The Handmade Dorm

My daughter Holly is heading off to Pepperdine this fall & she I had so much fun making things for her dorm that I thought I'd share our creations with you. When you make it yourself, you are able to put in your own unique style! We started off with a purchased duvet from Pottery Barn Teen in a deep navy with white pattern. We then went to my fabric stash & picked out fabrics for her patchwork & minky throw that will be at the end of her bed. You can find a listing to order one yourself from my shop here & I can customize it with your colors!

We created some custom pillows pulling fabrics from her blanket. We used a print from Hawthorne Threads called Cascading Border for one of them

This pillow I used Anna Maria Horner's pattern in her pattern booklet called Love from A-Z  & bordered it with a print that is out of print from Sarah Watts.

We found a really cute doily at Barn House Chicks that matched her bedding perfectly & I sewed it to a solid navy fabric & used piping from Hawthorne Threads called Arrows in peacock

Holly picked out a verse that had meaning to her but also gave a nod to Pepperdine as a Wave. She painted the canvas a deep navy & then glued letters & hand wrote some words in aqua. 

We both got into embroidering, so Holly had bought a pattern from Sublime Stitching with treats on it & since she loves to bake & used to work at an ice cream shop, this pattern group was perfect! She told me what she wanted written & so I did the small hoop that says "Lord Let them see you in me". The P is from the Moda Alphabet called "Spell it with Fabric" that was available as a download & thought it would be great in Pepperdine colors & I embroidered 'Go Waves' in aqua thread.

An obvious, easy make was a tie blanket made from 2 yards of Pepperdine colors tied together while we watched a movie together. We bought these at Joann Fabrics.

These thrift store finds painted aqua will be great for some free downloads she printed out from French Press Mornings "Encouraging Wednesdays" for the scripture.

Holly is ready to go to Pepperdine, but am I ready to send her?? I will post a finished dorm picture.

Good Company Love

I've been having lots of fun playing with sample yardage from Jennifer Paganelli's upcoming line, Good Company due out in November. I'm crazy for her color combinations and this time around I especially love the periwinkle/pink combo with the shot of yellow. I got out my beloved Casey Scroll fabric and used almost all of it for the exterior of my purse. (I did save some for quilts)

The strap & interior are Jane from Superfly. I used scraps from the random patchwork blanket I made her out of the fabrics. The back pocket was a great place to showcase some of the prints.

Below is the blanket ( I call it a blanket if it's minky backed with no batting in between or quilting).

I am taking preorders if anyone is interested. The fabric line will be out in November!

Circa is Coming!

It seems like I've been waiting forever for Circa by Jennifer Paganelli to come out! She had sent me some fabric to make her a quilt in January & I just fell in love with it! I love how it is a softer palette than Crazy Love or Happy Land, but the colors are still vibrant and true to Jennifer's style. I made myself a spring purse with some of the scraps so I can enjoy it until the yardage comes in, some time in May. I am also working on a simple patchwork quilt, pictures to come soon, for my bed!
I am taking preorders in my shop for a 40x56 blanket, as pictured in the first photo. If you want a different size, the prices are listed within the listing. Hawthorne Threads is taking preorders if you want the yardage as soon as it comes out!
A quick update on my chemo: I am halfway done! Yay! My side effects are manageable, I have no complaints! Prayer works. :)

New Quilt, New Year

I finished and started a quilt yesterday, so thought I'd share. The bottom one was free motion quilted with minky on the back. I will only do small quilts with minky as it wants to more. Here is an application where your 505 Spray and Fix will really stabilize the layers. I folded the backing over the front for the binding and the quilt has a snuggly edge for baby to feel. Its a 40x40 size.
The new quilt I've made before~ it will be a twin size using 7" squares in a 10x12 pattern. I label the rows so I can continually pair up the rows until its all sewn up without the guesswork of keeping track of the order. Over the break Christina and I were able to finish 7 tops for either minky blankets or quilts, so stay tuned for the results of those tops. I've got my month laid out for me! :) What are you working on this month??

A Week's Worth of Eye Candy

I'm leaving for vacation today, our last one before the kids are in school. Leaving you with beauties from the fabulous Jennifer Paganelli fabric lines. Its always fun to play with her fabrics & I'm counting down until West Indies comes out! She featured some of these on her blog so check in with her all week to see more lively combinations. Enjoy the rest of summer!!

