a change of pace

Today after I finished the pincushion I still had loads of energy, but needed something non-sewing related to give my brain a break. So I worked in my garden, transplanting seedlings, weeding, etc., and observed all the butterflies. Inspired, I came inside, took a shower, and whipped up this little ink and watercolor one of my own. I've been wishing for one of those dead butterflies in a shadowbox things for awhile now, but they're expensive. Plus, they don't have rainbow butterflies like this. So I'm happy with my faux dead butterfly. And my brain is appreciative of the respite from sewing. As is my neck. 

That being said, I've got more things to sew so it's not like the break will be long. Ha ha. Oh well.

Done.

Yesterday I bound my doll quilt and sewed the label on the back. Finished! I love it! I want to keep it!!

*sigh*

I also turned that little flying geese block into a pincushion so cute that, again, I want to keep all for myself. Mine MINE MINE!! Okay, not mine. At least I know I can always make another.

Now I'm contemplating any other small goodies I can make to send to my partner...any ideas??

The end of procrastination

January was my month to plan the quilt for the Comfort circle of Do. Good Stitches. I chose a green and brown, nature-based wonky nine patch block. I loved the way the blocks looked and was anxious to put it together. Which I did. And then it sat there. Waiting to be finished. Hoping that today would be the day it could finally be complete.

Well deadlines are a motivation when all else fails, and I had till the end of this month to get this baby finished. February being a weird short month means I could no longer put off the inevitable. So today, with much sighing and groaning and neck tension, I wrestled some binding onto our quilt and finished it already.

I'd chosen to use wavy intersecting lines for the quilting because it echoed the blocks and, in my opinion, gave the quilt a more masculine feel than say, loops or stippling would have. Yes, it's for a baby but I wanted it to be something a little boy could grow into--which is why it's big and doesn't have a babyish feel to it. 

I was really impressed by all the blocks I received and couldn't be more pleased with the end result. I had so many extras that I had plenty to put on the improvised backing. 

I know the person for whom this is intended will be completely blessed to receive it. Thanks to all my Comfort peeps who worked so hard to help the quilt I envisioned come to life!!

How procrastination can lead to good things

Have I ever mentioned that I don't like binding? I think it's possible I have. And right now I've got two things waiting to be bound and finished. But I. Don't. Want. To.

So I decided to go with my lazy procrastinating feeling and start an entirely unnecessary (read: fun!) project. I wanted to try three things I've been curious about but afraid to try: paper piecing, tiny piecing, and flying geese in a circle. 

I LOVED it. It was so easy and fun and precise. I didn't think I would like it, and I thought the littleness would be intimidating but it wasn't at all. Isn't it pretty? And yes, shut up, I know I'm obsessed with rainbows. Sue me.

I think this little guy will end up being a square pincushion for my doll quilt swap partner. 

In other news, I've got plants coming out my ears, a baby shower present to sew, and pillow ideas to come up with for a one to one swap I'm doing with my friend Elizabeth. That's not including those pesky two items waiting for binding. Busy, busy!

Binding...you are not my favorite

Binding is one of those things that I sort of just...figured out how to do on the fly. I realized early on that I don't enjoy doing it. And while I wouldn't say that my binding skills are awful, they're certainly not on par with some of the other work I've seen online. After I bound and packaged the mug rugs I made for the Scrappy Mug Rug swap, I started really paying attention to the bindings on other people's stuff and realized that I might benefit from learning how to do it right. 

Today I made a small mug rug out of the rainbow strips leftover from my doll quilt, and decided this was the perfect small-scaled opportunity to try it out. I read the tutorial on single binding from verykerryberry and proceeded.

It went well, and the result is so very pleasing. But I still don't enjoy it. And though it's very pretty, I don't see myself hand-stitching binding on a full size quilt. It's just too time consuming for a blanket in my opinion. For a mug rug, or a doll quilt that could be possibly hanging on a wall, it's perfect. But for every day quilting...eh. I don't think so. 

Still...look at those pretty edges! Mmmmm. Nice. I think I'm keeping this one. Maybe.

hand stitching

Okay, so embroidery is one thing. Hand quilting is something else entirely.

It's not easy. And it's hard to keep the stitches straight. Or even. 

But the nice thing about making small-scale quilts is that you can experiment and see what you're good at, or what skills you'd like to work on. I think for this doll quilt the hand stitching gives a whimsical touch to an otherwise angular design, even if I'm admittedly not great at making straight, even stitches. Plus I got to use a ton of different shades of embroidery floss which is fun because I like gradients. I know I know, it's a shocker. Color? Gradients? What?

