The Perfect Gift for a Quilter: Needle Case

My mom created the cutest needle case on earth for me with this Japanese ladybug fabric.

I think it turned out just perfect.  Had to share it.  

Do you ever photograph your needle cases?  I would love to see how you store them.  Email me a photo of something unique you have come up with.

There's a story behind the needles I'm keeping in this case, but that one deserves a post of its own I think.

Quilt Otaku Modern Objects: Danish Pot

Modern Objects Block 2 is finally available!


Partner blog Wee Wonderfuls has been kind enough to host this pattern.  Please head over there to get a link to the free pattern.

I have been a huge fan of Hillary's work over at Wee Wonderfuls for ages, so give her a big thank you for hosting the pattern this month.  Her plushies are out of this world. 



This second block is designed to represent a Mid-Century modern pot.  Complete with bulb-shaped wooden handle.  Inspiration from Danish enamelware. 

There are many many photos of pots like this if you do a google search for images. 

Enjoy the new block, and add your photo to the flickr set when you finish it!

See past blocks in other posts:
Modern Objects Block 1

Applique on Clothes: Chanin Style

What could be better than applique on quilts you might ask?

How about applique on clothing?  Well, at Verb, where I sometimes teach, they are getting quite into the work of Alabama Chanin.

I will confess that I am a sucker for an Applique Opportunity like this, and I'm thinking of trying my hand at making a skirt.  Ok, and a tank top too.  Ok, maybe with a jacket.

Project Chanin-Way, here I come.

I have never tried to make clothes before.  This ought to be....interesting!

Maybe I should take a class...here's to hoping she's teaching near me soon.

Premie Hat

My sister's friend had a new baby recently, and I made this little hat for her.

I wonder if she will ever actually fit it on her head.  I am no expert at making hats, or tiny newborn hats for that matter.

If it never sees her sweet little head, at least I know it will fit on her teddy bear!

To those of you who actually know how to knit out there, how small is too small?  Ok, back to my quilting.

Seriously!!

Handspun Yarn Bracelets: crafting with kids

I mentioned that we did a little spinning on both a wheel and a drop spindle with some 3rd graders recently.

The yarn they made was awesome.  Various colors, various thicknesses.  

I strung some wool felt beads on small pieces of yarn and turned it into friendship bracelets for them.  I'm sure they will love being able to wear a little piece of art that they made themselves.  

This project was almost too cool for school.  What a nice way to wrap up the year.

Living in a Glass Jar

Small succulent plants really float my boat these days.

I got this little baby at the garden shop of Filoli.  If you haven't visited there before, it is a country estate with an amazing house and manicured gardens. 

When you wander around there, you get a flavor for how the other half lived.  It makes me want to run home and watch a Jane Austin flick.

Our six yr old son adopted this plant and wants to be the only one to water it.  It might be because the watering procedure includes a spray bottle. 

Either way, it's nice to see kids interested in nurturing plants.

I'm itchy to design some applique quilt blocks inspired by succulents.  I'm not sure I've seen that before. 

French Monk's Finest

When I was teaching quilting a couple of weekends ago at A Verb for Keeping Warm in Oakland, a couple of yarn balls found their way home with me.

See a 2 color shawl made out of this color and some purple yarn here (not made by me).

They dye various base yarns in this colorway called French Monk's Finest which is a very interesting shade of yellow/gold with greenish undertones.

I wanted to do something quick and easy with it so I started an extremely simple shawl called Mizzle by Patricia Martin.  As I have been knitting here and there on it (often times during story time at night, when my husband reads to the kids or they read to us), I had a thought.

This is an AWESOME super easy pattern.  It is super simple, could even be a beginner project, and still looks very smart. 

It doesn't take much yarn at all, and goes super fast on size 6 needles. 

If you know of somebody who wants to learn to knit, or if you just like knitting while being social at the same time, this project might just be for you.

I have the perfect coat to go with this.  From the likes of this weather, I'm not going to be wearing it anytime soon.

Hand Quilted Feathers

In case you are still wondering if I am going to finish hand quilting all the feathers on the baby quilt before my sister's 'baby' turns 1....I am sad to report that I will not be making it in time.

Quilting "feathers" as they are called were made popular by the Amish quilters and if you hand quilt you have probably tried to quilt them.  I think that they take something like 5-10x longer than quilting diagonal lines. 

Don't get me wrong, it's a thrill to quilt them, but they do take time.  You might want to put them in a quilt that doesn't have a deadline.  (note to self!)

