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

the beginning

so this is the very very beginning of my Christmas decorations. very simple and kind of summery, actually - but i decided to put something colorful up so there you go - I'm calling it Christmas! i'm gonna make a bunch more so there are like 15 all jumbled up there!

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.

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

fixer upper

i finally took my sewing machine to get fixed on W. 38th Street. It took me about a month to get off my "A" double "S" and to it, hoping I could either fix it myself or it would magically fix itself. either way i took it into the cutest mom and pop shop this side of anywhere and what a couple of munchkins worked there. bickering back and forth about the merits of metal machines.

apparantly i'm the devil for owning a plastic sewing machine.

lol.

it's ok though i'll write it off to being one of "kids these days"


via woof nanny'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 !

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.

a take on a take

so crafting is obviously my number one love, behind my family, friends, animals, manicures, call of duty xbox live, and of course a freshly washed and dried set of white sheets.

not everyone has the time or the interest in the handmade, so taking a break on the actual making of things, i had a look on etsy and found some interpretations of craft itself that left me swooning.

if you are not a crafter yourself, and want that handmade feel in your home,
or if you love to craft and just want more more more,
this is the perfect post for you!



thread print, $30, TheCuriousNomad



framed print, $14, honeylux



knitty, knitty print, $20, ashleyg



sew love you print, $25, JenniferDennisPotter



workside accidents prints, $40, sweetiepie


make do and mend print, $18, farouche


and there ya have it!
a take on a take!

!!

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.

my sewing machine is broken!!!

DAGNABIT!

nypl

treasure trove

Yay! I'm on another treasury list!
This only happened to me once before but I consider it a super duper honor.


Thanks debfetherlin !!

click here to view

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!

poichases!

i just bought a few yards of some really sweet and beautiful fabrics. i am super duper excited. aunt grace classics is my ultimate favorite fabric, its so 30s and just makes me want to bake a pie.

yeehaw. new kitchen curtains are gonna come outta this one!

see what i got below!

click here to visit my one of my favorite online fabric stores, fat quarter shop

baby clothes?

i really want to start making baby dresses and bloomers and things like that. i've conquered bibs - and while that is great, no one will let their child wear it because it is too "nice". next time i give a bib i am going to cut a hole in the delivery plastic bag, drizzle some dirty water on it, and throw it at whoever has a baby next.

anyway, i'd like to make a little dress, and although im sure its easy i have no idea what the hell to do. if anyone knows anything about anything (me, i'm a "nothing about nothing" sort of girl) please let me know.

will sew for food!

image via heirloom sewing for children

ship shop

liz and i went to buy fabric yesterday. the store we were planning on going to in chinatown was closed because they were "home for purim", literally.

(insert hehe)

anyway so we wandered about and went to the barneys of fabric stores - purlsoho. really cute little store, cute choices for fabric, well edited, but really expensive. i had to forgo grocery shopping for one week in order to buy what i wanted. anyway, i took some (not so great quality) pictures of my new purchases! i'm excited cause its all so cute!!!

click here to visit their website, where you can also purchase fabrics

bibblicious

so i had a weird day (woooo my ambien just kicked in as i was typing that)... i needed to make something pure and good and innocent. so i made a bib. not just any old bib! a bunny bib! i am not sure this will be a final draft, but either way i really like how it turned out. the ears need to be a bit wider.... but its ok, it made me smile and it passed the time. that's all i really need in life.

haha it kind of looks like a purse. i saw something similar on etsy and knew i could make it so i just created my own pattern. i obviously don't intend to sell it as hers is WAY better and it isn't my design. i haven't ironed it yet or anything so it will definitely look better after.

here is a picture of the adorable bib i saw online.

click here to visit feltandfabric's adorable etsy shop!

we tried...we failed

so i am making a super top secret present for a top secret person so i can't show the picture here
(i will when i've given it to him/her/it/that)

i tried to seam it together with my new nifty singer hand-held sewing machine and it just gave me NO control.

it looks like i am actually going to have to spring for a g-d sewing machine. then i'm gonna have to learn how to use it.

i'd hand sew it together, but i am too busy making butternut bisque (completely amazing and divine, click here for recipe) and making a second pecan pie - which i left in the oven too long (most like NOT completely amazing and completely divine).......

oy!