The Rotating Bed Quilt Project

Believe it or not, in over two years and twenty quilts I have yet to make us a king sized quilt for our bed. Partly due to the obvious - making a king-sized quilt is a lot of work. Partly due to the fact that we're comforter-with-a-duvet-cover people and convincing Mark that a quilt will be cozy enough takes a lot of, well, convincing. And also partly due to the fact that I can't decide which of my beloved fabrics I'd like to see day in and day out on our bed. So since I couldn't decide on just one, I've decided to make THREE! The plan is keep our neutral colored bed linens, and interchange three different quilts with coordinating throw pillows as the mood strikes.

The above stack of beauties is my collection of double gauze cottons, both from the 2009 Chelsea line by Echino and various Nani Iro prints. I truly love, love, love all of these fabrics and have been longing to see them sewn up. I've waffled about going strictly Nani Iro or adding in the Echino, but when I lay them all out together they just seem to fit. This one will be large, simple patchwork with lots of emphasis on the creams and white prints (more are on order). I have plans to splurge on an all double gauze backing, too, so this will be one light and luxuriously delicious quilt. The final touch will be hand-quilting.

The second one is the grey/blue/gold/cream 'drunk love' quilt, and it's already coming right along. These are such fun and relaxing blocks to piece, and I've also been having a bit of fun amassing some more prints in this color scheme to add in. As if I needed an excuse to do more fabric shopping! Twenty-one blocks are finished so far, and for a king I have quite a few more to go, but it should go quick. This quilt will be the first one I'll send off to a long-armer. Honestly it makes me a little nervous, but not more than trying to machine quilt such a monstrous quilt myself.

And quilt number three is my long term,  paper piecing Liberty of London hexagon quilt. This one was started last spring and has reached a bit of a stalling point since all of my hand-stitching time has been devoted to knitting lately. I'm in no rush, though. I've bought, swapped and been gifted almost one hundred different Liberty prints for this and every time I do pull it out it's a joy to work on. I can't imagine how thrilling it will be to be able to put it on our bed. As girly as it is, even Mark appreciates the time, effort and beauty in this one.

So that's my goal for this year. Whether I'll be able to pull that off while having a newborn and a toddler remains to be seen. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that this new little one will appreciate the joys of sleep more than his or her big sister!

Hand Stitching Central

That's what my bed has become lately. And I love it! Ever since I can remember, I have been big on hibernating when this time of year rolls around. I love pajamas and tea and coffee in bed, wrapped in a blanket, knitting and stitching merrily away. Of course, that pesky thing called life does get in the way that demands I get up and take care of life's necessities, but then after Lucy is tucked in it's back to my favorite  nook in the universe again.

I just started cross-stitching this cute little Alice in Wonderland pattern by Gera I ordered from Superbuzzy - it's the first time I've cross-stitched anything since I was in junior high! I also just ordered a new PDF pattern designed in part by my super talented blog buddy Amanda. Have you heard of her new venture The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery? These gals have some crazy cute patterns already in stock and I can't wait to see what else they will be coming up with! 

On the needles is the Honey Cowl from Madeline Tosh. I had to jump on that bandwagon after my awesome new LYS started carrying Tosh yarns. This one I'm doing up in the Pashmina in Cerulean Blue. It's a gorgeous yarn and a satisfying simple knit which I'm distracting myself with when my Kererra sweater WIP starts frustrating me.

The hexagons are for Brioni's block in our first month of the Bee-Hexed In Bee. I was so honored to be invited to join this group of gals and the block we're making, based on Tacha's Bee Hexed pillow pattern from Fat Quarterly Issue #1, is labor intensive but well worth the outcome. 

That quilt in my lap is my old Flea Market Fancy, which is enjoying some rigorous ripping out of the quilting right now. It's a fun stress relieving activity! Okay, maybe "fun" is not the right word. But I love the quilt, the quilting not so much. I'll let you know how it goes.

I have gotten up off my duff to do a little time at the sewing machine lately - I finally finished up my blocks for the 3x6 Bee. I'm sorry these are so incredibly late ladies! I love this Circle of Geese block, but I sort of lost my steam on them. Somehow I thought machine paper-piecing would go much more quickly, and boy was I wrong! But I think they turned out pretty well and I hope my fellow Bee-ers like them!

