When Your Hobby Becomes Your Job

All of us started sewing because we fell in love with it one way or another. We felt creative and inspired. We found something that both energized and relaxed us in the midst of our crazy schedules. In time, some of us even made the decision to take our hobby to the next level -- starting a blog, writing a book, designing fabric, writing patterns, opening a fabric shop, teaching classes. It was fun and exciting to see those doors open, and we were thrilled to have even more chances to do what we loved.

But one day you wake up, and something's different. It's not that you don't still love what you're doing, because you do. It's just that now this isn't something you get to do for fun whenever you feel like it. There are expectations, deadlines, maybe even financial obligations tied to this thing that you used to do when you were trying to escape all of those responsibilities.

What do you do when your hobby becomes your job?

I've seen enough on blogs and social media to know that I'm not the only one who's faced this reality shift, so I thought it was a topic worth discussing. Here are a few things I've learned in my own journey...

1. Find a way to play. The truth is that when your hobby becomes your job, you're left without a hobby. Either something else needs to take its place, or you have to find a way to divide things up so that some tasks are for work and some are for play. Are you running a fabric shop? Be sure to give yourself time to not just cut fabric, but to actually sew with it. Are you writing patterns? Take a break from pattern testing once in a while to make something just for fun. If you can't find that balance, try picking up something else that helps you be creative in a more relaxing way: drawing, painting, knitting, photography, crochet, music, sports, reading, etc. You may even discover another talent that you didn't know you had.

2. Don't take yourself too seriously. When you start a new adventure like this, it's a big deal. You should commit to it, celebrate it, and give it your all. At the same time, though, it's important to keep things in perspective. When I got my book contract, I was totally consumed by the project for months on end, trying to get every last detail just right. Some of the best advice I received was from my family. "Heidi, it's an amazing thing that you got to write this book," my mom told me, "and you'll always be able to look back and be glad that you got to do it. But don't ever forget that the book is just something you did. It isn't who you are." As my husband put it, "It doesn't have to be the best book ever written, sweetheart, just the best book you can write." Cut yourself some slack. You're not going to be perfect in any area of your life, including this one...and that's okay. Do your best and let the rest go.

3. Be honest with yourself. I'm the poster girl for overcommitment, and every few months it catches up with me. It's easy to feel that, because this is something you love to do, it's okay to load yourself up with more obligations in a week than any reasonable person could achieve in a month. It's also tempting to commit to some projects for free that cost you a lot in time and materials because you want to get your name out there. I personally feel that there's no hard and fast rule on these issues. There are times when you're going to have to work your tail off, and times when you desperately need to pull back and reevaluate your commitments. There are moments where you're going to put in a lot of work for less compensation than you probably deserve, and other moments when you need to hold out for a better offer. Deep down, we usually know which is which if we're brutally honest with ourselves. Take time each week to refocus and prioritize so that you can stay clear headed and know that you're making the best decisions for your situation.

4. Be willing to count the cost. I think sometimes we feel that a hobby-turned-job is in a different category than an ordinary, run-of-the-mill job...but it really shouldn't be. There's a line between our dreams and our reality, and it's important to know where that line is. Working on my book for almost two years has been a fabulous experience in so many ways, yet it has definitely come with a cost. Thankfully my family was able to make the sacrifices necessary for it to happen, but if this had come a few years earlier, we could never have managed it. If you're struggling or unsure of your situation, ask yourself a few questions, such as...

• Am I making ends meet? Can I sustain this financially?
• Would I be willing to do this for any other typical 9-5 job?
• Is this working with my family situation? Are the sacrifices that they're making (or I'm making) worth it? Will it be easier if I wait a year before doing this? Three years? Five years?
• Is this is an offer that I just can't turn down or is there another way to make this happen that works better with my situation? Have I weighed all my options?

If you're happy with your answers to these questions, that's fantastic! Pursue your opportunity in the knowledge that this is the right thing for you and your family. If you look at your situation, though, and realize that things aren't working out the way you hoped they would, there is no shame and much wisdom in changing course. It's ideal if you can weigh the sacrifices before you start a venture like this, but never be too proud to stop and refocus, even in the midst of things. It doesn't always mean that you have to quit what you're doing; sometimes it just means that you need to start doing things a little differently to make it work.

I'd love to hear from those of you who are dealing with these issues in your own lives. What's your advice?

Between You and Me

My Medallion pillow from earlier this month -- see the guest post here at Sew Sweetness.

