Sewing Goals - April

This month it's going to be a simple list.  Motivation is waning!

• sew something

March Sewing Goals - Recap

I can't believe it, but blogger ate my post. I wrote a ton of reflection, saved the draft, scheduled publication, etc. What happens when I come back here on March 31? The dang thing is gone. Eaten. Disappeared. Forever.

Below is March's final list.  See the previous list here.

• Get started on the FFAII quilt
• Finish Hocuspocusville #4
• Make a couple of zipper pouches
• Experiment with fabric

So, what did I learn?  I learned not to trust blogger with my drafts anymore.  I also learned that experiments are jut that-- experiments. It's okay if the don't work perfectly. The best discoveries came as results of failures. It's all part of the learning process.

Sewing Goals - March

Because of February's drudgery, I tried some looser, more exciting goals.  Wish me luck!

• Get started on the FFAII quilt
• Finish Hocuspocusville #4
• Make a couple of zipper pouches
• Experiment with fabric

February Sewing Goals - Recap

I can't believe it's already time to review this month's sewing goals.  View February's list here.  The final list is as follows:

• prepare backing for the 36-patch quilt
• trace Hocuspocusville #4
• piece the Christmas 9-patch quilt top
• plan the grid and finalize block numbers on the wedding quilt

Overall, this felt like a to-do list rather than a list of goals I wanted to accomplish.  These maintenance tasks really killed my motivation, especially since there wasn't a whole lot of actual sewing involved.

So what did I learn?

I learned that I need actual fun sewing in order to be motivated.  A bunch of tiny sewing-related tasks does not sewing make.  They all felt like chores and everyone knows how much I hate obligation sewing.  As a result, my mind wandered to projects and possibilities that weren't even remotely related to my goals for the month.  Never again.

Additionally, I learned that it's easy to kill your momentum on a project by not allowing enough freedom.  I think I did this to myself by focusing on all the same projects from last month.  The only one I remained excited about was Hocuspocusville, but I didn't feel that I could continue to work on it after meeting my goal because the rest of the list was looming over my head.  Then, I came to resent the projects that needed to be worked on, even though I was previously excited about them in January.

Lastly, I learned that it's disheartening to achieve a goal, but not in the way I'd imagined it.  The 36-patch backing is technically prepared, though it's not what I'd envisioned.  I really struggled with meeting my goal versus meeting my vision for the project.  The need to strike that item off the list and get the whole thing to the quilter was pretty great.  However, the dissatisfaction with the whole thing was even greater.  Was it fair to say I had met the goal without having met my vision?  Sadly, these ideas all apply to the Christmas 9-patch, too.  Safe to say that these projects need to rest for a while.

February has been a tough month.  Perhaps the worst part of it all was that I met the letter of my goals without meeting the spirit.  I'm looking forward to what March has to offer.

Sewing Goals - February

Here we go, the second month of my so far extremely productive adventure.  What can I accomplish this month?

• prepare backing for the 36-patch quilt
• trace Hocuspocusville #4
• piece the Christmas 9-patch quilt top
• plan the grid and finalize block numbers on the wedding quilt

You'll notice I skipped a step with the Christmas 9-patch.  I don't need to finish the rest of the blocks, because I already did it!  Okay, all but, like, six.  Easy-peasy.  The rest?  We shall see...

January Sewing Goals - Recap

Sewing goals review time!  Here's my initial list.  And here's my final list:

• Piece the 36-patch quilt top
• Complete 24 Christmas wonky 9-patch blocks
• Complete Hocuspocusville block #3
• Sew and install drawstrings for my drawstring bag

In a previous post I talked about how great the goals were because they gave me a direction for my sewing.  There were many times this month when I was bored or agitated and the sewing list gave me a fool-proof plan-- I didn't have to waste time deciding what to do.  Instead, I just did it.  

What I didn't realize at the beginning of the month was how much work I had assigned myself.  Each of these goals took a lot of time and effort to meet, but I managed to do every single thing on this list and then some.  I don't think I've been this productive since the summer!

So what did I learn?

I learned that I didn't need to approach the list in order.  Instead, I worked on bits and pieces of projects throughout the month.  Doing it this way kept me from getting bored and frustrated but it also allowed me to accomplish quite a bit.

I also learned that I need direction.  This list kept me off the internet.  I didn't spend as much time browsing flickr and reading blog posts as I normally would have.  I haven't talked much about it here, but the inundation of blog posts, photos, tutorials, quilt alongs, swaps, giveaways, and popularity contests is absolutely draining.  For me, the internet creates a stressful amount of pressure and sucks the fun right out of sewing.  Setting these goals gave me a purpose and allowed me to once again enjoy my hobby.

