A Love Letter

Remember this horrible day?  When it all came crashing down?  It stayed there for a few days because I didn't have the heart to touch it.  Then it got rolled up and stuffed on a shelf until I had time.  Well, not that I had time, but my brain was fried from math and I couldn't concentrate on anything else.  So I worked on this.

It was a little crazy.  I had a picture of what half of it looked like, but I hadn't taken a picture of the whole thing (or at least I can't find it), the second half took a little longer because I had to read the code to put it together!  I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but this is a love letter.  Each fabric stands for a letter of the alphabet.  (When putting it together I found 2 missewn words.  I left the misspellings that were written in the letter, but I found 2 where I had replaced an 'n' with an 'm' and one where I forgot an 'e')

They were very much crumpled.  I had to iron them all.  I got lazy, however, and ironed straight on the table (with the batting in between).  DON'T DO IT! The steam got into the varnish and created white spots.  So I spent the last 30 minutes blow drying my coffee table.  (I should have continued reading the site that said it would probably clear up on its own in a few days).  The blow dryer worked pretty well.  I focused on one little area at a time and wiped it down to pick up some of the moisture.  

But I finished putting everything back in the right order.  And this time, I pinned them all on that batting  so until I figure out what to put as the spacing fabric (which I'm thinking a dark gray/chalkboard color) those pieces aren't going anywhere.   This word is my favorite.  It's rainbow, just because the code happened to make it that way.  Love it.  

Can't wait to go the fabric store and get some fabric to bring all this together.  Any other ideas on what to put in between the words? I love ideas!

See you soon!

(With a love letter sewn?)

I Broke a Rule...because I like my things to be Something!

When I got into this love of quilting, I set rules for myself.  I could see that other quilters tended to fall into certain habits or have similar struggles and I wanted to save myself from that.  So I made rules.  Very simple rules. 

1)  I only work on one quilt at a time.  ( I can do other sewing and creative things, but only one quilt)

2)  I don't buy fabric for a new quilt until the last quilt I worked on is complete.  Completely complete.  (I haven't done any hand quilting or hand binding yet.  If I ever do, that will be an exception because I have tendonitis issues and I wouldn't want to stress my hands out just to hurry to get to the next quilt).

3) I don't buy fabric unless it's for the quilt I am working on.  (I just found a local quilt store and I suddenly understood why quilters just buy a yard of this, a fat quarter of that.  There are amazing fabrics and I want to use them.  But I'll just have to plan a quilt around them and put it in line!)

4) I don't make a quilt unless it has a purpose.  (Lately those purposes have been gifts for family and friends.  At some point I may run out of people to gift to and I might try selling them on etsy but for now, I want it to be more personal)

I love my rules.  It helps me not spend all of my time and money on quilting (which I probably would if I didn't have rules because I come up with new quilt ideas almost every other day.  It doesn't help that I'm in math classes with graph paper so if I get a little day dreamy I can sketch out my hearts content of Half Square Triangles).  It helps me focus on one thing and have the awesome feeling of accomplishing something and be excited to move onto the next instead of looking at the list of unfinished things to be done.  

So now to the rule breaking.  I have a really good reason (said everyone who has ever broken a rule).  The GillyWhig quilt is sitting in my craft room, backing pieced and batting preshrunk and everything ready to baste for quilting.  But I reeeeeaaally want to free motion quilt it.  I have this awesome idea of clouds and swirly lines representing wind (to blow the whirlygigs).  However!...I have never done free motion quilting.  I need to practice on something.  And for some reason I'm having a hard time just taking extra fabric and batting and practicing.  I still want my practice to be Something, not just a throw away.  Is that crazy?  It sounds like it when I say it, but in my heart, I feel like it's not.  Because I'm a maker and I want my practice to still make something.  (This is me, I kept the first cable swatch I knit - using a pencil because I didn't have a cable hook or stitch holder - and I used it for the handle of a purse I made from an old ski hat around a year later.  So I think it's just part of who I am.)

I started another quilt.  And here come some more excuses.  

A-it's not a full quilt, it's only a wall hanging, probably around 2 feet square

B-it's something I'm going to love for more than one reason (and I don't like making things I don't love)

C-the piecing is a trial run for an idea I had for another larger quilt  (see?  I like my practice stuff to still be Something!)

D-all the fabric I've used for it has been scraps so far (impressive since I buy just a few inches more of what I need, typically (I'm on a budget!) and I only have scraps from 2 quilts)

These are my stacks of 1" cut squares.  Yep, they're going to be 1/2" finished.  Mini is so adorable.  I love them!  I sort of want to be surrounded by towers of 1" squares of fabric.  How can I add this into the decor???

Of course, now that I've started this quilt, I don't want to mess it up with a first attempt at free motion.  So I'm back to my old problem.  My sister said just practice on some big square that can be turned into potholders.  So something along those lines.  Maybe a cute bag or something instead, though.  Potholders never held much interest in my mind.  And I only make what I love, so a bag would work, yeah?  What are your ideas?

See you soon!

(with a look at how I'm making my illegal wall hanging!)

A love, an Idea and a Premature Announcement (No, not Pregnancy)

I have fallen in love with quilting.  I'm working on my 3rd (ever) quilt and I have a feeling I'm hooked for life.  I've also decided that, since having read other quilters blogs who mention how they have quilts exploding out of every nook and cranny at their house, I would give my quilts as gifts to my nieces and nephews (for the most part, though I'm sure every family member and friend will end up with one eventually).  

I chose to give them one at the age of 12 because only one niece had passed that age (and she's 19, so I felt it gave me liberty to give her hers whenever I felt like it!), I wouldn't be pressured into doing 9 quilts in time for Christmas, and 12 years old is a big step.  It's their last year before becoming a teenager, they're working their way through middle school (the age I would put last on my list to revisit), and in our church, they leave Primary, which is the organization which teaches children ages 3-11, and they enter the youth program for 12 - 18 year olds. 12 is big!

(my birthday present from my mom!! I love my mom!!)

So 12 it is.  Problem is, quilting is expensive.  Even with my current WiP quilt, sewing the whole top from scraps I had on hand, I still spent $30 on the backing, binding, batting (yay alliteration!) and thread (alliteration downer), and that was after saving $20 with coupons.  My brain started going and I decided that I had so many bags and other crafts that were almost/mostly done, but that I really didn't need, and they could help me.

Like this bag - I love the patchwork front.  The bright pink lining, however, and the ragged 'I hoped it would look artsy but it just looks wrong' handle, they're not evoking the same love.  My plan - take all these projects, rip out what's not working (if applicable), finish them beautifully, and sell them on etsy.  I have dreamed of having an etsy shop since high school.  I'm finally going to do it!  And I'm hoping that I can raise enough money sewing bags (and other such items) to buy the fabric to make awesome quilts for my nieces and nephews to cuddle and grow up in.  So keep an eye out: after I've got a few finished, motenema will finally be on etsy!  

See you later!

(with a link to an esty shop???)