It's been a thoughtful sort of week. First I heard that Sew Fresh Fabrics is closing down. Then I heard that Pink Chalk Fabrics is changing course. Finally I read Holly's post and the article that inspired it. It all has me thinking a lot about this online sewing community.

I've only been blogging since the end of 2011, but it feels like things have changed a lot in that short time period. There is SO much out there now. You can find a free tutorial for almost any project imaginable. Fabric companies are releasing more collections by more designers. There are tons of online fabric shops specializing in different bundles and themes. Sewing bloggers are moving beyond blogging to write books, design fabric collections, and start magazines. It's fun and exciting and so inspiring.

The best package of my week contained these lovely threads from my friends at Aurifil.

The downside is that it's getting much harder to come up with new material because, as my sister always reminds me, there's nothing new under the sun. Copycats are coming on the scene -- some who don't mean to and some who do. There's a constant drive to produce more information at a higher level of quality than ever before. People speculate about whether blogs have replaced magazines, whether Instagram will replace blogs, and what will end up replacing all of the above. I know traditional fabric shop owners who worry about keeping up with online shops, while online shop owners search for a way to stand out in the growing internet market. After all there are plenty of people in this community who are working hard to make their family living from creative blogs and businesses.

There's concern about blogger burnout, and for good reason. To publish a single blog post means that you must decide on a topic, develop your ideas, make the project, style the photos, take the photos, edit the photos, write the post, and edit the post. If that post is a tutorial, you can multiply the workload by at least five times. If you're working on a project for a blog hop, a magazine, or a book, it has to stay secret until the big reveal. So while you're doing all this work behind the scenes, you're also scrambling to come up with something else that you can share on the blog so that you don't leave your readers hanging without anything new. Layer that on top of the responsibilities of a family and career, and it all gets overwhelming really fast.

A stack of solids for an upcoming project...they remind me of sunset on our mountains.

After spending a few days mulling things over, I can't escape the importance of going back to the beginning. Why did we start all of this -- the patterns and the fabric, the blogging and the swapping? We did it because there's something in our souls that loves to create beauty, and it gives us so much joy to do it together. Meeting with you here once or twice a week is like sitting down with a friend in my sewing room, sipping tall glasses of iced tea and sharing our latest projects with each other. It's growing together, learning lessons through the rough times, and sharing the victories that come along the way. When burnout and controversy rise up, we give each other grace and the benefit of the doubt. Friends, after all, hope the best for each other, and in the end, whether we've met in person or not, this all comes down to the simplest of friendships between you and me.

So I'm not giving up. If blogs go the way of the typewriter and the cassette tape (both of which are still completely awesome, by the way), I'll still be here on whatever the next wave is that comes through. We'll still get together for our weekly visits, and yes, I'll still be sewing. Because honestly, I love it. There isn't anything else I'd rather do.

Care Package Giveaway

I have just finished reading Diane's brutally honest post on fabric addiction -- true fabric addiction -- and it has touched me deeply. It was not so long ago that I was starting out in the online quilting world and had little to no money in our budget for any fabric purchases, let alone designer prints. I remember when my blog audience was a grand total of three, and when I couldn't seem to get anyone to consider my ideas for tutorials and projects. Back then, I had three little girls under the age of five and could hardly scrape out the time to sew at all. It wasn't easy, but I kept trying to do all I could with what I had...one slow step at a time.

Over the past few years I have been blessed by family members who joyfully sponsored my hobby, friends who sent me special gifts, and companies who generously allowed me to work with their fabric and notions. Opportunities have come my way -- some that appeared by surprise and others that I had to chase after -- that I never dreamed I would really get to experience. I don't take this lightly. Not everything has gone the way I planned, but I am so grateful for the lessons I've learned through this journey. I know that I've been blessed by others, and it's my deepest desire to be a blessing to all of you through this blog and everything connected with it.

Today, I'd like that blessing to come your way in the form of a care package. I'm putting together some special bundles this week to send out to three of my lovely readers. It won't be a huge package, but I promise, it will be a good one. Leave me a comment below telling me what you love: colors, designers, fabric collections, themes, solids vs. prints -- be specific! Also let me know in your comment where you live - your state if you're in the U.S. and your country if you're international. I'll be randomly selecting two U.S. readers and one international reader to win. The giveaway will be open through Tuesday at midnight. Be sure to include your email address in the comment if you're a no reply blogger so that I can get in touch with you. Please spread the word to any friends you may have, especially to those who you know could use a little pick-me-up right now.

