Tuesday, May 4, 2010
I'm currently working on a new quilting project. This year for my birthday, my mom really wanted to pay for me to take a beginners quilting class and she offered to pay for it as a birthday gift. I have already made several projects at this point but both her and I agreed that it would be good to make sure I have all the basics down before I move onto tougher projects and develop poor habits. So, I enrolled in a 3 session course for a beginner's sampler quilt and began last week. We were asked to pick out 8-10 fat quarters and bring in our supplies, fabric and sewing machine. Having no idea what the pattern was going to look like, I simply chose fabric that I liked the look of and figured I could make it work no matter what the pattern was. I was immediately in love with Moda Nature's Cherish and my mom bought me 9 fat quarters as an addition to the class fee as my gift. 
I've now attended 2 classes at Cool Cottons in the Hawthorne District of Portland. Great shop with wonderful staff and an amazing collection of trendy fabric! Right off the bat, it was obvious to me that I am no longer a beginner. I've been taught a lot of tips and tricks up until this class and this class has really helped reinforce the fact that I know what I'm doing and I'm on the right track. Next week is the final class and we'll finish up the project. I'm going to add a border onto what I've finished so far and then wait until the class is done to judge the complete project. I'm more of a regimented quilt sort of person and to make quilt blocks that are all different has been very hard for me. I guess that's why it's a perfect class for me...it teaches me how to be more random! More pictures to come once I get closer to finishing but this is the work in progress!
I finished 2 sets of these wooden baby blocks in the last couple of weeks. I’m very pleased with the results and the project was surprisingly easy. The total cost of this project was around $20 so it is within most people's budgets and it is such a personal, thoughtful gift for any new mother. 
I found the general instructions here Using these instructions as a general guide, I made some slight changes to make it “my own.”
I used a set of scrapbooking paper that came with cutouts, stickers, etc to match the paper. I thought about coloring on some images (duckies, sun, apples, etc) but then realized I’m not a very good artist and it would keep the look uniform if I used the matching supplies. I purchased a 6 foot length of 2x2 wood at Home Depot which cost no more than $1.75. I then had a friend cut the wood into 2” blocks and left them all unsanded. I pre-cut all paper to slightly smaller than 2x2 so that I could center it one the block side but still leave exposed unfinished wood on the edges and corners. I really liked the look of this since it makes the blocks look slightly “worn and well loved”. After using Mod Podge to glue on the paper, I added the stickers, letters and numbers. Essentially, letters should be opposite of one another and images or stickers should be opposite of one another. That leaves 2 more sides that are simply left with colorful paper with no image or letter. After this step, I literally Mod Podge the crap out of these things. I covered my countertop with aluminum foil (drying Mod Podge doesn’t stick as much to it), used a sponge brush and applied 10-15 layers of Mod Podge to cover all sides and edges of the blocks. For more info on Mod Podge and it’s amazingness, look here. You can pick some up at any craft store as well as Wal-Mart or Target. I used Mod Podge Hard Coat since it is used for items that will get more wear and tear and it is ALL childproof and water based so gnawing babies won’t get sick if the blocks are used for a functional purpose rather than décor. Lastly, I sanded down any sharp edges with cheap-o sand paper (it doesn’t matter what the coarseness is). Sanding will also rid the blocks of any over hanging paper, if the pre-cuts were slightly too big or you had too much wine and you glued the paper on crooked. This really helps finish off the look. After one last sanding, I give the blocks another good coat and then it’s done! I usually only let the blocks dry for like 15 minutes in between coats so realistically, you can get this project done in a day. I highly recommend using a scrapbooking kit since it made everything really easy. Of course, it you are giving these blocks to a child who is CRAZY about Mickey Mouse or whatever, there are plenty of scrapbooking supplies out there so that you can pick and choose what you’d like to use and customize it to the kid. 
Super fun project, really easy and I’m very happy with the result. I’ve already received 2 requests from friends for a set!
Monday, March 1, 2010
(close up - shows the cloud quilting job)Last week I completed a major accomplishment. I created my very first quilt! This has been in the making since November and required several lessons from my mom and aunt and its now finished!!! I'm so proud of this and I'm very excited to gift it out to a very special little girl.
I used a nine patch pattern as well as a simply triangle square pattern to create this. My mom had quite a large staff of the birdie fabric as well as the coordinating blues, greens, yellows, and white so I didn't have to buy a whole lot. I went to a local quilt shop in my hometown (website can be found here). This is a great little shop with a huge selection of trendy, beautiful prints. I wish there was a place like this closer to home but its a great place to check out when I'm visiting my parents. I purchased the red and green border fabric as well as the white polka dot fabric used throughout the quilt.
