Sew South

Oh boy - how to capture what happened last weekend??  A group of 50 women coming together from all over to sew and create - exactly what this girl was needing.  Sew South was the perfect combination of retreat and making - beautiful things and beautiful friendships.  What a visionary Jennifer is - her hard work to bring this kind of event to life was incredible!  What a joy it was to walk into the reception Thursday night and be hugged by friends I haven't seen in a while, as well as make new friends, matching faces with blogs.  The whole weekend was all about the people and connecting- the belly laughing that went on long into the night as we huddled around our machines.  So it's weird that I don't have pictures of my friends to share with you today - I know!  I didn't take that many and the few I have are not downloaded yet.  I was so in the moment!  A nice place to be, for sure.
I'll have to share more later, but I just wanted to pop in and share a few things.  Here is what we made:

 This clutch pattern was created by Diane  (and available for free on Craftsy!), who also taught the class.  I love how they turned out!  It was so easy to do and looks so polished - I see lots of these in my future.  Great gift idea!

 Oh, The Duffle.  This deserves it's own post!  Lindsey was a calm, encouraging, fearless leader in helping us all make this.  50 duffle bags!!  This thing was a beast that I never would have tried to tackle on my own.  But together, as each person finished, a wild, LOUD cheer would erupt from the room.  Oh, the community!  And yes, that's a pleated zippered pocket you see there.  Major props to all the people who helped me - you know who you are!  I'm in your debt.  I don't know what the official tally was, but many of us broke many needles on this one.

 Jennifer taught our paper pieced star pattern. Never mind my points don't match up!  I still love it, and have plans to put it in a special quilt.

 And there was the pajama pants - in the first picture, it's the turquoise print with the pink circle cuffs.  I've been wearing them every night to bed, feeling a small beam of pride that I made something I can actually. wear.  I didn't think I had it in me.

Not to rub it in, but there was some serious swag.  A giant thank you to the super generous Sew South sponsors!

 And this is a shot of everything I came home with that I did not have before the retreat.  Some was swag, some were gifts, some I made, some I bought, and some were swaps.  All is appreciated!

 

And lastly, this was on the design wall when I came home.  Don't you know my hubby was just waiting for me to clear out of here so he could have his time with the design wall?!  

I am blessed indeed.

Reflecting

I have to be honest.  It's been difficult to return to this blog stuff after Michael's death.  It's been difficult to return to anything "normal."  How can we just pick back up and go after such an unspeakable loss??  There is a giant, massive hole - always present.  There is a blanket of grief on everything.  I happened to be at Quilt Con when he passed.  Talk about going from high to low.  I really struggled with whether or not to go to TX with everything going on with Michael.  The truth is, they were told at the end of November that he likely had  very little time left.  The family scrambled to celebrate one last Christmas together in early December.  We passed December minute by minute in constant fear.  Every morning I would try to check in with my friend, not sure what the night before had brought.  In answer to the prayers of many, he survived through Christmas - and actually seemed to get better.  Then things went downhill again.  Hard.  Fast.  Then up again.  Oh, my dear friends.  How they endured those horrible moments.  What was to be days of enduring turned to months.  Highs and lows.  It was like seeing a tsunami hovering above you and not being able to move - just knowing it was coming and was going to bring unavoidable life altering destruction.  Sweet Michael seemed to have all the medical professionals baffled.  Hospice said their longest case for care had been a few weeks - what was happening with Michael was unprecedented - 3 months!  We had no idea what to expect next!  After much processing, we decided I should keep my trip to TX as scheduled.  I had a great time at Quilt Con, truly, I enjoyed every single minute.  Until my phone rang.  And I knew before I answered.  Oh, my heart!  My heart.  My dear friends.  Surreal moments.
Side note:  If you are ever going to do the ugly cry (you know the one I'm talking about - heaving, wracking sobs, snotty, red puffy face - the whole thing) in a really public place...well, the best place for that to happen is probably around a bunch of quilters.
I got on the next plane home I could.  I was in PA with my friend and her family for five days, honored to stand by them in the darkest of hours.  What courage they have.  What strength.  We cried rivers of tears, but I'll admit that I was surprised at how much we laughed too.  Really, what else is there to do??  Life is the strangest of things.  The tenacity of the human spirit is remarkable.  I find such strength and hope in being able to be honest about the depths of the darkness, and then find joy in the little moments that are like gifts.  To think there is joy left to be had after this loss is a relief -so encouraging, and I thank God for it.  I know we are just at the beginning of the many waves of grief, and I just hope and pray I am the friend my friends need in all this.
Another side note:  My sweet hubby has been raising money for St. Baldricks for the past few years (since Michael was diagnosed) and this year we were so thankful for everyone who contributed to make his total over $8000 for research for childhood cancers!  Here he is sporting his new look:  (although, the initials are no longer on the side of his head!)  

