Taupe Baby Quilt: More Photos

By popular demand....I'm adding a few more of my fav in progress photos of the baby quilt. 


Our little group of ladies had a huge blast working on it.


Enjoy!

piecing in progress

quilting in progress

 Blocking in progress

 

label close up

done and all ready for the new bundle of joy

Baby Quilt: Japanese Taupe Fabrics & English Paper Piecing

Oh how I have wanted to share some photos of the secret baby quilt project with you!

This quilt was started by our small quilt group much earlier this year for one of our members, So Sue, to celebrate the arrival of her new baby daughter.

I have photographed this quilt so many many times.  I want to go through some of the favorite photos and share perhaps more of them with you.

We finally gave the quilt to the bouncing baby, and I think she likes it.  Her mommy really does, so that's a good sign.

The majority of the quilt was hand pieced using the English Paper Piecing method, since we were using hexagons.  Small hearts fit well in the border, and those were done with hand applique.

More photos soon.

Japanese Quilt: Yoko Saito's Traditional Patchwork Lessons & Taupe Fabric

When I was flipping through the pages of Yoko Saito's Traditional Patchwork Lessons book, I ran into a super traditional flower basket quilt pattern.


This pattern has probably around for more than a hundred years, but when I saw it in the Japanese taupe fabrics I decided to go for it and make a small wall hanging.



I had some pre-cut squares from Pinwheels and put them together into 4 blocks.  Two very high contract blocks, one low contrast one, and another with different amounts of contrast but using mostly reds and pinks.

I'm happy with how it turned out and now I need to plan the quilting.


Thoughts and ideas on how to quilt this little wall quilt? 

Japanese Taupe Fabric: precut squares

Just a quick view of how I organized the taupe fabrics before making basket blocks out of them.

From left to right:

Lights
Mediums
Darks
Purple/Blue/Green
Red

They looked quite crazy before I sorted them but they look rather neat and tidy now.

Basket Quilt: Japanese Taupe Fabrics

Before PIQF rolls around again this fall, I wanted to do something really inspired with the small pre-cut quilt fabric squares from the Pinwheels booth.

Does this give me just cause to buy more in October?

Maybe.  Pinwheels is not on the list of vendors yet.  Oh dear.  I hope they go!  I might actually cry if they don't.

Either way, I am in process of whipping up a wall quilt with four basket blocks made out of Japanese Taupe fabrics.

So far, enjoying the process.  I was inspired by Yoko Saito's Traditional Patters Lesson book.  It's got a lot of the basic quilt blocks you see in antique quilts but all done in in the taupe colors.  Very attractive.

Quilt Border Debacle & Recovery Plan

When you put some borders around your quilt blocks, you usually think long and hard about what fabric to use, how thick to make them, and if the are 'just right' for the quilt.


In the case of my modern house quilt, I apparently did not observe my usual process.

The fabric I used seemed like a good idea at the time.  

Once I had lived with the completed quilt top for a while, I realized that I was not in love with the border fabric and that the value of it was overall too dark.

At that point, I started to get really intimate with the dreaded seam ripper.

I carefully remove every last piece of it from my beloved applique blocks and breathed a sigh of relief.

The blocks went back into being stored in a huge flat three ring binder and I have not touched them since.

Or until now.

I finally found a better border fabric.  It is polka dot.

I know, really...polka dot?  Wouldn't that be too busy?  Well...not really.

Lecien is a Japanese fabric company that makes many of the taupe fabrics that I like to use in my quilts.  They have a cool list of fabric shops by state in the U.S. that carry their line.

My rotary cutter and rulers are out.  I'm starting to cut new pieces of borders to re-sew them to the quilt.  This polka dot fabric (the lighter, bottom one in the photo above) is the one that I'll be using.

The darker polka dot fabric on top is something I may also play around with, but not sure it will make the cut for this subtle quilt.

Oh, and lastly I finally saw the 200 follow mark being broken for my blog.  To you dear new followers, you warm my heart so.  Thank You!!!  A huge virtual hug to you.

Modern Quilting

I am still here stitching away by hand with my needle and thread, and my Japanese Taupe Fabrics...creating modern house quilt blocks. 

This is the 10th block, and is inspired by what is called the Sax House in Oakland, California.  The home itself is designed to look just like a saxophone.  Can you see the instrument in the design?  I'm not done with the embroidery yet.  I think that will put the finishing touches on the block.

I never though that a popular blog like Quilt Inspiration would notice my work, but it turns out they did this week.

They just posted a little piece on my modern house quilt blocks which was very generous and kind of them.  You can see the article at this link.  The cool part is you can really see how the blocks were inspired from the photos I took of the real house.

I'm so honored!

Now, to come down from cloud 9 and get back to my stitching.

