Sewing in the Wendy City...

Heartsy over at the Bake Shop

2012-02-08T06:53:00.000-06:00

Today I'm posting at Moda Bake Shop!

Jeans hemming...

2012-01-21T16:35:00.000-06:00

I bought myself a pair of way-too-long jeans.

and I used this tutorial:
http://www.kaylaksthriftyways.com/the-not-so-nerdy-way-to-hem-jeans/

to turn this:

into this:

it was so easy! seriously awesome. I think it took 20 minutes. My hat is off to Kayla and her wonderful tutorial.

Nail polish

2012-01-21T12:43:00.001-06:00

**Note: this review is my own personal opinion. No one gave me anything to say it. The link will take you to the product on amazon but I don't make any money off of it at all.**

Ok, I realize this has nothing to do with quilting at all.

But sometimes I find something I like a lot, and I want to share!

I started reading Kristie's blog Blushing Basics a while ago, and she has a lot of good ideas. I am not really a "beauty" girl because I don't have time to be and it's not my thing. But I like good product recommendations because it saves me time and money.

My daughters like to paint their nails, and I enjoy the time that lets me spend with them, so I've been painting my nails pretty regularly. I love this product, Seche Vite top coat for a few reasons.

1. It dries fast. Meaning it dries in the time I can convince my 2-year-old to sit still for her nails to dry.
2. It keeps my nails from chipping as fast.

I think you can find it at Sally Beauty Supply. Mine came from Ulta and I had to hunt for it and it was $10, so I suggest purchasing it on amazon where it's just under $7 including shipping.

And just for fun, here's what my girls and I did to our nails today:

2012-01-13T17:44:00.000-06:00

I needed to get started quickly on a baby quilt, and I love this design by Oh Fransson!, so I decided to adapt her stars to a baby quilt size.....

Here it is all laid out. You can't imagine how many times I had to rearrange it because a child or dog walked across it again.... but eventually I got them all in place at one time.

Each square is 3.5", and my layout is 11 squares by 12 squares.

The requirements for the quilt were "mostly not pink, only using pink as accents sparingly"

What do you think?

Now they are all stacked up and labeled to be sewn into rows.

Puzzle time!

2012-01-11T08:35:00.000-06:00

I love rainbows, and I love a color wheel.

So you can imagine I was super excited when I found this puzzle!

I ran into it completely by accident at my local WalMart.

It's a wonderful way to teach the color wheel in a tactile way.

Also good for teaching the names of some of the more complex colors (chartreuse, for example)

I'm sorry that I can't find a link to it anywhere, but it was in the toy section of WalMart for about $14.

The pieces interchange, so my kids have had fun not only constructing a "proper" color wheel but also creating designs and flowers and such.

Update

2012-01-04T18:38:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to share a picture with you as an update to this post.

This is my friend Ray with his daughter Haley. They were reunited this morning in California.

Thank you for your concern and your prayers.

My new project

2012-01-03T18:47:00.000-06:00

UPDATE ON HALEY:
Thanks everyone for your kind responses to this post. I have an update. Haley was pulled over in California, and the police contacted her father. He is on a plane right now, on his way to meet her. If you are a person of prayer, would you please pray for his travel, for their reunion, and for the long trip they face coming home? Thank you.
**********************************************
And now to quilting......
I've taken on a new project.

I'm doing some commission quilts for a family out of their beloved (late) grandmother's clothes. Grandma had seriously good style, and so it's been fun working with all the colors and textures.

Some are denim....

Some are black and white...

And there's more to come!

Has anyone else out there worked on a similar project? What were the challenges you faced?

So far, my major challenges have been thick seams and fabrics of varying stretchiness.

New Challenges are fun!

2012-01-01T19:45:00.000-06:00

I have a resolution this year: to post here every other day. We'll see!

Before Christmas, I asked my friend Bonnie to make me a scarf. She crochets, and I don't. She graciously agreed, and so I asked her what she'd like me to make for her in return.

She pointed to her purse, which was just about to rip at the strap and asked me to make her a new one.

I told her no problem. Inside, though, I was panicking. I don't sew 3-dimensional things! I started reading up on purse construction..... I borrowed her existing purse that she liked, and I combined some ideas and drew up a pattern.

Then Bonnie decided that she wanted to keep one panel from her old purse and combine it with other new fabrics. Which scared me good because it meant I'd be destroying the old one to make a new one....

But for all my worrying, it came out super cute. The crocheted flower panel came from the old purse.

The brown is corduroy, and the brown/green is a velour home decor.

Here's a closeup of the bag.

I talked her into a patterned lining, and I'm so glad I did. This cute print came from JoAnn's and I love how it makes the inside fun!

Because Quilters love to help

2011-12-31T18:17:00.000-06:00

Friends, I am asking for your help.

You may have heard about this from another social media outlet. I am telling you this is not a hoax.

My friends' 17-year old daughter ran away December 26th. Her name is Haley Faith Wilson. This video was made by her father. Please watch it as it gives the pertinent information:

Her father has been my friend for a long time. I want to help him.

Haley may be headed to any of our communities, and I am asking everyone to keep an eye out for her. If you see her or have any information you can call the APD at 806.378.3038. You can also contact me and I will pass the information on to the right people.

Please consider reposting or linking back to my post. Thank you, and Happy New Year!

Happy Giveaway Day!

2011-12-12T08:48:00.001-06:00

Good Monday Morning!

Today starts the week of the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day, and I have participated for years because I think it's a lot of fun.

So if you are here for that, I am glad you are here.

Today I'm giving away 2 things:

The first is a fat quarter bundle.

You can also find this fat quarter bundle in my etsy shop, along with yardage of these fabulous fabrics!

To another lucky winner, I'll send a copy of my Betty quilt pattern, which is a fabulously easy lap quilt pattern made with 12 fat quarters and some white yardage. You can also purchase this pattern (and others!) in my etsy shop.

And so now I'm going to tell you a little about me.....

My name is Wendy, and you're visiting my blog, Sewing in the Wendy City.

I am a used-to-be math professor (who still is, but only online),

I stay home with my children, and I really, really like to create stuff.

I quilt a lot, I draw, and I write patterns. I am a chef at Moda Bake Shop.

More recently I have started purchasing fabric to sell with my patterns for quilt kits.

And I am glad you are here!

To enter:

1. First entry: Pop over to my etsy store. Find something you like. Tell me which item you like best. Elaborate if you want to.

2. Second entry: Become a follower, or tell me that you already are a follower.

I'm going to give these items away to 2 separate winners, and I am willing to ship internationally.

And also, everyone's a winner today. Use the coupon code CITY15 to receive 15% off any order in my shop during the Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Days!

Thanks for stopping by, and Merry Christmas to you!

winner, winner, chicken dinner

2011-11-28T15:56:00.000-06:00

Here's the winners of the free Betty patterns:

Kathy said...

I think it's called Betty because Betty is one of my all-time favorite names that is fun to say. Remember on Lavern & Shirley when Lavern got on the loud speaker when they were working in a kitchen (I think) and kept calling Shirley, "Betty please... Betty please... Boy that's really a longshot to get that one right. But it was a fun memory.

November 12, 2011 7:26 AM

Dollwood Farms said...

because the fabrics look to be from the 50's and Betty was a popular name? lol IDK. :)

November 13, 2011 1:43 PM

You guys all had really good ideas -- most of them were better ideas than my actual inspiration for the name! I chose Kathy's entry because it made me laugh and Dollwood Farms' entry because it was really really close to the actual reason.......

So here goes. I've started watching Mad Men on Netflix. If you haven't seen it, it's a series set in the late 50's/early 60's centering on the men working in a Madison Avenue Ad agency and their families. The wife of the main character is a typical housewife in that time period and her name is Betty. Her costuming is often in yellows and whites. This fabric reminds me of that time and the colors remind me of her... hence, the quilt (and now the pattern) is named Betty.

Congrats, guys. I've sent you an e-mail.

and here's the winner of the 7 American Jane Fairy Tale Friends layer cake squares:
Patticakes said...

Love this bag and would LOVE to win your giveaway! Thanks for the opportunity!
Patti

November 13, 2011 11:53 AM

Patti, I've sent you an e-mail as well. I hope everyone enjoys their winnings!

Posted... and a giveaway!

2011-11-12T00:01:00.002-06:00

I am so excited to tell you that my 4th pattern has posted today at Moda Bake Shop!

This time it's a tote bag, and it's been great to take to the library and everywhere else my girls and I have gone in the last month. It's a really quick pattern, and I very much enjoyed putting it together.

I was working with the American Jane Fairy Tale Friends line, and it's so cute. And I'm sharing.

Would you like to win this stack of 7 layer cake squares? It's enough squares to make a tote bag, but you'll need to purchase yardage for the lining and handles and sashing. Details on how to enter below...

I have another announcement! I'm very excited about this too:

I have fabric in my etsy shop. and it's cute.

It's Daisy Cottage by Riley Blake. I have a giveaway for it too... so after you enter my layer cake giveaway, click here to enter the other one!

So to enter my giveaway for the 7 layer cake squares:

1. Leave a comment telling me who you're going to make a bag for using them. That's one entry.

2. Want a second entry? Become a follower or tell me that you already are one. Just leave another comment for that second entry.