Simple Summer Totem Beauty

Summer Totem from Anna Maria Horner's Loulouthi line is one of my fav patterns! It is such a gorgeous, stand alone print. I'm not sure I could cut it up, but having random bits of this pattern COULD be awesome if I could do it! I'm working on a crib set for Jaclyn and she wanted a simple blanket with this print in the strudel colorway with cream minky on the back. I have to say my room looks awesome with this on the bed. :) I may make one for myself in the tart colorway (cream background). I'm still working on my hand stitched purse in grapefruit. Its slow going as I've been sewing so much so I can go on vacation in a week! Gotta get busy!

New in the Shop & Pinterest

I've been wanting to put a random patchwork blanket in my shop with the cottage/shabby chic fabrics. I love red and pink together and just added a pop of green. The Casey Scroll seems to end up in almost everything I make! What will I do when I run out?? Used lots of another fav designer, Tanya Whelan with Darla and Delilah as well as some Farmers Market from Sandi Henderson.

I have been having a great time pinning things to pinterest. I've been finding all my fav flickr friends there and can follow them and see what they love. Its a really fun place to have your 'all time favs' in one group. You can pin from blogs, flickr, etsy listings. I've found some great shops on etsy that way, too. If you click on the red bar at the top of my blog you can see what I've pinned. You need to request through pinterest an invite to start your own pinning, but you can look at everyone elses pins in the meantime. Mine took about a week from request to acceptance. I'm not sure what the criteria is or if its to keep it from flooding. Lots of fun to add to 'things to do in your spare time'! :)

Another WIP

Another blanket I'm working on, finished the quilt in the previous post and loved working with the voile/quilting cottons. I really want to do an all voile quilt, its just so amazing!! This one is for Dana who wanted a 56x64 random patchwork in fallish warm colors and she's a huge fabric fan, (she also sells fabric) so I wanted to put both new and old fabric lines because I know she will appreciate that! Just have to add a little more to the bottom and then its time for chocolate brown minky on the back. :)

Tips for Working with Minky

I work with minky ALOT, and I've seen how many say its really difficult to work with. It is, but its not impossible! Here are some tips for success when sewing with it.

*First, pin. Then pin. Then pin!!!

Minky wants to shift, so this is really helpful. I like to pin going in both directions~ see top photo.

*Pin on the floor or a surface where none of the minky will hang over the edge. When transferring, try not to bunch it, but keep it straight as much as possible. Sometimes once its on my sewing table I carefully fold the outside edge over. You don't want the minky to hang over the edge and then become distorted. This is important the whole time you are sewing it.

*Give yourself some wiggle room, just like when layering a quilt.

I cut my minky at least 2" larger than the cotton fabric I'm sewing it to.
Some shifting will occur no matter how careful you are pinning, so if it gets a tad askew, you won't end up without minky in a corner.

*A walking foot helps stabilize the layers as well, but sometimes I used my regular presser foot & it works well, too.

*Don't pull the minky as you sew it or you will definately be off by the time you finish sewing that side.

*If you find that you are REALLY off as you are sewing, you are better off ripping the seams out and starting over or your whole project will be off.

*Remember not to iron on the minky directly or it will melt! :)

Hope these tips are helpful. Its so soft and cuddly and the end result will be your reward!

Queen Street Baby Blanket

This size blanket falls under the 'instant gratification' category. Couldn't wait to sew this up and see how it all looked together. I used 8" squares in a 4x4 pattern with medium pink minky on the back. Will be listing it in the shop tonight. Other pics on my flickr. :)

Saturday Night Finish

Hey! Wouldn't it be great if I could finish one order a day?? I'm on a roll, watch out! :) I just finished this set and hate to ship it out because I love it so much!!! Jennifer Paganelli, Anna Maria Horner, Joel Dewberry & Amy Butler~ how can you go wrong? This is one of my patchwork & minky blankets that have no batting in between & are topstitched around the edge twice. The sham has a quilted front, ruffle & envelope back. Its getting mailed out on Monday. I love creating these random patch lovlies! The fabrics are a work of art themselves!

Grape Crush Throw Finished!

I posted my WIP earlier this week playing with the new Innocent Crush fabrics. Looooooove them! I guess I'm on a purple kick lately. I'm excited that so many new lines are including different shades of purple. Love it with blues!! This one has reds, too for a kick. I combined Innocent Crush with some Amy Butlers, Valori Wells and the woodgrain is Moda. I kept it mostly Anna's fabrics including Garden Party, Good Folks & Drawing Room. They all play nicely together. I went back and forth~ minky or a traditional quilt? I ended up with the minky backing using the thicker fleece minky since we are coming into cooler weather & this would be a great snuggler. More pics posted on my flickr. Happy Friday! Linking to Amy's Sew & Tell~

http://www.amylouwho.com/

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.