I learned that success is a powerful motivator.  Crossing items off the list motivated me to keep moving to finish more projects.  Obviously that worked for me.  With direction and motivation I finished one huge project, almost finished another, and completed two small projects.  Pretty soon I won't have anything left to work on.

What's next?  I have a few goals in mind for February.  Stay tuned.

PrOgress

Things are going pretty smoothly with the January sewing goals.  I've accomplished a couple and worked on all of them!

Here's a picture of some of the progress I've made on my Hocuspocusville block; since last night I've stitched that whole area including branch, cat, and part of the trunk.  I'm ready to attack the treehouse tonight! 

There's the final layout of my 36-patch quilt.  Yes, that is my classroom floor.  I brought the blocks to school with me today so that I could finally work on the layout-- it was the only place I knew with a large enough surface to lay out all of those blocks!

*   *   *

Often, when feeling the desire to sew, I'm left with no direction because there are so many projects to work on.  I will stand listlessly in front of the sewing closet, unable to decide what to work on.  Sometimes I will even set up materials and equipment only to put it all back in the closet without even having sewn a stitch.

I thought I would regret setting these goals, but I really don't.  The goals give me direction for what to work on; having set multiple goals ensures that I have plenty of direction, even after having achieved one of my sewing objectives.  The decision of what to sew is already made for me; no more listless pondering required.  Also, having an agenda makes me more likely to sew and more likely to finish a project.  Lastly, the blog posts have created some sense of accountability-- people are checking in on my progress!

I don't know that I will be 100% successful on this month's goals; even so, I've already enjoyed a considerable amount of success!  It feels good to say you're going to do something and then get it done.  I know that I will definitely do goals again in February.

Alpha Xi Delta

Pictured here is a commissioned quilt comprised of many Alpha Xi Delta tshirts, all from the University of New Hampshire chapter.  Leah, the recipient, and asked only that the purple tshirt be featured in some special way.  She also relayed that she is currently into gray.  Beyond that, I was given free reign.

The finished quilt measures 79" x 95" (somewhere between full and queen) and is quilted with a large meander pattern in a gray thread called oyster shell.  As usual, the quilting is done by Rebekah of Kept in Stitches Quilting.  As usual, I can not speak highly enough of her customer service and skill.

I elected to use two grays, darker for the sashing and lighter for the border.  They are both Kona cottons, but I did not note the specific colors.  The darker gray is the same gray I always buy-- it is so luscious-- and the lighter gray seemed a good complement.  Because of the extremely bright sunlight and shadows, the colors look more purple than in actuality.  Trust me, though-- they are just gray.

On the back I have placed two of the tshirts, as I usually do.  I like these on the back because they sort of brand the quilt.  Sadly, I forgot to put on one of my labels!  Leah promised that she would tell all her friends and admirers that this creation came from me, so I'm satisfied with that.

From start to finish this quilt took me 21 hours to complete.  Seven of those hours were spent on attaching and hand finishing the binding.  I'm told that's too long, but I'm not sure I agree; 348 inches is quite a lot of binding to hand stitch!

I think Leah will be delighted.  The solid gray fabrics pull the tshirts nicely together, the quilting is immaculate, and the finished product looks fabulous.  Though Leah was expecting a much smaller quilt, I elected to make a large quilt for several reasons, chief among them that I think small quilts are somewhat pointless.

(Please note that I used a heavier interfacing for this quilt.  I have previously used Pellon sheerweight fusible interfacing; this time I used Pellon lightweight fusible interfacing.  I noticed a slight difference in the effectiveness, but not much.  The glue still didn't stick as well as I'd like.  However, the lightweight interfacing makes this nice and heavy-- good for New Hampshire winters.)

Sewing Goals - January

Happy New Year!  2012 looms ahead of us, and what better way to approach it than with a good old-fashioned list?

My sewing goals for this month are as follows:

• Piece the 36-patch quilt top
• Complete 24 Christmas wonky 9-patch blocks
• Complete Hocuspocusville block #3
• Sew and install drawstrings for my drawstring bag

These goals are simple and straightfoward.  That makes them easy to measure-- either I've met them or I haven't.  The official check-in date for these goals is January 31; at that time I will revisit my list and see what I've accomplished.  

Moving Forward

Instead of doing a big year-end post like most folks, I'm into looking forward this year.  2011 was fine, sewing-wise; I made three bed-sized quilts, lots of progress on my Aunt Millie's project, and had several small finishes.  The problem is, I didn't really do anything new, and I still have a couple unfinished and neglected projects hanging around my head.

This recent realization about my lack of sewing progress has led me to think about what I want to be doing.  There are so many answers to this question, I don't even know where to begin.  So I won't try (not here, anyway).

