Nani Iro fabrics

Looks like the waiting game continues here for me, and our little could-come-anytime-soon bundle of joy, with this being basically the -10 day mark.

Our first son was a whole week late, so I'm not expecting any amazing early arrivals, although in this heat, I certainly would not mind a slightly early or on time delivery!

Please think a happy 'be born soon' thought for both me and my sister's little ones, if you have a spare moment.

I have fallen head over heels in love with Nani Iro's fabric designs and plan on using the pink fabric shown above on the baby quilt for my sister's little girl, as border.

I'm not the only one with Nani Iro on the brain...check out Moving Hands for more pictures/ideas. Mari used the pattern book to whip some dresses together that have also been on my mind for a while. I'm still too chicken to make garments, but these creations are pushing me to the brink of trying my hand at it.

35

Does 35 sound old to you?

Well, it does a bit to me, but I suppose I've earned it.

My family is gingerly helping me enter the 2nd half of my 30's by spoiling me in all sorts of ways. My little sister will turn 30 tomorrow, (our birthdays are only 1 day apart) and because we are both pregnant it turns out that we couldn't travel in order to be together this year. I do miss her.

Hopefully all you hip youngster bloggers won't give up on reading my little blog here now that I'm too old to qualify for the AQS Young Quilt Designer's award. And to the rest of you who have already made it past your 35th birthday, I'm right there with ya!

I came up with the cable above for use in the star portion of the baby quilts. I don't think I'll be using trapunto, since the quilts will be used by babies after all, but I'm tempted to do a little bit of it.

Let loose at the book store

I went a bit nuts in the magazine section last night at the book store.

I basically bought whatever magazines that were calling out to me, in order to gain some cheap thrills while I have some extra reading time on my hands.

The latest copy of Milk Magazine (fashion and style for kids) with English text included - who knew they offered this version?! - was calling out to me, so of course I took it home with me.

Artful Blogging Magazine also found its way home with me. Having this magazine in my hot little hands feels like a yearbook of sorts for all the lovely blogs I read on a regular basis. Represented here are pieces by Amanda from Soule Mama, Jude of Spirit Cloth, and many many others.

Ready Made was the last magazine to jump into my basket. I am going to subscribe to this one right away. So many DIY projects, ideas, and inspirational photos here. Current issue for Aug/Sept 08 has an antique sewing machine on the cover.

And for the pleasure of you uber-quilting-smartie-pants-nerds out there (like you, Amy) here's what I did after I washed the paper off of the baby quilt top:

1) Took the above photo since the light through the wet quilt made it look like stained glass
2) Hung it up to dry a bit since it was SOAKING WET...waited about 4 hours...
3) Put it on my ironing board and 'pressed it' (did NOT 'iron' it by running iron all over it, just pressed the iron down on each of the blocks)
4) Held it up, and said, gee, that's still pretty square - cool! I'll end up blocking it after it's quilted if it needs it.
5) Basted it by hand with batting and backing
6) Put in in my hoop and started to hand quilt it 'by the piece' which means you quilt lines just inside every seam where each piece is sewn to another piece.
7) FYI, looking good so far!

Going for the Gold

Visiting uncharted territory here, with embedded video. Did it work? For a self-admitted-techno-geek, I'm not sure why I'm scared to try this.

It's a clip of me washing away the paper from the back of the quilt. Oh so much faster/easier than picking off the non-wash away type.

One thing I did discover this time around - if you use it while working with very dark fabrics (see border!) you can end up with a hefty amount of lint afterwards on the darks, so wash well!

Couple of cute Olympic stories from our almost 3 yr old:

When he was watching swimming for the first time (which he LOVES) he was asking us why the swimmers didn't have their daddies in the pool!

Last night at swim lessons he decided to push off the wall backwards into the pool, just like the backstroke racers do. It was adorable, I cannot believe he came up with that all on his own.

By the way, do you have this stamp set by Yellow Owl yet? I really want both of them. That would so fall under the category of naughty/greedy shopping for self. Ah, temptation....

