Crazy Love Set

I wanted to wait to blog about the Crazy Love quilt and pillow I made for Jennifer Paganelli until after she blogged about it~ after all, its her amazing designs!! All I can say is put on your sunglasses as this is one vibrant collection. Everyone who saw it in my sewing room had a jaw dropping reaction~ its truely stunning! The amazing thing is that this is one fabric line where all the fabrics look good together. There are some color defined groups~ like the brown, fuschia, tangerine, purple, yellow or green, but they all intermingle and when put together make an eclectic gypsy~bohemian~70's look that is so different from anything else out there. It does match with her Honey Child, Queen Street and earlier collections really well. 

I decided after a couple of days of thinking about it to go with a random patchwork pattern that I make so often. I really love that design for large prints as it is showing off the prints rather than the pattern. Since a few of the prints were large scale, I fussy cut some sections so it looks like more fabrics then there really are. I pre cut my usual (plus seam allowance) 8x8, 8x6, 8x4, 6x6, 6x4 & 4x4 plus large square in the corner is 11x11 because I really wanted to feature that design completely somewhere. After that I just played with the colors and patterns to get a pleasing mix and sewed it all up and backed it with fuchsia minky. For the pillow, I did a log cabin variation and started with a square in the corner and kept adding on different width strips to get a finished size of 16x16. I tried to mimic a crazy quilt using my different stitches on my Viking, here's a closeup

I used iron on batting to keep it simple, then used the pompom trim and backed with fuchsia minky & voila we have a crazy, eclectic set for anyone who wants an adventure in color

Crazy Love comes out in March~ can't wait to play with it all again. Can you imagine the amazing crib bedding this would make???

Crazy Love Peek

I just about fell over yesterday when I received this package from Jennifer Paganelli!!! Its fat quarters from her entire new line coming out in March called CRAZY LOVE. I have been waiting for Girls World Vibe to come out and hadn't even seen images of these fabrics yet! (I stalk her blog looking for peeps of new stuff!) I think what I love most about this line is the intricacy of the patterns and the (of course) super amazing color combinations that Jennifer is so famous for. This line is true Jennifer style with a 70's nod, but in incredible, electric colors. The orange fabric in the middle picture thats in the middle was hard to photograph on its own it is so electric!
I get to be part of a project with Katy from I'm A Ginger Monkey, Heather from Olive and Ollie and Toni in making projects introducing Crazy Love. If you love this line and Jennifer Paganelli (who doesn't??), then be checking back on my blog and the other amazing sewists blogs to see all the goodies we're going to make out of this amazing fabric!

Gorgeous Girl's Room!

These are photos Sarah shared with me of her daughter's new room. I made the pillows for this day bed set up. You can see all the pictures of the pillows here . Isn't that wallpaper amazing??? What a perfect match! Her daughter is going to have such a wonderful bed to daydream, sleep and hang out on. Thanks for sharing, Sarah!

Quilt from Recycled Crib Bedding

The best of Jennifer Paganelli fabrics

Marie in blue from West Indies

random patchwork twin size

patchwork sham to match

I was given an exciting opportunity recently to take a crib skirt from a previously made (not by me) crib set and make it into a quilt. Amanda contacted me because she had seen my work on Jennifer Paganelli's blog (thank you, Jennifer!) and thought I might be interested in taking on this project. I said, 'yes, yes, yes!!!!' couldn't wait! The print from the skirt is Nicole in blue from a discontinued line called Mod Girls. There was also a fitted sheet in the Eliza Stripe that she wanted to incorporate, but since I had some that was brand new, we decided to use my stash for that.  I pulled from my extensive JP stash to get all the colors from the main print including Bell Bottoms, Flower Power, Pretty Please, So St Croix, Poodle,  Queen Street, and West Indies. The backing is Marie from West Indies and the binding & sham ruffle is the Eliza Stripe. I free motion quilted in Aurifil thread using a variegated fuchsia thread in a scroll pattern. I hope Amanda and her daughter enjoy it as  much as I enjoyed making it for them! 