Whew.  Lots of words here tonight.  Now, even though the grief remains, I will resume my sporadic blog posts about "normal" stuff - because time has a way of marching on whether we want it to or not.  My heart is, and will always be, with my friends.
To read more about Michael's journey, you can visit his Caring Bridge page here.

IN MEMORY

Michael 

2006-2013

My Five

OK, OK, I have not fallen off the face of the earth.  Just real life going on here people.  What can I say??  I am still sewing whenever I can sneak it in, and getting a few things done which I will show soon.  But first - Quilt Con!!  It's almost here!  There's a linky party going on over here to help people get to know each other a bit by sharing five things people may not know about us.
First, a picture of me.  I know, it's an old photo, but I'm feeling lazy about taking another picture, and besides, I kinda still look like this.  My hair ranges at any given time in shades of blondish/brownish/reddish, with varying degrees of straight/curly.  But you get the general idea :).

OK, here we go:
1) I never wanted a sewing machine.  GASP!  Can you imagine?!  But it's true - I never set out to do this.  When my husband and I moved into our first home, I asked my mom to make curtains for our bedroom.  Apparently, it was a giant ordeal for her (sorry, Mom!), and all I know is, for Christmas that year I got a check with specific instructions to use it for a sewing machine.  Subtle, right?!  The thing is, I didn't want a sewing machine - there was a thousand other things I wanted to use that money for to decorate the house.  Of course, they said to use it for what I wanted, but in one of the conversations, my dad said these words, "Every home needs a sewing machine," and after thinking about it, I figured that kind of made sense.  Time to grow up.  Who knew that meant getting a sewing machine??  I ended up finding a good deal on a used Elna which, as the fates declared, was named Quilter's Dream.  I barely knew what a quilt was!  But the lady selling me the machine mentioned a quilt fabric shop around the corner, and with some extra time on my hands, I wandered in.  Boom.  Life changed.  My eyes could barely take in all the beautiful fabrics!  I was instantly hooked.  And those curtains my Mom made for my bedroom??  Long since taken down, you know, since tastes change over time.  I'll never live it down...

2)  My introduction to motherhood was as a single parent in a foreign country.  In the process of adopting our oldest son, we made the decision for me to move to Guatemala to be with him while the paperwork process completed.  My sweet husband held down the fort (aka - worked) while I had an adventure of a lifetime.  I will always be in his debt (for this, and many, many reasons).  Those days of touring a historical city rich with culture and tradition (and my stars, the food!) with a baby strapped to me 24/7 are some of my favorite memories.  So much so, that when I became pregnant later, I thought several times, "But I won't get to live in Antigua with this baby!"

3)   Which leads me to my next point.  My husband and I went from 0 - 3 children in 14 months.  Talk about life change!!  Turns out that baby we were expecting was actually two babies!  Our oldest turned 2 a week after the twins were born.  I don't think we left the house for months there in the beginning.  Or showered.  Or slept.  But how thankful we are!  I remember when I started to venture out of the house by myself with them, I'd pull up to a spot in the parking lot and think, "...well, now what do I do??"  I always had to stop and think how to best get everyone in the building safely.  Grocery shopping was usually with a toddler in the cart back buried in groceries, an infant in the car seat in the front of the cart, and one infant strapped to me.  And only ONCE did a jar of pasta sauce get dropped and splatter all over all of us.  Seriously.  Only once.  I think that's pretty good.

4) I'm a City/Country, Northern/Southern girl.  I grew up in Chicago but both my parents are from the south and I spent many summers on horseback on my grandparents farm in the south.  I love an urban setting, but also love my green spaces.

5)  My favorite bad movie is Tremors.  Sorry Bacon, it's not your best work.  But I love it.  I haven't seen it in years, but if it's one of those lazy days when you get to just flip through the channels (who can do that anymore??) and that movie is playing, I have to watch a few minutes of it.  It's just so bad it makes me smile!

If you're going to Quilt Con and see me there, please come say hello - I'd love to meet you!

So, what's your favorite bad movie??  You know the one I mean - do tell!

A Few Things...

