Category: crochet

Finally!

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 18/06/2011

Funny, when you keep a secret for SO long and then the pressure comes down and everything seems to happen so quickly after grinding along for so long.

I made my sister a quilt. I told a lot of people, friends and co-quilters (and I think I posted progress on twitter, which it turns out she subscribes to, eeek!) but couldn’t blog about it until now. And because she visited last week I had a lot of work to do. The grunt work.  Making the back, putting the sandwich together, doing all the quilting and finally the binding. And I got some printer fabric so I made a nice label that had to be sewn on too.

Needless to say, she loved it, thank goodness. I was pretty sure, when Jana gave me a collection of fat quarters, that I’d be using them for a sister project. And I’d wanted to do a full quilt of half-square-triangles (not daunting at all!) so I got coordinating solids (Kona) from the workroom and a couple extra fat quarters as matchy as possible and got to work. The back is thrifted gingham and a pieces from the front. I quilted the front with glow in the dark thread!

It’s not huge, only about 56″ square, but big enough to snuggle under. The best part of quilting is saying goodbye to the project!

 

 

Where to begin?

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 13/06/2011

I got fabric in the mail today that I love love LOOOOVE!!! I also got fabric (AND a serger!!) from my beloved Libs and I LOVE that too. So exciting. Check this out:

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Gosh, right? Where to begin?

The main fabric, the largest swath that everything else is sitting upon, that was from Libs, it’s 2.5 yards and it’s Anna Maria Horner and it’s decor weight (a little heavy) and it will be the back of my yellow quilt. GOSH! Look at it again, it’s so seriously beautiful. And goes perfectly with everything else. Yes, I’m dying over here.

The fan of yellows is what I got in the mail today (except the honey comb, that’s Tula Pink from the workroom), it’s mostly a fabric line called Hideaway (very available on etsy) and it’s all clocks and yodeling and alpine scenery. The yellow and white stripes is by Lecien and it’s nice but it might be a little dull with the rest of the yellows but I might still use it.

The purples, I was supposed to get one full yard of the smaller print but the woman that sold it to me realized after the fact that she’d run out so she sent what she had of it, half a yard, and another half yard of the larger print and I LOVE them too. SO pretty and that’s the binding of my yellow quilt, friends. You’re seeing it in it’s very earliest stages.

Other super exciting news: Libs is having a girl! The noise I keep making starts loudly, it’s like “EEEE!” and then continues for a few seconds and then more of the same and my eyes start watering because I am seriously so deliriously happy and excited. I will spoil this child, I promise everyone that. I wasn’t living in Toronto when her first kiddo was born so he got the shaft but not this time!

And to cap it all off, I think I broke my left foot (yes, foot this time, yay!) ring toe. I dinged it getting into the shower (in a truly wretched hangover state) and stood there making a less joyous eeee noise while the water warmed up. I couldn’t sit around and baby it because it was my mom’s 70th birthday party and I had to go go go. It turned nice and purple over the course of the day and it hurts like hell 24 hours later.

The birthday party was super fun. Her friends really like to hug everyone and each other and it’s all very loving and sweet. And a giant bowl of shrimp helped. And the gravlax. Gimme some of that any day.

K is for Kiran

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 07/06/2011

It was Kiran‘s first birthday last week and her party was on Sunday. Shannon and I had a couple gifts but had no wrapping paper so I got to work. I was just going to use fabric tied with ribbon but then I thought I could make something double useful and came up with this:

It should work well for diapers and wipes. I know nothing about babies so I honestly have no idea what kind of clobber they require, I imagine it’s a lot? Anyway, it was nice coming up with a dual purpose gift.

Sewerella

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 02/06/2011

First, the bad news. Or wait, first the good news!

I went to my first Toronto Modern Quilt Guild meeting last Sunday and I had fun! It was so nice to meet other quilters of all different ages and backgrounds-all women though. I know male quilters exist, I’ve just never had the pleasure of meeting one. Anyway, the meeting went like this: we all introduced ourselves and the woman that heads it, Kaye, told us all about the Spring Quilt situation in Utah and showed us her show schwag of which I was pretty jealous. I’d LOVE to go to that show but it’s not open to the public, wah! Then everyone showed off their latest projects and we all oohed and aahed and it was very cool to see all kinds of talent and technique.

