I was at Joann Fabrics last week to pick up some supplies for a major basement-redo project I am working on for the kids and I had to check out these fabrics. I picked up some half-yard cuts of my favorites, I am sure I will be getting more, they are SO soft and the fabric feels lovely. I was surprised by how much I loved the plaid print in the cherry color way. I knew it would be perfect to make the Junebug Dress I had recently scene featured in Project Run and Play.

I made a “muslin” dress to get he sizing right. It was a tad too big, but will be perfect for the spring and summer. After making a few  adjustments, I made this version. It came together so well and I loved playing with the plaids. Miss C LOVES it and I am pleased as punch. I can see whipping up half a dozen or so of these for her. I would love to make a long-sleeved version and also one using jersey or interlock instead of a woven cloth.

We are off to enjoy a special birthday brunch at Old Sturbridge Village this morning! Hope you are having a great weekend as well!!

There is something so perfect about a simple patchwork square quilt.  It seems like an unwritten rule for children’s books illustrators that if there is a scene involving a bed, it is covered with a patchwork square quilt.  They are like the chicken soup of quilts.  Their entire purpose is for comfort, love, and well-being.  To make one is a simple process.  There is no difficult cutting or piecing.  There is some room for creativity with the choice of colors and layout of the squares, but you can just as easily throw them all into a paper bag and pull each one out at random.

My goal over the next couple of years is to make a patchwork squares quilt for each member of our family.  I thought I would start off my 2012 quilts with a patchwork quilt for our youngest.  It was a good way to ease me back into quilting after the rush of the holidays.  Also, he is the only one in the family who does not have his “own” quilt yet.

When I saw the Hideaway line by Lauren and Jessi Jung for Moda, I knew it would be perfect for his quilt.  The colors are bright and cheery, just like M.  I thought it would be sweet enough for him for now, but also something that he could keep forever and never “grow out of”.  I picked up three charm packs (packs of 42, 5″ precut squares) and then added in enough Kona solids in Banana, Robin Egg, and Rich Red, to make a quilt that was 12 x 14 squares (a total of 168 squares, the 126 charm squares plus 42 solids).  For the back, I decided to keep it simple and used the green clocks print also from the Hideaway line.  For the binding, I took a lesson from Rita at Red Pepper Quilts.  I love her bright and bold patchwork quilts, and she frequently binds them with black and white striped binding.  I didn’t have stripes, but I had this fantastic polka dot print from Lecien and I think it was perfect.

I used some Pellon cotton batting that was a Christmas present (I told everyone I wanted batting, basting spray, and thread).  The quilting was pretty simple, I used wavy lines like in many of my other quilts, going over each seam.  I think it gives enough texture without taking away from the loveliness of the squares.  After washing and drying, the quilt came out looking perfect and crinkly. The kids couldn’t wait to snuggle up under it to do stories.

Sometimes I sew because I want to feel creative.  Sometimes I sew because I want to challenge myself and refine my skills.  Sometimes I sew because I want to make something very specific and special for someone I love.  This was a case of the last reason.

So, in light of this, the random acts of luck and kindness that I have received over the past few months have been ESPECIALLY and ENTHUSIASTICALLY appreciated.  It feels so amazing to be given something just because.  It feels lucky to win a giveaway.  And the connections you can develop from these chance occurrences are sometimes, most times(!) even better than the “stuff”.

A brief interlude, if I may.  I am a huge giver.  Anyone who has come to my house knows that you can’t leave without something. Eggs, meat, veggies, soap, flowers.  We often have more than we need and love sharing.  Now that I am sewing, I have been giving tons of handmade gifts to friends.  New baby bundles, quilts, pouches, bags.  I have done several giveaways on this blog.  If I am being totally honest, I am kind of addicted to the feeling I get when giving something to someone else.  It just feels so darn good.  But, I am not a great “receiver”.  I always felt very awkward opening gifts that I was given in front of other people.  Birthdays, showers, they all made me so anxious when it came time to open the gifts.  I don’t really know why.  But, I know how good it feels to see the look of delight and gratitude on someone else’s face, and so I want to do the same.  It is hard for me to do this without feeling like I am bragging or showing off, but I desperately want to acknowledge the wonderful gifts that have found their way to me recently.  Additionally, in the spirit of paying it forward, I will be sending handmade items to the first three people who comment on this blog post.  International commenters are welcome.  Not yet sure what I will send, but I hope it will be as well received as what I have gotten lately!