I can't send each of you a care package, but please know that I'm sending all of you a hug. Have a wonderful weekend!

Community

a peek at Road to California 2014

When I started blogging at the end of 2011, all of my connection with the quilting community was online. It really wasn't until I attended last year's Road to California Quilt Show that I got to see some of these people in person, and it was a powerful thing. Whether these people were into traditional quilting, modern quilting, or something in between, it didn't really matter. All of us found joy in using a needle and thread to make beautiful things, and this gave us something in common.

Cindy, me, Deborah -- love these ladies...

I returned to Road to CA last month, and the feeling was back only stronger. This time I got to meet up with some blogging friends in person, enjoying a precious half hour with Cindy and Deborah to chat face to face. It was also wonderful to meet the incredible ladies behind Fabricworm and Birch Fabrics in person after communicating with them by email for months -- in fact I had so much fun talking, that I didn't take time for a decent photo. I left that day with sore feet and a light heart, feeling so happy to be a part of this community of quilters.

Mary, Gayle, Michelle & Pat -- just a few members of the group

Then this past Sunday I was looking over Keri's e-newsletter from The Quilt Loft fabric shop in Upland, and I was thrilled to see that Friends of the Modern Quilt Guild was starting an Inland Empire chapter and holding their first meeting at her shop on Monday night. What a joy it was to spend some time with other ladies who love to sew! We have come with different life backgrounds and sewing experiences, but in essentials, we were all the same: a desire to grow in our craft and a willingness to share with and encourage each other. I have great hopes for this group and am so grateful to Michelle for getting it started. If any of you live nearby, please come! We'll be meeting up on the second Monday of every month at 6pm. The website is still under construction, but you can find it here.

no makeup, no jewelry, no stylist, and not much sleep...just me as I type this blog post

The events of the past month have made me think a lot about community. We all say that we want to be part of one, but the reality of this can be so different from what we imagine. To have a community, you have to have people, and people are not always what we want them to be. That seems so obvious, but it can be a hard reality to deal with at times. Many bloggers have written about the importance of getting beyond the "perfect" image of our blogs and sewing room photos, but I think we also struggle with getting beyond the glossy image we have of each other as people. As much as we know that our friends aren't perfect, we kind of want them to be sometimes. In fact, we sort of want to be that way ourselves. Once we get past those first impressions and start seeing the flaws, the annoying habits, the issues where we disagree (sometimes strongly), it's so easy to drift away from each other and into those cliques that we all despise. What started out as a great adventure in sisterhood once again ends up being little more than another version of the high school lunch room.

I don't have any grand solutions to the problem, but I've decided to adopt two new rules of thumb when dealing with people in my community (sewing or otherwise) this year:

1. Let people be who they are. I always think of that scene from Pride & Prejudice (the Colin Firth version, of course) when Lizzie is angry with her friend Charlotte for marrying the ridiculous Mr. Collins just to secure a home for herself, insisting that she and her sister Jane would never do such a thing. "But, Lizzie," Jane insists, "not everyone is the same!" How often I have had to remind myself this. Give people space to be themselves, even if it's not exactly what you would prefer them to be. It's okay to disagree on some things. It's okay to like different things. We can be ourselves and still be friends.

2. Give people grace when they need it. There are days when I'm grouchy or depressed or feeling like a flop in one area of my life or another. In those moments I need someone who cares enough to put up with me and love me anyway. The members of our community need that same grace. Everyone says something they regret from time to time. All of us want to feel like we belong -- even when we sometimes secretly don't feel like we really do. In those moments, we need to be ready to give each other the grace that says, "We care about you. You matter to us."  And yes, this means not only having a heart that's willing to embrace our friends on their bad days. It means having the courage to be kind to the difficult person in our community (you know who I mean -- yes, that person) who, truth be told, may need your kindness more than anyone else in the room, even if they don't seem to deserve or appreciate it. While there are definitely a few people out there who enjoy being a pain, most people are doing the best they can...just like you.

It's not going to create utopia overnight, but I really believe that practicing (not just preaching) these two standards will go a long way toward bringing a little more love into our sewing communities -- both online and in person. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this subject. How do we make our communities stronger? How do we make them a place where people truly feel like they belong?