And I know you're all wondering what is going on in Blythe land around here, right?

Introducing Miss Astrid! She arrived very quickly on Saturday (I got her from the U.S.) but I didn't want to show her off until she had some proper attire. And what a better welcome home out fit that a little Liberty of London jumper? I've got a stack more patterns (even some knitting ones!) and fabrics to make some teeny weeny clothes from.

Astrid is an Ice Rune, and while she is quite pretty I do see some customization in her future. Does anyone know a good spa to send her to state-side? I might give it a go myself but it makes me nervous. Any tips would be very appreciated.

Thank all of you so much who participated in my big Stash Sale Blowout! It was a crazy few days and sort of exciting but I'm glad it's over. I couldn't believe how fast everything sold. Every time I went to list the next item, the one I had posted right before it was gone! I do apologize to all of you who sat chained to your computer trying to get what you wanted without even getting up the use the restroom! I know, because I've been there before! It's nice to know my beloved fabrics will be going to some homes where the will be equally loved.

I also wanted to ask you to stop by the Moda Bake Shop this coming Sunday, Halloween! I've been hinting around about this for awhile but I can't wait for you all to see what I've "cooked up"!

Liberty Love

Oh Liberty of London Tana Lawn, can I count all the ways I love thee?

Not to be all cheesy, but I really can't tell you enough how smitten I am. I won't pretend I've been growing a huge stash of this for years and now I'm finally bringing myself to cut into it. Besides some yardage I acquired last year, I just started piecing my collection of some smaller cuts together for the quilt I started dreaming of, based on this gorgeous one by the ridiculously talented Aneela.

So this stuff is not cheap. OK, it's crazy expensive. My birthday was last month and my sweet mom  bought me an order of lots of different pieces from Etsy (Alicecaroline was the seller, she was great to work with but unfortunately her shop is closed now until August for her maternity leave). The rest I got through Ebay. 

Not that I needed to start any more projects, but I knew that if I didn't cut into right away I would just start hoarding it all. I really can't explain to you how luxurious and sturdy this fabric is. It is my perfect idea of weight and texture. I adore Anna Maria Horner's new Little Folks line for the same reason, but tana lawn doesn't have that same slipperiness the voile has that made it frustrating for me to work with.

So I started chopping up some charms, 

and I've made pretty good progress on these hexagons already - about 80 I think! I want this quilt to be big!!! I'm hand piecing so it will be pretty slow-going (who am I kidding, all my quilts are slow-going!) but I hope to finish it by summer's end. 

Last night was a lovely evening spent in bed; Lucy sleeping soundly, Mark on his way home from a NYC business trip, Norman at my feet, the new episode of Lost on the tube, a glass of our new red blend in my hand and surrounded by a growing mass of colorful, soft Liberty loveliness.

As if that wasn't good enough, Mark arrived home safely around midnight with a fun surprise for me from the best fabric shop I've never been to, Purl Soho. Some more Liberty to add into the quilt and some super kawaii Cinderella and Peter Pan prints to join my japanese fairytale collection. I have the best  husband ever.

Moral of the story: yes the Liberty is expensive, but so worth it. Besides Etsy and Ebay, True Up did a recent post of some sellers you can find it from. And if anyone is interested, I'm going to post some prints in the Designer Swappy on Flickr to trade for 5 inch charms. If you have any great sources for Liberty, especially stateside, please share!

A New Quilt and a New Bee

My first block for my first quilting bee ever is completed. I am so thrilled to be a part of this awesome group of ladies of the Bee-autiful Bee, started by Amanda. January's month is for Suzanne (foofanagle), who requested a simple vs. complex block and sent some absolutely gorgeous fabrics in a yellow and grey color theme to sew the blocks up.

I know, I know, I am a little hexagon crazy lately but I love the portability of them. I can hand sew while watching a movie with my husband or tote the whole project over to my mom's house who loves to occupy Lucy while I sneak in a little sewing time.

I am already jealous of Suzanne's quilt after seeing all the other blocks the rest of the bee-ers are coming up with. I'm so happy to be a part of it!

