monogrammed newlywed pillow

Couples spend quite a bit of time on their wedding registries. I did when I got married. It makes perfect sense. "We'll make a list of all the things we like, and then people will go buy them, and we won't get any weird gifts!"

Enter Tara.

I am notorious for shopping off-registry. Don't get me wrong, I look at the registry, but then I tend to make something that (I hope) will compliment it. Anyone who dislikes this practice might want to mention it to me in the future before their big day.

B-T-dubs, Interior Designers are notorious for shopping off registry. We think we know better than you what you need. Right, wrong, or indifferent, it's just who we are.

Such is the case for Kyle and Summer. Kyle is my boss' son and Summer happens to like handmade things. Or so her Pinterest boards would have me believe. So for their nuptuals, I decided to make them a little something something.

Their registry had lots of classic items. Blues, navys, and whites. And the one thing that all couples' registries have in common - MONOGRAMS.

It makes sense. If the gal is going traditional and taking the guy's last name, she naturally wants it emblazoned on everything they own. This happy couple will now be sporting an equally cheerful monogrammed pillow.

I actually started with this side, which is basically a simple square mini-quilt. These are 3.5" squares, 5 high by 5 wide. It's a simple checkerboard pattern with whites and navys. It came out to roughly 15.5" square when it was done.

I bought a 16" pillow form. The rules are that I probably should have made the pillow top finish at 17" (because you lose 1" when you sew the front and back of the pillow case together with a 1/2" seam allowance), but I tend to like my pillows either - A) a little overstuffed or B) insanely squishy with a feather pillow form that feels like it's vintage. I went with Option A on this one.

At any rate, I made the top and quilted it with navy thread, 1/4" off of each seam to make a grid. Nearly all of these fabrics are from JoAnn's.

Then, the back. Drumroll please....

This turned out even cuter than it was in my brain. My plan had been to do a blue monogram on a plain white background. But then I realized I had enough of this preppy polka dot fabric left over from the front to make the back. It's so darn cheerful!

I love it when things work out.

quilt club: reverse inset circiles

First, let's talk about that title. Reverse inset circles. It sounds extremely daunting, and let me tell ya, it felt extremely daunting when I opened the study guide. I've seen quilts with circles or curves in them before and just could not wrap my mind around how you can sew two pieces of fabric together, fold them over, and get a curve. It defies the laws of nature. 

But it's actually possible. And it's not so hard. You just need a little patience and a little Elmer's glue. Seeeee?!

It's so gloriously 1980's that I can barely contain myself. Remember Todd and Margo's house in Christmas Vacation? Yeah, this would totally have been at home there.

"Then why is the carpet all wet, Todd?"
"I don't know Margo!"

We had a smaller group this month because of graduations and end of school stuff and spring and life. And not everyone brought inset circles, because we're relaxed at modern quilt club and that's how we roll. But the quilts that everyone brought were amazing.

This post could alternatively be called "quilt club: awkward talking faces." I have no hopes of a career as a photo journalist. I do not have that gift that the paparazzi have of catching celebrities talking and NOT capturing weird faces. Sorry guys.

Shannon made this super cute West Park tote bag. You can read about it on her blog to get info on the pattern and her process.

quilt club is back, y'all

Quilt club has been on hiatus since last fall when our patron store closed its doors (insert sad face). But, happy day, we are up and running again at a new location. Which means more pretty pictures of quilts up in here (up in here).

The group got together in April to catch up on life and show off what we've been working on since we last met. The group's consensus was that without the monthly group meeting, we weren't quilting as much as we would like. Hello, accountability.

Even still, there were lots of great quilts to see. My apologies, I left my nice camera at home, so these were just snapped with my iPhone. I'll do better next time.

quilt as you go pillow top

I love my boys. They are delightful. Spirited. Squishy.

They also systematically destroy all of the things that I love.

Case in point, this poor, pitiful Crate and Barrel pillow on my sofa. So. Sad.

So, yeah, this is why I'm posting about pillows all of the time now. Yeesh. We've been long overdue for new pillows around here. Enter this beauty.

This little ditty is a project from the book Quilt-As-You-Go Made Modern. I've used this technique once before when I made this toddler pillow sham awhile back, but that was before my sweet brother bought me the book with real, actual instructions in it. Always a plus.

