One Hour Wall Hanging

Someone in my house has been on a napping strike for the past few days.  That, in addition to being super busy this week, means that very little sewing has been done.  Actually, very little anything has been done.  I was getting antsy and needed to make something, so last night I decided to find a quick project that I could make in (hopefully) an hour or less.  I decided to just pull out some fabric and piece something together on my own rather that search through any of my books or patterns.  I knew if I started searching I'd end up spending the entire evening looking at books and trying to make up my mind and then end up not making anything.

I decided to make a small wall hanging for a narrow space upstairs above an end table.  The space isn't wide enough for a picture frame but it looked like it needed something.  Wall hangings are one of my favorite things to make because they're fast, simple, and showcase cute fabric.  I wanted to use some of my new fabric--it's a Japanese fabric by Lecien called Flower Sugar 3.  You can search for it online, but mine is from here.  I love this line, and there have been two other Flower Sugar lines that are similar.  This line is colorful and bright, with vintage floral and gingham designs in reds, yellows, greens, aquas, and pinks.

I had 6 fat quarters, but only used a small amount of each.  You can make this wall hanging by using any coordinating scraps you have on hand.  For this project, you will need:

3 4"X6" scraps of fabric

2 6"X10.5" scraps of fabric

1/8 yd. of coordinating fabric for binding (cut strips fabric 2 1/2" X width of fabric and sew strips end to end, pressing seams open, to make one continuous piece of binding.  You will need a finished strip of approx. 68")

1/4 yd. of coordinating fabric for backing

thin cotton batting, at least 8"X30"

scissors, pins, sewing machine & iron!

Start by choosing the fabric and cutting the scrap pieces.  You can also go ahead and make the binding.  If you need a good tutorial on making your own binding, this is a good source.





Start with one of the 4X6 pieces and pin a 6X10.5 piece on top, along one edge, wrong sides together.  Continue in this order with the remaining pieces.



Sew all the pieces together using a 1/4" seam allowance.



Press seams down to one side.



Place backing fabric on a flat surface, followed by batting, followed by the pieced top, right side up, to make a "sandwich."  Pin in place using regular pins or safety pins.  Quilt as desired (I made it really easy and just stitched in the ditch along each seam).



Trim the quilted piece and align the binding along one side of the top, leaving a few inches of "tail" at the start.  Match up the raw edges and pin in place, stopping about 1/4" before you reach the corner.  Sew along the edge with a 1/4" seam allowance.  Stop 1/4" before the corner and miter the corner.  For a tutorial on this, check this out.





Flip the piece over and fold the binding over the raw edge and pin in place.





Hand sew the binding closed, trim threads, and press the finished piece one more time.  If you want a more puckered, quilted look then try washing the piece on the gentle cycle and toss in the dryer on low.





I finished in just over an hour, hand sewing included!  That's my kind of project.

It seems as though the napping strike has been lifted...I was able to post this entire thing without saving and going back to it 16 times.  I think we'll head to the park when she wakes up.  It's January 6th yet it's 50 degrees and sunny outside--we're taking advantage while we can!



~Stacy

New Year

Happy New Year!  I always get excited when a new year begins.  This year was a little bittersweet though, since 2011 was absolutely the greatest year of my life so far and I was a little sad to see it end.  In reading the news, Facebook statuses, and eavesdropping on cell phone conversations in line at the grocery store, however, it seems like many people do not share my opinion of this last year and are glad to see it over.  Every time a new year starts my mind immediately jumps ahead 5 months or so.  I start dreaming about sunny days, warm weather, and cookouts.  I try to decorate with as much color as possible to keep the winter blahs at bay.  Even though it's only techinically been winter for about 2 weeks, I'm over it.  Once Christmas passes, the snow and cold can kindly follow suit.  Unfortunately this does not happen, especially in Cleveland where January thru April are not just "Winter" and "Spring" but, more accurately, "gray", "dirty" and "so cold you want to scream but can't because your mouth won't move."

Another thing I do every year at this time is fantasize about taking a vacation to somewhere tropical and gorgeous.  This is my current destination of choice:

9 Beaches, Bermuda.  Photo by Annie Schlechter.

Sigh. 

New Years + ick weather also inspire me to want to redecorate and change (everything) around in my home.  Someday I want to have a designated studio for sewing, crafting, etc.  Kind of like this:

Courtesy of bhg.com

In the meantime, I wonder if I could make something like this for the small space I'm currently using:

Courtesy of bhg.com

This would solve many of my storage problems:  a home for my sewing machine, a place for patterns and fabric scraps, and a designated area for sewing, cutting, and pinning.  This will be my mission for the winter!