Now that the FMF quilt is completed, it is time to start a new project (or three!) I have literally hundreds rolling around in my brain!

My big ol' stack of Amy Butler Lotus fabrics have been calling to me lately. I do love this line, and they were some of the first I started my stash with. Originally I had planned on the simple Brick Path quilt pattern (Amy's own). I cut out the bricks and decided maybe something a bit different would be fun. This is what I'm coming up with:

So far I think I like it, but hmmmmmm what do you think about adding some sashing?

Oh and here is another pic of my Lu rollin' the new phil&ted's stroller. My kid has a sweeter ride than I do :)

What I've been up to......

Well, I can hardly believe Christmas is nearly here.....

I would really like to be posting more often here, but I haven't even finished shopping or begun baking! I am proud of myself for finally finishing the quilt top for my mom's Christmas gift!

Now please just wish me luck in the quilting and binding that will most likely consume most of my weekend!

During my down time, I have returned to making hexes in full force! I was sad to see my hexagon pillow leave, even though I am so happy my swap partner loved it, and I love my received pillow as well. But, I was inspired to start what I am calling "the five year quilt", because making enough hexes to make a nice big throw will most likely take that long. I like to call this quadrant "sunshine and lemonade" ...

And here is a nice big old pile of hexagon loveliness. Don't they make you happy?

And I'll leave you for now with another happy picture - my Christmas gift to myself! I have been on a strict fabric diet for a bit now, but just could not resist in ordering a fat quarter set of all the prints in Denyse Schmidt's new Hope Valley line. It will surely be awhile before I get to use them, but in the meantime they make lovely eye candy!

Spoonflower Fabric Sneaky Peek

I finally did it! After months upon months of contemplation, I finished my first Spoonflower design and sent it off to be printed. Here is a little sneak peek of the artwork I scanned and sent in:

Yep, Snow White. I know that Little Red seems to be the reigning champion of popularity, but I am quite partial to this ivory faced, dark haired beauty (not that you won't see any Little Red from me in the future if all goes well!) Does this scene look familiar? Every artist has their muse, and mine was this japanese kawaii print which is probably one of my favorite fabrics of all time.....

Unfortunately it is out of print, like most of my fave fairy tale fabrics. I wanted to create something similar to the Cosmo japanese prints but with my own artistic style. It has been so much fun to create again! I am a bit nervous to see how the lines and color translate onto fabric, but if it works out then I can see this becoming an addictive little hobby. Look out Little Red, Alice, Thumbelina, Goldilocks and Cinderella! The fabric should be here in about two weeks!! Yay!

I am also making some progress with the hexagon top for the Pillow Talk Swap. Speaking of addicting, these hexes are just that! And I love the fact that I can just pack the project up and take it to go. I was toying with the idea of doing an all Flea Market Fancy hex pillow (my partner loves the line, but who doesn't?) but so far I am liking this one - I call it the Hexagon Hodge Podge. Or should I go back to the all Flea Market idea?? Luckily there is still time!

Oh, and I apologize for the crappy photos. It is crappy weather here in the Pacific Northwest and I can't get decent lighting to save my life.

And by the way, True Up, which is my favorite digest in the crafty world, has a great giveaway going on - japanese fabrics. I'm entering for sure!

Going a Little Hexy

So this is what I have been up to this week....

It is pretty addictive! I don't know why I was so intimidated to try this - they are super easy! I found this online tutorial, and here is a link for the hexagon template (mine are 1.25 inches). What a great way to use up scraps. I also dove in and fussy cut a few of my favorites, like the Munki Munki kittens and dogs and my new Cloud Nine Happy Garden birds.

What will I do with these, you ask?

Well, I joined the new swap group, Pillow Talk (see the button to the left). I am so excited - this will be my first swap piece ever. I am thinking these hexes are going to make their way into my pillow. If you were my partener, would you prefer a hodge podge of hexes or should I go for a color theme?

Also, does can anyone tell me how to respond to people's posts on my blog? I just can't figure it out!

Also here is a new pic of Lucy - 5 months old! She has her first hair-do (I did NOT do this to her, my silly friend Kari did!) and she is eating her first veggies, carrots, which she loves! And yes, that is my gi-normous sewing mess in the background!