My Happy Quilt

Used Field Study ribbon and pom poms to decorate the lampshades

Pillow made from "Pillow Pop"

I decided when I was starting chemo that I 'deserved' a new quilt for my bed. One that was different than the one I had made before with fall colors. I wanted something that made me happy since I would be spending lots of time there! Starting with scraps I had from Circa, I pulled the colors out~ brighter reds, greens, yellows and a touch of brown. Blue was a new color introduction into my room. I love how it came out!! I used my favorite Jennifer Paganelli prints~ including the now super expensive Loopy Vintage Floral & Elizabeth Rose. I recently bought the brown damask from her Girlfriends line on ebay and I got a whole bolt! The Long Ladies from Marie Madeline had a scrap sale & I was able to get some of the out of print Nicole floral. I have always loved Tanya Whelan's Darla so I included it in there as well as some from her other lines. I like the fun Japanese print with the pastries on it & the text fabric from Moda. I bought some vintage sheets to add to it as well. An eclectic group!

On the back I used large squares of Denyse Schmidt's line from JoAnn fabrics with the intersections accented by more favorite scraps

I will be making more pillows when Circa yardage comes out, but right now I have a Field Study print which isn't in the quilt but looks great all mixed up with the group

Overall, I love the look with the bright pastels and snippets of favorite fabrics to look at every time I'm in bed!

Headscarves!

Circa patchwork, lined with aqua solid

Circa patchwork, 20"

Alchemy reversible full scarf

Baby Bouquet voile self lined

Floral patchwork half scarf

So, you know that if I was going to lose my hair during chemo I'd have to experiment with cute headscarves! An internet search revealed nothing appealing. I think I like the handkerchief look more than those with the band around the bottom and tails hanging down. Maybe I'll think differently when I have NO hair, but for now I like this look better. Here's what I did. My first scarf in Circa I pieced a 20"square, then lined in a coordinating Kona cotton. I folded it in half, like picture #2 and then tied the ends in the back tucking in the flap that would hang in the back. My son said I looked like that war advertisement with the lady in the headscarf. Retro is good! :) Next, I did a 22" pieced square, cut it in half and lined with a solid, like the last pic. There is less bulk & then I had another half with slightly different fabrics. With the pieced ones, pay attention to the fabrics you put in the middle because those will be on your forehead. I was thinking that voile would be super soft and comfy against my head, but I think voile on both sides is too slippery, so I would do voile lined with cotton on the other side next time. Lastly, I did a 22" square with 2 different prints making it reversible with Alchemy cottons. Love the reversible idea! To sum it all up, it seems like a 22-20" square is great for an adult's head. I sewing the right sides together leaving a hole for turning, clipping the corners before turning. Then I ironed & topstiched around the edge. Super fast, super cute!

Introducing Holly Marie Cases

I am so proud to show you my daughter, Holly's new shop on etsy called hollymariecases. A while back when I got my iphone I wanted to purchase a clear case so that I could put fabric it~ I know, that is a surprise! I chose the Loopy Vintage Floral in fuchsia & loved it! Holly has an iphone and she inserted floral fabrics for her phone and got lots of compliments on it. Studding clothing has been really popular and she and some friends got together and ripped and studded some shorts together. Next, iphone case studs! Her friends all wanted one, so she decided to open an etsy shop. It is a perfect partnership since I have a boatload of fabrics! Another great use of my beloved scraps! Pictured above are an assortment of Jennifer Paganelli fabrics as well as a Tanya Whelan. She has had so much fun creating each one and matching stud colors as well as figuring out new combinations. If you or someone you know is in the market for a cute iphone case, please check out her shop! :)

Flea Market Fancy Bag

Yesterday I got my Flea Market Fancy fabric in, super excited as I've never owned any and have always loved the Bouquet fabric! I went shopping with my daughter at Target and found these sparkly Converse in the clearance section and snapped them up! Today we are going to Manhattan Beach, so I thought I'd make a quick bag to match the shoes & thought of my new fabric! I used Tanya Whelan's Practical Bag pattern as its super fast, no interfacing! I added 2 inside pockets and am super happy with the outcome! The inside is a Rober Kaufman damask~ I think it's from the Pimatex Basics line. I'm off to have fun today!!