Shibori: traditionally created Japanese textiles

Another treat I had while at the Voices in Cloth quilt show, was running into Debbie of Kasuri Dye Works.  She used to own a shop in Berkeley, CA that I loved to visit.  When they had sales the line to get in would wrap around the block - it was really crazy.  These days, she does a handful of shows a year, and unfortunately does not have an online shop.

Her fabric is amazing though, so if you get to catch up with her, it is a real treat to see her fabrics and just to meet her.

You can easily find information on how Shibori is created.  There are many techniques.  My personal weakness is for the indigo dyed pieces, as that captures a certain vision I have in my head of traditional Japanese textiles.

I have always wanted to make another kimono quilt.  Many people have made them.  I made one ages ago as a wedding gift.  I hardly even photographed it before I gave it away.  Oops.  Sigh.

Japanese Taupe Fabrics: perfect for applique

When you enjoy hand applique, quality of the fabric itself becomes important.  The tricky areas, like points, curves, concave shapes...lend themselves to little bits of frayed edges.  If the fabric you are using is a high quality one with high thread count and tight weave, it minimizes these little threads that can lead to making your applique look sloppy.

Quite a few of the fabrics I used above are from D's Selection fabric brand.  I bought them ages ago in Carolea's Knitche Quilt Shop, which has not existed in many years unfortunately.  Anybody who has ever visited there would tell you it was an incredible place.

Anyhow, the block above is the next in my applique modern house quilt series.  It's been fantastic to design and create.  I'm so excited that it is done and ready for my next class.

In other wanderings:

Purse addiction:  Clare Vivier's fold over clutch.  Be mine.

Finnish Design shop:  Perhaps I should be kept away from here.

Weak for earrings:  Julie Burton at Verre -must resist temptation.

Japanese quilting fabrics: more is more

This block above is the 8th block in the series of California Bay Area modern homes that I'm working on.  

The house itself is located in Berkeley, CA and is known as the Fish House by locals but is actually the Tsui House.  It looks like it would be more at home under the sea than on a relatively normal street.  I used taupe fabrics that sort of looked like the ocean to me.

In other news, I was looking at Deborah Kemball's applique recently.  Have you seet it yet?  It's so detailed and beautiful.

Sometimes I really look forward to the weekend because I have something special going on.  This Sunday, my friend Sharon and I are taking a sweater making class by this famous designer named Ysolda Teague.

It's up at Verb of course, and although I don't really knit sweaters, it will be fun to meet her and to learn something that is really new to me.  And to relax for a bit of course.

Hope you have a chill weekend planned too.  Or unplanned for that matter.

Are you addicted to blogging?

Now there is an online test you can take to see if you are officially addicted to blogging or not.

Not that I was wondering what the answer would be for me personally (duh - yes!) but I took the quiz anyhow, and it proclaimed me to be 77% addicted. Think you can beat that?

Finally our son is more healthy this weekend, so that is really all I could want for a peaceful weekend.

Above is a picture of the Lecien fabric I picked up from Mariko at Azabu-Ya when I visited her booth at Road to California quilt show. I have yet to wash and iron it, but we'll see if I get a second wind this afternoon.

I was at the doctor's office last week, and the nurse immediately recognized my necklace as being by Margaret Sullivan. She is this jewelery artist that makes the most adorable charms, and I have one with my son's name on it that I got from a little shop in Los Altos, CA.

It's the first time anybody has ever recognized it, I thought it was cool.

Japanese Fabric - red

Here's a photo of the red fabric that my friend's mom gave to me. They are all so pretty. Perhaps I feel a valentine quilt coming on.

If you love Japanese animation, you have to love My Neighbor Totoro.

My husband sent me a link to this adorable story of this kid who accidently dropped his stuffed Totoro doll down a storm drain, and what several dedicated adults did to try and save him.

It's called Don't Let Totoro Die, We Can Wash Him!

Purl Soho in Orange County

The mysterious door below is from Purl Soho's shop in Orange County, Southern California.

What a huge treat to visit there in person. This place is a little known secret among quilters, but perhaps not for long.

The girl who helped us was so very nice, and knew the inventory like the back of her hand. She also impressively pointed us to all the latest new fabric that had just arrived.

If you ever end up in that neck of the woods, it's worth a visit. Not open on weekends.

15431 Redhill Ave, Ste D

Tustin, CA 92780

800-597-PURL

I was lucky enough to see the new collection by Etsuko Furuya. Dangerously cute, I picked up a litte piece of bird fabric.

The coolest was thumbing through Koigu yarn (KPPM). I will confess that I did buy enough to make 2 scarf projects. Good thing I have another knit lesson next week!

I was looking forward to meeting Mari who works there, but it was her day off. I'm sure I'll catch her next time.

Mari has a very nice blog - Marirob, and makes very creative projects that are sometimes posted at the Purl Soho blog too.