New Quilt!

I just finished this UFO (unfinished object) that I started in the fall. I just needed to quilt & bind it, so got it done this morning & will list in my shop later today. I just love aqua & wanted to combine my favorite fabrics in my favorite pattern~ random patchwork. The backing is minky & I just folded the minky over the quilt top & sewed it. The binding is not separate, but a continuos piece from the back. I was thrilled that these cosmos were volunteers from last year!! Gotta love that!

Metro Cafe

I had a past customer ask for a custom order using Robert Kaufman's Metro Cafe in the Garden colorway. I purchase the teapots, teacups & cutlery fabrics from that line at http://www.hawthornethreads.com/fabric/designer/robert_kaufman_house_designer/metro_cafe
It was easy to find coordinates with so many wonderful colors. I used fabrics from Jennifer Paganelli, Sandi Henderson, Lizzy Dish & Michael Miller. So pretty in my MIL's garden. Next up, crib bedding! :)

Quilt vs Blanket

I often get questions about my listings of quilts & blankets~ what's the difference? I thought I'd take the time to explain it then refer people to this post!

BLANKETS (or patchwork & minky blankets) first picture. These are patchwork or single fabric on one side, minky on the other. The 2 sides are attached all the way around the outside 2 times for durability. There is nothing in between, there is no attachment in the middle. The top & bottom pieces move independently. I have had many orders for this type of blanket up to twin size. I think it is a 'look'. I started making these because with less labor involved, I can charge less. I think everyone should be able to have their own blanket or throw!

QUILTS These have patchwork or single fabric on one side, fabric on the other. There is cotton or cotton/polyester batting in between. The layers are quilted together throughout & a binding is applied around the edge. I machine sew both quilts & blankets. Quilts have more 'ingredients' & more work, so the price reflects that. Originally I didn't think I would make and sell quilts because they are so time consuming. I found that more and more people were asking for them. What I decided to do is just keep the pattern simple~ basic squares or what I like to call 'random patchwork' and outline quilt to keep the time down to keep the cost down.

I will say that both are beautiful and I LOVE make both of them. Its kind of like your kids~ they are different, but you love them equally. Hopefully that explains the difference! :)

My Favorite Colors

Aqua and fuschia are my favorite colors right now. I was itching to make a blanket with those- especially since I picked up a BUNCH of both fuschia and aqua minky. These fabrics- mostly Jennifer Paganelli- just sing! My daughter has tagged this as her favorite so far, but it seems that changes, too. I am grateful that she has the fabric bug at 11 and knows how to coordinate colors. I like to ask her opinion when posting colors and often she will say, "My favorite is this one, I don't like that one." I am making pajama shorts with applique tshirts as gifts for her friends' bdays and always have her pick the fabrics and coordinate. A sewer in training! :) I want to do a totally aqua patchwork blanket next.

What To Do With 24 Fat Quarters?

I was given the challenge to create a patchwork diaper bag, blanket and burp cloths from 23 fat quarters a customer gave me. I was giddy for the opportunity. I added one fabric from my collection to make an even 24 using Amy Butler's Midwest Modern and Daisy Chain fabrics. I started off cutting 5 1/2" strips and sewed them in groups of 3. I then began placing them where needed. For the bag flap I actually used the scraps from cutting the ends off of the strip groups. I put light blue minky on the back of the patchwork blanket. I am so pleased with the way it all came out. The aquas and greens really glow! It will be so hard to mail this package out today! :)

Blankets Galore

I am really enjoying making patchwork and minky blankets. It is really so rewarding and each one is different. My husband and I trekked out to downtown LA to buy a ton of minky. It is really hard to see what color it is online. There are no good sources locally, so everything is online- which is fine with me! I have such creative customers- always willing to work things out, be kind to what stash I have. Each blanket is a labor of love- truly!! My son told me the other day that I was in love with fabric. Kids are so intuitive sometimes. I was commenting on his boy favorites and saying "How could you love playing airsoft?"- I don't get the whole gun thing. He said that was better than loving fabric- ha! Fabric won't hurt you! I hope to get lots of blanket orders so I can order more minky and fabric that I love!!