First Pillow - a few lessons learned

I decided to make a pillow for my secret partner in the For the Love of Solids Swap. I don't really know why since I've never made one before, but I dove in and went for it. I had a few parameters. Most were taken from my partner's sign up form with dashes of her mosaic mashed in:
- Ohio stars pattern
- make it improv/wonky
- include log cabins
- use blue, green, lime, aqua, grey, etc
- use only solids (obviously)
- make each block different in some way.

So here is the front:

Yep, my small item is a zippy pouch!

 For the back I used her mosaic as inspiration:
- abacus blocks
- use a berry colour + those above
I decided that I wasn't confident enough to attempt a zipper in my first pillow, so I opted for an envelope style adding binding to each flap sewed on with one of the machine's fancy stitches I rarely use. I found one with blocks (greek keys?) and went for it. Well, it adds to the wonky and a little character that's for sure. I think I'll need a bit more practice on how to get those stitches straight.

Here is the back:

Lots of wonkiness in these blocks

 Hubster helped me out with some photos so they would have decent lighting, but then the camera battery died and I haven't been able to find the charger. Sheesh. So these photos will have to do. Hopefully my partner will be a better photographer and share some photos with me.

Next up: the small item I made. You can see it in the collage of the pillow front. I made my second zippy pouch. Good thing I have had recent practice with the Mouthy Stitches Zip Pouch Swap.

Lessons Learned:

• You do have to have a game plan when making something a certain size. I was aiming for a pillow about 16" and ended up with it at 22" (I trimmed it down to 20")
• I'm not so good at teeny tiny piecing
• I'm an over presser. There are some seams where the threads show more than I would have liked
• I love solids, but I still need practice with values so I get them a little more varied
• I really need to plan out the placement of blocks for the pillow - the back on this pillow is where the abacus blocks needed to be centered a little better
• I spend too much time playing on Picasa, and should invest more time in taking better photos to begin with. I sense an online photography course in my future, or a search for useful info on blogs...I know I've seen a few recently. A light box will be in my future as well.

Well, maybe I'll still spend time on Picasa for things like this:

Love the neon filter

 Now I'm off to watch the red carpet coverage for the Oscars - lame I know, but it is a tradition. I need a Tim Gunn fix for the night.

Finished Pouch or Practice?

I finally got some photos together of the pouch i finished with the intention of sending it for the Mouthy Stitches Swap. Now after seeing the perfection of other projects I am tempted to just call it a practice and do another one, but I will have to make sure I don't run out of time. Decisions decisions.

If I do a redo pouch i would focus on the pattern specifics and getting all of the blocks to be shown as I intended. i think it would involve more planning and less improv - things i'm not usually known for. I'm waiting to see if my partner comments on it and go from there. I still have time to finish another pouch, though I might have to go a bit smaller given the scraps i have left of these fabrics.

I need to get my scraps together for this swap too. I want to give them some of the leftovers from the pouch because i know she likes these colours, and i have a few more things in mind.

Now on to my For the Love of Solids creations. I'll try to get my sketch scanned tomorrow and up, but i know i'm unlikely to get any sewing done until next weekend. silly day job getting in the way of my crafty pursuits. maybe i should check those lottery tickets - i think someone won the jackpot after all.

Blogger's Choice Fat Quarter Bundle Challenge

I figured I should use some of my time off for some crafty blog reading time and came across the Blogger's choice Fat Quarter Bundle Challenge via Quokka Quilts. I've seen a few of the bloggers I follow creating their own bundles so I was excited to try my hand at it. I'm uber obsessed with 'novelty' fabrics and so I chose one I've been loving as the focal point Critter Community Brown Birds of a Feather:

From there I wanted fabrics that echoed the feather patterns and colours:

And a leaf print to pull out the tree element:

Then I just looked for colours/patterns I liked the look of with these et voila:

Here are the fabrics I used from (note to self - next time number selections on mosaic):
- Pure Elements Pure Orange Solid
- Crazy Daisy Yellow Rhythm
- Outfoxed Yellow and Olive Tossed Triangle
- Outfoxed Olive Fern Stripe
- Pure Elements Parisian Blue Solid
- Pure Organic Chartreuse Solid
- Pear Tree Bright Blue Waving Stripes
- Alien Friends Red Bubble Dot
- Critter Community Brown Birds of a Feather
- Get Together Green Hearts
- Mimosa Orange Chevron
- Anchors Away Orange Diamond Ikat
- Orange Crush Citrus Little Triangles
- Greenhouse Flannel Grass Buttonwood
(I didn't realize this was a flannel when i picked it for its leaf motif - oh well)
- Prince Charming Olive Green Scallop

Phew, that's the whole lot of them. That took a long time of testing out different fabrics to get this bundle and lots of searching to make sure I linked to the right fabrics. Now fingers crossed the judges like my selections.

Geo Grand Coasters

The one thing I love and hate about doing napkins are the scraps they produce. Mostly I tried to use the biggest scraps up making more napkins (here), but there are always scraps too small for this, so I decided to make some scrappy coasters to go with the napkins.

I realized after I finished the napkins that I missed one whole fabric from the Geo Grand line, so I made that the main fabric. I used a tutorial I found online (When I find it again I'll link to it). I got the measurements a bit out of whack as the main fabric is supposed to be wider (like the one bottom right), but I liked the greeny-blue fabrics better anyhow, and they are solid on the back so there is lots of brown there. I think next time I try this I would make them all differently sized & play around with the scraps a bit more getting more contrasts maybe with a few solids thrown in.

And as a bonus I got to use up some of my batting scraps to boot. Happy times!

Owlberta Pillow

I started this project ages ago cutting out the pieces, and it has sat in my craft closet ever since utterly forgotten. So when I found it the week before last I decided I should just finish it to see how it goes before tackling one as a gift. That way I can mess this one up and get all the mistakes out before making the next one. And let me tell you, boy were there were mistakes!

Firstly, I didn't really cut the shape out right for the ears - I think I'd like them pointy on the next one.
I also bodged the felt bit on when I should have taken more care, and probably should have hand sewed them on with matching colored embroidery floss. Lastly, I didn't take enough care on the bottom sewing and totally missed the inside fabric to the pocket - duh! I will cut that fabric larger next time to make sure it will all be securely sewn then cut off the excess. Oh well, it is one big learning curve. The next one I make will be more boy-ish as it might be a pressie for my nephew to come. Jasper should arrive late November early December and I can't wait.

One other thing I tried after reading something about alternative filling for pillows is use up my loads of tiny scraps. Although I can see where they are coming from that it does indeed stuff the pillow, it also makes for an incredibly dense and heavy pillow. So, for Jasper's pressie I think I'll stick to some sort of stuffing to keep it lighter, or make the owl pillow sized and add a zipper for easier clean up. So much experimenting to do!

I will try to get some closer pics of the details - my hubbie was helping me with the pictures before the camera battery died and we didn't get around to more pictures since. I'll be able to show the back of the pillow that has a pocket for a book.

All in all I am happy with the result and with these few tweaks and the lessons learned from the mistakes on this one I think I'm ready to tackle the next one as soon as I find some inspiring fabric. The purple fabric I used on the front made me think of feathers, and I used a coordinating owl print on the back which is what sparked this project, so I think an outing to the fabric shop may be in order.

Next set of Napkins

I wanted to use up the leftover bits of fabric left after the first set up napkins so I whipped up 4 more. I think I actually prefer these scrappy ones to the original ones. Isn't that always the way?

I think making napkins might be a new favourite since there is instant gratification. The more I quilt the more I realize I am all about the instant gratification. I love making each block, but get bogged down in the actual construction and cutting. I think that's why I lean towards improv quilting most where there is less precise cutting and more playing around.

Up next will be the coaster set I made to go with the napkins, and a practice union jack quilt block. Oh and an owl pillow. I guess I was busy during my holidays.

Pippa & Rascal

My next project for a niece and nephew on the way.

http://www.rufflesandstuff.com/2011/06/pippa-and-rascal-free-softie-pattern.html

Can't wait to get going on this one!