Then the challenge. We have all been given a Kona charm pack and we have to make a quilt (whatever size/shape) using it and ONE metre of any other fabric (but only one type of fabric, not a bunch of fqs) for the front and whatever binding and backing. Sounds good, right? Well…The charm pack has it’s charm, I guess, but it’s certainly not any colour scheme that I’d chose. It’s dull and earthy and I felt pretty nervous looking at it. SO much beige has never been in my possession. Eek. Ok, so I chose a fabric, it’s a book print by Victoria and Albert (on sale for $7 at the workroom!) and got to designing. I wanted the fabrics to go as far as possible, to make the biggest quilt I could and I also wanted to keep with the book shelf look-AND I like a simple pattern and here is my finished top:

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So far so good. The problems have come with the actual quilting portion of the show. I pin basted and started sewing straight lines across (as the picture is, left to right) not in the ditch but above and below each ditch but something weird was happening: the top was getting all bunched and puckery at the end of each row, getting worse and worse and after 4 double rows (ACK!) I gave up and tore out the stitches and pins and blamed the backing fabric (which I got at Value Village and is kind of cheap feeling but pretty). Ok. So I picked a different backing fabric (green from Ikea, fabric I’ve used for quilting lots of times with no trouble) and the same thing is happening. And I promise I’ve used a lot more pins and I also hand basted with thread, all around the edge.

So what the hey? Why is this happening? Is the top not ironed properly? Should I try super steaming it and using spray starch to keep it orderly? Gah. I’m feeling so very frustrated.

Ok. That was the good news rudely interrupted by the bad news. Now in the other news, I’m plotting a purse using plank print fabric from Ikea. I just need to figure out the lining and get me some rope for the handles. I love this print!

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Can’t hardly wait to have me a new summer handbag that doesn’t rip my dang hair out all the time!

Thus far

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 21/05/2011

There are 5 complete blocks but only 4 fit in the picture. This is just to give you a better idea of where all that yellow is headed.

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So far so good. I’m one fifth done and worried I’ll run out of fabric. I suppose I’ll have a better idea after the next stack of five. If worse comes to worse it will be a 4×5 rather than 5×5 and I can live with that too.

Quilt show

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 19/05/2011

I went to a quilt show this morning in St.Catharines. I think it was my first ever so I really didn’t know what to expect. There were lots of…quilts. Maybe I’m spoiled by hanging around the workroom and admiring fantastic quilts on etsy and flickr, but it seemed to me that a lot of what I saw was out dated. Yes, the workmanship was amazing, no doubt about it, but the colour choices and fabrics themselves seemed dull and uninspired. I’m really no fan of earth tones or pastels and those dominated.

For me, the best part was the antique corner showing off beautiful work from women in the area made around 1930. The first one is a hexagon quilt, pretty much my favourite thing there. Each hex was about 1″ across, all hand pieced.

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The next one is tiny silk diamonds with fancy hand embroidery. So pretty!

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And my absolute best quilt of the day, tiny squares with the red and white border. This one really spoke to me, the colours, the pattern, everything about it.

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Perfect.

Quilting and reading

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 01/05/2011

I got a really great quilting book that most of you that are into this sort of thing have probably already read about elsewhere, Modern Log Cabin Quilting.  Let me reiterate, it’s wonderful, full of seriously beautiful quilts, simple and perfect. My favourite one is purple and blue and it’s SO gorgeous that it makes me actually like purple. And blue.

Here is a partial pile of fabric I have saved for a future log cabin quilt I’ve been dreaming about. You know yellow is my favourite colour.

I can’t remember what all is in this pile, some Jay McCarroll, Tula Pink, Kate Spain, Lizzie House…it’s all from The Workroom, for sure. Gorgeous, huh? Initially I wanted an ALL yellow log cabin (with purple centre squares), but the McCarroll fabrics changed my mind and now I’m adding light turquoise and pink too. Oh, man. LOOK at that paint splattery fabric, it’s stunning!! I got another bundle of fabrics in the mail yesterday, 12 fat quarters plus a full yard of yellow. So, I think  I have that end of things covered. Now to find more purples and accents!

(Also, because my fabric stash is starting to look a bit overwhelming, I’d like to do a fabric swap with like minded friends, if anyone is interested, lemme know!)

Still busying along

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 18/04/2011

One of my favourite websites that I subscribe to, whipup, often has cool patterns and techniques that I want to do but never get around to. Then they posted this chicken the other day and because I can print from my iPad, I got to work and made 2 of them (the first one was lonely).

I had a problem with the pattern at first, and the one on the right had it’s seams ripped out a couple times before getting it right. It’s probably my fault (I’m not so great at reading instructions thoroughly) but it wasn’t entirely clear where to place the wings and legs and I put them on all wrong. I also changed the feet a bit on the second one and sewed knees because, you know? I think knees look funny.

It seemed Easter-ly to me. Hopefully one will lay some spring spheres.

Anyway, taking pictures of them led me to finishing-FINALLY!-the quilted pillows I started months ago. Makes sense, kind of, because I really only recently learned to sew in zippers. Which these have.

I used reddish orange chambray for the back. Not chambray, but maybe. Or something.