Maryann's Peace tomato

A friend from work gave me a Maryann's Peace tomato plant several months ago, and this is the first fruit to come off that plant. I cannot wait to eat it, I doubt it will last another couple of hours. Salt, pepper, basil, balsamic vinegar...mmmmmm!

I was just reading a copy of AQS Blanket Statements (recycled from my mom's quilting friend) and noticed a couple of very cool things.

First, there is a new International Quilt Study Center that just opened in Lincoln, Nebraska. I would love to visit there, and would be scared of the amount of time I could spend in their library.

Next, there was the mention of a very interesting book that I haven't yet run into along the way: Childhood Treasures, Doll Quilts By and For Children. No idea if any of the doll quilt swappers have based their patterns on the quilts from this book, but it looks incredible.

An on a totally different topic, I bumped into this Etsy shop called Tinctory. This necklace is so awesome. I have not played around with smocking, but would certainly love to take a class someday. Until then, I will drool over the Tinctory creations.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my dear Dad's birthday. This is an old picture of him with his beloved Jag. I think he had to marry my mother because it was so unreliable he needed her to rescue him all the time.

Hope your day is great Dad, so sorry that I'm not there with you to celebrate in person. Maybe next year, when I'm less pregnant and more travel-friendly!!

I love you!
-Marisa

Olympaholics anonymous

Oh how I wish somebody would help me to exercise a bit of restraint these days. I'm a completely loose cannon.

Instead of going to bed on time, like a nice little 36 week pregnant woman should, I'm up until all hours glued to my couch cheering on our Olympic gymnastics team, swimmers, and divers.

When I caught myself watching Vietnam play badminton, I realized that some sort of addiction had set in.

I'm writing it off to final stages of pregnancy insanity. My recent purchase of 2 very large New York steaks for dinner will also fall into this category.

My last post had shown strips cut out, and they went into a little pencil holder project that I made for some friends of our son. The pattern came out of Last Minute Patchwork & Quilted Gifts. This book is of course a must have. If you don't have a copy already, HELLO! You need one. Author is owner of Purl, of course you knew that already, but pattern maker of this pencil roll is actually owner of Pink Chalk.

The fabric that I used for the lower part of the outside of the roll (I didn't follow the pattern exactly actually, I made the outside from 2 pieces of material) is my recent order from Pink Chalk. (Highly recommend ordering from them, very professional!)

Thank God my mom was visiting, and SERIOUSLY helped me finish these. I made a little boy version as well.

School's out!

Last week was my final week of working before maternity leave, so it was a busy one.

I have mixed emotions as working was helping me avoid all the new baby prep work that I'm starting today. So much for that lovely state of procrastination!

With 1 month to go before the arrival of our little one, so many things to do and also I have the incredible pleasure of spending more time with our almost 3 yr old. I think we'll head off to the pool sometime this week to cool off and goof around.

So can you guess what I'm doing with all those lovely little rectangles of Japanese fabric?

(Oh, I should also add that I'll be back to work again after the baby is a bit bigger, but for now I may actually have a little time to pretend I'm a stay at home mom!)

When quilters try to knit (AKA scary scary)

There are many brave souls out there reading the book called Last Minute Knitted Gifts and making the "more than 8 hour gift" called the chevron scarf.

For me (a slacker? a very slow knitter...and in order of priority, a quilter to be sure) this "more than 8 hour gift" is a bit closer to an "almost 8 month project".

I think I'm finally almost done with my beloved scarf. This was probably due to the twice/week swimming lessons, and my husband getting into the pool with our son instead of me (oh the things you get away with when you're pregnant!).

And speaking of lack of self control - I've had Pink Chalk on the mind, and ended up with a minor slip up of buying a yard of this. Oh so very pretty. Cannot wait for it to arrive in the mail.

Making progress, little by little

Making progress on the baby boy quilt this weekend. Tonight I just got the borders attached, so time to soak off the paper backing next, and then off to baste it.

