The Un-Curtain...A Tutorial

I live in the country with only the occasional deer or coyote to look in my windows, so my house is pretty curtainless. I rearranged my studio and the placement of my desk and computer monitor created a glare problem for me, so I made some 'un-curtains'. Essentially they're just long panels that I can move depending on where the sun is. I made mine fairly skinny because I love my view and enjoy looking out the window. Most of the time I don't want my window covered. I didn't want to do a full blown curtain, so I adapted a bit and came up with this.
First I needed to do some measuring. I wanted my panels to just hover above the sill, so I measured from the wire to the sill and subtracted a half inch. Then I added 3 inches to that measurement. My raw measurement was 48.5". I cut four panels, 13 x 48.5 out of some Ikea fabric that was in a bargain bucket.
Then I cut four pieces of lining fabric. I used plain white muslin. Not fancy, but I had it on hand. Cut the lining 3 inches smaller than the fabric panels. Mine were 10 x 45.5". Place the lining fabric on the wrong side of the panel with 1.5" of the panel on each side.
I put in a couple of pins on each side and the ends to help with the placement of the lining.
Pin the lining to the panel in a few places to keep it from moving as you head to the ironing board.
Start by preparing to miter the corners. Fold each corner in and press. You can measure 3 inches or just eyeball it like I did.
After all corners are pressed in, fold the raw edge of the panel fabric in to meet the edge of the lining and press. You should be folding in 3/4". Press in all the way around the panel.
Fold the panel fabric over another 3/4", press and pin. At the corners you'll be completing the miter. Notice you'll create a little extra square of fabric.
Take out your pins, trim out the square and pin again. Press and pin all the way around the panel.
Now you're ready to sew. Be sure to change to a topstitching needle for this next step. It makes a big difference.
I sew an 1/8" from the edge around the panel backstitching to secure the stitches at the beginning and end. Be sure to keep your needle down in the corners to pivot and stitch the next side.
You might want to use matching thread...I chose hot pink thread just for fun!
I clipped the panels to my wire curtain rod and here they are blocking that bright morning sun.
When the sun moves a bit, I can whisk them to the side and keep my view.
I also made a pressing board for my studio out of a pieces of mdf, a piece of fusible batting, some staples and a pieces of the same Ikea fabric, but in the larger scale print.
So, two more finishes for me this weekend. Two days left in the Spring to Finish Challenge. Are you making some last minute progress?

Night Forest

When I started this challenge I assumed I'd be making a larger sized quilt, maybe lap size. I was piecing the sections with that in mind. For some reason I wanted to see what they looked like cut smaller. So I did.
I also chose a background fabric. My husband used to tell me how birch trees lighten the forest, especially at night. I chose the darkest gray kona that I had in my stash. I think I'm going to call this quilt, 'Night Forest.' So I started cutting and piecing into the background.
I cut up some of the sections and rearranged a bit, and adding in a few touches here and there. Using the sliced up trees of one section makes most of the trees look the same. I didn't want that. I'm continuing to piece sections, slice them up and make trees. I'm thinking this may end up being a long, horizontal piece for the wall. So far, I'm so happy with it. I still want to make a larger quilt with these techniques and this theme...I'm learning so much about how to make the trees look like I want them to.
One more finish to report. Four pillows for my son. I love the rounded corners on these. Remember, this is the LAST weekend of the spring to finish challenge. The challenge ends midnight on Monday. We'll all report in on Tuesday! Get busy! Time is running out.

2010 Quilt Festival Entry

I thought long and hard about what quilt I wanted to showcase for the Festival. My favorite quilt is usually the one I'm working on, but this is about more than favorites. This series of quilts is probably the most meaningful I've made in my short quilting career. Each one speaks to my commitment to pacifism, the reality and necessity of war, the dignity of service, how men and women are changed by war, and how people can make a difference even in the worst situations.

This series began with a challenge called the 'Illuminated Phrase.' We were challenged to make a piece in our medium of choice that illuminated a phrase of our choice. I chose a quote by John F. Kennedy. I was inspired not only by the quote, but by the Alexander Henry fabric that appears in all three quilts. This is 'Building Peace.'

'Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures. And however undramatic the pursuit of peace, the pursuit must go on.' John F. Kennedy Jr.