The super exciting news is that my mother is having the quilt they go with professionally quilted! OMG, I can’t even tell you what a joy this is, for me it’s the worst part of the entire process, back and forth and back and forth and pinning and swearing and folding and stuffing and shoving and my gosh, it’s nice that someone else is going to do it for me! JOY!  It also forced me to finish the back of that quilt, which I wasn’t feeling terribly confident about, but now I love it and can’t wait to get it back so I can throw on the binding and call it mine.

Pictures will be posted the second it’s back in my hot little hands (it’s heading out on Wednesday, woo woo!)

Zippy.

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 04/04/2011

Since learning how to make zipper pouches a couple weeks ago at the workroom, it’s pretty much all I do/think about. They are a fast, easy project and use up small bits of fabric that we all seem to have hanging around taking up precious crafting space. I know I have made more than this (one got accidentally left behind in Virginia but it’s being mailed back) so this is really just an idea of what I’ve been up to:

They all have stuff in them, yes.

Speaking of fabric scraps, I sorted all my small bits and pieces by colour today and actually tossed some of the smallest, least useful, pieces:

They went into three separate ziploc bags, red/orange/yellow, green/blue/purple and brown/black/grey/white. I know, even to me it seems funny to use plastic bags when I’m clearly obsessed on zipper pouches, but that’s the way of the crafter. Ziplocs are my friends, I use them constantly.

Ok, and before anyone asks, I won’t be posting instructions for your very own pouches here or anywhere. I paid Karyn to teach me how, I supported a local business and I got out and rubbed shoulders with other crafters and had lots of fun doing it. If you look I’m certain you will find similar patterns and instructions pretty much anywhere, but I won’t do it here. I don’t think she’d mind me selling pouches I made using her pattern though, but I will ask first.

In exciting mail news, I got my zipper order from etsy. I got a mix of colours in different lengths (and some small bits of cute fabric for small change purses) and I’m super happy!! The smallest ones are only 3″, so cute!

Sorry. I realize these pictures aren’t the greatest. I’ll try harder next time.

Picture free update.

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 06/03/2011

So it looks like it’s been 2 weeks since my last update, sorry. Where does the time go? Frankly, I don’t know. I mean, I have made 4 quilt tops (and finished one completely including binding), sewn 90 triangle flags for a bunting (they are 6″ across, 9″ long and not quite finished yet) had work meetings and seen a bunch of movies.

Ok. I loved Rango. I know I’ve been going on about it on twitter and Facebook, but for everyone else in the world? Go see it. Don’t worry about if you have a kid to go with or not, they won’t enjoy it as much as you anyway. I took Ari yesterday and practically gave myself a hernia I was laughing so hard. Maybe it was stress related, I don’t know, but I’m going to see it again, hopefully in the theatre. And it’s NOT in 3D! Woo!

And I also loved The Adjustment Bureau. It’s a smart movie about love. About waiting for love and being true.

We watch Bob’s Burgers each Sunday and I just said to Shannon how much I like it because it’s odd and funny and very silly. The voices are great, it’s a good show. Especially compared to the rest of the crap you get to watch on Sunday night. I haven’t enjoyed an episode of The Simpsons in at least 8 years. And I don’t like Family Guy and I loathe Cleveland. It’s awful.

I’m still going to the gym twice a week but I think I’ve lost the fever for it. My legs hurt when I use the treadmill and it makes the rest of my workout pointless. So yeah, I use the elliptical (or cross trainer as it were) and that hurts way less but still. And swimming is hard. I love the swimming part but I hate the wet hair afterwards part. And swimming caps don’t help. In fact, I don’t really know what a swimming cap is for.

Ok, so other than sewing like crazy (like, literally, CRAZY) I still do knit sometimes and I’m working on a couple other things.

I’ve also been enjoying cooking more lately, I often find myself thinking about how delicious roasted cauliflower is (very!) and what goes well with quinoa (almost anything). Shannon and I ate at Rawlicious last weekend while Ari was at her Oma’s house and I’ve been thinking about going back soon. I had this zuchetti thing, zucchini spiral shredded with tomato sauce all raw and I loved it. And then we shared a piece of ‘cheesecake’ and died and went to the moon. So very delicious, wow. So I’ve been thinking abut making that and then thinking that it’s the type of food best left to the professionals. Like sushi. And pad thai.

On top of everything I haven’t been sleeping much lately. Every night I go to bed and sleep for a couple hours then wake up at about 3:30 and stay awake for about 2 hours. Or longer. Then when I wake up for real for work or…sewing, I’m exhausted. I feel dead. I know why. But I feel more secure if I have my ipad in bed with me. RAH. It’s the IPAD’s FAULT!! But you know? When you’re like, ok, sleep time, good night pillow, good night duvet, good night ipad. Oh, what? Did someone tweet something witty? Is there an email for me? Grr.

Technology will clearly be the death of me.

Ok. I love you all. I’ll post real pictures soon.