Sigh.  This baby will get her quilt eventually.  She'll probably be able to walk on it by the time it's actually done. 

Don't they say that all good things come to those who wait? 

I am close though.  Another week of hard work on it (whenever I find time for that!) will finish it up.  Only the borders are left.

Maybe I'm the only who missed a self-imposed quilting deadline.  Or maybe there is company for me out there. 

Daiwabo Fabrics: yarn dyed

Some time ago I subscribed to a BOM that Yoko Saito's shop was hosting in conjunction with NHK magazine. 

Every month, I had the Kinokuniya in Costa Mesa California ship me not only this monthly Japanese magazine, but also a little pack of fabric that Yoko Saito's shop had picked out for you to make the blocks as a kit.

I dutifully keep these publications next to the fabric packs in their little bags for ages as my plan was to make all the blocks.

Eventually, all the blocks were actually published in a book (doh!) so I didn't actually have to collect the magazines after all. 

I also finally decided to wash all the fabrics, iron them, and incorporate them in my regular fabric stash since it was unlikely that I'll be making all those blocks exactly as designed. 

I would have loved to follow the exact recipe, but the creative genius in me cannot find her way to duplication of an exact quilt.  I need more flexibility and I need to make my quilts take on my own asthetic.

The above fabrics are Daiwabo yarn dyed fabrics that came as part of the kit and are now ready for use in other projects.  I have already started cutting into them more and I'm glad that I decided to stop waiting to use them.

Maybe this is some sort of a late spring cleaning thing for me, but having new fabrics washed and ready to go is the only way they will ever make it into a quilt. 

That's the name of the game after all.

Are you out there doing a little late spring cleaning?  Maybe I'm the only one that still has late-spring early-summer fever.

Yoko Saito: Floral Boquet Quilt

You know I'm not one to resist the latest book by Yoko Saito.

This one is called Floral Bouquet Quilt - ISBN978-4-14-031183-7.

Although all her books are beautiful and have tons of taupe quilts, I really like this because of the focus on flowers and the number of small pieces it has.  Not a lot of full sized quilts, but many bags and small household items like place mats.

Page 6 has a small wall hanging quilt with a bunch of different vases.  It is so beautiful.  More simple than the Modern Objects quilt I'm working on, but not all that different in concept.

On p. 26 there is the most adorable bunny rabbit ever to have been made by fabric.

If you don't have this book, it is worth the shelf space in my opinion.  

My copy (purchased in California, USA) was $37 USD.  Looks like if you get it in Japan it goes for 1900Y which is something closer to $24 USD.

Modern Objects: Block 2 teaser and OMG Liberty of London

If you loved the first Modern Object block.... the next one isn't far off.

Again, a partner blog will be hosting the link to the free pattern.  

I'm using Oakshott fabrics since they have bold modern colors and lend themselves well to the clean lines of the modern objects.

Check out the photos you can find of how people use Oakshott:  Beautiful.

On the topic of Liberty of London fabric:

I was reading about the recent events at Quilt Market over at Monkey Do blog.

It seems that they will be introducing a quilting weight fabric that is more affordable (applause!!)  but still has that incredible look that they are famous for.

It's called Liberty of London Lifestyle Fabrics.  I am too excited for words.  Anybody who has bought Liberty of London fabrics for around $36 USD / yard...should be excited to know this new line will probably cost a little less than half as much.

Does that mean I can buy twice as much of it?

Patchwork Quilt Tsushin #168

The latest issue of Patchwork Quilt Tsushin came in this week at Kinokuniya in San Jose so I rushed over and picked it up.

It has a lot of Grandmother's Flower Garden quilts in it, as you might guess from the cover.  It also has tons of stained glass quilts.  I've never been compelled to make one of those types of quilts.  I'm not totally sure why, since there is a ton of applique involved, but perhaps making all that bias isn't attractive.  

Sometimes I pick up this magazine and I feel like I want to make every single quilt inside of it from cover to cover.  This issue is not bad by any means, but I didn't get that feeling.  If you are REALLY into working with hexagons, this might be a good issue for you since there are some interesting hexagon settings shown.

Handspun Yarn and an interesting reason why taking photos in good light was a challenge this weekend

Above is a photo of the hand spun yarn that I navajo plied from the school kids that I mentioned in my last post.  

The fiber is from 3 different sheep breeds:  Targhee, Merino, and Polwarth.  I am not sure I would have spun all of these together into one yarn, but they look actually really cool.  The children did a really nice job.

