all buttoned up.

Liberty Blues Napping Quilt

When I gave this to our neighbor she pulled it out and said, "Oh, it's warm! And it smells like dryer!". I told her it was because I am magical. Also, I had finished it that morning and the dryer had stopped unexpectedly while it was in there, so I had to stall her with tea while I restarted the dryer and then 20 minutes later excuse myself to go to the bathroom (wrap it) so I could give it to her.

Magic. Scrambling. Same diff.

I mostly finished this top two and a half years ago. The top hung in a closet waiting to be finished and really, waiting for the right person to give it to. Our neighbor and good friend is just that person. After she retired a few years ago, she filled up part of her free time making sure we are all doing all right. I return the favour by sending the boys over to *help* her with yard work. So, clearly, the least I could do is give this woman a quilt.

 

The 4" squares and binding are all Liberty Tana Lawn prints in blue. The white is a Kona cotton and both the blues on the front and the backing are Free Spirit voile. The blue toille print that borders the whole quilt is from Alexander Henry and is also cotton voile. It is on the small side-- 52" by 70". It's a good size for the couch or the end of the bed. The whole thing is silky and lovely. Clearly, it's too nice to stay in this house full of people. 

I've almost run out of quilt tops and works in progress to finish up. I put together some stuffed full scrap bags and I think that I'll put them up here on Tuesday. At least three of the bags are all vintage fabrics. And then I have to get sewing again so we will have stuff to talk about!

 

Where the Cat Hater Makes Tiny Cat Clothes and The World Did Not End

Manny poked at my belly this morning and asked me if we were going to get another baby soon.

How are YOU doing?

We are good. I'm sewing cats and kittens and tiny clothes for each. They are going under the tree for Truly.

I Blame Dorie.

There are probably more coming.

(The clothes all come off! The tiny dress is reversible! The baby is 2 1/2 inches tall!)

Beatrix for a Boy

My admiration for Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr is well documented, so when it came time to pair a charm pack of Lizzie House fabric and a baby-quilt-to-be-made, I turned to the first three issues of Modern Quilts Illustrated for a pattern. I don't use charm packs or layer cakes or what-have-you very often because I don't often own them, and I don't usually make quilts with a single line of fabric. That said, Lizzie does a fantastic job of mixing just the right number of quirky prints with her take on dots and stripes, that it's hard to go wrong when you're looking to make up something for a baby. This was a straight up stash project, and the only thing I changed was the size of the squares (which was dumb and took me much longer to do thanks to having to do MATH which I'm stereotypically awful) and an extra row of solid blocks on the long ends to make a small quilt a bit bigger.

 

Hesitantly Holiday, The Folk Star Throw

Last year I ditched (gave away, mostly) a lot of winter/Christmas/holiday stuff that we didn't use or that I wasn't really feeling. It seemed strange and ruthless to get rid of things like these, but I really felt like I wanted to replace them with things we would all really look forward to see every year. I had it in my head that I wanted to make a holiday quilt, something that came out in November and could stick around through January. I had a small pile of dala horse/My Folklore Japanese fabric that I had been saving in a stack for a project like this, and then the clever bunch over at Purl Bee published instructions for a Striped Star Mini Quilt. Done.

I followed the instructions for the first star to the letter and was dismayed to realize how much pieced waste it created. For every arm of the star I was cutting away large triangles of strip piecing, and in the end I was left with a colourful pile of work going unused. And since last year this time I was in the beginnings of a wicked third trimester, and was running low on time/patience/ability to fit myself under my sewing machine, I put my piles away until I could figure out an easier way of putting them together.

A month ago I pulled them out, determined to get that Christmas Quilt done BEFORE Christmas, and decided that paper piecing was going to be much quicker and leave me with much less waste. I am a mess when it comes to math, but this one was pretty straight forward. I only used the paper for the striped arms of the stars, and then cut triangles out to piece the block together, following the original directions. I ran out of steam after four stars, and being determined to use only fabric I had on my shelves, I decided to put together some over-sized pinwheels to get it to throw-sized. In a perfect world, those blocks would have been some complicated variation on flying geese or something equally as folky, but time is not on my side this year either.

Again, in a perfect world full of money trees, I would have liked to find the some sort of neutral linen or soft wool to back it with. Instead, I pulled out yardage of yarn-dyed stripe left over from pj pants, and a warm grey, Japanese Snowmen print Mariko had de-stashed to me. The kids will like it better and I'm sure that in a few years I will look at its quirkiness with fondness. The quilting is mostly echo/straight-line, but I did use the free-motion foot to quilt all of our names into one of the stars. There are a few small open blocks that I think I might go back and embroider in: exponentially upping the quirk factor (if I'm going with it, I'm going to really go with it).

For now, though, it's done and ready for the couch (or who am I kidding? The floor.) and the next few months. It's also off the list and that is really the best gift. For the first time ever I'm only sharing my sewing space with my deep freeze and washer and dryer and it is AMAZING AND WONDERFUL, not to put too fine a point on it. I also have a space heater down there, so there is really no stopping that list from getting super long.

