pamgarrison

a baby quilt gift

Hey there! How goes it out there? I wish I had some good excuse for being away from the blog for so long, but the truth is, the speed with which time passes is befuddling me. It's crazy!

Anyway, I'm back with one of the things I was up to in my absence; a gift for sweet baby Vincent, born to Maggie and James, and my dear friend Charlotte's first grand-baby!  

a little dedication for baby

 After seeing Maggie's posts about nursery decor plans for her baby to be, and being on a quilting binge, I couldn't resist a little patchwork quilt. I went to JoAnn's fabrics one night and bought a bunch of fabrics, then raided my own stash once home to come up with a selection of various prints and solids. The mix and the match, the choosing combinations, it's so much fun for me. A big reason I've always been drawn to fabric and occasionally go on purchasing binges with no specific project in mind. It's also likely why I haven't used solids alone in the past, missing an opportunity to play with design and color specifically. Just more fun things I'm noticing along the way as I continue to explore and learn about quilting. 

I improved a little bit with matching my corner points, but there are still many many non matching points:

I'm totally fine with that because it's handmade with so much love. I never even used to look at things like that when looking at quilts, but the more quilting books I look at, and linking around I do, I really respect the quilting artists out there and their mad skillz, and that aspect of the art form. I am not one to pursue perfection in my creating, but I do want to pursue precision when that is something that I believe adds to the creation. And some quilt designs would definitely qualify for that category. 

Luckily, this patchwork baby gift doesn't qualify for that. I don't think the journey of learning (thus the imperfect quilting) is anything to be secret about so that's why I'm sharing them up close. Not because I'm proud of them, but because it's a totally welcome part of any creative journey to me. I embrace the participation in something creative so much more than any result. 

I made the binding trim out of one of the fabrics. 

I did everything on the sewing machine, except sewing the binding to the back, that I did by hand. 

I quilted it by sewing machine, sewing first in the ditch, and adding one, two, sometimes three more stitches to the inside of each square. Making things up along the way vs. following any pattern or rule. 

Just enough to give it that puckering after washing. I love the way the back looks because of it, those big puffy squares:

I can't remember what size the finished quilt ended up to be. I think it was around 38x58".  A baby quilt or lap quilt makes an excellent size if you're not a quilter yet but want to start exploring with it. It's not too big to easily fit under a home sewing machine. And overall it can be done pretty quickly, decreasing the chances of getting intimidated and overwhelmed, (or even bored). 

Baby and Mama should receive it today ;). 

A little bit of California warmth sent to the other coast this crazy winter season. 

Welcome to the world baby Vincent!!!! xo

 

and then, and then, and then...

First of all, thank you!!!! Thank you for all the quilt love on the last post. I love that I can count on readers to understand where I'm coming from on whatever creative journey I embark on. I so appreciate that. We all just want to be understood, right? If you even knew how few people in my real (physical vs. cyber) life could care about my current obsessions or explorations, you'd know I meant it! ;) So thank you, to all that took a minute to comment here or on my IG or Facebook or wherever, and to those that didn't have a minute, but cheer on creativity regardless, you too; I've been there many a time...whether I leave a comment, or even if I miss what you're up to, I'm definitely cheering on your creative pursuits! Always.

Shortly after finishing the triangle quilt, I stumbled upon this quilter, via this book (which I totally recommend). I was completely inspired by both the book and the artist for sure. These quilting scraps left over from the triangle quilt were begging me to come and put them to use. Who am I to argue? 

Clearly, I have been taken over with inspiration. 

The shapes. The colors. The combinations. The interactions. 

Ideas beget more ideas. 

I can't wait to think about making a quilt out of some of them. 

But that's going to have to wait a bit...because last night I had to stop at JoAnn's after dropping the boy at baseball, and the fabrics started calling to me again...colors I didn't have already...new ideas to try...did you know you can buy as little as 1/8 yard increments? ;)

 

 

And so it goes....

 

coming out of my quilting coma

Hello! How are you? Wow, I've not reported in here for so long, having fallen head first down a great big quilting rabbit hole tunnel. I say tunnel because, true to my usual, I couldn't just work on ONE, that would be too sensible limiting. Really, working on two or more of a project (be it paintings, pages, quilts etc.) makes me feel like I have options, freedom to try different ideas out. Usually when I am creating, the ideas flow like wildfire and I want to try this, and that, and this...so working on two of something usually helps with that. Anyway, meet quilt one! This was my first ever triangle quilt attempt and of course, without researching (even google searches) I bought a template and cut isosceles triangle pieces vs. equilateral, which would have been much easier first go at triangles. But since I'm not a perfectionist, I didn't research first, just started full steam ahead and as usual, it works out well enough to please my non perfectionistic standards. 

And I have a pretty new quilt for my family! Creative fun and function, what could be better? Well, ok, forget that question ;).

I cut out the triangles one by one (not an efficient way to do it) using this template and this rotary cutter on my favorite self healing mat. I learned too late to get a new blade, but next time, I'm good to go. This is what I did, I just cut a few of the fabrics I had and then placed them out to arrange and see where I was at. I had all this fabric already, having been thinking about this quilt for over a year, never finding the time. Unlike "real" quilters, I forged ahead with some fabrics pre-washed, some not, and even some cotton, some not. Oh, such a rule breaker. I figure sometimes it's better to be a novice. Caution to the wind and all that. 

I sewed some rows together, and then those rows to each other. Some points lined up so perfectly, others, not so much. This is where the first time triangle quilt and dabbler vs. "quilter" comes in very handy. Who cares?!? Not my family, that's for sure! 

Nicely lined up and points not even close seen above. 

