AGF Stitched with Kimberly: “Blithe” quilt pattern

March 7, 2016March 14, 20256 Comments

Hello again! It’s time for another round of AGF Stitched with Kimberly, featuring a new pattern and some lovely Art Gallery Fabrics!

The new pattern this time is called “Blithe,” and the Fat Quarter Shop version used a new fabric collection called Chalk & Paint, which, when I first saw it during those gray, cold days of late January, just filled me with so much excitement over the eventual arrival of spring that I decided to make a spring-colored version myself.

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I went with a bunch of fabrics from the Paperie collection and the Playing Pop collection, with a few selections from the Millie Fleur collection as well, paired with the solid “Icy Mint” from the Pure Elements line.

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I really liked the look of this pattern, but I had the idea to scale it down and decided to go with it. Instead of six-inch blocks, I scaled it down by 50% to make three-inch blocks, and made some cheerful throw pillows. The pillows measure 18.5 inches square.

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Love it. The pattern used Triangles on a Roll, which I’d always wanted to give a try, so there was some extra fun in doing that–I think if I need to mass-produce HSTs in the future that I’ll go this route again.

I’ve been obsessed with pebbling quilting for a few months now, so I decided to take the plunge and give it try as well. I used Aurifil 50 in “Medium Mint” for pebbling on the mint sections, and Aurifil 50 in “Natural White” to outline quilt the prints. Using the darker mint thread really brought out the green tones of the Icy Mint fabric, which was neat.

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To help you out with making your own Blithe quilt, the Fat Quarter Shop has assembled two kits using that fabulous Chalk & Paint fabric collection:

Blithe Quilt Kit

Backing Set for Blithe Quilt Kit

And, the pattern is free, and you can get your own copy by clicking here.

There’s also a video explaining the pattern more in-depth. Enjoy!

In exchange for creating this project, Art Gallery Fabrics provided me with the fabric. Thank you to both Art Gallery Fabrics, and to the Fat Quarter Shop for allowing me the opportunity to sew up another beautiful pattern with such great fabrics!

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It Begins: Journal Covers for my Activity Days Girls

January 23, 2016January 28, 20166 Comments

I serve as a leader for my church’s Activity Days program, which is basically our version of Girl Scouts for girls ages 8-11 years old. When they turn twelve years old, they advance into the Young Women’s program, and we say good-bye.

I started serving in this position last spring, and we haven’t had any of the girls turn twelve in that time until now…and it just so happens that it is my very own daughter who is advancing.

Serving as Activity Days leader when my girl is moving up is interesting because I have firsthand observations as to what would actually be valuable to her at this point in her life, and then I can apply that knowledge to the other girls as they reach this age. And since you really do fall in love with these girls as you teach them and spend time with them, you want to give something to them when they leave, and the Young Women’s organization seems to be pretty big on keeping a journal, so I decided to go with making journal covers for my advancing twelve year olds.

This week was my daughter’s last Activity Days meeting, as she turns twelve in February, so we said our good-byes and presented her with her journal cover that will hopefully see her through to adulthood and beyond.

I used Lori Holt’s journal cover pattern that can be found over at AllPeopleQuilt.com. I’m planning on making a lot of these over the next few years (seven alone this year), so I think in the future I’m going to size it down to fit a composition book–this particular pattern fits your basic full page journal ($15 +/-), which my Activity Days budget cannot handle purchasing for each advancing girl. But a $2 composition book for each girl? You betcha, and it will be so easy to replace those journals as the girls fill them up during their angst-filled teenage years of seeking solitude in writing their emotions.

I used a lot of fabric from a fat quarter bundle of Wee Wander fabrics that I bought specifically for my daughter a year or two ago. She’s big into blues and greens and absolutely loved the collection, but then I gifted her the “Locket” quilt for Christmas, so I probably won’t be making a Wee Wander quilt for her anymore. Which means I can start using it in other projects, and what better project than one meant for her?