First is this adorable handmade notebook from Suzanne who blogs at Girl For All Seasons:

 She had done one of these Pay It Forward post on her blog and I was lucky enough to have one of the first three comments.  Aren’t these amazing?  You should check out her blog, she has recently taken up print making and her work is very graphically striking.  So, thanks, Suzanne, for paying it forward, and now it is my turn to do the same!!!

I had SUCH a blast taking part in the most recent SMS Giveaway Day event.  It is honestly more fun for me to host a giveaway than win one.  But, I had the good fortune of winning not one, not two, but THREE different giveaways.

The first was this bundle of fabric from the talented Mo Bedell, fabric designer and blogger at Lime Gardenias.  Her most recent line is called Mechanical Genius and it is perfect!  Bright, vibrant colors, and great geometric prints.  Totally my style.  I can’t wait to set sewing with these. I can think of about a million projects to make for my boys!

 AND, when she heard I have a little girl and loved the tiny piece of her Party Dress line I got in a swap a while back, she was generous enough to send me a stack of these lovelies as well.  So. Amazing.

The second giveaway prize I won was from Joanna who blogs at Applique Today.  I won this lovely little kit that I can use and make a lovely little appliquéd tea towel!  I think her fabric choices were fantastic and I can’t wait to make this and use it next year at Christmas.  Joanna has a fabulous blog with tons of great tutorials, a must see!

 AND THEN, just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, I got an email from PAT SLOAN.  If you don’t know who Pat Sloan is, or listen to her radio show, you must not be a quilter .  She is great, has such a fantastic point of view, and has the best interviews, hand down.  I got this bundle of goodies from her, including an autographed copy of her book, some cool ear buds, a charm pack of Bella solids, and some Aurifil thread.  AMAZING.

So then, totally out of the blue, my good friend Miriam sent me some fabrics from her stash.  She knows I love geometric prints and I have already put some of these into use lining an iPad sleeve and boxed pouch that I sent to a good friend.  Thanks Miriam, this trip down the rabbit hole gets better and better

And finally, I was at work the other day and one of the grad students who has been to my house to sew had a surprise for me.  She had spent some time living and working in Ghana.  She had gotten a ton of fabric while she was there.  Theses were extras from a completed project.  There are a few yards of each print.  They are stunning and I can’t wait to use them.  I am thinking bags or pillows (or both!).

Seriously.  My cup is running over and the love and gratitude I am feeling is enough to make my heart burst.  And so, I must pass some of this good energy one to three lucky people.  Just leave a comment, any old thing you want to say.  And I will make something to send to you.  And maybe it will come on a day when you REALLY need it. Just like these goodies all came to me at a time when I needed to feel loved and lucky.

xoxo

This year I am planning to make a pair of quilts for two of my nephews.  With them in mind, I set to making my bundles.  The rules were simple, pick out at least three Kona cotton solids and then 12 other fabrics.  Then, once you are done, make a mosaic and upload it to the Quokka blog.

Here is the first bundle I picked out.  It is full of warm tones and graphic prints.  This is the bundle I am uploading to the contest (did I mention the winner gets their entire bundle in 1/2 yard cuts(!!!).

Here is the second bundle.  I am not uploading this to the contest, but I really loved the contrast with the cooler tones.

I will probably end up getting most (all?!) of these fabrics anyway this year for the quilts, even if I don’t win.  I think they would make some great stash staples, especially for those of us with lots of boys to sew for.  This contest is open until 1/15 so it isn’t too late to make up your own bundle.  It was really fun and I may do something like this from now on when planning quilts!!

