Monday, July 16, 2012

Patchworking

I'm moving on with my life since those shorts.  They kind of put a damper on my sewing for the weekend, but they're now in the past.  And PS, I'm going to try the Sewaholic Thurlow pattern, I think.  They look like they're more my style, with a lower waist and back pockets (a flat butt's best friend).  I haven't ordered it yet, but I'm considering it.

Anyway, I read a lot of Amanda's blog this weekend, going through the archives and looking at pictures.  I love her blog, if only for the visual inspiration.  She lives a very pared-down lifestyle, has an awesome stash, runs her own business and just is pretty cool in general.  I wish we were friends (virtual or real-life) because I really admire her.  But, of course, now all I want to do is embroider and patchwork.  She cross-stitches, which is something I haven't done since middle school (and I don't think I ever finished a project) but her patchwork is just so damn inspiring I can barely stand it.

I couldn't get off the ground with any experimental patchwork yesterday, so instead I spent hours and hours looking at quilts online.  I have three planned for Christmas gifts, but is that being ambitious?  Wait, I'm a pretty ambitious sewer, right?  So it's okay.  Anyway, here's some inspiration I found around the internet yesterday:





Thimble Blossoms' Dilly Dally, Merry and Swoon patterns are gorgeous and fresh, and we need some stockings anyway.


Jeni B.'s Patchwork Picnic quilt looks super easy...but almost too easy.


However, her Plus quilt is something I'm dying to make for Nicholas for Christmas.  We're only exchanging one gift this year, and I kind of want to make him a quilt in his favorite colors (eggplant, charcoal, white and black).

I'm also thinking of spending lots of money and buying some Medocino to make my mom a quilt for Christmas.  We're going no-frills this year--normally Christmas is lots of money and lots of presents--so I'd like to give her something meaningful and something handmade.  I've found a few FQ sets that won't break the bank, but I'll need more than that.  Does anyone have a resource besides Etsy and eBay?

What do you all think?  Are you a quilter?  What would you recommend for a beginner who likes a challenge?

9 comments:

  1. I love the stockings, i have been eyeing those for a while!!! Have you checked out the Moda Bake Shop???

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love the stockings too! And I want to make them with Dear Mr. Claus or Santa Claus is coming to town. Eleanor needs one too!

      Of course, I love the Bake Shop! But when I don't want to use Moda fabric, it bugs me that I don't know how much a layer cake or charm packs are, yardage-wise. Math is not my strong suit.

      Delete
    2. 1 layer cake = 40" of fabric (44" wide - 42 pieces of fabric)
      and as for the charm pack, it depends on how many charms are in the pack but you can fit 8 5" charms in a 5" strip of fabric (42" wide) so then you just have to divide by 8 the number of charms they are telling you that you need and then you multiply that number by 5 and it'll tell you how many inches of fabric you need :)

      Delete
    3. That is so handy! I'll have to keep that in mind. Thanks!

      Delete
  2. I've made a Plus Quilt and I love that they are as easy are simple patchwork quilt withouth looking that "plain".

    If I were you and wanted to make a Medocino quilt, I would only include a few pieces mixed with more "normal" quilting fabric because a quilt made out of Mendocino is going to cost a lot of money !! (like Jeni did for her Mendocino Log Cabin quilt)
    Sometimes, there are people looking to swap their Mendocino for other fabric, but they are usually looking for other HR fabric and it doesn't happen that often. If you find a place beside Etsy and Ebay, let me know :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's such a good idea, and with all the other blues and oranges out now, I'm sure I could find something that would look great with Mendocino. The hardest part is keeping myself from going crazy and buying the really expensive scraps just because they're Mendocino.

      I'm definitely excited to make a Plus quilt, though!

      Delete
  3. What if you started out say with a hot pad or a table runner....that way if it gets effed up then it won't ruin too much fabric...?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Here is an update on sites to purchase patterns....however, you can get some free ones here: craftsy.com

    Example:
    http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/quilting/Other/Inverted-Star-Tutorial/16458?fb_action_ids=856475105316%2C856474511506%2C856474276976&fb_action_types=craftsydotcom%3Apurchase&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%22856475105316%22%3A10150738594283879%2C%22856474511506%22%3A10150967547152431%2C%22856474276976%22%3A10150812750956975%7D

    ReplyDelete

 
Images by Freepik