The gingham is from Tasha Noel’s “The Simple Life” collection, and the other three non-Wee Wander prints inside the journal cover are from the years when I wasn’t paying attention to the names of fabric collections, and were conveniently missing their selvages, so I don’t know their names. (That hexagon one, though…it’s on the tip of my tongue…Riley Blake?) And the coral tile-looking print…I think it had something to do with Ty Pennington.)

Front inside pocket

Back inside pocket

Back outside cover

The navy strip on the top of the cover is from Pat Bravo’s “Dare” collection, leftover from binding the “Locket” quilt, and used when I cut my cover fabric the wrong size…good thing we quilters aren’t scared by that sort of mistake, eh?

The “e” on the front cover was cut with my Silhouette Cameo (font = Garamond), and then I just slowly machine straight-stitched it onto the pocket. We’ll see how it stands up to wear-and-tear; it is backed with some fusible webbing to try to avoid fraying.

It’s a cute little thing, and I hope it gets a lot of use!

I’m going to be the mother of a twelve year old in a matter of weeks. Goodness me. Hopefully she’ll have journals filled with happy memories and wise lessons…

Linking up:
Made by You Mondays @ skiptomylou.org
Sew Cute Tuesday @ Blossom Heart Quilts
Linky Tuesday @ Free Motion by the River
Let’s Bee Social @ Sew Fresh Quilts
Needle & Thread Thursday @ My Quilt Infatuation

Snowflake Trapunto Pillow

July 9, 2015July 15, 20153 Comments

If you’ve been following me on Instagram (@thatcraftycara), you saw my announcement a few weeks ago that I was asked to be a “Fabric Ambassador” for Calico Cat Fabrics. My first “assignment” arrived a few days after the announcement: a rollie pollie of the “Forget Me Not” fabric collection by Sue Daley and made by Penny Rose fabrics.

My knee jerk idea for the fabric was to add a little red and go the patriotic route, but I knew I couldn’t get something made up fast enough for the approaching Fourth of July weekend, so I didn’t want to spend my time making something that would then sit in a box for a year.

So I sat that little roll of fabric on my cutting table and we had a showdown.

The fabric won.

Exasperated, I went to bed.

But the next morning…ah, dear readers, the power of the early morning walk. I had too many ideas, and I eventually had an epiphany regarding how to deal with these cuts of fabric that will be making their way to me: Forget that it’s an assignment and act like it’s a gift. THEN make something that I’d want to make, rather than what I thought others wanted me to make. I mean, I was selected for the role based upon the things I was making for my own amusement, so it’d probably work out well to keep up with how I was already doing things, right?

I asked myself what I would make if no one was ever going to see that roll of fabric ever again, and a vision flashed through my mind. The blues of the fabric collection made for a good snow-themed project. Never mind that it was June, the fabric wanted to be used for wintertime purposes. So I listened to the fabric, paired it with a fat quarter of white-on-white snowflake print, found a quilt block with a large chunk of negative space in its center (“Star and Chains” from The Quilter’s Cache), and plunged forward.

I’d seen mentions of “trapunto” quilting, or “stuffed quilting,” in random corners of the blogosphere, and I’d always thought it was pretty, and I thought the technique would make for some extra prettiness on this particular project. It wasn’t hard at all, and I’m totally planning on using this technique to beef up some of my future quilting projects!

I chose a simple snowflake shape for the trapunto portion of the pillow:

This pillow used five of the fabric strips from the roll, leaving sixteen left over, so I have a second project in the works using up the other sixteen strips. I thought I’d make a second pillow at first, but I’d used up most of the dark strips on this pillow alone, and I didn’t want a pillow with less contrast. So, I’m dusting off a pattern I’ve had my eye on for a year and giving it a go with the leftovers. Two projects from one little rollie pollie!

Thank you so much, Calico Cat Fabrics, for allowing me the opportunity to work with you and to stretch my creative muscles a bit. I’m looking forward to our future projects together!

And, yes, I’m writing up a tutorial about trapunto quilting that I hope to share with you next week! See you then!

Linking up with:
Link a Finish Friday @ Richard and Tanya Quilts
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Let’s Bee Social @ Sew Fresh Quilts

Bluebird’s 9th Birthday: Baking Party!