Three Small Things

I have managed to sew three small things for Truly during the last week. If everything goes all right and the house is not too much of a disaster, Manny and I will sneak into the basement during T's morning nap and he will draw and glue and I will do something related to sewing or laundry (blech). We have been marginally successful. It helps that the seams are only ever as long as my arm. I traced patterns from a Japanese Craft Book (the NYC kids book everybody seems to have), Anna Maria's Quick Change Trousers, and Shelly's Ayashe blouse.

The little dress fits her now and I made it from a fine wale corduroy remnant and some beautiful cotton Sally let me pick out before she left (there's going to be a lot of clothes coming from Shim remnants). I thought it was the easiest thing I could think of to sew considering that I am quite out of practice. Of course, I picked something that involved some tricky inside-out turning and sewing, but it was fine. She's not much for wearing dresses. They get all twisted up when she's rolling around and refusing to sit or crawl. I don't know if it's because I've dressed three boys, but she wears far fewer traditionally pretty things than I thought she would. She looks right in soft, comfortable things... so what if they are mostly stripes?!

The trousers are too big, but won't be for much longer. The grey came from my Roobios dress and is the sort of fabric I could do with a bolt of. The gingham is from Sally and the reversible side is just an inverse of the two fabrics. I will be making more of these.

I love this blouse pattern and I'm planning several more in different sleeve lengths and sizes. And maybe lengthening it into a dress? That front yoke/neck opening and sleeve draping are exactly my thing in little girls clothes. In fact, when I'm browsing for small tunics or tops I always do a quick calculation in my head: is this more than a 1/2 yard of Liberty? Then I should make it. And also go buy some Liberty (see how that works?). This is double gauze that I've had for a long time-- maybe a remnant from Mariko? Actually-- I think she has a matching shirt? That would be fantastic. This is the 18 month size, which is too large to look right on her, but she wore it today anyway.

I bought some new fabric last month, but really, I should be able to sew for a good long time from my shelves. It's a shame that I'm so terribly wanty over several of the new prints from Liberty's new quilt weight line. That just means I should start cutting out quilts, yes? Manny doesn't have one yet, and Sam is in a new, bigger bed, which probably means a new, bigger quilt. See how easy it is to create unrealistic expectations for myself? DEAD EASY.

Another Reason to Get Busy

Shelly Figueroa just relaunched her pattern company, Figgy's. Holy Mother of Little People Sewing. The new patterns are pretty girl-centric, but as the mother of two awesome boys, I know she won't leave the boys out in the cold (not to mention, she co-wrote a whole darn book on sewing for boys). But that's beside the point-- do you see that dress?

I love these patterns. They are a little Ottobre meet Japanese Craft Book. They are sweet without being too sweet. They are simple but they don't skimp on the details. Shelly recently began working with Daniela and they are making magic together. I saw the samples at her house today and I'm getting my hands on all three patterns (there are 5 total garments and variations of each) of these as soon as possible. I have nieces. They need leggings and easy-over-your-head blouses. They need that freaking dress.

Figgy's is running a pre-order free shipping promo at the moment (until the 24th). They are printing up next week and will ship the first week of December, so you can eek out some pre-holiday sewing if that's your game. See here for close-ups and variations and more patterns from previous seasons.

This is most definitely my game, folks.

Happy Machine

We are happy about this baby girl. I didn't quite get there last post, did I? Yes. Very happy. Shock and happiness don't have to be mutually exclusive, right? Thank you for your good thoughts and kind words. I have already serged up the edges of some of that double knit. I washed it and put it away in the drawer next to some of my nieces hand-me-downs and a unopened package of tiny onesies. I love tiny onesies.

The rest of my piles don't look so neat, and I had a good little chat with myself about the amount of fabric sitting here and vowed to keep any new textile purchases confined to batting, thread and solid white and off-white cotton. I have finished up two more small throws for friends and I am trying to work my way through the unfinished pile. It's now or never, people! On top of that, I have a new sewing machine that I purchased used at the end of the summer. I had been casually looking for a while, and then specifically looking for several months. I had all but given up and then the craigslist stars aligned and I was able to bring home a barely used Bernina 440 for a stunner of a deal. I feel pretty lucky.

Luck precipitated action and I pulled out two cotton linen prints to make it a cover and practice free motion quilting with the stitch regulator. I used a print from the Tammis Keefe tribute line and a Japanese folk print I've had for ages. I bound it to be double sided and used two leather buttons and two lengths of fold over elastic to finish it up. I used elastic so that it will fit around the table that is usually attached to the arm. It's very similiar in style to Rashida's cover in her book I *Heart* Zakka.

It is a great machine and before it's novelty wears off (maybe it never will?) I'm getting through that to-do pile with lightening speed. It feels so good to be sewing again. And who am I kidding about not sewing very many little girl things? That just seemed a silly the minute I wrote it down.

