial

I'm guest posting over at the Riley Blake Designs blog today with a Cutting Corners College tutorial for my Butterfly Patch Baby Quilt. If you're looking for a quick baby shower gift, this is it. My version features Zoe Pearn's sweet fabric collection, A Beautiful Thing, which has some perfectly darling prints in it...my favorite obviously being the butterflies. Head on over to check it out!

Rainbow Patch Baby Quilt

After patiently waiting for me to tie up some loose ends over the past few months, this little baby quilt finally came out of the Work In Progress basket yesterday. So many times I leave something unfinished for weeks on end when it would only take an hour or two to wrap up the project, and this was definitely one of those cases. I am so glad to have this quilt done at last!

When I make a project for little ones, I try to pull in as much color and visual interest as I can. This quilt ended up being a sort of scrappy rainbow -- hence the name -- and I love that it also works as an I-Spy quilt. I pulled out a lot of my favorite fabric designers for this one: Heather Ross, Lizzy House, Anna Maria Horner, and so on. There are also quite a few alphabet prints mixed in there too for fun.

The quilt is backed in a red and white dot print by Bonnie and Camille and is bound in a black and white Heath print from Alexander Henry. I wanted to have a black based print to frame the colorful quilt top, and this sketchy fabric makes a perfect binding. I used a zig zag stitch on my machine to make some randomly spaced wavy lines across the quilt, so much fun for little fingers to trace.

Baby quilts are always such a joy to sew. I love to pray for the new mommy and baby as I make a quilt that I know will be a part of both their lives. It also brings back so many memories of holding my three daughters when they were newborns. As difficult as those early years were -- and they were tough! -- I will never forget the wonder of snuggling my cheek against their soft little baby faces. This quilt will be winging its way across the ocean to my sweet friend Jodi in Australia tomorrow, and all my love goes with it.

Fort Firefly Gift Set

Not since Briar Rose have I been so excited about a fabric collection for children. Fort Firefly by Teagan White is utterly charming, and I was thrilled to death when the wonderful people at Birch Fabrics sent me a bundle to play with. A friend of mine is expecting a baby by the end of this month, and since we don't know yet if it's a boy or girl, I was looking for fabric that would walk the fine line of gender neutrality. I'll admit that this probably leans a little more toward the girly side, but it's cute enough that I think it can be excused. I've been dying to make the Books for Baby quilt from Patchwork, Please! since I first saw it. This is a slightly smaller version -- nine blocks instead of sixteen -- but it's still large enough for a small baby quilt.

Fort Firefly is a fussy cutter's dream. Every print is full of adorable details, and I had a hard time narrowing my choices down to these nine covers. I pulled from my scrap bucket to find text and map prints that would work for the pages and brown fabrics for the book bindings. Each quilt block is edged with Quilter's Linen, which I'm absolutely loving right now. The backing is a quiet dot print from Vintage Modern by Bonnie and Camille.

I thought it would be fun to make a little bag to hold the quilt instead of wrapping it up in paper, so I did a larger variation on my party bag tutorial using leftover prints from the Fort Firefly bundle and some white webbing that I had on hand. I couldn't resist sewing up a little cloth tag to decorate the front using some extra patchwork squares and a piece of cord. I love the way this bag turned out. It's just the right size for the folded quilt and will also fit nicely into a diaper bag for emergency situations once the baby's here.

There are so many wonderful sewing projects out there, but I still think that baby quilts are some of the sweetest.

Linking up to Finish It Up Friday.

Chevron Baby Quilt

This little baby quilt was an absolute dream to make.

The pattern is simple to piece and quick to sew. I love the modern feel it has, even with the children's prints. You'll recognize my Bells & Whistles fabric audition from the other day with a few changes. I almost never finish a project using exactly the same fabrics I pull at the start. About half of these fabrics are organic, and I really appreciate the slightly muted colors which, for me anyway, also adds to the modern vibe. I enjoyed using the mix of low volume prints along with Kona white for the background. The binding is a typewriter key print from Type by Julia Rothman -- a fun take on an alphabet print -- and the backing is the yellow print in the center block which I picked up at the local Hobby Lobby. It was in the clearance section at a great price, and I just couldn't refuse.

