Spring *sigh*

After a breif moment of warm sun and spring, we’ve retreated back into cold, gray and rainy 5 inches of snow forecast *sigh* At least my pillow looks like spring.

 

Bee-mates may recognize the design: it’s a variation on one of the blocks my bee is trying out, while I polish them for prime time.

Read Full Post »

Weekend finish(es)

One project, three matching pillows

A commission, so much as I love this design, they’ll be heading for a new home soon.

Read Full Post »

Commissions

Just a quick sneak peak of a pair of commissions:

A set of three pillows, in one of my favorite blocks. I’ve made pillows just like this before, and used the blocks in (lots of) other projects – including the quilt in my header, and I’m still always happy to see them come together from a humble stack of strips and straightforward construction.

And next up, a half square triangle quilt. Another favorite.

This is one of those designs that I keep coming back to (blue/green, pink/orange, aqua and there’s a red one, too, that didn’t make it to the blog)

 

What are the patterns, colors or techniques that you find yourself going back to time and again? ( Or are you always onto something new?)

Read Full Post »

New Year’s (Sewing) Resolutions

As I mentioned, my sewing resolution is to sew more for myself, and less because I “should” in some way.  It’s really a sub-set of a bigger resolution about prioritizing, and not taking on more than I can handle with inner calm and good humor.

Last year, I said I would make a  project from my scrap bin, or finish a WIP/UFO,  for every new project started. (And I largely stuck with that one)

Not a new pillow, but one I'm reclaiming from the shop to keep for myself

 

It got me thinking, does anyone else make resolutions about their sewing (or other craft/art/hobby etc.)? Or am I the only one? If you make them, what’s yours?

Read Full Post »

Happy Boxing Day

Happy Boxing Day, to those in parts of the world that celebrate it, or Happy first day of  Kwanza for that matter. For everyone who celebrated Christmas yesterday, I hope the day was merry. And,whatever you celebrate, that you got all of your sewing, cookie-baking and the rest done in time.  (Personally, I finished handsewing the binding on the last present at about 11pm of Christmas eve…)

 

This pillow actually got done in plenty of time. I showed you the quilting here. When I was a kid, my grandmother challenged me to a First Robin of the Year contest, then let me win for a decade. So for her birthday this fall, I made her a quilt with fussy cut robin blocks, but didn’t get a picture before gifting it. *sigh* Since I had extra fabric,  I made the coordinating pillow for Christmas to complete the set.

Read Full Post »

Quilting Sneak Peak

This is the inside of the front of an quilted pillow Christmas present.  I was trimming in up before I add the backing, and couldn’t resist a few pictures of the rows of quilting on the plain cotton

 

Concentric squares of quilting are kind of a pain on larger projects, but still one of my favorite things.

.

 

I’ll post pictures of the front as soon as I get the pillow finished, and photos taken (tricky, lately, with so little sunlight) I gave away the quilt that this pillow goes with, before I could get a picture of it, so this time I’m determined.

 

Read Full Post »

Holiday sewing

Typically, I gave myself a too-long list of things to make for Christmas, but I’m making progress and thought I’d show you a bit.

This fall, I made this quilt as a birthday gift:

I saved an extra block to make the coordinating pillow for Christmas:

 

One more off my list: If you’re sewing for winter holidays – how’s your list going?

Read Full Post »

Series-es

What is the plural of “series”? “Serieses”? “Series” the same as the singular? They both look/sound wrong, but then, I’m typing before the caffeine has fully kicked in on the Monday after a holiday weekend, so whatever the word is, I’m going to proceed. I’ve been doing this more and more lately – making not just one project, but a series of projects from the same set of fabrics.

Pinwheel Trivet

 

I made a few projects in orange and pink (pillow and quilt) after getting inspired making a custom quilt, and made even more in aqua (pillow, quilt, another pillow and a tablerunner ) and we won’t get into the “watercolors” Now I’m (obviously) onto a group of geometric apple-green prints.

Quilted Potholders

Much as I love quilts, there’s something so satisfying about small projects like this. I made potholders, trivets and pillows. There’s a table runner cut out and waiting for some attention, and another trivet from the last of the scraps.

Pillows..

These are all for the shop, which helps, since  I don’t have to worry about my own home becoming too apple-green with my projects.

 

Do you ever make multiple projects together? or is each one a distinct process for you?

 

 

 

——————————

And a reminder:  I’m having a sale on handmade items. Enter BLOGFRIDAY2010 before 11/30 to get 20% off in my artfire shop.

Read Full Post »

Twins!

A customer recently requested a mate to a pillow I’d made so she’d have a matched set.

the original...

Fair enough request.  I checked that I still had some of the fabric, and set about making a twin. Have you ever duplicated an item you’ve made? This is a pretty straightforward pillow, but it’s a sort of strange experience.

I don’t make exact notes on measurements etc. for each project, so I got out my rulers and the original and started measuring to make sure the scale of the bow would be the same. In the end, it went together smoothly – it’s a block  l like alot, and like to make – and the pair look good. Twins, sitting for their portrait in matching outfits.

Read Full Post »

Watercolors Pillow

A small finish: this block into a throw pillow for the shop

Read Full Post »