I recently saw 365: A Daily Creativity Journal in a bookstore and became intrigued.  I've always found the 365 projects admirable, but unapproachable.  They seem constraining and keep a punishing pace; what if you fall behind?!  But the accountability of these projects is appealing.  They set an expectation about what will be done, and when.  This is a lot different than making as you go-- it's pretty easy to leave an unfinished project in the closet for eternity, especially when there's no deadline to finish.

I'm not promising to undertake some kind of 365: Sewing challenge.  Like I said, I find those projects to be too regimented and maybe even impossible to accomplish.  Instead, I plan on setting small, manageable goals for each month of 2012.  Posting them here will give me the accountability that I appreciate and the short time line will be motivating and approachable.

Here's hoping this process will be motivating, not taxing.  Stay tuned for my January goals.

Name Books

You wouldn't believe it by reading the internet, but making handmade gifts for babies is difficult!  Most of what I find on the web (that's something cute and something I would actually want to or could make) is for toddlers.  So this year, I was wracking my brain, trying to think of something to make for Daniel and Nickolas (last written about here).

Then, I went shopping with my girlfriend, Karina.  We talked about soft books and Daniel's incessant desire to chew on things.  We talked about how many baby gadgets Daniel owns already.  We talked about how Karina didn't purchase any books for Christmas.  Enter my bright idea!

Faithful readers, I give you the name book.  This personalized book measures about 5" square and is made entirely of scraps, including some of my precious Jay McCarroll stash.  Each page is dedicated to one letter of the child's name.  I tried to choose bold, bright prints for my letters, and I'm pretty sure I was successful.

I used an iron-on adhesive in order to attach the letters to the page and top-stitched around each one for durability.  In order to keep this book truly soft and satisfyingly puffy, the pages are stuffed with fusible fleece.  Every page is neatly top-stitched.

These name books are based on an alphabet instruction concept commonly known to instructors of early and emergent readers.  When learning letters, it's a great idea to start with a child's own name, since those are the most interesting letters of all (it turns out that reading your own name is pretty motivating)!  Many teachers will help students create alphabet books using a child's name (and the names of their family or classmates) to help enforce alphabet recognition.

Books like this are excellent toys because not only do they enforce letter recognition, they enforce print concepts, too!  When children play with books (and when we read to them), they learn that books start with a cover, that letters are found on the page, that we read from left to right.  Although this book is a little simple, it's a great introduction to print concepts like turning pages and seeing print on a page.

Although I made a soft name book for Nickolas and Daniel both, what you see in this post is a custom product created for a client.  Okay, not a client.  Karina asked me to make one for a coworker as a Christmas gift, and I obliged (And then she obliged by paying me. Cha-ching!).

I have future plans for other soft books and am considering creating a tutorial and pattern with templates for the name book and others.  Any interest?

Drawstring Backpack

Long time, no see!  There's been lots of sewing but not a lot of blogging going on these past few months.  I'm not pressuring myself to blog, or have lots of followers, or be high-profile enough to receive a free Panasonic 360 Cordless Iron to review (like everyone else).  Instead I'm just quietly going about my business, meeting with my stitching group weekly (they're more awesome than a free cordless iron), and sewing on whatever projects I want.

Recently, my school hosted our annual holiday celebration and silent auction.  In the past, I've offered whatever fun teacher-activity the PTA asked me to do.  This year, I suggested my own donation: a sewing lesson/workshop.  The winner had two project choices: drawstring backpack or the Keyka Lou Camera Case Wristlet.

The auction was won by the super-sweet Abigail, daughter of an awesome colleague.  She chose to work on a drawstring backpack and insisted that the bag include a zippered pocket-- cue Noodle Head's drawstring backpack tutorial (thanks, Amy!).

This tutorial is great!  I'm not a bag-sewer and three-dimensional objects are often out of my league.  I had to read through it a couple of times to get comfortable with the process, but once I started working it was smooth sailing.  Although it took me a minute to get comfortable sewing in 3D, this tutorial is simple and straightforward, and easy enough to make with a beginning sewer.  And the bag is cute!  And lined!  And has a fully finished zipper pocket!  To me, this is all very impressive; it doesn't seem like any of that should be easy, but it was.

After I made my practice bag, I invited Abigail over for an afternoon of sewing.  She loves purple, so I pulled a gorgeous purple Alexander Henry print from my stash.  Instead of using cording for the drawstrings, I purchased some pre-made double-fold bias tape in a coordinating color.  Before she arrived I cut the fabric pieces needed for construction and prepared the zippered pocket portion (for the sake of simplicity).  I also marked seam lines along each piece for Abigail to follow as she sewed.

Abigail was very excited to sew and got the hang of operating the machine right away.  We sewed several lines on scraps to practice guiding the fabric without pushing or pulling, and then began construction on the bag itself.  She did a fabulous job!  Clearly, this chick is a natural.  Her bag turned out pretty much perfect, despite some mistakes made by (and fixed by!) yours truly.