I'll be handing this quilt off to my parents to deliver tomorrow morning to the expectant family, and I have to admit, it's going to be hard to say goodbye to this one. I might just need to make another for myself using some grown-up prints...

Color Study

If there is anything I regret most about not starting my sewing career sooner, it's that I didn't get to sew for my daughters before they were born. What fun it would have been to make baby quilts and bibs, tiny dresses and stroller blankets while dreaming of the little ones on the way. Thankfully the parade hasn't completely passed me by -- I've had the chance to make several baby quilts for friends and family this year. The one you see above was a quick finish. I cut out the pieces last night and sewed them together today. I'm calling this one Color Study.

I had so much fun choosing the prints for the charm squares. There's a lot of Denyse Schmidt in there -- I just can't help gravitating toward her beautiful fabrics -- but you'll find a number of other designers represented here as well. The center print is a wonderful text print from the new Field Notes collection which I happened to see at Fat Quarter Shop, and I used a black tape measure print for the intersecting lines.

The back of the quilt is just three lines of fabric: more tape measures, a dot print from Bonnie & Camille's Marmalade collection, and ABC Critters from Mind Your P's and Q's by Keiki. That last one is such a perfect fit for a baby quilt -- how can you resist those darling little animals? I bound the quilt in a black and white Voltage Dot print from Chicopee by Denyse Schmidt.

I'm sorely tempted to keep this one for myself, but I'm content to know that it's going to a very good home.

Linking up to Sew Cute Tuesday & Fabric Tuesday.

Taking Flight

When I held my last job as an assistant principal before I became a stay at home mom, one of my favorite coworkers was our school librarian. She was a sweet young woman who truly enjoyed her work with the students. My friend also had a love for all things vintage, and you would often see her crossing the campus dressed like a Hollywood starlet from the 1940's. I was thrilled to attend her wedding a few years back, and I was just as excited to hear that she's expecting a little girl this November. My sister and I and our five daughters will be visiting her on her lunch break tomorrow, and I wanted to bring her something special for the baby...a quilt, of course.

Millie's Closet by Lori Holt for Riley Blake Designs seemed the perfect fabric choice for this project. I knew that my friend would enjoy the retro vibe of the prints, and the colors are girly yet bright. I've always had a weakness for flying geese patterns, and that led to the name for this quilt: Taking Flight.

The quilting is simply a few rows of a wavy stitch on my sewing machine which I stretched as long and large as possible. I love the way the fabric, pattern, and stitching all work together to give this a vintage modern feel.

The back of the quilt is one of the floral bouquet prints from the collection along with a strip of white muslin. I like using muslin for quilts from time to time; it's so soft and seems to get softer with every washing. For binding, I used Kona Red which ties the whole package together nicely.

Is there anything better than making gifts for the people you love? I think that those are often the projects I enjoy the most...

Enjoy your weekend, my friends. 

Structure

I've been thinking back to the beginning of my sewing career, and I'm pretty certain that I've never sewn anything for a boy before. That changed this weekend. My grandparents were visiting us from back east, and it turns out that one of my cousins is expecting a baby boy this week. I started this quilt on Saturday night and finished it Sunday afternoon, working on it in short spurts between meals, church, and other family activities. It was a hectic timetable, but I was so glad to be able to finish it in time to send it along.

I wasn't sure that I had any fabric on hand that would work for a boy's quilt until I remembered the charm pack I've been saving from Ellen Luckett Baker's Quilt Blocks collection. I pulled out a few squares and started playing around with them on a background of Kona Coal. It's only a simple plus pattern, but I love the way this turned out. These prints remind me of gears and architectural diagrams, so I'm calling this quilt "Structure."

The quilt is backed in more Kona along with another one of the Quilt Blocks prints, and I bound it in a green and white squiggle print by Rashinda Coleman-Hale from Cute Bots.

I would have loved to do more with the quilting, but I just didn't have enough time to do more than outline the formation in the center. As it was, I ended up hiding out in my room for almost an hour on Sunday trying to sew on the binding as fast as my fingers could work since they were leaving the next morning. I have at least one other friend expecting this fall, so there will be another baby quilt in the works soon. This next one is supposed to be a girl, though, so I shouldn't have any trouble finding fabric that will work.

Linking up to Fabric Tuesday.