Baby William Quilt - An Afternoon on Oahu

I finished Baby William's quilt today - but Savannah says it could be a girl quilt or a boy quilt.


Here it is up on the design wall. It measures 36" x 42". This quilt reminds me of Oahu - the varied colors of the ocean and sandy beach, the hibiscus opening every morning with the rising sun and closing up into twisted little umbrellas at night, the intoxicating fragrance of plumeria.

It's reversible, two quilts in one since the back is also pieced. So far my fabric diet is working out well and I've used up two yards, 4 fat quarters and some other random fabric bits I've had in my stash on this quilt alone. Most of the fabric is from Kaffe Fassett, probably my favorite fabric designer, but there are plenty of other odd bits thrown in from Jo-Ann sales and other project leftovers. The binding I made from the leftover fabric bits and I just made it - with only three inches of double-fold binding to spare.


Here's the back of the quilt, which could also be the front. Instead of bright white like the front of the quilt, the back uses a scrap of fabric I had leftover from another project and is a sandy natural colored cotton.

I free-motion quilted it in three different styles - stipling for the white sashing, big round circles for the squares and a back and forth curve all along the borders. Hopefully there's enough contrast here for the stitching to show. I'm not a perfectionist when it comes to free-motion quilting but really enjoy it. The variation and texture it creates is fun for babies.


And here's the design board I made from homasote last weekend (and love!) already in use with another possible upcoming project using up some of my Kaffe Fassett fabrics for a green and navy and maybe orange or yellow quilt top. But first, back to the painting and tiling and other house chores...

Also, an edit, I said previously that homasote is made from 100% recycled paper and that isn't true. It's made from 98% recycled post-consumer paper (they use 300 tons a day!) and the water they use in the manufacturing process is 100% recycled in their closed loop system. Anyway, it's a great product and we also plan to use it to insulate the door to our mechanical room where it can be noisy.

Sophia's cow quilt top - Just say Moo

I finally made the decision on Sophia's cow quilt - more white was the answer (and then more pink, and then more cows when I ran out of that fabric).

I added white sashing which helped to break up the oh so much color and contrast and decided that I wanted the quilt top to be slightly larger, so I added a 4" border in a leftover fabric from my stash. It wasn't quite enough to reach the corners so I had to fussy cut the last four cows out of my fat quarter to finish the quilt. I feel guilty for not binding the quilt and quilting it first before displaying it but I haven't found my warm & natural cotton batting yet with a third of our house in boxes again.

Amber wrote in to tell me of her useful site, My Web Quilter where you can play around with square and designs online before diving into your fabrics and cutting them up. Very useful website and you can even add sashing and borders, etc.

Now that I see the tremendous task ahead of us in finishing the basement, where my project room will reside, I know it will be a few more weeks until the space is livable again. Until then, my sewing machine is installed on one side of the dining room table where it's getting regular if not daily use in between a rush of other activities.

The binding will be a thin black bias, made of scraps if I have enough leftover (I may not). Savannah selected a super soft pink minky fabric with stars on it for the backing. The quilt top measures 44" x 44" and I can't wait to free motion quilt it and give it that wonderful crinkly texture.

Quilt block dilemma - Sophia's cows

There was something about these little moo cows that caught my eye on a recent trip to the fabric store for something entirely different. Savannah liked it too "for a Sophia" so we stacked up some coordinating fat quarters and half yards and brought them home for whenever I might have time to start thinking about making something for baby. I was hoping to make two simple, alternating quilt blocks in contrasting colors for baby's undeveloped eyes. But I can't find a decent pattern to contrast with this block that I do like. Here's my first block attempt (it doesn't work at all but I really wanted to find a way to use the cow print and polka dots).

I think this quilt may be suffering from a lack of white space. Maybe I'll try removing the stripes and replacing it with white fabric. Unfortunately, I can't find any of my white fabric at the moment since it's all packed away in boxes. I'm reluctant to purchase new fabric since I'm trying to put my craft room, which is the dining room table until the basement is tiled, on a fabric diet. I also considered embroidering "Moo!" on white squares that would alternate with the cows but I usually waste fabric when embroidering on small 4" squares like these. Plus, then I'm back to wading through boxes to find my white fabric...