I'm thinking I'll make some friendship bracelets out of the yarn for them with maybe a little felted wool bead similar to these ones I made for my son's class.

For the blog photos, I try to use good daytime light on the weekends to photograph my current projects for posts upcoming the next week.  Taking good photos for me only really happens during the sunny parts of the day and I usually only get a chance at that on Saturday or Sunday when I don't have other things going on.

This past weekend, I was trying to take some photos of fabrics I've been playing around with, but the light was not cooperating.  

Why you say?  Why during the afternoon was there no light?  

Well, if you got to experience the solar eclipse yesterday, I probably don't have to tell you that it was very cool (although not the best for quilt photography!).

We live about 4 hours south of the total eclipse, so we did not see the full ring of fire, but it was still very odd to see how dark things got.  We enjoyed seeing the phases of the moon blocking the sun with our 100% protection eclipse viewing glasses that my DH ordered.  

The kids really enjoyed it and ran up and down the street educating our neighbors on what an eclipse is, and letting them borrow our special viewing glasses.

His photo really captured what we saw.

Making New Friends: Cherry Schacht Matchless

This week I visited a local third grade classroom to demo how wool becomes yarn.  My quilting girlfriend teaches at the school, so it was a neat opportunity for me.

The kids were so excited to be part of the demo and to answer all the tough questions I had for them.  It was an incredible experience and I loved it.

They were so adorable that I kinda want to either become a third grade teacher, or travel the country explaining to nine year old kids how to take a sheep and turn it into a sweater.

I took with me my new spinning wheel - a Schacht Matchless in cherry wood.  It's a beautiful tool and I am enjoying not only using it to make yarn, but the way it looks in my house and even the smell of the new wood.

I created a little wool quiz for the kids.  If you are ever planning on such a demo, let me know, I'd be glad to share the game with you.  I printed it out on 3x5" index cards.

On quilting topics...my attention is shifting to the baby quilt that I'm hand quilting right now.  My sister's new baby is not so new anymore.  The goal is to finish it before her first birthday which is less than a month away.

Will I finish it??  Good question!

A visit to Flora Grubb

On Mother's Day I was spoiled in many different ways.

A picnic in Golden Gate Park is always my answer to the question, "What do you want to do on Mother's Day?"

There were lots of other mothers there, and this year we decided to get comfortable on an old quilt in the rose garden.  They had amazing roses there with my favorite one being the scentamental rose.  I'll have to share the photos I took there with you soon.

We then headed over to my new favorite spot on planet Earth, a nursery called Flora Grubb.

I had intended to visit here before but never actually made it there.  This time, we were caught in traffic again but arrived about 30 min or so before closing.

I will confess that I made off with a fair number of plants anyhow.  Let's just say that it's a good thing we didn't have more space in the trunk or much larger plants would have found their way home with me.

Their aesthetic is  completely modern and minimal.  The plants are succulents, air plants, the list is long.  I'll have to photograph the adorable little ones that came home with me.  They are so pretty.  I've never tried to grow them before, so wish me luck.

Quilt Otaku Modern Objects: Norwegian Bowl

You know I'm bad at keeping secrets so thankfully that part is over.  I have been cooking up a little series of free applique blocks for you.  Here's the big reveal.

Norwegian Bowl is Block #1, and you can head over to partner blog Pink Chalk Studios to download your free pattern (PDF). 

I asked Kathy of Pink Chalk Studio to host the pattern for me because I love the modern aesthetic of her blog and the fabric that she has in her shop. 

I have been a huge fan of her work ever since I made her Pencil Roll pattern.  If you don't follow her yet, you probably need to add her to your list.  If you are in search of solid fabrics, her site is one of the better sources out there.

About the blocks:

There will be a total of 12 patterns in the first series of modern objects. 

Finished blocks are 6 inches in size as designed.

Each of the Modern Objects will be inspired by a modern designer that has been influential in the evolution of the genre.

About Block 1:

For this block, the inspiration comes from Norwegian designer Grete Prytz Kittelsen.  She passed away in 2010, but in her life she created numerous stunning modern objects.  Enamelware similar to the block above (Lotus Leaf design) was produced by Catherinholm. 

Once you finish your block:

Please post a photo of your finished block to the Flickr group for this series.  I cannot wait to see what all you creative needle artists do with this pattern. 

Block shown above was created using Oakshott fabrics.

This block will almost make itself since pieces are simple, there are not many of them, and the block itself is quite small.

Do be kind and observe copyright guidelines.  Use the pattern for your own personal purposes, and do not sell the pattern or the quilted items that you create with the patterns.

