sew & tell v4.4 ~ a nursery

Oh my.

Did you notice I didn't post sew & tell last week? Or earlier today?

I'm a mess!

I do have a good excuse for last week, we were out of town and I'm clearly not on top of everything enough to have written a post early and schedule it to magically appear Friday morning.

And yep, didn't do that again for this week.  The only difference is I wasn't out of town!! I'm just mourning the fact that my mom had to go home after a lovely 5 week visit!! And now my kitchen is a mess because she's not here to do the dishes for me.

So, you'll have to forgive me and I won't blame you if no one wants to link up this week.  But you'd better link up next week to distract me from the fact that I won't be at sewing summit!!!

And now to a short and sweet finish.

And by short and sweet, I mean once I buckled down and did it, it didn't take long at all.

I have three words for you:  ORANGE CHEVRON CURTAINS

photo courtesy Kristen Hassell

My super stylish (and talented) friend Kristen took some photos of babylouwho for me a few months ago. And by a few I mean 18. (You are going to want to click on that link. And if you want to cry you should check out the rest of her blog and look at all the military homecoming shoots!!)

We swapped services, she took photos and sewed some curtains.  Hmmmm, I think I might need to make her some more stuff.  In fairness I have hemmed 2 pairs of pants for her hubs too.  And I helped Brynn with that cute quilt there on the crib. I still think I got the better end of the deal!

Anyway, the nursery is all her and I'm so pleased the curtains turned out so well!

What have you finished recently?




Linky Rules.  Please follow along for a fun party!

1. Please write the post for sew & tell - or add a blurb mentioning sew & tell to a post written since the last sew & tell.  If you are linking to a post with your own tutorial, please make sure it was a finish from this week and that the completed project is shown first.

2. One linky per person. (please put multiple projects in one post.)

3. Link to your specific post.  (See here for permalink instructions - or email me.)

4. Link back here with a link or a button (HTML on my sidebar).

5. Be sure to visit and leave comments on other's posts!

Please put your (blog)name instead of your project name, it helps us get to know each other better!

{amylouwho} bliss(ful) table runner

I feel like I'm riding a major sewing tidal wave since I got back from the Sewing Summit! I want to cut into every piece of fabric I own, and THAT is NOT normal.  Usually I just want to hoard it.

I bought some Bliss ages ago and then decided to make a table runner for a friend.  It has sat around getting neglected for far too long.  I decided the other day to make a mess and cut out a bunch of stuff!  So I headed over to (another) Amy's blog to look at her easy quilted table runner tutorial.  SO easy!

So I hacked up lovingly cut up my fabric into strips.

Then I played with the layout.

Then I sewed it up!

I want to use the brown medallion for the binding (or the red), but I don't quite have enough.  I do however have enough to cut some more strips and put another one together~to keep!!  I love this fabric.

Thanks Amy for a quick and easy tutorial!  I'll share the finish on Sew & Tell soon!

I'm linking up with WIP Wednesday!  It's my first time!

teacher gifts

I whipped these dishmats up the night before the last day of school.  I love a quick, easy and unique teacher gift. In another life when I taught school, the handmade heartfelt gifts were always my favorite.  I hoped my daughters PreK teachers would feel the same way. 

I reeeeeeeeeeaally wish I'd ordered some more of this Meadowsweet 2.  Sandi Henderson, if you ever read this, I love you for making such amazing fabric.

And thanks again Kim for the amazing chenille.    If fabric addiction were illegal we'd both be in jail. Kim is my 'supplier'.

This time I put some cotton batting in the middle to give it some heft and absorbency.  Then a little stippling and a super easy rustic serged edge.

And you don't really need any wrapping paper for presentation.

sew & tell - june 2011

Hello sew & tellers!

First off, I would like to sincerely apologize for slacking last week and not getting the post up.  I'm hoping you'll forgive me and just link up your stuff you had planned (and maybe even posted already) today!

Do you remember the challenge I gave you in April? To find someone who needs a little encouragement to start sewing? Or a buddy to help motivate you? Someone you can bond with over fabric and creating with it? And then to get together with them and sew? I hope you took the opportunity to do that!

My friend (and luckily neighbor) Sara has been sewing most of her life. When she gets a project on the mind, she's very focused and super productive! I would have half my to-do list crossed off if I was 1/2 as efficient as her!

