Quilt lab book :: calculus-it's not just for high school math anymore!

I got to sew again yesterday!!!  A little while ago former quilt bee buddy, sewing summit and stash bash fellow attendee and friend  Ali of AsquaredW asked if I'd like to make a project from her new book, Quilt Lab, and put my own spin on it.  When she said the Calculus pattern was one of the patterns available I broke out into a cold sweat remembering the day I was studying for my AP Calc test many years ago and then bailed because I just knew I would fail it!

Fortunately, Ali has transformed tricky math into fun QUILT MATH!! With a pretty project to show at the end of the assignment, I was okay with helping her out! hahahha!

This is what my Quilt Lab aka design floor looked like yesterday morning as I was working on the placement.

I used the second row pattern from the quilt to start my project. The blocks finish at 5" and I was thinking I would use this as a panel for a zippy pouch.  But I felt like the movement of the design was lost if I used less than 4 blocks wide and it ended up being about  20" long. So I decided to make a mini and use it in my kitchen!

I was a little intimidated by the pattern at first but once I figured out that I was just making triangles to sew into squares - I calmed down a bit! Ha!  I really loved the way it turned out!

I used Vanessa Christensen's Simply Color (moda) ombre gray and turquoise for the solids.  It was fun to play the gradation of color!

The polka dots were so fun - Teal Pearl Bracelets, a DS quilts dot from Joann's and the other print was in the quilting section at Hancock's.  I just love the minty/aqua/turquoise-y feel of it all.

The best part is it looks awesome in my kitchen and now my bowl of bananas looks even more enticing!

Ali, thanks for asking me to play!  It was nice to work on a project from start to finish and be so happy with the results! I'm thinking I'm going to try again and reduce the template size by 75% and make that zippy pouch!

Scrappy dresden mini quilt

Hey! I finished something! And I made up a new word! (as far as I know!) I got found my sew-jo and got some real sewmentum going this week! (haha - see what I did there?)  I got together TWICE this week with friends for sewing fun!  Definitely helps in the motivation department!

I started this little mini-dresden last year before we moved.  Emily Herrick sent a little bundle of her Technicolor fabric line to me to play with!  Karie (instagram @karietkq) and I bonded over our love of turquoise and orange, I knew a mini-quilt with these fabrics would be really fun!

Karie also loves texty prints and I found this awesome one in the FQ bin at Hancock's of all places!

And then it sat. And sat.  And moved to our new home. Until Karie came to visit and I knew I needed to quilt it up and give it to her while she was here!

I used some turquoise 50wt aurifil for the loop-de-loops and some orange 50wt for the flower center.

I was originally planning an all orange border but decided scrappy would be more fun.  And yes, I think it is!

I quilted it on Monday during a little sewing meet up at Becky's house and finished binding it in the parking lot at Wegman's on Tuesday where we all met for lunch!

Apart from Kim (@gogokim), who I met in line at Costco, Becky (@sarcasticquilter), Karie, and  I both met online.  It's so fun to have quilty internet friends to connect with throughout the day.  It's even better to have them close enough that you can meet up and sew, chat, eat and fabric shop together!

L-R Becky, Karie, Me and Kim

I'm so blessed to have such great friends! It was so nice to just be our weird fabric-loving selves together! I highly reccomend getting out from behind our screens and really see each other! It's a valuable connection that can't be replaced by our devices.

I'm linking up today with Kim's new Saturday sewing linky!! So fun!  Go check it out. Always a great way to get motivated and motivate others!

modern mini challenge!

 

It's no secret that I love minis ever since I attended the Sewing Summit. I was really excited when I saw Jennifer's Modern Mini Challenge!

 I had 3 minis in progress and knew I needed to finish one of them to enter. The prizes are pretty awesome!

I was out of town all weekend and neglected to bring some hand sewing (ie: binding) with me so I just finished sewing this binding down on the machine. It's a rushed job and I should probably go back and fix it. We'll see.

This mini was conceived before Christmas when I was making the large star quilt for a gift. I didn't know how I wanted to place my fabrics so I cut out a bunch of little 3.5" squares to play around with.