My in-laws are visiting this weekend, so having a never-ending source of entertainment for our 3 yr old is probably the only reason I got anything done on it at all.

I was also supposed to teach my friend Katie how to crochet, but I think I was so bad as an instructor (even with book in hand!!) that she's going to revert to knitting. Yikes, that is so very pathetic. I really should stay away from yarn.

We did discover that the local knit shop now offers some beads in their back room, so that's sweet. I will return there to pick up a few things for attaching my world's tiniest pin cushions to the ribbons for hanging off scissors.

Have you already (like the rest of the world, apparently) shredded your toll house cookie recipe for this 'new and improved' BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe? I'm actually getting tempted to try it. Is this for real or just another internet myth?

Help - I need MORE FABRIC!!

I seriously 'need' more fabric like a kick in the teeth, but I cannot help but wanting some of this amazing Japanese "Hawaiian" fabric.

Having walked right past a table full of it last year when I was in the Yuzawaya in Tokyo, I am a bit dissapointed in myself for not scooping up a piece or two.

I thought, hm... that's interesting...what would I ever do with it? So now I know what I want to do with it, and I have a little quilt in mind, but cannot figure out how to get these shipped to the states. I emailed the Kinkame company, but no reply. (Was using English a bad idea?)

Any kind advice for me, brainiacs?? Help out a fellow fabric addict!

For those of you who live in the promise land of amazing fabrics (AKA Japan), and You know who You are...I hope you have a big stash of these and use them all the time.

Photo above of the Noro yarn that I'm going to try to make into a hat. Oh how my knitting skills are lacking!

A visit to Felton

What a wild and busy weekend.

We visited Roaring Camp Railroad, in Felton, California, for the annual visit by Thomas the choo choo. He's a celeb in our house. We took a nice ride on an enclosed train car up through the trees and it was very pretty.

It looked like there might be some good trails to hike there too. Perhaps worth a look around on foot, when I'm not so pregnant!

The highlight for me was visiting Luminous Threads afterwards. Oh, the yarns in that shop! I could not resist...I ended up with a really pretty ball of it by this Japanese company called Noro.

The shop owner is so very sweet, I really enjoyed the adorable warm space she has created, and wish I lived a bit closer so I could actually take some knitting classes and learn to use all this yarn I've been collecting. I picked up some fabric too, by Amy Butler, perhaps for use in making some pencil rolls.

I think my pregnant self is more apt to buy random things for a 'someday' project than my non-pregnant self.

Was also reading a bit about Ink and Spindle - a coming soon shop that prints their own textiles and will be more than happy to help you do the same. Never visited Seattle before...hm...this is my naughty self dreaming of travel again. I'm off to give myself a little slap on the wrist. (If you live there though, please check it out, it looks soooooooooo cool!!)

Ahh...edit here - I&S is in AUSTRALIA - not Seattle - boo! My brain is in a very sad state. Will be a bit tougher for me to just 'stop by'!!

Yoko Saito book bliss

My book by Yoko Saito on taupe quilting and Sweden has finally arrived!

I don't spend a lot of time taking photos of books, but this time I just could not resist. The book is cover to cover filled with projects, all 100% of them using Japanese taupe fabrics, including small wall quilts, bags, and even 3D stuffed horses, believe it or not.

A must have for your collection if you're a Yoko Saito wanna be (I'm her biggest fan!).

ISBN978-4-14-031153-0

Also, if you have not seen the dresses that Mari of MariRob blog made yet (from Purl Soho Japanese imported fabric, of course) please check out her post and tell her how beautiful she looks.

Meanwhile I'm dreaming of a day when I can fit into non-maternity clothes. ps. I cannot afford those jeans in case you're wondering. Oh, thank goodness that happy day is becoming more and more near. Something tells me it's going to sneak up on me.

Japanese Indigo Quilts

When I lived in L.A. I love a quilt shop called Azabu-Ya. It was on Westwood Blvd. and very close to where I was living while I was working at UCLA.