Anyway, she is having a baby in the next week or so and had some fabrics picked out with which she wanted to make an easy and quick baby quilt. She asked if I would help her figure out what to do and teach her how to put on a binding and stitch it down by hand.

This was the beautiful mess we made the day we got together. She was working on her quilt and I finally got my living room curtains started.

messes always look better in black and white.

We went for an easy strip quilt.  She just started cutting strips to sew together of different widths.  There is regular cotton, flannel and minky in there.  I think it turned out quite adorable!

front and back

She took it home and machine quilted (also a first! and without a walking foot - brave girl) about 1/4 inch on either side of each horizontal seam.  And was ready to bind it that same night!

close ups

I roughly showed her how to do the binding and she went home.  The next day I dropped off some thread for her to stitch down the binding.  When I talked to her the the day after that to see if she needed any help, she had already finished it! Barely 2 days from start to finish!  See what I mean? Focused.

extreme close-up!

and look at how even her stitches are! She did such a great job.

love a folded quilt.

So, it took me a while, but I did finally finish up 2 of my curtain panels last week.  I have 4 more to make, and only enough fabric for one more..... But I think I like them.

I'll take a picture of the whole room once I get the rest of them made.  If I spent as much time working on these as I've spent thinking about them, I'd be way ahead of myself!

Thanks Sara for coming over and making me work on these! I'm glad to be this much closer to this project being finished.  We had fun chatting and sewing together.  I can't wait to meet her new little baby and see her wrapped up in her quilt.

Who did you sew with? What's your story?  Did someone motivate you?  Did you have an challenge with a blogging friend to get something finished?  Tell us!!

PLEASE READ THIS POST IF YOU ARE NEW TO LINKING UP!  :)

NEW RULES FOR LINKING UP!  Please read carefully.  The delete monster will be eating non-compliant links.

1. Please write the post for sew & tell - or add a blurb mentioning sew & tell to a post written since the last sew & tell.  If you are linking to a post with your own tutorial, please make sure it was a finish from this week and that the completed project is shown first.

2. One linky per person. (please put multiple projects in one post.)

3. Link to your specific post.  (See here for permalink instructions - or email me.)

4. Link back here with a link or a button.

5. Be sure to visit and leave comments on other's posts!

possibly my favorite thing ever. or at least at the moment.

I was at a yard sale the other day with a lot of cool stuff.  I found some more dessert plate glass domes or cloches as they can be called, some IKEA play dishes, a tray, picture frame, and decorative shelves  that need makeovers, and a cool glass pitcher.   As far as yard sales go, I did pretty well!

While browsing, a friend and I spied these pretty blue glass pedestal plates!  They were so Amazing! And Turquoise! and Darling!  And taken.  I left, so sad that they had already been snatched up.

A few minutes later my friend called and said she found ANOTHER ONE!! And that she was going to get it for me!  If that isn't true dear friendship, I don't know what is (thank you darling, you know who you are).

And as soon as I read this post, I went and made the same cookies. Partly because they sounded good and partly because I wanted to photograph them on my plate. And mostly because I want to be just like her.

annnnnnd,
while we're on the subject of food.  This is my current favorite snack.  Pink Ladies + Monterey Jack. Sounds like a bad romance novel.

This pair is delicious.  And I love these plates.

i miss blogging - Kim, this is for you.

I miss having the time to sit down with a picture or two and tell you all about a current project!  Making a change in my habits has helped me be more present for my life here at home, but I'm finding it hard to post as often as I used to, or would like.

I finished a really cool project for the Spicing Up the Kitchen swap I was in on Flickr.  And guess what I did?!  Took some awesome pictures and then formatted my memory card without uploading them!  AAAAHHHHHH!! I've never done that before!  At least my partner can take pictures for me.  I hadn't wanted to post them yet, because I think a couple things I sent might have given away my secret identity.  Soooooo, now I'm waiting not so patiently until she receives the package and then I can tell you all about it.

My friend Sara of Sew Sweetness started a Heather Ross quilt-along that I promised to be a part of.  A lot of people are already finished (like Sara, productive-queen) and I have yet to start.  Next week.  Maybe, or the week after. And if you don't follow her blog yet, you should.  She's amazing.  She just started blogging a few months ago and has so many cool projects and great pattern reviews.  Really, go check her out.