This was one of the layouts I came up with. And now it's breathes life as a cute little mini! Finished size: 12.5" x 12.5"

I love free motion quilting mini quilts. They move around so easily and it takes all of 5 minutes. I just did some loop-de-loops on this one.

Thanks Jennifer for a fun party/challenge. Can't wait to check out the other entries!

{amylouwho} mini quilt party winners announced!

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed hosting this mini quilt party!!  I haven't had a chance to visit all the quilts yet, but I'm working on it!  I loved reading your comments too!

Before we get to the winners, I wanted to show you the mini quilt that I received from my end of the Post Sewing Summit Swap.  I don't even remember what I said in my little survey, but my partner Jill, from Made on Mainstreet,  must have also checked out my favorites on Flickr because she nailed it!

I love my sweet little quilt and hung it up immediately in my kitchen.  Thank you so much, Jill!! I love it!

So now, onto the winners!
Oh wait, I should tell you that I used Random.org to choose 5 numbers between 1 and 201 (108 linkies + 93 comments, wow!), comment #1 being entry 109.  Okay, so now...

1)The 30$ gift card to the  Old Red Barn Co. soap shop:
#83 Diane of Random Thoughts Do or "Di"!

2) The flat rate box of swag from the Sewing Summit:
#135 Kristina at The Nerdy Sewist!

3) Kim's bundle of awesome Heather Ross scraps:
#61  The Quilted Fox

4) Candy's  set of “quilter’s 8ths” of her own hand-dyed cottons:
#104 Nona's Sews

5)The jelly roll of fabric from The Material Girls Quilts:
#105 Kwiltz by Stephanie

Look for an email from me in your inboxes!

{amylouwho} sew & tell v3.8 mini quilt party and giveaway!

Hello!!!  It's here! I know, I'm probably more excited than you all are! But still :)

I mailed off this mini quilt early this week for my partner in the Post Sewing Summit Swap.  I'm not going to lie.  I was a little intimidated to sew for my partner (hi, partner!).  I went through all of her favorites on Flickr searching for some inspiration. Knowing she liked bright colors and her favorite being green, I decided on doing something bright with stars.
Then I got cold feet and went in a different direction.  Then I got cold feet again (and by cold feet I mean a little birdie told me my first idea was better) and dove back in with the stars.

I'm not going to lie to you - I love the way it turned out!

And the quilting on this was really fun to do!  I got to practice some of my skills that Allison taught me in her free motion quilting class.

I chose my favorite Amy Butler polka dots in Lime for the back.  (and said birdie told me this is one of my partner's all time favorite prints! Yea!)  Binding it in the turquoise really helps it pop! (birdie suggested this too - which was a better choice than the green I was going to go with.  Thanks birdie!!)

This quilt was so fun to finish.  It didn't take that long, and I learned how to  piece them in a "random" way so they weren't just all in rows.

It was a little tricky at first, but I just layed them out and figured out where I needed to add more white. I love learning new things!  It was nice to practice on a small project too.

So many of us were inspired by the mini quilt class at The Sewing Summit!  Holly (who designed my new banner and button) started a new Flickr group!  You can head over there to add your quilts, or just look at some eye candy!

So now onto the details of the party + prizes!

Instead of making this a super long post and relisting all the prizes I'll summarize them. But you can go here to read the prize post.
1) Lovely Dana from Old Red Barn Co. is offering a 30$ gift card to her soap shop!
2) Erin, is offering up a flat rate box of swag from the Sewing Summit! 
3) Kim is offering up a bundle of awesome Heather Ross scraps!
4) Candy from Candied Fabrics is offering up a set of “quilter’s 8ths” of her own hand-dyed cottons. (check out the birthday sale in her shop!)
5) Nadine from The Material Girls Quilts, is giving away a jelly roll of fabric!

Now, for the fine print.
To enter:
1) Link up a new blog post about your mini quilt.  You can have blogged about the quilt before, I just ask you write a new post for our party, linking back to the fun!  Use a link or button in your post. (And by new post I mean written in the last 2 weeks, for you swappers who may have already blogged ~ just edit to add the button and/or link)
2) Leave a comment on this post.  Tell me one thing on your Christmas list.
**I really want a walking foot and a food processor.  :)**

3) If you don't have a quilt to enter, write up a blog post about sew & tell (button on sidebar) or the mini quilt party (also on sidebar) and let me know in the comments.  Leave a link to your blog post.

