I miss sewing

I've been working hard on moving tasks and there is still quite a lot to do, but I did manage to squeeze in a bit of crafting. I love teas, and I buy them loose-leaf from a local store. Their tins are way too expensive though, so I have about 5-10 kinds of teas in little baggies in my cupboard. I am working on slowly finding cute containers for all of them.

I started with something that I found in the break room, which looked similar to this (neglected to take a before picture):

I cleaned off the tin and assembled supplies (note that my actual tin has this nice green lid):

And after:

It was my first time using mod podge and it wasn't quite what I expected. It looked sort of like Elmer's going on, and didn't really harden to the degree that I anticipated, given that I got the one called "Hard Coat." Still, it is supposed to cure for another couple of weeks, so perhaps it has yet to fully harden. Also, I masked off the edges a bit, but I wasn't thinking about how much the mod podge would get on my hands, and I ended up leaving some inside and on the bottom of the tin.

The fabric that I applied was a silk from the free upholstery fabric that I got. The result had much less contrast than I expected. I think that this is partly because the mod podge is still slightly cloudy and partly because some of the original contrast came from the shiny embroidery on the matte fabric and the mod podge gave everything the same finish.

Someday I hope to move on to bigger items, but for now I expect that a few more of these are in my future.

Hot Tip:

Pack a change of clothes in your carry-on, because when the airline loses your luggage, you'll find it very difficult to find a pair of underwear at 7am in a strange town.

Quilt Bee Blocks

I'm trying to finish up my February quilt bee blocks as soon as the fabric arrives, because this weekend my sewing room is going to get all packed up and moved to our new house. Since my future sewing area is currently designated for storing all of our boxes, I think it might be a while before my sewing space is up and running again.

February Blocks:
Sherri requested these scrappy x blocks for Nittany Block Party.  I really love how these turned out, and I think I might steal the idea for myself when I have the time.  :)

Rene requested these improvisational cross blocks for 1 Year 12 Quilts Bee.  I very much enjoyed the challenge of inventing my own block patterns.

Shelly requested these cropped nine patch triangles for Modern Quilt Bee.  This is quite a fun block to make.

January Blocks:
Wanda requested log cabin blocks with "people" fabrics in the centers for Nittany Block Party. I used some vintage fabrics from my grandmother's stash for the centers:

Kelly requested paper pieced Christmas tree blocks for Tethered Threads Bee 2.  These were my first paper pieced blocks and they were super fun.

Donna requested Twirling Star blocks for 1 Year 12 Quilts Bee:  This was my second paper pieced block, and I am so glad I did the easier tree blocks first.  This block was definitely harder, and it helped not to be figuring out the paper piecing aspect of things at the same time.  Even though it was hard, I am so glad that Donna picked this block.  Look how gorgeous it is!  I am really confident now that I can handle whatever paper piecing comes my way. 

Melissa requested wonky log cabin blocks using Munki Munki fabrics that she provided for Modern Quilt Bee.  I had so much fun with these that I ended up making an extra block.  I really love the dark brown and orange together.  It's on my future-quilt-color-scheme list.  No, I don't really have such a list.  Except in my head. 

Whew! Unfortunately, I don't have the fabric yet for Tethered Threads 2, so the February blocks may end up being a little late.

The Haul

Last year I set up an RSS feed from Craigslist to route any postings with the word "fabric" (minus a lot of words for furniture) to my google homepage. Every couple of days since then, I've gotten a posting from someone who is selling or giving away fabric in my area. Really, it's not been much use. Most of the things that people are electing to get rid of... well, I agree with their choice. Also there has been a very persistent and annoying ad for a Conair fabric steamer and someone just determined to find an individual willing to come pick up a sturdy cardboard tube from their home in the boonies.

Well, last Friday my day finally came, and all of those days of deleting feed articles were Worth It. The advertisement was for an interior design shop that was going out of business, and it said that they had a few upholstery sample books to give away. I had heard of people getting free upholstery samples for sewing projects, so I called them to check it out. I ended up in a room that was clearly under construction, looking at piles and piles and piles of sample books filling most surfaces. Here is what I ended up taking, all of it free, and I don't think anyone who had seen the room before I came in would have known that I took anything:

That's 30 books of fabric samples, most of it linen or linen/cotton blends. I have disassembled about 2/3rds of the books so far, including one that yielded these beauties:

Now don't get the wrong idea... these are clearly the cream of the crop, and I have been exposed in recent days to some pretty heinous fabric designs. Stuff that would make your eyeballs bleed. Stuff that belongs in a craigslist ad. All in all, though, I feel pretty lucky. :)

Sydney's art "portfolio"

I used mr. monkeysuit's Traveling Artshow pattern as the base for this project.  I basically just adjusted the instructions to fit my notebook and pens and leave out the activity books and such, since my niece doesn't really use those.  I also changed the tie wrap to a snap closure, because I don't think she can tie knots yet and I didn't want to frustrate her.  I was extremely gratified to see her pick up the gift multiple times while I was visiting and say "oh, my Thing.  I need this..." and then go sit down and draw something (including a beauuutiful picture for me...)

Next time I make something like this, I will modify the pattern so that the space for the pens is flat when you close the book.  Mr. monkeysuit's pattern doesn't include that because the pens end up folded into the middle so that part doesn't show on the outside. 

Tutorial used:

mr. monkeysuit's traveling art show pattern






Review:
Very easy to follow, quick, with no tricky steps.  I modified the pattern to remove some features and change from a tie wrap to a snap.  I would make the project again.  :)

Quilt for my sister

I've got another Christmas present to show... My sister and I started this quilt in 2000, so it took me ten years to finish it, but I did. I guess it is sort of my first quilt.

My sister originally picked out the fabrics for this quilt, but the blocks have been sitting at my parent's house for 10 years so it was certainly a surprise present. :)

Modern Quilt Guild

I'm looking for people interested in starting a San Jose/Bay Area based branch of the Modern Quilt Guild.

Drop me an email if you are interested, post a comment, or head over here.