February 11, 2013February 1, 20154 Comments

It was during the week after Christmas–you know, when you’re fighting the urge to be sad that the big day is over, and you’re kind of euphoric with all the lofty New Year’s Resolutions to which you’re thinking about committing–that I found myself obsessed with the idea of throwing each of my kids their dream birthday parties in 2013. We don’t do a lot of birthday partying in Brooketopia, mostly due to cost and logistics (newborn babies every two years will do that to you), but here we were going into a new year with no new babies…the idea sounded feasible.

Bluebird and I sat down to ~~gorge ourselves~~ do a little research on Pinterest birthday ideas, and we happened across a pin of a baking birthday party and she was awestruck. Culinary celebration, commence!

First, we raided the fabric stash and picked out fabrics that somewhat coordinated with each other, and then I settled in for three weeks’ of sewing aprons for Bluebird and her guests:

Apron B from Little Retro Aprons by Cindy Taylor Oates
(Yes, you’ve seen this pattern on the blog before, both the child’s version AND the adult version–I’m totally in love with it.)

Then we hurried about with all the other preparations (amidst all the ear infection fun we were also dealing with at the time) and Bluebird bounced off the walls as she counted down the days until her party.

Finally, the Big Day of Baking Fun arrived…

…but first the girls had to stop and adore Baxter for a few minutes before I could entice them towards the birthday fun. (After insisting they wash their hands after touching the dog.)

First, they made cupcake liner flower pins to adorn their new aprons, then we gathered in the kitchen to make mini pizzas for lunch.

While waiting for the pizzas to bake, the girls made fruit kabobs which they then drizzled with milk and white chocolate:

I had hired two of the young women in our ward to help me out, and they cleaned up the lunch mess while the party girls watched Bluebird open her presents in the living room. Then, while the party girls decorated cake boxes, my helpers finished tinting batches of frosting for the finale of the party:

Man, a gang of 8-9 year old girls can pick up the basics of cake decorating pretty quick! Candies, marshmallows, sprinkles…we had it all and they had a blast creating their own dream cakes.

After decorating cakes, we sat down to enjoy Bluebird’s actual birthday cake, complete with raucous singing and laughing:

Hardly anyone wanted any cake after the candles were blown out because they had just spent the past three hours stuffing their faces with candy, pizza and frosting. No biggie, just more left over for the other Brookelets when they returned home!

Nine years old. Bluebird, you’ve been with us for almost a decade! You bring me so much joy, and I’m happy to indulge your lofty ideas. You are such a creative spirit and I look forward to fleshing out more of your big birthday plans in the future.

Creepy Little Gingerbread Man

February 7, 2011February 1, 20152 Comments

We’re experiencing a bit of the Winter Doldrums around here. In an attempt to buck the gloominess of one particularly gray day, I spent naptime sewing up a little stuffie friend for Junebug.

Pattern: Gingerman, designed by Cathy Gaubert, found in Fa La La La Felt by Amanda Carestio

Materials: Eco-Felt, Embroidery Floss

We didn’t get to do a lot of Christmas crafting around here this past holiday season, so I think we’re making up for it by crafting in January and February and making big plans for this next Christmas.

I originally started this project with the intent of it becoming a little decoration for our home, but Bluebird and Penguin both exclaimed that Junebug would love it, so I figured…”Hey, why not?” (Her blog codename really should be “Gingerbread Girl,” as she loves anything with a gingerbread person on it.)

When she woke up from her nap I presented her with the doll and the two has been inseparable ever since. Another crafting success.

Lazy Day Hat

July 1, 2009February 1, 20151 Comment

You know how you’ll sometimes wake up in the morning and say to yourself, “I’m going to accomplish something today”? I awoke today in such a mood and now Rabbit has a hat to show for it.

Pattern: Make It Perfect’s “Lazy Day Hat“
Fabric: I know it’s still available in stores, but my particular cuts of both do not have the fabric information printed on them. Sorry!

There is a mistake in the pattern at the end–turn fabric B RIGHT SIDE OUT in order to match it up with the brim when you’re making the huge hat sandwich.

