across the pond | a quilt for Henry

As I write this post I'm actually wrapped up in this quilt. It's my favorite! I know, I say that every time, but I'm really digging this one for some reason. I've always wanted to make a Union Jack quilt and had the perfect opportunity recently when my friend Keri found out she was expecting a second baby boy. I started collecting blue and red fabrics, and when I say collecting I really mean rummaging through my mom's stash. I have a pretty strong dislike for red (though I'm trying to change that!) so I don't have any red fabric at all, and when I was pulling reds off my mom's shelves I came across a bundle of quilter's quarters from Joann by Denyse Schmidt - score! Keri loves Denyse's designs and they were the prettiest shades of blue which were perfect for the quilt I had in mind. They're out of print and impossible to find now, but my mom is generous like that. Thanks, Mom!

I used this tutorial from Lily's Quilts to make four of the block she calls a "double fat jack" and sashed them with white. I was pairing prints as I sewed, and now I wish I had put more thought into the fabric combinations ahead of time because the value pairings could be better (both of the dark reds are on the bottom), but I still like how it came out. I just hope it's not too feminine for Henry! There are a quite a few florals there, but I figure Henry will sort of be a proper British chap so he'll be familiar with tea parties and cricket and fancy hats and the Queen Mum so a few florals in his baby quilt won't hurt.

I ordered a fun London novelty print by Kokka for the back and added another Denyse Schmidt print and some domino dot by Violet Craft to make it big enough. I thought the London print would be just about the right size but my original plans for the quilt (one large Union Jack) changed and the size grew quite a bit! Lucky baby :) I quilted down the middle of all the white fabric, echoing the lines of the Union Jack flags and the sashing which I think is just enough. I made a scrappy binding out of some leftover red strips from the flags and a long length of polka dot binding I had made a while ago for my Deep Waters quilt that I didn't end up using. I added my label and another cute little tag that says 'P.S. I love you' just because it matched :) And dare I say my machine binding is getting pretty good! After a wash and some thread trimming I finally have it ready to gift, and little Henry isn't even two weeks old. One last thing - thanks to my friend Karissa for snapping the top two pictures with my phone when I was at her house last week! The boys and I had plans to visit so Ezra could go fishing with her older son (they're 4 1/2 and 3 - fishing was funny and scary!) and the night before we went I had a stroke of genius - I would call the quilt "across the pond" as a reference to the location of the United Kingdom being on the other side of the Atlantic, and I would photograph the quilt at a pond, Johnson's Pond, where Karissa lives. Brilliant, am I right? That's how I felt, anyway, because I can never come up with clever names for my quilts, but this was perfect.

 

I'll be sad to see this quilt go, but I know it's going to a home where it will be used and loved! And I can visit it occasionally if I need to ;)

my #matsuribag

This year I promised myself that I would expand my skills beyond quilt making. I wanted to learn how to install a zipper, do English paper piecing, and comfortably use interfacing in projects. I'd like to make a few garments, too. I've done a few of these things before with my friend, Lorraine, who taught me to sew, but I hadn't done any of them on my own. So recently, after making a few open wide pouches for swaps and some laptop sleeves for friends, I decided to volunteer as a tester for Felice who was working on her Matsuri Bag pattern. I knew it would be a challenge in some ways but I was confident I could do it! The Matsuri bag is a backpack that converts to a crossbody and I had commented that I had been looking for a backpack to use when I'm out with the boys because it's so much easier to have both hands free. I was so excited when Felice emailed me say that I was chosen as a tester that I started picking out fabrics immediately!

I considered a couple Cotton + Steel prints (all the states and scattered), but then I remembered that my mom had given me some of the Midas Kisses (the cat fabric which is out of print and hard to find, but it looks like Pink Castle might have some in white!) along with some of Ellen Baker's half rounds from her Charms collection for Kokka, and I knew they would be perfect for what I had already dubbed the world's cutest backpack. I ordered some of the half round fabric in charcoal to use as the lining and spent way too much time comparing purse hardware on etsy. I ended up choosing an antique brass finish for the hardware and then I found the perfect metal zipper. So perfect, in fact, that I bought five.

Anyway, even though I was comfortable installing a zipper and using interfacing by this point, I was still intimidated by this bag because of all the pieces! However, Felice's instructions were very clear and easy to follow, and she includes helpful diagrams along the way. I did make a few simple modifications, including flipping the side pockets over because I decided I liked my lining fabric better as an exterior contrast fabric, so please note that the gathers would look a little different if I had followed the pattern exactly.

Though I haven't used the bag as a crossbody yet, I can say that I love the look of it!

 

This bag easily holds everything I need for Finn - his epi pens, a couple diapers and wipes, a couple small snacks, and a change of clothes. I can fit a few other things, too, like a book, some small toys, and another set of clothes if necessary, but the bag does start to lose it's shape if I jam too many things inside, like any bag would. The exterior pockets are the perfect size for the boys' water bottles which is major for me. I love having a dedicated spot for the water bottles in my bag! As you can see here, I added a lined interior pocket (not included in the pattern) so I can easily keep my things separate from the boys' things. I have enough room inside the pocket for my wallet, phone, keys, a pen, and my checkbook. I don't even know why I carry my checkbook other than that it's inside a cute Hello Kitty Liberty fabric wallet that I made and I like to admire it, ha!

I would definitely recommend this pattern to anyone who's looking for a cute and functional backpack! I'm completely in love with mine and want to coordinate all my outfits around it from now on. Head over to Sew Scatterbrained to purchase the pattern (release date is May 2!) and support Felice! And check out the #matsuribag hashtag on instagram to be inspired by all the bags the other testers made... there are some gorgeous fabric combinations there! I'll be happy to answer any questions about the pattern and my personal experience making the Matsuri Bag. Let me know if you make one - I'd love to see it! Oh, and thanks to Matt for taking these photos for me!

gingham and robots | a quilt for Elliott

I'm posting about this quilt, totally unintentionally, on the recipient's first birthday. So first let's wish Elliott a very happy birthday! I made this quilt for him using lots of my favorite fabrics - some robots by Kokka, guitars by Michael Miller, a few Denyse Schmidt prints, one of Heather Bailey's prints from her Nicey Jane line, and two solids. Simple rectangle patchwork made this a quick quilt to finish in time for my friend Rachel's baby shower even though Finn was a newborn at the time. It seems so far away now! I can't believe these boys are one now. 

I found this gingham in my stash and it made the perfect backing. I had planned on making myself a scarf with pom pom trim with it but I never got around to it and it was too perfect for the quilt not to use it. All my non-quilt sewing projects get pushed to the side and forgotten about because quilting is my favorite.

More stash usage here in the binding - solid gray coordinates nicely and there's one little strip of gingham in there that totally makes it.

Those robots! I love them.

I made a stack of burp cloths with some scraps because I looove using up scraps. I always forget how time consuming scrappy burp cloths are to make, and just for spit up. At least they're useful!

As you can see from this and the top photo, I had a helper during my photo shoot :) Ezra took the photo below, too. I'm so proud - he's a budding quilter and a budding photographer ;)


John and Rachel were so thankful for this quilt which made it even more special. They sent me the nicest thank you note and raved about it repeatedly in person. Apparently John borrows it occasionally :) John posted a couple pictures to twitter when Elliott was a newborn and I just have to share this one of him at ten days old on his quilt - ha! Happy birthday, Elliott! I'm so glad you were born!