That's a little better! Of course, one improves as one goes along...usually...although sometimes this didn't hold true for me. 

I couldn't decide how big to make it, so I grabbed a Kantha blanket we have and used it underneath as a gauge for size. Back to cutting more triangles...

Eventually, all the triangles and rows were sewn together. hooray! I decided to add a border of fabric scraps left from the triangle cutting:

It seemed the perfect amount of unmeasured make do, with all those same sized triangles. 

Of course, I added one of my labels bought here. ;)

I tried pinning on a bit of fabric I was considering using for the binding. I did eventually use this one, and cut strips of 2" widths, but I do wish I would have done 2 1/2 or 3"...would have made it easier. I machine stitched on the front and then hand stitched the binding on the back. 

As you can see, I went with white for the back. The stitching makes it plain but nice all the same. 

And now that it's had it's first wash and dry, the imperfections are hidden and the character has come out. Because I hadn't prewashed all the fabric, I was concerned about colors running, especially onto the white back. I used this color catcher for the first time ever and it worked great! All the fabric is the same color it was, and the color grabber came out deep pink/brown. 

It's 6' x 4' 5" when all is said and done...and I love it!!! My son even used it last night on the couch- the best part! 

More recent quilting coming...one isn't finished yet, because I'm hand quilting it and it's much larger. But there's plenty to share about it, and other recent sewing tangents...

It's Friday afternoon here...two thumbs up for the weekend! 

 

creative ongoings

What are you up to today? Is it starting to finally resemble spring for those of you that have had endless winters? I hope so. It's a sunny day here with a light breeze which has me itching to go to the garden center and spend time outside. Maybe a little later. For now, I'm doing a little wrap up and clean up on some ongoing creative pursuits around here. 

I've committed to a hem length on the top/dress shown in last post and am getting ready to stitch that down. Pockets next.

Once I finish stitching it I can change my thread color and stitch up the linen number that's cut and waiting. I've decided not to do sleeves, which will cut the time spent working on it in half. 

I spent some time last night re-stocking my etsy shop. Always thankful for the orders that are placed. 

I hope to catch up on my Project Life album, I've fallen behind again and don't like that one bit. Sure does point out to me how fast the weeks fly by.

 

Some general clean up of art supplies is on the list. Paper stacks everywhere. 

 And a little art journaling.

Had a few minutes last night and was so in love with Mary Ann's post, photos, and palette's, that I found myself doodling them in my journal. Hope to wrap everything above up quickly so I can take my journal outside in the sun and play some more. Love Saturdays! 

 

sewing clothes

Hello there! Hope you've been having a good week. I very unexpectedly took a turn this past week into sewing clothes. I have not tried to follow a pattern for sewing something I'd wear since 7th grade Home Economics (I've said it before, but it bears repeating; Home Ec and Typing- yes, it was typing, not keyboard, but the same skill applies and for that I am grateful daily- were two of the most useful classes as far as life skills learned goes.) It was seeing various instagram posts of artist Jen Hewett's versions of this pattern that got me started. Seeing this one that one sealed my fate. It didn't take long before I started linking around, seeing more, and ordering a pattern for myself. 

#100actsofsewing started off as a personal project for artist Sonya Philip, a challenge to herself to make 100 dresses in a year, but now it has become something so much more, a movement that so many others are taking part in, and hashtagging 100actsof sewing on IG, Facebook, Flickr and more. You can read all about Sonya's mission statement here. 

 

Here's my first go at the pattern. I used muslin fabric to practice on, and chose not to try the sleeves for this round. I did do the pockets and changed up the neckline a little. I was trying for more of a boatneck then the scoop of the pattern, but misjudged that and when I tried it on I was choking, so had to put a slit in the center. I made it work. It's not the prettiest execution, but it's wearable and that's just plain old fun! My ability to whip it up in an evening is a testament to the friendliness (read=easy) of the pattern. A perfect re-introduction to sewing. 

After feeling that makers high, I headed to JoAnn's to pick out some fabric for another go. I usually don't find it hard to visualize something, but I sure did this time. I really struggled with picking out fabric for a dress in mind vs. a quilt say. I wondered if it was all me, or that JoAnn's might not be the best place to find the selection I was hoping for. I think it's a bit of both in hindsight. I still am not sure about how I feel about what I picked, and I've almost completed it, ha! Here it is:

It's a Denyse Schmidt cotton from her quilting collection for JoAnn's. I absolutely love all Denyse Schmidt designs, be it quilts or fabrics. My uncertainty about the fabric is not about the fabric, but the use of it for this dress/blouse. I haven't hemmed it yet, or put on the pockets because I'm not sure how long I want it to be. I did include the sleeves this time though, and am pretty pleased with them. A friend stopped by yesterday as I was wearing it to determine any altering needed, and we discussed how I might like it just because it's something I made, like "children will eat their veggies more willingly if they've helped grow them" concept, vs. a cute dress. Meaning, she wasn't a huge fan haha. I'm still not sure, but I will definitely wear it after doing all that work, (and take a picture to show you of course!)  I guess the goal would be to make something I'd want to buy if perusing the racks at a clothing store. Granted, this dress looks much better on than on the hanger above, but I'm not sure I would give it a chance in the dressing room, ya know? 

But hey, one thing I'm not is a quitter. I'm also a big believer in learning by doing, so I'm going to try another one, this time with this gorgeous puce green colored linen. It's one of my favorite colors, (sometimes I think that name works perfectly, in a juxtaposition, clashing kind of way, and sometimes I think the name sells the color short, but that's a topic for another day) and who doesn't love linen?

Ok, wish me luck, I'll report back with continued adventures in sewing my own clothes soon!