Anthropologie style piped pillow

You guys.

I would love to be humble right here, I really would, but would you look at this pillow?

It. Is. Gorgeous.

It was my first pillow project to use a iron-on stabilizer. And my first project to make and use piping. And it has an invisible zipper. The trifecta.

See that zipper? No, you don't, because it's invisible.

shirred spring dress

I have been wanting to make a sweet little shirred (aka smocked) dress for more than a year now for Henry's girlfriend, Adalyn. Shirring is a technique that uses elastic thread and turns any fabric into a cute, ruffly, stretchy fabric that is just perfect for dresses and skirts.

Here's the problem. I tried umpteen tutorials and could never get the hang of it. My fabric just would not bunch. I eventually gave up in a super graceful way that definitely didn't involve pounding my fists on the sewing table or uttering curse words.

Fast forward a year and it's Adalyn's 4th birthday. I am bound and freaking determined to shirr her a dress, so I look for more tutorials. I eventually see a little note at the bottom of one that says in big red letters something like "if you have a Brother sewing machine, you're going to have a really hard time with shirring."

Oh, fantastic. Well that explains it.

Turns out that Brother machines don't shirr well due to the fact that they have a drop-in bobbin with no bobbin tension adjustment. There is a work around though. It sounds totally scary, but I promise it's not. You just tighten one little screw with a tiny Flathead screwdriver and VOILA! You can shirr! Here's a link to the video that will show you how to shirr on your Brother machine. Don't be afraid. It's worth it.

If you don't have a Brother, congratulations, because life just got a whole lot easier for you.

Now that my machine was shirr-ready, I followed this tutorial from Pretty Prudent to whip up this adorable springy dress for Adalyn out of some vintage fabric. Pink and purple paisley. Doesn't get much cuter than that.

Check out that shirring. And those pom poms. Come on.

I even had Henry model it to be sure it would fit Adalyn, since they're the same size. Yes, I have photos. No, I will not be sharing them. You're welcome, future 15 year old Henry.

Here's Adalyn modeling her dress. My future daughter-in-law, ladies and gentlemen. Those who can't seem to produce girl babies can sew for the girl babies of others.

This would be a great technique to use on grown up skirts too. Could you imagine a shirred comfy waistline on a cotton skirt when you're pregnant? I'm not (thank goodness), but this would definitely have been nice to have when my belly was the size of a beer keg.

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Colonial American Flag Quilt (with free pattern)

Christmas has come and gone, which means I can (finally) share with you guys some of the quilty projects I completed last year but had to keep under wraps.

This one is probably my favorite. After the one bojillion hours I spent on it, it better be.

I have a very unique relationship with my mother in law, in that we actually like each other. Quite a bit, actually. She's amazing. She came and stayed with us for weeks after both boys were born. And not the kind of "help" like "I'll hold the baby while you clean the house and cook me dinner" kind of help, but the "let me clean the house and cook you dinner while you hold the baby" or "let me hold the baby while you take a long shower and nap" kind of help.

You know, the helpful kind.

The inspiration from this quilt came to me at the 4th of July (imagine that) while we were at my in law's house. Tammy loves red white and blue everything and has a soft spot for colonial American era stuff. Thus, this quilt was born.

It was a labor of love to say the least. It's a simple enough pattern, but it has lots and lots and LOTS of half square triangles. I worked on it from July to November. There's just only so many HSTs I can make before I had to put it away for awhile for my own sanity.

Also, what can't you do with half square triangles? So versatile.

If you're interested in making one for yourself or a gift, here is a link to my FREE pattern guide here. It's fairly basic. Make your HSTs in whatever method you choose, assemble the rows, connect the rows, and applique the stars using a zigzag stitch. I used fusible web to adhere the stars first, which I highly recommend. Then I straight line quilted the whole thing.

The amount of fabric you'll use will vary a bit because it really depends on how scrappy you want the finished product to be. A good guide would be:

• white fabric - 1/2 yd from 4 fabrics
• red fabric - 1/2 yd from 4 fabrics
• blue fabric - fat quarters from 4-6 fabrics
• 1/2 yd binding
• 1-1/2 yd backing

I used gold thread to applique the stars. I like to think that if Betsy Ross had access to gold thread in her day, she would have too. She's cool like that.