First up, a couple of recent Swoon block finishes.  I am loving how these turned out!  These blocks take me forever, but so worth it.  I feel like last year I focused a lot on improv stuff (a bunch of which hasn't made an appearance on this blog...yet), and sometimes it's nice to just follow someone's else's directions, ya know??   I am trying to challenge myself with fabric selection on this one, and because of this have ended up changing my fabric stack about a hundred times.  I think my strategy will be to cut two blocks at a time, and let the fabric choices just evolve.  We'll see...
I've been enjoying seeing everyone's goals for 2013 all over blogdom as we start the new year.  I love the idea of getting focused and planning what I want to accomplish.  But last year I set out some projects for the year (Swoon being one of them - technically I did START it in 2012, even if it was December), and I didn't make a ton of progress on those goals.  Why?  Because for me, it didn't leave much room for jumping in on new opportunities and challenges.  I like what Melissa and Shana are doing this year in setting a goal for a finish every month.  This seems like a way to focus on just the immediate chunk of time in front of me, and that feels very doable.  So, here's my list of what I want to get done in January.
1.  Bee Blocks
I am starting That Stash Bee this month, where we make two blocks per the person's request using fabric from our stash.  First up was Nicole, and this is what she asked for (tutorial on her blog).

Yay!  I can already put a check by these!
I have two months left for the Modern Blocks Bee, and currently waiting on fabric for this month's selection.

2.  Charity Block for Sew South.
We are making a house block for a charity quilt for Ronald McDonald House in Charlotte.

3.  TMQG City Challenge Project - due this month!

4.  Swoon Block - at least one this month.

I think that's enough for now...

How do I love thee??

Let me count the ways...
I've had fun getting to know my new work-horse of a sewing machine.  I'm still learning all about her, and honestly afraid to stray from straight stitch at the moment.  I mean, she came with 18 different feet!  What on earth do I do with all those?!  My previous machine was starting to give me some tension issues which made free motion quilting next to impossible.  That's kind of a big problem for a quilter! This machine has 11 gorgeous inches of harp space - I feel like I can practically roll around in there.  While I'm enjoying my time with the kids out of school, I wouldn't be lying if I said I'm looking forward to next week when everyone is back in school (wink).  Time for mama to play!  Many, many thanks to my sweet husband who continues to delight and surprise me...
And while I have lots of post ideas in my head about all the projects I did in 2012, or my goals for 2013, or my excitement about Quilt Con, and how much I'm looking forward to Sew South, and some really neat stories about generous people in the crafting community who have been a blessing without them even realizing how much they would impact others, and how these acts of kindness have had a ripple effect...not to mention the new bees for the year and fun project ideas...well, frankly, all this is tempered by some pretty painful things my dear friends are going through with their son who is so sick.  So, for now, I'll just add a few pictures of some recent projects, and maybe those stories will come out later.

My x and + blocks are starting to pile up...

 Here's a bunch thrown up on the design wall - not a final lay out, but starts to give an idea of what the quilt will look like.  All kinds of crazy color - love it!  My daugher has already claimed this as hers, but we'll see...

 Here are some ornament pocket/gift card holders made with Mo Bedell's pattern from the book Pretty in Patchwork by John Adams (Hi, QuiltDad!).

 FINALLY working on my Swoon quilt (pattern by Camille Roskelley) - these blocks are ginormous and take me far longer to construct than I think they should (as is the case with most things I do!).  But I'm in love - the end result will be so worth it.

 LOVED making Jeni's drawstring bags for some Christmas gifts...

...and adding a grommet made these great project bags for my knitting friends.

Let me just say - I so enjoy creating with you all - truly, I do.  I'm looking forward to seeing what we all make in 2013!  Wishing you all a very happy New Year!

Tutorial: Scrappy Advent Calendar

Here is the tutorial for the advent calendar I did as part of Ellison Lane's Deck the Halls Series.  My kids have loved using this bright and festive calendar to help count down the days until Christmas...and each morning they wake up begging to "do a pocket."  Frankly, they're adorable, and I love that they love it!

Finished Dimensions:  24.5" x 51.5"

Supplies Needed:

Green Scraps for tree - about a fat quarters worth

Small multi-colored scraps for the garland

Assorted fabrics for pockets - 9" x 4"

1.5 Yards of white background fabric (there will be overage)

1/2 yard binding fabric

 1 Yard Interfacing (I used a very sturdy Pellon 808 Craft Fuse)

Batting and backing fabric - about 30" x 57 " each

OK, let's get started.  First, we're going to make the tree:

Start by grabbing your scraps.