Best of luck! I'll choose a winner on Tuesday November 15. Be sure that I have a way to contact you if you win.

And don't forget to click over to my other giveaway...

Pattern giveaway

2011-11-11T21:46:00.001-06:00

my exciting news.....

new stock in my etsy store!

It's Daisy Cottage by Riley Blake.

I have fat quarter bundles.

And I have a quilt pattern in the store that I have written specifically for this fabric.

It's easy. It's quick. It's fun!

Finished size is 50" x 65".

AND.... I even have quilt kits with all the fabric needed for the quilt top + binding and the pattern too!

What a deal!

I also have yardage available. Don't you love the chandeliers? And the top print. I can just picture an apron made out of it......

Anyways, I have a giveaway. I'm giving away 2 copies of the pattern!

To enter:

1. Take a guess at why it's called Betty. Just for fun. That's one entry.

2. For an additional entry, become a follower or already be a follower. And tell me in a second comment.

3. Want one more entry? Blog about it. And leave another comment with your blog post address.

Please be sure that I have a way to contact you. If you are a no-reply blogger, then please leave an e-mail address so I can find you.

I'll choose 2 winners on Tuesday November 15. Best of luck!

Spider Progress

2011-11-03T21:03:00.000-05:00

I decided a while back to start a spider selvage quilt.

{I'm not sure what I was thinking... I'm never going to have enough selvages to finish this!}

But I really, really like it. I'm enjoying working on it little by little. It's my go-to project when I'm stressed and just want to work on something for a while.

Here's how many I have so far. Each block is 8.5" square. I'm using Bonnie Hunter's method.

I'm using selvages with about 3/4 of an inch of the fabric on it. If you have any selvages you'd be willing to donate to the cause, please let me know! I'd be glad to send you some (selvageless) fabric in return.

Leaf banner -- fun project with kids!

2011-11-02T21:59:00.000-05:00

I did a fun project with my kids today, and it was so fun that I wanted to share it so you can do it too.

Now here 's my criteria for a really fun project:
cheap
entertaining for at least an hour
kids learn something
accessible for a wide range of ages

And I have to tell you that this one hit all the marks!

For this project you will need:
a package of coffee filters
washable markers
drying rack
water sprayer (old windex bottle or similar)
needle and thread

Buy yourself some coffee filters. Get them for cheap at the dollar store.

Iron them flat. You can do 8 or 9 at a time.

Cut them into leaf shapes, again 8 or 9 at a time.

I made 2 different shapes. I was going for a regular leaf and an oak leaf. My kids called them hearts and stars. oh well.

Let the kids color on them with WASHABLE markers in fall leaf colors. (If they are not washable, they won't work)

Get a water sprayer (like an old windex bottle) and spritz them. Better yet, let your kids spritz them.

When they get wet, the colors will run together like a watercolor.

Hang them up to dry. Be warned, this is messy. They drip. But it's washable marker, so if you do it on tile, it will wipe clean easily.

They turn out pretty!

Here's an example of how the spritzing changes them from this....

to this!

Once they are dry, thread a needle and run it through the stem part of each leaf.

and you will have a beautiful fall leaf garland!

My daughter enjoyed it so much that she drew a heart on on our hands "because we did a good job."

Huppah and more shoe clips

2011-11-02T09:50:00.001-05:00

Last week I posted about this quilt that I made as a wedding present, and I wanted to show you a picture from the wedding:

This is the huppah with both tallits (prayer shawls) draped on it. I constructed the huppah canopy (from an IKEA sheet!), which was fun. And it didn't fall on anyone, so that's good.

It was a beautiful wedding.

They loved the quilt.

The bride asked me to show it to her 93-year-old grandmother, whose late husband's prayer shawl hangs on the right side. That was awesome.

Had another set of shoe clips to show you.

My mom went with me to both the wedding and Quilt Market, and she asked me to make her some shoe clips too. (Here's mine if you haven't seen them)

So here's mom's shoes with the clips. Just a simple bow with a pair of earrings destroyed to make the center stone. Very easy, but very cute.

Here's the back. I see more shoe clips in my future.....

If you arrived here by searching for how to construct a huppah, e-mail me and I'll be glad to help you out.

Quilt Market I... in which I got to take a picture with a celebrity.

2011-10-31T08:01:00.000-05:00

Yep, that's me with my mom.

My mom's a rock star celebrity to me because she went with me to Quilt Market and braved the thousands of booths and looked at all of the displayed quilts with me.

Every single one. And there were zillions.

She discussed color and texture and different threads and use of paint on the surface and construction and all those other quilt words.

She even hula hooped with me to get entered into a contest.

I'll have more to post about Market through the week, but I wanted to put this one up first.

Oh, and Ty Pennington's in there too.

I got to talk to him about his fabric line, which is very cool.

More to come.

A wedding quilt

2011-10-28T08:38:00.000-05:00

Just a note... if your name is Jennifer and you're getting married this weekend, click elsewhere or risk spoiling the surprise!

*********************************

I have a friend getting married, and I wanted to make a quilt for her as a remembrance of the event. I've been blessed to help with some of the planning, and it's been a lot of fun. I've learned a lot about wedding traditions in the Jewish culture! It's always fun to learn new things I think.

At the ceremony, they will get married under a huppah, which is a canopy. Both paternal grandfathers prayer shawls (tallit) will be draped on the canopy. They don't get to keep the tallit, so my idea was to create a quilt that would capture them together signifying the union of the two families.

And I had never seen one, so I was utterly fascinated. I snapped these pictures and put them together into an inspiration board:

The angel charm has special significance for her, and so I wanted it to be included on the quilt as well.

Here's my palette I chose.

And my initial sketch. Sorry the edges of the paper aren't showing up on the scan....

Then I stuck fabric to the sketch to decide what color went where, and got to it.

I tacked the inspiration and the sketch above my sewing machine.

The piecing went rather quickly. I wasn't trying to exactly reproduce the tallit; I just wanted to create a piece that reminded them of the tallit together at their wedding.

The angel I did in freehand embroidery. Here's my chalk drawing.

And here's the stitched piece.

All in all, I'm thrilled with how this turned out!

I put their names into it and the wedding date. (The names are across the diagonal of the picture)

I was able to add some interesting machine quilting to add detail to the tallits.

I enjoyed this project so much!

Linking up to Amy's Blogger's Quilt Festival. Click on over and check out some of the other entries!

Shoe clips. Really, shoe clips!

2011-10-24T21:27:00.001-05:00

I decided I needed some Very Cute Shoes for a wedding I'm going to. Now, I am not afraid of high heels in general. But have you see how high the heels are this season?

For example, I thought these were darling. Ordered them. They arrived -- darling. But wait.....

Yep, that's right. The heel is 6 inches tall. Guaranteed that I would break an ankle on the dance floor.

(I returned them)

So I started thinking. I have a perfectly comfortable pair of black high heels (by high I mean 3 1/2 inch heel). That I can walk in. Dance in. But I needed a way to jazz them up.

I remembered shoe clips. From the 80's, yes. And I started experimenting.

Here's the tutorial I used for the flower. I didn't go to all the trouble she does in the tutorial for the backing piece, just hot glued it to some felt and called it good.

I bought some shoe clip hardware on etsy. Here's who I bought mine from. They arrived quickly, they stay on my shoes, they don't hurt my feet. Enough said.

and for the wedding, I went with vivid yellow!

For these I alternated satin and chiffon and it gave the flower a nice texture.

Best of all? I have Really Cute Shoes for about $10. That I can walk in.

Machine quilting work

2011-10-19T14:19:00.001-05:00

I really love machine quilting for other people. Here's two pieces I finished up and delivered this week.

Love the pattern she used for the top. We decided that it needed a swirly pattern in the quilting to set off the boxy pattern in the blocks.

Here's a closeup of the quilting...

I love how it turned out!

This one was a 9-patch pattern, and she wanted straight-line quilting on the diagonals. Boy, this one took a lot of patience! I used my walking foot on this one.

And here's a closeup of the quilting.

I'm just sorry I won't get to see these all washed and crinkled up!

Fuddy is not (quite) Duddy Challenge Piece

2011-10-10T14:29:00.000-05:00

I like a good challenge. Especially when it involves miniquilts....

So I decided to enter Cheryl's Fuddy But not Duddy Challenge.

The requirements were to use brown, green and burgundy + one color to make a modern mini quilt.

Well, here goes:

I added mustard. I certainly didn't intend to add mustard, which is think is rather fuddy in its own right.

But when I pulled out my solids, it actually fell into the pile, and it seemed nice.

I pieced it to take the shape of a rock formation. You know, those ones that seem to be a zillion years old but look like they could fall over any time?

I wanted it to have a sense of teetering as if it could fall, but wouldn't.

I tried to also modern it up in the quilting.

You know I love machine quilting, right?

This was a very fun project.

Thanks so much to Cheryl for hosting this challenge!

What's next, Cheryl? How about mauve and country blue?

Actually, I'm not sure anyone or anything can modern those up.....

I'm linking this to the challenge. Click on over and check out the other entries!

Cowboys!

2011-09-30T07:49:00.000-05:00

I needed to create a baby quilt for a sweet little boy last week, and... you know, we don't do a lot of boy stuff around here! It's usually girly, girly, girly...

And I wanted to use my stash, so here's what I came up with.