That's it! I hope you all have had fun getting ready for today!  I have!  Let's get the party started!
Linky will be open until Sunday night.  Winners announced Monday.  :)

I would love it if you put your name/blog name in the linky so we know who you are! :)

{amylouwho} the mini that can be made in a day

Do you want to participate in the mini quilt party tomorrow?  There's a mini you can make today or tomorrow if you have just a little bit of time!  Mug Rugs!! Snack mats, coasters, whatever you want to call them! They're sweet, cute, small and quick!

Here's some inspiration for you!

image courtesy The Joy Cottage via Flickr

image courtesy Frecklemama via Flickr

image courtesy Pin.Sew.Press via Flickr

image courtesy Pin.Sew.Press. via Flickr

image courtesy Gock's Frocks via Flickr

And now I want to go make mug rugs. I should probably clean my house first... or not. See you tomorrow for the PARTY!!!

{amylouwho} mini quilt inspiration

I have always been obsessed with things that are cute when tiny.  You know, things like, baby toes, baby shoes, mini tea sets, little boxes of altoids, mini reese's peanut butter cups, stuff like that.  Tiny quilts are no exception!

Now that I am obssessed with mini quilts I started to remember that my mom has actually been making them for a long time!  She was nice enough to take a few pictures of some of my favorites to share with you.

She made several of these for Christmas gifts one year.  I love an irish chain! I remember begging her to make one for me, but after making about 6 of these, I think her eyes hurt.  These are strip pieced from 1.5 inch strips!

This log cabin is TINY.  1.5" strips. Also strip pieced.

And this one has always been a favorite.  I remember when she made this one (over 10 years ago I think).  I remember thinking she was a bit nuts for cutting out all of those teeny tiny pieces and sewing them together.  THEN I remember being amazed at how perfect it was when she finished.

Each square of fabric in the pieced portion is different! I appreciate the work in this so much more now.

So, do you have a mini ready to share for Friday?


Check out the prizes!  And really, you could make a mug rug before then!  Do it!  It's so fun and a fast rewarding finish!

{amylouwho} meet ms mcporkchop aka mini quilt queen!

  <center><a href="http://www.mommyandbeyond.blogspot.com/search/label/mini quilt challenge" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipCSxn4NuCNaOrjcTV07IS0FUJTV_EQhSUCYuU-GA4OAuGb5VDur5rg54pvl2taWxsNLT3jn2gzEsAKWOxsmk2kET3tZrXkMvte81BjcEjdKCNAlC4L7JTci3UtaBXNcUVsWu-yEqSGlI/s1600/miniquiltS%2526T-button.jpg" /></a></center>

In prepping for our mini quilt party on Friday (!!) I wanted to introduce you to the woman who inspired me and anyone else who has ever come in contact with her to make minis.  Amanda blogs at hey porkchop! and there you can see more about her sewing, canning, needlework and other adventures!

Here is lovely Amanda! Msmcporkchop as you may know her.

photo courtesy Fresh Lemons via Flickr

As Faith at Fresh Lemons said, "Pretty sure Amanda is missing her calling as a quilting motivational speaker!" I'm pretty sure she did.
(all images courtesy Amanda - thank you!)
When did you start sewing and how did you start?  I started sewing in college, I did several mixed media pieces of art and here's a really awkward photo of me at an art show:

and I also started sewing cloth pads for myself. Around 2006 I started sewing frequently and started my business, modernacorn.

What is your favorite thing to sew and why?

Mini quilts!

And Farmer's Wife blocks because they are like mini quilts.

I enjoy the process of making minis so much more than full sized quilts. I can get across an idea, design, color theme in a small space in a relatively short amount of time. I can experiment and play with ideas without the commitment of a giant full sized quilt top.

Is there something you are afraid to try?