True Confessions

So here's the thing...I've been walking the most painful of lines lately with some big news that I wasn't able to share with you yet. However, after a little conversation and some great clarification from my editor, I am thrilled to tell you that I'm in the process of writing a book for Stash Books! I debated long and hard over when to share this news with you. Writing and publishing a book is a really long process (we're looking at a publication date of spring 2015 for my title), and not only am I not allowed to share any of the juicy details with you for quite a while but I also don't want you to be sick to death of the whole thing by the time the book actually hits the shelves. On the other hand, it kills me that I've been writing and sewing like mad from morning till night each day and yet can share almost none of it with you here at Fabric Mutt. I didn't want you to think that I'd lost interest in sewing or was letting the blog slowly waste away to nothing. So please know that though I won't be posting more often than once or twice a week and though I can't spend nearly as much time as I'd like reading all of your blogs and leaving comments as I go, it isn't because I don't want to. I'll be back to my regular routine in a few months, promise!

Can I also just take a moment to say that the people at C&T Publishing and Stash Books are fabulous? They have a fantastic introductory pack for new authors which is so helpful, and just look at the incredible box of goodies they sent me above. For someone who's walking into the great unknown here, it's so wonderful to be surrounded by encouraging people who know exactly what they're doing.

Bunny raced off to her desk and wrote this note for me on the day I found out that my book proposal was accepted.

And my dear sweet family...no one is giving up more than these people to make this project happen. They are so proud of my amazing opportunity and so patient with me as I constantly swing between excited and absentminded and completely overwhelmed. I absolutely could not do this without them.

So that's the scoop, my friends. I can hardly wait to share this book with you when it's done, but for now I promise not to bore you to pieces with constant chatter about it. Just know that I'm still here and still honored to have the chance to be a tiny part of your lives.

Carefree

I'm going to be perfectly honest here and say that sometimes quilts are my least favorite project to sew. Don't get me wrong -- I love quilts. But trying to piece together something so large and feed it through my little home machine, all while keeping the kids and dogs from trampling it to bits, can be rather stressful. And you know those awesome bloggers who can show you closeups and even the reverse side of their quilting because every single bit of piecing is a thing of beauty? Nope...not me. But when I worked on my chevron baby quilt last month, this quilt block quickly won my heart. It's quick to cut, easy to piece correctly, and perfect for simple quilting.

For the fabrics, I used my California Road Trip blogger bundle for Tactile Fabrics along with some special prints from my own collection. I can't tell you how delighted I am with the way this turned out. As I was sewing this quilt top together, I couldn't stop thinking of the quiet vacations my sister and I used to spend together at Huntington Beach every spring back when we were both single teachers. Mornings on the beach, afternoons at the pool, and sunsets on the pier -- it was absolutely heaven, and the memories led me to name this quilt "Carefree."

The back of the quilt is a large scale text print from IKEA which I picked up a few weeks ago for just ninety-nine cents a yard. Now, of course, I wish I'd gotten ten yards instead of just three. It's bound in a pale orange floral print from Denyse Schmidt's latest Blossom Reel line.

From this angle you can also see the small vineyard we have growing over our arbor in the backyard. Fresh grapes at the table for every meal have been a lovely thing this summer. Since they have a habit of adopting my projects before they're even finished, I've already let the girls know that this one is going to be Mommy's special quilt. It's taking a spin in the dryer as I type, and I'm looking forward to snuggling with it -- yes, even in the 106 degree heat we've been having here in Southern California.

After spending a few weeks on the drawing board, my new blog header is finally in place. I had so much fun drawing an updated version of our little Naomi for the blog, and there's even a new blog button there on the side to grab if you like. Enjoy!

Linking up with Sew Cute Tuesday & Fabric Tuesday.

What's Going On

I had planned to add a few announcements to my Fresh Sewing Day post tomorrow, but there's so much going on in the next month that I felt it deserved a post of its own. Click on the title for each event to see all the details. Here's the quick list of what's coming up...



1. Umbrella Prints Trimmings Competition: visit the Pinterest board here to see all the entries and repin the ones you like -- my Mosaic Bag is in there too. The project with the most repins wins the viewer's choice prize, and there are some insanely gorgeous projects. I'm having a ball just going through them all this morning and doing a little pinning of my own!