I love those cowboys.

And I wanted it to be "monogrammed" but subtle, so I quilted the little guy's name into one of the blocks.

I especially like how well the clouds worked as a binding.

I have a lot of projects that I've neglected to blog about, so I'll be putting those up in the next few days. Stay tuned!

Get thee to Target!

2011-09-29T12:46:00.000-05:00

So I have 2 quilts I'm working on, and both have come from this palette.

I can't show them yet because they are both wedding gifts.... but stay tuned, cause they are fun!

The tops are pieced, so now I'm in the market for backings.

And today I ran across a DEAL I had to share:

Target has some sheets that are 100% cotton. I got the set for $9.98 and I'm going to use the 2 sheets as backs for my 2 blue quilts. That's less than $5 per backing, and I don't have to piece anything!

(Happy Dance)

Also, it comes in this cute little velcro pouch:

I think I'm going to put straps on it to be a backpack for my 2-year-old.

And the pillowcase? It's going to become a pillowcase dress for my 4-year-old.

Also, while I was there, I ran into this:

And since my 2-year-old is obsessed with all things elmo and the price was this:

he had to come home with me. He's hiding in the closet until Christmas.

In case you're interested, here's the details on the sheet sizes. I'll use the top sheet for the larger quilt and then cut the elastic part off and use the fitted sheet for the smaller one.

Rainbow Melt

2011-09-10T14:57:00.000-05:00

I saw this amazing rainbow idea here and knew I had to use it as a starting point.

But I didn't want a plain canvas! I was going to use it in my sewing studio, which also doubles as my daughters' craft space. So I figured out a way to combine those thoughts.....

I purchased 3 11" x 14" canvases in a pack for $5.47 at Wal-Mart. They were not traditional canvas depth, they were mostly flat, which I liked. And I liked the price. And I didn't want to make another stop, so into the cart they went!

I took a Sharpie and "took a line for a walk" around the canvas to break up the space. And then in each one, I filled in a machine quilting design. For inspiration, I trolled around Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting Project site and found lots of ideas! {If you haven't seen Leah's work, it's amazing! She has wonderful instructions and videos for over 300 machine quilting designs.}

Just to save some time (and work) I marked off where the crayons were going to cover at the top and left that part blank.

I hot glued the crayons on. Actually, before that I arranged them in approximate order. My youngest daughter really wanted the white one on the left side (and she's 2, so I left it there!) so I put the black one on the left to balance it out. All of these came out of a box of 64 crayons.

Then, the exciting part! We got out the hair dryer, took it outside and melted it!

I love how it turned out!

Just a few tips in case you are going to try this:

It doesn't take long to get the wax to melt, and yes a hair dryer will work.

But it's messy. And I don't say that lightly. I am used to my projects making a big mess!

But the wax kind of flies around, so be aware of your clothes, your surface, your shoes, etc.

They might get splattered.

what to do with orphan blocks?

2011-09-04T22:05:00.000-05:00

I have amassed quite a collection of blocks without a home. Extras I made, experiment blocks, blocks that didn't turn into quilts, blocks that got ripped out of quilts, etc.

I have seen some quilts in blogland where someone has just put all their orphan blocks together into a quilt and magically they look nice. I am not sure that will be the case here. I laid all of them out on the floor (I had more than I thought!) to kind of get an idea:

Now they are all different sizes. Here's the possibilities I'm considering:

a. realize it may not be cute and abandon idea.

b. cut blocks into some set size. put borders on smallest ones and cut largest ones down or into pieces

c. assemble it like a jigsaw puzzle, leaving most of them the current size but cutting the biggest ones down into a few pieces to spread them out a bit.

What do you think? Some of these blocks I'm a bit attached to. There's pieces of my daughters' baby quilts in there, quilts I made for friends, etc. I also thought about making some more blocks from scraps leftover from especially special quilts I've given away, thus allowing me to keep a little piece of that quilt. But I'd like to hear your opinion.

Also, thanks for your feedback on garment making! Thanks to your really excellent feedback, I now have a project in the works, and I'll be telling you more about it this week.

Spooky Cat Quilt

2011-09-01T11:35:00.000-05:00

I have the privilege of showing you guys a quilt I machine quilted for Anita last week.
Please note: I didn't piece this quilt. I only quilted it. I don't want to ever appear to take credit for someone else's work.
Isn't it beautiful! She brought me such a cool piece to work on. It was quite inspiring for me.

We decided on green thread that would match the wool eyeball applique. Since the background varied a lot, I thought the green would be a happy medium. Turns out it was a good choice!

I showed her a quick mockup of some quilting designs I thought would be nice for the background of the kitties. The left is snail shells, and the right is eyeballs.

We went with the eyeballs, and as I was basting it, I decided to ask if we could do spiderwebs on the border. And she thought that would be nice, so we were off and running!

Here's a closeup of one of the corners. You can see that the eyeballs looked neat in the background, but I am awfully partial to the spiderwebs!

I liked how the green really popped on the different colors.

The green and purple combo was my favorite.

and I liked how the spiderwebs could be entangled in the corner applique.

All in all, it was fun.

and here's the finished piece.

Garment Sewing.

2011-08-31T17:14:00.000-05:00

I stink at sewing garments.

But I've decided that I want to tackle this. I really want to sew something I'd actually wear in public that is not a halloween costume (and if you've been a reader for a while, you know that sewing those has been a challenge! Click here or here.

But I need some serious help. Can you recommend something to try? Maybe a blouse or a dress?
I like working with knits, but I'm cool with non-stretch too. Please please leave me a link to a pattern you have tried that worked for you, or a blog post about a pattern, or any sort of suggestion you can offer.

I realize that most of you have never seen me in person. Here's a post that actually includes a picture of me. This might help in making suggestions for what I should sew to wear.

And I promise to chronicle it here so you all can enjoy my follies.

And I promise to wear whatever I make. In public. With pictures. {yikes}

My new sewing friend

2011-08-31T15:29:00.000-05:00

We've added a second dog to our home.

Like our first one, he's a rescue dog. He's yorkie-ish, and I was drawn to him because of his sweet personality with my kids and other dog.

But when we got him home, he appears to have a Great Love of Quilts. He picked this one out immediately. One of the girls left him a unicorn on a stick to play with in case he got bored....

He also loves to chew on empty spools of thread.

Perfect dog for me, right?

Congrats to.....

2011-08-31T15:23:00.000-05:00

Allison and Sallie on winning the fat quarters of DSQuilts dots. Can't wait to see what you ladies come up with to use them!

And thanks to everyone who has participated in my giveaway. And to everyone who is kind enough to follow my crazy antics!

300 followers!

2011-08-24T19:00:00.000-05:00

I had intended to hand out some door prizes when I reached 300 followers...

and then things got busy, and today we're at 317!

I never dreamed anyone but my mom would read what I had to say on here, and I value you all very much!

{Hi Mom.}

So... leave a comment. Tell me what you're working on, what you're doing this week, whatever you want to. I have 2 fat quarters of this print from the DSQuilts collection to share with you.

If you are a no-reply blogger, please leave an e-mail address so I can contact you. I'll leave it open until Friday night.

Thanks for following!

Confession...

2011-08-16T22:51:00.000-05:00

I hate trimming blocks. It's my least favorite quilting activity.

But I do find the pile of tiny shards of blocks rather captivating!

And I love the progress I'm making on my polka dot quilt.

Posting at Moda Bake Shop

2011-08-08T09:01:00.006-05:00

Hi friends!

Last week I posted a tidbit of stuff to come,

and I'm glad to tell you that my pattern is posting today at Moda Bake Shop!

Click on over and check it out! And while you are there, will you please (PLEASE!) leave a comment? Thanks ever so much.

If you wanted to make the same quilt larger, you could make it from 30 squares.
To do this, you'd need 2 3/4 yards sashing and 1/2 yard of binding.
Finished size would be approximately 65" x 73".
Make 5 columns of 6 blocks each.

And I wanted to show you what I made with the leftover layer cake squares as well. You know, I can't just leave unused squares alone.... I had to create something.

a cute mom-around-town bag....

with a green zebra lining!

Keep watching, there's a (FREE) pattern on the way!

Patterns for sale!

2011-08-08T08:52:00.000-05:00

I have a few patterns for sale on etsy.... please take a look!

This pattern is very easy. It goes together quickly and makes an excellent gift for a baby or child.
Click to go to the etsy listing.

I so enjoyed creating this paper-pieced pattern! Finished size is 43" x 50", and it makes a great small quilt or wall hanging. All templates are included in the pattern. Click here to go to the etsy listing.

Until the end of the week, receive 10% off any pattern purchase with the code MODABAKE.

update in the Wendy City...

2011-07-21T09:16:00.000-05:00

I realized I haven't posted in a while.....

you see, the things I've been working on I can't share just yet!

But here's a sneak peek of one project..... coming soon.

Also, I've been working on a pattern to sell. 2, actually. well... no... 3.

Anyway...

And one's almost finished, just needs some tweaking. (it's a child's garment pattern)

one I need to photograph the cover piece. (it's a quilt pattern)

one needs some additional research. (an adult garment pattern)

But those aren't ready for show either!

And I finished up my dot swap, thank goodness! Can't wait to show you what I'm doing with my charm squares, and I am looking forward to seeing what everyone does with theirs as well.