Japanese quilt fabric on Etsy

What cool comments on the last post, thanks everybody for your thoughts!

I just got a package from a Japanese fabric seller listed on Etsy. There are some very cool ones out there. Some mentioned in the comments, thanks Oiyi and Nora!

Sonetine (my new fabric is from there, pictures soon)
Chocolate Swirl
A little goodness (shoot, just ordered a book!)

Matatabi
Sweet Flavor

Ok dangerous links. I won't tempt you with any more of them.

The above little bag was a free goodie when I signed up for a frequent buyer card at Anthropologie. Adorable!

Super Buzzy Buzz

My latest order from Super Buzzy just came in, and Oh So Cute! I really like these little prints. I know, they are sorta childish, but I adore them all the same.

One really nice feature of shopping there is that they offer .5 yd cuts of fabric. That works well for quilters like me who like the scrapy look.

I think one of the shop owners has a blog called Super Eggplant. I think, don't quote me on that one. Either way, Super Eggplant is a very cool blog so check it out if you haven't yet.

Off to wash and iron them...smiles, grins! Oh so cute! One more thing - they put little Japanese candies in my order. What a sweet surprise.

PIQF 2007

PIQF (Pacific International Quilt Festival) is well under way here in beautiful San Jose.

These are my two favorite quilts from the show.

Ok, in truth, these are the 2 quilts that I made, that were accepted and hung at the show.

Of course I favor them, as I imagine my husband and son cuddled up under the one of the left. In my mind's eye, I can see the one on the right hanging above our son's bed in his nursery.

I'll freely admit that there were some seriously more beautiful quilts at the show, and I promise to get pix up on Flickr asap. If you couldn't go in person, you'll at least get to see the quilts I loved enough to photograph.

As for the shopping...the highlight for me was seeing my old friend Mariko from Azabu-ya. Her booth is dangerous to my bank account.

Tons more info in posts coming soon!

Quilts Japan, Patchwork Quilt Tsushin, and sister visit

I'm just counting the moments until my little sister arrives. She and her husband will visit us for the weekend.

She made this block for me, her applique is awesome.

Ok, so the post you've all been waiting for....

So you wanna subscribe to Quilts Japan? or Patchwork Quilt Tsushin? Frankly, I don't blame you. I have subscriptions to both.

If you live in the U.S. - here's what you do:

1) Call Kinokuniya (408) 252-1300
2) Ask them to subscribe you for $75 + $30 shipping (current cost 9/2007)
3) Visit your mailbox expectantly every day

The $105 includes 6 issues. If my calculator works thats $17.50/issue.

If you're in Europe, I think you can go here and get some help to order them.

Oh, and 1 more thing...if you like my below post of fabric from Repro Depot, I also encourage you to also visit the "sale" section at Super Buzzy right now.

These fabrics are on SALE!!! and they support 1/2 yd cuts....thanks Kelly for the head's up!

Good to know there are so many options for us Japanese fabric junkies! Cheers to Super Buzzy and Repro Depot!! Can I sign over my entire paycheck?

Repro depot - Japanese children's fabric

If you have not had the chance to check out repro depot's Japanese imported fabrics, please do!

Their animal fabrics are so cute it might give you a zinger.

What's a zinger? I'm not totally sure, but my husband gets them when he puts something sweet into his mouth and says it's this shooting funky sensation. Have you had a "zinger"? Can it exist if wikipedia doesn't know what it is? I'm not convinced that I've ever experienced this strange and unusual phenomenon.

Ok, so coming soon a post on exactly how to get a subscription to Japanese magazines if you live in the US, and perhaps some advise for our European friends.

Pearl of a Purl

I cannot stop shopping at Purl. They have the cutest fabrics on earth.

If you live in NYC or So Cal, you can visit them in person...oh to do that someday...

This fabric is linen, and was a gift from my parents for my birthday last month. I'm thinking placemats or something. Anyhow, it's lovely. Just the feel of it makes me smile.

Ok, going a bit nuts with the sidebar of links these days, but I cannot help it. There are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to many cool blogs out there.

My latest cool discovery came through a link at Lynn's Craftsew (I read this blog ALL the time - it's awesome). Her sidebar includes a link to the i heart linen blog. It's beautiful too!

Almost 2

PIQF requires a full shot as well as a detailed photo for the entry, so this is the detail on the airplane quilt.

I quilted it (boldly!) in a medium tan thread, rather than white, so the stiches really POP.

A little confession here, as well as a warning - if you're a Japanese fabric addict - please don't visit Repro Depot's Japanese import section. Danger...warning...seriously cute fabrics here.

I cannot fit any additional fabric into my office, but I bought a tiny bit anyhow! Eeeek!

Well, our little "baby" will be 2 in about a week.

In preparation for the big party, I'm making a few little things...photos soon!