here we go again

The Japanese x & + block can no longer be denied. I've been dreaming of making one of these quilts for a whole year and the sheer joy of the Scrappytripalong has gotten me to fall more deeply in love with scrap quilts than ever. This first block just sort of made itself yesterday afternoon. And let me tell you, they are just as addictive as the scrappy trip blocks.

Nevermind that my current design wall occupant is still in need of 23 more blocks (and I think I swore I'd finish it by the end of the month?)

Or that my Scrappy Trips top is hanging out just begging to be basted, quilted and bound.

The first four blocks have been made and a gigantic pile of scraps have been pulled. And so it looks like our new informal interweb quiltaverse sewalong has been born! You can find us under hash tag #xplusalong on Instagram and there is a new Flickr group too. Please come over and play, whether you are just starting out or want to finish the blocks you started when it became a sensation last year.

You can also find Amy Badskirt's fabulous tutorial for the block here and the original beauty by Setsuko Inagawa that started it all here.

and what a trip it's been!

I can hardly believe how this pattern his taken the online quilting community by storm! It's been wonderfully amazing to see all the gorgeous Scrappytripalongs pop up all over Instagram, Flickr and the blogaverse. They have all been so different and unique, and I love how this quilt really expresses the individual personality of each quilter - so much so that I could easily pick the creators of many of them out before even knowing who made it.

And this is my finished top. I think it is totally 'me'. I am pretty much smitten with the chaos here and I think it is going to be a great companion to my Scrap Hoover quilt. This one started out as a scrap bin buster, but soon I ran out of scraps big enough for the pattern. After that, I raided stash. I love how this is a blend of scraps I may not have otherwise used and many of my most treasured prints.

I'm just awaiting an order for some backing from Pink Castle Fabrics (Brenda, if you didn't know, was one of the other original firestarters of this whole craze!) and then I will be quilting this one myself. I'm thinking big swirls, but we'll see. 

I want to thank each and every one of you who has jumped on this Scrappytripalong! As fast as this quilt is to make, given my track record for speed this would've taken me weeks to complete if it hadn't been for all of you inspiring and encouraging me along.

So what do we make next? 

It's a Scrappy Trip-along!

I didn't really mean to do it, but I started a new quilt this week. I have a zillion WIPs I should finish, but the stress of the holidays and the big finish of my Swoon and Field Study quilts made me cave. And I've been longing to start another super scrappy quilt. This design has been on the front of my back burner for almost a year now after seeing this one and this one and this one.

As soon as I began, I was possessed. These blocks are addictive! And apparently contagious, too - suddenly everyone is making a Scrappy Trip Around the World! Katy, Rita, Lindsay and Brenda are all making one - Brenda has even started a Flickr group. There are also rumors that Amber, Ashley, Heather, Laura, Dana and too many more to name are joining in! I'll be posting my pics on Instagram too. I'm lucyandnorman there if you'd like to follow me.

This is what a finished block looks like. You just need 2.5 by 16 inch strips, six per block. Put them together, and they look like this-

I used the tutorial over here. It's easy, a ton of fun and so satisfying to use up all this scrappage and stashage.

Obviously I'm going as scrappy as possible but specific color combinations are pretty too if this is too wild for you. But I've got a stash to bust so scrappy it is for me.

I hope to see you over on Flickr and IG. And Happy New Year to all - let's send 2012 out with a scrappy bang!

Belle Swoon

Is it really almost Christmas???? This year has gone by entirely too quickly. I haven't accomplished near the amount of quilting I would've liked but I did finally finish my Swoon! Though the only reason that happened was because it needed to be done in time to gift for Christmas. I'm taking a risk posting it in case the recipients are lurking around my blog, but I'm just too excited not to share it with you now!

Of course you've seen a million finished Swoons by now and there is nothing terribly unique about this one, but it did turn out beautifully if I do say so myself. I used an old collection from Amy Butler called Belle that I had buried deep within my stash. 

I think the large-scale prints and bright colors play well with the Swoon block.

And I know you are all wondering about the absolutely gorgeous quilting, right? This was done by none other than the fabulously talented Krista Withers. Krista's work is breathtakingly inspirational. We decided on a simple baptist fan pattern for this one just like the original Swoon. I will be bribing Krista soon to do some free-style on my hopefully soon to be finished Colorwheel Spiderweb. 