2. Let's Get Acquainted New Blogger Blog Hop: My friend Beth from Plum & June is bringing back last year's wildly successful blog hop for another run. So many bloggers out there give Beth credit for introducing them to a wider audience, so if you're new to the online quilting community, you'll definitely want to get in on this before all the spaces fill up. I'll be guest posting for the blog hop on June 8th here at Fabric Mutt.



3. Season By Hand Blog Hop: Jennie at Clover & Violet is hosting a blog hop all about hand sewing projects -- such a great idea for staying crafty during summer travels. I have a project I've been working on for a while that I'm hoping to finish by June 14 which is my stop on the blog hop. There are going to be some great posts and amazing bloggers involved, so be sure to check out all the details.



4. Kate Spain Blog Hop: Alyce at Blossom Heart Quilts is celebrating all things Kate Spain in the month of June, beginning and ending by interviewing the lady herself. All of the bloggers will be sharing projects we've made with Kate Spain fabrics -- I'll have mine here on June 18th -- and you'll have the chance to link up your own for some wonderful prizes. You can even submit questions for the final interview if you get them in before the month is out!

So there you have it -- June is going to be one big sewing/blogging/hopping extravaganza. Sounds like fun to me!

Name Game

Pop over to Cindy's lovely blog Live a Colorful Life this morning to hear all about how Fabric Mutt got its name. Our interview happened this past winter, so I actually celebrated my first year of blogging at the end of December. Where does the time go?? I can honestly say that I'm enjoying myself more than ever these days, and no small part of that is due to all of you.

Thanks, friends.

Weekend Notes

I started work today on a new quilt. It's a miniature version of Camille's lovely Fireworks pattern which will consist of just four blocks made with Splendor 1920. I'm already liking it a lot.

Jennifer posted the second Havana tutorial today: the Scooter Bag. It's a soft, cuddly monster of a bag that will carry just about anything you want to bring along. Check out the tutorial here.

And finally, I'm hopping onto the Bloglovin' bandwagon, though it's tough to let go of my Google Reader. Real tough. The Bloglovin' people have a lovely website, I'm just such a creature of habit that little changes throw me for a loop. If you'd like to help me through my readjustment period by following me over there, I'd be quite the happy clam.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Swing by here on Monday -- I'll have a pre-blog hop tutorial to share with you for Girl Friday Sews!

Site Seeing

My husband is off teaching and on spring break for the next two weeks, and I couldn't be happier. It's possible that the best part of the whole deal is that I get to sleep in every morning, and he gets a nap every afternoon. This morning when I finally came downstairs and clicked on my laptop over breakfast, there were some lovely things to see online. My Tsuru bag made the Cloud 9 Fabrics Facebook page today -- you can check it out here. I was thrilled when Michelle asked me to send her the picture for this.

Tomorrow, the first of three tutorials I created with Monaluna's adorable Havana collection will be popping up on Jennifer's official blog. I had so much fun working with these darling fabrics to create my Scooter Pack -- a set that includes a bag, a reading mat, and a pillow. Jennifer is such a lovely person and an incredibly talented designer. Have you seen her latest Modern Home collection? Those llamas are cuteness itself, and I love the herringbone and leaf prints too. Be sure to check it out!

Taryn has an absolutely fabulous post up today about the Girl Friday Sews Blog Hop, full of wonderful tips and tricks for organizing your workspace. She's also holding a giveaway for a $25 Pink Chalk Fabrics gift card (who can't use one of those?), but really you need to head over there just to see her adorable new mouse pad. Melody Miller goes with everything!

The day is calling -- and maybe a little sewing, too? -- so I'm off. Have a great Monday!

Linking up with the Let's Get Acquainted Monday Link-up.

Valentine

It's a little early for Valentine's Day, but this pillow came together for me out of nowhere, and I just couldn't wait until February 14th to give it to my husband. Lately he's been calling me the "Queen of Hexagons" since I'm so often working on stacks of them in the evenings while we watch old episodes of Poirot mysteries.

I carefully chose a bright palette of one and a half inch hexagons for this little heart, attached it to a piece of black yarn dyed Essex linen, and embroidered our initials below in red embroidery floss. It's not fancy, but I absolutely love it and thankfully so does my husband.

The prints I highlighted for the hexagons are sprinkled with little tidbits from our life: an early picnic date, our love of cooking, the fact that we both play guitar, etc. It was fun to see how many details I could include.