Cute little moo, moos. Wonder what I'll come up with for a Baby William quilt. With the fabric diet in place, I may have to use up my Kaffe Fassett stash for a bright, gender-neutral quilt.

Playroom curtains complete

Between books and a busy schedule of work crews shuffling in and out of the house, I've been working on completing Savannah's playroom curtains. She picked out Alexander Henry's Mocca fabric and the timing was excellent because I found it on sale for $5/yard (Alexander Henry fabrics are never $5/yard!). Lucky me. If I convince Kevin of the red sofa for the kids playroom, then some pillows in the same fabric will go on the sofa. If not, I'll make floor cushions for the kids or fabric baskets to organize their toys for the room.

The floor for the playroom has been leveled and poured and the radiant heating is working very well. It's soooo nice! This weekend we'll paint it in Sherwin-Williams' compatible cream using their low-VOC paint called Durable. No, I'm not supposed to be painting so I'll only do some trim work with my NIOSH respirator on. Here are some early pics of the curtains, which are 100% cotton, machine washable, and lined. The ring clips Savannah selected make it very easy for her to slide the curtains open and closed -an unexpected child-friendly feature.

Holy cow - look at that color!

One curtain up before we installed the locally-made, custom, double-honeycomb, light-blocking insulating shades with side tracks for added draft prevention.

In the design room (which is currently the kitchen table!) pinning the lining to the fabric. These are large panels - 90" across for each of the two panels and with the heavy lining the largest part of my job was "fabric management" not sewing, cutting or pressing. The window is 100" across. I'm so glad these weren't floor-length drapes! The lining by the way was purchased with a JoAnn's gift card from my mother-in-law - great idea!

The curtains with the new shade drawn. The shade blocks sunlight (important for tv glare for family movies and when the summer sun is too hot). They are very insulating as well so reduce heat-loss from the house with their impressive R-value. The local company that custom makes these is Comfortex. It's another great way to save energy for your home, since windows are responsible for a large amount of heat loss. My only regret is that we picked out the shade color while the room was supposed to be painted in rice grain, a neutral warm grayish color like the shade. Now that we've changed the pallette, the color looks more like it belongs in an office building....

Corking

Savannah has desperately wanted to learn how to knit. I tried to teach her a few weeks ago on the kids learning needles with a bulky yarn and only 10 stitches across, but I had to hold the needles for her most of the time. Corking to the rescue.

I had never heard of it, but it's also called Knitting Nancy, an appropriate name considering the corking supplies were a gift to Savannah from our neighbor Nancy. The small hand-held corker helps kids learn how to knit without having to juggle needles and it holds stitches in place easily. Savannah made her first creation yesterday - a scarf for her daughter bunny - and is now working on a larger one for herself (or for her Papa if she can get him to wear pink and purple under his Carhartt jacket).

My very serious daughter who chose to skip a bedtime story so she could have more corking time.

Hard at work, making bunny's scarf just the right length.

The happy recipient of her first corking experiment! Savannah woke up early and picked up her corking right away before "good morning" or kisses so she could finish bunny's scarf before breakfast. I wonder where she gets her work ethic...

Little sewing projects - curtains, curtains and more curtains

Now that our house is packed with boxes again, I've begun some small sewing projects. Today I made a valance for the downstairs bathroom and lined it with light blocking fabric. I know it's kind of silly to line a valance with light blocking fabric but I wanted the practice of sewing with that particular lining, which is thick and semi-sticky on one side, before attempting some more important drapes with a much more expensive silk fabric. Plus, the light blocking fabric will prevent any damage from UV rays to the silk. All turned out well I think tying the reds, greens, and yellows together and giving the bathroom one last punch of color. Kevin has custom-ordered the double honeycomb blinds with a high R value for this window (and most of the others in the house as well) from a local company in Troy, but the valance will conceal the blinds and hardware when they are opened.

A simple lined valance rod pocket with ruffled header.