This pouch has been getting a lot of attention on Flickr, especially after Jeni featured it on her blog during one of her Friday Favorites posts.  I thought it might be fun to try to make a tutorial so that others can make one as well!  This is my first official tutorial, and I would love some feedback.  Please let me know if you find any errors or if there is something I can describe better.  I am an organic sewer,and tend to follow basic rules as opposed to specific instructions, so this was a new way of thinking through things for me.  As anyone who has written a tutorial will tell you, they are not as easy to write as they might seem

Materials Needed

• (20) 2.5″ squares (this is a nice way to use scraps up) in this example, I cut up a pack of (20) Echo by Lotta Jansdotter charm squares and had enough squares to make two boxed pouches plus an iPad case (!!)
• (2) pieces of solid fabric 1.5″ by 10″ for border
• (2) pieces of solid fabric 1.5″ by 12″ for border
• (1) zipper at least 10″
• (1) piece of batting 12″ by 14″
• (1) piece of fabric 12″ by 14″ for the interior

Now, here is the same info in Jamie-speak.  Use what you have on hand.  That random charm pack you only got one of?  Chop up the pieces into quarters.  Scrap bucket over flowing?  Dig into it.  Pick a contrasting strip of solid for the border (I had leftover Kona Espresso from a quilt border and I just ripped 1.5″ strips to get my border pieces).  Pick out a cool zipper and as long as it is longer than your fabric piece, you are fine.  I only buy 14″ long zippers.  I can use them in garments and also in pouches.  I love to buy assorted packs from Zipit on Etsy that way I always have tons of colors on hand.

There are four basic steps to this project.  I will give you a basic outline and then if you want the full-on 46 picture annotated series, then please click here for my tutorial.

First, you make your patchwork grid by sewing your squares together and adding the border.

Second, you add batting and backing and quilt your piece using 1/4″ straight line quilting. Once trimmed, your piece should be 9.5″ by 11.5″.

Third, you decide whether your want a narrow or wide pouch and attach your zipper accordingly.

Finally, you stitch together your sides seams and box your corners.  It really is that simple!

When you are finished, simply turn your pouch right side out and enjoy. I find having pouches this size to be very useful. I use one to keep my hand-sewing supplies with me at all times. I also use one to hold phones chargers and other small electronic gear. The narrow pouch would be great for some knitting needles or as a pen or marker case.

The narrow pouch is 9″ x 3″ x 1.5″.  The wide pouch is 7″ x 4.5″ x 2″.

Here is the set of pouches I made from just the one charm pack and some scraps, and a few zippers. iPad case tutorial from Amber at One Shabby Chick.

Please let me know what you think of the tutorial.  It is the first one I have ever written, so feedback would be great!  I feel like I could have spent hours agonizing over how to write each step, but in the end, I thought I would just put it out there and let it evolve and grow as needed.

Note: The full-on 46 picture annotated tutorial is available here.

This tutorial is being featured on Sew Can She. A FANTASTIC sewing site featuring daily tutorials. What a great concept and cure for “I don’t know what to sew-itis”

• I had 549 comments on this post.  Wow.  Thank you all for stopping by.  So, I got it in my brain that I would respond to every one.  And I did.  I visited every link and every blog.  All 549 of them.  And I shed some tears, experienced some shivers, and had a few great laughs.  Every one was so inspiring.
• Ya’ll are the most amazing bunch of mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, partners, ever.  Hands down.  If the love that went into all the projects you all made could be harnessed and turned into energy, we could power the world from now until eternity.
• I love how many of you sew things for yourself.  Because you SHOULD.  At least one thing every year.  How else will you be able to show off your mad skills when people come to visit you.
• I am totally making a rag quilt.  I want it to be huge and I think I will use every bit of flannel Anna Maria Horner has even released that I can get my hands on.  I also want to make more kids clothes and toys.  And a few new bags.  And . . .
• I really need to learn how to crochet so I can make myself a granny square blanket.  Or, find a friend who crochets but doesn’t quilt and arrange some form of swap.
• I now have 52 followers on Google Reader.  This time last week I had 30.  That is a 73% increase.  I am glad you saw things here that made you want to come back.  Without any incentive, or extra chance to win something.
• I also added a bunch of new blogs to my own Reader.
• A fair number of you also homestead and even more of you want to.  Go for it, even if it just means adding a pot of herbs to your windowsill or some chickens in your back yard.
• This is the third time I have participated in this event.  The first was only as an entrant.  I can tell you that it is so much fun to host a giveaway, if you are thinking about doing it next time, I say go for it!
• Did I say you all are amazing?  Thank you so much for taking time to come to my blog and share a piece of your life with me.