A few side notes...Amy at Badskirt had a wonderfully thoughtful post on curating this week. I highly recommend that you drop by to read it. Meanwhile, my dad went outside to get his copy of the Wall Street Journal this morning and came in to announce that the paper featured an article all about Craftsy. I personally started taking three of their classes over Christmas break, and I'm completely impressed with everything about that site. I'm thrilled for them to be getting some more exposure, and even more excited that everyone in my family is acquiring my radar for all things related to sewing. :)

By the way, my something special I mentioned yesterday is coming up on Monday rather than Friday. This is why I need to start actually using my new calendar...

Linking up to Finish It Up Friday.

Breathe

So remember when I said that I was struggling with an unknown illness last week? What was masquerading as some sort of flu bug appears to be a simple case of utter physical exhaustion. Between caring for my three daughters, home schooling, cleaning, cooking, running errands, blogging, and sewing -- and all on six hours of sleep or (often) less per night -- I have discovered that my rope does indeed have an end to it. It appears that something is going to have to give, and that "something" will probably be a bit of my sewing and blogging.

I have always been the sort of person who throws herself completely into things, and once in a while I throw myself a little further in than I should. It's the perfectionist in me. Sewing has been such a joy for me, but the more I do, the more I want to do, and it's amazing how fast it all piles up. There are always at least ten events happening at any time online, and I want to join every one of them. Before I know it, I'm scrambling every night to finish another project, another blog post. And then there are all the blog posts that I need to read before bed so that I don't have ninety messages waiting for me in Google Reader the next morning. Meanwhile I struggle to give my family the love and attention that they need and keep up with the endless piles of laundry and dishes -- well, you get the idea. It's all about priorities, and I'm starting to get the feeling that I've mixed something up somewhere.

My sudden crash this week has been a wake up call for me. Reading Katie's post last night was another nudge in that direction. And then my father surprised me by sitting down with me as an ambassador for the family this afternoon and saying, "We love you and we're proud of you, but you're doing too much." As hard as it is for me to admit it, he's right. And just to make sure that I don't weasel out of it, I want to let all of you know it too. I'll still be sewing and blogging here every week, just a little less often. You have all been such a blessing to me this year -- more than you will ever know. I love sewing and sharing with you, but I've found that I really do need to slow down and take time to breathe.

After talking with my dad for a while, I went downstairs to find the rest of the family. I hugged my husband. I played with my dogs. I taught my girls how to make gingerbread.

It was the best afternoon I've spent in a long time.

Fresh Sewing Day, a Feature, and a Finish

It's amazing to me how the months used to just flow into each other, and I didn't really see them go by. Now that I participate in Lily's Quilts Fresh Sewing Day, I'm so aware of the passing of another month, and it shocks me to see how quickly they come and go. Above you can see my mosaic for May...lots of fun projects this month. I finished up my items for the Modern She Made Swap and got a fabulous package in return. I'm still loving the Zakka Along, and I was able to participate in the Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop this week, which will be running all summer long. Looking back, it's been a great month!


                                                         

I'm so excited to be featured on the weekly Follower Friday at Knotted-Thread today! Jennifer is both super sweet and super talented -- I love her retro flowers quilt. Be sure to drop by and check out her wonderful blog.

It's taken me a month, but I've finally gotten around to finishing Bear's Castle Peeps quilt for her toddler bed. I basted the other two quilts last night, and I'm hoping to wrap them up over the weekend. The girls were circling me all evening with eager little faces, wanting to know if they'd be sleeping under their new quilts tonight. If only...

Today my husband turns in his keys at the end of another school year -- he teaches history at a nearby middle school. To say that I'm ecstatic that he'll be home with us for the next two months is a supreme understatement. I'm looking forward to a joyful summer with the people I love more than anything else in the world. And maybe a little sewing time...

Wishing you all the happiest of Fridays!

Linking up to Fresh Sewing Day, Sew & Tell Friday, and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

My Stop on the Hop

I’m so thrilled to be a stop on the Let’s Get Acquainted Blog Hop today! Beth of Plum and June has been amazing about putting this whole thing together, and I’m excited to get to know more about some of my favorite bloggers this summer. Be sure to stop by to see Amy of Amy's Crafty Shenanigans today too. She's got some great projects on her blog -- I love the Savana Bop quilt she just made for the Siblings Together charity! And also don't forget to check out Beth's blog entry from yesterday for a great interview with Deborah of Whipstitch along with a pretty fabulous giveaway...