Today the rest of the Christmas decorations are coming down and my house is returning to normal.  Also, my baby girl is 7 months old today.  I can't believe it!  How did this:

turn into this:

so quickly??  Double sigh.  It simultaneously makes me want to cry and immediately have another baby.  I will do neither of those, at least not today...but then I think about this new year and all of the things Charlotte will do, this year and for all the years to come.  And with that thought, I forget about the weather, the winter doldrums, and the resolutions to lose the baby weight that I know will probably be derailed by the end of the week, and I get really excited.  Having this little lady around means I can relive all the great things about being a kid (which is pretty much everything) and revisit the world thru her eyes.  2012, we're going to do some great things!

~Stacy

 

Finishing

Santa was good to me this year.  He brought me a bunch of new sewing books (including the newest One Yard Wonders.  Oh my, I want to make everything in it...).  I also received several stacks of glorious fabric:


This is a pack of 5" precuts of Amy Butler's Soul Blossoms.  It was purchased here.



 



These above two pictures are of my new layer cake (10" squares) of Sophie by Chez Moi.  Check it out here (photos courtesy of this website as well).

And finally:


This one is called Winter Palace by Maywood Studio.  You can check them out here.

Needless to say, I'm very excited about all the projects I can make.  I have a bad habit of starting projects then getting distracted halfway thru by something new and never finishing.  My fabric bin is full of half-completed things--not because I didn't like what I was making but because I have the attention span of a hummingbird.

I made a rule that I have to finish three projects before I can start anything else.  I decided to finish up a blanket I started last Christmas that has been taking up prime real estate in my bin because it contains about 4,873 blocks of fleece.  Thankfully it's a fast project to finish because all the squares were already cut.  Since it's fleece, I don't have to worry about any backing, batting, or binding--the 3 B's of quiltmaking that take a lot of time. 

This blanket pattern comes from Gooseberry Patch Christmas Book 8 and is a simple patchwork blanket that is big enough for two.  Or for one small dog to roll himself up in several times.  The pattern calls for 120 blocks, 6" each, of four different colors of fleece--a total of 3 1/2 yards (or 7/8 yards of each color). 



The pattern is incredibly simple:  pin together and sew 10 rows of 12 blocks each.  Sew the rows together.  Cut the seams to make "fringe".  The End. 







Fleece is very easy to work with, other than some bulking issues I had at the seams.  Other than that this blanket is low maintenance both to make and use.  It was something I knew I could finish in very little time, would clear a lot of space, and would bring me one step closer to playing with my new fabric :)

Tomorrow's project:  finishing a purse.  This might count as cheating because all I have to do is add handles...but I say it counts. 

~Stacy

First Christmas

Christmas was wonderful.  Chad said it, and I agree, that this year was the best Christmas we've ever had.  We cleaned, we cooked, we baked, we shopped, we cleaned some more.  Hosting Christmas turned out to be a very good decision.  Everyone had a wonderful time and Charlotte was able to nap in her own bed, which translated to a happy baby all day long.

Let's back up a second to Christmas Eve.  I asked Chad what I should make and he suggested mac & cheese.  I didn't want to just make any old mac & cheese, especially since his mom was arriving that morning from Maine and his brother was in town on leave from the military.  I found a recipe for Baked Macaroni and Cheese which is possibly the best mac & cheese recipe ever.  I used extra sharp cheddar (yum) and bought pre-cooked bacon as a time saver.  This recipe is incredible, easy, and makes a TON so you can easily feed a large crowd or have plenty to freeze for later.  Right now I have 6 individual servings in my freezer to pull out when I don't feel like cooking.  Or making breakfast.  I had mac & cheese for breakfast.








Delicious.

Later on, Chad and I let Charlotte open her gifts from us (Santa will bring the presents next year).  She mostly enjoyed the paper and bows but I was delighted to see how much she loved the blocks I made!



I made a bag for them with fabric yo-yos and a big letter "C" on the front.  I didn't get a good shot of it, so you'll just have to imagine :)





A sock in one hand and a block in the other.  Life is good.

Chad and I exchanged gifts in the evening.  He gave me so many great things, many of which I'll be blogging about in the near future.  I have about a thousand project ideas.  In the meantime, here's the fabric stash bin he picked out:


He found it at this great Etsy shop

Christmas day was busy--my house looked like Santa's workshop exploded.  Charlotte opened (tons) more presents and we ate, ate, and ate some more.  It was an exhaustingly wonderful day.



Merry Christmas--I hope yours was fabulous.


