ed emberley alligator quilt

November 18, 2013November 18, 201315 Comments

i snagged a couple naptime hours this weekend to clean up my utter disaster of a sewing room…and in the process, i got inspired to do some stashbusting and a project i’d delayed for far too long – a cozy quilt for O!

the little guy doesn’t realize it, but i’ve felt bad for a long time because i’ve never made him a blankie of his own. i made his sister a quilt, and multiple cozy flannel/minky blankies for snuggling/school, but none for him.

it’s not like he’s blanket-deprived – he was gifted a number of handmade and store bought blankets at baby showers and has actually adopted my baby quilt as his own…just none made by ME. and i believe that there’s nothing more special a mother can make than a cozy blanket for her kids. you’re literally wrapping your little one up in love!

it was when his unborn baby brother was gifted a beautiful CINO quilt that the guilt really started to set in. O needed a home sewn quilt! NOW!

i had gotten this Ed Emberley for Cloud 9 alligator print at Bolt last year with the intention of using it for a blanket for him…

…and same plan with the super soft light blue minky on the back.

it’s hard to see in photos, but i did irregular sawtooth quilting on the alligator print and straight horizontal lines across the solid color blocked top and bottom rows. it looks like alligator teeth in person! there is no batting, but due to the minky it still has a nice weight to it.

the top and bottom rows (scraps cut 8” high to extend this directional print a bit for more coverage) are a mix of Kona and Moda Bella solids from my stash in colors that pull from the print. the quilt measures 35” x 50” which covers him very nicely.

the binding is Amy Butler’s full moon polka dots in tangerine (still available here)! think i may have gotten that at Bolt too. 😉 it’s finished by zigzag stitch, both for speed and to mimic the sawtooth quilting / alligator teeth motif.

love how the colors look when they all drape together, it feels bright and happy but still boyish.

i showed the in-progress quilt to O when he woke up from his nap, only partly quilted, and he was very excited about it, rubbing the minky side on his cheek, etc. i promised him i’d finish it when he was asleep that night, and i did. i laid it on him while he slept and when he came to our room in morning, he had wrapped himself up in it! he proceeded to “Linus around” with it for a good part of the day. GREAT SUCCESS.

does fall make you want to quilt too? i feel like the knitting and quilting bugs hit me hard when the weather gets cold (still haven’t picked up the needles yet this year, though)!

** i have emailed Lara, the winner of a Gingercake pattern. thank you to all who entered the giveaway! **

dear stella everyday skirt

November 13, 2013November 18, 201310 Comments

today i’m guest posting over on the Dear Stella Design Blog with a fun project using fabric they sent me (lemme tell ya – getting emails out of the blue offering free fabric is pretty much a sewing blogger’s dream!).

i guess it wasn’t totally out of the blue – i did visit the Dear Stella booth at Quilt Market this spring wearing Washi Two made out of Dear Stella fabric – which i thought would be uncool, sort of like wearing a band t-shirt to their concert. but in the land of Quilt Market, apparently displays like that are met with excitement and photo requests and offers of fabric months down the road. 😉

anyway. they sent me three fabrics of my choice and this is the first – it’s from their confetti sparkle line, pretty much the most perfect holiday fabric ever (GOLD METALLIC POLKA DOTS, YO). i knew it had to turn into a liesl + co everyday skirt right away!

and nope, i didn’t suddenly shape-shift – these photos are not me.

i didn’t realize until after the skirt was mostly sewn that the style wasn’t going to work with my pregnant belly, so i asked my sister-in-law to model for me. she was the ideal modeling candidate, having just given birth to her fourth child 3 months ago…hehe. but seriously, she looks amazing, right??

head on over to the Dear Stella Blog to read more about this skirt, the fabric it’s made with, and see more photos, too!

i can’t wait to get sewing with the other two cuts and show those to you…one will be the perfect Christmas dress for Em, and the other is sort of the launch point for an entire bedroom design! all in due time…

thanks so much for having me, Dear Stella!

* * *

confetti sparkle is shipping to stores now – here are a few online resources for Dear Stella fabric – drygoods design, hawthorne threads, fabric.com, and over the rainbow on etsy, which looks to have some of the confetti sparkle line in stock already!

you can also check out their “where to buy” page for a store near you to check it out. it’s so pretty in person and i loved sewing it. even though it’s quilting cotton, it seems to lend itself really nicely to apparel.

spider man lunchbox (and giveaway!)