After I moved away from S. California, the shop closed, but is virtual now and offers tons and tons of beautiful Japanese imports, including some awesome blue and white fabrics.

I'm into the real dark ones including geometrics and flowers. The owner, Mariko, even offers guided quilting vacation trips to Japan.

The above fabric panel is one of many that come as a set. This didn't come from Azabu-Ya, I think I picked it up somewhere else, but it just reminded me of that shop and the fact that I have a billion indigo fabrics just begging to be put in a quilt.

It also makes sort of makes me think of myself playing with my two little sons. Of course, one is still in my tummy, but I'm so looking forward to playing with both of them together. Ah, won't be long now. Only 50 more days, give or take.

Birthday Quilt - almost turning 3 years old

I am not sure I like the ring that the number '3' has to it.

Having a 1 year old or even a 2 year old boy really sounds like you still have a very small little person living with you. Having a 3 year old has a very different feeling in my mind, and I can hardly believe my tiny darling little infant (no longer!) is going to turn 3 very soon.

In preparation for his birthday, and as therapy for me, I I decided to applique the 3rd number block.

Each year, on our son's birthday celebration, I bring out a quilt block with white background and the birthday number appliqued down. All the party participants sign and wish him well. I have enough blocks planned to make a 4 x 4 matrix, of 16 total blocks.

While I was at it, I made a couple more blocks too just to get ahead, since they whip together so quickly. If interested in how I make them, let me know and I'll cover in future posts.

Oh, and other HUGE NEWS! I'm finally getting taken off the Two Small Farms CSA wait list. Let the veggies roll on in.

Mary Jane's Farm...and Folk School

Alison Lee (totally rockin' podcaster, BTW) of the podcast called "Craftcast" has very recently posted an interview session with Mary Jane Butters, of Mary Jane's Farm.

If you are not an addict of her magazine already, I highly recommend you check it out. She is an organic farmer who sells all sorts of dry goods that are produced on her farm. She includes in the publication tons of patterns for aprons, needlework, and other totally awesome home-spun type sewing projects. I ADORE this magazine and save all the back issues. Free sewing patterns included and photos in general are super inspirational.

Downloading the pod cast now, literally cannot wait to listen to it, I LOVE Mary Jane's 'farm girl' mojo.

Ok, and a quick question for you - has anybody out there ever visited or heard of the John C. Campbell Folk School? Lots of traditional hands-on classes there, including tons of quilting classes. It looks interesting...I'm curious.

One last thing - if you live in the states, you MUST WATCH PROJECT RUNWAY tomorrow night! Season 5, first episode. These folks can sew anything, people! Best show on TV, imho.

Wash Away Foundation Paper for Paper Piecing

Thanks for all the anti-night-time-monster ideas. We may be deploying some or all of your ideas depending on how things go over the next few weeks with our son.

Lots of cool quilt patterns are based on a technique we affectionately call 'paper piecing'. I used this method to create the quilt that I'm using for the blog banner right now. Pattern from this book.

There are options to what paper you can use, but personally, I am a convert to the wash away type.

Non-wash away foundation paper requires you to use a very small stitch length when you are sewing fabric to paper, and just requires that you rip off the paper after you finish the blocks.

I have used this method before, and it works well, but the wash away paper has some cool advantages.

I have found that you don't need to use those super tiny stitches when using it, you can use a normal stitch length. Also, when you are done with your blocks, you just soak them in water, and the paper disappears. This puts no stress at all on your seams, and there is no risk ripping a stitch or of left-over paper sticking around forever in the center of your quilt.

There are a couple versions of wash away paper on the market, but I use "Wash Away foundation paper for paper piecing and machine embroidery" by Dritz. Mentioned before that I got it at Columbia River quilting, but it exists in stores as well.

A word of caution when using any paper piecing method (wash-away, or not) it is very important that you do not use a hot iron to flatten your fabric into place. Because you have run the paper through your computer printer, the ink is likely to bleed out onto your fabric from the foundation paper itself - especially if the fabric is white or light in color.