I also started a non-sewing project with a group of friends that is helping me get back into the groove of taking pictures (not on auto) and I'll be able to share more about that soon.  That is if you are even interested!

Here's two more quilt blocks I finished (late) for last year's bee.

And remember that post I wanted to write about what I learned while I took a break (2 months ago!), yep, haven't done that either.

The upside?  I am getting more sleep, I've started working out, and the sun is shining more! YAY!

Oh and I FINALLY got around to making one of these cake plates.

ask me about how I didn't know the leprechauns were coming and then we made a trap and didn't catch them but they left these nice cupcakes because they had already given out all their gold.  yep, mom of the year, right here.

Actually two.  I *heart* them so much!

Seriously so easy.  Candlestick holder (thrifted) + cute plate from Marshall's + gorilla glue.  Total cost? approx. 5$

and this little crumbsnatcher will be 1 next month!! REALLY? Where has the time gone?

I love her happy face.  She is a such a joy and has won us all over, without question.  And can you believe that sweater?  We rescued it from certain neglect at a thrift store before she was born.  Hand crocheted and never worn. We love it.

Oh yes! And then there's the amazing antique store I went to selling all things distressed in white, turquoise and green!  AMAZING.  I need to tell you about that too.

Soon.  I promise.  And next week?  I'll show you some progress on my HR quilt (because I haven't started yet and need someone to keep me honest).  And maybe we should have a sew & tell in March!  I almost forgot!

Thanks Kim, for chatting today and telling me you missed my posts.  Hope this one tides you over.

sew & tell - curtains revisted

I've been thinking about the idea that's discussed a lot that only the polished and perfect are what people show on their blogs.  I hope that by now you all now I am not always a perfectionist, but I still don't like to admit to the messes I inevitably make or ignore.  In a spirit of coming clean and keeping it real, I haven't cropped these pictures down. Now you can see what a house with 3 small children and a mom who would rather sew than pick-up every minute of the day looks like.

I had a pretty productive sewing week.  I've had projects laying around that just needed to be made so I wouldn't have to figure out where to store the materials anymore!

I whipped up another small tote for a neighbor's 3rd birthday party.  

I LOVE this Henna print. I *need* to buy it in every color!  Have you seen the new muted colors from Meadowsweet 2?

Please wear responsibly.

*****
Boy fabric is hard to come by and I finally had an excuse to make this into a blanket for my friend Shayna who had her baby this week!  I love minky and camo together.  Such drama!  Such contrast!

For the record, I am a total minky snob.  I won't buy the knock-offs that are, admittedly, cheaper.  It doesn't seem to hold up as well.  Fabric.com has a great selection of the real stuff and you can always get a coupon and free shipping.

*****

Ever since my friend and interior designer, Heidi, helped me with my collage wall, I've wanted to get the curtains up in my dining room.  The rods were laying around and bugging me.  One of the curtains was already made and I just needed to make the casing on the other one.  I made one of these last year (Sept. 3) for my very first sew & tell post!  I didn't realize that I was going to be able to share them again just one year later!  At the time I cut both curtains out but never used the other one.  I put the rod up and realized it they were long enough if I let out the hem.  So did.  And I serged the edges.  And they hang just like that.  And you are the only ones who know...

And yes, that is a tray hanging on the wall over there.  I'm going to show you what I did. I just have to get the post written.  It might be a while!

NEW RULES FOR LINKING UP!  I'll explain more later.  Please read carefully.

1. One linky per person of a sewing project. 

2. Link to your specific post.  (See here for permalink instructions - or email me.)

3. Please write the post for sew & tell - or add a blurb mentioning sew & tell to a post written earlier in the week.

4. Link back here with a link or a button.

5. Comment away!

I have a back-to-school post I'm writing about sew & tell.  Bottom line, I want to make sure every minute you spend here is worthwhile!  My teacher-self from a former life is coming back to crack down!  (No smiling until Christmas.  hehe)

My husband is getting promoted today!  So I will be pinning on his new ranks this morning, but I'll be around to visit you all later.  How about another Marine Corps 101 post?

What sewing project did you finish this week?

sew & tell - amy butler extravaganza and giveaways!