Anyway, I'm missing one shade of purple for the very bottom and then it's time to bind this bad boy. Yes!

small things gracefully do grow

 As I said in the last post, we spent the weekend outside working. It wasn't intentional--I didn't set aside time on a to-do list marked "yard work" or anything. I just walked outside after breakfast to breathe in the fresh air. Then I wandered into the back yard. And I thought to myself for the umpteenth time, "I need more garden space. I hate pointless, weedy grass." And then I started marking off a square with spray paint on the grass. I found the shovel. I started to work.

One thing led to another, and now on top of two 4 x 12' raised beds and a smaller 5 x 5' bed, I have a big 12 x 12' square regular bed to work with. There will be loads of tomatoes, let me just say. I'm already drooling just thinking about it.

The coolest thing about the weekend, however, was what I found. You see, our property is bordered on 2 sides by a small forest that for some reason my boys call "the sneaky woods." For three quarters of the year it is an intractable mess of boggy ground, foul-smelling vines, spiders, snakes, and ferns. But for a few short months when it's dry, the vines are dead and the snakes are sleeping, it's possible to explore it a little. And what you find is years and years of people's junk laying around. See all those bricks bordering that big bed up there? All found in the woods. Most were in an old blue bathtub that's half-buried in the ground, the rest were scattered all over. It was like a treasure hunt finding exactly enough to go around the whole bed. After I found the bricks I wondered what else I might find back in there. So I went hunting again. I found a wide bucket with the bottom rusted out, perfect for burying in the ground for sweet potatoes (yes, I'm trying it again. Don't ask me why.)

I dug a pit a few feet deep, filled it with light soil and peat, and threw an old sweet potato vine in. The idea being the vine can grow up and be trellised, and the potatoes can grow down while being contained by the big bucket. Anyway, I found some old busted pavers and ringed it with them. It works for me.

Next, I found enough limestones to make a ring around my Meyer lemon tree, which made me happy because have you ever tried pricing rocks at a landscaping nursery? It's ridiculous. I mean, they're rocks. Rocks are everywhere, aren't they? Yeah, you'd think.

Next I found a hollow cypress log with a just big enough hole for a small pot, another old bucket that I've put some chocolate mint cuttings in, and a giant seashell. In the forest. Weird, eh? That's Florida for you. I put it with other random shells I've found here to make a little vignette. It's silly, but I like it. 

I know it's weird, but I really get a kick out of finding and re-purposing things. And when it comes to gardening I want mine to be lush and riotous and full of strange found objects.

And yet I want it to be orderly as well. Is that odd? I spent some time yesterday cleaning up the space where I keep my tools and pots and whatnot. The armadillos got into the fertilizer so there was chicken poop everywhere and it was just a mess back there. Having it all clean again makes me feel ready to work. 

I also planted some true mint, something that makes me long for summer. Last summer when we went to California on vacation, we spent the last few days at my mom's house making carbonated water with lemon and fresh mint sprigs from my mom's garden, and eating our weight in cherry tomatoes. This is about the time of the year when I start jonesing for a camping trip, and now mint will be forever associated with summer vacations for me.

 Last but not least, I leave you with some pictures of my pretty blueberry bushes. I just love the way the flowers look like tiny ruffled petticoats on the bare branches. Lovely!

A tiny bit of progress

This weekend was so completely awesome. We spent the whole two days outside working--my husband putting new doors on his workshop, and me digging up grass to make a new garden bed. After a week of slugging around barfing and feeling generally awful it was a really nice change of pace. Which left me feeling refreshed and ready to start piecing my doll quilt.

This little guy is fun and frustrating at the same time. I had the idea to do tiny patchwork strips for the zig-zags rather than half-square triangles. Well...it works and it doesn't. I didn't take into account the points when I designed it, so they're all going to be sort of blunt. Oh well. I still think it looks nice. Two rows down, four to go!

You can run but you can't hide

Look, my stash barfed up a rainbow! Speaking of which...

Every year it seems like something nasty goes around and every year my kids seem to pick it up. This year is no different, except this year, me and my husband got to enjoy it as well. Usually we're pretty healthy but this seems to be one illness that you can't hide from. This entire week has been a miasma of throwing up, sleeping, laundry from all the throwing up, bleach, barf buckets...the list goes on. Fortunately we were all slightly spaced out in the order we got it--first my two older boys got it, the next was me and the baby, and then yesterday was my husband. It sucked. Bad. At one point I wished for death, and this is coming from a person who vomits incessantly while pregnant so it's not like I'm not used to throwing up. I can't explain how awful it was, and how many people I know have gotten this--it's like an inescapable monster. 