And there was family reunion and family vacation and spending the summer with my sweet babies... you know, the important stuff.

Happy Summer to all!

wee folk by Ingrid

2011-06-17T14:06:00.000-05:00

So I almost never buy fabric just for me. To make something for myself.

But this week I bought this!

I'm so excited.

Maybe I live under a rock, but I haven't seen much of this collection around blogland, but I think it's utterly fabulous and can't wait to start sewing on it.

just have to finish up some other projects first.....

Some days I still sew!

2011-06-16T14:35:00.000-05:00

Wow, summer is fun.

So I've been spending most of my days at picnics

and at the pool

and running through bouncy houses

and occasionally I'm sewing...

but I rarely have time to write about it, it seems!

I hope you are doing well and having a lovely summer as well!

I did want to show you some blocks I finished up this week for a bee

Because I LOVED them SO MUCH!

They used this tutorial by Oh Fransson!

and it was a lot of fun. They are on their way to Kristin today..

can't wait to see what she makes out of them.

A few spots left in the Dotty For Dots Swap!

2011-06-07T15:01:00.000-05:00

I have a few spots left in the Dotty for Dots swap, and I am anxious to fill them quickly!

Details below:

You will mail in to me:

20 5” squares from each of 4 polka-dot fabrics (for a total of 80 charm squares)

So that means you buy ½ yard of 4 polka-dot fabrics and cut 20 5” squares of each of them.

And then you will receive in the mail:

80 5” charm squares of 80 different polka dot fabrics.

The details:

· Comment on this post to claim your place in the swap. Make sure I have a way to contact you. If I reply to the comment and your e-mail comes up as "no-reply" then I'll have to remove you from the list.

· Purchase ½ yard of 4 different polka dot fabrics. All fabrics should be 100% cotton and quilt-store quality.

· Use a rotary cutter to carefully cut 20 5” charm squares from each fabric.

· Mail in your charm squares to arrive to me no later than June 20. Please put your squares into a gallon-size Ziploc bag with your name, phone number and address written on the bag.

In the bag, include $5 for return postage via Priority Mail flat-rate envelope.

Because this is a swap with a very quick turnaround, I'm limiting the participants to people in the continental United States. But next time I'll be sure to include International participants.

To sign up, please leave a comment on this post or send me an e-mail to wendyleep at gmail dot com.

If you leave a comment, be sure that I have a way to contact you.

Destash (Very Nearly) Giveaway!

2011-06-02T15:58:00.002-05:00

Friends, as fabric fell on my head when I opened the closet this morning, an idea hit me (literally).
I need to get rid of the fabric I'm not going to use.

So here's the deal. I've packed up 3 of the postal service shoeboxes today. If you will pay for shipping, I'll send the box to you. Easy peasy! I need to get these out quickly, so I'm limiting to US so that I can ship from my home.

BOX 1:

Box 1 contains non cotton fabrics. I don't know the fabric content on these. They are NOT quilting cottons. The plaid and bears are a seersucker texture. This box weighs 4.75 pounds. It will be about $14 to ship it.

BOX 2:

Box 2 contains minkee-esque fabrics. Some are larger than others. The pink on the left has some areas where the dots are not as pronounced as others. I think all of these were purchased at either JoAnn's or Hobby Lobby. This box weighs 3.5 pounds. It will be around $12.50 to ship this box. BOX 2 IS CLAIMED!

BOX 3:

Box 3 contains more minkee. There is quite a bit of the green on the left. This box weighs 2.75 pounds. It will be around $10 to ship box 3.

Leave me a comment if you want one of these and we can work out the actual shipping cost and the details. Make sure that I have a way to contact you. First come, first serve... so let me know quickly if you want them.

Swap Time!

2011-05-31T08:36:00.000-05:00

I'd like to invite you all to participate in my Dotty For Dots Swap!

This is a swap I'm doing in conjunction with my local quilt store, and I'm very excited about it.

Here's the details:

You will mail in to me:

20 5” squares from each of 4 polka-dot fabrics (for a total of 80 charm squares)

So that means you buy ½ yard of 4 polka-dot fabrics and cut 20 5” squares of each of them.

And then you will receive in the mail:

80 5” charm squares of 80 different polka dot fabrics.

The details:

· Purchase ½ yard of 4 different polka dot fabrics. All fabrics should be 100% cotton and quilt-store quality.

· Use a rotary cutter to carefully cut 20 5” charm squares from each fabric.

· Mail in your charm squares to arrive to me no later than June 6. Please put your squares into a gallon-size Ziploc bag with your name, phone number and address written on the bag.

In the bag, include $5 for return postage via Priority Mail flat-rate envelope.

Because this is a swap with a very quick turnaround, I'm limiting the participants to people in the continental United States. But next time I'll be sure to include International participants.

progress this week

2011-05-27T23:22:00.001-05:00

This weekend I have "Meet the Teacher" for the classes I'm teaching in the next few months.

I'm very excited about it.

One of the classes is a Modern Machine Quilting class, and I've been working on my sample for it.

Here's a closeup of the quilting.

and this was the last week of school, so I've been busy working on teacher gifts.

These too for my younger daughter's teachers.

It's been a busy week!

My new table runner (and someone let me loose with a longarm machine!)

2011-05-26T23:21:00.000-05:00

Last week my friend Angie let me play around on her longarm.

What fun!!

And she had made this cute table runner.....

That totally matches my kitchen... and she let me quilt it.

Isn't that the best?

So I played around with spirals. This one wasn't my best, but isn't the fabric beautiful?

This one was probably better. I bound it in yellow, and I love the way it looks on my table.

Such fun.

Thanks Angie!

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway!

2011-05-22T22:25:00.000-05:00

Hi friends,

I love the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!

This year I'm giving away a fun little water-resistant zippered pouch filled with 2.5 inch strips of fabric from my stash.

Yes, well right now it's empty... but it will not be when it arrives to you.....

Later on, I'm planning a tutorial on the quilted but still water-resistantness of this zippered bag, which involves one of my new favorite things, iron on vinyl!

So I have a few things coming up soon: a quilt pattern and a children's clothing pattern. So check back in the next few days!

To enter my giveaway:
1. Go comment on any previous post. I just want you to look around a bit while you're here!
2. Come back and leave a comment on this post telling me you did. That's all.

I'll randomly choose a winner on the 26th, and the prize will ship out by May 30th.
Thanks for stopping by!
Wendy

Look what's posting today!

2011-05-22T00:01:00.002-05:00

Today I have a recipe up at Moda Bake Shop. It's my second one, and I am so excited!

Please click over and see.

And would you leave a comment over there so that Moda knows you stopped by?

I would so appreciate it.

I enjoyed this project so very much. And once the quilt was finished up, it needed an accessory.

So I made this cute pillow from the scraps!

Read on for directions......

Draw a basic butterfly shape, approximately the size of your desired pillow size.

Piece together enough scraps to cover your shape. Then cut your shape out of Heat N Bond and affix to your pieced fabric.

Cut it out and

Iron onto your pillow front. Mine measured 16" x 16".

Satin stitch around the edge of the butterfly.

Layer up your pillow front, then two layers of batting, then backing.

The backing will not show, so it's a good way to use up scraps.

I used two layers of batting so that the quilting would really show up well.

Quilt as desired. This was a lot of fun for me because my 4-year old daughter helped me with it!

She put her hands on top of mine and we traced the echo around the butterfly together.

After I washed the front, the butterfly was a bit saggy. So I cut into the backing and stuffed the butterfly part with fiberfill so that it's puffy. The proper name for this is trapunto, I have since learned.

I used an envelope closure on the back of the pillow and some leftover binding from my quilt to finish it up.

Muted Nauticals finished up

2011-05-20T01:45:00.000-05:00

Finished up a quilt this week that I was first working on here....

It's for a little boy named Maksim who's due to be born in July.

I quilted it in free-form waves with his name in there a few times for fun. I enjoyed the quilting.

The name didn't photograph great, but it looks neat in person.

I did a quilt for Maksim's big sister a couple of years ago, and here's that post.

Giveaway Day is coming to town....

2011-05-15T20:22:00.000-05:00

The May Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway Day is coming up soon.

If you haven't participated before, it's lots of fun. I want to encourage everyone to enter to do a giveaway of their own. All the details of how to enter are posted here, and the deadline to sign up is Friday, May 20.

my creations from the last few days..

2011-05-08T17:27:00.000-05:00

So the last few days have been pillow crazy. I had some gifts to complete and decided to get them all done at one time.

This one was one I did for my niece to give her coach. It's pieced into the zebra design.

And this is for her other coach. She drew the picture of the bulldog and the softball and I made her drawing into the pillow.

Cute, eh? I used my open-toe applique foot, and I was impressed at how much easier it made the applique. Perhaps I like applique after all?

I decided to play around with zippered bags.

I have seen so many pretty ones in blogland, and I had to give it a try.

I fear zippers, you see... and so this was a big step.

I used this tutorial, more or less.

And you know what? It was EASY!

Love me some lime green lining.

The wonderful thing about creating things for other people is that it allows me to think differently... somehow it opens up my mind to new ideas! And so after the first zebra one, I made this for my mom.

She loves red and white, and she also loves zebra. I hope she loves this as well.