Here's Old Glory in all of its, well, glory. The little blue birds on the white fabric are probably my favorite part. They only made it in there because I totally miscounted and cut too few white ones. Whoops.

And yes, there are 13 stars and 13 stripes. It's at least that accurate.

I chose more traditional fabrics than what I typically go for since that's what Tammy gravitates towards. I was able to incorporate some vintage scraps, which I always love to do.

See that yummy crinkly effect? You get that by NOT prewashing your fabrics, but instead washing the quilt after it is complete. Always on cold water. I threw in a few Shout Color Catchers to help prevent the red fabric bleeding. Thankfully I didn't have any issue.

Hope you like it, Tammy! If not, I'm taking it back because it took freaking forever. Love you!

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paper pieced fox pillow

Oh Lawd, she's making more Christmas pillows.

This is the last one. Promise. Probably. I just love Christmas so much, you guys.

This little flannel fox was my first (and, well, only...so far) attempt at paper piecing. I talked more about how to make it in this post. The plan had been to incorporate it into a sampler quilt with all of my quilt club blocks, but I just couldn't stand to let it sit in my WIP basket any longer. My quilty friends can relate, right?

This impulse hit me first thing yesterday morning and for the life of me I could think of nothing else until it was done. Creative urges are real, y'all.

I got it out, grabbed fabric for the back of the pillow and a zipper, and was about to throw them together to make a pillow when I realized, duh, I need to quilt it first. Blerg.

I seriously considered for some time skipping the quilting part but just knew I'd be mad at myself later. Then I thought, here's my chance to try out free motion quilting. I'd never done it before and it's been on my list of things to try. If you aren't familiar with the term, you basically use your machine to draw a pattern for your thread instead of doing something more rigid like straight line quilting (which is my personal go-to). You can do it totally off the cuff or use a disappearing ink marker to pre-draw the design.

I did a quick little practice number to try out the technique before I ruined committed to my fox. I was shocked at how well it went. It's like doodling with thread! How have I never done this before?!

I quickly realized that spray basting would be my best friend on this because sewing around pins would be nearly impossible. Something else I've never tried before. A project of firsts, I tell ya.

I can't tell you how fun this was. I went with a faux bois pattern - which is just a fancy Interior Designer way of saying looks like wood grain. My fellow Interior Designer friend Lindsey on Instagram suggested it as well, so I knew the idea was gold. DONE.

I mean look at that! How stinking cute. Toots own horn.

Oh, the possibilities.

I used this invisible zipper pillow tutorial that I posted awhile back to whip that baby into a pillow in no time. Well, no time except for the fact that I was rushing and nearly attached the zipper on the side of the pillow instead of the bottom and had to rip it out and start again. When will I learn?

I finished it late afternoon yesterday so the lighting was all crummy. It killed me not to post it immediately because I'm so over the moon with how it turned out.

And, obviously, it coordinates with my Christmas quilt and Christmas dollhouse pillow since I used the flannel and red fabrics in all three. This is about as close to matchy-matchy that you'll ever see me get. But each have their own personality, which is what I love about them.

Max thinks that pillows are the greatest gift on God's green earth. Other than food. He has claimed this as his own. After I snagged this photo I got 42 other blurry ones of him playing "throw the pillow at mommy before her camera shutter closes."

Also, Christmas Jammies. 

Faux bois/wood grain was a great first pattern to go with, I think. It's something familiar, but forgiving. If you were trying to draw something completely recognizable, like stars or hearts for instance, your eye would pick up on it if something went horribly wrong. But wood grain is in nature, and it is totally acceptable if it isn't perfect. In fact, I think it's better that way.

I like to call this photo "OMG I LOVE THESE PILLOWS SOOOOO MUUUUUUCH!" 

Yes, it's blurry, but it shows his overall enthusiasm about the process and Christmas in general. And, again, babies in Christmas Jammies.

I reserve the right to post one or two more Christmas crafts before the fat man comes down the chimney next week. Hope you're enjoying seeing them half as much as I'm enjoying making them.