You will need to know some basics of applique in order to make the block.  If you are interested in a tutorial, give me a shout.  It certainly isn't rocket science, and I'm here to help.

A little treat for you

I mentioned before that I have modern design on the brain.

After designing all the modern house blocks, I felt there should be something next in a similar style but with a twist.

There are some free applique patterns in the works for you.

Keep an eye out...the first one is coming soon!

The complexity of these blocks is dramatically reduced as compared to the modern house blocks, so that should make for super-fast sewing time.

And in celebration of Mother's Day, I would like to thank my own mom for being so sweet to me and our family.  Having a mom is a huge blessing, I probably don't have to tell you that.  

I started reading through historic blog posts that mention my mom and she is either giving me fabric or other quilting goodies when I talk about her, or helping me finish projects.  Thank you Mom! xo.

I also want to wish the other moms out there a very happy day.  Raising kids is something that most of us really do devote our souls to and is more of an art than a science.  Perhaps Mother's Day is the perfect excuse to get out and have an annual picnic.  Enjoy the day.

Sheep Shop Yarn and Fiber

When I was in Monterey, I picked up this fiber at Monarch Knitting from Sheep Shop Yarn.

The colorway is called Sprite.  It certainly has some energy to it.  Untortunately, this South African company went out of business some time ago.  Too bad too, as I used to enjoy their yarns very much.

Back in the 1980's, this color was so 'in'.  I can remember having leg warmers in this color when I was in 5th grade.   I never got rid of my ski jacket that also has this color in it.  My hope was that it would come back into style again.

In the knitting and spinning universe, I sometimes see these neon colors again these days.  I have not seen a lot of them in quilt fabrics.  I think it would be really fun to see some of them made out of Oakshott fabric.  Maybe they will eventually do a neon line.

Until then, I'll spin this into something very light weight.  Probably for a lace shawl.

Quilting in Monterey

This weekend our family friends took us for a vacation in the Monterey, California area.

We had a lot of fun and spend some quality time together, away from the noise of real life.  

My favorite part was taking photos at Point Lobos, which is land set aside for conservation as a state preserve.  Tons of animals, including sea lions and their babies.  Cute, although they still smell like sea lions!

You can see many photos of this place online, they will give you a feel for how dramatic it is.  Hiking around is not difficult, but it was a little tricky for our 3 yr old at times due to uneven ground and rocks.

Not far from there is the town Monterey, where we ended up playing around a little bit.

Here's the scoop:

1)  Quilting: Back Porch Fabric 

(photo above)

Great selection of fabrics.  Very friendly staff.  Tons of Kaffe Fassett Fabric.  Quilts hanging up on the walls are clean looking and inspirational.

Best Find: awesome selection of batting, my favorite kind was there for the taking - Quilters Dream in request (super thin) loft.  Also loved some fish themed fabric by Anna Griffin.  Lastly, near the counter, they have hand blown glass seam rippers.  I didn't buy one since I would lose it, but they were beautiful.

2)  Knitting and Spinning:  Monarch Knitting and Quilts

Large shop, excellent collection of various kinds of yarn, tools, books, and supplies for spinning.  Not a huge selection of fiber that is pre-dyed, but lots of un-dyed fiber and huge selection of acid dyes.  The shop itself has 2 dogs that seemed to spend a lot of time there, very cute.  Staff was extremely friendly and informative.

Best find:  Kromski Spinning Wheel Oil - very long nozzle for getting in those hard to reach places of your spinning wheel.  Super cool.  $8.

3)  Lunching: Victorian Corner

Cozy lunch spot with American food, sandwiches, salads, and they offered us a choice between both breakfast and lunch menus.

Best find: Meatball Sandwich - home made sauce.  Don't miss it.  2nd generation family business, yummy food, friendly service, great for families and super cute vibe.

Liberty of London Fabric...just a little more

Have you tried eating Sushi made out of laser cut seaweed (nori)?

The shapes the cut it in look exactly like Sashiko.

I have to figure out how to get some of this.  Too fun.

Am I avoiding a confession that I picked up a little more Liberty of London fabric from Purl Soho?  Ok, maybe, but hard to hide that fact with that glorious photo up above.

They also have a solid green fabric on sale right now in my younger son's favorite color.  Almost an evil color actually.

Do you collect Liberty of London fabric?  Could you pick a favorite?  What do you to to catalog it?  Have you ever accidentally bought the same fabric twice?  I am not sure if I've done that with Liberty (thank goodness, due to the price tag).