Girl's World Cover Blanket

I was asked by a customer of mine if I could make the quilt that's on the cover of Girl's World by Jennifer Paganelli. She said she knew I would know which one it was because she saw it on my blog. :) I told her it would be 'easy' to make because the print is a cheater print called Kimberly with the patchwork printed on. The finished size is 70x84 to fit a twin bed. Its pictured on a queen bed. You can see the ball fringe on the far side because it technically doesn't fit this size. We don't have any twin size beds anymore as my son is now about 6' and doesn't fit in one anymore. The backing is Kona cotton azalea and the ball fringe goes all the way around. I recommend a ball fringe with a wide strip that you attach to your item to. I've ordered ball fringe that has a minuscule edge and its a nightmare to sew on. This was a dream! I would call this a coverlet because there is no batting in the middle. I seamed 2 sides down the middle and sewed right sides together, turned right side out & ironed. I topstitched around the edge with white thread in the top, fuschia in the bottom and then attached the fringe switching out the top thread to match the fringe and viola! We're living in a Girl's World!!

The Cutting Table and a Craft!

Voila! You have a message board!

Use 1.5" strips after you peel off sticky adhesive

start with a blank canvas

hot glue roofing nail to the back of a hexagon for hanging

I'm trying to get used to this new format on blogger and can't get the photos in the order I want them, but you get the general idea! Last fall I purchased this white board at Joann's and on both sides of the frame you can peel off a paper which reveals a sticky surface that you can apply things to. Naturally, I thought of fabric! I have a bag of 1.5" strips that I pulled from and just layered going down. On the reverse, I then peeled the back of that and stuck the fabric that was wrapped around to it and then used some packing tape to hold it. The green cardboard with the white board attached was trimmed so we don't see in then I used the package tape again to attach the white board to the fabric frame. I decided a cute hanger was in order, so I got a framing nail that has a large, flat head on it and hot glued one of my hexies to the head. Next, fuschia grosgrain ribbon was glued to the back and now I can keep track of the orders I'm working on that day, but a Bible verse or sentiment. Fun & functional!! I don't think I posted about my cutting table because I was waiting to make that as well as I wanted to skirt that table. The drawers were originally underneath my daughter's bed for under bed storage under a trundle, minus the mattress. My husband made a shell to fit it and my MIL made the faux painted top. I skirted it because its just 2x4's for the legs and so I can store stuff under it. What kind of stuff? Flat rate mailing boxes, my supply of in stock blankets and a huge green garbage bag of all the little bags my fabric purchases come in. I recycle those when I package up someone's orders. The top drawer contains grosgrain ribbon, mailing tape, pinking shears and safety pins. Middle drawer is miscellaneous sewing notions and the bottom has ziploc bags with fabric squares for my made to order blankets. The storage drawers to the left have fabric designer names on them with a color so if I need red Tanya Whelan fabric in 8" squares, I have a drawer for that. I have many of those all around the sewing room that you will see on later posts. I love being ultra organized and try to keep all my blankets with the same size squares so that I can cut down on the organization. I keep my rulers, rotary cutters and Melissa's cute pincushion next to my cutting mat. The bin on top of the selvedge dresser has scraps cut into specific sizes where I will file them by color later. I hope to list in my shop a precut destash. I have 4x4, 4x6, 4x8, 6x6, 6x8 squares & rectangles as well as 1 1/2", 2 1/2" and 3 1/2" strips. If you are interested in  purchasing anything before I list it, email me at sewfunbymonique@gmail.com.

West Indies Blankie

Had to play with my West Indies stack and came up with this baby blanket. Its almost like instant gratification with this size. The brown Chandler damask will be seen all over my home shortly. Just love that one! As you can see West Indies blends well with Jennifer's other fabric lines~ great for a fan like me! :) This one will be in the shop shortly.

And Here's the Matching Bag . . .