*****Comments Closed***** Winners to be announced later today!*****

It's the day we've all been waiting for!  I'm so excited for today's Amy Butler exclusive sew & tell!  I can't wait to see what everyone has finished for today.  I've been getting emails and sneak peeks and think it's going to be fun browsing everyone's links!

I'll admit, it's been a rough week here.  I haven't felt well most of the week, and after finishing the baby bedding last week, I'm feeling like anything I do will be a little anti-climatic.  But, if it involves Amy Butler fabric it will still look nice!  So finally, last night, after everyone was in bed I tried to figure out something fun.

So here's what I did. 

I've been wanting to make one of these FOREVER.  I found 2 of my favorite Amy Butler prints and cut them the size of an old kitchen towel - the absorbent terry cloth kind.  I even used a clean one.  Then I just cut my fabric the same size.  And then made a little sandwich - fabric/towel/fabric.  I had to piece the one side, because my scrap wasn't quite big enough.

Then I decided it would be a good idea to quilt it.  And why not free-motion?  I needed the practice and it was only 11:00.  PM!! I really should have just gone to bed.

I think you can see the quilting better in this picture.  It's definitely not perfect, but hey, it's really my first time doing it.  So maybe I just need to tackle a couple of my quilts and get better.  I'm not sure if you can see it, but I just serged around the edges to finish it off!  Super easy and now my kitchen looks better already.  And so does my adorable teapot!  :)  I might actually want to wash some dishes now.

And I love that I can look at two of my favorite prints all the time!

There are a lot of giveaways for today's participants!  I'm going to be selecting several winners for the following gifts.  To enter you must link up your Amy Butler project and/or comment on this post.  Let's be creative with our comment entries.  Tell me about your favorite memory sewing!  I will take comments until Monday night, September 27.  Winners will be announced sometime on Tuesday.  If you link up and comment you will get 2 entries!

1.  A winner will be chosen from those who linked up today to receive the following 2 patterns, and 3 yards of Amy Butler fabric from The Material Girls Quilts!

www.thematerialgirlsquilts.blogspot.com

2. A winner will be chosen from all linkers and commenters (one comment per person) to receive the Birdie Sling pattern and a $25 gift certificate from Fabricworm!  So you can pick out fabric to make your bag!

www.fabricworm.com

3.  Another winner will be chosen from all linkers and commenters to recieve the laptop cover and mp3 case pattern.

4.  And then there's these awesome headbands!!

I'm going to be giving these two away as well!! Thanks so much to my dear friend Allyn who made them this week, especially for two of you!!  You may have seen her post last week featuring more of these darlings (her girls AND the headbands!).  Maybe I'll decide to pick someone from my facebook page, maybe I'll just pick my favorite project, maybe I'll use random.org for all of them.  Either way you'll want to come back to see who wins!

I feel like every sentence I just wrote should have an exclamation point after it!

Thanks to everyone who has been so excited about the challenge!  I can't wait to see all the things you've made -  It's going to be such great eye-candy!


What Amy Butler project did you finish this week?

ALL PROJECTS LINKED UP THIS WEEK MUST BE A SEWING PROJECT AND HAVE AN ELEMENT OF AMY BUTLER IN THEM (fabric and/or pattern).  
Please show good bloggy manners and follow the linky rules.  Refer to the sew & tell page if you have any questions or wonder why your link may have been  deleted.

1. Link to your specific post about a sewing related finish you had during the time period for the Amy Butler Challenge.

2. Please mention sew & tell in your post and link back to this  post (link or button) so everyone can join in.
3.  Pat each other on the backs in the comments! Please, don't just link up and leave, we all want to hear from you!

sew & tell - on a roll

If you are new or need a refresher for Sew & Tell guidelines you can click on the tab above for details on linking up!

I don't know what's happened the last few weeks!  I feel like a sewing maniac!  You might be surprised to see two things that I have never made before.  And only one diaper clutch.  :)

I owe all of you a big thanks for keeping me going.  Part of getting these things finished is so that I have something to post each week too!  Otherwise, I'd have a ton of UFOs laying around. (Like the bumpers that I have cut out for my almost 5 year old daughter when she was a baby...)  I wasn't feeling too great yesterday (darn pollen) and I wasn't feeling like finishing up the big thing for today - but I went ahead and kept plugging away and it really only took about 15 minutes.  And I'm so glad I did!  So thank YOU!