I played around with the quilting more to give it a texture.

And then I used the off-cuts to make this.

And I had to make the lining fun.

On this one, I gusseted the corners so that it sits up on its own.

If you are related to me and recently had a birthday, don't scroll down....

Finally, I finished up this project. I love how it turned out!

Pillows in progress....

2011-05-03T21:38:00.001-05:00

This week I'm working on pillows. Pillows, pillows, and more pillows. They're coming out my ears over here.

This one has been fun.

How was it pieced? By hook or by crook. When it didn't want to lie flat, I sliced through it with my rotary cutter. But I like it a lot! This was a request for my niece's coach who likes zebra.

It's going to get a pink binding.

If you had a birthday this past week and think I might be making something for you, don't look at the next picture, ok?

I'm playing with ruffles.

I'm pretty sure I like it.

Hoping to find a 12x16 pillow form in the morning for this one.

I have 2 more in progress that aren't ready for photographs yet... hoping to get them done by this weekend.

linking up to

Seuss on the Loose part deux

2011-04-27T14:53:00.000-05:00

I've gotten this one quilted, and I love it!

I just lack tacking the binding down on 2 sides and it will be finished up.

This is the fabric for another I'm working on.

It's a commission, and the theme is "muted nautical"

I wasn't sure I was going to like those boats, but I really do once it's laid out.

I'm using the same block I used for this quilt, but it looks so different in these colors and layout!

These quarter-circle blocks are so easy.

Really.

They are a joy to put together. I highly recommend that pattern.

Linking up to

Eclipse quilt

2011-04-26T09:15:00.000-05:00

I finished a quilt I've been working on.

It's made with this pattern: Eclipse by Sandy Brewer of Quilt Country

It's a good pattern, comes in 2 sizes, I made the larger one.

It's the first one that I have gotten tired of quilting before I got finished.

I love machine quilting, and usually I'm sad to get finished with a project.

Not this one.

I used 1500 yards of thread in the quilting, and it's just a twin-size quilt!

I love the finished product!

And the light was really neat to take pics. There's 20 different batik prints in there.

There are 4 full circles in the quilt, and they are done in spirals.

The rest is done in a chaos texture, which made it really shrink up pretty.

You can see it better from the back of the quilt.

So here's what I learned from this quilt:

1. I really like curved piecing

2. This is a quick quilt, even though it doesn't necessarily look like it

3. I am always glad when I take a chance on more daring quilting!

Linking up to

Some quilting work

2011-04-20T16:19:00.000-05:00

Today I got to work on something I HOPE to do a lot more of: quilting other's work!

These were for my dear friend Jessica who is a doll for trusting me with her creations!

The pink is made from her daughter's receiving blankets! I love that!

They are all flannel, so it has a wonderful soft texture.

I wanted very much for my quilting to reflect Jessica's vision for these pieces.

I added loopy hearts in a spiral in the squares

and some loopy free quilting on the border.

I had to put in at least one special detail. The double heart is for Jessica and her daughter, and I put the daughter's first initial (M) in the border quilting.

Such a neat piece! I'm so thankful to be a part of it.

The other is a wall hanging for her daughter's room:

And I love the colors and how it turned out with the echo quilting.

The binding is a yellow and black print that really frames it beautifully.

Do you have quilt tops you'd like to send me to machine quilt?

Send me a message at wendyleep {at} gmail dot com and I'd be glad to talk to you about it!

Seuss on the Loose

2011-04-19T22:59:00.001-05:00

I love making samples for my local quilt store!

This week I'm working with Robert Kaufman's new Dr. Seuss line.

I put this...

together with this....

to make this....

It's very loud.

But I like it!

Linking up to

Nervous as a cat in a car.....

2011-04-15T23:16:00.000-05:00

Friends,
I have something great coming up tomorrow. I get to teach a quilting class.
And I'm thrilled.
And a teeny bit terrified.

You see, my profession is teaching. Math. In college. So I'm home in front of a class.
So this is the first time for me to teach stuff people actually want to learn from me. By choice, you know?
That's TOTALLY DIFFERENT!

I want my students to be more excited about quilting when they walk out of the classroom than they were when they walked in.

So I'm going to do my very best. I'm going to learn names. I'll be encouraging. I'm going to speak clearly and have good visuals that will help everyone follow along and feel comfortable. I'll be approachable, yet I'll make sure that we accomplish our goals in the set time frame. I'm going to be flexible.
And I'm bringing homemade cookies.

Any advice to share with me?

My work in progress this week

2011-04-13T08:28:00.001-05:00

This week I'm working on this colorburst block. Block isn't really accurate... since it's about 2 feet across at this point! Next it's going to get a layer of dark purple fading to black, then fading to grey then white. I think. It's all improvisationally pieced, which is lots of fun. Same technique as this quilt.

What do you think?

I'm linking up to
and

Be sure to click over and see all the lovely projects in progress!

The 80's called......

2011-04-06T14:10:00.000-05:00

"The 80's called....and they want their quilt back."

{Quote from my friend Bonnie when she saw this quilt}

I'm currently working on a quilt from a pattern called Eclipse.

It's all done in batiks, and there are 20 different fabrics in this quilt.

Choosing 20 was challenging.

That's a heckuva lot of bolts.

I'm working on this one as a special request from my quilt shop,

but I chose the fabrics,

and I'm choosing the quilting style.

Here's how I'm quilting it:

I'm hoping it's going to give a really good mesh across the quilt and tame it a bit...

I'm about halfway through the first pass (takes 2 to make the pattern)

and so just for comparison, here's part that's quilted:

and here's part that's unquilted:

So what do you think?

Is it headed in the right direction?

250 followers celebration! and a giveaway too....

2011-04-04T13:05:00.000-05:00

So I'm thrilled to announce that The Wendy City has reached 250 followers... not counting the anonymous followers, or the Google Reader followers.

I can't tell you how much joy it brings me that people care about my thoughts or my projects!

I started this blog just about 2 years ago, thinking that no one but my mom would read it. (Hi, Mom!)

And now I am blessed to have become friends with many of you guys!

So to celebrate, I'm sharing some of my stash with you.

It's 5 fat quarters from Riley Blake. From the same collection that I used for this quilt-along.

To enter:

1. Go vote for my sis-in-law's fabric in the Spoonflower contest (instructions here)

2. Come back and tell me you voted in a comment.

If you want, also tell me your current favorite fabric. I'm just curious and would really like to know.

I'll leave it open until midnightish on Thursday the 7th.

And while you're at it... leave a comment at sis-in-law's blog... she's having a giveaway as well.

Check it out! A congrats and a giveaway.....

2011-04-02T13:15:00.000-05:00

So I'll confess that I "strongly encouraged" my sister-in-law into entering a contest. And I encouraged our cousin to "strongly encourage" her as well...... cause I knew she had it in her to do a great job!

She's made it to the top 75 entries in the Michael Miller / Spoonflower design contest.

The top 10 are decided by VOTES, so that's where she needs your help! And if you vote and tell her about it, she's giving away a fat quarter bundle of Riley Blake Love Birds.

To go to her blog, see her entry, vote for her and enter her giveaway, click this link.

Thanks!

in the works....

2011-03-20T15:16:00.000-05:00

Working on something rather big.

Well, it seemed that way as I was quilting it, at least!

details to follow.....

cupcake fail!

2011-03-18T17:15:00.001-05:00

So I really try to be honest on my blog here....

and it would not be fair to only post crafty things that go well here.

And so here goes....

today's crafty item didn't go that well.

There's a family dinner for my niece's birthday. She's 20. I offered to make cupcakes.

I love cupcakes! I generally do cupcakes well!

I wanted to make them special and personal!

{can't you just hear the sad music beginning?}

Her favorite colors are green and purple.....

and so I ....

well...

I bought fancy purple flower cupcake liners.

I made up 2 cake mixes: a chocolate one and a white cake.

{Here's where my judgment started to fail me}

I dyed the white cake green.

{Why???}

and I layered them.

and then added the purple icing

{why purple icing??}

and sprinkles...

{I thought they'd help!}

It's a fail.

They look like I'm taking them to a 3-year-old's monster-themed party!

{so embarrassed}

And yet I'm taking them anyway because (a) they taste good, and (b) I don't have time to remake them.

We all know the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Apparently so is the road to unattractive cupcakes.

Please go vote!

2011-02-28T15:30:00.000-06:00

Remember this pillow?

Sew, Mama, Sew! actually chose my pillow as one of their Top 20 in the "Words to Live by" category! {Can you believe it?}

Voting is open now...

would you click on over here and vote for my pillow?

It's the one that matches the picture above....

Will Sew For Food.

2011-02-23T13:11:00.002-06:00

Sew, Mama, Sew! is having a pillow contest.

And I've been really into pillows lately,

(they're like tiny fluffy quilts!)

so I decided to give it a try.

Here's my entry. It's going into the category of "Words to Live By"

These are, most definitely, words to live by, don't you think?

Here's a closeup of the quilting and piecing.

the letters came from a cut of fabric I've had for a while. It's by Lakehouse fabrics, and it's just lowercase letters on cream.

I love how it turned out!

This is another pillow created recently, but I decided it doesn't really fit into the contest rules.