Hmm. I think I'm scared of garment sewing. I've made a few things but it's just NOT a pleasurable experience. In my mind I want a wardrobe full of Japanese Stylish Dress Book dresses but realistically I have neither the figure nor the skill set to create them ;)

What is the best thing you ever made? Was it your favorite?  Did you keep it?

This is so tough! I'm a big fan of most of the stuff I make but I give away a lot of it, I gave away 4 mini's at Sewing Summit. I do love making little mug rugs so I'm surrounded by patchwork. I think right now I love this New York Beauty:


I'm quilting and binding it hopefully this week!

Do you sew more for yourself/family or other people?

Lately it's been for other people, like books & companies but I prefer to sew for the pleasure of sewing, that way I can see where projects take me without any pressure. I'm pretty generous with the things I sew, I give stuff away often. I've toyed with the idea of selling some patchwork pouches and stuff. But I don't usually do sewn gifts, my friends & family are more into the stuff I can & bake...haha.

I can see why!!

How long have you been blogging? What are your favorite things about it?

I've blogging since 2001 (mostly paintings & stuff) but started msmcporkchopquilts.com in 2008! I love being able to share my ideas, my days, my favorite photos with friends online. I'm pretty bad at blogging & flickr though, I have so many things I sew and don't blog/take photos of lately. I've kind of been an internet hermit, I'm trying to get better though!

Here is lovely Amanda! Msmcporkchop as you may know her.

photo courtesy Fresh Lemons via Flickr

As Faith at Fresh Lemons said, "Pretty sure Amanda is missing her calling as a quilting motivational speaker!" I'm pretty sure she did.
What is one thing that you've learned about sewing/blogging that surprised you?

I think I'm surprised by how much people like the things I create. I kind of keep to myself and just sew what I like & makes me happy. It amazes me when people tell me that I've inspired them, mostly because I don't realize that people even know who I am! haha. I'm constantly learning new things, different ways to piece, different ways to cut fabric, different design elements. I think everyone is constantly evolving and growing; blogging totally helps that, if you get a ton of encouraging comments, you will just take more pride in what you create and want to keep creating!!!

What is your favorite sewing memory?

My favorite sewing memory is when I first discovered Japanese fabric on etsy. I would anxiously check my mail DAILY AND HOLD MY BREATH, just waiting for these fantastic packages of kawaii goodness. But of course it takes FOREVER for everything to arrive so I'd just wait. and wait. and wait. And then they'd arrive I'd just look at the fabrics for HOURS. I'd read Japanese craft books NONSTOP and just became obsessed with small, everyday patchwork. I'd sew all afternoon while Chop was in class, then he'd come home & I'd be like LOOK AT THIS LITTLE LINEN ZIP POUCH I MADE WITH FABRIC WITH EYEBALLS ON EVERYTHING!!!! I just love love love kawaii, zakka, everything! I'm happiest when I'm sewing on a sunny day with my favorite music, a pine candle burning and surrounded by cute fabric.

Anything else you want to share?

I'm excited to see the mini's everyone shares!!! I'm thinking they are going to be crazy cute & super inspiring!!! Thanks for doing this Amy!!!!


*****
Thank you so much Amanda!  I made my first intentional mini this weekend and I loved the way it turned out! I'm kind of sad that I'm giving it away.  I'm pretty sure my partner in the swap will like it though, that makes me happy!

I hope everyone is getting more and more inspired and excited to come to our mini quilt party for sew & tell on Friday!  Even if you haven't started one, you could totally make a mini by Friday!

I will be blogging about the prizes for your entries soon!  Stay tuned!

{amylouwho} mini quilt sew & tell challenge

One of my most enjoyable experiences at The Sewing Summit was the class Marvelous Mini's taught by Amanda of MsMcPorkchopQuilts. She's pretty much a rockstar! She was so excited and passionate about patchwork in general, and something she coined as everyday patchwork.

photo courtesy The Workroom via Flickr.

Everyday patchwork are things that bring the handmade to our daily routines and lives.  A bag, a notebook cover, a snack bag, a mug rug, etc!

She talked about creating a mini quilt as a way of acheiving the satisfaction of quilting in a short period of time.  I know I'm a sometimes quilter because it takes me so long to finish one large quilt.  But the best thing I heard was, "You don't have to make bed sized quilts to be a quilter." You DON'T?

see! look how happy I am after figuring that out!