So, if it were up to me, I would give each and every one of you a little something.  Alas, I cannot as the shipping alone would put us in the poor house.  But, considering I had SO many comments and added SO many new subscribers, I am going to give out two additional prizes!  They will be scaled down versions of the main prize and will include some fabric, wool, and notions.

Now, without further ado!

Winner #1, The Grand Prize:

Comment 333

Janet from over at Caribou Crossing Chronicles writes:

Serious envy of the lifestyle you have chosen for yourself! I’d love to have lots of animals. The project I’m happiest about this last year is the quilt I made as a wedding present for friends. I’m happy about it because it was completely not my preference in colour/fabric choice, but it was something they would like and because I completed it quite quickly and several days before the wedding, instead of my usual minutes before. Thanks for a chance to enter your giveaway.

Winner #2

Comment 402

Sparrow K. writes:

The project I am most proud of finishing this past year is the coat I made for my little boy. He’s two years old, and I hate how uncomfortable the store bought puffy coats make him. So I scored some vintage blue wool fabric and drafted a pattern for the most adorable coat ever. I even let him pick out the buttons (red). I wish I had pictures to show…

Winner #3

Comment 454

Leigh at Sleepytime Sewing writes:

I broke my wrist just as we were heading into the holiday season so in 2012 I hope to make all the things I wanted to make this year!

I will be contacting all the winners this evening.  If you don’t hear from me this evening, please send me a message.  If I don’t hear back from the winners by Monday, December 19, 2011 @ 10AM EST, I will pick new winners. I have heard back from everyone and the packages are all on their way!

Update!  Wow, I won not one, but TWO THREE giveaways!!  Thanks so much to Mo Bedell at www.limegardenias.blogspot.com and Joanna at www.appliquetoday.blogspot.com and Pat Sloan from www.patsloan.com!  This is my first time of winning any prizes from SMS Giveaway day and I am SOOOOO excited!

Winners announced in this post.  Congrats Janet, Sparrow, and Leigh!

Welcome to everyone visiting for the Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway Day extravaganza!  My name is Jamie and I live with my family in Eastern CT, on a 13-acre homestead that we have named Terrabyte Farm.  Three years ago we ditched suburban life and moved to the country.  We have three children, a dog, two cats, and a whole barnyard full of animals.  We raise our own meat, vegetables, and fruit using a combination of old-fashioned wisdom and modern technology.  In addition to being a mother and a farmer, I LOVE to create things.  I would love for you to check out some of my creations, and maybe even stop back by when you have more time.  I blog not only about sewing, but also about everything related to having a modern homestead and raising and preserving your own food.  I am also on Flickr and Pinterest, in both places as terrabytefarm.  (If you are impatient, just scroll down to the bottom of the post for the giveaway details, go on, I don’t mind )

As a way to introduce myself, I thought I would share with you some of my favorite projects from 2011.

In the quilting category, it was hard to pick, but my favorite is my Denyse Schmidt picnic quilt.  I made this quilt this summer and it came with us everywhere; from soccer practice, to the park, to the beach and beyond.  It was made using mainly the Picnic and Fairgrounds line from her DS Quilts label for Joann Fabrics. To see all the quilts I made this year, click here.

I really love sewing things for the home, everything from pillows to placemats to napkins.  By far, my favorite piece of 2011 was this house play mat.  I made it with my daughter, who “designed” a house for every member of our immediate family.  I raw-edge appliquéd the pieces and quilted it up.  Many hours have been spent playing with this mat, “visiting” all of our cousins and grandparents.  To see the rest of the items I made for house and home, click here.

My favorite piece in the bags/pouches category was also really hard to pick.  I had so many projects that I really loved.  It is so fun to make something that only takes a few hours and is so useful.  I helped my sister make this pouch when she was visiting for Thanksgiving.  She had seen this pouch that I had made the month before and keep all of my hand-sewing supplies in and wanted one of her own.  I love it!  For more bags and pouches from 2011, visit my set here.