'Healing' was inspired by my brother-in-law who served two tours as a surgeon in Iraq. He was in the first wave that went into Baghdad. His job including patching up both American and Iraqis. I'll never forget him telling me how difficult it was to save the life of someone he knew was pure evil. Healing speaks to healing not only the body, but the soul.
'Coming Home' was inspired by a conversation that I had with a good friend of mine whose son had just returned from a tour in Iraq. That conversation is burned in my mind....the conflict evident in her face. Her joy that he was home and her fear for how his experiences had affected him and would ultimately change him.
These aren't typical quilts for me, but each quilt seemed to flow from this series of experiences and encounters. They'll always have a special place in my home.

The Experiment Begins

Before I share the challenge I accepted I wanted to share Rossie's idea. I'm accepting her Process Pledge. Essentially it's about sharing the process I go through to design and make my quilts. I think I do a lot of process sharing already, but I'm going to be more cognizant of trying to document that process and post about it. I think it's a great idea, mostly because we can all learn so much with a glimpse into other people's processes. I emailed Rossie this weekend and asked her if she had a process flickr group, she said I should go ahead and start one, so I did. Feel free to go here and join the 'Quilting Process' group. We'll post inspirations, sketches, in process shots, and talk about and share our process. I'm pretty excited about it.

So, on to the challenge. I received soo many good ideas, it was hard to choose where to start. I will be doing more than one of these! I'm starting with Krista's idea of using a family heirloom as my inspiration. I actually chose two items that are related. First is my grandmother's silver birch china. It's pretty special to me, first because it was my mom's and my grandmother's but also because it reminds me of my 'up north' roots. I love the birch forests of Minnesota and Canada.
I also chose this framed piece of birch bark. My husband brought it home from a trip he took to his hometown, Wausau, Wisconsin. He picked it up on a run on Rib Mountain. My hubby loves the woods, loves Wisconsin and so I framed it for him and now it hangs in his office. So, those are my inspiration pieces.
Krista also suggested beautiful scrap box colors, but I changed her challenge a bit. I chose my neutrals boxes...one is filled with grays, browns, blacks, beiges...mostly solids, but some prints too.
...and then my whites and creams. That's what I have to choose from. I'm not sure if there will be a background fabric or not.
So I started by studying my inspiration pieces. What did I love about them? What was the feeling I wanted to create? The texture and intricacy of the birch trees, especially the bark is what I kept going back to. I decided to try to create an exaggerated birch bark texture. So I started playing with some fabric.
Then I moved to the design wall and sewed a few pieces together.
I decided pretty much immediately that I didn't want any vertical pieces.
I played some more...cutting, rearranging and sewing.

This is the piece I have now. I'm not sure where I'm going with this. It may be sliced into thin trees. I think for now I'll continuing building pieces. I'm not quite satisfied with how the dark areas look. Stay tuned and have a great week.

The Magic of Toothpaste

I was doing a bunch of cutting the other day and noticed that my rotary cutter wasn't functioning very well. Each strip had a few threads that didn't cut. Very annoying! I was a bit puzzled because my rotary cutter had a fresh blade. Bad blades? Nope.

Turns out that my cutting mats were so worn that I'd created grooves in certain places and when the rotary cutter hit those, it didn't cut like it should. My mats are reversible, so I flipped them over. A few months ago I taped the underside of my two mats together to make one big cutting mat for cutting long lengths of fabric. I used duct tape. That's sticky stuff and when I flipped them I took off the tape and of course left a line of sticky goo. What to do?

Well, I googled for a solution and found this site. I looked over the list and when I came to the 3rd item I knew that a tube of toothpaste was just steps away. So, Crest to the rescue.

One little line of toothpaste, a bit of rubbing, and a quick wipe with a damp paper towel and I was back in business.

The magic of toothpaste...and my mats are minty fresh too.

Quilt Partners

A quilt doesn't seem complete to me without some pillows to partner with it. I was going to make some pillows for the 'feeling blue' quilt, but then I found these in my pillow closet. Yup, I have a whole closet where I hang pillow covers that aren't being used. It's great having an abundance of pillow covers so that I can change a room when the mood hits me and I don't have to paint!I made these from some vintage blocks that I salvaged. They have a nice modern/vintage look. (Nanette's characterization of the feeling of the quilt.) I think she was right on and I think they fit. I made them a long time ago and they've never found a home.
They'll live there until I make some different ones to partner with this quilt.
Thanks so much for all the fabulous suggestions for my quilty experimentation. I'm making a list. I'll let you know which one I'm going to start with. There's no way I could choose just one!