That statement there changed my view on everything!

Look at all the wonderful minis that were on display during her class.

I was so jazzed after taking her class, that I stopped throwing away my smallish scraps and have visions of mini quilts dancing in my head!

She fussy cuts a ton, which I used to think I wouldn't like, until I met Heather Ross prints.  How can you NOT fussy cut them? She uses a fussy cut piece as the starting point for almost every patchwork project she makes.  It helps her tell a story with the quilt.  Which is what she encouraged everyone to do.  Tell a story.

I even signed up for the Post Summit Swap on Flickr so I could make a mini for my swap partner.  We have a short deadline and need to mail by this coming Saturday.  I have an idea I just need to start pulling scraps!

And then as a bunch of us were chatting on Twitter (@amy_louwho) the other day (which I never did before the Sewing Summit) an idea exploded.  A mini quilt party! How fun would that be!?  Oh WAIT! How about a Mini Quilt Exclusive Sew & Tell!??  Even more fun!  With giveaways and prizes!!!  Oh yes, that's right.

So the swap ends this weekend and I thought NEXT Friday, November 11, would be perfect timing!

So the challenge now, is to create a mini quilt in the next 2 weeks and come back here on 11 November to link up for Sew & Tell - Mini Quilt Challenge edition and we'll have ourselves a party!

I'll be posting an interview with Ms. McPorkchop and finding inspiration to share with you as well.  If you search mini quilt or doll quilt on Flickr you will undoubtedly find a LOT of inspiration.

So what constitues a mini quilt? Any small patchwork that is quilted.  It can be in the form of a doll quilt, small wallhanging, zipper pouch, drawstring bag, notebook cover, mug rugs, table runners, hot pads.  You get the idea.  Patchwork and quilted and small.  That pretty much sums it up!

I think it's good to try something new and break out of our comfort zones.  I hope you'll take up this challenge and whip something up one afternoon to share with us.  Remember it's as much about the process as it is the finished project.  You don't have to blow us away with your style and precision, just make something and enjoy doing it!

Here's a button to grab to spread the word!



  <center><a href="http://www.mommyandbeyond.blogspot.com/search/label/mini quilt challenge" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipCSxn4NuCNaOrjcTV07IS0FUJTV_EQhSUCYuU-GA4OAuGb5VDur5rg54pvl2taWxsNLT3jn2gzEsAKWOxsmk2kET3tZrXkMvte81BjcEjdKCNAlC4L7JTci3UtaBXNcUVsWu-yEqSGlI/s1600/miniquiltS%2526T-button.jpg" /></a></center>

on a roll! {Spicing up the Kitchen Swap} update

Wow, 3 posts in one week! Are you sick of me yet?

I finished up and sent off my Spicing Up the Kitchen swap package a few weeks ago.  I wanted to wait to blog about it until my partner had received it.  And then I realized that I deleted the pictures of the completed project off my camera before I had actually downloaded them. Whaaaaaa?? I've never done that before and I am kicking myself!

This project was a lot of fun.  I love it so much I cut out a bunch of these so that I can make at least one more, probably 2.  I need to go get some more red polka dots.

When I started I was thinking I would make a cute half apron out of it.  But Barb is about to have her 3rd baby and I remember how I felt about tieing anything around my midsection postpartum.  I thought a table topper would be a better fit. Plus she has the coolest retro red table!

Here's a process pic I took, I got a little fancy free-motion quilting a flower in the center.  I just straight line quilted around the blades and zig zagged the circle in place. 

Then I stippled around the background and bound it in the red dot.

For batting I actually used insulbrite so this is heat resistant.  And the perfect size for a 9x13 casserole dish!

Luckily my partner, Quilting Barbie, took some great pictures of the package and the table topper on her table.  Here's one of the pictures:

The apple and pear fabric was a theme in her inspiration mosaic, I was so happy that I have it in my stash!  It's so cute on the back!

You'll have to go over to her post to see the rest.  And go to this post to see the dresden she made for the doll quilt swap!

This swap was so much fun and I hope to have it together enough to do another one soon!