I also made some outfits this past year, primarily for my daughter.  This one was her “Fair Dress”.  Unfortunately, the weekend of our local county fair was the same weekend Hurricane Irene came through our state, so we weren’t able to go.  But, she still gets plenty of use out of this dress.  To see all of my other garments from 2011, click here.

Finally, I make a number of fiber related projects with the wool from our sheep.  My favorite from this category was an easy choice.  During our week-long power outage from the hurricane, I spun yarn that I had dyed and then knit it into a scarf based on a tutorial from the Purl Bee.  I entered this scarf in the Celebrate Color event hosted by Rachel at Stitched in Color, and to my amazement, it took first place for the Yarn category in the month of September.  For the rest of my wooly works, click here.

But, without question, the most significant piece I completed this year was this Unicorn Sampler.  I started it in 1998 and it had been 90% finished for the last ten years.  I finally finished it this fall, during a month when I had my first real health scare, a lump in my breast that turned out to be benign, thankfully.  If you are interested, you can read all about it here.

Have you made it this far?  Are you ready to see the prize?  This past May was the first time I participated in this event.  You can read all about my prize from last time here, and all about the winners here.  I was pretty blown away by the response and I really enjoyed participating.

This time the winner of this giveaway will receive the following bundle of goodies.  The fabrics are from my stash, a combination of quilting cottons, linen, and home dec fabrics, over 2+ yards.  They are in my favorite color range, nice warm tones and by some of my favorite designers.  Many have been washed with Method-free detergent, and we do have pets, but are non-smoking. The wool and felt are from our sheep, all hand dyed and hand felted by me.  They would be perfect for lots of different craft projects.  The notions were all given to me by my sister who works as a marketing assistant at Dyno Merchandise, the US distributor for Singer notions (I know, BEST job ever!)  There is an assortment of needles, pins, notions, and a FQ organizer.  For more specifics, just click on each picture.

HOW DO YOU WIN THIS PRIZE?? 

• All you have to do is leave me a comment on this post telling me about a favorite project that YOU completed in 2011.  Please feel free to include a link to it if you have a post about it or a picture up on Flickr.  If you didn’t make/complete anything in 2011, what would you like to complete in 2012?  Any lingering WIP that you finally feel ready to finish?
• Comments will close at 8pm EST on December 16th.
• I will happily ship internationally.
• I will use the Random Number Generator to pick a winner.
• I will contact the winner by 9am EST on December 17th to work out the shipping details.
• Please make sure that if you are a no-reply blogger that you leave me your email address in your comment, otherwise I won’t know how to contact you.

UPDATE: PRIZE-ELIGIBLE COMMENTS ARE NOW CONCLUDED

We have been busy making all manner of holiday decorations, some for the tree and others for the home.  I think we will try to wrap up our decorating projects at the end of next week so that we can switch gears and focus on edible treats.  Last year, we made quite a large number of culinary confections.

So far, we have made a tree skirt, a bunting, a table runner, and some ornaments.  We are adding that to the ornaments and napkins we made last year.  I hope to work on a wreath or two with the kids and also maybe make some ornaments to give as gifts as well as another bunting or two.  I also have a quick panel quilt that I need to get batting for and then quilt together.  My to-do list is long, and I know I won’t get to everything, but I will try.

If I have one wish for Christmas, it is to create wonderful memories for my children so that they will always hold this time of year as sacred and loving in their hearts.  This does not mean having the perfect tree, or the most expensive gifts, far from it.  It means creating loving traditions that are filled with joy and creativity.  It means getting to see the people we love the most.  It means surrounding ourselves with handmade objects.  It means filling our time with Christmas carols and cookies and chocolates.  It means indulging, but not in the overly commercialized Western fashion, but in goodness and faith.  It means letting go and living in the moment.  It means creating cherished memories.