But maybe Sew, Mama, Sew! will see it, like it, and feature it somewhere? {hint, hint, wink, wink?}

I'm calling it "Regal P"

It's embroidery, done freehand, by me. I love it!

Here's a closeup of the letter and the pebble quilting.

I used my quilting foot to draw in the design.

It was time consuming, and I broke a few needles doing it, but I sure enjoyed it!

and here's both of my cool new pillows, sitting in my favorite green chair.

Linking up to

A functional project!

2011-02-13T16:57:00.000-06:00

Now, let me warn you. If you don't have small kids, you may not care for this.

But I was trying to fix a problem at my house.

You see, whoever installed the towel bars put them really high. Like eyebrow level.

And in my kids' bathroom, this is a problem. The girls were pulling on the towel to reach it,

and inevitably it wound up on the floor. And they were too short to put it back.

I don't like towels on the floor, so I came up with this solution:

Towels that CANNOT fall off their bars...

Take a piece of fabric and cut a piece 9" wide, selvedge to selvedge.

In this picture, mine is folded in half.

Fold it up in half, remove the selvedges. And cut off the corners so you have this shape.

So you will have 2 identical pieces, approximately football shaped.

Place them right sides together and sew around the edge, leaving a 3" opening for turning.

Clip the rounded edges. Turn right side out.

Press.

Topstitch around the edges, being sure to catch the opening and sew it closed.

Lay your football on your towel. Now, since I wanted the kids to be able to reach the towel, I put the middle of the football about 2/3 of the way down the towel. And my towel is folded in half lengthwise in this picture.

Pin it in place.

And sew a rectangle in the middle, going through both layers of towel.

Tie the ends around the towel bar, and Poof! Presto!

no more towels on the floor!

I know it's not terribly attractive, but it works.

Stuff I've been working on....

2011-02-08T16:59:00.000-06:00

Seems like it's been a lot of little projects around here.

First, I made this sign for my studio.

It made me feel rather official. And it's in the new banner.

what do you think of the new banner?

I decided it was time for a change.

Also, some bee blocks!

i love my online bees because they give me a chance to do things that I wouldn't usually choose for myself.

This was a very fun project. It's for Meredith for Sew Bee It, and I can't wait to see the finished quilt!

These houses were for Megan for Bee Improvisational, and they were quite fun.

These were for Deb for Bee Improvisational, and they were a great challenge to me, because I shy away from traditional blocks. But I liked making them and I liked how they turned out.

{the picture is rather awful though... sorry!}

These were so addictive! I really got carried away..... I enjoyed these so much.

They are for Jen for Bee Improvisational as well.

Here is the tutorial on how to make these kind of blocks. They were so fun!

all 4 together

my favorite one

my nearly favorite one....

Banana Split Cake

2011-01-31T21:47:00.003-06:00

by no means is this a cooking blog....

but occasionally things work out for me in the kitchen, and I like to share with you.

Because if you feed people yummy food, they are often more inclined to let you sew.....

introducing... Banana Split Cake

you will need:

brownie mix + whatever it calls for,

white cake mix + whatever it calls for,

box of strawberry jello,

bananas,

maraschino cherries,

chocolate fudge,

sliced strawberries,

whipped cream

suggested: small glass dishes for each serving

First, make your brownies as directed.

Then mix up your white cake mix and split it approximately in half into 2 bowls.

Put the box of strawberry jello in one. Bake them.

When they are cool, use a biscuit cutter to cut out small round pieces of each cake/brownie.

I found these mini trifle dishes at walmart for $1.97 each. They are about 2.5 inches deep. Very cute.

Slice your bananas into each dish.

Then put your brownie round on top.

Add some strawberries. Then you can claim your dessert is healthy.

Add a layer of chopped maraschino cherries and the strawberry cake.

Then add the white cake.

On top of that, add a healthy layer of chocolate fudge, some whipped cream and a cherry.

Yum!

I've also linked this project up to:

and

I'm guest posting at.....

2011-01-30T07:50:00.002-06:00

MODA BAKE SHOP!

Really, me!

Can you believe it?

I'm in shock myself.

And utterly thrilled!

So here's a link to the post.

And while you're there, will you leave a comment please?

Go check it out, and then come back and tell me what you think!

Hey guess what....

2011-01-27T21:30:00.000-06:00

Isn't this funny? She's very intense when she colors.

I've been working on something....
something kind of big, at least for me...
and SUNDAY I'll be able to let you in on the secret.
Cause I'm excited to share it with you.
So check back, ok?

10 things I love about My Bedroom Quilt

2011-01-24T13:44:00.001-06:00

This is probably the quilt I have made that I am most proud of, and I am thrilled to enter it in

And I AM part of Gen X, by the way... in case you didn't know!

anyway, back to the quilt. Here's 10 things I LOVE about it!

1. I love that I made myself be meticulous. Despite my hatred of seam ripping, I actually ripped a bunch of seams out to make these blocks perfect.

2. I love that I tried to be creative! I developed my own block for this quilt. And even wrote a tutorial for it.

3. I love the very loud large scale backing.

3. Even more, I love the piano key border on the top of the back that peeks out when you fold the top of the quilt over.

4. I love the polka dot binding.

5. I love that I quilted it myself on my Bernina 830 Record. It's an oversized queen. I wanted the quilting to be perfect and so I actually did practice quilt blocks and I agonized over thread color

6. I love that I dared to accessorize! I made this pillow, and it was part of a challenge. I love it! I kind of wish the whole quilt was done this way....

7. I love the giant block P pillow. I've started into piecing letters. My last name starts with a "P"...

8. I love that in typical Wendy fashion, I didn't buy enough of any fabric and so I ran out of many of them and had to supplement. I figure I'll never learn to plan ahead. And did you know that a queen sized quilt takes a lot of fabric??!

9. I love the Michael Miller Word Search fabric. It's one of my absolute favorite fabrics and I wish I had a whole bolt of it. Alas....

10. I love that I spent 7 months on this quilt, off and on. And that I finally, finally finished it up!

Oh, and I'd like to tell you I also love that I found sheets at IKEA that match perfectly... but that would be 11 things, which would be excessive, I think......

Thanks for Stopping by The Wendy City.....

Tea for 2

2011-01-24T06:49:00.000-06:00

Finished up my 2 mug rugs... and attempted to photograph them in a fun tea-party way.

This is a rather awkward picture...
I'm not sure I succeeded in the photographing. Sorry about that.

I wanted to show you these cool labels I purchased!

They say "the wendy city" and they are exactly perfect to sew into binding. love them.

You can get some for yourself right here!

So I used the mug rugs as a way to "audition" quilting styles before I tackle the giant quilt. Here's the one done in a small stipple pattern.

And here's the one done in pebbles.

What do you think? Do you prefer one over the other?

My First Quilt -- Part 6 -- Binding

2011-01-22T21:45:00.001-06:00

Quiltalong Series:

Getting ready Part 1--cutting fabric Part 2--4-patches Part 3--blocks to center

Part 4--border, binding Part 5--Sandwich and Quilting Part 6--Binding

Here's where we left off.

Now, before you put the binding on, the quilt needs to be trimmed up. I put it on my cutting mat and attempt to trim right to the edges of the quilt and square it up at the same time.

Depending on how wonky I have gotten with a quilt, sometimes this is more challenging than others!

Now, I forgot to take pictures of putting the binding on the original quilt, so you get to see binding going on the table runner I made using the same blocks.

Allright, so take your binding that you already made, and lay it on the edge of the quilt like so.

You want it to start somewhere in the middle of one side, at least 6 inches from the nearest corner. Stick a pin in the end, and start sewing about 6 inches from that pin. So you will have about a 6 inch "tail"

Continue sewing along the edge until you get about a 1/4" from the end. Backstitch and pull the quilt off the machine.

Pull the binding up so that it makes a 45 degree angle,

then fold it back down, so that the folded edge at the top is even with both sides of the quilt.

Then start sewing again about 1/4" from the edge. I suggest backstitching when you start this seam.

Keep going until you have done all 4 corners of the quilt.

When you get to the side you started on (the one where you still have a "tail" left), do the corner and then just stitch about an inch. Like so.

Lay the binding down and cut it a scant 1/2" past the end of the tail.

Put the right sides together to connect the binding up, and put some pins in it.

You kind of have to manipulate the quilt to sew these together, but it can be done!

See? Sew a 1/4" seam, finger press the seam open, and re-fold your binding the way it was... although now it's connected.

Stick a pin where your seam is and finish sewing the binding to the quilt.

Now... if there's a little bump where the seams connect, don't worry. See--now you see it,

and when it's finished, you don't!

Alright. Now to tack the binding down by hand on the back.

You're going to want to start at a corner. Thread a needle with thread that will blend reasonably well with both the binding and the backing. Tie a knot in it.

Start by taking the needle through in a space that will be hidden by the binding, so that the knot doesn't show.

Then I pin my binding in place and begin sewing it down.

Having a couple of pins helps you go faster. You can move them as you go along.

When you get to a corner,

fold it down as shown and sew around that corner.

These pictures are a little hard to see... so I'm going to send you to a much better resource than me:

http://www.diaryofaquilter.com/2009/05/finishing-quilt-tutorial.html

Go check it out. She's brilliant!

So when you get the binding all sewn down, here's the finished quilt.

A closeup of the quilting.