November 12, 2013November 11, 201342 Comments

as you know, right around Halloween, O got super mega obsessed with Spider Man. barely a day has gone by that he hasn’t worn (or requested to wear) his hoodie – that superhero love that so many little guys seem to have has been awakened.

so when my new sponsor, Virginia of the lovely Gingercake Patterns, asked me if I’d join her holiday pattern tour, i thought there couldn’t be anything much more perfect than making this fella his own Spider Man lunch box!

this is Gingercake’s Love Your Lunch Box pattern. Gingercake first came to my attention last year when Gail made this adorable one for her little gal. it’s the perfect size to hold lunches for kids to carry, and i love the idea of customizing the fabrics to what your kid is into, since lunch boxes inevitably get gross and need to be replaced pretty regularly anyway.

spiderman lunchbox

in O’s case, what he’s into right now is spiders (and webs).

the “web” fabric is topo in navy from architextures by Carolyn Friedlander, one of my all time favorite fabric lines. so cool, so versatile. i think it’s is supposed to suggest elevation lines on a topographical map, but it works as a web too, right? then i stuck a little spider appliqué on there.

the inside is a sturdy seersucker/ticking i’ve used a few times. i thought it could be more washable than laminated cotton (either is suggested in the pattern). it was clear and quick sew, though probably not a super beginner project just because it gets tricky sewing a gusset around tight curves, but no biggie if you’ve made some things.

he really does love it! he even wanted to pack his own lunch, he was so excited.

and i’m pumped to have a go-to lunchbox pattern that i can make again a year from now with whatever his obsession is then.

> > > : : THE GIVEAWAY! : : < < <

would you like to win a Love Your Lunchbox pattern of your own? it’s a great one to have for little gals or guys in your life, and not too hard to enlarge for adult lunches either, i wouldn’t think! customize it up and it’s a fun gift to give for the holidays.

to enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite pattern over at Gingercake Pattern Shop (there are such cute ones…you know i’ve got my eye on the Lucky the Elephant for Em).

giveaway is open until Friday, November 15 at 8pm Pacific Standard Time. winner will be chosen at random, contacted by email, and will receive the PDF pattern from Gingercake. one entry per person, void where prohibited by law.

good luck and thanks for entering!

bicycle basket

November 8, 2013November 8, 201313 Comments

i don’t often do “commissioned projects,” but my uncle asked me to make a divided basket for a co-worker’s baby shower and i went for it! so this is the project that snuck up on me during KCW.

i said yes to his request because first of all, i was flattered, but also because he wanted a Noodlehead divided basket (something i love to sew), and gave me lots of creative freedom (“rich earth tones”)…and originally the timeline was generous too (a game of family telephone suddenly made it urgent, hehe).

from cutting out the pieces to finish, this took me 1.5 hours. timed myself. it is my FOURTH divided basket though (one, two three) and i barely have to read the instructions anymore. such a great pattern by Anna. 🙂

the fabric is Echino bicycles in brown (a gift from Cherie from the LA fabric district) with my go-to Denyse Schmidt for JoAnn gold “solid-not-solid” as trim. the inside is a celery-colored kona or moda bella solid, not sure which. figured bikes were a safe bet here in Portland, often named the most bike-friendly city in the U.S.

i emailed my uncle a list of my favorite “essential” baby items and a couple favorite board books, which he stuffed in there and gave to his co-worker.

fun, quick little commissioned project, though i STILL haven’t made one for myself yet! maybe once we start pulling my new little guy’s nursery together (i started an idea board on pinterest, wanna see?).

striped maternity pencil skirt

November 4, 2013March 6, 201448 Comments

sometimes the quickest, easiest sewing projects are the most satisfying, ya know?

take, for example, this skirt.

two pieces to cut out, sew together, hem, and thread elastic through at the top.

striped maternity pencil skirt

the parts that took longest were threading my double needle and matching the stripes on the sides (which shifted on me a bit anyway, meh). it was a “one naptime” sew, AWESOME for adult clothes!

this little pencil skirt is now one of my favorite things i’ve sewn for myself. it’s super comfy, actually fun to walk in, and a great piece to make me feel “prettier” during pregnancy, when sometimes it’s easy to feel like i’m losing that a little each week.

the fabric is a ponte knit from fabric depot, which you can find online here. the pattern is megan nielsen’s ruched maternity skirt (which i didn’t ruche…didn’t seem to need it). it was a gift from a friend but now appears to be ~~sold out everywhere online~~ available as a PDF! yay!

the cut of the pattern is so cool – the shapes look kinda crazy on paper (definitely NOT rectangles) but it makes the skirt hug the right spots and stay straight at others, and the belly coverage doesn’t make me feel claustrophobic like maternity panels usually do. i just wish i had more occasions to wear this skirt, but i’m thinking with the holiday events coming up, it won’t be a problem.

i made a large even though i measured somewhere between small and medium, because i’d seen a few versions that looked a bit tight for my taste. i wanted it to feel relaxed enough to remain comfortable, which it totally is…plus i get a pretty big belly and need it to last (i was 22 weeks in these photos, taken a couple weeks ago by my husband).

i gain confidence with every new thing i successfully make for myself…and it’s addictive! i want to keep it up. it might be that maternity sewing is more like kid sewing – sort of temporary since i’m “still growing” and i feel more free to mess around, maybe? 🙂