So that's my Swoon! It will be a bit difficult to part with but I know I can still visit it. I hope you are all able to find a bit of time to relax during this hectic season - I know I'll be glad when all of my ninth hour crafting is done. I guess I had better get back to that. I'll have my finished Field Study Diamond quilt to show you soon.

the big swoon and a big baby

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I've been working on a Swoon for the better part of the year, but as usual I forget to share over here. So here it is, all nine blocks ready to be sashed for a queen size quilt top.

I used an old, out of print Amy Butler collection, Belle, and I think these bright, vibrant large-scale patterns work really well in the Swoon.

One of my favorite blocks.

These will be all ready to be sent over to the wonderfully talented Krista Withers, who has agreed to long-arm it for me. I'm pretty excited.

This will be a gift - for whom I cannot say in case there are spies lurking. It would be hard to part with but I know how loved and appreciated it will be, and besides, I'll still get to visit it. I promise to post some pictures as soon as it's done in all it's quilted glory

We've been busy around here with pre-school, Halloween, winery stuff and seemingly endless bouts of viruses and flus. Oh, and this girl FINALLY decided to walk!!! Only took her sixteen and a half months!

New little jacket knit by Mama. Using some luscious Plucky Knitter Bulky. The pattern is Tiered Baby + Toddler Jacket. I even made some Liberty of London buttons for it from my favorite print Tatum.

Here she comes!

Here we are - Princess Leia in a janky wig, pretty little Cinderella and an uncooperative cupcake.

autumn sweaters

One of my favorite things about fall is breaking out all the comfy cozy sweaters. Now that I know how to knit my own it's just that much better.

My newest finish is the Solstice Cardigan by Cecily Glowik MacDonald knit up in some lovely Plucky Knitter Rustic. This was such an enjoyable knit and I think this one will get lots of wear on cool, crisp days like this. You can find a link to the pattern and more of my own thoughts on my Ravelry page.

This one I actually started LAST October but just finished a few weeks ago. Let's just say it wasn't the most pleasurable knitting experience, but in the end I'm glad it's finished and I didn't torch it the way I had fantasized about so many times during the knitting process. The pattern is called Coastal Hoodie and I used one of my favorite yarn bases, madelinetosh merino cashmere nylon sport weight. 

I am loving the finished sweater so I guess all of the headaches were worth it. It's soft and squishy and perfect for throwing over a tee and jeans. Not the greatest photos, but you get the idea.

Are you knitting anything fun right now?  I have another sweater or two on the needles but right now I've got the urge to cast on every hat, cowl and pair of mitts I see!

the weekender goes to sewing summit

I'm home now from an absolutely fabulous weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah at the second (annual?) Sewing Summit. It was a tremendous experience to finally be able to meet so many kindred sewing spirits in the flesh. So many great classes were offered, I got in lots of knitting time and my first "me" trip  away from my family was a great success. Olivia and Lucy missed me but they were good girls for their papa and I'm pretty sure he missed me too. My mom helped out a lot too so I even got to come home to a clean house with fresh folded laundry. Ahhhhhhhh.

In case you hadn't been bombarded with my spamming of this bag on Instagram or seen me parading it shamelessly around Sewing Summit, I wanted to share my Weekender. I am really quite proud of it. It was of course completely inspired by Elizabeth's magnificent quilt-as-you-go version, which I coveted the moment I lay eyes on it. I'd had the pattern by Amy Butler in my stash for years but had heard all sorts of nasty things about it's difficulty so I avoided it like the plague. But as Sewing Summit approached I started feeling a little lame for not making anything handmade to travel with. Then I saw Amber's awesome version and I decided to take the plunge.

I won't lie. It really was hard. Now that it's done and I love every bit of it, I'm so happy I decided to go through with it. It served me well on the trip and now I think it's going to be the perfect knitting tote, with lots of room for a sweater WIP as well as needles and notions. 

I followed Elizabeth's modifications of using cotton duck and batting instead of all that scary interfacing. The only thing I did differently was to sew together simple patchwork panels and straight-line quilt it all together. That's the simple and fun part. Attaching the piping and zipper wasn't so bad either, even for someone with zipper-phobia like me. But when it came time to sew it all together - that's when the expletives came out. I think I broke about ten needles? I also didn't love the lining assembly.  It seemed like too much extra fabric and other Weekender veterans seemed to have the same issues when we compared notes. But all in all I feel like it was a sort of sewing rite of passage and a completely satisfying project that will get lots of use and love.

The moral of this story is that if you've been contemplating making a Weekender but haven't yet - do it.

And if you're thinking about going to Sewing Summit next year? Do that too.