And the back.

Mine measured approximately 19 inches square before washing....

And about 18 inches square after getting all quilty and crinkly!

Thanks for quilting along with me!

Quiltalong Series:

Getting ready Part 1--cutting fabric Part 2--4-patches Part 3--blocks to center

Part 4--border, binding Part 5--Sandwich and Quilting Part 6--Binding

Aunt Grace top finished up!

2011-01-20T13:36:00.000-06:00

Thank you all so much for your suggestions on the sashing for my Aunt Grace quilt!

I read and pondered each one.

You are all very smart people.

I narrowed it down to: choosing one 1930's repro print for sashing and solid sashing that was not ivory.

I ended up taking about 8 of the blocks and my children to my Local Quilt Store. I chose about 5 bolts and laid the blocks on them, then announced loudly "Anyone want to offer an opinion over here?!!"

{you should have seen the crowds gather!}

Anyway, it was unanimous. Purple solid.

I'm really pleased with it.

But you know how some quilts just desperately need to be quilted to look their best? This is one of them.

I hope to get it quilted next week.

And KT had suggested corner posts, and I liked that idea a lot.

But I didn't think I was patient ~~skilled~~ enough to put them at all the corners in the sashing.

So I put the posts on the outer corners of the piano key border and I love them!

A wider shot.

and THEN as if I needed another project.... I used my offcuts from the piano key border to make these mosaics.

This gives you a better idea of how small some of those pieces are.

They are going to be mug rugs!

My First Quilt -- part 5 -- Quilt Sandwich and Machine Quilting

2011-01-10T15:52:00.003-06:00

Quiltalong Series:

Getting ready Part 1--cutting fabric Part 2--4-patches Part 3--blocks to center

Part 4--border, binding Part 5--Sandwich and Quilting Part 6--Binding

Here's where we last left off...

Quilt top and backing complete.

Now time to make the quilt sandwich!

Cut a piece of batting that is approximately the size of your backing.

Lay your backing down, pretty side to the floor. Smooth it out.

Then lay the batting on top of it. Smooth it out as well.

I prefer to do this on my living room rug since it provides enough friction to keep things from shifting. Another option is to use masking tape or blue tape to hold the bottom layer down.

all smooth?

Good. Then lay the top on carefully.

Be sure that the edges of the top are inside the edges of the batting and the backing.

Put safety pins through all 3 layers. Be careful not to shift things around as you do so.

How many safety pins? Well, that's up to you. You can see my placement here.

Now for the quilting part......

you'll need:

thread to match or compliment your quilt top in both your top thread and your bobbin.

It's a good idea to start with a full bobbin.

To lower your feed dogs on your machine, there should be a lever of some sort. You may need to consult your manual. Here's another resource.

Also, at this point you need to put the free motion / embroidery / darning foot on.

Here's what mine looks like.

I felt like I should explain free motion quilting with a video. so here you go.

Actually, I'm going to send you a much better link on free motion quilting ..... please go read this one.

Now, I really want to tell you... that quilting takes practice. Lots of practice.

Before you start on your real quilt, make up some practice pieces like I had in the video and give it a try.

Really, it takes lots of practice. If it doesn't go well the first time, cut yourself some slack.

Once you're comfortable with it, then give it a try on the real thing!

Since I showed you 2 ways to quilt in the previous video, I'll show you one more here.

This one is my favorite method for smaller items. I love the finished texture.

Quiltalong Series:

Getting ready Part 1--cutting fabric Part 2--4-patches Part 3--blocks to center

Part 4--border, binding Part 5--Sandwich and Quilting Part 6--Binding

opinion on Aunt Grace, please!

2011-01-07T22:19:00.000-06:00

So a while ago, I got a hold of some 30's repro scraps.....

and sent them off to one of my online quilting bees.

I have them back now!

And I've added borders to some of the blocks that were in the scraps, so that I now have all these blocks to play with:

beautiful, yes?

They are each just wonderful.

Each block was worked on by someone other than me, and that makes it really special to me!

And now I am contemplating how to piece the quilt.

I'm keeping this one. And it would be lovely to finish it up while it's still cold enough to be used this year!

So here are the options.

Option 1:

white (well, ivory I think) sashing.

Option 2:

pieced scrappy sashing. Many of the blocks have ivory edges, but not all.

Since it's a quilt that will be used heavily in a house with toddlers, I like the idea of using prints instead of a light solid.

Option 3:

Add a thin ivory border on all blocks, then use scrappy sashing.

So what do you think?

Please, even if you don't usually comment, I'd really appreciate hearing your thoughts!

My First Quilt flickr group

2011-01-06T13:32:00.000-06:00

Are you quilting along with us? Please share your pictures in the flickr group

Here's a picture of my cousin-in-law and her crafty friend's quilts at the end of step 4.

And also, go read about Monica's progress over at her blog here.

My First Quilt -- part 4 -- Border, Binding and Backing

2011-01-05T20:30:00.001-06:00

Quiltalong Series:

Getting ready Part 1--cutting fabric Part 2--4-patches Part 3--blocks to center

Part 4--border, binding Part 5--Sandwich and Quilting Part 6--Binding

You've come a long way! Now we're ready to add borders and make the binding.

Just as a reminder, here's the labels for my fabric.

So think back to when we originally cut our strips...

and you still should have 4 each of the Inner strips -- 4 Dark and 4 Light.

Get those out, cause we're about to use them!

Here's where we left off. We had completed the center of the quilt top.

Now... I'm not perfect. See some wavy edges there? You probably did a better job than I did, but just in case you have wavy edges too -- it's a good time to straighten them up.

Set your center out on your cutting mat, and square it up to about 16" square.

Just trim off a teeny bit so that you have straight edges and reasonably right angles on the corners.

Now you have a decision to make.

You need to decide which of your inner prints is going to be the border and which will be the binding.

I suggest using the lighter one as you border and the darker as the binding.

But do what makes you happy! Some prints lend themselves to binding, some not....

So take the 4 strips of the Inner fabric you are going to use as your Border. Lay one on one side and pin. You will have a bit of extra on either side. No biggie.

Pin another strip to the opposite side as well.

Sew. Remove pins. Press.

Then lay your other 2 strips on the 2 remaining sides.

Pin. Sew.

Trim the extra tails from the first 2 sides you sewed.

Remove Pins. Press.

And then it will look something like this.

Welcome to Binding!

Take the other 4 strips.

Mine are the Inner Dark fabric. Lay one end at a right angle to the next, right sides together.

(You really need a picture to do this)

Take anything with a straight edge and use a pencil to draw a line from corner to corner.

(again, picture necessary)

Repeat this, attaching all of the 4 strips together.

Sew all of them on the line you drew.

Like so. And then trim off the excess.

Now when you press them, they magically become straight lines. Neat, eh?

So press all the seams in your very long binding strip.

Then fold it in half and press. All the way down the strip.

This gets significantly easier and quicker with practice, I promise.

Try not to burn your fingers.

Neat little stack of binding.

Now, we won't be needing the binding yet. But you are about to change the foot on your machine, and your iron is already hot, so for me... it's a convenient time to go ahead and make it.

Then it's ready to go when you need it.

But before we change that foot... let's piece the backing!

So pull out the scraps you have left over from waaaay back in step 1 where we cut your fabric.

I used fat quarters, and so this is what I had left.

Lay it out in a way that is pleasing to you.....

And in a way that the final product will be larger than your quilt top...

And sew those pieces together.

You may find it easier to sew pairs together, press, then sew the pairs into the larger piece.

Press it well.

While you're there, give your quilt top another good press. It will make the basting part easier!

Backing.

So next up? Making the sandwich... basting, and quilting.

For the next step, make sure you have safety pins. I use these which are available at a lot of places and not especially fancy. They work fine. 40 pins should be just fine.

Quiltalong Series:

Getting ready Part 1--cutting fabric Part 2--4-patches Part 3--blocks to center

Part 4--border, binding Part 5--Sandwich and Quilting Part 6--Binding

Carrot Muffins

2011-01-05T14:31:00.000-06:00

Yep, I'm posting pictures of my breakfast again....

So I made these for breakfast this morning, and they were very very good.

Good enough to share.

Here's the recipe I used.

I made a couple of minor changes:

I didn't soak the raisins. I didn't have time. It didn't make a big difference.

I reduced the salt.

I didn't make my own icing. I used a canned cream cheese icing.

Half a recipe makes 12 standard muffins.

Enjoy!

My First Quilt -- part 3 -- Making the blocks

2011-01-04T13:06:00.001-06:00

Quiltalong Series:

Getting ready Part 1--cutting fabric Part 2--4-patches Part 3--blocks to center

Part 4--border, binding Part 5--Sandwich and Quilting Part 6--Binding

So here's where we left off....

we had constructed our four-patches.

At this point, make sure they are all exactly the same.

(As in the colors in the same positions)

Take 2 of your Light Outer and 2 of your Dark Outer strips.

Lay them out on your cutting mat like so. It's perfectly fine to stack them and cut them at the same time.

Cut them into 5" pieces. So the finished pieces will be 2.5" x 5", and you will have 8 of each color.

See the outlined piece? That's what we're constructing now.

There are 8 of them in the finished quilt.

