Monthly Archive for March, 2011

Modern Log Cabin Quilting – behind the scenes + signed! giveaway

Published on March 23, 2011 in Book review and Handmade. 10 Comments

Oh my, I am so excited about my post today – trust me, it’s been a long time coming. Yesterday, Susan Beals new book ‘Modern Log Cabin Quilting‘ has officially been published! And I have the honor to be the 2nd stop of this blog tour!

But let me back up a little:

I was very new to blogging and the whole craft community and browsing flickr one day – oh my gosh! – I know her! From daycare! That’s Pearl’s mom! Susan!!!!

O.k. I admit it, I stalked her a bit online to find out that she is a Portland craft celebrity! Whow.

When I got a chance next time around I ran into her at drop-off, I asked her if she would mind to have a coffee with me one day. Those of you who know Susan in person – she’s like the most friendly person you know. Always there to lend a helping hand. And shortly after, I had a drink with her before we picked up the girls. Long story short, I wasn’t working at that time and I was so interested in what she was doing for a living that I offered her to help if she needed any. She’s working on a Log Cabin Block book she said, and she’d love if I came over to help out!

Over the course of a couple of weeks, as above picture attests, we burried ourselves under fabric in her house. We ironed, cut and quilted, illustrated quilt assembly diagrams. And after a while, I asked her if she’d mind if I come up with a design myself. And she said YES! Hurray – so I sat down, dove into the science of quilting math (whow that’s quite complex) and sketched out ideas.

I came up with this bag design:

And this bed-size quilt:

And I am really proud of my first ever quilt design. And my, was it a journey: I thought you might enjoy seeing a couple of pics that I took throughout the process.

It literally took over the whole house! And nearly swallowed me whole!

What can I tell you. It’s a beautiful, inspirational book, written by a very, very lovely Lady who has an eye for color, color coordination, beautiful aesthetics and a burning passion for her work. She has helped and inspired me tremendously and I am glad to call her my friend.

If you are an experienced quilter, you might get lots of lovely little ideas you want to whip up with some left overs in you stash. If you are a beginner – she’ll teach you in no time. Just like she taught me.

And now the fun part: The giveaway!

The give away is a copy of Modern Log Cabin Quilting, signed by Susan with a personal message and some lovely fabric assortment! What do you need to do? Many of you might know, that Susan and I are working on our fundraiser Quilts for Quake Survivor to raise money for the victims of the terrible quake and tsunami in Japan. It’s very simple to participate – we ask participants to send us 2″ wide strips of any fabric scraps you have lying around. At numerous quilting bees here in Portland but also around the country, those strips will be pieced into baby, children and lap sized quilts. On May 11th, we’ll organize a life auction to raise money for Mercy Corps and their partner organization Peace Winds in Japan. Quilts that don’t find a buyer will be sent to an organization that has the means to distribute quilts to those in the affected areas. If that’s not a possibility, we’ll sell all quilts and donate the proceeds. 100%. So a real community craft project! I am sure most of you have a stash somewhere that’s been unused or you just didn’t find the right application for it, and you just wondered what to do with it? Now is the time!

Here is what we’d ask you to do: Cut some 2″ wide fabric strips. Take a picture. Post it on our flickr group and note in the comment section ‘give-away’. Then send it to

Quilts for Quake Survivors
4110 SE Hawthorne Blvd #811
Portland, OR 97214-5246


All entries on the flickr group until Friday April 1st will be entered in a raffle and the winner will be contacted through email and announced here on the blog!

 

 

Quilts for Quake Survivors

Published on March 16, 2011 in Uncategorized. 1 Comment

QfQ-banner
We have all seen the pictures of the devastating conditions in Japan after the Quake and the terrible aftermath. A lot of the survivors have lost their homes, their livelihood and loved ones.

The Japanese have given us so much inspiration with their wonderful aesthetics and incredible talent for creating beautiful handmade items. We for sure have been tremendously inspired by Japanese culture in our private and professional lives and Susan and I were both lucky enough to have traveled to Japan several times and it was always the most refreshing experience.

This is why we are launching big craft events her in Portland, OR to bring crafters together and create Quilts for those in Japan who have lost everything.