I've also finally decided on fabric for the kitchen. The one color scheme I've always loved in the kitchen are the colors of blue willow. So the only colors I ever buy are white and white with blue trim or a willow pattern. This makes it very easy to match sets over time as dishes get broken and chipped. I also like being able to "see" my food so having white plates and bowls appeals to me. I've chosen an Asian blue willow print for the curtains made by Duralee (E20781, royal blue & white Willow pattern). Eventually, the rest of the kitchen will be updated - stainless steel energy-efficient appliances (I can't wait for my induction top stove!), new counter tops, and a backsplash of white tile with a hint of blue border - to better match my curtains. I bought a stainless steel curtain rod in anticipation of my future appliances, which may trickle in one at a time with the rest of our more costly home renovations. Having "colors" makes everything easier. I also bought some bathmats today that I'm going to repurpose into kitchen towels with trim that will match the curtains. They would have done terribly as bathmats but they will make for very soft absorbent kitchen towels!

I'm trying a new style of curtain for the kitchen - inverted box pleats. It's a bit more formal for a valance with such a large playful print on it but I expect it to hang well and the personality should match mine in the kitchen - both formal and playful.



And, as if that weren't enough, I let Savannah pick out the fabric for her playroom curtains. I think she did a great job! The playroom has an enormous picture window that is almost 100 inches wide. I wanted to hang a large retro-looking curtain with oversized grommets but Savannah prefers the ring clips. Here's the fabric she's selected along with floor tiles and the paint. I want to finish the curtains before Kevin returns from his trip, if possible, because there's no way he would approve of this bold fabric choice. Because the fabric is from a 2006 Alexander Henry collection (Mocca), I've purchased it for only $5 a yard! I'm working on convincing Kevin that a bright red sofa or slip covered sofa, would look great in the kids playroom but he's not convinced. Brown is my second choice and after that a plain old neutral. Either way, the sofa will be plastered with pillows that match the curtains. I might also make floor pillows for the kids for this room since it's meant to be a 100% kid-friendly space.

Above are the Alexander Henry fabrics Savannah selected for the playroom (Esprit stripe, Mocca and Kleo). The large print on the right will be made into curtains (in progress). Below are the floor tiles, paint color and Chobi rug that I'd already picked out. As the kids grow, it will be very easy to make the room more sophisticated but until then, I see nothing wrong with some bold color choices that say, come and play.

I'm dreaming of...

A white Christmas is ours this year. Winter has come in all its glory bringing ice, then snow, then wind and more ice, snow and wind. Good thing Santa saw fit to shower us with ice skates, sleds, poles and snowshoes this year!

Now that the holiday rush has passed and we can enjoy our time together more leisurely, I've begun to prepare for baby. I knit this striped stocking hat with the pom pom for baby and can't wait to see it on. Savannah wants one too so I've begun one for her as well. For newborns hats are supposed to fit over a grapefruit and I think mine is slightly larger so it will have to be saved for the fall or winter. I created my own pattern since I couldn't find a pattern for exactly what I wanted.

New hat on bunny.

Baby's new stocking hat.

The elven view.

Savannah spent her Christmas Eve playing in the ice-covered snow making snow people and then smashing them down and making an old-fashioned garland as an offering for the birds and squirrels on Christmas day. There are few reds as beautiful and varied as that of cranberries. They may not be as sparkly and uniform as pomegranate jewels, but what other fruit could match their range of reds and still be suitable for everyday wear?

Stringing together cranberries and popcorn for the woodland garland - our offering to the birds.

Christmas Day we snuggled in bed until 8am, then opened our stockings before breakfast. After breakfast it was time for presents! Savannah opened her presents from Santa first, then had to be encouraged to open her other gifts half an hour later. I guess you could say she's mesmerized by her furbies.

Savannah asked Santa for a very specific limited edition furby this year. Little did Santa's helper know that furbies are a collector's item that have not been produced by the elves since 1997. TGFE (Thank God For Ebay!).

Savannah on her sled with baby and big sister furby. These cute little things talk and sing to each other in Furbish. Savannah is teaching them English.

Savannah played with her pirate Jack-in-the-box from Dearest over and over again.

Savannah even got a present from baby Eastler!


Savannah models her homemade beanie. Look for these on etsy from the Portland Beanie Company.

Santy Claws even saw fit for the furbeast to have some fresh organic catnip toys made by this elf named MeowWow.

Kevin opens one of his gifts from Grandpa.