A quick project that is reversible and downright cute! There are moments where you just have to trust the pattern and go with it…it’s gets a little “Wha…?” at times.

Bluebird now wants a hat made from the sock monkey fabric and some random American Flag print I’ve got in the stash. I told her she needs to wait until I make an apron and a shoulder bag for myself. It’s time to reward myself for all this sewing I’ve been doing for everyone in the past week.

Rabbit’s Monkey Apron

July 1, 2009February 1, 20152 Comments

I had hoped to complete this during last week’s “Super Homemaking Week,” but fell short by a few days. We just finished it this evening–me sewing, Rabbit standing by my elbow and cautioning me to “Watch yo fingahs…”

Pattern: Apron B from “Little Retro Aprons for Kids” by Cindy Taylor Oates
Fabric: Sock Monkey by Erin Michael #15071 (Moda), Red Gingham and some random piece of red with colored dots that I’ve had for forever, Canary Rick-Rack

I love little people in aprons. This is a size 4 (the smallest size in the book), so it’s a teeny bit big, but she’ll grow into it soon enough. I have enough Sock Monkey print leftover to do something big with…perhaps someday I’ll don a sock monkey apron myself, very fun.

Rabbit LOVES her apron! The first thing she said when I was fitting it over her head was, “Huwway! Now I can help Mama make some pancakes!” She loves her pocket and is convinced that there is a “liddle spoon” somewhere in the kitchen that she can carry in the pocket and whip out in a baking emergency. Oh, to be two years old and the proud owner of a brand new sock monkey apron…

Portabello Pixie "Claire" Peasant Top

June 24, 2009February 1, 2015Leave a comment

Ignore the pants, it was an impromptu modelling session.

Pattern: Portabello Pixie “Claire” Peasant Top
Fabric: Dots–from the “Smores” collection by Me and My Sister Designs for Moda, Gingham–from my stash, more than likely bought at JoAnn’s some years ago.

This cute little top was pretty easy to make and a great way to break in my serger. Bluebird thinks it’s so funny that we made her a shirt from the scraps from her apron…I hope she doesn’t get it into her head to wear the two at the same time.

Shirring with elastic thread is fun stuff. Just be sure that you wind the bobbin without stretching the elastic at all–there’s a part where the elastic was stretched a teensy bit when I wound it and there’s a part where I was careful to keep it loose, and the loosely-wound stitching does look better. I don’t know what makes it look better, but it does look better.

I really want to make the dress that comes with this pattern, and Bluebird wants me to purchase the pants pattern so that she can have something to match her shirt. (Personally, I think it would be a little too much pink gingham on one little person.)

Amber’s Apron

April 23, 2009February 1, 2015Leave a comment

My cousin, Amber, turns twelve this week; and she likes to help her mom out in the kitchen, so I thought an apron was a good birthday present choice for the dear girl. She’s one of my favorite people, and she’s named after me to boot (same middle name). You gotta remember the ones that are named after you! (I was even present at her birth…quite the experience for fourteen year old me!)

It’s Apron A from Retro Aprons by Cindy Taylor Oates and I used fabric from Sandi Henderson’s Farmer’s Market collection.

I am completely smitten with the fabric and I’ve been racking my poor, worn-out and exhausted brain trying to figure out a way to use the scraps in something else, but there aren’t too many scraps leftover. Wah.

Happy Birthday Ambone!

Cupcake Apron

March 26, 2009February 1, 20154 Comments

Yes, I am slightly disturbed that she knows how to pose like that.

Pattern: Little Retro Aprons for Kids, by Cindy Taylor Oates, Pattern A-2
Fabric: Cupcakes–I’ve managed to discard all the selvage from this except for one piece that says “Robert Kau…”; Dots–from the “Smores” collection by Me and My Sister Designs for Moda, Pattern #22074

I am loving this apron, and Bluebird has warmed up to it since her lacklustre reception upon its completion. I am totally looking forward to making more of these babies! The pattern is very well-written, except for one tiny mistake that tells you to put the wrong sides together near the end, but it’s easy to catch and correct. I’ve also purchased the designer’s other two apron pattern books for adults…mwahahahaha, aprons galore!