A few of my favorite projects from 2012

For those of you who are visiting for the first time, welcome to Fabric Mutt! Sewing has been a new adventure for me this past year. After being a teacher for nine years and an assistant principal for one, I decided to become a stay-at-home mom in 2009. It was a big change for me after working since I was a teenager, and it took a while for me to find my balance. When my mom brought a new sewing machine into our home last fall, she opened up a whole new world to me. I immediately began looking for inspiration on the web, and I was amazed at the treasure trove that I found in the online quilting community. By the end of December 2011, I decided to start Fabric Mutt as a way to share my projects with my out-of-state family as well as track my own progress. It’s been incredible to connect with so many other bloggers who share my love of sewing!

I live in a busy Southern California household. My husband and I bought a home with my parents four years ago, and we also share the space with our three little girls, affectionately known as Bunny (5), Bear (3), and Mouse (1½). It’s a fantastic situation for us, and we enjoy lots of family time together. With all of the chores and child care involved in daily life, sewing doesn’t always happen as easily as I’d like it to, but I manage to fit it in as I go along.

Beth gave us a great list of questions to answer, so here we go…

How long have you been quilting? About 7 months. It feels like it’s been a lot longer than that to me!

Favorite quilting tips? Don’t be afraid to try anything. I feel like I’ve gone through a series of terrors in my sewing – afraid to try making my own binding, to put in a zipper, to try paper piecing, etc. If you’re afraid of it, then make yourself do it. I usually find that it’s not nearly so awful as I thought it was, and each accomplishment opens up a new world of projects that you can do.

Favorite blogging tips? 1) Be yourself – it’s your blog, after all, and no one else’s. 2) Get involved with the online quilting world – linky parties, swaps, sew alongs, etc. This is how you meet people and how they meet you -- however… 3) Don’t overbook yourself. If you try to join every single event happening in blogland, you will eventually burn out…trust me on this one.

Favorite fabric? I love anything by Kate Spain, Melody Miller, Heather Ross, Denyse Schmidt…how many favorites am I allowed to have?

Favorite craft book? Zakka Style by Rashida Coleman-Hale. It’s changed my sewing forever.

Favorite book? A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers

Favorite children’s book? The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis or The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Favorite quilting tool? My rotary cutter

Favorite music to listen to while quilting? Usually jazz, swing, or the local Christian radio station

Favorite TV show while hand stitching: Psych

Binding - by hand or by machine? By hand…it’s a ton of work, but it looks so beautiful when you’re done!

If I'd only known - what you wish you knew about blogging before you started your blog: Don’t lose your joy in pursuit of perfection. It’s easy to feel discouraged because your numbers aren’t as big as someone else’s, because you’re not getting packages of free fabric from designers, or because your quilts don’t look as perfect as the other ones in the linky party. You have to start somewhere, just like everybody else did. And hey, this is supposed to be fun!

So . . . on to the tutorial portion of the post! I've been experimenting a lot lately with different types of bags, pouches, and portfolios after doing the projects in Zakka Style as well as a portfolio pattern from the upcoming Pretty in Patchwork: Holidays. That experimentation led me to today's project: the Quiet Pack.

Every summer we take a road trip to visit my parents-in-law in Arizona. The visit itself is always fantastic, but eight hours in the car with three little girls? Not so much. This year I intend to be well armed with entertainment for the kids, and I thought a helpful tool might be some Quiet Packs. These are really just simple portfolios equipped with some cloth "toys" and space for picture books. Some people like to add room for a pad of paper and crayons, but I don't let my girls have crayons in the car anymore ever since the time Bunny drew all over the inside of our old Corolla with a green crayon . . . not a day to remember fondly, believe me. The great thing about this project, though, is that you can customize it in so many ways. Sew a few extra seams down the pockets, and you've got slots for crayons (if your kids are more trustworthy than mine). Add some velcro pieces to the inside, and you have a portable tic-tac-toe game. Hey, use a grown up fabric and make a pack for yourself! The tutorial is just a jumping off point...make this project whatever you want it to be.

For my fabric, I used the Woodland Tails collection by Sheri Berry Designs for Riley Blake. It's not only adorable, but it features the three animals that represent my daughters' nicknames: Bunny, Bear & Mouse. I'm using the large round pictures from the cheater quilt print as decorations for the outside of each pack so that my girls can quickly see which pack belongs to them. Use a quarter inch seam allowance for all sewing unless I mention otherwise. Okay, let's get this party started!