 Begin joining green strips of varying lengths:

 Next, randomly slice the strips into segments. The end result will look great with the lines being askew and random.  Plus, there's the added benefit of not having to line anything up.  Freedom!  This crazy piecing technique is covered well in this book if you'd like to see more in-depth details.

Start to build your tree by adding segments together.

 

Keep building and building...

and building...

until you have a general tree shape.  At several points during this process, you will think to yourself,  "Surely, I am done now - I've been building this tree forever!"  But my friends, I am here to tell you, you will not be done.  Trees take time.  It'll be worth it, though, trust me.  Just keep going.  But it will eventually look like this and you will be done! 

 Trim out a triangle shape for your tree.  I just measured in from the outer edges of each side to the center top and trimmed.  My tree measures 12.5" wide at the bottom and 17" tall, finished.

 Now, I almost left it like this - I loved it so!  But the call of some colorful garland was strong so I forged ahead.  

To make the garland, simply piece together varying width strips of scraps, again with some slightly wonky angles for added visual interest.  This is a great place to use those tiny, special scraps we hang on to - a small piece goes a long way in this project!  Cut the garland strips 1.5" wide.  

 Play with the lay out of the garland pieces until you have it like you want it.

Now.  Let's take a breather.  I am going to ask you to cut your tree.  This may be easy for you.  Or you may sweat a little and have heart palpitations.  Forge ahead - It will all come back together like it's supposed to, I promise.  

                                       

Once your garlands are all in and you have trimmed the edges, it's time to add the tree trunk.  The trunk here is 2 1/4 " x 2 1/2 " , and I added the white background fabric strips 2 1/2" x 8" to the sides.  Center the middle of the trunk with the middle of the tree.

 Next, trim the white edges, even with the tree by extending the angles.  You are now ready to add the white background fabric to the sides of the tree.  I tend to generously cut my fabric, sew it on, then trim down.  It saves me a lot of headache.  So the white fabric I added to the sides of the trees were cut at 31" x 15 1/4 ".

Trim the top overlapping edge even with the angle of the tree so you can add the white panel to the other side of the tree.

 Trim the top to 23" high by 24.5" wide.  Now you can add the bottom white panel which will serve as the background for your pockets.  Cut the bottom white panel 24.5" wide by 27.75" long and attach it to your tree piece.  I forgot to take pictures of this part, but next you sandwich your top with your batting and background fabric.  You are now ready to quilt it!

I chose to quilt straight (ok, straight-ish), closely spaced lines on all the white fabric.  I figured the tree had such crazy piecing that it would stand out a bit if everything around it was densely quilted.  Also, you want the bottom half which will hold your pockets to have a sturdy background as it will get lots of wear, so the tighter quilting should help there.  

OK - are you still with me??  We are almost done, I promise.  It's time for the pockets!  Cut 25 pocket pieces 4" x 9".  These will finish at 3.5" x 4 1/4", as you will be folding them in half.  Cut 25 pieces of the interfacing 4" x 4 1/4" and iron them on one side 1/4 " from the edge like this:

Doing this will help your seam be less bulky when you are stitching the pockets down.  

Next, fold the pocket piece in half right sides together and sew along the two sides, leaving the bottom open.

Now turn the pocket right side out.  I use a Hera marker to get my corners nice and sharp - does anyone else use their Hera marker as a turning tool???  

 Fold the bottom edges in 1/4" ,

 then press.  Repeat with the remaining 24 pockets.  You are now ready to topstitch them into place!

 Center your first pocket 1 inch under the tree trunk.

 Topstitch the pocket into place.  I used a walking foot to keep all those layers from shifting. Also increase your stitch length to 2.8 - this gives a nice finish and again helps with all the layers you've got going on here.

Repeat with the remaining pockets.  I spaced mine an inch apart from each other in all directions.  

Finally, simply add the binding (I added some quick hanging trinagles a la Amy's method) 

And YOU'RE DONE!  YAY!!

 I am so thrilled to have finished this in time to fill these pockets with little goodies to help my little ones countdown to Christmas.  In these pockets they will find treats, clues for treasure hunts, and cards for family fun nights like seeing Christmas lights in our jammies and decorating cookies together.  What a festive time! I hope some of you make your own advent calendar - I'd love to see it if you do!  

This tutorial was originally published here.  I am also linking up with Pink Chalk Fabrics Handmade with Love 2012 - go check it out - tons of fun tutorials posted over there!