Experimenting

I've been experimenting with this idea. It's not ready for a reveal though. I love to experiment.
The 'urban garden' quilt was an experiment too and now it's one of my favs. For that quilt I pulled handfuls of scraps from three scrap buckets and challenged myself to make a quilt. The inspiration was an urban community garden. I'd like to do something similar again, but this time I'd like to involve you. I'd like you to create a challenge for me.

Simply leave a comment telling me what color scrap buckets I should choose from. It could be one bucket or more than one. I have scrap buckets for red, pink, yellow/orange, blue, green and neutrals. In addition to what fabric I should choose, I'd like you to give me an inspiration for the quilt...a place to start, or something to think about as I work. I get to add a solid or maybe a background fabric. I'll choose one of the comments and then go for it. What do you think? Want to help?

Feeling Blue No Longer

Turns out being sick isn't so bad for getting things finished. It's really pretty comforting to snuggle under a big quilt like this and slowly stitch on the binding. Comfort and productivity simultaneously. This is my 9th finish. I started this quilt when my mom was ill last fall. I was pretty blue about it for a long time. I'm not blue about it any longer. "Feeling Blue" is queen sized and at home in my guest bedroom.

The quilting is by my friend Angela and again a wonderful collaboration. She stepped way out of her comfort zone to do something very geometric and wonky for me. It was her idea to do the large connecting shapes which maybe you can see if you enlarge the photos. You'll all simply have to come visit to see this one in person.


I love the blocks, the negative space, the quilting, the binding. It's so great when something you're not sure of comes together. And I get to keep it. (Oh, and the back is pretty cool too, but I forgot to take photos of that!)

Little Finishes and Check in Winners

I'm just about back among the living, but now I'm sooo behind in all things. I did finally get these in the mail to my partner in Malka's 'Great Potholder Swap.' I used some of Malka's hand dyed fabrics and some great carolina chambrays in these. I love how graphic and fun they are. I hope they work in her kitchen.


We've got a few Spring to Finish winners too. They'll be receiving either a pack of bright and fun Ikea fabric or a beautiful piece of Anna Maria Horner's voile. The lucky gals are: Cheryl Arkison will be receiving the voile.
Regi and Littlebluebirdie will be receiving the fabric packs. Drop me your info and I'll get your prizes in the mail!

And lastly, I finished the 'Church Lady' quilt top from all those vintage sheets. It's being quilted and will be late, but I'm doing my best. I have all these cut squares left over...if you're interested in them, drop me an email. First one, gets them! (Kelly gets the squares...dang, she was FAST!)

I'm off to start the catch-up process!

Mother's Day Glow

I'm living in a Mothers' Day glow. My boys convinced my hubby that my dinosaur of a cell phone had to go and they replaced it with this. Could I possibly be iphone cool? I'm going to do my best at it, boys! I also received this wonderful book, Style by Kate Spade, from my hubby. I adore Kate Spade's designs, simple, graphic, and classy. The book is a wonderful insight into color, design, and Kate's philosophy.
This was the card I received from my youngest son. It's true. I'm more interesting on my blog. Today, my life is kleenex, throat lozenges, and too many trips to the bathroom. I was sick all weekend and I can't seem to shake it. It's cold, rainy and miserable. The weather and I will be in the same boat today.

Today is the the midway point in our Spring to Finish Challenge. I have 6 finishes off my list. I'm not satisfied...the list is still VERY long, but I'm committed to plugging away at it. I do want to take time to enjoy the process though.

So if you've made progress, let me know in the comments. When I have some energy I'll put together a few fabric packs for a couple of people from today's comments. You have until the end of the day...midnight central time to leave a comment. Keep up the good work!

Are You Focused?

Sometimes all it takes is a fun focus fabric to bring things together. A group of us in guild are making a quilt for a special little girl. We all got a piece of this fabric and we decided to bring out the colors in the fabric in the block and to make a sort of square in a square block. I made two from my chunk of fabric and then I couldn't stop, and since I had more of the owls I had to make more. I can't wait to see everyone's blocks and how the quilt will come together.






Speaking of focus, I need to be totally focused this weekend. The 'church lady' quilt (that I'm donating to my mom's church) is due Saturday evening. Nothing like waiting until the VERY last minute. Fabric will be flying and the machine whirring. I do hate to miss a deadline.

Remember, the Spring to Finish check-in is on Monday. Gosh, has the time flown, but I know you can get at least one finish by then. Have a happy Mom's Day with your mom or with your kiddos!!

**For those of you who have asked...the focus fabric is 'spotted owl' by Alexander Henry. It is pretty available and comes in several colors and also in a home dec weight with BIG owls.