more sneak peeks

When I was in France last month at the European Quilt Convention, I found something that sparked my interest terribly - FELT! I have made things from felt before like a mobile phone case, but I sewed it together with the sewing machine not by hand. (If there is an easier way to make it, I am all for it.) I found this really cute sewing and needle kit made in felt. I couldn't resist, because I have been scouting around for that perfect needle case for a while now. So I bought it!! I loved it so much, I returned the next day to the same stand to buy a different felt kit and a gorgeous variegated floss. I pulled out this book, because it is one of two that I bought a few years ago to learn how to embroider. It is not as hard as I thought!!

I hope you stay tuned for the outcome. It might be a little "primitive," but a girl has to start somewhere!

And another sneak peek - I worked on the perfect wrist needle pin cushion. It is simple to make and doesn't need added stabilizing in the bottom for the pins. I went into production and made them for all of the participants of the Patchwork in the Peaks in Morzine, France last month as well.

They turned out very nice and are quite easy to make. They are great as stocking stuffers at Christmas or a quick birthday gift for a sewing friend. I hope to have a pattern for it soon in my Craftsy shop.

Thanks for dropping by!
Karen

new design for a sewing kit

I have had it on my mind to make up a pretty little sewing kit. I don't sew too much by hand, but I do like to close my binding up with hand stitching. Then I usually grab my embroidery scissors, thread, pin cushion and quilting needle. I thought it would be nice to have a central place to put it all and grab if I want to take a little travel.

This is a pattern I received as a gift from one of my patchwork friends. I thought I would sew it together according to the directions to see how I liked it. Is it practical? Does it fit my function? Is it pretty? Is it durable? Would I make it for someone else?

What is nice about this pattern, is that it uses (2) 5" charm cardboard pieces to stabilize it. The directions I have are in German, but most likely were translated from English thinking about the charm board. Both sides of the inner flap had a little pocket. I removed it from the back flap, because I thought it was too much. I like the double felt flap for pins but my piece was too thick. The original stated to sew it in like a book, but that didn't look right to me with the pocket. My scissors are also pretty loose and would fly out. I was supposed to attach a ribbon behind the pockets to bind the booklet closed, but I am not a ribbon-type girl. I am still searching for a good solution for a sewing case! I need a place for needles, thread, and embroidery scissors. It should look modern and be durable. No country look, no ribbons.

I finished up this panel which originated from Mini Disco from Julie at Jaybird Quilts. I could use it for a new sewing kit. I loved the design and it must have reminded me of my own with mini triangles. After I started sewing it all together. I lost my patience. My points weren't matching up anymore. I lost my desire, and put it aside for a while.

A couple of months later I started sewing on it again. I still wasn't happy with it; that's why I am not showing the front. It was supposed to look more like the one on the left, but I didn't make it that far. My design was a little tricker without a flat edge...more of a shape shifter design. Oh well, we all learn from the mistakes!

A bit of sound advice: this pattern looks awesome in solids..not prints. It is very tricky to get all of those points to match up too! Congratulations to all who successfully made the Mini Disco! This one is from Quilt et Textilkunst in Munich. It is worth it to buy the pattern, but a bit of patience also has to be planned in. Good luck!

I am still working on a simple, easy and practical needle case/sewing kit. If you have any advice or nice links for me, please pass them on. I would love to hear from you!!

the Man's Quilt

Most of us have a special partner, that we like to spoil every now and then. We especially like to show them just how much we love them too. In the quilting world, that is usually our men! They support us with our color and design choices. They forgive us we we spend too much time behind the sewing machine. Don't they deserve to be appreciated too, especially with their own quilt? Of course, they do!!

Shortly after I got married, I started working on a quilt for my husband using plaids and a very bland solid wheat fabric. I found a pattern in an Australian magazine and wanted to recreate it. The pattern looked simple enough, and it was no doubt a "man's quilt" which you don't typically see. As things go, the project got put on hold, because it was more complicated than I was capable of. Pressing became a nightmare. And the solid wheat fabric no longer appealed to me. It was looking too "country." The project got put on hold!

This is the original block. Today, I would only make two separate blocks - a flying geese and parallelogram with sew and flip in the corners. It would look better, be easier to sew and more accurate! (The original HST are still tucked away carefully waiting for another day as well as four full-sized finished blocks.)

Flash forward - our 10 year anniversary was approaching (quickly). I wanted to finish my quilt for my husband who was feeling neglected all these years, because he never received his own quilt. I redesigned the quilt using the original plaid fabrics and added the solid color brown and a hint of pistachio.

I worked on the quilt on the side for a couple of months being careful not to show my husband. Our anniversary came and went. No quilt was ready. When I heard that our local quilt shop owner was ready to start taking orders on her long arm quilting machine, I jumped right on it. I took the quilt top, a very nice and warm cotton batting and an over sized backing that I had tucked away somewhere in my stash to Ms. Sabine Feldmann of Quilt Oase. She is my guru...the quilt goddess galore. She knows everything! I showed her the top, and she knew exactly what to do. We agreed that an allover quilt design would fit the top perfectly. And here it is:

Isn't it gorgeous? Sabine used a variegated thread which shows up perfectly over the brown and pistachio colors. She used a nice big swirly that allows the quilt to lay comfortably when in use, because this is my husbands new sofa blankie! It is long enough for him and is a proud 2,10cm long! The blanket, not my husband. ;-) I wanted to get it finished quickly, but still chose to hand-stitch the binding closed! I used bigger stitches, but it was worth the extra time.

He was kind enough to model for me too; that's him behind the blanket!

He has been enjoying the quilt in the evenings for a while now. He truly enjoys it and has mentioned several times that he loves the geometric shapes mixed in with the roundness of the swirlies. He asked if I hated it, because of the brown and dark colors. No I don't! It is not my typical color palette, true, but I love this quilt. I love the simplicity and scrappy feel. I am so happy this one is staying with us too! And, I don't think it looks one bit country either!

You can see more pictures of the quilt here on flickr. You can also see some of the WIP going on with it. I saved all of the pictures so it would totally be a surprise.

If you would like to have your quilt long arm quilted, or you live in southern Germany and don't know of a local long arm quilter, look up Sabine Feldmann. She is the hottest new artist on the long arm machine! She also runs a full service quilt shop with classes on everything!

http://www.quilt-oase.com/

Happy sewing and quilting!