After presents we made a big Italian lunch (fresh marinara sauce, salad with apple cider vinegar dressing, chicken parmigiana with organic whole wheat spaghetti) to share with our neighbors. They brought nature photos over and we looked through some amazing pictures of coyotes, garden spoils and other wildlife that they'd captured on film over the years from their yard. Soon we'll have our own collection. Then we spent the afternoon snowshoeing and sledding and enjoying the great outdoors. Ahh, country life.

A cowl for the cold

I like to hand make as many gifts as I can for the holidays. To me there's nothing that says I care about you like taking the time to make something with my own two hands. First there's the idea, which takes time, then selecting the fabric, yarn or ingredients, planning the time to make the gift and then making it and wrapping it - each step during which the recipient is thought of. Holiday packages from our house usually include homemade toffee, hot pepper jelly, candied almonds, and other handmade items for the little ones like aprons or craft sets and blankets. Most of the gifts I've made this year I have to keep mum about until Christmas day but with less time this year than in previous years, I also bought some homemade gifts on etsy - my favorite place to shop for inspiration and for homemade items that I can't make myself.

Yesterday a project I had to complete for work was stopped abruptly so I had the evening all to myself to finally make a Christmas present I've wanted for a long time - a cowl to keep my neck warm inside and out. Cowls are all the rage at the moment in the knitting community ever since big bulky knits started appearing all over the runway. Many of the cowls are either too bulky for my tastes or too lacy making them impractical for the weather here. So I decided to make my own pattern in a bulky weight yarn by Lion (Wool-Ease Thick and Quick). I learned a lot from making it and though I will wear this one, I'll make some changes to the next one I make before writing down my pattern. I think the height of 10 inches is too much for me and I should have stopped between 6 and 8 inches. Trouble is, I love cables so much it's hard for me to stop cabling! I also learned that by decreasing stitches by about 5-6 at the end and beginning is important to help it keep its shape, to prevent rolling and keep the cold out. Of course, Savannah wants one now and when I told her I'd be happy to make her a matching one, she said, "No! In pink please!"

It fits over my head easily, even though mine is the largest in the house. At the top you can see where I learned to decrease a few stitches to help the cowl keep its shape. Next time I'll do the same at both ends.

A terrible picture I took of myself wearing the cowl. Next time, I'll make a somewhat shorter one but it's nice to have the option of pulling this one up from beneath my jacket collar when I'm outside braving the Northwest wind. It also folds over like a turtle neck.

Old-fashioned apple fritters

I recently bought a series of small pamphlet-sized cookbooks, each with a subject on the fruits of your gardening labor. The recipes are old-fashioned grandma, county fair, farmhouse-style recipes on topics such as squash and zucchini, apples, tomatoes, herbs, etc. They have proved to be brilliant! This morning we tried apple fritters (a breakfast recipe for this time of year when the crispy apples for eating turn a bit softer) and they were delicious. They tasted a lot like the fried dough you can buy at county fairs except much fresher like a warm doughnut out of the frying pan and into your hand. We would definitely make these again! Since I modified the recipe from the original, I'll post it here.


Old-fashioned apple fritters

• 1c flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (heaped or rounded)
  
• 3 Tb sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt

Sift together dry ingredients in a bowl.

• 1/4 cup water
• 2-3 Tb plain or vanilla yogurt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 c apple, diced
  

Mix together wet ingredients then blend with dry ingredients. Add diced apple.
Drop about a 1/4 c into hot frying pan with 1/4 inch of vegetable or canola oil and fry on each side until golden brown. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and nutmeg and serve plain or with maple syrup and butter drizzled on top.

Notes: You could substitute for the water and yogurt 1/3 c of milk if you prefer.

Reduce your fabric stash for a good cause (and maybe win a contest)

Every quilter I know has a fabric stash that includes much coveted fabric as well as fabric that makes you wonder, what was I thinking when I bought that? Anyway, now's your chance to do some good and reduce the sinfully large size of your stash (making room for new fabric, of course) AND enter yourself in a charms contest for 36 random 5 inch charms. The link to the contest, called Charms for Charity Contest, is posted below.

The neatest thing of all is that the fabric will be donated from quilters all around the world to make quilts for charity. Definitely something I'd like to be a part of!