Anyway, despite the nausea that is still present and all the work I've had all week with cleanup and care-taking, I did manage to get a little sewing done. Mostly as an escape from the moaning and groaning and gross smells. On Tuesday I finished my dress--pictures to come later. Yesterday while my husband slept I put together the quilt top for my month of do. Good Stitches. Again, more pics later because there's no light outside today.

And today I FINALLY got a start on my doll quilt. I've really had a hard time deciding what to do for this swap. My partner is pretty quiet so I have no idea if I'm going the right direction, but I had to do something. If it works out, great, if not, I'll try something else later when I'm feeling a little more inspired. For now I'll say that I'm doing zig-zags, but in a slightly different way that normal.

Wish me luck!

Spring time, it's ringadingading time

Okay well it's not spring in most parts of the country, but here in Florida it certainly is. My nose is dripping, my throat is sore, and my blueberry plants are making buds all over. Which means it's high time for this again:

I love the sight of all these rows ready to produce little tomato, pepper, pea, and various other seedlings. We'll see how it goes, though. My seeds were a tad on the old side. 

The other day my husband came home with these, and I about fainted. You know I'd never ever seen real live tulips before? They're so pretty and happy it's really made the last week of rainy dreary days so much more cheerful. And they smell so lovely. Clean and fresh and...springy. 

Anyway, yesterday I was a busy bee. I cut out and sewed over half of my Ceylon dress, and then because I hadn't had enough productiveness, I got a wild hair to revamp some old clothes. My husband gave me this old gray dress shirt of his last year, but being a men's shirt it didn't fit well. No leeway for the chest, and a nasty pleat in the back fabric that makes it poof out and gives you a delightful hunchback appearance. Ick. So I attacked it. In retrospect I should have taken more photos of the process, but as I was flying by the seat of my pants it didn't occur to me until later.

First thing I did was remove the pocket and the collar. I edge-stitched the remaining part of the collar which gives it that military look. Then I took the collar I'd removed and cut it into to rectangles and made them into simplified, pseudo epaulets. I ripped out the seams connecting the back from the back yoke, ironed out the nasty pleat, and re-sewed it. After that I re-cut the armholes. 

I'm planning on making short sleeves and possibly adding a strip of ribbed knit to the sides to give it a better shape. Also, I'm considering making a black lace bib-style placket for the front, to liven it up and cover up the discoloration from the pocket. This time I'll take pictures in case anyone else get's that re-purposing urge.

Last but not least, here are the solids I've picked out to use in one of doll quilt ideas. There's something about an assortment of Kona that just makes me smile. 

Hope you're having a great Tuesday.

Back in the swing of things

So, my mom, stepdad, and stepbrother were all out here for three weeks, and it was fun. We had Disney days, shopping days, and sit around the house watching Star Trek marathon days. It was really great to have family around and to have a break from the routine, but now, alas, that is over. Which is good for the homeschooling aspect of our life. And the sewing aspect of mine. With swaps and bees and other projects hanging over my head, it's high time I start up the sewing machine again and get to it.

This month for do. Good Stitches we were asked to make gray and orange blocks using Oh, Fransson!'s "Map of the States" tutorial. So okay, I really do like the end result of this, but...the fussiness of the pattern was not fun for me. Draw this, cut that, use pencils to shade in your ideal color arrangement, iron freezer paper, trim, trim, trim...it was pretty tedious, and I only made TWO. I can't imagine making a whole quilt like this. Don't get me wrong--I'm not complaining, I'm merely giving an honest review of a pattern I'd long wanted to try. Now I know that it's not my favorite, kind of like the cathedral windows. Great result, but not so much fun to actually work on.

I've also been noodling around Flickr looking for more weird quilt inspiration, and here are my latest finds:

I think it would fun, one day, to do some weirder, more improvisational quilts. One day.

Other than charity blocks, doodling ideas for DQS10, and waiting on fabric to arrive, I haven't gotten a whole lot accomplished. Oh well. Not every day (or month) has to be packed to the brim with accomplishments, right? Sometimes I think we don't take time to enjoy today, worrying that we won't get stuff checked off the to-do list. And man, those things NEVER go away. Sometimes it's just best to ignore them. At least till tomorrow.

Time to go play cards with the kids.