To help facilitate this, last year we started what I hope will be a very long-lived tradition.  Instead of doing the typical Advent calendar, we have wrapped up a book to be opened each night and read all together, based on a suggestion from this blog.  There is a LOT of reading that takes place in our house.  I must spend an hour each day reading to the children, and then Mike does stories with them each night.  But, we don’t often read together, all five of us.  Last year, it sort-of worked out.  We learned from the experience and this year I was able to procure 25+ different holiday books, some directly Christmas themed, some about other holidays or just winter in general.  Thankfully we have the BEST used book store about 40 minutes from us, so buying this many books was not a problem, especially when they were just $1 apiece.  Our children are also one year older and one year wiser, and now that our oldest is reading as well, we hope that these evenings will be very special indeed.  We also ordered a very special treat to go with the books, some Cadbury Roses, coming directly from the UK.  I discovered these while working outside of London and it is now hard to imagine Christmas without a tin of them around.

I hope that you find some magic this month and are able to slow down and live in the moment.  It really is a wondrous time.

Peace.

My sister was able to come and spend the past week with us over  the Thanksgiving break. It was a lovely week and we were able to do some sewing together in addition to all of the cooking and visiting. In fact, this was probably the most relaxed visit we have had in a very, very long time. Just like all families, ours is filled with, “life events”. Some of them happy, others not so much, but it always felt as if our visits were taking place in the shadow of some big thing that was happening and needed most of our focus (I will take the responsibility for some of that, having three little ones over the last seven years).

It is ironic, but in my family, I was not “the sewer”, it was always my sister. In the last year, I think I may have caught up to her, at least in some respects. Luckily, she has the best job ever, working as a Marketing Assistant at Dyno Merchandise, LLC which is the US distributor of Singer sewing notions. There are certainly a number of perks that come with that job, especially if you are someone who loves sewing (or the sister of that person). I have gotten to be involved in product testing, and was even paid to do some pattern writing and sample sewing. She gets exposure to all of the latest gizmos and gadgets set to hit the sewing scene. And, she is privy to the, “donation box”. Basically, some of her major responsibilities include checking products, measuring them, photographing them, etc. Once these packs are opened, they cannot be sold. Into the donation bin they go.

Dyno has several local charities they donate to in Florida. When I told her about the Norwalk Children’s Foundation Peace by Piece group that I met at the Denyse Schmidt sample sale, she knew that she wanted to fill up her second checked bag with as many goodies as she could to bring up here so we could pass them along to them. So, before the chaos of the big turkey day commended, she and I sat down and sewed a couple of pouches together. Mind you, she has never done any patchwork, quilting, or zippers. I like to think that I was a good teacher, but she is a very skilled sewist and has tremendous confidence and took to it all very naturally with little more than a brief demonstration. For those who are interested, she made a 4X5 grid of 2.5″ squares, added a 1.5″ border, then quilted it with 1/4″ lines.  We then followed this tutorial to box it up.  It is a twin to this pouch which I made earlier this fall.  While she sewed, I sorted through the supplies and was able to fill-up five gallon sized zip-lock bags and then some. There was one each of pins, needles, scissors, fabric, thread, and misc supplies. We popped a little card in the box and sent it on its way that very afternoon.

Is there any better feeling than mailing something to someone who needs it?  I left the post office feeling lighter than air and connected to something bigger.

But, our sewing did not end there.  After we finished our nice big Thanksgiving lunch with my parents, we cleared off the table and began to work on a quilt for our younger brother.  He is in the Air Force and stationed in Colorado, so couldn’t join us for the meal.  Thanksgiving is his favorite holiday, and we all missed him tremendously.  So, while I ripped strips of fabric, my sister sewed them into squares, kind of like this quilt, and my mom pressed everything as we went.  The kids played around us and my dad took a nap on the couch.  It was the perfect way to spend the afternoon.  It was so nice for us all to work on a  quilt for my brother.   No pictures, though, I want it to be a surprise  I will be able to finish it in plenty of time for his visit home at Christmas.  We feel very proud of his service and work for our country, and are happy to make him this quilt.   If you don’t have a member of the military in your family, there is a program called the Camo Quilt Project and you can make and donate quilts for our troops.  It is always good to give back during this time of plenty.

So, there were many things to be thankful for this week, and we were able to do lots of giving as well.

AND, since this is such a great project with some yummy fall colors, I am entering one more go-round at Rachel’s Celebrate Color event at Stitched in Color.  This was a collaborative piece, and since my sister does not have a blog or active Flickr account, I will enter it here through my blog.