Lay out your 4-patch like so, with one of the strips you just cut on each side. See how the colors are going to match up to create a border effect?

you may have a tiny bit of extra on the sides. That's fine. See how my 5" piece is a tiny bit taller than the 4-patch? Don't worry about it.

Take the border piece on the right side, flip it over on top of the 4-patch and stick some pins in it to secure it.

Now we're going to get really wild.... we're going to sew both side seams before we press. So take the side piece on the left and flip it over on the 4-patch and pin.

Repeat for all 8 4-patches.

{I really like taking pictures of stacks of fabric....}

Take your stack to your sewing machine, and start sewing the side seam on each set.

Chain piece if you want to, or sew them all separately.

If you are chain piecing them, I want to show you a cool trick. So we've sewed the right seam on each one....

at the last one, pull some extra thread out, turn your fabric around,

and keep going, sewing the other side seam without breaking the thread.

They will stay in order and organized since they are already sewed on the other side...

And when you finish sewing, they will be attached on both sides. Cool, eh?

Clip all threads and pull pins.

use the iron to set the seams.

Then open one side and press.

Then turn it around and open the other side and press.

You can lay out your center of the quilt top and get an idea of where we're going.

Now.. at this point, you might look down the post and see how many pictures are left... but don't worry.

The next part goes fast! I'm just trying to keep the same level of detail throughout, but you will get through it in no time....

Here we go!

Next we're going to sew the blocks together. There are 4 of them.

See how they alternate in the middle and along the outside?

Lay them out like this, then flip the top onto the bottom and pin.

Repeat for all 4 blocks

Stack them up and take them to your machine.

Sew the side.

Press to set the seam.

Then press to the side.

Now you have 4 blocks!

Put 2 of them together and pin.

Sew them. press them.

then put those together.

Pin. Sew. Press.

And now you have 4 blocks together to form the center of your quilt top.

Next time we'll trim it up, add the border, and make the binding!

Quiltalong Series:

Getting ready Part 1--cutting fabric Part 2--4-patches Part 3--blocks to center

Part 4--border, binding Part 5--Sandwich and Quilting Part 6--Binding

My First Quilt -- part 2 -- Sewing the 4-patches

2011-01-02T12:44:00.004-06:00

Quiltalong Series:

Getting ready Part 1--cutting fabric Part 2--4-patches Part 3--blocks to center

Part 4--border, binding Part 5--Sandwich and Quilting Part 6--Binding

In the last post, we cut the fabric for the First Quilt.

Ready to start sewing? Me too!

Today we're going to sew 4-patches, which is a very basic quilt block in itself.

See the box in the picture? That's what we're constructing today.

There are 8 of these in the finished quilt. The numbers are on the center of each 4-patch.

here we go!

So just for reminder's sake, here's my key to my fabric. You may want to have yours handy.

Oh, and turn on the iron. You'll need it shortly.

So collect one strip of your light inner and one strip of your dark inner fabrics, and put them with their right sides together. My husband thinks it's more informative to say "good sides together."

You may want to pin both ends and the middle, but you don't have to.

Sew Light inner to Dark Inner using a 1/4" seam down the long side.

(A 1/4" seam is important in quilting because it ensures that your seams match up and your points end up where they are supposed to be.) Here's more info on sewing a quarter inch seam.

Next, repeat by sewing a strip of Light Outer to Dark Outer using a 1/4" seam down the long side.

Leave the other strips. We'll use them for the next steps.

(At this point you have used one strip of each of the 4 fabrics.)

Time to press. First, iron the fabric just like it came off the machine. This trick actually helps. I learned it from Eleanor Burns. And she's smart. She says it sets the stitches into the fabric.

Next, open the fabric, and press it so that the extra part is underneath the lighter fabric.

Another way to say this is "press toward the light"

You're going to want to do this with both seams.

Now, take both sets of your long strips to your cutting mat, and lay them down so that the middle seam is on a solid line. Trim off the side so that you have a squared off end.

Then using your cutting mat and ruler, cut vertically through the strip every 2 1/2 inches.

You will have 8 pairs of 2 squares each that look like this:

Then repeat this step for the other strips you sewed (the outer ones).

Now, take one of each set and lay it out like so. Make sure your darks are on opposite corners

Flip the top one down so that right sides are together.

Remember we pressed our seams so that the extra was under the light?

Now that comes in handy. See how they nest together nicely?

Do this for all your pairs. It is helpful to put pins in both corners.

They hold your pieces in place, plus they point to the side you are going to sew.

Try to put the pins back far enough so they aren't in your seam.

Now we sew all those together.

Try not to sew over pins. If your needle hits on squarely, it will probably break.

And it's no fun to have to stop and change a needle!

So this is a good time to tell you about chain piecing. It's very, very useful.

What you do is this. Start sewing one set, then keep sewing off the end and then put another set under the presser foot and keep sewing. When you get to the end of that seam, keep going off the end and put another set under... and so on.

It doesn't seem like it would help that much, but it saves a lot of stop-and-start time.

And it's a good skill to use!

When you finish sewing all 8 sets, they will all be strung on one thread. Just clip the threads between them and pull out the pins.

Press the seam as it was sewn.

And then open your fabric and press. It doesn't matter at this point which direction you press the seam.

The back will look something like this.

As you press, stack them all up so they are the same.

And now you're ready for the next installment.

So how are you doing?

Getting ready Part 1--cutting fabric Part 2--4-patches Part 3--blocks to center

Part 4--border, binding Part 5--Sandwich and Quilting Part 6--Binding

My First Quilt -- part 1 -- Cutting

2010-12-31T10:16:00.002-06:00

Quiltalong Series:

Getting ready Part 1--cutting fabric Part 2--4-patches Part 3--blocks to center

Part 4--border, binding Part 5--Sandwich and Quilting Part 6--Binding

Allright, so you have your fabric and you're ready to cut into it... here we go!

First.... whether or not to prewash fabric.

There are as many people on both sides of this argument, and I'm not going to steer you toward a side here. People can get very adamant about their side!

People often say you should prewash if you are using fabrics that run, like bright reds or purples. They say that you should wash so that the fabric shrinks before you use it. They also say it removes chemicals. They are probably right.

Non-prewashers like to work with fabric that is still crisp and easier to cut. They are often the impatient types that don't want to wait to use fabric..... this is the group I tend to fall into.

I don't prewash my fabric unless I am working on a project for a group that specifically requests it.

So.... that said, if you prewash, you may want to iron your fabric before you start the cutting process.

if you don't prewash, open that shopping bag and let's go!

Now, I've labeled my fabrics below so that you can see which ones are working as my darks and which ones are lighter.

the insides of the blocks will consist of a dark and a light, and the outsides will be a dark and a light as well.

Before you cut, please label which of your fabrics will be each of the 4.

See my abbreviations above? I'll keep using those through the tutorial, so you may want to use them. It might be helpful to cut a scrap of each and pin a label to it.

My cutting directions will assume that you are using the Light Inner (linner) for the border and Dark Inner (dinner) as the binding.

First, remove the selvedge. It's the thicker edge and the tiny holes next to it. you don't want it in your quilt, so just use your ruler and cut it off using your rotary cutter.

Now this is a good time to tell you to be careful with that rotary cutter. It's a blade, and you can cut yourself with it. (Have done this.) Be sure you cut away from your body, and keep your fingers out of the way. Keep the safety on when you're not using it, and try to get in the habit of putting the safety on every single time you set it down. Yep, I put that one in bold italics.

I generally do my cutting with my cutting mat either on my kitchen table or on my hardwood floor. You want to put it on a firm, stable surface. And it's easier if you can reach at least 2 sides of it without moving the mat.

If you are using fat quarters, skip to the text below the next picture.

If you are using quarter-yard cuts, cut on the fold so that you have 2 pieces that are each 9" x 22". Then go to the text below the picture.

Alright, so we've removed selvedges, and now it's time to straighten up the edge of your fabric.

I generally do this by lining the grain up along one of the marked lines on my cutting mat.

You can cut 2 at once. If you cut 2 together, cut your inners together. And then cut your outers together.

We're going to be cutting 2 1/2 inch strips.

From your inners, cut 5 strips.

From your outers, cut 3 strips.

Each will be 2 1/2" wide by approximately 22" long.

As you cut, it may be helpful to move the previous strip over a bit so you can see the edge of the fabric.

You will have some larger bits left over, just put those aside for now. We'll use them in the backing.

Allright, that's it for cutting.

How did it go?

Quiltalong Series:

Getting ready Part 1--cutting fabric Part 2--4-patches Part 3--blocks to center

Part 4--border, binding Part 5--Sandwich and Quilting Part 6--Binding

It's my birthday and....

2010-12-30T21:24:00.002-06:00

I wanted to share it with you.

It's not a monumental age, but I have found that after a certain age, or after certain life experiences, all ages are monumental. I am exceptionally grateful to be here today. It is certainly more than I deserve.

Anyway, in true hobbit fashion, I wanted to share. (Kudos if you got my LOTR joke there...)
I went fabric shopping today, and it's not that I bought anything extremely exciting, but I bought enough to share a few fat quarters with some readers. 2, to be exact!

So leave me a comment if you'd like to be included in that 2.... ok?
I'll close the "opportunity" and choose a winner somewhere around noonish on New years Eve....
Oh, and a very very happy 2011 to you as well!