Given the Odds

We are muddling along in the basement, but I'm not holding my breath that I'll be able to move my machine and my hoardy stash down there before February. I'm pulling piles out to work on around the kitchen table if I need to: gifts for the boys, a few quilts/throws to work on, a short list for Miss Gestation.

This is a Girl Baby that I'm growing.

We were not anticipating that news, and it has taken a while to settle in. I don't know if it's just 2nd pregnancy, or that I'm 7 years older, or that this is a girl, but everything seems much different than the first time around. It is probably a combination of all of those things! At this point it's been all very by-the-book and I'm reminded how, unlike so many people I know, being pregnant is really Not My Thing. It's not really the boy's thing either, and August is forever trying to push in my belly and Manny has yelled "SO CHUBBY!!" more than once while jumping on top of me.

While they are concerned with all this outward changing, I lay awake at night thinking about gender politics, mothers and daughters, and, uh, fabric. Obviously. I pulled these piles of knits to keep in the to-do pile. I will probably not sew much for this little person to begin with, but there's no harm in making plans. Right? The top left is a striped double knit Epplant gave me for my birthday last year. Underneath is a jersey with tiny stripes in cream and mauve-pink (one of the pinks that I really do like and keep coming back to) that I had been saving for myself. The other three are Nani Iro double knits: red dots are scraps (also from Mariko) and the two others are actually pointelle (!) I bought from Miss Matatabi. The Nani Iro knits will be swaddling blankets, I think. They are pretty narrow at 33", but I have more than a metre of each and when we are done swaddling I'll turn them into clothes or scarves. It is not cheap to buy, but it is the softest kind of knit after it is washed and I love it.

I'm going to get together a pile of lawn and voile to sew for a growing girl. A GIRL. THERE WILL BE A SMALL GIRL IN THIS HOUSE.

I'm totally not freaking out.

 

 

Friends that Benefit

I'm making quilts for some of my friends this year. And, if you are my friend and reading this and don't recieve one it is because 1. you haven't gotten it yet or 2. you know that I often make plans that have a minimal success rate. So. Friends. I have really good people in my life and I am a woefully unpredictable gift-giver. I am no good at wedding gifts unless I'm Really, Really Good. Same goes with birthday gifts (but don't expect one of those because I'm on a sort of a quadrennial schedule-- Olympics style).

The quilt above is for the McGarry's-- Ann actually took these pictures in her house because it was made during those short, dark days in December. It is a pretty straight-forward strip quilt-- dark grey and dark purple Kona cottons split up with patchwork strips in three places. The quilting is zigzagged and the back is Moda quilter's flannel. It is larger than a throw but smaller than a queen. My affinity for them is much, much larger than the quilt implies.

Friends:

• I am back with my friends at Habit for April! I'm so happy about that. I have been a crappy life documenter during the last few months. Plus, my real life pal Tracy is over there, too, so it kind of feels like we get to hang out.
• Speaking of Tracy-- she and her smarty pants D live in a sweet house house in California that they have been lovingly remodeling for several years. They started a blog documenting some of that love. If you are into non minimal, mid-century with a side of chickens, this is the place for you. 
• My friend Melissa made the Portfolio Dress from the new Lisette patterns everyone is so excited about. Melissa makes some great clothes and she knits stuff, too. Over-achiever.
• I am planning on making it to at least one of Susan's booksignings this weekend. You?

 

Go Forth into Spring

February was too much. TOO MUCH. But March is my month. And if I were to say this to you in real-life I would replace the little "my" with a "MY" and maybe swing my hips a little. Here, in no particular order are the annual events that I claim:

• Daffodils (my favourites)
• Longer Days
• Getting the peas in and moving dirt around
• Spring Break and maybe a little trip
• Swap out sneaking out to the fabric store with sneaking out to my favourite nursery
• Tax season (I know that this gives most people a stomach ache, but I like seeing everything on paper-- no matter how depressing.)
• People are happier. Especially the sort of people who are my children.
• Hope. I feel so much hope in March.

Paul has moved from working a graveyard shift over to a fancy admin day job. He is well liked where he works and I could not be prouder of him. He wears a lot of sweater vests and nice ties. I have been sewing quite a lot, trying to work through some of my accumulated fabric and patterns. I'm trying to look honestly at the clothes I've made and how they look on me and what I actually wear regularly-- it appears there will be some more knit tops in my future.

I spent a night and a day in Astoria this last weekend, sewing with a handful of really wonderful women. It was beautiful. And even though I spent two hours unpicking two button holes (they were in french terry and I didn't want anything to snag), the time was super productive. I really love being productive. I have come to accept that getting ahead with things at home is more accurately, barely maintaining or better: dismissing all expectations entirely and moving forward anyway. Maybe that is why I claim March so fiercely-- the light, the flowers, the seeds-- they all grow and move with very little effort on my part.

Of course, lest I get all crazy and optimistic, the laundry does the same thing.