I'm Sew Very Happy

...with this new wall hanging I made for my sewing room.

It was inspired by this photo I saw in a Better Homes and Gardens special interest publication (Do It Yourself, I think) a couple of years ago, and I've had the project on my to-do list ever since. I'm pretty certain the photo example is done in paper, but I wanted mine to be made from fabric.

I started with a great fat quarter of Art Gallery Oval Elements for the background and several Kaffe Fassett scraps from my Crayon Box quilt for the letters.

These punch-out 2" letters were at my local JoAnn's store. I traced the letters onto fusible webbing then ironed the webbing to the wrong side of the fabric scraps.

I just eyeballed the placement of the letters on my background doing my best to center them on the fabric without being too mathematical about it. The dots certainly helped with that!

After fusing the letters to the background, I sewed a very small zigzag stitch in a coordinating thread around the raw edges of each one to secure and give them a little more definition.

This adhesive foam-core mounting board and my frame were purchased at Michaels. I cut a piece of very thin cotton batting and placed it against the adhesive side before layering the appliqued design on top.

After removing the glass I placed the whole thing in this 12" x 16" frame and promptly hung it on the wall.

I just love it! I'm even thinking of using the same motto on a pillow with script lettering - what do you think of that idea?

Oh, the places she'll go...

We're gearing up for Thing 1's big move south to college in just a couple of weeks! She's got her dorm room assignment, two roommates, class schedule, and now a fully complete bed set! The hand-sewing project I previewed for you in my last post is finished - a toss pillow to coordinate with her quilt...

I used the Clover Yo-Yo Maker Extra Large size to craft 36 yo-yos for the pillow center. They each measure about 2.5" in diameter. You can order one from amazon.com and many other online retailers, but I was lucky enough to find mine at my local JoAnn's store.

The inspiration for this design came during a summer shopping trip where she spied this pillow...

To make this personalized version I chose one of the fabrics used for the block frames in her quilt and added some teal chenille ball fringe to the edges of her 20" finished pillow.

Most of the yo-yo fabrics are found in her quilt, which I'm thrilled to say is also completed! Here's the front. It's so large that even standing on a chair she couldn't hold it up off the ground - 78" wide by 102" long - yikes! (I ended up adding an additional row for those of you who remember reading about my dilemma over making it larger.) That size should provide about 15-18" of overhang on the sides and end of her lofted dorm bed.

For the backing she chose an Amy Butler Daisy Chain print, and I added a 8" wide pieced strip to the center. My original reason for adding the center strip was to avoid purchasing 3 more yards of backing fabric, but I'm so glad I did it this way - much more interesting :) Money saved and better result = win/win!

The quilting was done by my regular long-arm quilter, Carol Linder in Hampshire, IL. My college-bound girl chose an overall loopy, swirly pattern in a medium teal thread - fabulous!

Now all the quilt needs is a fun label for the back. I've got a design drawn out on paper and my Pigma Micron pens ready to go!

Quilt Pattern - Green Glass Door by Blue Underground

vacation sewing

Last week I took a vacation trip up north to Michigan with my family. We had many important decisions to make each and every day such as "beach or pool first?" and "where will we eat dinner tonight?"

I took a little bit of hand-sewing to work on, and here's what I accomplished...

36 of these little guys. I've never made them before, but I think they turned out grand. Recognize any of the fabrics?

Stay tuned for the project in progress...

Sunburst baby quilt details - Part 2

If you're just joining me for the Sunburst baby quilt tutorial, see Part 1 here.

*** EDITED January 12, 2016.  Please note that in order for these instructions to work you MUST use the Stack-n-Whack 15 degree Fan Ruler.  Other 15 degree rulers have different top and bottom dimensions, and using them will potentially result in a much smaller or even non-existent center circle opening when all your wedges are sewn together. ***

Part 2 starts now! We're ready to start piecing the circles. Layer a background wedge with a colored wedge...

Sunburst baby quilt details - Part 1

As promised, I've got some details for you about the way I constructed this quilt top. The blocks are basically a variation of a Dresden Plate. But the entire block (with the exception of the center circle) is pieced into a square, rather than appliqued on to a background.

Sunburst baby quilt

You can find Part 1 of my instructions on how to make this quilt here.

A new baby quilt top is finished...

The colors and pattern were inspired by these photos of the deck chairs at Universtity of Wisconsin - Madison...

The new mom is a big fan of these chairs and their sunburst patterns! The baby girl's nursery colors were chosen based on a gallery photo of these chairs, with chocolate brown accents added.

The quilt pattern was inspired by this fabulous quilt by Geta Grama. It just so happened that I was admiring this unique quilt when my husband asked me to make a baby quilt for his co-worker Jeremy (and wife Jill) who were expecting their first child. Jill directed me to the photos of these chairs as a color guide, and this pattern seemed a perfect fit :)

Serendipity. I just love that word.

P.S. Check back next week for more details on size and construction.

can't get it out of my head

This silk dress, specifically...

I have seen the movie "Under The Tuscan Sun" at least ten times. The plot line is pretty good: girl travels to Tuscany in an attempt to ease her heartbreak, impulsively buys a crumbling villa, and subsequently moves there full-time. But the two things that keep me watching over and over again are the lovely scenery and costumes.

I've been in love with this orange/pink silk dress from the first time I saw the film. A couple of weeks ago while channel-surfing, I caught the last 30 minutes of the movie with Diane Lane in that beautiful dress... sigh. It's just so girly and a little bit retro. I love, love, love that dress!

As I was watching it occured to me, why don't I just make myself a dress like that? How hard could it be? Aside from the fact that silk is pretty pricey, what's stopping me?

About 90 minutes from me there is a huge shop called Vogue Fabrics. They carry everything - home dec, wools, silks, cottons, you name it. Their online shop shows several colors of Thai Silk Dupioni, and I particularly LOVE this color called persimmon. Slightly iridescent, the color shifts from orange to pink as the fabric moves and the light changes. Perfect!

I did a little online research about silk fabrics since I've never sewn with them and learned that dupioni silks are woven from two different colors of silk, giving them the iridescent shimmer. Dupioni silks are an excellent choice for dress-making since they are wrinkle resistant and provide a crisp drape. They do have a slight roughness or nubbiness to the weave, which I think gives them a little character. On the downside, though, dupioni silks show pin marks more than other fabrics, so I'd have to be extra careful to keep the pins in the seam allowances.

A close-up shot from the movie shows that Diane Lane's dress has the tiniest little fold-down shawl collar without a notch and set-in sleeves with a fold-up cuff. The dress appears to be a shirt-dress because of the silk covered buttons on the bodice, but they don't continue down the front of the full circle skirt, so there must be a well hidden zipper in the side seam. I'm thinking five yards of silk is what I'll need. Wow - that's a lot of silk!

We've got a family wedding coming up in late September; that should be time enough to act on this obsession, don't you think? Next step is pattern research and a field trip to Vogue fabrics... sounds like fun!

And in case you are thinking I've abandoned my quilty pursuits, let me assure that I've been working on a new baby quilt top in the midst of all this apparel sewing. All the blocks are completed; I've just got to put them together and show you next week!

Happy Weekend, everyone!