If you keep a wooden iron (using the flat 'back' end, not the pointy side) at your machine, you can easily fold back the paper with very little fuss.

How did I discover this little gem? Gee...maybe I had to re-make a quilt block or two somewhere along the way. Doh!

Mrs. Schmenkman has a blog post that just floored me. How could a quilting book by Yoko Saito exist that is not yet part of my library? Horrors! Looks like a quick trip to Etsy can remedy that situation. Thank you Mrs. S!

Shells above are from a shell photo study I did for my little sister's new home decor. She loves them - yeah!

Paper piecing - diamonds in the rough

I finally got a few blocks together on the Japanese baby quilt - the boy version - in blue.

I love how you not only see the solid stars, but the diamonds of patterned fabrics between then. Can you see them too?

In a panic, I ran out of wash away paper for paper piecing (the ONLY paper to use, IMHO) so I clicked over to Columbia River Quilting and had some more shipped. Impossible to find it at my local quilt shops. Their web site is very nice, and they were very good with sending me emails about the order and shipment.

In the last couple of nights, our almost 3 year old has become very very scared of the dark, and sleeping alone in his room. The tiny light of the smoke alarm was blinking and scaring him...there was a scary octopus in his room (no clue where that idea came from)...even the nightlight is scary. It's so tough on him, I just wish I could do something to make him less frightened.

I can remember being scared of things coming out of my closet as a kid.

What was living in the deep dark recesses of your kid room? Monsters, perhaps? Ah, and what does one do to exorcise them? Help!

Liberty of London fabrics for quilting (of course!)

Today I got 2 things in the mail.

First, the good news: The above package came from International Fabric Collection, and hooray (virtual back flip), it contained my new Liberty of London prints.

My only regret is that I didn't order a couple more of them. International Fabric Collection was so cool. They said that my shipping was a bit less that I was charged, so they also included $2 in cash. Wow, guess I'll be ordering from them again soon.

Then, there's the bad news: My catalog for the Road to California quilt show came, and no classes in there from American Quilter's Society on quilt appraisal. My dream was to take another brush up class from Bobbie Aug but I didn't see her name listed.

And a couple of clickable treats just for you:

If you haven't checked out Picnik.com pleeeeeeeeease do so immediately! It's an online photo editor with Holga-ish and Lomo-ish digital effects. The basic version is FREE so go now, check it out, stop using boring photos on your blog!

Green Kitchen (serious eye candy at this blog) turned me on to their site, and wow, it is oh so very cool. I used their "1960's -ish" filter on the Liberty fabric above.

And if you haven't been to Greener Grass Design, you may want to pop over there and drool over their textiles for decorating your bedroom, or killer jewelery (silver 'Tiffany' ring, I 'need' one of these), or maybe their Sun Jar nightlight.

I am now a believer that that grass is always greener.

Quilts Japan #123

Picking up my latest copy of Quilts Japan was a big highlight before the holiday weekend.

This issue is very floral-themed although the techniques and fabric families used are all over the map.

There is an awesome taupe quilt with flowers on p. 34 that really caught my eye. It has scalloped edge treatments. I have yet to attempt this, but have always wanted to try it. It's just such a beautiful way to finish off a quilt.

Some interesting Hawaiian block patterns are also included. Hand applique - you know I can never get enough of that.

The best part of this issue is the CRAZY block pattern for the quilt on the cover, and featured on p. 8-9 as well. It's sort of a star/Dresden plate block with diamonds around the outside.

Oh what an undertaking this would be for a bed-sized quilt...ah, but wouldn't this be adorable in taupe fabrics as well? Seriously, what doesn't look good in taupe fabric...

I also shipped off a DVD with files for a photo-study I did. My sister was wanting some photographs of shells for her newly redecorated room. Hopefully she will like them.

I've also been dreaming of visiting SFMOMA's exhibit by Frida Kahlo before I get too tired/pregnant/huge to run around in a museum. Looks like tickets book well in advance...hm...hope I don't have the baby in the middle of the exhibit!