I made a bag to match the quilt. I strip pieced the front flap and back pocket & used "Jodi" on the sides, Dolin in the front and fussy cut Madeline for the top of the strap and used Maeve for the underside from Queen Street. Pockets are Kat Stripe & Casey Scroll & Sally used in the flap from previous Jennifer Paganelli lines. Back and inside pics on my flickr page & will be in my shop tonight! :)

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/

Quilt Along Step 3

Okay, up next~ spray basting! Still my favorite way to baste. It makes the layers stick together so nicely so you can focus on quilting, not the safety pins. I posted before on spray basting, but since I am not computer saavy, I'm not sure how to provide a link to that exact post. Once you have sprayed each layer~ one half at a time~ like the photo above, you are ready to quilt. The top pic shows the thread I will be using. Its a Sulky thread with a sheen. I like that thread because it allows a sparkle. I have a hard time quilting all over these beautiful fabrics, so I am outlining the patches. I know I've written before about how I feel like I am scribbling all over these amazing fabrics, so I prefer the fabric to shine vs the quilting. I tend to pick a thread color that is the same as the backing. I am using Mary Trellis in aqua for the back, so the thread is the same shade. Off to quilt this!

Inspiration is Everywhere!

One of my favorite flowers is the morning glory. The ones in my backyard are actually my neighbor's vine that came over to hand out in my yard. I was thrilled! I just love their color & the brightness it adds to the shady side of my yard. I realized when I recently bought Amanda Fleur in blue that it would be a gorgeous picture together, so I pulled out my Lee paisley to coordinate & then pulled fabrics from her other lines until this top was filled with royal blues, aquas, bubblegum pinks and purpley pinks. I just love this combination that started out in my garden!

So St Croix WIP

Well, I have stared at my fat quarters I won from Jennifer Paganelli for about a week now. Dozens of projects kept flying around in my head. I finally settled on 2 to begin with. When I went into my fabric room~ (I call it that now because I am just storing fabric & supplies in my sewing room and have moved to my dining room to sew! :) & all of Jennifers past fabric lines jumped into my lap and said, "Use me, too!" Those of you who have seen my past quilts etc. know its hard for me to just sew from one fabric line. Fabric is FUN and I want to use it all!! So this is what I got so far. Stay tuned!

Canopy Bed Panels

These are part of a custom order bedding set~ 3 of 4 panels that are 2 sided & will tie to a canopy/4 poster bed. The top & bottom are from Jennifer Paganelli's Flower Power fabric lines~ one of my all time favorites~in Elizabeth Rose ice & Loopy Vintage turquoise. The middle panel is Dandy Damask from Michael Miller. The bedskirt will be Elizabeth Rose ice. I have the quilt all pieced & layered and I will be quilting it today with light pink satiny thread to coordinate, will post pics when I'm done. I have always wanted fabric panels when I had a 4 poster bed, but never made them. I wish I still had that bed to try it out! :)

Meghan Peasant Pattern

I just had to blog about a new pattern I tried called the Meghan Peasant.I enjoy sewing quilts & purses, but tend to stay away from clothing. The patterns can be too confusing, but this pattern just called to me because it is so versatile- short sleeve top, long sleeve top, short sleeve dress, long sleeve dress. I have to admit I was drawn to it because there are no zippers! It is a collaboration between Jennifer Paganelli (one of my fav fabric designers) and Carla Crim, the Scientific Seamstress. This is what I love about this pattern:

*Multiple options

*Multiple sizes 0-3XX

*Downloadable- you could start it right now!

* Lots of directions & pictures- there was no confusion!

* Totally customizable the whole way: how deep the neckline, how long the "skirt"

*Photos of others who made this on flickr http://www.flickr.com/groups/scientificseamstress/pool/

I used all Jennifer Paganelli fabrics: Elizabeth Rose Ice on the bodice, Leann stripe on the "skirt", Casey Scroll on the sleeves. I omitted the elastic on the end of the sleeves because I liked the look when I tried it on. I cut the "skirt" 14" to have a shorter look. I am just so happy how it came out. However, I am just not photogenic, so I cropped my head. My son said, "Wow! You made that mom?" and he also was the one who took the pics of me and agreed with the crop! I am wearing the necklace he made me for my bday. Where to find all this cuteness? but here is where I downloaded the pattern: http://youcanmakethis.com/. The pattern-maker's blogs: http://scientificseamstress.blogspot.com/ and http://jenniferpaganelli.typepad.com/ and the photographer extraordinaire: http://brassyapple.blogspot.com/ I will definately make this again and again. I'm sure when my daughter gets home from a vacation with her friend, she will want one too!!