Alright, first up.
I totally get the bunting thing now!  I keep seeing people make them and I've wanted to make on too.  I  just hadn't had a reason to until I helped my gorgeously talented (and gorgeous) friend throw a baby shower last weekend.  Here it is hanging up in my sunroom/sewing room/home office/workout room (I told you I was a multi-tasker!).

And here it is after the party had been staged.  I LOVE it so much and now I want to make one for every room in my house.  And I hope you noticed the Amy Butler Wallflower in there!

I just made a template out of a cereal box and used it as a guide to cut with my rotary cutter.  Then I sewed it to some hem tape, because that's what I had.  These aren't lined and may fray a bit, but then they'll be *vintage*.  Right? 

If you like gratuitous food and decor shots go here to see more of Heidi's magic!

Next up.
The gift for that shower.

Shocker, I know. I can't get enough of these!  And Amy Butler in Daisy Chain is always nice.

Lastly. (But not leastly.)
Are you ready?  Are you sure?  I finally got to the bedskirt with my newest fabric crush in my favorite colors.

And I love the way it turned out!  I'll admit, it was a little bit of a bugger to figure out.  I wanted to match up the large print and make sure it wouldn't look totally ridiculous.  I needed more than one width of fabric to make the long section, so I had to work that into the equation.  I really did do some algebra to figure some stuff out!  (My teachers were right after all... you may just need it some day!)

I ended up using a different dot for the inset pleat, but I thought it matched better.  And after all was said and done, I still screwed it up, but I'm not saying where and I don't want to know if you can figure it out.

I also have the mattress high right now, since she's still pretty little, so it will look a lot nicer when it's hanging to the floor.  And even better when this becomes her toddler bed.  The quilt is doubled up here, so it should get a lot of good use too!

The best part is I just used an old crib skirt for measurements and THEN instead of sewing it to a big piece of fabric, I JUST TAPED IT TO THE PLATFORM.  YEAH!  I felt like such a rebel/cheater!  I think it will actually work better and not get all wonky all the time.  I had read of several other people doing this too.  I may have to go back and tweak it a bit, but I'm happy with the tape method.

And thank you Target, for making awesome matching sheets (I bought 2) and cute-as-all-get-out Owl pillows!

oh, and can I tell you again how much I love my serger?  Especially for hems?

So if you made it all the way down here, THANKS! This was a long one.  Remember, next Friday is the big day!  I can't wait to see what you guys have been working on and I'm super excited about the giveaways!  I'm adding a few handmade things to the pot as well!    Leave me a comment today and tell me what you are working on for the Amy Butler Challenge (or for you over-achievers what you have already finished!)!


P.S. I'm not going to be around much this weekend - so if there are any questions or problems I will get back to you - it just might take a little longer.

What sewing project did you finish this week?

Please show good bloggy manners and follow the linky rules.  Refer to the sew & tell page   if you have any questions or wonder why your link may have been  deleted.

1. Link to your specific post about a sewing related finish you had THIS week.

2. Please mention sew & tell in your post and link back to this  post (link or button) so everyone can join in.
3.  Pat each other on the backs in the comments! Please, don't just link up and leave, we all want to hear from you!

hand-dyed fabric care

Looking for the Giveaway Post?

My dear friend Candy, the woman behind the awesome hand-dyed fabrics from which this quilt was made, has a new column on A La Mode Stuff aptly called, "Ask Candy".

 

She is answering my question today:

Dear Candy,

I know you hand dye all of your fabrics. I was wondering if you could offer any suggestions to an amateur quilter like me on how to care for my fabrics (hand-dyed, batiks, or otherwise) so that I don't ruin my precious creations in the first wash. I would hate for some of my brights to run into my white or light colored borders and/or sashing.

Thanks! amylouwho

Go to the post to read her answer!
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In other news...
I'm gearing up for the Amy Butler-fest I am planning!  I got this amazing email yesterday about her new WALLPAPER!  Oh. My. Word.
Can you say gorgeous? (all photo credits Graham and Brown via amybutlerdesign.com)

She's done it again.

And I don't think I would be able to choose just one.
Okay, maybe THIS is my favorite.

I think the backs of my built-in bookshelves might need a little facelift...