I is for Ivan

I is for Ivan

My nephew, Ivan, is turning one in a matter of days. His party is this weekend, and I am doing my best to finish quilt before we celebrate.

"I" detail

I had been waiting for one of the local quilt shops to get "Bella", the most recent line by Lotta Jandotter, in. A quilting buddy, who works at The Quilt Company, let me know some of the line had arrived last week, which led to an impromptu fabric binder. The print used as a part of the "I" is called "Lind."

Makes me think of buildings and blocks

When designing quilts for babies and toddlers I tend to go simple and bold. I don't enjoy over-complicating my quilts, and I think simple and bold is more appealing to babies' developing eyes. Tomorrow I start quilting. I will be using the same print for the backing fabric.

PGH MQG

More proof I have been working:
1. I have been helping create the Pittsburgh Modern Quilt Guild
2. My blocks for the QuiltCon quilt block challenge

I promise! I promise! I have been working!!!

Red/White/Black WIP

It may not look like much, but it is something. Reorganizing my stash the other weekend I was reminded I had these great red, white, and black fabrics. As soon as I got a little free time I quickly cut out some rectangles and am currently piecing this all together. All 144 pieces have been chained together. When I get a little more time I will finishing sewing together all of the rows. This soon-to-be quilt doesn't have a home, but I certainly know several families with babies on the way.

I'm also currently finishing cutting out a quilt for my cousin, Shelly, who is having her first baby at the beginning of September. I will post photos soon. Great colors- grey, yellow, and white.

Quilts Beyond Borders has also been keeping me busy. A lot of quilts and tops are being delivered at my house, and we have several kits we need to get out to longarm quilters to meet the demands for quilts going overseas. We are also about to begin remodeling our kitchen, which has required extensive prep work.

And, lastly, because I don't have enough going on in this life- I am currently co-founding the Pittsburgh chapter of the Modern Quilt Guild.

A Gift for Ezra's First Birthday

A friend of mine I quilt with on Monday nights has two children. The youngest, Ezra, was born eight days after Samuel. For Ezra's first birthday I made him a pair of pants.

Two cut out pant legs for sized 6-12 months

Pants sewn together

Sliding in the elastic for the waistband

Cuff detail

The finished product with roll-able cuffs.

Courtney, Ezra's mum, loves Japanese fabric... Well, she loves pretty much everything Japanese craft, so I made the pants out of some scrap Japanese fabric I had left over from making a skirt for our friend, Amy, in Austin. Baby pants are pretty easy to make. I have a feeling I will be making more in the future for other friends and family members having babies.

Sew, while working on the community quilt...

Monday night at our regular weekly quilting and crafty meet-up I managed to sew my left index finger.

Yes, the needle went all the way through my finger.

I hadn't completely disengaged the backstitch on my machine by letting the needle go forward. As a computerized machine it couldn't have possibly known and was just doing "its job." I was moving the quilt to the next square for quilting. When I dropped the walking foot into place the needle jumped and went right through my finger. My foot was no where near the foot controller.

Fortunately there were some very calm souls present who helped me think through how to get the needle out of my finger and keep me from freaking out. It hurt like the dickens and felt pretty gross as the needle and eventually threads were pulled out. Another fortunately blessing was the lack of blood. That actually would have done me in for the night.

Today my finger is really sore and red. Typing is a bit of a challenge, but other than that I think I will live. There is always going to be more sewing projects, and needles through the finger are part of the process. Right???

Free-motion Sam

I am currently prepping for Sam's first birthday. The above is an embroidery I made using free-motion and Paper Solvy. The image was taken from a recent photo taken on our patio on one of the first Spring-like days. The embroidery was first used for Sam's birthday invitation, and eventually I will add more to it. It will likely end up on a wall featuring various photos of Sam. Once the picture is complete I will share on the blog.

I'm also making a birthday banner for the special occasion. We aren't going overboard for the festivities, but feel like we should continue hand-making things in all aspects of Sam's wonderful life. I never need an excuse to make things, but he is certainly worth it!

A stitch in dye: Mastering the Art of Fabric Printing and Design

Looks to be another book I need to add to my wish list.
Many thanks to the incredible Malka Dubrovsky for bringing it to my attention with her blog.

a stitch in dye: Mastering the Art of Fabric Printing and Design: Yoohoo! Remember me? I haven't been in this space for a couple weeks, but I thought I'd pop beck here today to tell you about a fabulous new...