Why Quilts you ask? Because quilts stand for love, warmth, and comfort. Log Cabin quilting is probably the easiest quilting method, extremely economical and yields beautiful results. It also symbolizes the heart of the home – the center square represents the lamplight or fire in the hearth, surrounded by the “logs” or walls of the log cabin. We’d like to share this feeling of friendship, home and warmth with those who need it most.

So the idea is to get all of you involved by donating some time and some of your scraps. We’d ask you to cut from your stash 2″ wide fabric strips. You can either send those in or – even better – assemble some of those strips in simple log cabin quilt squares. More on how to easily piece and assemble quilt squares later this week in simple tutorials.

Once we get some inventory, we will organize quilting bees, where volunteers come together to sew quilt squares, create beautiful color combinations with existing squares, sash them and then quilt them together with simple methods, like hand tying or machine quilting. Whatever is best suitable for the designs. We could even machine embroider a personal message….

We have created a separate site for this event for information, updates, tutorials and what we need. As we go, we’ll also upload photos to the flickr pool to see the process, progress and maybe even spot the fabrics that you have sent in.

But there are also other ways you can help!

We will need yardage of solids or sheeting for sashing and backing, batting, threads and needles. If you have old sheets or unused fabrics – that is something we will need a lot off!

If you are a shop owner and would like to host a QfQ Event in your area, we’d love to help you!

Besides that, we will need ample of sewing help! It doesn’t matter weather you are an experienced quilter, sewer or just a beginner. There will be lots of simple and more complex tasks to do – and the best is, you’ll get free sewing lessons!

There are two possible end results: We make baby, children and lap sized quilts (and hopefully many of them) or we can possibly create one big one that can be auctioned off at the end. Or maybe both, we’ll see where this thing could go. Thoughts?

Please spread the word!!!

This is not intended for immediate help but we would think a 1-2 month timeline. So when all the media frenzy is calming down, this is when we would be able to give those gifts. We know it doesn’t change the world but it’s a symbol of hope and knowing that we care…

Piratetude

Published on March 10, 2011 in Handmade and Sew beautiful. 2 Comments Tags: , , , .


Pants: Harem Pant Pattern
Hat: Felt with Skull and X-bone application

L. rocking her Pirate Costume at the Faschingsparty at the German Saturday School. I saw a pirate hat like this at a friends house who inherited the hat from a relative for her son. It’s such a simple construction that I pushed it out till the very last minute to make one. It’s basically two half circles and three seams. To be worn, the hat folds inside out.

Well, actually, I pushed making the whole costume out till the very end. The pants are another version of the harem pant pattern, which you can download here. It’s still the 2T version, just lengthen the legs about 2″ or 5cm longer to make a long pant version as shown in the picture. The belt is just a single 2″ wide strip of black felt.

Pardon the wonky scan – but I was excited to share this guy:
1. Cut two identical half circles of felt (the inner radius is the head)
2. cut the scull and x-bone and apply to one of the circles. I used my sewing machine and the blanket stitch but you can easily glue it on too!
3. with the applique on the inside, sew the two sides of the half circles and the top of the half circles as indicated below. Backstitch at beginning and end to secure the seam.
4. turn inside out and voila – you have your pirate hat!

 

Chunky Coat finished

Published on March 1, 2011 in Handmade and ravelry. 1 Comment

My chunky Twinkle Yarn coat is finished! It’s been a couple of days but I still am not too sure about the sleeves. Other then that, I just followed a very basic top-down raglan recipe, worked a basket weave stitch at collar, yoke and pocket bags, everything else is simple stockinette stitch and 1:1 rib. And it didn’t take long to knit up at all, but I used all 8 skeins I bought. And not a strand left over :)

On another note! I finally got my work permit! After more then two years being ‘grounded’ and only allowed to do charity or non-profit work, it feels kind of daunting to think about going back. But I am super excited non the less.

Guess it’s very german, but thankfully I have been prepared and started to work on my professional website for the last two weeks. It’s up now, here’s the link.

Related Posts with Thumbnails

© 2010-2012 I ♥ Design All Rights Reserved -- Copyright notice by Blog Copyright

Uses wordpress plugins developed by www.wpdevelop.com