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Christmas doll house pillow

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Christmas doll house pillow

Let's just talk about this pillow. I know I say this all the time, but this might be the cutest thing I've ever made.

It was inspired by inkandbobbin over on Instagram. She makes these adorable little dollhouse-style pillows that she calls Whimsy houses. Most of them are on the uber-girly side of the spectrum, which always bums me out because I want all of these cute things but mostly my boys just want to play with trucks and dinosaurs. I've been toying around in my noodle how to make these more boyish so we could have one around the house without the Hubs throwing up.

But then this amazing thing happened. She started making a limited amount of Christmas ones.

Yes! Christmas is always the answer! It's not girly....it's festive.

And since I can never bring myself to spend money on something I can create myself, I dove in. No pattern or anything. I just winged it.

Most of this fabric came from my stash with the exception  of the framed Christmas characters. They are from my favorite Spoonflower fabric designer and you can order it here. She's not paying me to say that. She doesn't know I exist....yet.

That sounded creepier than it should have.

I fussy-cut the little portraits out and zigzag stitched them to the pillow behind the doors and windows. Then I couldn't stop, so I added them to the roof. And inside of the door. And over the trees.

If I were to make one of these again, I think I'd use fusible web to attach the appliques before I stitched them to give them some more hold. As I stuffed the pillow, some of the stitching pulled apart from the applique pieces, so it looks a bit amateur hour. And I left some raw edges exposed on the door and windows. I was in that "oh my goodness I just need to get this done so I can cross it off my list" mode. 

You now that mode. Don't pretend like you don't.

That pink Christmas tree makes me smile. You know that part of the Charlie Brown Christmas movie where they go to the tree lot and they are all pink and made of aluminum? Charlie Brown is completely disgusted, but I am swooning because PINK TREES!

I could have easily gotten away with a fat quarter of the fabric, but went ahead and got a full yard. You just never know when you're going to need Christmas Portrait fabric, amiright?

Henry liked it more than I thought he would as evidenced by his super cheesy smile. Max LOOOOVES it because his favorite game is peek-a-boo and now he can play it with the pillow. Which means he isn't playing it exclusively with me. Which means I now have time to do things like type out blog posts about pillows. 

Win-win-win.

Clearly the roof had to coordinate with the quilt I made last week. I mean, nothing in the world would make any sense if it didn't.

Oh, and our octopus is now a reindeer. Obviously.

I still have one more Christmas sewing project for the house that I'm hoping to finish this week. If I wait until next week I'll only get to enjoy it for a few days, so I need to get ON IT.

Anyone else crafting up some holiday goodness? Please link up in the comments below. I'd love to see what everyone is working on.

Lastly, if you want a cute pillow house of your very own, mosey on over to inkandbobbin and buy one of hers. They are amazing.

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O Christmas quilt, O Christmas quilt

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attack of the octopus

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O Christmas quilt, O Christmas quilt

If this picture doesn't make you want to curl up with a quilt, then I'm pretty sure nothing will.

I've had this flannel in my stash for quite some time. I impulse buy plaid things. We all have our vices.

Aaaaaanyway, I finished all of my Christmas gift sewing last week and decided to make a little sumthin' sumthin' for the Lenneys. Something wintery, but not so Christmas specific that it would have to be packed up when the Wise Men hit the road in January.

The construction is simple. 7.5" squares in 4 colors, 12 in each color (I think). White always went with red and grey always went with yellow. It only took me a couple of sessions to make the top, and I was able to quilt the whole thing during a single naptime. It was a Christmas miracle.

The back is super-soft and perfect for snuggling up with a White Russian at the end of a long day. The drink, not the man. My husband isn't Russian.

He did, on an unrelated note, admit to me that he thought the quilt looked like a circus tent. In his defense I had just said "I keep going back and forth between really liking this quilt and thinking it looks like a circus tent." 

I sort of set myself up for that one.

I think it's grown on him, though, because I keep catching him bundled up with it on the couch.

And yes, in case you caught my last post, the tree is back up and vertical, although with FAR fewer ornaments this time around. There's like 19 ornaments on this 9' tree. Most of them plastic. I haven't been able to bring myself to go through the box of what's left and assess the damage. For now, this is just fine with me.

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season!

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