Gather your materials:

• About 1 yard of material (make it 1.25 if you want to be safe -- I always like to have a little extra on hand in case of mistakes) in a variety of different prints -- your design, so you get to choose!
• fusible batting (I used Fusible Thermolam Plus)
• fusible interfacing (I used Pellon 809 Decor Bond)
• 4.5" strip of sew-in velcro
• fabric glue stick (not required, but definitely helpful) 
• coordinating thread

 
1. Cut out your pieces:

• exterior: 23.5 x 12" print and 23.5 x 12" fusible batting
• interior: two pieces of 12 x 12" print and two pieces of 12 x 12" fusible interfacing
• inside pocket: 23.5 x 9" print and 23.5 x 9" fusible interfacing
• flap: two pieces of 5.5 x 5.5" print (these can be the same fabric or two different prints -- your choice), one piece of 5.5 x 5.5" fusible batting for the exterior flap, and one piece of 5.5 x 5.5" interfacing for the interior flap
• fabric for exterior decorative applique (optional) 

2. Use a zig zag stitch to applique the decoration to the exterior of your pack (I often use fabric glue to hold it in place before I start sewing). I just folded the exterior fabric in half, centered the circle on the front, and then moved it slightly to the left to account for the seam allowance around the outside. I also went around the circle twice to be sure that it was firmly attached since this is such a large piece of fabric, and I know it's going to get a lot of use.

3. Fuse all pieces of fabric to their appropriate backings (see the information under step one).

4. Place the interior pieces with their right sides together and stitch along the center line. Unfold them and press the seam allowance open.

5. Fold the fabric for the inside pocket in half length wise, press, and top stitch about a quarter inch away from the fold.

6. Pin the pocket in place along the bottom and sides of the interior and stitch all along the matching raw edges of the pocket to secure it in place. Then sew straight down the middle of the pocket to create two pockets.

7. Sew the two flap pieces together, right sides facing, along three sides -- being sure to leave the fourth side open.

8. Clip the corners, turn the piece inside out, push out the corners with a chopstick, and press.

Center half of your 4.5" velcro strip (I put the scratchier side on the flap, myself) on the end opposite the opening, leaving about a quarter inch around it on three sides. Secure it with fabric glue, then stitch all the way around the sides of the velcro once or twice.

9. Sew the other piece of velcro on the right side of the exterior piece, about an inch and a half from the short end opposite the decorative applique, stitching all around the velcro once or twice. I like to sandwich all the pieces together with the flap in place just to test out if everything is where it should be and make sure that the flap will actually reach the exterior velcro before I sew it down. (Just a note: I put my flap on this side so that it won't interfere with the design on the front. Feel free to put your flap on the other side if you prefer. In that case, just reverse the placement of the flap and exterior velcro.)

10. Sandwich the flap between the exterior and interior (right sides together), centering it on the short side with the applique. Be sure that the exterior side of the flap is facing the exterior's right side.

Let about an inch of the flap (the end with the opening), hang outside. Pin along all the raw edges.

11. Stitch a quarter to a half inch along all the raw edges of the pack, leaving an approximately five to six inch opening on the long side opposite the pocket for turning. Clip the corners and turn inside out, pushing out the corners with a chopstick.

Give the pack a nice pressing all over, turn the remaining open raw edges inside to match the sewn edges, and stitch an eighth to a quarter inch from the edge around the entire exterior of the pack. Turn the pack over and sew one final seam down the center fold of the interior, all the way down through the pocket. 

12. If you like, you can make some little characters to go with your pack. I fussy cut 2.5" squares with an animal in the center of each one, fused them to interfacing, and then sewed them (right sides together) with a backing print along three sides. I turned them inside out, turned in the edges of the open side, and stitched all along the edge of each square.

My girls will play with these guys against the forest backdrop on the left interior of the pack, but you could easily use these pieces for a matching game, tic-tac-toe, etc. 

You're done! Fill up your pack with goodies, and enjoy!

If you make a Quiet Pack of your own, be sure to link up with Monday's Let's Get Acquainted Linky Party at Plum and June so that we can all admire your beautiful work! Please be sure to leave me a comment letting me know if this is a helpful tutorial for you. I'd also love to hear what you think of Fabric Mutt -- the design, the photos, the content . . . comments and suggestions are always welcome here!

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and come back to visit again. I'd love to see you here!

Linking up to Fabric Tuesday.