happy national quilting day!

quilting day falls of the third saturday of every march and in honor of that i made sure to do a tiny bit of quilting (and tearing out stitches) today.

i truly hope this is me one day

oldchum


and here are a few quilts i have a crush on...

tswesthoff

liêm phó nhòm

cabbagequilts

obsessed to the max

so now i'm obsessed with quilting - at least the idea of it. i've been researching, watching videos, finding patterns that are in my skill level (i.e. level 1 on a scale of level 1-level 10,000,000), buying nice new threads, even just washing and ironing my fabrics - and most of all - actual quilting. my favorite part of this whole process of learning has been quilting in my diningroom/office while my husband sits in the other room playing video games - god i feel old. even if i'm not very good, i really really like doing it, and i guess that's the whole point. anyway, my sewing machine broke - AGAIN. a third time in one week. i think it's time for a new one. it's been really frustrating cause as soon as i get some momentum it dies on me like a fly - 24 hours then it's dead.

here are a few (crappy) pictures of the quilt i took over the weekend - one after i basted it and one while i was doing the quilting. so so fun! now sewing machine, get back here so i can use you and abuse you.

wowsers

i hope that one day i can make something so insanely awesome!
i don't even know where it would go, but it's badass!


boutiquenutmegdesigns

purely ornamental

now that my sewing machine is fixed and i am of the quilted persuasion,
i'm a-gawna make me sum-a-deez!

mary made me's flickr

kraftwurk

so quilt class number two was better than number one! i really got the hang of piecing things together and am well on my way to a full fledged baby/lap quilt!!

this class is SO great and I highly recommend anyone in the NYC area to take it. the instructor, cassandra, is brilliant and knows everything there is to know about quilting and fabric as well as general sewing. she is so full of tips and tricks and knowledge - that alone makes the class worthwhile. there are only two other women in the class with me so its small and friendly and everyone gets lots of one on one time.

I will absolutely take more classes in the future, the confidence I feel alone makes me feel like I can finally start on my color wheel quilt!

This class we all worked at our own pace but I am happy to say I did 2 borders around my 9-patch square and I'm really happy with the results - the fabrics clash a little and next time I will shop differently now that I know the way the fabrics sit with eachother - but i really love it!

see here step 2 of my quilt !

quiltin'

tonight is my second quilting class - again I'm excited, but I don't know what to expect! I can only imagine things get harder from class one !

i've been really busy and i wanted to say thank you to all my new (and repeat) customers who have come to me for their special events like weddings, birthdays, parties, and also for gifts for their loved ones. i know there's a lot of choice out there - especially on etsy - so i'm really grateful for those of you who chose me. it's so fun to work with new people and it's even better to have people come back for a second or third helping! it means a lot !

thisishappiness print, lovesugar, $14

yay!

i'm very proud to present my first ever quilt square!



I know it's nothing fancy, but it was very exciting for me!

I have it hung on my fridge like a test !

The class was AWESOME. SO SO AWESOME.

oim noivis.

i have my quilting class tonight.

i am very very excited, extremely curious, and really nervous. Like, I really feel like it's the first day of school. I am not a "class taker" - i hate excercise classes, I do yoga in my own home where no one can make fun of me, i don't drink my coffee in a coffee shop - i do all my "things" in my home, where I am safe from prying eyes and sneery weirdos. and i like it that way. however, i cannot have a professional quilter come to my house and teach me.
(well, i guess i could, but i certainly could not afford it)

$12, tsktsk

anyway, off mohammed went to the mountain.

!!

I signed up for a quilting class at Purl Patchwork. I can sew and doodle my way through a mediocre project, but I am very excited to learn from a pro. I'm trying to convince my mama to do it with me, but so far, no go.
Anyone else who wants to do it, sign up!

Quick Simple Quilts


UPDATE: my mom's doing it with me! yay fun.
UPDATE 2: my mom cancelled me to go to mexico. what a chump.

quiltmaker quiltmaker make me a quilt

so i bought all the fixins to make this quilt.

It's from Joelle Hoverson's Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts (which is really super duper great, im so glad i bought it cause its filled with amazing ideas and projects).
Purl Patchwork sells an AMAZING bundle (one of the things i bought) that has 52 different fabrics cut into fat 1/8ths for you, specifically sold to make this particular quilt. i've been told the hardest part of this quilt is picking out 52 color appropriate fabrics, so i am v glad this part has been done for me already.

how cool is this!!! (this is the one I bought) anyone that knows me knows my FAVORITE color is rainbow! to me, it is a color, despite all the arguments i've had about it. my closet is rainbow, my everything is rainbow!

we'll see how this one pans out.

It is surprisingly simple once you look at the directions but i've never quilted anything before so this is a big endeavor for me!!! im nervous but i know one day i will just wake up with the confidence to do it, so i'm glad i have everything already so when i want to i can just get moving.

i also bought some other fabrics that winked at me... and then went over to Purl soho (their knitting store just a few doors down) and bought something I've wanted for a while now - the CUTEST book in the friggin world - Vintage Baby Knits by Kristen Rengren.

who gives a shit if i can't make half the stuff in there.

the copy i bought is even signed! yay!

the book is amazing because it has more than 40 contemporary updates of timeless baby patterns that she has collected and adapted over the years. It gives a great deal of insight into the history of knitting and how when TV's started permeating households, knitting patterns became "TV ready" so women could knit and watch television at the same time. It's pretty evident if you look at how much more complicated the patterns are before this particular time.

anyway, i'll take the nerd alert level down to a soft yellow now.

but before i go!!!! look at the fabrics i bought!!!!! woohoo! Rodney the Rooster's big brother, Rooster Jack, is the Vanna White of fabrics. ain't he sexy.

yippee!