This photo is courtesy of my friend Sara


~Stacy

Distracted

It's 3 days before Christmas and I think I'm ready.  The house is still clean(ish), the tables and chairs are set up, and the menu is planned.  I'm not responsible for much in the way of cooking, which is a nice bonus to hosting--I can have everyone else bring food!  It's a good thing everything is coming together because I've been finding myself waaay to distracted with this:



My Grandma gave this to me for Christmas at our get together last weekend.  Let me back up by saying I have never read a single Harry Potter book or watched any of the movies.  I think this means I should be an exhibit in a museum somewhere as the only person in the world who has never experienced anything Harry Potter.  I knew the basic idea, but honestly I never thought I'd be able to get in to the books.  I'm not typically a fan of anything even remotely sci-fi, magical, or wizard-y.  My sister-in-law finally convinced me to try it out.  She and I have similar taste in books and movies (we both shun The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and anything Hobbit-centric) so I trust her judgment if she inists I will like something.  Turns out I did not need to worry about having a hard time getting into the story because I love it so far!  I'm almost done with the first book and find myself sneaking in chapters in between Charlotte's naps.  So, if my house ends up a mess before Sunday and my laundry is taking over the second floor, blame Harry.

I've been keeping the cooking simple this week.  So far we've eaten this twice:





YUM.

Howard is keeping an eye on the neighborhood.



He's been especially busy patrolling the porch and sidewalks this week, with all the UPS and FedEx deliveries.  Speaking of UPS, I received a package today from my brother-in-law, who will be visiting this weekend.  I may or may not have peeked inside, and if I did, I may have seen what appeared to be a big stack of 5" precuts of Amy Butler's Soul Blossoms fabric.  Maybe.  I won't know for sure until we formally exchange gifts this weekend.  In the meantime, my sewing machine cries quietly in the corner.

This may be it before Christmas, unless I remember to blog the recipe and pictures for the Baked Mac & Cheese with Bacon that I'm making Saturday.  It might be devoured before this happens.  Either way, Merry Christmas to all!

~Stacy

Almost Time

The snow is melting but everything inside is feeling very Christmasy. 

Today was spent cleaning the entire house, top to bottom, in preparation for company tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday (!). 

Do you find yourself going overboard when you have to get your house ready for gatherings?  Or is that just me?  For example, today I was cleaning everything: baseboards, windows, behind furniture, you name it.  But I found myself doing extra bizarre things like reorganizing all the magnets and pictures on my refrigerator.  I knew it was weird and completely unnecessary as I was doing it but couldn't stop.  Note to anyone reading this who is coming to my house this weekend:  linger at the magnet display.  There was some effort in that, all for you. 

I did find a little time to do something fun.  I've seen the idea in numerous magazines and home decorating books where you take embroidery hoops and hang them on the wall in groups of different sizes with cute fabric framed inside.  It seemed easy enough and it totally was.  I used leftover scraps of Bliss and Ruby (by Bonnie & Camille for Moda) and bought 7 hoops.  I spent just under $5.00 total on all the hoops, so this was a super cheap project.  All I had to do was press the fabric, clip it into the hoops, and trim--done!  I spent about half an hour on the entire project (not including hanging).

These are great if you change around your decor a lot (like me) because all you have to do is snap in some different fabrics and you're done. This will probably be it for the week for sewing.  My "studio" does double duty as my dining room, which needs to stay clean for the next few days.  The rest of my week will be full of cooking, baking, entertaining a baby, and re-vacuuming everything I just vacuumed today.  Good thing I bought a pound of hazelnut coffee today; I'm going to need it :)

Hoping for a white Christmas...

...and looking forward to her first.

 

~Stacy

Let It Snow

We've had a lazy start to our Saturday, which is just fine with me.  Little Miss slept in and took an early nap.  We have a family Christmas party in a few hours, so she must know she needs to sleep off any residual crabbiness so she can dazzle everyone later.  When I finally wandered downstairs and looked out the window, I saw this:





This isn't the first snow of the season but it's the first that's stuck--and it's still snowing!  I always love seeing snow in December.  I take tons of pictures and can spend a lot of time just admiring its beauty.  Then March comes and I think unspeakable thoughts about the snow.  But until then, let's enjoy :)

He certainly is:



Howard + frisbee = true love.  I truly believe this little dog would play until he died.  We have to end the game when we see his tongue dangling from the side of his mouth because he will not quit on his own.  He has an ultimate frisbee that can withstand his use and abuse.  Never mind that it's almost as big as he is--he has to hold his head as high as he can to keep from tripping over it when he runs.  This is what happens when your legs are 3" long.







Confession:  I ate a mini cupcake for breakfast.  My mother-in-law lives in Maine and sent our Christmas gifts early with instructions to open them ASAP.  I was happy to oblige.  One of my gifts was a mini cupcake pan, which I've wanted for awhile but just wasn't one of those things I could justify buying for myself.  I used it yesterday and loved it--these yummy little guys satisfy my sweet tooth without being too much.







The snow is coming down harder now--fat, sparkly flakes that are piling up on all the tree branches.  So pretty.  I hear someone "ah-gooing" upstairs; time to get ready for the party!



~Stacy