Swoon Along

I was really intrigued by this block as part of the Swoon pattern by Camille Roskelley. I had seen many quilters I admire tackle it and I decided I wanted to try it myself. I chose Loopy Vintage Floral in brown, Carrie in green (both Jennifer Paganelli) & Plaid in cream (Tanya Whelan Sugar Hill). My goal was to finish one block and if it was too much for me, it would be a pillow or wallhanging. This block is 23 1/2", so it could definitely stand alone. I purchased & downloaded the pattern here and began my cutting. There is A LOT of cutting and cutting the 7/8" for the half square triangles threw me off at first, but now I've got the hang of it. My new goal since I made one block and enjoyed it is to make a quilt for my bed for the summer. I'd like to hand quilt around each star and then machine quilt the rest. I figured if I sew one block a week and when finished hand quilt each week one star, that would be 18 weeks which brings me to the summer. Perfect timing if I can keep up that pace! So, in other words, the block is not quick, but so satisfying! It is truly addicting because it takes patience and care and you just grow to love it in the end! If you are up for the Swoon Along hosted by Katy you can join the flickr group as well to be inspired and there are lots of forums for questions there as well that are really helpful!

Sugar Hill

Sugar Hill is here from Tanya Whelan! Its everything you love about Tanya's fabrics~ retro, vintage feel that is at home in a quilt, apron or purse. It combines beautifully with Darla & of course Jennifer Paganelli fabrics. There is actually a fuchsia in the small floral/bird print that I tried to pick out in some of the palettes. It can be a subdued or bold color palette. Can't wait to start cutting it up!!

Practical Bag

I made the Practical Bag by Tanya Whelan last week for Holly. She needed a beach bag to match her bathing suit for beach day at school. She chose Jennifer Paganelli's Queen Street fabrics & this pattern was so easy to sew together! This would be a great summer project to teach your kids to sew. There is no interfacing, buttons, or zippers. I would have liked a pocket, but you can definately add that easily. It takes a yard for the outside and a little less than a yard for the inside, so if you have a fabric stash you can easily make this on a whim. This may be the pattern for teacher gifts this year.

Custom Bedding for Mary

Mary asked me to make her a queen coverlet and matching shams using mostly Jennifer Paganelli fabrics~ her favorites being Loopy Vintage Floral, Tanya & Siobhan. We ended up with the ruffle on the sides later and I think it makes the set look sweeter! Its got patchwork on one side, Loopy Vintage on the other, no batting in between. It was a pleasure working with some of my favorite fabrics! Hope she loves it!

Update: check out Jennifer's colorful new blog & the post she did on the bedding: http://www.sisboom.com/blog/

Holly's Blanket

My daughter finally got her own minky blanket! We have gone back and forth ever since I started making them a year and a half ago about which fabrics. She really likes this quilt she's had from Target, but wanted an aqua room. After going around and around she decided to stay with her current colors, but we found that the colors in the quilt were difficult to match. The pink is a purpley pink or berryish. She's an exact match kind of girl, so we had to audition fabrics exhaustively! We finally settled on this beautiful combination from Tanya Whelan and Jennifer Paganelli. I think it really brightens her room & adds something special. She has a queen size bed, so she chose the 40x56 as a throw size to coordinate. Cute little plush from etsy's Talkproof and Fuzzymuffins on the bed.

Scripture Tote

Made this for a special friend, Karen. Love the scripture fabric from http://shabbyfabrics.com. Used classic Casey Scroll fabric from Jennifer Paganelli with accents from Tanya Whelan's Darla fabric line & the stripe from Amy Butler.