I've got to say: I'm extremely proud of this bag.  Not only was I able to successfully create a bag, but I was able to successfully help an 8-year old do it!  I feel extremely accomplished and I know Abigail does, too.  She even asked if we could sew together again!

God, Country, Notre Dame

Long time, no see.  Mostly, I'm busy.  Also, I couldn't post about this until very recently!

Christopher and Lauren finally tied the knot, and I was able to give them their t-shirt quilt!  It was a big hit (Thank God!) and it was even halfway a surprise!  As usual, my favorite longarm quilter at Kept in Stitches Quilting did a fabulous job.

Sadly, I didn't get a picture of the back.  Solid blue, with a strip of gold across the middle.  In the gold section I had several ND logos taken from the sleeves of the t-shirts.  Very cool looking, I promise.

My apologies to the bride for the above photo.  Laser eyes look pretty good on her, though.

"A child asks if he has brought any stories. Kimeli nods. He has brought with him one story. It has burned a hole in his heart."

Tremor Tuesday

Today I experienced my first (and hopefully last ever) earthquake.  At first it was confusing and then became utterly terrifying.  My house was shaking so badly I thought it would collapse.  I ran outside as fast as I could and left the cat to fend for herself.  

I'm not sure what's proper emergency protocol for earthquakes, but many of my neighbors came out of their buildings as well.  There was an older gentleman standing on the sidewalk across the street when I came out and I shouted over to him, "What was that?!"

He said, "I reckon it was an earthquake." 

Finished Cushions

Here's that photo of the finished, stuff cushions I promised so long ago.  They look even better than I remember!

Sewing Machine

I have sworn off all forms of virtual bees, swaps, and quilt alongs for 2011.  Most of you reading probably already know this.  Over the past couple years, I have found that those types of activities suck all the fun right out of sewing.  It goes back to that quilting with obligation thing, no?

But, I’m a sucker for plain-old, straight-up, old-fashioned patchwork.  Especially if it's made of cute little squares.  If it's cute little squares, I’m there.

Which is how I find myself in a contradiction. 

I’m sure you’ve seen the 36-patch quilt-along over at Crazy Mom Quilts.  And you see how I might be enticed.  Those blocks are adorable.  Not only are they adorable, but they are also easy.  Strip-piecing?  Check.

Make no mistake: I am not quilting along.  So let’s just get that straight.  I am, however, making 36-patch blocks because they are cute.  I’m not going to stay on any kind of schedule or add photos to the flickr group, because those are the things about quilt-alongs that stress me out.  Instead, I’m going to be inspired by Amanda Jean’s idea and I’m going to make some sweet, traditional patchwork blocks.

Now that’s out of the way.

I am strip piecing these blocks using fabric from my stash: one neutral and one print.  As of now, I am at a standstill because I am out of neutral fabrics!  That’s really too bad, considering I was on a roll; so far, I’ve got 37 blocks complete, and that’s after only three (four?) sewing sessions. 

I used the Robert Kaufman QuiltCalc to figure out how much yardage I’ve used.  (It’s pretty easy to do this using the “pieces to yardage area” calculator.) 

Sessions one and two yielded a combined 10 blocks (six strips per block, 2.5” x 16.5”, 60 strips in all) and used a total of 2 1/8 yards of fabric from my stash.

Session three (and four?) spanned two days and yielded 27 blocks!  That eliminated another 5 5/8 yards of stash fabrics.

Total destruction?  7 ¾ yards of stash busted and I’m already nearly halfway to a queen-sized quilt top.

It’s okay; you can clap.

Overpaid?

I've always thought Matt Damon was cute, especially in Good Will Hunting and the Bourne Identity movies.  Maybe even in The Talented Mr. Ripley, where he was also extremely creepy.  I'll admit it-- I wanted to kiss Matt Damon.

Now I want to kiss him for real.  A great, big sloppy one, right on the lips!

Wishlist Wednesday

Wish I was back here, pina colada in hand.  No worries, no responsibilities.  No online classes.  Just me and my man.  And the pina coladas.

Aunt Millie's Update 5

I'm smoking on this project!  Not only have I finished another block, but I also remade the center medallions for all the previous blocks and sewed them on.  Like I said, I'm smokin'!

This block was quick, easy, and fun to make.  A few of the fabrics in the kit weren't to my taste, so Kristal passed along some batiks to substitute.  The batiks add some charm.  I will definitely be doing some substitutions on block six because some of those unfortunate fabrics have repeated themselves.

Speaking of Kristal, we went to Quilter's Corner today where I found the perfect dot for upcoming scrappy hexagon project.  More on that later.

Block Six, coming up!