(finished project!)
My mom had a local long arm quilter do that actual quilting work and she completed the job in about a week. Once I got it back, I learned how to do the binding and finish the quilt up. At this point, I simply need to put on a label and I'm finished!
This quilt was made as a Big Sister Quilt for an amazing 4 year old girl. Unbeknownst to me, her favorite color is blue so the blue bird print works perfectly! I hope this will become a favorite of hers and that she understands how very special she is even though she won't be the baby anymore.
This quilt was made as a Big Sister Quilt for an amazing 4 year old girl. Unbeknownst to me, her favorite color is blue so the blue bird print works perfectly! I hope this will become a favorite of hers and that she understands how very special she is even though she won't be the baby anymore.
Novice Attempt: Quilting
Results: Intermediate. I learned a lot during this process but still have much more to learn. I'm signed up for 2 beginners quilting courses beginning in April which should help me fine tune the skills I've already learned. This was a really fun project and you can hands down bet I'll be doing it again!
(back of the quilt showing and binding)
Monday, February 22, 2010
I'm currently working to finish up my very first quilt and it should be completed within a week with pictures to follow. Along with this quilt, I'm making a quilted pillow to compliment the larger gift. I decided to use the same Disappearing Nine Patch pattern (instructions can be found here). Since I'm comfortable with this pattern and I felt like it would highlight the larger birdie fabric well, it seemed like a good choice. This pillow is 18x18 so its rather large but I bought a pre-formed pillow in that size which only cost me about $6. I already had the fabric left over from the associated quilt so I'd say I made the pillow for less than $10. 
This was actually very easy to do and the only head scratching moment was trying to figure out how to fussy-cut the larger fabric to properly showcase the pattern. This wasn't difficult by any means, it just required a bit more thought. I'll finish this pillow up with an overlapping open back so this will be a washable pillow case. Find the instructions for this type of pillow sham here. I figured parents would appreciate this since its going to a 4 year old little girl. No sense in having a pillow if you can't lay on it and drool from time to time without the option of washing it later!
Novice Attempt: Quilting pillow case
Result: Completed and surprisingly easy! This will be a great accent to the "Big Sister Quilt" I'm making and should hopefully be well received.
It's been quite some time since I have posted and its a combo of laziness, lack of time and also lack of photos. I have a camera as well as a camera phone but up until this weekend had no way of actually getting the photos onto a computer. Anyway, problem solved!
I've been working on a owl applique pillow and finished it up a couple of weeks ago. I'm giving it as a gift for a new baby expected around April. I found this pattern in Better Homes & Gardens Patchwork and Quilting Magazine a few months back and thought it was just super adorable. I just had to give it a try. The great thing about this pillow is that it doesn't require a lot of fabric which makes it a relatively inexpensive gift idea. You can mix and match patterns colors, etc and really come up with a unique, creative and fun little owl that I think any baby, toddler or child would love!
I've been working on a owl applique pillow and finished it up a couple of weeks ago. I'm giving it as a gift for a new baby expected around April. I found this pattern in Better Homes & Gardens Patchwork and Quilting Magazine a few months back and thought it was just super adorable. I just had to give it a try. The great thing about this pillow is that it doesn't require a lot of fabric which makes it a relatively inexpensive gift idea. You can mix and match patterns colors, etc and really come up with a unique, creative and fun little owl that I think any baby, toddler or child would love!
(close up of eyeless owl)
This was a relatively easy project once I got the hang of it. The toughest part was doing the faux stitching around the edges of all the pillow shapes. Essentially, all the shapes were already attached to the pillow with fusible webbing but the stitching around the edges gives it a really polished, nice look. Because its such a small pillow, the pieces were pretty intricate to cut as well as stitch around but I ended up shortening the sewing stitch which drastically slows down the machine and makes it more manueverable around the individual pieces. I also changed the stitch so it was much more dense so I was able to only stitch one time around and leave a very solid looking stitch rather than spread out. I think the result is perfect! Of course, because this was such a dense, short stitch, the thread broke every few inches which mean I had to constantly rethread and start over. This was extremely frustrating but the result was well worth it!
This project will definately stay in my aresenal of great gift ideas. It was inexpensive, had room for creativity and was a pretty quick project. I think if I make it again for any older children, I may personalize it with an emboidered first name initial.
Novice Attempt: Applique
Results: I DID IT! Super cute project, not very hard, fun fun fun! Definately on my "Will do this again" list.
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