Liverpool Tunic Pattern Review

I decided I wanted to make the Liverpool tunic to wear for mother's day this year. I am not a seasoned clothing sewer, but love the challenge & the sewing lesson I get. I chose the Darla fabric line from Tanya Whelan because I knew I wanted to wear it mostly with jeans.It is the shirt length & with elbow sleeve option. The placket is made in a contrasting fabric as well as the cuff & collar. The cuff actually wasn't supposed to contrast, but just look finished, so I just hemmed the cuff. I saw someone elses version & they added the piping to the placket in a contrasting fabric, so I did that, too. There is no piping "tube" inside, I just cut a 1" strip & ironed it in half & inserted it under the placket before attaching. I really like that detail. The collar was probably the trickiest, and I have no tips, but to go s-l-o-w. I tried to sew this a little each day this week so I wouldn't get frustrated. The mistake made was when I didn't do a large enough french seam in the back & the raw edge was sticking out! Overall, it was a fun pattern to make and I love the way it fits & how everything is finished so nicely~ professional looking from an amateur! :)

Mermaid Quilt

I get so many fun opportunities doing custom work! I have worked with Amy several times before and she asked if I could cut up her daughter's mermaid duvet and make it into a quilt. She said finding coordinates wouldn't be a problem~ and she was right! I had so much fun pulling out my stash (as well as adding to it!) to make this twin size quilt. Practically every designer is featured here~ Jennifer Paganelli, Patty Young, Tanya Whelan, Amy Butler, Michael Miller, Robert Kaufman & Heather Ross. The back is Ta Dot in lime and the binding is from Lots of Dots & Stripes from Robert Kaufman. I chose to quilt 1/4" in for each square and then on each mermaid block, I chose a different part to quilt & highlight. Sometimes I outlined the whole mermaid & sometimes it was her hair or flower or a starfish. I loved that the Heather Ross Seahorses matched the theme & colors!

Yay, Spray Baster!!

I am really loving the spray baster, 505 Spray & Fix which temporarily holds the quilt layers together. I just put towels around the quilt to catch the overspray & reuse the towels a few times before throwing them in the wash. It doesn't gum up the needle & keeps the layers smooth & intact. I can't wait to quilt this one with fabrics from Jennifer Paganelli & Tanya Whelan!

Twin Size Quilt

Really thrilled to have finished this quilt today!! I used 7" squares from Jennifer Paganelli, Tanya Whelan & Michael Miller. The back is Ava Rose in the light pink. Binding is Loopy Vintage turquoise from Jennifer. I did diagonal quilting which ends up looking like large diamonds~ really pretty. I'm off to finish the last panel for the poster bed & dust ruffle.

Darla Chronicles

Here is my Darla quilt ready to quilt. I say "my" quilt, but it is actually for a customer and I know I will be so sad to see it get mailed out. I feel like each project is a part of me and it is hard to part with it. The good news is that I know it is going to a good home of a fellow Darla lover. My daughter has already had me start to plan one for her room, but she wants it as a summer blanket with minky on the back. I would like to try it to see if I can make one that big without "tying" it together. Work study is what I will tell my husband! He always says, "Do we really need another blanket?" Of course we do! :)

I have been really pleased with the way it has turned out so far. I keep thinking of the verse God gave me, "The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands" Deuteronomy 2:7, and can't help but feel that way with this quilt. Sometimes I look at it and say "Wow, it all lines up!" or "It's the exact measured size I need!". I keep surprising myself with each step. Good thing, though, because how could I send this to someone feeling frustrated with it. I know there will be flaws, but I'm human! My sewing mentor, Pam, once said, "If you don't notice the mistake if you were on a galloping horse, don't worry about it." Okay, I can handle that, then!! I can't wait to start today!

Darla Fabrics

I have had a few orders lately requesting Tanya Whelan's Darla fabrics. I just love them! They look vintage and fresh and I love the different patterns within the colors- check, damask, floral, toile, small floral- really pretty. I have enjoyed every minute sewing with these fabrics. The quality is wonderful, too. I'm thankful I still have more orders to fill and can still work with them!